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“…The
last voyage of the Kentucky started at 6:30 p.m. on
June 9, 1865. The Kentucky left Shreveport bound for
New Orleans with 900 passengers, baggage and provisions. The
steamboat had a length of 222 feet, a beam of 32 feet and a
depth of 5 feet 6 inches with a capacity of 375 tones. It
was built as a large, elegant packer for use on the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers and had the same layout as other
steamboats of the day.
The main deck had four boilers mounted to it that fed two
high-pressure steam engines, and was fitted with guard that
extended the deck out from the hull to protect the paddle
wheels. The main deck served as the principal cargo deck
with the boiler deck above it where passenger accommodations
were located. A long, narrow cabin was centrally located
with 52 staterooms opening onto it from the sides. Each room
was furnished with carpets, chairs, a sofa, bedding, tables
and tableware. The sexes were separated aboard packet boats,
with the gentlemen’s salon located forward and the ladies
in the rear. Above the boiler deck was the hurricane deck
and the crew quarters, and the officers were quartered in
the texas on the next level. The pilothouse was atop the
texas, behind the chimneys.
The
biggest part of the 900 passengers were paroled Confederate
prisoners, veterans of the Missouri and Arkansas regiments
that had defended Shreveport. They were being taken to Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, to take the oath of the government. Among
the passengers were Captain Anthony Walton of Glasgow, his
wife, Mary Winn Walton, and their six children ranging in
ages from four months to 18 years of age. (Shreveport
Journal, July 10, 1974). Mary and the children were crowded
into the “ladies’ cabin” on the rear portion of the
boiler deck with the families of some of the other soldiers.
The forward part of the main deck was packed with 250 horses
that the parolees had been allowed to keep after the
surrender.
After traveling about two hours that evening, the steamer
struck a snag – a partially submerged log that the Red
River was notorious for. The boat ran for about four miles
after it began to leak but by the time the captain finally
turned for shore, the Kentucky had settled so much he
could not get close enough to the bank to put out the
landing stage. A line was run to shore but it broke
immediately.
In
the New Orleans Times on June 15, 1865, a survivor described
what happened those last few minutes: “As the boat
careened, a great rush took place to the hurricane deck.
Many passengers were in their berths, and were saved almost
wholly destitute of clothing. A large number were caught
between decks and drowned. The ladies generally succeeded in
gaining the hurricane deck and were all saved. Some children
were lost.”
The
boat sank instantly with water washing over the hurricane
deck while the stern remained above water. In the
over-crowded decks below, pandemonium broke out as
passengers rushed for the hurricane deck. A large number of
people were trapped in the forward cabin and
drowned…Another steamer, the Col. Chapin, got word
of the disaster and it’s Captain, Stephen J. Webber,
ordered steam to be raised and set out in the night to
travel the 5 to 7 miles back downstream to help survivors.
When the steamer arrived at the site around 11:30 p.m.,
there were 400 to 500 people crowded onto the elevated
portion of the stricken Kentucky. Captain Webber was
able to get two lines from the shipwreck to shore and began
ferrying the survivors ashore in two small boats. The
Walton’s oldest daughter, 18 year old, Clemmie, made it to
shore with her infant sister Nannie’s gown clutched
between her teeth. Mrs. Walton and three other children were
rescued by the Col. Chapin’s boats. Her husband and
son were missing.
Reports of the missing and dead ranged from 20 to over 200.
Bodies of the men trapped between decks were pulled from the
wreck for days after the sinking. Mrs. Walton’s husband
and son were never found and she and her five remaining
children made their way back to Missouri. Most of the
Missouri men were from the 9th Sharpshooters
division with others from the 2nd, 3rd
and 4th Cavalry and 10th, 11th
and 16th Infantry, Hooper’s Cavalry, Shank’s
Cavalry and Elliott’s Cavalry.”
Compilation from the files of Neil Block, Commander, William
T. Anderson Camp #1743 SCV; transcribed by Lisa Perry.
“Search commences for descendants of Confederate soldiers
(lost) in SS Kentucky shipwreck in 1865”, Monroe County
Appeal, Paris, MO., Sep 15, 1997, page 11.
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