Lucy Walker steamboat disaster
Encyclopedia
The Lucy Walker steamboat disaster was an 1844 explosion of the boilers of the steamboat Lucy Walker while the steamboat was near New Albany, Indiana
, on the Ohio River
.
three boiler
s exploded. The vessel caught fire and sank in the Ohio River
near New Albany, Indiana
. The demise of the Lucy Walker was not the worst steamboat disaster in American history (see the Sultana), but it was among the most deadly. It is possible than more than 100 persons perished on that tragic day.
The Lucy Walker was an average vessel of her time: 144 ft long with a beam of 24 ft 6 in and a draft of 5 ft 6 in. She displaced 183 tons. She was built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1843 and her home port was Webbers Falls
on the Arkansas River
in the Cherokee Nation
in Indian Territory
(now Oklahoma
). The boat frequently steamed to both Louisville, Kentucky
and New Orleans, Louisiana
. She was a side-wheeler, with three boilers, only one deck, no masts, no figurehead, and an above-deck cabin. Thomas F. Eckert, John Cochran, and Thomas J. Halderman had successively served as masters or captains of the Lucy Walker. Captain Halderman was a very experienced river man, who since 1820 had worked as fireman, deck hand, engineer, and captain on steamboats, and later was a steamboat inspector. For some unknown reason, Halderman was replaced in Louisville just before departure, and her owner Joseph Vann
took over the duties as Captain.
Lucy Walker departed the Louisville wharf at noon on Wednesday, October 23, 1844, out bound for New Orleans. Some of the passengers were perhaps excited about the looming Presidential campaign in less than a fortnight between Whig and Kentucky native-son candidate Henry Clay
and Democrat James K. Polk
of Tennessee, while other passengers had likely participated in the pre-Churchill Downs
horse racing season at Louisville. Aboard at the last minute was a Presbyterian church delegation. Lucy Walker probably avoided the rapids known as the "Falls of the Ohio" by traversing the new Louisville Falls Canal
. She then crossed to the northern bank and picked up additional passengers at New Albany, IN., a major river port. It has been asserted that Rezin Jameson, one of the pilots during the Lee's famous race in 1870 with the Natchez
had also been a pilot on the Lucy Walker
in 1844. However, Jameson's name does not appear in any of the New Albany or Louisville newspaper accounts of the explosion.
three boiler
s exploded in a mighty blast propelling shards of metal and pieces of human flesh. One man shot 50 feet in the air only to fall as a missile piercing the boat's deck. Another was sliced in half by a piece of a boiler wall. The vessel then caught fire and quickly sank in twelve feet of the Ohio River
. Soon the water was filled with bodies of passengers and crew of the unfortunate Lucy Walker, both living and dead. Many were mangled or burned and survived only by rescue efforts of Captain L.B. Dunham and crew of the nearby snag-boat "Gopher", which had been removing underwater obstacles under contract to the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers.
Loss of steamboats by collision, fire, or river obstacles (snags) was well understood but explosions of boilers seemed arbitrary and mysterious. Immediately after the loss of the Lucy Walker many newspapers began to speculate on the cause or causes of the explosion. One paper opined that a faulty force pump and low water level in the boiler was the cause. Another newspaper reported qualms about reckless behavior of the boat's officers or shoddy construction of the boilers. Later there was speculation that steamboat racing might have contributed to the disaster.
s could be overloaded, and there were few pressure gauges. Too low water levels in boilers led to overheated boiler walls. Sometimes owners were simply too frugal or greedy to pay for good equipment or competent employees. In these early days, the physics and mechanics of boiler explosions was not well understood.
In addition, steamboat safety was an important aspect of the larger conflict between partisans of Andrew Jackson
's states-rights vision of America as a federation of strong state governments and Henry Clay
's "Internal Improvements Program" by a strong central government. An inadequate 1838 law was greatly strengthened by the Act of 1852, which included hydrostatic testing
of boilers, maximum pressures allowed, and inspection of boiler plate at the point of manufacture. In addition, engineers were subject to testing and licenses. Subsequent legislation led to the establishment of the Steamboat Inspection Service
and eventually real reduction in fatal episodes. Among the first government sponsorship for pure scientific research was a grant to the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for study of causes of boiler explosion
s. The investigation of steamboat fatal accidents like the Lucy Walker in the early 19th century was paralleled by similar actions taken after fatal crashes of airships and aircraft in the first half of the 20th century, which resulted in the establishment of the Federal Aeronautics Administration.
Samuel Mansfield Brown was identified as a postal agent from Lexington, KY. On August 1, 1843, a Special Postal Agent named Samuel M. Brown was one of the protagonists in a famous frontier brawl at Russell Cave, KY with Cassius Marcellus Clay, a Louisville newspaperman, abolitionist, and distant cousin of Henry Clay
. When he learned of Brown's demise on the Lucy Walker, Cassius Clay noted that Sam Brown was the bravest of all of the many persons Clay had fought during a very combative career.
Only two children and none of the women perished, probably because their cabin was further from the blast than the hurricane deck where most of the male passengers were gathered. Newspapers did not name Vann's slave crewmen. Thus there were thirty-six passengers and twenty crew members identified as killed in the explosion, and forty eight passengers and seven crew members who survived, with a total of 111 persons aboard. The pilot Capt. Thompson estimated that there were at least 130 travellers, including deck passengers,and a 30 man crew on the Lucy Walker when she left Louisville on Oct. 23. Since the vessel's passenger manifests and crew lists were lost, there is no way to know precisely how many died on the Ohio River that fateful day.
swore that he was a U.S. citizen from Arkansas [Vessel Docs., Bu MI&N]. This statement was false; he was instead a citizen of the Cherokee Nation from Indian Territory (once part of Arkansas). Vann was famous for the great wealth inherited from his father James Vann
, including a famous mansion (Chief Vann House) and was known as "Rich Joe" Vann (to distinguish himself from a cousin also named Joseph ("Tenulte") Vann, who was the Assistant Principal Chief of the Western Cherokees) [McFadden].
"Rich Joe" Vann was the proud owner of a prize-winning race horse named "Lucy Walker", which he probably purchased in 1839 from an advertisement in the (Little Rock) Arkansas Gazette for sale at Memphis,TN: "Lucy Walker, 3 years old, by Bertrand, dam Jane Little, now in training" [(1)June 12, 1839]. The filly was not only a frequent winner in quarter mile races, but also produced many colts that Vann sold for as much as $5000 each [Wright]. When he purchased a steamboat at Cincinnati,OH in 1843, Vann named his new vessel after his equine pride and joy. Note that the steamer was not named for either of Vann's two wives, Jennie Springston or Mary Black. Was the filly "Lucy Walker" one of the unacknowledged passengers aboard the Lucy Walker that fateful day at Louisville, Kentucky
on Oct. 23, 1844?
In February 1843, Vann advertised his new possession: "The new fast running steamer, Lucy Walker; Eckert, Master; Little Rock to New Orleans, sheet metal roof; two fire engines and hose" [(1)Feb. 7, 1843]. Among the first passengers on board the new Lucy Walker in March, 1843 were 200 Seminole
Indians transported from New Orleans to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, under charter to the U.S. Army [(1)March 16, 1843]. The Indians had been captured in Florida by the Army as part of the Federal efforts to remove southern Indian tribes to Indian Territory. Five years earlier, other commercial steamboats were used by the Army to transport Vann's fellow Cherokees to the West as part of their own Trail of Tears
.
By 1842, "Rich Joe" Vann owned several hundred slaves at Webber's Falls, who worked on his plantation, took care of his horses, operated his steam ferryboat, or served as crew for his steamboat Lucy Walker. On November 15 of that year, some twenty five slaves belonging to "Rich Joe" Vann, Lewis Ross (brother of Principal Chief John Ross), and other wealthy Cherokees at Webber's Falls locked their owners in their homes, and began a futile flight for freedom heading for Mexico. The fugitives were joined by slaves owned by Creek Indians, but were quickly recaptured by a Cherokee posse, and many were beaten as punishment, but unlike other slave revolts elsewhere in the South, none were killed [Burton]. "Rich Joe" Vann took his black rebels to crew the Lucy Walker to separate their bad influence from the other slaves at Webber's Falls. One of the participants in the "Big Runaway" was a slave known as Kalet or Caleb Vann. In 1937 his daughter, Mrs. Betty Robinson, told an interviewer of the Works Progress Administration: "I was born close to Webbers Falls...in the same year that my pappy was blown up and killed in the big boat accident that killed my old Master" [McDonald; Baker, WPA]
The WPA also interviewed another former slave, Lucinda Vann, who told a story about Jim Vann, an engineer or fireman aboard the steamboat who was forced by Capt. Vann at gun-point to toss slabs of meat into the boiler since the fat was supposed to super-heat the boiler water and thus increase steam pressure. "Rich Joe" Vann had been drinking, and was engaged in a race to New Orleans with a steamboat that had left Louisville with the Lucy Walker [Baker, WPA]. It is known from sailing notices in a Louisville newspaper that the steamboat "Minerva" was scheduled to depart for New Orleans at the same time as Lucy Walker.Louisville (KY) Democrat, 26 October 1844, for 22nd October According to Lucinda Vann's account, fireman Jim Vann threw in the meat into the firebox, and then leaped overboard just before the boilers exploded [Baker, WPA]. Essentially the same story was also told by Robert P. Vann, grandson of "Rich Joe." R.P. Vann talked with but did not name the Negro fireman, who was supposed to be the only survivor of the explosion. Also killed in the explosion was 20-year old Preston Mackey, uncle of Robert P. Vann and son-in-law of "Rich Joe". Lucinda Vann recounted that the arm of Preston Mackey was recovered (recognized by the design of his shirt sleeve) and placed in an alcohol-filled container and sent to Webber's Falls. There a doctor would occasionally display poor Mackey's appendage for the curious (including Lucinda Vann).
The destruction of the Lucy Walker is well documented, but nearly every source contains some contradictions, garbled names, or incomplete information. Eyewitnesses included Capt. Dunham of the snag boat "Gopher, an anonymous gentleman from Baltimore,Baltimore (MD) Sun, Oct.29–31, 1844 for Oct.31 the pilot Capt. Thompson,Louisville (KY) Journal, Oct.26–28, 1844, for Oct.26, and a group of ministers and laymen aboard the Lucy Walker.Christian Magazine of the South, Vol.II (Dec. 1844), pp. 381–382 The latter told about their scary adventures during and after the explosion, but somehow failed to notice or mention that the owner of the vessel was an American Indian, that drinking and gambling was present, or that the boat was engaged in a race with another boat. Most of the newspaper accounts also failed to note this aspect of the accident. The owner of the ship was identified in most newspapers as Capt. David Vann, possibly confusing him with a cousin of that name who had served as the Treasurer of the Cherokee Nation. This David Vann was a brother of Joseph ("Tenulte") Vann. Various sources provide estimates of fatalities widely ranging from 18 to more than 100 deaths. Albert Koch misheard the name of the vessel as "Louise Walker." Even the date of the accident has frequently been listed in error in many reference works, which have the date as Oct. 22 or 25, 1844. Only the Cherokee
sources note the role that "Rich Joe" Vann played in the sudden end of the Lucy Walker and his own demise.
(Some articles in these papers were quoted in other newspapers, magazines, or books)
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
, on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.
Circumstances of the disaster
The explosion occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 23, 1844, when the steamer'sSteamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
three boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s exploded. The vessel caught fire and sank in the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
near New Albany, Indiana
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...
. The demise of the Lucy Walker was not the worst steamboat disaster in American history (see the Sultana), but it was among the most deadly. It is possible than more than 100 persons perished on that tragic day.
The Lucy Walker was an average vessel of her time: 144 ft long with a beam of 24 ft 6 in and a draft of 5 ft 6 in. She displaced 183 tons. She was built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1843 and her home port was Webbers Falls
Webbers Falls, Oklahoma
Webbers Falls is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 726 at the 2000 census. The name comes from a 7 foot falls in the Arkansas River, itself named in honor of Walter Webber, a Cherokee leader who lived there in the early 19th Century.-The I-40 Bridge Disaster:The...
on the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
in the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation (19th century)
The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...
in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(now Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
). The boat frequently steamed to both Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. She was a side-wheeler, with three boilers, only one deck, no masts, no figurehead, and an above-deck cabin. Thomas F. Eckert, John Cochran, and Thomas J. Halderman had successively served as masters or captains of the Lucy Walker. Captain Halderman was a very experienced river man, who since 1820 had worked as fireman, deck hand, engineer, and captain on steamboats, and later was a steamboat inspector. For some unknown reason, Halderman was replaced in Louisville just before departure, and her owner Joseph Vann
Joseph Vann
Joseph H. Vann was a Cherokee leader who owned Diamond Hill , many slaves, taverns, and steamboats that he operated on the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. He born at Spring Place, Georgia on February 11, 1798...
took over the duties as Captain.
Lucy Walker departed the Louisville wharf at noon on Wednesday, October 23, 1844, out bound for New Orleans. Some of the passengers were perhaps excited about the looming Presidential campaign in less than a fortnight between Whig and Kentucky native-son candidate Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and Democrat James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
of Tennessee, while other passengers had likely participated in the pre-Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
horse racing season at Louisville. Aboard at the last minute was a Presbyterian church delegation. Lucy Walker probably avoided the rapids known as the "Falls of the Ohio" by traversing the new Louisville Falls Canal
Louisville and Portland Canal
The Louisville and Portland Canal was a canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio in the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1830, and was operated by the Louisville and Portland Canal Company until 1874, and became the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1962 after heavy modernization.Although...
. She then crossed to the northern bank and picked up additional passengers at New Albany, IN., a major river port. It has been asserted that Rezin Jameson, one of the pilots during the Lee's famous race in 1870 with the Natchez
Natchez
Natchez may refer to:* Natchez people, a Native American nation* Natchez language, the language of that Native American tribe* Natchez, Mississippi, United States* Natchez, Louisiana, United States* Natchez, Indiana, United States...
had also been a pilot on the Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker is a film director, mostly of theatrical feature documentaries. On January 25th, 2010 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for Waste Land, which she directed.-Film career:...
in 1844. However, Jameson's name does not appear in any of the New Albany or Louisville newspaper accounts of the explosion.
Explosion and fire
About 5:00 on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 23, 1844, the vessel's engines stopped and she drifted mid-river about four or five miles below New Albany while some repairs were made. Suddenly, the steamer'sSteamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
three boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s exploded in a mighty blast propelling shards of metal and pieces of human flesh. One man shot 50 feet in the air only to fall as a missile piercing the boat's deck. Another was sliced in half by a piece of a boiler wall. The vessel then caught fire and quickly sank in twelve feet of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. Soon the water was filled with bodies of passengers and crew of the unfortunate Lucy Walker, both living and dead. Many were mangled or burned and survived only by rescue efforts of Captain L.B. Dunham and crew of the nearby snag-boat "Gopher", which had been removing underwater obstacles under contract to the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers.
Loss of steamboats by collision, fire, or river obstacles (snags) was well understood but explosions of boilers seemed arbitrary and mysterious. Immediately after the loss of the Lucy Walker many newspapers began to speculate on the cause or causes of the explosion. One paper opined that a faulty force pump and low water level in the boiler was the cause. Another newspaper reported qualms about reckless behavior of the boat's officers or shoddy construction of the boilers. Later there was speculation that steamboat racing might have contributed to the disaster.
Legislation and regulation
The high death toll of steamboat disasters like the Lucy Walker sparked public concern, litigation, and Congressional debates about insurance issues, compensation of victims, responsibilities of vessel owners and masters, and need for state or Federal legislation. There were ad hoc local and Congressional investigations of individual steamboat disasters, especially boiler explosions. The general public was concerned that steamboat racing contributed to these disasters, but many steamboat captains and passengers were thrilled by the excitement and gambling accompanying the contests. Much of the problem was ignorance by steamboat operators. Designers did not know the tensile, compressive, or shear strengths of metals. Engineers did not know the effects of scaling, mud,etc. on feedwater pumps. Safety valveSafety valve
A safety valve is a valve mechanism for the automatic release of a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system when the pressure or temperature exceeds preset limits....
s could be overloaded, and there were few pressure gauges. Too low water levels in boilers led to overheated boiler walls. Sometimes owners were simply too frugal or greedy to pay for good equipment or competent employees. In these early days, the physics and mechanics of boiler explosions was not well understood.
In addition, steamboat safety was an important aspect of the larger conflict between partisans of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
's states-rights vision of America as a federation of strong state governments and Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
's "Internal Improvements Program" by a strong central government. An inadequate 1838 law was greatly strengthened by the Act of 1852, which included hydrostatic testing
Hydrostatic test
A hydrostatic test is a way in which leaks can be found in pressure vessels such as pipelines and plumbing. The test involves placing water, which is often dyed for visibility, in the pipe or vessel at the required pressure to ensure that it will not leak or be damaged. It is the most common method...
of boilers, maximum pressures allowed, and inspection of boiler plate at the point of manufacture. In addition, engineers were subject to testing and licenses. Subsequent legislation led to the establishment of the Steamboat Inspection Service
Steamboat Inspection Service
The Steamboat Inspection Service was a United States agency created in 1852 to safeguard lives and property at sea. It merged with the Bureau of Navigation in 1932 to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection which, in 1936, was reorganized into the Bureau of Marine Inspection and...
and eventually real reduction in fatal episodes. Among the first government sponsorship for pure scientific research was a grant to the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for study of causes of boiler explosion
Boiler explosion
A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. As seen today, boiler explosions are of two kinds. One kind is over-pressure in the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. The second kind is explosion in the furnace. Boiler explosions of pressure parts are particularly associated...
s. The investigation of steamboat fatal accidents like the Lucy Walker in the early 19th century was paralleled by similar actions taken after fatal crashes of airships and aircraft in the first half of the 20th century, which resulted in the establishment of the Federal Aeronautics Administration.
Victims
Among the dead were General James West Pegram, a lawyer and banker, whose sons were important Confederate officers in the Civil War. Gen. Pegram was also an important leader in the Whig party.Samuel Mansfield Brown was identified as a postal agent from Lexington, KY. On August 1, 1843, a Special Postal Agent named Samuel M. Brown was one of the protagonists in a famous frontier brawl at Russell Cave, KY with Cassius Marcellus Clay, a Louisville newspaperman, abolitionist, and distant cousin of Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
. When he learned of Brown's demise on the Lucy Walker, Cassius Clay noted that Sam Brown was the bravest of all of the many persons Clay had fought during a very combative career.
Only two children and none of the women perished, probably because their cabin was further from the blast than the hurricane deck where most of the male passengers were gathered. Newspapers did not name Vann's slave crewmen. Thus there were thirty-six passengers and twenty crew members identified as killed in the explosion, and forty eight passengers and seven crew members who survived, with a total of 111 persons aboard. The pilot Capt. Thompson estimated that there were at least 130 travellers, including deck passengers,and a 30 man crew on the Lucy Walker when she left Louisville on Oct. 23. Since the vessel's passenger manifests and crew lists were lost, there is no way to know precisely how many died on the Ohio River that fateful day.
The Owner, His Horse, and His Steamboat
The official government certificate issued for the Lucy Walker contains a statement under oath in which Joseph VannJoseph Vann
Joseph H. Vann was a Cherokee leader who owned Diamond Hill , many slaves, taverns, and steamboats that he operated on the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. He born at Spring Place, Georgia on February 11, 1798...
swore that he was a U.S. citizen from Arkansas [Vessel Docs., Bu MI&N]. This statement was false; he was instead a citizen of the Cherokee Nation from Indian Territory (once part of Arkansas). Vann was famous for the great wealth inherited from his father James Vann
James Vann
James Vann was an influential Cherokee leader, one of the triumvirate with Major Ridge and Charles R. Hicks, who led the Upper Towns of East Tennessee and North Georgia. He was the son of Wah-Li Vann, a mixed-race Cherokee woman, and a Scots fur trader...
, including a famous mansion (Chief Vann House) and was known as "Rich Joe" Vann (to distinguish himself from a cousin also named Joseph ("Tenulte") Vann, who was the Assistant Principal Chief of the Western Cherokees) [McFadden].
"Rich Joe" Vann was the proud owner of a prize-winning race horse named "Lucy Walker", which he probably purchased in 1839 from an advertisement in the (Little Rock) Arkansas Gazette for sale at Memphis,TN: "Lucy Walker, 3 years old, by Bertrand, dam Jane Little, now in training" [(1)June 12, 1839]. The filly was not only a frequent winner in quarter mile races, but also produced many colts that Vann sold for as much as $5000 each [Wright]. When he purchased a steamboat at Cincinnati,OH in 1843, Vann named his new vessel after his equine pride and joy. Note that the steamer was not named for either of Vann's two wives, Jennie Springston or Mary Black. Was the filly "Lucy Walker" one of the unacknowledged passengers aboard the Lucy Walker that fateful day at Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
on Oct. 23, 1844?
In February 1843, Vann advertised his new possession: "The new fast running steamer, Lucy Walker; Eckert, Master; Little Rock to New Orleans, sheet metal roof; two fire engines and hose" [(1)Feb. 7, 1843]. Among the first passengers on board the new Lucy Walker in March, 1843 were 200 Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
Indians transported from New Orleans to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, under charter to the U.S. Army [(1)March 16, 1843]. The Indians had been captured in Florida by the Army as part of the Federal efforts to remove southern Indian tribes to Indian Territory. Five years earlier, other commercial steamboats were used by the Army to transport Vann's fellow Cherokees to the West as part of their own Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
.
Slave Crew of the Lucy Walker
In 1835 Joseph Vann owned 110 African American slaves at his home "Diamond Hill" (see the Chief Vann House) at Spring Place,GA. During the looming Cherokee Removal crisis, Vann was driven from his home by armed gangs of Georgians, and shifted his families and property for a time to the Cherokee town of Ooltewah,TN, where he built a race track. In 1837, he again moved his business operations to Webber's Falls on the Arkansas River in Indian Territory. There he constructed a replica of "Diamond Hill", which was later destroyed by Union troops in the Civil War.By 1842, "Rich Joe" Vann owned several hundred slaves at Webber's Falls, who worked on his plantation, took care of his horses, operated his steam ferryboat, or served as crew for his steamboat Lucy Walker. On November 15 of that year, some twenty five slaves belonging to "Rich Joe" Vann, Lewis Ross (brother of Principal Chief John Ross), and other wealthy Cherokees at Webber's Falls locked their owners in their homes, and began a futile flight for freedom heading for Mexico. The fugitives were joined by slaves owned by Creek Indians, but were quickly recaptured by a Cherokee posse, and many were beaten as punishment, but unlike other slave revolts elsewhere in the South, none were killed [Burton]. "Rich Joe" Vann took his black rebels to crew the Lucy Walker to separate their bad influence from the other slaves at Webber's Falls. One of the participants in the "Big Runaway" was a slave known as Kalet or Caleb Vann. In 1937 his daughter, Mrs. Betty Robinson, told an interviewer of the Works Progress Administration: "I was born close to Webbers Falls...in the same year that my pappy was blown up and killed in the big boat accident that killed my old Master" [McDonald; Baker, WPA]
The WPA also interviewed another former slave, Lucinda Vann, who told a story about Jim Vann, an engineer or fireman aboard the steamboat who was forced by Capt. Vann at gun-point to toss slabs of meat into the boiler since the fat was supposed to super-heat the boiler water and thus increase steam pressure. "Rich Joe" Vann had been drinking, and was engaged in a race to New Orleans with a steamboat that had left Louisville with the Lucy Walker [Baker, WPA]. It is known from sailing notices in a Louisville newspaper that the steamboat "Minerva" was scheduled to depart for New Orleans at the same time as Lucy Walker.Louisville (KY) Democrat, 26 October 1844, for 22nd October According to Lucinda Vann's account, fireman Jim Vann threw in the meat into the firebox, and then leaped overboard just before the boilers exploded [Baker, WPA]. Essentially the same story was also told by Robert P. Vann, grandson of "Rich Joe." R.P. Vann talked with but did not name the Negro fireman, who was supposed to be the only survivor of the explosion. Also killed in the explosion was 20-year old Preston Mackey, uncle of Robert P. Vann and son-in-law of "Rich Joe". Lucinda Vann recounted that the arm of Preston Mackey was recovered (recognized by the design of his shirt sleeve) and placed in an alcohol-filled container and sent to Webber's Falls. There a doctor would occasionally display poor Mackey's appendage for the curious (including Lucinda Vann).
Aftermath
Albert C. Koch was a German-born geologist who happened to be in Louisville the day following the explosion of the Lucy Walker. He was told that 106 persons died, with many badly injured or burned. He reported that searchers had found shattered body parts of victims on both Indiana and Kentucky banks of the Ohio, including a severed head identified as that of Captain Vann, but the fate of this portion of "Rich Joe" is now unknown.The destruction of the Lucy Walker is well documented, but nearly every source contains some contradictions, garbled names, or incomplete information. Eyewitnesses included Capt. Dunham of the snag boat "Gopher, an anonymous gentleman from Baltimore,Baltimore (MD) Sun, Oct.29–31, 1844 for Oct.31 the pilot Capt. Thompson,Louisville (KY) Journal, Oct.26–28, 1844, for Oct.26, and a group of ministers and laymen aboard the Lucy Walker.Christian Magazine of the South, Vol.II (Dec. 1844), pp. 381–382 The latter told about their scary adventures during and after the explosion, but somehow failed to notice or mention that the owner of the vessel was an American Indian, that drinking and gambling was present, or that the boat was engaged in a race with another boat. Most of the newspaper accounts also failed to note this aspect of the accident. The owner of the ship was identified in most newspapers as Capt. David Vann, possibly confusing him with a cousin of that name who had served as the Treasurer of the Cherokee Nation. This David Vann was a brother of Joseph ("Tenulte") Vann. Various sources provide estimates of fatalities widely ranging from 18 to more than 100 deaths. Albert Koch misheard the name of the vessel as "Louise Walker." Even the date of the accident has frequently been listed in error in many reference works, which have the date as Oct. 22 or 25, 1844. Only the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
sources note the role that "Rich Joe" Vann played in the sudden end of the Lucy Walker and his own demise.
Newspapers and magazines
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- 1) Arkansas (Little Rock) Gazette, June 12, 1839; Feb. 7, 1843; March 16, 1843; April 19, 1843; Nov. 7, 1844
- 4) Cincinnati (OH) Daily Bulletin, April 26, 1843; Oct.26, 1844; Nov.27, 1844
- 5) Cincinnati (OH) Daily Gazette, March 11, 1843; Oct. 26, 1844
- 6) Cleveland (OH) Locofoco, Oct. 28, 1844
- 7) Daily National Intelligencer (DC), Nov.4; Nov. 7, 1844
- 8) Fort Gibson (Ind.Ty.) Post, 1844
- 9) Frankfort (KY)Commonwealth, Oct.29, 1844
- 10) Kentucky (Lexington) Gazette, Oct. 26, 1844
- 13) Louisville (KY) Morning Courier, Oct. 22; 24–28 1844
- 14) New Albany (IN) Gazette, Oct.26, 1844
- 15) New Orleans (LA) Times Picayune, Nov.26, 1844
- 16) New York (NY) Herald, Nov. 1, 1844
- 17) New York (NY) Times, Dec. 1, 1852; March 22, 1854; Aug. 31, 1855; June 12, 1872; Aug. 12, 1881
- 18) Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, Oct. 30, 1844
- 19) Tahlequah (Ind Ty) Cherokee Advocate, Nov.11, 1844; April 29, 1845
- 20) Woodville (MS) Republican, Nov. 9, 1844
- 21) Yazoo City (MS) Whig, Nov. 15, 1844
(Some articles in these papers were quoted in other newspapers, magazines, or books)