Str. JOHN RAINE

Letter written aboard JOHN RAINE

Sharon: In 1988 I was given a fragile letter (by Miss Ruth Ferris, my mentor and patron saint of steamboating) written by a Mr. Foster on Monday, February 27, 1860 aboard the steamer JOHN RAINE, en route to Napoleon, Arkansas. The two and a half page letter discusses girlfriends and tells nothing about the boat, but I will be happy to send you a copy if you wish. Ruth sent me the letter mainly because the boat was built at New Albany, my hometown, in 1858.

I am sorry that I have no additional information on the RAINE other than what is contained in Way's Directory and the Lytle List.

Keith

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Furthermore...

Sharon:

In my file was a postcard from Ruth Ferris in which she noted that in the 1840's the steamer CONCORDIA was under the command of Capt. John Raine. Check Way's Directory for #1280.

In the Lytle-Holdcamper List there is mention that the RAINE was sold to the U.S. Quartermaster Depot in 1861 and was possibly redocumented.

Hope this helps and sorry I don't have more!

"Curator Keith"

Gibsons Dictionary

Ms C

The str John Raine is also listed in the "Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels, Union Army, 1861-1868" by Charles Dana and E Kay Gibson. The str John Raine was a sidewheel steamer 541 tons, 620 tons. The Gibsons comments follow:

Expedition to Pittsburg Landing - Shiloh, Apr 1862.
Purchased by Quartermaster either in Nov or Dec of 1862 for support of the Mississippi Marine Brigade.
Red river expedition of 1864.
Following the disbanding of the Mississippi Marine Brigade, she was used as a transport.
Was one of the Quartermaster vessels to be taken under fire on the Mississippi, having been attacked by a partisan force near Bayou Sara, LA on 28 Feb 1865.
Located in St Louis as of 30 Jun 1865; condition rated as ordinary.

That is quite a record for one vessel. The notes in the dictionary by the Gibsons do not list the names of the captain, pilot, owner. It does indicate the primary sources, such as HR-337, Western Rivers. A visit to the National Archives for a look at the "Vessel File" could provide more details. It might contain some hand written documents of Capt Wm Underwood.

Good luck.
Fran Nash

*Str. RAINE/Lt. Leroy Mayne*
Steamboating colleagues:
Keith & Francis are on the money with their references RE: Str. JOHN RAINE. Earlier I dug in records and web sites for Sharon finding: 'Family Photos and their Civil War Stories/American Civil war Forum.' There appears a fine period photo of young 1st Lt. Leroy Mayne from Iowa with memories/experiences of the RAINE and BALTIC. One gripping story for sure. Mayne sensed his impending death in action several days prior. He showed a fellow officer his necktie containing $300 in cash. Upon his death neither his cash filled tie or his gold watch were ever recovered.

Additional information may be gleaned from 'The History of the Ram Fleet,' by Warren Crandell. A listing of this on the above web prompted me to dig in the library of The Literary Club of Cincinnati; and there it was. I'm sure more will surface for Sharon who is presently working on possible pieces for a future S&D REFLECTOR. Good luck Sharon and keep us posted.

Casting lines, steaming out Monday for weeks at sea in the tropics. This cold weather becoming a drag. Cheers!

R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.

HI, Keith -

Please send a copy of this Foster letter! As you can now see, there's not much at all known about the JOHN RAINE, except that bit by Way in the Packet Directory. I DO know she was chartered, then owned, by the Union during the Civil War, and ran supplies and troops from Louisville/Cairo to the Battle of Shiloh, but no pertinent details.
Thanks for offering your Foster letter; I know how precious that must be, since Ms. Ruth gave it to you.
Sharon

Keith, I don't have the Lytle-Holdcamper List and appreciate this info very much! I have a friend checking the Army's/Navy's CW records for dates and details of the JOHN RAINE.
Thanks again, my friend.
sharon

Hi, Fran -

Seems my research materials are seriously lacking! How does one find a copy of the Dana/Gibson book on combat/transport vessels? A visit to NARA is sorta out of the question, but I have a friend who lives near there who might do that research for me. Thanks for the advice.
I would have thought Fred Way might have more on this steamboat, or that more might have come to light since the Packet Directory was published, but so far, not much.
Thanks very much for taking the time to check the Dana/Gibson book and posting the above information.
Sharon

Thanks again, Dale, especially for the nugget on the History of the Ram Fleet by Crandell. I assume this is an out of print book? But, I'll try amazon.com, just in case.
Sharon

Keith, one more question: The JOHN RAINE was built in 1858, according to Fred Way; do you know at which boatyard in New Albany she was built?
Thanks,
Sharon

References

Ms C

Hard facts about SBs of the str John Raine period are scattered and hard to come by. It takes a bit of luck or a pro researcher like Carl Jones. There does not seem to be much interest in the old steamers because their history is

The "Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels, Steam and Sail, Employed by the Union Army 1861-1868", compiled by Charles Dana and E Kay Gibson is available on Amazon ($47 new or $19 used). I use the book quite lot on my website for family SBs that served in the Civil War.

My ranking of the major SB references:

(1) Capt Way's Packet Directory
(2) The Lytle-Holdcamper List
(3) The Gibsons Dictionary.

Those volumes followed by any old books written by river men of the time are my main sources.

Keep posting your research progress.
Fran Nash

References

Ms C

I failed to finish my sentence. The history of the 1850'ish steamboats and steamboat men is silent, hardly touched by historians. For example, "The Adventures of TC Collins - Boatman - Twenty-four years on the Western Rivers 1849-1873" edited by Herbert L , published in 1985 mentions the steamboats by name but not the owners, captains, pilots, or clerks. You have to piece the info together from multiple sources to develop the entire picture.

The words of TC Collins provide a colorful picture of life on the sharp edge of the continually moving frontier of America.

Again, best wished.
Fran Nash

According to Gould's History of River Navigation, page 368. Wm. Underwood had the John Raine in the Lighting line in 1958 This line ran from Louisville, Ky to New Orleans.
in 1862 Wm Underwood renewed his pilots license at Louisville
in 1868 W. C. Underwood got a 1st class pilots licenses at Louisville his 14th renewal.
in 1871 William Underwood got his 1st class pilots license at Louisville 8th issue (likely a printers mistake)
1874 W. C. Underwood got his 1st class pilots license at Louisville 19th Issue # 575 cost $10.00.
He did not appear in the 1876 listings at Louisville.
I skipped some of the years I have copies of the Lists of Licenses for.
I have become more interested in the steamboat and towboat Personal then in the history of the boats. But you can't do one without the other.
[email protected]

Thanks for the references, Fran. I use amazon.com for just about ALL my book buys, so I'll do that today.

Y'all are all so helpful; I hope I can live up to your generosity when writing about ol' JOHN RAINE.
Sharon

Carl! Just what I needed for the Underwood history! As you say, you can't research and write about the boat without the personnel, nor vice versa.

Thank you so much for these nuggets!
Sharon

Sharon: I have dug through several voluminous folders of material in the hope I could find an answer for you. In 1951 Victor M. Bogle wrote a thesis for his doctoral degree at Boston University concerning New Albany's economic history. The really frustrating aspect of what remains of New Albany's glorious steamboat building days is that, while we have listings of the boats constructed here and the year they were built, not much is given as to what specific yard was involved. With there being as many as five or six boat yards, it poses a problem for historians and researchers! However, I did find in Dr. Bogle's writings that in the 1850's most all of the boats were built either by Dowerman & Humphrey OR the William Jones Company.

The main newspaper for the city at the time was The New Albany Ledger, which regularly contained river items, especially the comings and goings of boats at the wharf. I found one notation (UNdated) which mentioned the JOHN RAINE coming in from New Orleans.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, everyone, for posting the sources for your information on the Str. JOHN RAINE.
I've ordered all those available books, and have today rec'd Dana & Gibson's Vol. II of "Assault & Logistics: Union Army Costal & River Operations 1861-1868 (Army)."

This book has a great deal of information on the formation (and later, the disbanding) of the Mississippi River Marine Brigade. There are numerous mentions of the Str. JOHN RAINE as well, with dates, which I believe I'll find of importance. Bits and pieces are coming together.
Keith Norrington, thanks for the copy of the 1860 letter written from the Str. JOHN RAINE. The date and the arrival port are interesting to the RAINE's story.
Sharon

Keith, sorry I haven't answered this week; have had the crud that's been going around recently... Still have it, but able to at least sit up and pound the keyboard...

Thanks for this information about the New Albany boat yards in the 1850s. I think I can go from there with some queries to the Indiana Historical Society (have a friend there, thank Goodness!) and see which yard was building specifically in 1858.

Thank you for all your help, my friend. You always come through when I need Southern Indiana/Louisville information.
Sharon