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Information on Arkansas River Steamboat Found
By admin | December 12, 2009
One of the members of the Grand Prarie History Society, Don Roth, has found very important information on The Bracelet, an Arkansas River steamer that found itself in service during the years of 1862-3 in Arkansas. The Bracelet was important to the Confederate supply in Arkansas from LIttle Rock down to Napoleon, Arkansas. Below is the information that he located in the Grand Prarie Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1991.
Note: the below was scanned and placed on The Arkansas Toothpick by the webmaster. If there are any problems wit the syntax and/or spelling, please let us know by e-mailing info@arkansastoothpick.com. It should also be noted that it was recently discovered that the Bracelet’s portage book has been removed from the Arkansas County Courthouse. If anyone knows the whereabouts of this valuable source of information, please contact us!
GPHS BULLETIN October, 1991
THE STEAMBOAT BRACELET
In the April, 1991 number of this bulletin is an account of an unusual record book in the office of the Circuit Clerk of Arkansas County at DeWitt. The book bears the title: “Portage Book of the Steamer Bracelett”. It is in fact the boat’s payroll record. It contains other records, as described in the April article. (See Macom - Can You Help Fill The Chinks In This Tale - final par. pg. 35. The name of the Bracelett is there erroneously called “Scarlett).
This record book was in the Clerk’s office as early as 1875 - probably earlier. On the reverse side of the front cover and on the page opposite considerable “doodling” was done by the then Clerk, B. F. Quertermous, who placed the date “1875″ on the page together with his signature. (The same “handwriting” penned the signature, date and doodling.)
This article is structured around the boats portage book or payroll record. The name of the boat will be spelled Bracelet throughout the remainder of this article. With the exception of the portage book, all records and accounts of this vessel examined by the author, the spelling of the name of the steamer appears with only one final “t” .
The Bracelet, a sidewheel steamboat of 169 tons displacement, was built in Louisville, Kentucky in 1857. Her first home port was Louisville. This article deals only with the final sixteen months of her life. She- was caught in southern waters when the southern states seceded from the Union in 1861. She was put into the service of the Confederacy.
It is regrettable that the portage book does not include the first seven trips of the Bracelet while in the service of the Confederacy. Trip No. 8 is the first recorded in her portage book at DeWitt.
Students of Civil War history will recall that General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding a sizeable army accompanied by a large naval flotilla and fleet of transport vessels, worked his way down the Mississippi River Valley from Cairo, Illinois in his successful effort to cut the Confederacy in two, this by Northern control of navigation and of land transportation cross ing-points along the river. Arkansas and Texas were then the “breadbasket of the Confederacy” and important in supplying men, munitions and the all important cotton then so valuable to the Confederacy in acquiring arms from Britain. The taking of Vicks-burg was essential to Grant’s aim.
When the Bracelet made Trip No. 8 first recorded in her portage book, the Battles of Columbus-Belmont and Island No. 10 had been won by Grant’s advancing forces. He was threatening Memphis.
On land in Arkansas Union forces under General Samuel R. Curtis were advancing down the White River basin toward central Arkansas. General Curtis took Batesville on May 3rd. While trip No. 8 of the Bracelet was being made, General Curtis’ troops moved into Cotton Plant on May 14th, into Grand Glaize [between Bradford and Newport] on the same day, and at Searcy Landing and Village Creek on May 19th. The war was closing in on Bracelet’s operating area: Memphis -to and from Arkansas River ports.
Trip No. 8 (”Trip of May llth to May 20th, 1862, Memphis to Rob Roy and return.”) as reported in Bracelet’s portage book shows that the trip was made with a crew of forty-one persons. Eighteen of these persons, the Captain, Mate, Engineer(s), pilot(s), and those persons serving the passengers and crew, such as the steward, cooks, cabin boys, chambermaids, pantryman, watchmen, etc., may sometimes hereafter be referred to as “the upper decks crew”. The cargo deck hands and those working in the engine room, such as deckhands, roustabouts, and firemen may sometimes be referred to as the “lower deck crew”. On trip No. 8 there were twenty-three of the latter.
Rob Roy was then an important river landing and loading point on the North bank of the Arkansas River a short distance downstream from Pine Bluff. It is located a short distance from Lock and Dam No. 4 on the Kerr-McClel1 an Navigation System. The Cotton-Belt Railroad crosses the Arkansas River at Rob Roy, entering its Pine Bluff yards a short distance South of the bridge.
On pages 9 and 10 of Bracelet’s portage book is recorded the payroll record of “Trip No. 9 - Memphis to Various Points”. What 11 T e “various points” consisted of is not revealed nor does any c1ue appear in the entries made by the ship’s Clerk. Bracelet was gone From port ten days, From May 21st to May 31st.
During this interim, Grant’s Forces advanced within a very Few miles of Memphis . In Eastern Arkansas General Curtis’ Federal troops took Calico Rock (May 2Bth) and Jacksonport (May 26-ch to 29th), Searcy Landing and West Point (May 27th) and Cache River Bridge (May 2Bth).
On this trip twenty persons were aboard as the upper 4″2cks crew and thirty-Four were aboard as the lower deck crew.
It will be noticed that Bracelet returned to Memphis (For this was the point of origin of her next trip begun the next day after her arrival there).
No “Trip No. 11″ is recorded in the portage book. Instead, on pages 11 and 12 is recorded the payroll record For “Trip No. 12, Memphis to Rob Roy”. No return! And For good reason - Grant’s advancing Forces took Memphis just Five days after Bracelet’s “let’s get heck out of here” departure. Memphis fell to the Federals on June 6th, 1862. The Bracelet left Memphis on its Trip No. 12 on June 1st,1862 and ended its pay period for the trip on June 1Gth. For this trip the upper decks crew numbers twenty, the lower deck crew thirteen.
No doubt, during this pay or “trip” period, Bracelet had to take some evasive action with respect to reaching Rob Roy. Grant’s flotilla was active in the Mississippi and around the mouth of White River. The battle of St. Charles, which involved a Fleet of Federal gunboats and transports, occurred exactly one day after- the end of this pay period. The Federal Fleet which was so close on the heels of Bracelet and which was active at St. Charles may well have caused Bracelet to take a devious route in. n fleeing before it. On trip No. 8 she made the round trip from Memphis to Rob Roy and return in nine days.
In any case Bracelet no longer had access to the Mississippi after this trip - she, and a number
of Confederate vessels like her, were bottled up in the Arkansas River.
Federal operations commenced on White River (at its mouth) on June 10th, 1862, reaching a climax, but not ending, with the Battle of St. Charles (June 17th, 1862). By this time General Curtis’ land forces dominated all of Arkansas east of White River, firmly held all river ports, including Helena, as Far down stream as Napoleon at the mouth of the Arkansas.
A long “laying up” period confronted Bracelet after becoming bottled up in the Arkansas River. According to her portage book the “laying up” was experienced at Pine Bluff . It extended from June 17th, 1862 to October 14th of that year. ( pages 14 and 15, portage book) . Our conclusion that she was at Pine Bluff is based on the Fact that her next trip started From there.
During the period of this “laying up” naval activity was the order of the day on the Mississippi River as the siege of Vicksburg was developing. Along the White River there were engagements at Aberdeen on July 9th and Clarendon on August 13th. Another took place at Helena on October llth. The Federals prevailed in all of them. But Arkansas Post, and all the Arkansas River Valley to Fort Smith, remained under Confederate control. Under construction at Arkansas Post was a fort designed to prevent the Federal forces from moving up the Arkansas basin. The importance of this strong point was to result in two trips made by the Bracelet as reported in her portage book.
Pages 16 and 17 of the portage book set out important information with respect to the persons who directed the operations of the Bracelet. Here is the record of an unnumbered trip from Pine Bluff to Arkansas Post and return* about which much will be said, but here also appears information with respect to the crew which commands attention. The trip, as reported, extended from October 14th, 1862 to October 22nd of that year. (”Return” was to Little Rock.)
Prior to October 14th, 1862, John I. Edson is recorded as Captain of the Bracelet. On that date he is shown to have relinquished command of the vessel to R. D. B. Miller who assumed the title of “Master”. Mr. Edson remained as “Mate”. Mr. Miller remained the Master of the Bracelet for the remainder of her trips as recorded in her portage book. Mr. Edson continued as mate only until January 21, 1863.
Prior to Mr. Miller’s coming on board, Mr. Edson’s salary had been $150.00 per month ($5.00 per day). This salary continued as mate. Mr. Miller’s starting pay was $250.00 per month or $8.33 2/3rd per day. By way of contrast, cabin boys were paid as low as 50 cents per day and deckhands, roustabouts and watchmen as low as $1.00 per day. At least one chambermaid was paid as low as 11 2/3rd cents per day. This in time of war and exposure to combat. Probably the amounts set out did not include the value of the food and lodging each received while aboard ship, but it was paid in Confederate money, at irregular intervals and usually late in arriving.
The Bracelet normally had two pilots in its crew; for the October 14th - 22nd trip only one pilot new to her raster, Henry McKnett. In fact the entire crew was short and strange. Only a crew of thirteen is listed as being aboard, six of whom are listed as firemen, are obviously slaves, since only given names are listed and a notation is made: “Belong to General Williams”. The trip obviously must have grown out of some sort of emergency. Its purpose and what, if any, cargo the Bracelet might have carried are not shown nor have we been able find an account of the trip in any historical accounts, but it must have had a relationship to the manning and arming of Fort Hindman.
From October 23rd to November 23rd, 1862, (pages 18 and 19 portage book] Bracelet is reported as “laying up” at Little Rock. Apparently she was actually idle over this period as no pilots appear on her roster. The same skeleton crew which took her from Pine Bluff to Arkansas Post, then brought her to Little Rock remains on the payroll except the firemen slaves listed as belonging to General Williams. But, added to the crew of that trip were Margaret, a chambermaid, S. Walker, a watchman, Jourdon, a cabin boy, Edward Benjamin, a cook, and I. Walker, a watchman.
Bracelet was destined to make a second trip to Arkansas Post, this time to have its origination and its final destination at Little Rock.
This trip, in all probability, involved much more than Arkansas Post as a destination, or, perhaps she may have become stranded because of low water in the Arkansas River. In any event, for fourteen of the thirty-three days this trip consumed, listed as deck hands and paid at a rate of $30.00 per month are eight slaves. Five of the eight are listed as being the property of “Mr. Doolin” and their wages were re-parted as paid to him. The writer can offer no other identification for Mr. Doolin.
The payroll record of this trip ends the day after Christmas, 1862, approximately two weeks before the Battle of Arkansas Post. It is logical to assume that this trip would have involved movement, both of troops and military supplies, to Fort Hindman.
The actual date of arrival in Little Rock is made a little uncertain when one considers that six of the eight slaves listed as deck hands were terminated on the 17th of December - probably returned to Mr. Doolin.
Probably the most interesting journey of the Bracelet is recorded in the portage book on pages 22 and 23, concluded on page 24. Although no port of origin or destination is indicated in the record, it is passable, from other sources, to deduce that Bracelet was deeply involved in the cleanup of war resulting from the loss of Fort Hindman. Coincidenta1ly, it is in the time frame of this “trip” that a member of a prominent Arkansas County family becomes a pilot on the Bracelet.
The pilot, Pres Whiting, who served a total of sixty-nine of the seventy-three days recorded as involved in this “trip” undoubtedly was a brother of the grandfather of one of the members of our society, Mrs. Luna Peterson.
The 1850 census of the town of Napoleon has a Preston Whiting, age 20, male, a “steamboatman” listed as a member of the household of James T. Whiting, 48, a laborer born in Ohio and his wife, Mary, age 41, born in Tennessee. Four other children are listed as members of this household among whom is a seven year old child named Shelby. Family records in Mrs. Peterson’s possession indicate that her father, Pres Whiting, was a son of Shelby Whiting and his wife, Mary. The name Press, Pres, and Preston has been handed down from generation to generation in the Whiting family- Mrs. Peterson has a brother having that name.
This writer is convinced, after considering times, places and circumstances, that Pres Whiting, pilot on the Bracelet, must have been the same person as Preston Whiting, the twenty year old son of James T. Whiting. Preston would have been either 32 or 33 years of age in January 1863 with sufficient time and experience to have advanced to the position of pilot.
During the period recorded on pages 22 and 23 of Bracelet’s portage book, evidence exists that she was involved in considerable river movement, some of which took her into the Mississippi River, despite the fact that the mouth, both of the White and Arkansas Rivers were patrolled round the clock by northern naval vessels. This was the result of an exchange of prisoners of war, somewhere in the Mississippi, near the mouth of White River.
The log kept by Lt. Commander Thos. 0. Self-ridge, Jr., commander of the U. S. S. Conestoga, then maintaining a patrol on the Mississippi River at and near the mouth of White River, has this entry dated February 4th, 1863:
“Mouth of White River. Sent armed boat up Scrubgrass Bayou to reconnoiter . At 2:00 P. M. armed boat returned; found a large quantity of damaged cotton. Proceeded down the river; found rebel steamer Bracelet with prisoners on board. At 7:15 the Signal proceeded to Helena with prisoners . ”
That an exchange of prisoners occurred here becomes evident when one considers that the Bracelet was not taken by the Conestoga. Also, entered in the pay record of the Bracelet is an undated entry which indicates that Bracelet’s engineer, William Barclay, was paid $25.00 for “Trip with flag of truce”. Also, Bracelet’s portage book indicates that on February 2, 1863 six deck hands were added to the crew, most of whom worked only to the 7th of February. An additional cook was added on February 1st and worked only to February 9th. Also a new engineer, John Hulme, was added to the crew and worked only until March 9th, as was a new pilot, Harrison Bragell, who worked from February 2nd to February llth, new cook and second cook, who worked from January 31st and February 1st, respectively, to March 10th, another deckhand, who was on the payroll from January 31st to February 24th, with numerous other crew members employed for similar short periods of time during the months covered by this portion of the record.
A notable event during this period is the departure of John Edson from the crew. This one-time Captain and Mate of the Bracelet apparently left the crew on January 21st, 1863, never to re-appear on the payroll. He was replaced by a Wash Gwinn.
In a report from Lt . Commander Selfridge to Acting Rear-Admiral David 0. Porter, then commanding the Mississippi Squadron of the U. S. Navy, of April 11th, 1863, at a time when his gunboat, the Conestoga, was on the Mississippi River “Off Arkansas River”, it is recorded:
“I wrote you a hurried dispatch yesterday by the General Lyon of a contemplated attack upon this portion of the squadron. I have since obtained further intelligence. The names of the two (four) boats spoken of as prepared with cotton bales are the Cheney, St. Francis No. 3, Golden Age, and Bracelet, manned with 2000 men.
“The intelligence comes from negroes through two different sources. Also a government detective from Helena tells me that the fitting of the Ponchartrain was talked of at Little Rock”.
That the Bracelet was at Arkansas- Post sometime during this period is clear from the fact that the ship’s Clerk reports that the wages of Hardin, a deckhand, amounting to $20.00, were paid to “Lt. Palmer at Arkansas Post”.
At page 26 and 27 of the portage book are Bracelet’s payroll records covering the period March 10th to April 7th, 1863. Pres Whiting continues to be paid as pilot. R. 0. B. Miller continues to be paid as captain and Wash Gwinn as mate. What trips were made during this time, the Clerk does not show, but from March 10th through April 7th five deckhands were being carried on Bracelet’s roster, with as many as eight at times. Apparently the boat was traveling but the record does not indicate such to be the case. Shortly after this interlude the letter from Lt. Cmdr. Selfridge to Rear Admiral Porter, quoted above, was written. Pres Whiting is listed as the only pilot.
The final recorded payroll record of Bracelet is to be found on pages 28 and 29 of her portage book. The pay period covered is April 8th, 1863 thru July 31st, 1863. If records were kept through August and the first nine days of September of that year, they are not entered in her portage book.
It was during this period, that events leading up to the fall of Little Rock, and with it Bracelet’s death, were to develop.
Under orders from General Curtis, on July 1, 1863, General Frederick Steele, with a division of cavalry and supporting troops, departed St. Louis for Eastern Arkansas - his ultimate goal: the capture of Little Rock and also bringing Arkansas under Union control. By July 31st he had passed Wittsburg (Poinsett County), Clarendon and DeValls Bluff. His army was encamped and poised at Brownsville [two miles North of Lonoke - then the county seat of Prairie County) preparatory to striking Little Rock. Brace-was "laying up" in Little Rock. General Sterling Price was in command of the Confederate troops defending Little Rock. General Curtis' troops (Federal) occupied or dominated all of Eastern Arkansas north of the Arkansas River. Bracelet, strategically speaking, was cornered at Little Rock. Upstream from Little Rack, particularly in the Fort Smith area, the Arkansas River was dominated by Federals.
By September 7th, Little Rock was virtually surrounded by Federal troops, well armed and well supplied. These troops were superior in numbers, equipment and arms to the 8,000 ragged, half-starved army of General Price. Considering Little Rock impossible to defend, General Price elected to withdraw and hoped to stand and fight another day than to lose his entire army. He retreated toward Arkadelphia and let Steele enter Little Rock unopposed.
On the 10th of September, 1863 a fiery death Bracelet. She and seven other steamers at berth on the Little Rock waterfront were a blazing, smoking funeral pyre when General Steele rode upon the scene.
So ends the saga of Bracelet.
With Bracelet also died that day: the side-wheel steamer Arkansas, built in I860; stern screw steamer Little Rock, built in 1858; sidewheel steamer Lizzie Simmons [largest of them all at 454 tons], built in 1859; the sidewheel steamer, St. Francis No. 3, built in 1858; the stern screw steamer, Julia Roane, built in 1859; the stern screw steamer, Chester Ashley, built in 1860, and the sidewheel steamer, Tahlequal [the smallest of the lot at 92 tons], built in 1860 .
SOURCES
1. Original Portage Book of the Steamer Bracelett. [Details in text of article).
2. Hal 1iburton's History of Arkansas County [1541 1875].
3. Herndon, Annals of Arkansas, Vols. 1 and 2.
4. Civil War Diary of Abram Brokaw [In hands of author's wife] See GPHS Bulletin, Vol. 12-2, Pg . 9.
5. Private record of Press Whiting ancestors and descendants in hands of Mrs. Luna Peterson, DeWitt, Ark.
6. Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States. [The Lightle-Hol,dcamper List).
7. A Preliminary Inventory of Major Vessel Losses in Arkansas Waters, 1824-1966, Donald G. Shomette, 1966.
8. Official Records of Union and Confederate Navies of the War of the Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 24, Pgs . 50, S96 and 697.
9. The Battle of Arkansas Post [pamphlet], by Robert F. Huffstot.
10. The Steamboats, From Early Sidewheelers to the Big Packet, by Harry Sinclair Orago, 1967.
11. Hempstead’s History of Arkansas.
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