The Black Diamond Disaster: An American Civil War Event @ St. Clement's Island Museum

Head to St. Clement’s Island Museum for a wreath-laying in commemoration of a forgotten tragedy of the American Civil War - the Black Diamond Disaster. On April 23, 1865, eighty-seven (87) lives were lost when the barge Black Diamond and the steamer Massachusetts collided in the Potomac River near St. Clement’s Island during the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.

• Wreath Laying (2:00 p.m.): On the waterfront at the St. Clement’s Island Museum
• Concert & Reception (2:30 p.m.): The Potomac Gardens follows the ceremony. The 8th Green Machine (GM) Regiment Band is an early American brass band that performs 19th-century brass band music. The band performs on authentic 19th-century instruments and mouthpieces. A number of the instruments used by the band feature an Over-the-Shoulder (OTS) bell direction. This design was utilized so that a band could march in front of soldiers and be heard by the troops. INFO: https://www.facebook.com/events/1621886402508606
• Book signings with Karen Stone, author of the new book "Shipwreck on the Potomac: Disaster in Pursuit of Lincoln's Killer," about the sinking of the Black Diamond at the reception.

• Dinner & a Cruise Series: The Potomac River and John Wilkes Booth, hosted by Michael Kauffman Local author and John Wilkes Booth expert: Crossing the main routes between North and South, the Potomac River was a major focus of southern spies and smugglers as well as the northerners tasked with enforcing Lincoln’s blockade. Its location on the way to Richmond put it squarely in the middle of John Wilkes Booth’s plan of escape. But in the aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination, crossing it would prove almost fatal for Booth, and his reception on the other side was a bitter disappointment. On this cruise Kauffman will look at the central role of the Potomac in shaping the story of Booth’s plot and his flight from Washington to the Confederate states.

  History of the Black Diamond: In April 1865, following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Quartermaster Corps sent the barge Black Diamond to the lower Potomac to stand on picket duty off St. Clement’s Island. Her main job was to keep John Wilkes Booth from crossing the Potomac River. During the same time, the steamer Massachusetts headed for Fortress Monroe out of Alexandria, Virginia. In a tragic turn of events, the Massachusetts struck the Black Diamond on the port side near the boiler, sinking her in under three minutes. 87 lives were lost off the shores of St. Clement’s Island that night. Read the full story: http://ow.ly/kFlA50xpRYz