Based on the readings from the National Archives, I loaded a page describing the collision of the str Horizon on the Mississippi River. The page link is called A Case for Indemnity.
The losses of the Horizon and Clara Poe differ in several ways. The Horizon was definitely under contract to the US Army Quartermaster. Yet the military Vessel File at the National Archives has more original source papers regarding the burning of the Clara Poe .
One interesting aside from Horizon were letters from an engineer named Kemper. In a letter dated 4 May 1874, Kemper’s attorney requested pay for service on the str Horizon while running the batteries at Vicksburg. As you no doubt have guessed, the response from the US Army Quartermaster was negative — stating “our records do not show that Kemper rendered the services”. Eleven years after the event the US Army Quartermaster refused to pay the engineer Kemper’s day wages even though Kemper had an affidavit from an officer on the boat stating that Kemper served at Vicksburg. No records – no pay – period! You gotta admire these US Army logistics agents.
Tags: capt thomas s calhoon, capt thomas w poe, civil war transports, jacob poe, national archives, ohio river steamboats, richard calhoon