Probably the most horrific ship disaster to take place on the Potomac happened a few miles up river from Colonial Beach, just off Chatterton's Landing.  In 1873, the completely overhauled Wawaset, 129 feet long, 26 feet abeam, 9 feet in the hold and 258 tons of weight, was considered THE  most plush boat on the Potomac.  It was used to ferry people from Washington D.C. up and down the Potomac River, where it made many stops in Maryland & Virginia, including Colonial Beach.

August 8, 1873 was a sultry summer day when the Wawaset left port in Washington with 117 adults and 20 children on board. It made several stops in Maryland and Virginia, picking up passengers, and was well on its way towards Chatterton's Landing on the Virginia side of the Potomac, when crew members discovered a fire down below.  After attempting to unsuccessfully put out the wall of flames, it was determined that the best course of action would be to get as close to shore as possible and run the boat aground.

People stood horrified on the Wharf as they watched the massive ship engulfed in flames.  The scene on board was horrific, with terrified passengers' dresses catching on fire and many burned to death in front of the terrified children.  While stampeding from one end of the boat to the other as flames spread, slower passengers were crushed to death.  A bull could be heard screaming in the background as he was being roasted alive trapped beneath the fiery decks.

One witness remembers looking out and seeing three children sobbing as they were hanging on to the ships rudder chain, too terrified to let go.  One by one they were seared to death.  One man, who had calmly found life jackets for him and his little niece, floated about out in the Potomac and as he watched the boat, it disappeared into its fiery grave. The last thing he recalled seeing on the ship's stern was two small children on fire.

For days and days a gruesome sight was to be seen everywhere up and down the Potomac as burned, half eaten bodies washed ashore. In the end over 76 bodies were found, but only 41 identified.

...From the 1999 Colonial Beach Information Guide