mississippi river – K. M. Alexander

June 16, 2018September 14, 2019

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

Str. Volcano - Towboat Volcano sinks in 1929

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

Excursion Steamer Island Queen - Completed in 1925, this enormous excursion steamer burned when her fuel tanks exploded in 1947.

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.

PS General Slocum - 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

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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July 26, 2017September 14, 2019

Riverboats at War

Those who have spent any time in an American History class is aware of the famous Battle of Hampton Roads. It’s the infamous naval conflict between the Merrimack (captured and renamed the CSS Virginia) and the USS Monitor, two of the world’s first ironclads gunboats, which duked it out to a draw in the waters of Chesapeake Bay.

"The Monitor and Merrimac: The First Fight Between Ironclads", a chromolithograph of the Battle of Hampton Roads, produced by Louis Prang & Co., Boston — “The Monitor and Merrimac: The First Fight Between Ironclads,” a chromolithograph of the Battle of Hampton Roads, produced by Louis Prang & Co., Boston

While these two vessels have become legendary, they weren’t alone; many more gunboats were fighting on the rivers during the American Civil War. Technology had begun to modernize, and the gunboats of the Union Navy and Confederate fleets were no different. The war revealed a point of transition in the evolution of sail to steam as watercraft shifted from the traditional frigate-style sailing vessel towards the warships we see today. Turrets were introduced, armor became commonplace, and propulsion was beginning to change from paddle-wheels to the screws. The era of wooden ships of the line died in 1862 as the ironclads rose to prominence.

My current project, Coal Belly, is a weird west fantasy set on a planet crisscrossed by interlocking rivers. It’s a rough-and-tumble world where riverboats are omnipresent and necessary for everyday life and used in war. In the book, the empires of Artada, Othwell, and Cyr patrol their territory with a variety of gunboats, and I wanted a spark of authenticity. With that in mind, I felt it necessary for to research the naval fleets of 19th Century, with the Mississippi and its tributaries playing such a vital part in the American Civil War, it was the perfect place to start.

The Union dominated naval warfare from the outset. Where the Confederate forces saw some early advances with the capture of the Merrimack and its retrofitting, it didn’t take long for the Union to catch up and overwhelm the Rebels. Gunboats came in many varieties and could be broken down into four main categories: Rams, Timberclads, Tinclads, and of course the emerging Ironclads. There was a fifth category as well, used primarily by the Confederates, which is commonly called the Cottonclads. Let’s look into each of them.

Rams

These were the creation of Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., a Navy man who was convinced that the ancient ram technology could be adapted to modern usage. Under his guidance, he built out the United States Ram Fleet. The rams tended to be sidewheelers and were usually faster than their civilian counterparts, and unlike other navy boats they carried few guns; instead, they used reinforced timber bows to smash into opposing boats.

Timberclads

Only four timberclads were used during the war, the USS Tyler, USS Conestoga, USS Lexington, and the USS Avenger. While these were modeled after standard sidewheel riverboats, these vessel’s crew were protected from small-arms fire by 5-inch thick oaken bulkheads. To me, they’ve always looked like a floating windowless factory.

Tinclads

The most common gunboat of the Union Navy’s river fleet were the tinclads. These were usually sternwheelers with metal sheeting tacked to the side to protect the crews. Keep in mind that this thin sheeting wasn’t useful while under fire by heavy artillery. It was chosen to protect against small arms. Where civilian packets tend to feature open decks and promenades, most tinclads have a boxed-in look. Each of these boats was assigned a number which was painted on their pilothouse.

Ironclads

The first iron vessels were designed to be ocean-going and operated mostly along the coast. The French Glorie was the first, but more followed her. On the rivers and during the American Civil War, Ironclads came in many varieties—two were most common. The first was the turreted Monitors named after the famous warship the USS Monitor designed by John Ericsson.

“The sea shall ride over her and she shall live in it like a duck.”

—John Ericsson, Inventor of the USS Monitor

The second type was the casemate-style gunboats with sloping sides, not unlike the USS Merrimack. These were more commonly found on the rivers. At the beginning of the war, the Union converted civilian packets, but later they developed the City-class ironclad; these 13-cannon gunboats ruled the river. After their introduction, they were present at every major conflict along the Mississippi. Interestingly, many of these City-class ironclads were centerwheelers with their paddle wheels located at the aft-end of the center keel and protected by bulkheads and armor plating.

Internal arrangement of the USS Cairo, a Union casemate-style ironclad

Cottonclads

A creation of the Confederate fleets, the cottonclads looked much like their counterpart riverboats. However, as an added form of protection, their hollow bulkheads were filled with packed cotton. Cotton bales were also set up around guns and pilothouses as additional forms of protection.

You could write entire books on gunboat strategy in the American Civil War which isn’t the goal of these posts. However, if you’re interested in learning more, I’d recommend starting with Sam Smith’s article, The River War. But for this post, let’s take a gander at some images I’ve gathered as a part of my research over the last few years. These will provide visual examples of the five categories of naval gunboats and give a glimpse of the life of a brown water riverman; check them out below.

Officers of USS Monitor Catskill

USS Essex in berth

Federal transport packet Str. Chickamauga

Either the tinclad USS Fawn (No. 30) or the USS Tensas (No. 39) at a naval station in Mound City, IL

Blacksmiths on the USS Lehigh

The Confederate ram CSS Tennessee outside Mobile, AL

The gunboats USS De Kalb and USS Cincinnati outside Mound City, IL

The gunboats USS Baron DeKalb and USS Cincinnati outside Mound City, IL

Damage to the CSS Teaser

The Mississippi River Fleet outside Mound City, IL

The tinclad USS Peosta

Crew of the monitor USS Lehigh

The timberclad USS Lexington/Tyler

The city-class ironclad USS Pittsburgh

The ironclad USS Cairo (pronounced: Kay-row or Care-oh)

Seated officers on the USS Hunchback, a converted side-wheel civilian ferry.

The ironclad monitor USS Monadnock

Butler’s Dredge Boat, Sunk by a Confederate Shell on Thanksgiving Day, 1864 – James River, VA

Officers on the upper deck of a Union monitor gunboat

Confederate Ram Atlanta After Being Captured – James River, VA, 1863

Sailors Relaxing on Deck of USS Monitor – James River, VA, July 1862

The USS Redrover, a Confederate boat captured by the Union and turned into a hospital boat

Loading canon on the USS Hunchback

The tinclad USS Fort Hindman

Fencing on the deck of the USS Hunchback

The cottonclad CSS General Price

Sailors on Deck of U.S.S. Monitor – James River, VA

The monitors USS Chimo and USS Tonawanda [Foreground] and the ex-CSS Stonewall [Background] moored off the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Wreck of the USS Indianola

Laundry Day on the USS Baron DeKalb

USS Commodore Perry, a Ferryboat Converted into a Gunboat on the Pamunkey River, VA, 1864

USS Hunchback

Acting Assistant Paymaster Henry Cushing (in white on right) on board the USS Hunchback

Officers of the USS Monitor

Controlling the Mississippi River and its tributaries was a vital part of the war effort. I can see why so much innovation happened in such a short amount of time. Technology provided an advantage, and in the narrow confines of a river, that advantage is beneficial for a brown water navy. With the tale crossing empires, expect to read about plenty of gunboats within the pages of Coal Belly.

The pictures above have been collected over the last five years, so I am unsure from where they all come (usually the Library of Congress.) But, they’re all old enough to be in the public domain. As before, 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.

This is the latest in my series of posts sharing my findings from my research for Coal Belly. You can check out the other riverboat-related posts in the links below.