1865 — Mar 2, Union Transport James Watson snags/burns, Miss. River, Island No. 76, AR-34-35

— 180 Galveston News, Mar 15. Grounded on banks below Napoleon Feb 2 (sic.), split, sank.
— 35 Gaines 2008, p. 97. Caught fire and burned at Island No 76 ~Caulk Neck.
— 35 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]… 1999, 242.
–34-35 Blanchard estimated death-toll.*
— ~34 Bragg. Historic… 1977, 120. Grounded at Island No. 76, caught fire and burned Feb 25.
— 34 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 265.
— 34 Supervising Inspector of Steamboats. Report of Supervising Inspector… 1865, p. 216.
— >30 Davenport Daily Gazette, IA. “Very…” 3-7-1865, p. 1. Sank below Napoleon Mar 2.
— 30 Morgan Gazette, Martinsville, IN. “Summary of War News.” 3-11-1865, p. 2.
— 30 New York Times. “Events in 1865…” 12-30-1865. Sunk on Mississippi River March 2.
— 24 1865. Wikipedia “Lake Whittington.” Accessed 3-12-2017.

* Blanchard on fatality range: Given the range of deaths reflected herein, it is problematic to accept one as correct and the others incorrect – particularly in the case of the Galveston News of March 15, which also had the date of loss off by a month., as well as the Wikipedia article which notes 24 deaths, citing Bragg, who notes 34 deaths. This leaves the numbers of 30, over 30, 34, and 35. We choose to employ a range of 34-35 using Way, Lytle and Holdcamper, and the Supervising Inspector of Steamboats (U.S.).

In the heading we place a question mark behind snags/burns in that both types of loss are noted, as well as grounding.

Narrative Information

Bragg: “On February 25, 1865, a Union transport called the James Watson ran aground at the head of Island No. 76 and caught fire. About 20 soldiers and 14 other passengers were killed in the unfortunate accident.” (Bragg. Historic Names…Places…Lower Miss. Riv. “Chalk Neck Cutoff,” 1977, p. 120.)

Gaines: “James Watson: Union Stern-wheel steamer, 200 tons. Built in 1863 at Cincinnati. Carried a Union cargo, an Adams Express cargo, and eight-six Union soldiers. Burned on March 2, 1865, at Island No. 76 (now Lake Whittington) near Caulk Neck Cutoff, with thirty-five killed, including twenty soldiers, three women, two children, five male passengers, and deckhands.”

Lytle and Holdcamper: “James Watson…200 [tons]…burnt… 2 25 1865…Island No. 76…34 [lives lost].” (Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. 1952, p. 265.)

Supervising Inspector, Fourth Supervising District, Supervising inspectors of steam vessels: “The steamer Watson, sunk by a snag at the foot of Island No. 76, near the mouth of the Arkansas river. Thirty-four (34) lives were lost.” (Supervising Inspector of Steamboats. Report of the Supervising Inspector of Steamboats [for the year 1865], p. 216 in Report of the Secretary of the Treasury.)

Way: James Watson: Sternwheel wood-hull packet built in Cincinnati in 1863 at 200 tons. “….She sank and was lost in what now is Lake Whittington, east of the Mississippi River, where Island 76 was located, near Caulk Neck Cut Off. This happened the morning of Mar. 2, 1865, having aboard many passengers, 86 soldiers, a cargo of U.S. freight and Adams Express. Life loss was 35 persons, including 20 soldiers, three ladies, two children, five male passengers and some deckhands. The Isabella was on hand to care for survivors, as well as a trading boat named William Butler.”

Newspapers

March 6: “Cairo, March 6….The packet James Watson laden with Government freight, a large number of passengers, and 86 soldiers, sunk 12 miles below Napoleon, on the morning of the 2d. Over 30 lives were lost, including Adams Express messenger, 20 soldiers, several ladies and children. Officers of the boat mostly saved. The steamboat and cargo total loss.” (Davenport Daily Gazette, IA. “Very Latest By Telegraph.” 3-7-1865, p. 1.)

March 11: “The steamer James Watson, laden with government stores, and having on board a large number of passengers and soldiers, sunk on the morning of the 2d instant, twelve miles below Napoleon, on the Mississippi. Thirty lives were lost, including the Adams Express messenger, twenty soldiers, and a number of ladies and children.” (Morgan Gazette, Martinsville, IN. “Summary of War News.” 3-11-1865, p. 2.)

March 15: “Morganza, Feb. 5th.—The steamer James Watson, while passing down the river on the 2d, ran into the Banks a few miles below Napoleon [MS]. She was split open and sunk in five minutes. She had on board ninety soldiers, and 120 passengers, including the crew. As far as heard, only thirty were saved.” (Galveston Weekly News, TX. “Latest News by Telegraph,” March 15, 1865, p. 3.)

Sources

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed at: [Both links broken]
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/history/MRnames/MissRiverNames.htm > Also at:
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Portals/52/docs/MRC/MRnames%28Intro-end_final2%29.pdf

Davenport Daily Gazette, IA. “Very Latest By Telegraph.” 3-7-1865, p. 1. Accessed at: https://newspaperarchive.com/

Gaines, W. Craig. Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008.

Galveston Weekly News, TX. “Latest News by Telegraph.” 3-15-1865, p. 3. Accessed 3-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-weekly-news-mar-15-1865-p-3?tag

Hitchcock, Benjamin W. Hitchcock’s Chronological Record of the American Civil War, Giving Every Event in the Order of its Occurrence, From November 8th 1866, to June 3d, 1865. New York: Benjamin W. Hitchcock, 1868, 130 pages. Accessed 3-12-2017 at: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/USN/Navy/hitchcockschrono00hitc.pdf

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=285&size=125&q1=%22james%20watson%22

Morgan Gazette, Martinsville, IN. “Summary of War News.” 3-11-1865, p. 2. Accessed at: https://newspaperarchive.com/

New York Times. “Events in 1865; Chronicle of Noteworthy Occurrences for the Year.” 12-30-1865. Accessed 3-12-2017 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1865/12/30/news/events-1865-chronicle-noteworthy-occurrences-for-year-close-war-for-union.html?pagewanted=all

Supervising Inspector of Steamboats. Report of the Supervising Inspector of Steamboats [for the year 1865]. In: Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for The Year 1865. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1865. Accessed 9-13-2020 at: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-194/report-secretary-treasury-state-finances-year-1865-5509/report-supervising-inspector-steamboats-302219

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.

Wikipedia “Lake Whittington.” Accessed 3-12-2017 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Whittington