A Riverboat's Demise
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A Riverboat’s Demise

The lifespan of most riverboats was short. The swirling waters and strong currents in a river presented many dangers. Snags and other obstructions beneath the surface could easily punch a hole in a hull, sinking a boat. Weather could also play a factor. Fierce storms wreaked havoc and winter ice would routinely destroy steamboats.

Steamboat Accidents on the Western Rivers 1811-1851, taken from Steamboats on the Western Rivers, sourced from Cist’s Weekly Advertiser (Cincinnati), July 16, 1852

The natural world wasn’t the only danger. Packets were rarely inspected and with little governmental oversight, many became death traps. All were made of timber and powered by fire-heated boilers, deadly blazes and boiler explosions were common, and the loss of life and property could be catastrophic. Mark Twain’s younger brother Henry Clemens was killed in a boiler explosion on the steamer Pennsylvania in 1858, an event Twain details in Life on the Mississippi.

“A steamer came along, finally, and carried the unfortunates to Memphis, and there the most lavish assistance was at once forthcoming. By this time Henry was insensible. The physicians examined his injuries and saw that they were fatal, and naturally turned their main attention to patients who could be saved.”

—Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, Chapter 20, A Catastrophe

My current project, Coal Belly, is a sprawling weird-west fantasy adventure set on a planet crisscrossed by interlocking rivers. Riverboats are necessary and ubiquitous, and with their use comes the hazards of operation. A world of riverboats means a world of riverboat wrecks and having a working knowledge of their dangers went a long way toward adding a level of authenticity to my manuscript.

Those packets which survived weather, explosion, and accident rarely operated long. Most boats were worked hard and maintained poorly, and that it took its toll on their lifespan. While a well-maintained riverboat can last decades, most of the boats that operated in the late-1800s lasted between two to five years.

In the 1800s photographic equipment wasn't standard. In place of photographs, many riverboat disasters were depicted by drawings of etchings. Left to Right: Str. Robert E. Lee, 1882, Str. Benjamin Franklin, 1836, Str. Sultana, 1865.
Left to Right: Fire takes the Str. Robert E. Lee killing 21 in 1882, a boiler explosion on the Str. Benjamin Franklin, 1836, The Sultana disaster claimed 1192 lives (perhaps up to 1800) outside Memphis, Tennessee in 1865, it remains one of the worst maritime disasters in United States history.

In the 1800s photographic equipment wasn’t as commonplace as it is today, and most of it wasn’t quick enough to capture riverboat disasters as they happened. In place of photographs, many tragedies were depicted by drawings or etchings. You can see a few above. Photographers, however, did manage to capture images of wrecked boats after they had been damaged, sunk, or destroyed. I’ve assembled a gallery below, you can click on any image to view it larger.

Rotting away in the steamboat boneyard
A fire onboard the Captain Weber. Action shots like this are quite rare, most photos were taken after the destruction.
The half-submerged wreck of the Str. Uncle Sam
Wreck of the steamboat Tennessee, Missouri River, at Little Blue Island, Mo. Snagboat Missouri standing by 1908
The towboat Volcano sinks in 1929—it was later raised, rebuilt and renamed the Mengel, then sank once again in 1940.
A unique view of the wreckage of the Str. Golden Eagle in 1947
It wasn’t just midwestern rivers, wrecks littered the Columbia River as well.
Sunken remains of the Atha taken in 1918
Completed in 1925, this enormous excursion steamer burned when her fuel tanks exploded in 1947. Images like this are rare, since most photographers were not present during riverboat disasters.
On June 15, 1904, General Slocum caught fire and sank in the East River of New York City. An estimated 1,021 people died—New York area’s worst disaster in terms of loss of life until the September 11, 2001 attacks
The wreck of the steamer Tell City on the Ohio River, 1917
Trapped in the frozen Tennessee River, 1917
Remains of an unidentified steamboat destroyed by fire
Men inspect the wreck of the Steamboat Monitor – 1 of 2
Men inspect the wreck of the Steamboat Monitor – 2 of 2
Way’s Packet Directory lists four boats named the Jewel, best guess is the Str. Jewel cut down by ice in Mt. Vernon, IN on January 1918
The listing and half-sunk corpse of the Str. Eclipse
Winter flood wreck, 1918
The ragged remains of the submerged Columbia.

The pictures above have been collected over the last five years, so I am unsure where they all come (usually the Library of Congress.) But, they’re all old enough to be in the public domain. In some cases, I did some minor color correction and cropping. I’m happy to answer any questions folks have about any of these images or riverboats in general. (Sometimes it gives me a good excuse to research something.) You can send me an email or leave a comment below. I love comments.

A Riverboat’s Demise is the latest in my series of posts sharing my research for Coal Belly. You can check out the other riverboat-related posts with the links below.

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