War Eagle (Packet, 1854-1870)

Summary

• BOAT DESCRIPTION: Sidewheel
• BOAT TYPE: Packet
• BUILT: 1854 at Fulton (Cincinnati), Ohio
• FINAL DISPOSITION: Burned at La Crosse, Wisconsin on May 15, 1870
• OWNERS: Minnesota Packet Company; La Crosse Line (1859); Davidson Line; Northwestern Union Packet Company (1864)
• OFFICERS & CREW: Captain Daniel Smith Harris (master, 1854-56); Captain A.T. Kingman (master, 1857); Captain W.H. Gabbert (master, 1858); Captain J.B. Davis (master, 1859); Captain A. Mitchell (master, 1861); Captain Charles L. Stephenson (master, 1861); Captain N.F. Webb (master, 1862); ? Coffin (clerk, 1857); T. F. Ball or Bell (clerk, 1856-57); Sam Cook (clerk, 1861); E.A. Johnson (2nd clerk, 1861); Jackson Harris (pilot 1861); William Fisher (pilot, 1861); ? Troxell (engineer, 1861); ? Wright (engineer, 1861); Frank Norris (steward, 1861); Thomas Burns (pilot); Charles E. Spencerbox (master, 1867-68); Stephen Hawks or Hanks (pilot, 1858-68); Ed. A. Burrage (1st clerk, 1870); Thomas Cushing (master, 1870); S.M. Whitney (2nd clerk, 1870); R.W. Carson (clerk, 1863); John Geary (pilot); F.M. Gleim (chief clerk, 1856); Captain Morgan S. Gray (master 1854, 1870); S.M. DeLorimier (chief clerk, 1867-70); ? Hamilton (clerk, 1862); Captain Thomas L. Davidson (1874); James Johnson or Johnston (pilot, 1870); W.L. Faucett (clerk, 1854); M.H. Crapster (clerk, 1859); Chas. C. Mather (clerk, 1862); Joseph LaPoint (pilot, 1870)
• RIVERS: Mississippi River; Tennessee River
• OTHER INFORMATION: Ways - 5691; Built for the Minnesota Packet Company. First home port, Galena, Illinois. In 1855 she made the run from Galena to St. Paul in 44 hours, handling all way freight. She ran Dunleith-St. Paul in 1857-58 and again in 1861 and in the summer of 1862. In 1859 she was in the La Crosse Line. On June 22, 1861 she left St. Paul with five companies of the First Minnesota Infantry Volunteers. They were landed at La Crosse, Wisconsin and transferred to the railroad for transportation to Washington. In March 1862 she made a trip to the Tennessee River for the U.S. government and got a shot in one of her stacks. She burned at La Crosse, Wisconsin on May 15, 1870 with the loss of six lives and property damage of $215,000
• PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Photo of objects recovered from the War Eagle by Dennis Brandt