Natchez

When the steamboat New Orleans made her way down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in 1811-1812, it marked a turning point in the Transportation Revolution.  After the New Orleans showed that it could be done, steamboats proliferated on the Ohio and the Mississippi and their tributaries.  Steamboat traffic helped create a national economy, opening markets for farm goods and drawing people and commerce to cities along the rivers.

The New Orleans arrived in Natchez on December 30 and stayed over the New Year before making the final leg of her journey.

Oct. 18, 1811, Pittsburgh Gazette - the New Orleans makes a trial run and "is intended as a regular packet between Natchez and New Orleans
Oct. 25, 1811, Pittsburgh Gazette - the New Orleans steams from Pittsburgh "for the Natchez" on Oct. 20
Oct. 26, 1811, Western Spy - the New Orleans makes a trial run and "is intended as a regular packet between Natchez and New Orleans
Jan. 18, 1812, Western Spy - letters from Natchez written after the earthquake have no news of it
Jan. 25, 1812, Western Spy -  reports from Natchez about tremors there
Feb. 8, 1812, Western Spy - the New Orleans arrives in Natchez on Dec. 30
Feb. 12, 1812, Liberty Hall - the New Orleans arrives in Natchez on Dec. 30, bringing news of the earthquake damage farther north
Feb. 12, 1812, Liberty Hall - report of shocks felt simultaneously in Natchez and southern Alabama
Feb. 14, 1812, Pittsburgh Gazette - the New Orleans arrives in New Orleans on Jan. 10, "intended as a regular trader" between New Orleans and Natchez
Mar. 6, 1812, Pittsburgh Gazette - the New Orleans makes a trial run of the New Orleans-Natchez trip on Jan. 23; a "gentleman passenger of correct information" gives details
June 13, 1812, Louisiana Gazette - a gentleman from Natchez reports that Indians north of Natchez, Mississippi, support Tenskwatawa against the whites
June 15, 1812, letter from Robert Fulton, reporting on expenses and income for the Natchez-New Orleans trip

1817, John Bradbury remembers boarding the New Orleans in Natchez on Jan. 6, 1812 (and describes the city)

More about the "Steamboat Adventure" of 1811-1812 --

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Steamboat Adventure homepage

Chronology

Spring 1811
Summer 1811
Fall 1811
Winter 1811-1812
Spring 1812

Locations

Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Louisville (Kentucky) and Madison (Indiana Territory)
New Madrid (now in Missouri)
Chickasaw Bluffs (now Memphis)
Natchez
New Orleans

Topics

Nicholas and Lydia Roosevelt
The Transportation Revolution
The Great Comet of 1811
The New Madrid Earthquakes
Indian Relations

Questions or comments -- historians@hanover.edu