steamboating

The History of Steam Boating in the US South

The History of Steam Boating in the US South

A steamboat is driven mainly by steam power and is typically used to drive propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats may use the prefix designations like SS, SS, or S/S for “Screw Steamer” or PS for “Paddle Steamer,” but these were the most commonly used names for steamships. Before the invention of trains, automobiles, … Read more

Steamboats 1845-49

Civil-War-Steamer-Sultana

‘BIG’ MISSOURI Built: 1845, Cincinnati, Ohio. Type: Sidewheel, wooden hull packet. Size: 304 feet, 886 tons. This is a 1850 lithograph of the MISSOURI, also called the BIG MISSOURI because it was the largest steamboat on the river below Louisville before the launch of the SULTANA in 1848. It operated mainly between St. Louis and New Orleans and was … Read more