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by Fredrick Way, Jr. This is the number one vital source to have for steamboats on the Mississippi River. 6000 boats are listed with as much information listed about each as Way could find--sizes, years in service, crews when known, fate. It's a monumental work of research. His sources are numerous and varied (you'll recognize Ab Grimes' memoirs as input on many listings). There is a great deal of Civil War and St. Louis information contained in the listings. Highly recommended.
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Related pages on Civil War St. Louis: A. C. Grimes -- Confederate Mail Carrier & steamboat pilot The Sultana Disaster and
St. Louis in the News - Excerpts from St. Louis newspapers during the war years
Missouri Civil War Reader, Volume I - now available Cost per CD ROM is $24.95 + $4.00 priority mail shipping
Steamboat artwork:
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Confederate Mail Runner, by Absalom Grimes, edited by M. M. Quaife
Grimes was an agent with the Confederate secret service under General Price, passing back and forth through the Federal lines with letters from families and their relatives in the CSA army. He was in Gratiot St. Prison twice, the first time escaping in a rather dramatic way. Several people have commented that they think Grimes' amazing story has more than a bit of "old soldiering" to it, but, other than some errors in dating, the book is the truth as can be verified by numerous contemporary sources.
As relates to steamboats, Grimes' pre and post-war occupation was as pilot of Mississippi river steamboats. He knew every inch of the river and every steamboat person on it. Among his friends were Sam Clemens (later known as Mark Twain), and the Bowen brothers (made famous in Twain's books). Among the steamboat-related stories Grimes tells is one of an involuntary stay on the Union gunboat Benton with pilot Horace Bixby. Bixby had been Mark Twain's piloting trainer and was no fan of Confederate agent Ab Grimes. Grimes talks about many of the boats and their crews up and down the river during the war years. I have never found an error regarding his information on steamboats. This book is also one of Way's sources. Grimes piloted Confederate steamers at the Yazoo River when the Confederate fleet was lost, and was one of those who set the torpedoes that destroyed the Union gunboat Baron DeKalb. Available from ABEBOOKS (search by title "Confederate Mail Runner") |
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History of the Confederate States Navy by J. Thomas Scharf
Originally published 1887. Over 800 pages covering all areas of Civil War naval operations, including a great deal on the Mississippi river area written by a participant. He also touches on the Confederate saboteurs and Torpedo Bureau activities. Confederate perspective.
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by George Byron Merrick Newly reprinted in a bargain-priced edition. This is an excellent read by an active participant in those years in piloting from St. Louis north to St. Paul. Covers the early war years with his personal war story focusing on the Sioux uprising in Minnesota. Talks about how steamers could be destroyed in a chapter titled "Killing Steamboats".
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by Mark Twain Sam Clemens'--alias Mark Twain--stories of the river and steamboat piloting. Horace Bixby, later pilot on the Union gunboat Benton, makes several appearances. Very good descriptions of the whole art of steamer piloting and of the river.
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NEW LISTING: Fifty Years on the Mississippi, or Gould's History of River Navigation by E. W. Gould Originally published 1889. A St. Louis riverman's history of steamboats and steamboat men primarily on the Mississippi. Some good reading and information, as well as bios with pictures of a number of significant people in steamboating history. Lots of good steamboat pictures. A very worthwhile book--the 1951 reprint is a duplicate of the original. Here's the catch where Civil War St. Louis history is concerned with this book... Gould was, indeed, an active participant and so does talk about the war years and war events and steamers involved (though he's not specifically writing a war history). What doesn't show, unless you can spot some notable omissions, is that Gould was clearly a Unionist and so doesn't cover some important people and events of those who went with the Confederate side. Gould, himself, lost a boat of his own to Confederate saboteurs, so had good cause for this particular skewing. It does, however, leave some gaps in the non-partisan aspects of steamboat history. Gould's slant in no way diminishes the value of his book, but the reader needs to be aware that it's not a fully comprehensive history; that the war bias affected the non-war history aspects. For those studying steamboat history as directly related to the war, the bias may actually be the most significant aspect.
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by Jim Miles A large book covering the military aspects of the river war up and down the Mississippi. A great deal of information and numerous excellent maps and illustrations. Also includes museum and monument information at sites for present-day visitors.
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Western Rivers Steamboat Cyclopaedium The book is about building steamboat models, but in the process gives a great deal of information about the structure and construction of actual steamboats. Many illustrations. Recommended. |
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St. Louis and the Mighty Mississippi in the Steamboat Age : The Collected Writings of Ruth Ferris by Ruth Ferris Stories about the steamers and their crews on the Mississippi from various areas. Includes some first-person accounts of the Civil War years, including one by a man who was in Memphis when the Sultana was destroyed and helped rescue some survivors.
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by David F. Bastian A very short book--not even 100 pages--but covering in depth the attempt by Grant to dig a canal through a neck of land on the Mississippi River and thereby bypass the troublesome Confederate "Gibraltar" of Vicksburg. Many illustrations.
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Thunder Along the Mississippi : The River Battles That Split the
Confederacy A brief general history, somewhat error-prone. Lots of good pictures.
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Pictures of the river and steamers from 1883-1893 |
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by Louis C. Hunter A great deal of information on steamboats and their operations, well written. It is a broad, general history, however, with little specifics on any particular person or steamboat. The Civil War years are lightly skimmed in only a few pages.
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by James T. Lloyd Highly regarded. But as it was originally published in 1856, does not cover the Civil War years. |
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by Gene Eric Salecker, Naval Institute Press, 1996 Most people consider Gene Salecker the best informed source on the steamer Sultana. Potter says of Salecker in his own book that, “Without Gene’s help, the writing of this book would have been difficult if not impossible.” Salecker does not believe in the sabotage theory but otherwise gives an excellent history of the events surrounding the Sultana disaster. a new reprint by Broadfoot Publishing now available $25.00 plus $4.00 priority shipping to: Gene Eric
Salecker
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by Jerry O. Potter, Pelican Books, 1992 Considered by most one of the best books on the subject. It was being referred to this book by our friend Jane Singer that lead to the North & South article on the sabotage of the Sultana (see The Boat-burners). Potter does not believe that sabotage was the likely cause of the explosion, but does talk about the Memphis article, which he called the “strongest support for the sabotage theory.”
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Other websites by the webmasters of Civil War St. Louis: D. A. Houdek - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories - Historical Romance Novel - Commentaries Caltronics Assembly & Design, Inc. Laura Ingalls Wilder - Laura's Friends - De Smet - Mansfield - Rose Wilder Lane |
Way's
Packet Directory
Old
Times on the Upper Mississippi: Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot 1854 to
1863
Life
on the Mississippi
A
River Unvexed: A History and Tour Guide to the Campaign for the
Mississippi River
Grant's
Canal: The Union's Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg
Steamboats
on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History
Lloyd's
Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters
