SS Indiana (1873)

SS Indiana (1873)

SS Indiana was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The third of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Indiana and her three sister ships – Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois – were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and among the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War.

Though soon outclassed by newer vessels, Indiana was to enjoy a substantial 36-year career, a highlight of which was her transportation of United States President Ulysses S. Grant on the first leg of his celebrated 1877–78 world tour. After 24 years of transatlantic crossings, Indiana was sold for Pacific service, before being requisitioned as a troopship for service during the Spanish-American War. She was wrecked off Isla Santa Margarita, Mexico, in 1909.