![NatchezFlagCCCNov06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/NatchezFlagCCCNov06.jpg)
''Natchez'' has been the name of several
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
s, and four naval vessels, each named after the city of
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...
or the
Natchez people
The Natchez (; Natchez pronunciation ) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area in the Lower Mississippi Valley, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi in the United States. They spoke a language ...
. The current one has been in operation since 1975. The previous ''Natchez'' were all operated in the nineteenth century, most by Captain Thomas P. Leathers. Each of the steamboats since Leathers' first had as its ensign a
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
bale between its stacks.
''Natchez IX''
![1976_campaign_hat_a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/1976_campaign_hat_a.JPG)
The ninth ''Natchez'', the SS ''Natchez'', is a sternwheel steamboat based in
. Built in 1975, she is sometimes referred to as the ''Natchez IX''. She is operated by the New Orleans Steamboat Company and docks at the Toulouse Street Wharf. Day trips include harbor and dinner cruises along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
![Paddle Wheel Drives the Steamboat Natchez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Paddle_Wheel_Drives_the_Steamboat_Natchez.jpg)
The Natchez IX is modeled not after the original ''Natchez'', but rather the steamboats ''Hudson'' and ''Virginia''. Her steam engines were built in 1925 for the steamboat ''Clairton'', from which the steering system also came. From the SS ''J.D. Ayres'' were taken the copper bell, made of 250 melted
silver dollars. The bell has on top a copper acorn that was once on the ''Avalon'' (now known as the ''
Belle of Louisville
''Belle of Louisville'' is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most wi ...
''), and on the ''Delta Queen''. The ''Natchez IX'' also features a steam
calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...
that can play 32 notes. The wheel is made of
white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
and steel, is by , and weighs over 26 tons.
[Steamboat Natchez Riverboat - New Orleans Cruises, Dinner Jazz Cruises - History]
/ref> The whistle came from a ship that sank in 1908 on the Monongahela River
The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...
. The Natchez IX was launched in Braithwaite, Louisiana. She is long and wide, has a depth of , and measures 1384 tons. Natchez IX is mostly made of steel, to comply with United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
rules.
On September 25, 1976, the SS ''Natchez'' was used by U.S. President Gerald Ford for a presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
trip to the Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. While on the campaign trip, which was about a month after Ford was nominated
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* ...
for re-election as President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, Ford campaigned from the ''Natchez'' during the six-hour Saturday cruise from Lutcher, Louisiana
Lutcher is a town in St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the east bank of the Mississippi River. It is part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area . The population was 3,559 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 3,127 at the 2020 population esti ...
to Jackson Square, New Orleans
Jackson Square is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, for its central role in the city's history, and as the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States t ...
, a historic park in the French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...
of . From there, Ford planned to spend three days in the south appealing to Southern conservatism by depicting his opponent, Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, as a free-spending liberal. To commemorate the event, Doc Hawley, captain of the SS ''Natchez'', gave Ford a black hat with chinstrap and gold thread embroidering the word Natchez.
In 1982 the ''Natchez'' won the Great Steamboat Race
The Great Steamboat Race is an annual steamboat race, taking place the Wednesday before the first Saturday of May, three days before the Kentucky Derby, as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The race was first run in 1963 and it takes place on ...
, which is held every year on the Wednesday immediately before the first Saturday in May, as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival
The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 to ...
held in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. She has also participated in other races, and has never lost. Those beaten by the ''Natchez'' include the ''Belle of Louisville
''Belle of Louisville'' is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most wi ...
'', the ''Delta Queen
The ''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the ...
'', and the ''Mississippi Queen
"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic,
it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1970. The song is included on the group's debut album and sev ...
''.
During the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the ''Natchez'' was temporarily moved upriver to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
. Since then, operations have returned to New Orleans.
Previous vessels
The first ''Natchez'' was a low pressure sidewheel steamboat built in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1823. It originally ran between and Natchez, Mississippi, and later catered to Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
. Its most notable passenger was the Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
, the French hero of the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, in 1825. Fire destroyed her, while in New Orleans, on September 4, 1835.[The Riverboats Natchez]
/ref>
The second ''Natchez'' was the first built for Captain Thomas P. Leathers, in 1846. Built in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, as were all of her successors owned by Capt. Leathers, she was a fast two-boiler boat, long, with red smokestacks, that sailed between New Orleans and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Leathers sold this boat in 1848. She was abandoned in 1852.['']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', January 20, 1889
The third ''Natchez'' was funded by the sale of the second and built in Cincinnati. She was long. Leathers operated it from 1848 to 1853. On March 10, 1866, she sank at Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
due to rotting.
The fourth ''Natchez'' was built in Cincinnati. She was long, had six boilers, and could hold 4,000 bales of cotton. She operated for six weeks. On January 1, 1854, the ship collided with the ''Pearl'' at Plaquemine, Louisiana
Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, the population was 7,119; the 2020 census determined its ...
, causing the ''Pearl'' to sink. A wharf fire on February 5, 1854 at New Orleans caused her to burn down, as did 10-12 other ships.[NYT]
The fifth ''Natchez'' was also built in Cincinnati, as Captain Leathers returned there quickly after the destruction of the fourth. She was also equipped with six boilers, but this one could hold 4,400 cotton bales. This one was used by Leathers until 1859. In 1860 she was destroyed while serving as a wharfboat at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
.
The sixth ''Natchez'' was again a Cincinnati-built boat. She was long. The capacity was 5,000 cotton bales, but the power remained the same. It helped transport Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
from his river plantation home on the Mississippi River after he heard he was chosen president of the Confederacy. Even after the war, Davis would insist on using Leathers' boats to transport him to and from his plantation, Brierfield. ''Natchez'' was also used to transport Confederate troops to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. After Union soldiers captured Memphis, the boat was moved to the Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the ...
. On March 13, 1863, she was burned either by accident or to keep her out of Union hands at Honey Island
Honey Island is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Hardin County, Texas, Hardin County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Beaumont, Texas, Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan ar ...
. Remains were raised from the river in 2007.
The seventh ''Natchez'' was built in 1869 in Cincinnati. She was long, had eight boilers and a capacity of 5,500 cotton bales. In her -year service, she made 401 trips without a single deadly accident. It became famous as the participant against another Mississippi paddle steamer, the '' Robert E. Lee'', in a race from New Orleans to St. Louis in June 1870, immortalized in a lithograph by Currier and Ives
Currier and Ives was a New York City printmaking business that operated between 1835 and 1907. Founded by Nathaniel Currier, the company designed and sold inexpensive, hand painted lithographic works based on news events, views of popular cultu ...
. This ''Natchez'' had beaten the previous speed record, that of the '' J. M. White'' in 1844. Stripped down, carrying no cargo, steaming on through fog and making only one stop, the ''Robert E. Lee'' won the race in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes. By contrast, the ''Natchez'' carried her normal load and stopped as normal, tying up overnight when fog was encountered. Despite this she berthed only six hours later. One way Leathers tried to speed up his boat was giving all of his workers whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
. When Leathers finally dismantled the boat in Cincinnati in 1879, this particular ''Natchez'' had never flown the American flag.[Natchez Under The Hill Saloon – Natchez Mississippi]
/ref>
Noted steamboat captain and historian Frederick Way, Jr. disputes this version of history somewhat. He cites Johnny Farrell, second engineer of the ''Natchez'': "This old idea about the two boats preparing for days for the race, tearing down bulkheads, putting up wind sheaves, and a lot of other stuff, is not true. When I went aboard the ''Lee'', all they had done was to move the coal bunkers a little forward... On our boat there was absolutely no preparation whatever. There was no such thing as colors flying, bands playing, and the decks of both boats crowded with ladies and gentlemen."
The eighth ''Natchez'' was launched August 2, 1879 by the Cincinnati Marine Ways. She was long, with a beam of , 38.5 feet floor, and hold depth. She had eight steel boilers that were long and had a diameter of , and thirteen engines. She had 47 elegant staterooms. Camp scenes of Natchez Indians wardancing and sunworshipping ornamented the fore and aft panels of the main cabin, which also had stained glass windows depicting Indians. The total cost of the boat was $125,000. Declaring that the War was over, on March 4, 1885, Leathers raised the American flag when the new ''Natchez'' passed by Vicksburg, the first time he hoisted the American flag on one of his ships since 1860. By 1887 lack of business had stymied the ''Natchez''. In 1888 she was renovated back to perfect condition for $6000. In January 1889 she burned at Lake Providence, Louisiana
Lake Providence is a town in, and the parish seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. ...
. Captain Leathers, deciding he was too old to build a new ''Natchez'', retired. Jefferson Davis sent a letter of condolences on January 5, 1889, to Leathers over the loss of the boat. Much of the cabin was salvageable, but the hull broke up due to sand washing within.
Later, the ''Natchez'' was captained by Bowling S. Leathers and his wife, Blanche Douglass Leathers in the 1890s. In 1896, Blanche Leathers was commanding the ship and it became her own.
Thomas Leathers
The captain of the second-eighth ''Natchez'', Thomas P. Leathers, sometimes nicknamed "Old Push", was described as savage, reckless, and colorful. He loved to prove his boats were the fastest. He would sometimes throw fatty bacon and hog fat into the engine to dramatically increase the speed of his boats. He would sometimes cause other boats to slow down by quickly racing in front of them. He died in June 1896, at the age of 80, after being hit by a bicyclist while walking down a New Orleans street.Riverboat Captains Starting With L
/ref>
Military vessels named ''Natchez''
Three vessels used by the US Navy have also borne the name ''Natchez''.
The first was , an 18-gun sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
with a complement of 190 men, built by Norfolk Navy Yard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
in 1827. She mainly patrolled the Caribbean. After a final tour of duty in the Caribbean in 1839, ''Natchez'' was scrapped at the New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
in 1840.
A survey vessel, ''Oceanographer'', became USS ''Natchez'' (PG-85) on April 15, 1942. A few weeks later, on May 28, 1942 she was reverted to her original name and status as ''Oceanographer (AGS-3)''.
The third US Navy vessel to bear the name, , was laid down March 16, 1942 by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
, Canada for the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
as HMS ''Annan'' (K297). Subsequently, she was assigned to the Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
, designated HMCS ''Annan'' (K297). During construction she was acquired by the U.S. Navy and renamed USS ''Natchez'' (PG–102). She served with distinction in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The Brazilian Navy
)
, colors= Blue and white
, colors_label= Colors
, march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco''
, mascot=
, equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious warf ...
has also had a ship named ''Natchez''. It was built in 1838 in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, named ''Natchez'' by some merchants, until the government of Brazil bought it from them, and converted it for military use. It collided with another ship in Brazil on November 21, 1842, and sank.
Gallery
File:Steamer Natchez.jpeg, Menu from the steamboat ''Natchez'' on April 4, 1858.
File:Celebrated Race of the Steamers Robt E Lee and Natchez.jpg, Celebrated race of the steamers ''Robert E. Lee'' and ''Natchez'', 1870
File:BRStateMuseumJuly08NatchezIndian1870s.jpg, Wooden figure from the 1879 ''Natchez''.
File:The Engine Control Station on the Steamboat Natchez.jpg, The Steamboat ''Natchez''s two tandem-compound steam engines are controlled from this station. The engine order telegraph is on the left. Overhead throttles control the flow of steam to the two engines. The red lever overhead reverses the engines. The operator monitors steam pressure, condenser vacuum, and other parameters on the gauges.
See also
*Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
*Riverboat
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...
*Steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Origin of the name
The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...
*Steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
*Steamboats of the Mississippi
Steamboats played a major role in the 19th-century development of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, allowing practical large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river. Using steam power, riverboats were developed ...
References
:
External links
New Orleans Steamboat Company - Steamboat ''Natchez'' Web site
Currier and Ives lithograph
Account of the race between ''Natchez VI'' and ''Robert E. Lee''
View the 1858 menu for the ''Natchez'' at the University of Houston Digital Library
{{Coord, 29.955153, -90.062195, format=dms, display=title
Paddle steamers
Shipwrecks of the Yazoo River
Shipwrecks of the American Civil War
Transportation in New Orleans