The Captains and their boats
Although the race between the Rob't E. Lee and the Natchez
was never close, the background helps explain how it became such an anticipated
event. Captain John W. Cannon of the Rob't E. Lee, and Captain
Thomas Paul Leathers of the Natchez were well known river magnates.
Before the Civil War both men made sizable fortunes in the commercial trade
between New Orleans and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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| Captain Cannon |
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| Captain Leather |
Despite the name of Capt. Cannon's boat, the men appear to have worked
with both the Union and the Confederacy during the war. Whatever
losses the Civil War may have brought them they were again successful businessmen
afterwards.
Query...
Steamboats were much more than transportation, they were cultural icons.
Why did steamboats become "bigger than life?" |
|
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| The Rob't E. Lee |
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| The Natchez |
In the spring of 1866, Capt. Cannon began plans to build the most powerful
and luxurious steamboat the Mississippi had ever known. Built in
less than a year the Lee began to set speed records almost immediately.
Although Cannon and Leathers were acquainted and almost went into business
together, the men developed a rivalry. After the construction of
the Lee, Capt. Leathers decided to build the sixth boat to carry
the name Natchez. This new steamboat would be a super-Natchez,
larger and more powerful than the previous one. In 1869 the new boat
was complete and it too began to break old speed records.
