The Steamboat Era Museum recently announced the publication of a new edition of “Against the Tide, the Turbulent Times of a Black Entrepreneur.”

The new edition features additional illustrations, newspaper articles and more, as Julie H. Sullivan tells the story of her great-grandfather, Captain H.C. Bayton (1863-1927). Bayton was one of a very few African American steamboat captains who plied the waterways of the Chesapeake Bay during the Steamboat Era.

Through hard work and determination, Hansford C. Bayton rose from humble beginnings to become the captain and owner of two steamboats and two steam launches for excursions and mail delivery up and down the Rappahannock River during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He acquired wealth and the respect of both blacks and whites. Nevertheless, his boats were burned one by one. But with each malicious burning, he would build again.

The 140-page illustrated book includes a forward by Ambassador Andrew J. Young Jr. Published by the Ste...