The River Cup Papers

     Editor's note: This history of the first River Cup is excerpted from The River Cup Papers. The Papers consist of some 200 handwritten pages found in the library of his grandfather by Dr. J. L. Moss of Richmond, Virginia, in 1947. Bequeathed to The River Cup Museum, they contain the only known description of the first rendering of the event in 1848 passed down through oral history by an early participant. All other documents tracing The River Cup's history were destroyed in the River Cup fire of 1989, which consumed The Museum and the many priceless artifacts it contained. The Papers were spared as they had been removed from The Museum for editing shortly before the fire. The footnotes are those of the editor.