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Captains Cannon (top) and Leathers
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The Captains

Although the race between the Rob't E. Lee and the Natchez was never close, the background to the event 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.

Despite the name of Capt. Cannon's boat, both men appear to have worked with both Federal troops and the Confederacy during the war, suggesting that they focused on maintaining their business more than the war. After the war they remained successful.

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.

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