&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Steamer_GOV._ROBERT_M._Mc.LANE.png) Maryland State steamer Gov. Robert M. McLane, ca. 1918.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Governor R. M. McLane |
| Namesake | Robert Milligan McLane (1815–1898), Governor of Maryland (1884–1885) |
| Owner | State of Maryland |
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Neafie and Levy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Completed | 1884 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | As of 2003, resting on harbor bottom, partially submerged, at Baltimore, Maryland |
| Notes | Operated as state police steamboat 1884–1917 and from 1918 |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Tonnage | 144.54 GRT |
| Displacement | [note 1] |
| Length | 120 ft (37 m) LOA |
| Beam |
|
| Draft | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Depth | 10.5 ft (3.2 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Speed | 13 kn (15 mph; 24 km/h) |
| Armament |
|
Governor R. M. McLane, was a steamboat built in 1884 that served the state of Maryland as an enforcement and survey vessel.
Maryland's State Oyster Police Force (“Oyster Navy”) was established to enforce state conservation laws designed to protect Maryland's oyster resources when out of state, often New England, dredgers began destroying reefs. Later local opposition to licenses turned to open "warfare" in the "oyster wars" during which open battles took place. Governor R. M. McLane, after replacing an older steamer, Leila, was armed with the cannon the earlier vessel had used in engagements.
Maryland's leasing plans with natural oyster reefs open to small interests and large tracts of "barren bottom" leased to large fishing interest depended upon accurate surveys of the location of natural oyster reefs. That survey was supported by Governor R. M. McLane which was also detailed to the state Shell Fish Commission seasonally for research.
During World War I all the Maryland State Fisheries Force became part of the Naval Reserve in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.
After return to normal service the steamer suffered extensive damage, "burned to the waterline" according to reports, but was rebuilt using insurance money. Governor R. M. McLane continued in service as the largest vessel of the fleet.
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