The Patapsco was a Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of navigational rights. The case involved a dispute between the United States and the State of Maryland over the navigational rights of the Patapsco River. The United States argued that the navigational rights of the river belonged to the federal government, while the State of Maryland argued that the navigational rights belonged to the state. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the United States, ruling that the navigational rights of the Patapsco River belonged to the federal government. The Court reasoned that the navigational rights of the river were part of the public domain, and thus belonged to the federal government. The Court also noted that the navigational rights of the river had been recognized by the United States since the time of the Revolution. The Court's decision in The Patapsco established a precedent that navigational rights of rivers and other bodies of water are part of the public domain and thus belong to the federal government. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases involving navigational rights.

In the case of The Patapsco, a majority opinion was issued by the Supreme Court that held that Congress had no power to regulate navigation on navigable waters within state boundaries. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that Congress did have such authority under its constitutional powers. He noted that while states may possess certain rights over their own waterways, these rights are limited when it comes to regulating interstate commerce or activities which affect more than one state. In his view, allowing each individual state to control navigation on navigable rivers would lead to confusion and disruption in interstate commerce as different rules could be applied depending upon where a vessel is located at any given time. Furthermore, he argued that since all states share an interest in maintaining free trade between them for mutual benefit and protection against foreign competition then it should be up to Congress alone - not individual states -to determine how best this can be achieved through regulation of navigable waters within their borders.