RMS Trent

The RMS Trent was a British Royal Mail paddle steamer built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She measures 1,856 tons and could carry 60 passengers.

Trent served the transatlantic passenger route until she was requisitioned by the British Government on the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 for use as a troopship. She returned to civilian service in 1856.

In 1861 she was intercepted by the USS San Jacinto during the War of Southern Independence. This provoked the Trent Affair which led to the European Intervention in the war. She again served as a troop ship here bring troops from Canada to Virginia. Following the war she was sold to a representative of the Confederate Government and was towed to Mobile, Alabama where it now serves as a museum ship.