Posts Tagged ‘str kenton’

CivWar150 – 24 Apr 1862

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Str Kenton Receipt during Civil War (Ohio State University)

Str Kenton Receipt during Civil War (Ohio State University)

The str Kenton and its crew were chartered for service by the Quartermaster from 27 Dec 1861 to 5 Jan 1862 and from 6 Jan for an unknown duration of time[1].  The str

Kenton receipts for three round trips between Pittsburgh and Louisville and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were in the papers of Capt William B Anderson (civilian riverboat captain and pilot) in the Ohio State University Rare Books Collection.  Trip number 13 was dated 24 Apr 1862; trip number 10 was undated but signed by Standish Peppard (owner and first clerk of the str Kenton), and the third receipt was neither dated nor signed.  Capt Anderson was quite probably one of the pilots of the str Kenton on these trips.  In letters to his wife dated after 24 Apr 1862 Capt Anderson wrote of the str Kenton in the past tense which suggests he had moved to another packet.  In the letters, he also expressed his concern about being drafted while between government contracts and paying a $1,000 fine about avoiding the draft.  He also wrote about two captains, Capt Adams and the captain of the Florence Miller, arrested for cowardice by General Wright.  The Florence Miller was a tinclad packet.  The conflict between military and commercial control of the vessels was real.

 

 

References.


[1]  Charles Dana Gibson and E Kay Gibson, Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels Steam and Sail Employed by the Uniion Army 1861 – 1868, (Ensign Press, Cambridge, MA 1995), p 189.

 

 

Copyright © 2012 Francis W Nash
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Boats in the Civil War

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The following list of steamers owned by the Georgetown captains summarizes their Civil War activity.  According to the Gibsons’ dictionary six boats were listed at Shiloh.  Two others were chartered during the correct period and were listed at Vicksburg in 1863 so I assume they were also at Pittsburg Landing.    The Neptune crashed into the Clarksville Bridge on 19 Mar 1862 so she may not have been transporting to troops and supplies to Shiloh battlefield.  I may be incorrect.   The Melnotte was not chartered until 1 Apr 1863 so I have no evidence that she participated in the movement of troops in support of Shiloh.  Gibson’s Dictionary does indicate that the Melnotte transported troops and artillery to counter Morgan’s Raiders who had crossed the Ohio River in Jul 1863.  

                          Listed in
Steamer    Gibsons   Way   Shiloh       Owner/Capt      

Argyle              Y               Y          Y             Jacob Poe
Clara Poe          Y               Y          Y             Thomas W Poe
Ella                   Y              Y        Chart          Adam Poe
Horizon             Y              Y         Y             JT Stockdale
Jacob Poe         Y              Y          Y              Jacob Poe          
Kenton              Y              Y         Chart          George W Ebert
Leonora            Y              Y         Chart           Richard Calhoon
Melnotte          Y              Y         N               Richard Calhoon 
Neptune            Y              Y           ?              Adam Poe      
Yorktown         Y             Y           Y               Jacob Poe        

The Yorktown is a mystery.  According to Way’s Directory, she was not put into service till 1863.  Gibson’s Dictionary has the Yorktown in Pittsburg Landing in 1862.  I do not know who is correct.  Maybe another source will confirm its participation?!?

 

The Georgetown captains and their crews were civilians.  Whether impressed or chartered by the Quartermaster, the subject of military transport by civilian crews generated legal problems in the area of discipline, pay, handling of prisoners, eligibility for pensions, etc.  There was discernible friction between the military and civilian regulatory agencies.   From my reading, a civilian streamer, especially if impressed, was not a good business proposition.

 

Part history, part puzzle?