Steamboat Travel on the Mississippi
Christina, Hannah, and Lexie
Steamboat Races
Organized races between rival steamers became a popular event on the Mississippi, but what happened more often were the impromptu battles between captains who raced down the river, hoping to out beat their opponent in the chance of gaining more business. These chance encounters often turned into races that lasted for days, with ecstatic passengers cheering on the captains to speed up and continue the battle.
Mississippi Steamer
Excluding the Mississippi, most Western rivers were shallow, and water levels were likely to fluctuate depending on the season. As a result Western steamboat pilots had to relearn the rivers constantly, and the deep-draft design of eastern vessels simply would not while navigating in the west. This led to Western builders constructing the Mississippi steamer, a long, wide vessel of shallow draft and light construction with an on-deck engine. George Rogers Taylor said that by the late 1830s at least 20 of these new steamboats on the Ohio could navigate in only 20 inches of water. Some people claimed that the boat could “run on a heavy dew.”
Slavery and the Steamboat
On some occasions steamboats on the Mississippi river carried escaped slaves, who would most likely disguise themselves as workers. The Underground Railroad also used steamboats as a key factor in assisting runaways to their freedom. Before the Civil War 1,000 to 1,500 freed African Americans worked on steamboats. For African Americans, steamboats symbolized both persecution and freedom. Packet boats, a type of steamboat, transported slaves down the Mississippi river from the South to New Orleans to be sold at auction.
First Steamboat: NEW ORLEANS
The beginning of steamboating dates all the way back to 1811 when Nicholas Roosevelt, great granduncle of Theodore Roosevelt, piloted a Fulton built steamboat, the NEW ORLEANS from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
Washington
This steamboat was was built for Captain Henry M. Shreve and his four partners. The Washington's design would set the pattern for all future steamboats. It had a shallow hull, horizontal boilers on the main deck, there were passenger cabins on the second deck, identical smokestacks and a pilot house. While Robert Fulton usually gets the credit for developing the western steamboat, Shreve was the one to create the structural and mechanical altercations to make the boat more successful.The Washington made multiple runs down the Mississippi until it was destroyed by a fire in New Orleans in 1821.
Modern New Orleans Steamboat: NATCHEZ
The steamboat depicted is the ninth steamer to bear the name NATCHEZ. It was her predecessor, NATCHEZ VI, that raced Robert E. Lee, Civil War General, in the most famous steamboat race of all time. Even today, the NATCHEZ is proudly the undisputed champion of the Mississippi, never having been beaten in a race.
The Steamboat - History Key Assignment - February 2014