Lincoln, a Flatboat, New Orleans, and Discovering America

Lincoln flatboatSoon after moving to Illinois, Lincoln made his second flatboat trip to New Orleans. A local entrepreneur and schemer named Denton Offutt approached Lincoln’s relative John Hanks about manning such a journey. Hanks then recruited Lincoln and brother-in-law John Johnston, all of whom now lived in a wooded area west of Decatur near the banks of the Sangamon River. Because of the previous “winter of deep snow,” melting snowpack made the roads impassable by the first of March 1831, forcing the three men to purchase a canoe and paddle down the Sangamon River as far as Springfield, where they expected to find a fully loaded flatboat. Offutt, however, had somehow forgotten to arrange for it.

Frustrated by the delay but eager to continue, Lincoln, Hanks, and Johnston were joined by a local carpenter, Charles Cabanis, and John Roll. While they largely followed the standard design, there were some differences. Because this trip was to include livestock—live hogs in addition to wet and dry goods—the men constructed small corrals and troughs in the boat. They also added a wooden mast and sail to help them maneuver when the wind was gentle enough to push the boat, but not wreck it. After about six weeks of construction, they shoved the 18 feet wide by 80 feet long boat into the Sangamon River just below Sangamotown. They floated the Sangamon River as it wound northwest until meeting the Illinois River near Beardstown, which then turned south until its confluence with the mighty Mississippi River north of Alton for their final thousand miles on the waters to New Orleans. Along the way they would pass St. Louis (where John Hanks turned back because his wife was due to give birth), Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and Baton Rouge, giving Lincoln a glimpse at cities that would become important strategic points in the later Civil War.

As he moved down the river, Lincoln discovered how the Mississippi had become the central artery of commerce in the Midwest, allowing farmers from western New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to move their produce to New Orleans. It was here Lincoln discovered the existence of a cosmopolitan, multiethnic, society doing trade with the Caribbean and South America, as well as across the central American isthmus and up to west coast, plus Europe and Africa. Lincoln’s world enlarged immeasurably. No longer subsistence farming and small towns as far as you could walk or ride on horseback, life on the river showed Lincoln a glimpse of upper society. There were wealthy sugar plantation owners who purchased or traded for pork and potatoes. There were poverty-stricken families, both black and white, desperate to barter whatever little they had for whatever little they could get. The river was an economic engine as well as transportation, but he recognized the benefits were unequal in distribution. It made Lincoln think about his own situation, his limited formal schooling and opportunities, and how he might better his condition.

Upon arrival in the Crescent City, he and his companions had to compete for space at the piers with hundreds of other flatboats, two to three deep along the docks for over a mile at the landing site above the city. After crawling over other boats, the men bartered and sold whatever remained of their wares, plus anything acquired along the way. Eventually they would sell the boat itself, sometimes whole to a wealthy buyer, but often piecemeal, taking it apart board by board to sell as lumber or fuel. Overall, they could net a return of about a quarter of the construction cost. On each occasion the crews lingered in New Orleans for as long as they could afford before setting out for home.

[Adapted from my forthcoming book]

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His newest Lincoln book is scheduled for release in February 2022. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me for updates on my Facebook author page and Goodreads.

Jellyfish at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas – New Orleans

Audubon Aquarium of the AmericasMany years ago, in my marine biologist days, I studied jellyfish at the National Marine Fisheries Service laboratory in Oxford, Maryland. I’ve been fascinated with them ever since. I recall the first time seeing them in a large aquarium – in Monterey, California – and have watched as more and more aquariums have installed jellyfish setups themselves.

Jellyfish (yes, I know technically they should be called Sea Jellies since they are not fish, but old habits die hard) are not easy to keep in aquariums. They have very little control over where they go other than to backstroke up or down or side to side. Mainly they just go where the current goes. In aquariums that usually means straight into the filter. Nothing like a mushy, globular, nematocyst-laden carbon filter to gum up your tank.

So it took some engineering, some of which I developed myself in those good old days, to figure out how to keep jellyfish happy. And that makes me happy.

The aquarium also had the usual complement of sharks, skates, rays, and fish of all kinds. Not a bad aquarium at all, and one I’ll talk more about in the future. Check out the other aquariums I’ve visited all over the world.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

 

[Daily Post]

Rolling on the River in the City of New Orleans

Steamboat NatchezYes, the allusions in the title are intentional. Creedence Clearwater Revival (aka, CCR) wrote a song called Proud Mary, though many know it by its famous refrain “rolling on the river” (and the remixed version by Tina Turner). It refers to a riverboat plying the Mississippi River. The City of New Orleans is a song by Steve Goodman made famous by Arlo Guthrie. It refers to the name of a train that traveled between Chicago and New Orleans. Both came to mind as I watched this:

The Natchez is the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River. Abraham Lincoln would have ridden a similar boat on his way back upriver following his second flatboat trip to New Orleans. I recently had the privilege of doing some research on the boat for my upcoming Lincoln book. It is the only boat left on the river that uses steam as its sole means of forward and reverse propulsion. Today the steam is produced by burning diesel fuel; in the past it would have been wood-, and then coal-, fired.

The two steam engines drive the pistons, which turn the rear paddle wheel, a 25-foot in diameter, white oak and steel behemoth weighing 26 tons.The boat itself is 265 feet long and weighs 1,384 tons. The pilot on the bridge uses a telegraph for communication to the chief engineer in the engine room. As the pilot turns the knob to the position he wants, it turns the corresponding dial in the engine room and sounds a bell. When the engineer moves his knob to the corresponding position it stops the bell, thus indicating to the pilot that the engineer received the signal. It’s a fascinating process to watch.

Amazingly, the boat draws only five to seven feet, which allows it to get up into the very shallow waters of the Mississippi.

Abraham Lincoln would have been happy that an authentic steamboat still travels the lower Mississippi, though he also would be happy that “internal improvements” have progressed so much further.

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page. Share with your friends using the buttons below

 

Lincoln (and Me) in New Orleans

I’m science traveling in New Orleans. Somehow I’ve never been to the city before so am chomping at the chance to visit, in part because New Orleans played a role in Abraham Lincoln’s emerging world view. He traveled there twice, both times on a flatboat floating down the Mississippi River just before leaving the family home to set up a life as a young adult. I’ll have more on the trip when I return, but it got me thinking of a book I had read last year. I’m reposting the review of it here to whet your appetite for more. Enjoy.

Lincoln in New OrleansBook Review – Lincoln in New Orleans by Richard Campanella

An exceptionally well researched book recreating Abraham Lincoln’s flatboat trips to New Orleans. Campanella is an expert on New Orleans, and has expanded his expertise upstream to develop a detailed account of Lincoln’s two trips down the Mississippi River. No small feat given that the sum total of all the first person reminiscences of the trips by Lincoln and participants wouldn’t fill a page of text. Campanella’s recreation, like many efforts based on such scant direct information, is not however contrived in the least. On the contrary, the effort he has put into collecting and analyzing fragmented – and often contradictory or dubious – accounts is exemplary.

I would suggest the book is for the serious reader rather those with a casual interest in Lincoln, New Orleans, or the Mississippi River. It is extremely fact-dense, and the writing style is scholarly, yet accessible for thoughtful enthusiasts. Those expecting an exhilarating story of adventure won’t find it, though an adventure it does describe. To me that not only doesn’t take away from the book, it helps define it as scholarship to be taken seriously.

After a short introduction there are only five long chapters. The first explores Lincoln’s father Thomas’ own flatboat trip as a youth, along with setting the stage for Lincoln’s  desire to hit the muddy waters himself. “The 1828 Experience” is a massive undertaking; more than 100 pages of detailed research into the timing of his first flatboat trip while still living in Indiana, the building of the boat, the obstacles in the rivers and elsewhere, the arrival and lingering in New Orleans at the end, and the trip back home. Campanella teases apart the disparate accounts, provides a detailed analysis of the attack by slaves, and places Lincoln in the context of the technologically changing times.

Another chapter examines Lincoln’s second flatboat experience in 1831, including analysis of the mill dam story, the crew and timing of departures, and much more. While truncated so as not to repeat the riverine details well covered in the previous chapter, it still tallies about 40 pages. This is followed by a chapter speculating about what Lincoln may have seen and done in New Orleans, framed by extensive actual facts about what was going on there at that time. In his Conclusions chapter Campanella assesses what influences these flatboat voyages may have had on Lincoln’s views of slavery, internal improvements, and political philosophy. On top of all of this Campanella adds two appendices providing wonderful background material on commerce on western rivers and on New Orleans itself during the time period in which Lincoln was developing into the President he would become.

This is an extraordinary book of scholarship that deserves more attention that it has apparently received. It’s not for the casual reader, but it should be for everyone seriously interested in this critical period of Abraham Lincoln’s life.

More Abraham Lincoln book reviews can be read here (scroll down for more).

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page. Share with your friends using the buttons below.

 

From New York to New Orleans

In the last two months I’ve been on the road – and in the air – a lot. I started out with a week in New York City, squeezed in some local time researching Abraham Lincoln at the National Archives, then zoomed off to Paris, then London, then Salt Lake City without a break. About 10 days to recover and then off to Gettysburg. Now a few breaths before my parents arrive tomorrow for 10 days of Thanksgiving festivities.

The weather in New York City was generally dreary. Every day was overcast and cold. Rain threatened at all times, and sometimes it carried out that threat. The sun came out on the first day there for about an hour, and that hour was while we were at the Statue of Liberty! Perhaps it was an omen, especially given the frightful events of Paris.

Statue of Liberty

As a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey (a VTOL aircraft reminiscent of one designed by NikolaDSC04468 Tesla) circled the boat, we stopped at Ellis Island on the way back, just long enough to remind us that immigration is the fabric of our nation. From there we visited One World Trade Center, called “Freedom Tower” by many. Sitting on the site of the World Trade Towers that fell September 11, 2001, the new building overlooks two reverse pools surrounded by the names of those lost. A museum brings you down into the nightmare that was that day, and also the heroism. It’s a must visit.

One World Trade Center

We also visited John Lennon’s Imagine circle at Strawberry Fields, the American Museum of Natural History, the Lincoln statue outside the New York Historical Society, checked out Nikola Tesla Corner at Bryant Park and the New York Public Library, took in the view from the top of the Empire State Building, wandered the deck of the aircraft carrier Intrepid, saw the Space Shuttle up-close-and-personal, and squeezed through a submarine. Oh, and walked several miles of Manhattan – the lower, the mid-town, and the park (and west side).

Phew. No wonder we were beat by the end of the week. And that was just the beginning.

Edison Place New OrleansAfter hosting the Thanksgiving visit the only trip left on the calendar this year is a 4-day weekend in New Orleans. I’ve never been there. After lobbying SETAC for ten years to hold a meeting there they finally scheduled one – for the time that I was working in Brussels and my company refused to allow me to come back for it. I’m looking forward to it, especially now that I know there is a plaque highlighting Thomas Edison in the French Quarter.

BTW, because of my time in Brussels and having just been in Paris I spent a good amount of anxious time trying to see if my friends and colleagues were safe when I heard about the Paris attacks. The focus on Brussels as a source of the terrorists raised the anxiety level even more. As far as I’ve been able to determine everyone I know is safe. This is a frustrating topic and I haven’t decided if it’s something on which I want to speak on further, but needless to say it’s difficult, especially after also being recently in New York City and living not far from the Pentagon. Perhaps more on this at another time; or perhaps not.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

Book Review – Lincoln in New Orleans by Richard Campanella

Lincoln in New OrleansAn exceptionally well researched book recreating Abraham Lincoln’s flatboat trips to New Orleans. Campanella is an expert on New Orleans, and has expanded his expertise upstream to develop a detailed account of Lincoln’s two trips down the Mississippi River. No small feat given that the sum total of all the first person reminiscences of the trips by Lincoln and participants wouldn’t fill a page of text. Campanella’s recreation, like many efforts based on such scant direct information, is not however contrived in the least. On the contrary, the effort he has put into collecting and analyzing fragmented – and often contradictory or dubious – accounts is exemplary.

I would suggest the book is for the serious reader rather those with a casual interest in Lincoln, New Orleans, or the Mississippi River. It is extremely fact-dense, and the writing style is scholarly, yet accessible for thoughtful enthusiasts. Those expecting an exhilarating story of adventure won’t find it, though an adventure it does describe. To me that not only doesn’t take away from the book, it helps define it as scholarship to be taken seriously.

After a short introduction there are only five long chapters. The first explores Lincoln’s father Thomas’ own flatboat trip as a youth, along with setting the stage for Lincoln’s  desire to hit the muddy waters himself. “The 1828 Experience” is a massive undertaking; more than 100 pages of detailed research into the timing of his first flatboat trip while still living in Indiana, the building of the boat, the obstacles in the rivers and elsewhere, the arrival and lingering in New Orleans at the end, and the trip back home. Campanella teases apart the disparate accounts, provides a detailed analysis of the attack by slaves, and places Lincoln in the context of the technologically changing times.

Another chapter examines Lincoln’s second flatboat experience in 1831, including analysis of the mill dam story, the crew and timing of departures, and much more. While truncated so as not to repeat the riverine details well covered in the previous chapter, it still tallies about 40 pages. This is followed by a chapter speculating about what Lincoln may have seen and done in New Orleans, framed by extensive actual facts about what was going on there at that time. In his Conclusions chapter Campanella assesses what influences these flatboat voyages may have had on Lincoln’s views of slavery, internal improvements, and political philosophy. On top of all of this Campanella adds two appendices providing wonderful background material on commerce on western rivers and on New Orleans itself during the time period in which Lincoln was developing into the President he would become.

This is an extraordinary book of scholarship that deserves more attention that it has apparently received. It’s not for the casual reader, but it should be for everyone seriously interested in this critical period of Abraham Lincoln’s life.

More Abraham Lincoln book reviews can be read here (scroll down for more).

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and is writing a book on Abraham Lincoln’s interests in technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, and a signed copy can be ordered directly from me. The second printing will be available in Barnes and Noble bookstores soon, or you can download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com.

Feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.