history of the uss eastport - Vicksburg District - U.S. Army

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History and Archaeology of Two Civil War Steamboats ern rivers and the availability of the cotton crop for shipment, and it is a pattern seen commonly in steamboat activity in the south (Haites et al. 1975:86; Hunter 1949:219-220; Pearson 1991; Pearson and Wells 1999). Generally, the Mississippi-Ohio river systems were characterized by two periods of high water when steamboat navigation was most likely. These occurred during the fall, when the rainy season commenced producing a rise in rivers and during the spring, when snowmelt plus rain produced a similar rise. The autumn rise would normally begin in September and would continue for several weeks to as long as several months (Hunter 1949:221). Beginning usually in December, low water, plus on some waterways, ice, began to restrict navigation until the spring thaw when rivers again rose. The spring rise began on the Ohio River as early as February and usually continued to June, and produced a navigation season on the Mississippi and its tributaries that was longer than the fall rise. During the late summer and into the fall, a lack of rain usually resulted in low water on western rivers which seriously restricted steamboat navigation, particularly the larger boats like the Eastport (Haites et al. 1975:86). Often these large boats “laid up” and simply did not run during low water seasons, such that the actual period during which boats were working, and making money, was less than the full year. Haites et al. (1975:176) estimate that the steamboats on the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers worked an average of just under 9 months a year, while those on “tributary” rivers worked closer to 10 months out of the year. Their estimates are based on the assumption that tributary river steamers were somewhat smaller than those on the “trunk” rivers, averaging 149 tons burden on the former and 381 tons burden on the later. At over 570 tons, the Eastport was a very large steamer, particularly for a tributary river, and it is likely that she had to be taken out of service during some low water periods. This was particularly true when she was operating in the Tennessee River-New Orleans trade and the New Orleans newspaper’s indications that, with the exception of the year 1860, the Eastport carried freight into the city only 7 months out of 12 is seen as a true reflection of her seasonal activities (Figure 2-12). The growth and harvest season of crops also influenced the annual pattern of cargoes carried by steamboats. The cotton harvest began in September or October and could extend into January. The timeconsuming process of cleaning, ginning and baling the crop meant that the bulk of the cotton was not ready for shipment for some time after picking. Thus, 36 shipments by steamboat would generally begin in December and would extend through April and May, by which time most of the crop would have been carried to market. Relatively little cotton was available for shipment during the summer months. Haites et al. (1975:86) note that the tobacco harvest in Tennessee typically took place in August and September, meaning that some of the crop could have been available for shipment during the fall rise. However, most tobacco had to be cured and dried for some period of time, meaning that its availability for shipment to market corresponded closely to that of cotton. During her first several years of operation, the Eastport arrived in New Orleans about 6 times per year; usually about once every 25 to 30 days during the cotton shipping season. The New Orleans Price Current notes that most of these trips originated from the “Tennessee River,” although the towns of Paducah and Eastport are mentioned a couple of times (Table 2-1). Haites et al. (1975:143) indicate that steamers operating in the Louisville-New Orleans trade in the 1850s made an average of 12 round trips to New Orleans, considerable more than the number made by the Eastport, except in the year 1860. The longer distance to the north Alabama area of the Tennessee River certainly contributed to fewer trips, but it is not known if the number of annual round trips made to New Orleans by the Eastport was typical for Tennessee River steamers of the period. Prior to 1857, the Eastport tended to carry large quantities of cotton on every voyage, with the average being close to 3000 bales per trip (see Figure 2- 12). The largest amount of cotton reported to have been carried into New Orleans was 3631 bales on March 29, 1855. On this trip, the Eastport also carried 87 sacks of oats, 1 bag of feathers, 5 hogsheads of tobacco, and 91 bags of “pea nuts” (New Orleans Price Current March 31, 1855). Beginning in 1857, the amount of cotton carried on individual trips often was quite small and the average carried per trip, also, tended to decrease. For example, in 1857 the average number of bales carried was 1952, in 1858 it was 1605, in 1859 it was 863, in 1860 it was 1093 and in 1861 it was 1120. The financial difficulties produced by the nation-wide economic crisis known as the Panic of 1857 may have been responsible for the decrease in the size of cargoes carried by the Eastport in the two following years, although the southern cotton trade in general was less impacted by the panic than were other businesses and industries (Huston 1987:133-134).
Figure 2-12. Cotton carried into New Orleans by the Eastport, 1853-1861. On June 9, 1860, the Eastport arrived in New Orleans with only 15 bales of cotton and on April 7 she arrive with only 23 bales. These represent the smallest amounts of cotton the steamboat is recorded to have brought into the city and these must have been financially disappointing trips. To some extent, however, the decrease in cotton as cargo was compensated by an increase in other items, particularly tobacco. Beginning in 1857, and through 1861, the Eastport carried increasingly larger quantities of tobacco, in addition to other regional products, into New Orleans. For example, when the Eastport arrived in New Orleans from her namesake, Eastport, Mississippi, on April 1, 1857, her cargo included 627 bales of cotton, 314 hogsheads of tobacco, 836 barrels of pork, 50 bales of “osnaburgs,” 79 coils of rope, 22 rolls of leather, 55 barrels of eggs and 80 reams of paper (New Orleans Price Current April 4, 1857). In another example, on April 28, 1858, the steamer arrived in New Orleans with only 779 bales of cotton, but she also carried 478 hogsheads of to- 37 Chapter 2: History of the Eastport bacco as well as 28 rolls of leather and 8 kegs of lard (New Orleans Price Current May 1, 1858). On June 9, 1860, when the Eastport came into New Orleans with her smallest cargo of cotton, 15 bales, she also had on board the largest cargo of tobacco she ever carried, 812 hogsheads representing an estimated 812,000 pounds of leaf, possibly worth as much as $73,000. Somewhat unusually, the steamer had no other cargo on board, except for “sundries for order” (New Orleans Price Current June 16, 1860). Even though the Eastport tended to carry more tobacco during its later years of activity, and, on a very few voyages, the value of tobacco was greater than that of cotton, overall, the monetary value of the tobacco and other cargoes carried was considerably less than that of cotton. The decrease in cotton cargo and the increase in other types of items correspond with changes in ownership of the boat and the origin of her voyages. In March 1857, the Eastport was enrolled in Paducah
Page 1 and 2: CHAPTER 2 Introduction The Eastport
Page 3 and 4: tor of Customs in the numerous Cust
Page 5 and 6: Stationary Hull State room Cabin st
Page 7 and 8: a vessel. The formula was: (length
Page 9 and 10: 15 Chapter 2: History of the Eastpo
Page 11 and 12: zerland. The carpet reaching from t
Page 13 and 14: that they shared business, social o
Page 15 and 16: where each could handle the busines
Page 17 and 18: Figure 2-7. March 23, 1858, enrollm
Page 19 and 20: EASTPORT CERRO GORDO Ohio River kee
Page 21 and 22: John T. Oates’ brother, although
Page 23 and 24: finished. I consider Memphis in gre
Page 25 and 26: County as 39 years old, married and
Page 27 and 28: Figure 2-11. Advertisement for the
Page 29: 35 Chapter 2: History of the Eastpo
Page 33 and 34: 1859, shortly after her sale by the
Page 35 and 36: from 7 to 16 days. The direct down
Page 37 and 38: cline in freight rates in the early
Page 39 and 40: Table 2-3. Estimated Annual Incomes
Page 41 and 42: Assuming the Eastport carried 88 ca
Page 43 and 44: pers, File E-115:1893). Together th
Page 45 and 46: create the great disparity in incom
Page 47 and 48: this purpose in the west when Confe
Page 49 and 50: latantly offering his services to t
Page 51 and 52: Figure 2-16. Lieutenant Isaac N. Br
Page 53 and 54: Immediately after the fall of Fort
Page 55 and 56: Men from the Tyler found remnants o
Page 57 and 58: capture that convey some idea of wh
Page 59 and 60: Although never entirely completed,
Page 61 and 62: The government acquired 10 acres of
Page 63 and 64: enough be given” (ORN I:23:235).
Page 65 and 66: The newspaper article emphasizes th
Page 67 and 68: and the United States filed suit so
Page 69 and 70: providing protection in the form of
Page 71 and 72: Figure 2-26. Distinguishing night s
Page 73 and 74: the other boats in the flotilla, an
Page 75 and 76: one of the first officers to be ass
Page 77 and 78: Figure 2-32. Admiral David Dixon Po
Page 79 and 80: Based on the latest “Date of Appo
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a mine and the explosion killed all
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September suggests he had demonstra
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Ships in the Navy, however, had ver
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and many of which were out of repai
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sel, to join the “second division
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and time-consuming operation. Low w
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On January 1, 1864, as part of the
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eral A.J. “Whiskey” Smith, and
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and LITTLE REBEL. During the day th
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noon of March 15 and Phelps landed
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tually eased out of his field comma
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to put canvas under her bottom, whi
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After conferring with Admiral Porte
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and with 25,000 rebels (if victorio
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you have only consented to abandon
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of gunpowder from the Fort Hindman
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ing as the Eastport’s First Lieut
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means that, at least, portions of t
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