National Maritime Day is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

holiday created to recognize the

maritime industry Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

. It is observed on

May 22 Events Pre-1600 * 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu. * 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt. * 11 ...

, the date in 1819 that the American steamship ''

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

'' set sail from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power. The holiday was created by the United States Congress on May 20, 1933. On May 22, 2002, the Military Sealift Command observed National Maritime Day with a memorial service held in Washington, DC. Rear Adm.

David L. Brewer III David L. Brewer (born May 19, 1946) is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy and former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 35-year veteran of the Navy was the captain of from April 3, 1991 – December 5, 1 ...

, Commander, Military Sealift Command, and

Gordon R. England Gordon Richard England (born September 15, 1937) is an American politician and businessman who was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and twice served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. ...

, Secretary of the Navy, tossed a wreath into the Anacostia River at the Washington Navy Yard in honor of fallen mariners. In 2013, National Maritime Day was celebrated with family picnics and boat tours at the Port of San Diego, and with maritime career fairs in Seattle and the Port of Baltimore, as well as with traditional memorial ceremonies. On May 22, 2016, the Baltimore events were held at the '' NS Savannah'', Pier 13 of the

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Marine Terminal in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. Boy Scout Explorer Post # 0438, a re-enactment group representing the First Baltimore Sharpshooters, a.k.a. Aisquith's Sharpshooters, was there in replica uniforms. Battle of North Point Many other groups, both businesses, non-profit groups, and educational groups were present. Docked alongside the ''NS Savannah'' was the ''

Golden Bear (ship) The TS ''Golden Bear'' is the training ship of the California State University Maritime Academy (CSUMA), a campus of the California State University. The first training ship of the then–California Nautical School was known as the Training Shi ...

'', a training ship from California that was built nearby in Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland, in 1986.

Gallery

File:Robert-Valderrama-Cheryl-Cox-2011.jpg, A San Diego Port Commissioner celebrates National Maritime Day with the Mayor of Chula Vista, 2011 File:US Navy 070518-N-0021M-002 Capt. Susan Dunlap, Commander of Military Sealift Command Far East and Capt. Robert Burk, Commanding officer of SS Major Stephen J. Pless receive a wreath that was part of the National Maritime Day Re.jpg, 2007 celebration in Pusan, Korea File:"More than 5500 merchant seamen lost in action against the enemy^ Fellow Americans give them your answer" - NARA - 515022.jpg, Somber commemoration of National Maritime Day in 1944 File:US Navy 020522-N-5101M-004 Memorial Service Ceremony.jpg, 2002 ceremony at Washington Navy Yard

References

;Notes ;Sources
A Short History on National Maritime Day
{{US Observances Maritime culture Observances in the United States by presidential proclamation 1933 establishments in the United States May observances Recurring events established in 1933

Gallery

See also

References