The Dashing Wave was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1866. The case involved a dispute between two ship owners, one of whom had chartered his vessel to the other for use as a merchant vessel. The charter agreement specified that any profits from the voyage would be shared equally between them. However, during the course of their voyage, they encountered an unexpected storm which caused significant damage to both vessels and resulted in considerable losses for both parties. As such, each party sought compensation from the other for their respective losses but were unable to reach an agreement on who should bear responsibility or how much compensation should be paid out. Ultimately, it was decided by the court that since neither party could prove fault or negligence on either side with regards to causing damages due to weather conditions beyond their control then no liability existed and thus no compensation could be awarded either way.

In The Dashing Wave, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a vessel that had been abandoned by its owners and sold at auction could be subject to an in rem action. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Field argued that the majority's decision would lead to unjust results because it would allow creditors of vessels' owners who were not parties to the sale proceedings or even aware of them to later bring claims against those vessels. He further noted that this result was contrary both to established principles of maritime law as well as public policy considerations. Moreover, he argued that if Congress intended for such claims against abandoned vessels sold at auction without notice being allowed then they should have made their intent clear through legislation rather than allowing courts "to make new rules" on their own authority.