Lincoln in New Orleans - Flatboat Voyage of 1828: Part 2

We pick up the voyage after it was hypothesized that Gentry and Lincoln had “lingered” at Natchez. As they continued downstream, Campanella mentioned the fact that the Gentry-Lincoln flatboat would have passed the thriving settlement of Bayou Sara on the east bank of the river but did not conclude that it had served as a location for an overnight stay. The next location of note on the eastern bluff of the river would have been Baton Rouge, location of the United States Barracks constructed in 1819-1825 and a site supposedly visited by Lincoln during the 1828 voyage. However, based on his research findings, Campanella completely dismissed that possibility and the contention that Lincoln visited the United States Barracks at Baton Rouge. Estimated to have departed the Baton Rouge area about May 4th, the Gentry-Lincoln flatboat transitioned from “the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River to the deltaic plain.” In Campanella’s words, “This was Louisiana’s legendary “sugar coast” home to plantation after plantation after plantation…” This almost 100 mile stretch of the river also served somewhat as a marketplace for flatboaters ultimately destined for New Orleans. Some flatboaters apparently sold their entire inventory along this stretch.

Campanella reasoned that Gentry and Lincoln may have “lingered” (that is, slowed their progress) along the “sugar coast”. They would have passed Bayou Manchac to the east that drained into Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain and then Bayou Plaquemine to the west. Campanella suggested that the Gentry-Lincoln flatboat may have passed Bayou Plaquemine around or possibly on the date of a breach in the levee just south of the bayou and reported in the New Orleans Bee on May 10th. The New Orleans Bee was a French language newspaper published in New Orleans from September 1, 1927, until December 27, 1923. At various times, the newspaper had an English-language section. Continuing their voyage, Campanella concluded that Gentry and Lincoln tied up for the evening on May 12th or 13th at a site approximately 60 river miles from New Orleans. This was to be a very consequential landing as explained by Lincoln in the third person in his autobiography published in June 1860. Here, as quoted by Campanella is that passage…

“[O]ne night they were attacked by seven negroes with the intent to kill and rob them. They were hurt some in the melee, but succeeded in driving the negroes from the boat, and then “cut cable” “weighed anchor” and left.”

The essentials of this account were confirmed by William Dean Howells in his biography of Abraham Lincoln published in 1860. Campanella reported that Lincoln actually reviewed the Howells’ account and did not suggest the need for any revisions. Further confirmation of the accuracy of Lincoln’s account of the attack was contained in the writings of William Herndon who was a law partner and biographer of Lincoln. After Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, Herndon began “to collect stories of Lincoln’s life from those who knew him.” Interviews with some of Lincoln’s early neighbors confirmed...

“Lincoln was attacked by the negroes-no doubt of this- Abe told me so-Saw the scar myself.-Suppose at the Wade Hampton farm or near by- probably below at a widow’s firm.”

Anna Gentry, the wife of Allen Gentry who accompanied Lincoln on the flatboat voyage, provided yet additional details about the attack. Her account as published in Herndon’s writings and repeated by Campanella is as follows…

“When my husband and L[incoln] went down the river they were attacked by Negroes-Some Say Wade Hamptons Negroes, but I think not: the place was below that called Mdme. Bushams Plantation 6 M below Baton Rouche-Abe fought the Negroes-got them off the boat-pretended to have guns- had none- the Negroes had hickory Clubs- my husband said “Lincoln get the guns and Shoot[“]-the Negroes took alarm and left.”

Based on a critical analysis of the accounts of the attack, Campanella concluded that the attack most likely took place near the Convent of Sacred Heart and girl’s school founded by Rose Philippine Duchesne in 1825 and located approximately 12 river miles below Wade Hamptons. Campanella posited that Mother Duchesne’s Convent and Mdme. Bushams Plantation are one and the same. Further, rather than 6 river miles below Baton Rouge as cited by Anna Gentry, the Wade Hamptons’ place was located closer to 60 miles downstream from Baton Rouge. Yet to be addressed are the details concerning the attackers. While it has been well established that there were seven negro attackers, their source and slave status cannot be confirmed. Campanella suggested that they were likely from a nearby plantation and possibly runaways. In addition, as noted by Campanella, the incident confirms two facts- Lincoln and Gentry were unarmed and did not travel at night. In concluding his description and analysis of the attack, Campanella stated “…that Lincoln came very close to being murdered in Louisiana.”

Campanella presumed that upon driving off their attackers, Lincoln and Gentry cast off and proceeded downriver despite being dark. Some accounts of the remainder of their voyage, only within a day of New Orleans, suggested that Lincoln and Gentry continued to trade along the “plantation coast” and may have actually sold out of their cargo in advance of reaching New Orleans. Given the circumstances of the previous night and their proximity to New Orleans, Campanella rejected the probability of that possibility. Arriving at the outskirts and then the main area of New Orleans, Lincoln and Gentry would have experienced increasingly urban development along the east bank of the river and boat traffic on the river. Their arrival marked the completion of a 1,273-mile voyage of which 1009 miles were on the Lower Mississippi River. Based on Campanella’s account of the reconstructed voyage, Lincoln and Gentry would have arrived at dusk on either May 13 or 14. Having initiated the voyage on either April 18th or 19th, Lincoln and Gentry would have traveled for a total of 26 days for an average progress of 49 miles/day. Upon arriving, Lincoln and Gentry needed to pay a six-dollar fee, sell the remainder of their cargo, dismantle their flatboat and sell the lumber before exploring New Orleans and initiating their return journey.

Campanella used deductive reasoning and reports published locally in the New Orleans Bee and the New Orleans Argus newspapers to determine the likely landing location for the Lincoln-Gentry flatboat and the number of other flatboats populating the landing and, in some instances, providing competition to the sales of their cargo. Interestingly, both newspapers cited mid-May 1828 as the “busiest flatboat week of the entire year”. The Bee cited 53 new arrivals whereas the Argus cited 73 new arrivals. As noted previously, this period would have more or less coincided with the date- May 13th or 14th- that Campanella concluded the Lincoln-Gentry flatboat arrived at New Orleans. Regarding docking location, Campanella found evidence that flatboats generally docked along the eastern bank of the river starting at the foot of Notre Dame and Julia Streets in Faubourg St. Mary and extending upriver as needed to accommodate the number of flatboats in port. Using data published in the Bee, Campanella determined that, on average, there could have been as many as 160 flatboats docked during the mid-May period of 1828. Assuming an average flatboat length of 20’ and clearances of 5’ between flatboats, the flatboat wharf would have extended over 4000’ upstream. After consideration of a number of factors, Campanella concluded that the Lincoln-Gentry flatboat probably moored in the vicinity of the intersection of Henderson and South St. Peters Streets.

Having established a place along the line of flatboats, it was now time for Lincoln and Gentry to market their cargo of goods. How much time this might have required is unknown, but Campanella postulated that Lincoln and Gentry may have taken three to four days to sell their goods, dismantle their flatboat, and sell its lumber. Having accomplished these tasks, Lincoln and Gentry were now dependent on the vendors of New Orleans for their food and housing. How long they may have stayed in the city, what they might have seen, and what they might have done can only be speculated based on local newspaper articles, the written accounts of other flatboaters, and logical reasoning. Regarding the possibility that Lincoln observed slave trading at Hewlett’s Exchange, Campanella concluded: “A reasonable connecting-of-the-dots leads this researcher to posit that Lincoln probably visited Hewlett’s Exchange, and with equal probability, bore witness to one or some of the aforementioned slaves traded there.” There is no doubt that Lincoln and Gentry would have seen a vast array of vessels ranging from steamboats to ocean-going sailing vessels of all designs. Another historic site that the twosome likely saw if not experienced was the French Market. Established in 1791 at the location of a Native American Trading Post, the Market extended along the levee for a considerable distance to accommodate as many as 500 sellers at any given time.

In reasoning when Lincoln and Gentry might have left New Orleans, Campanella first hypothesized that the pair would have signed-on “deck passengers” on a northbound steamboat. Deck passengers were provided free passage on the deck of the vessel for the duration of the trip for the requirement of loading and unloading cargo and possibly assisting in mooring and departure tasks. To establish an estimated departure date, Campanella relied on accounts of steamboat departures for destinations that would transport Lincoln and Gentry as near to Rockport as possible. Based on his research, Campanella identified at least three steamboats during the period, June 5- June 10, that satisfied that requirement. Based on his assessment of the progress of the return voyage, Campanella estimated a return date within a period of two days either before or after June 21st. Having judged Lincoln and Gentry to have left Rockport on either April 18th or 19th, the total round trip would have totaled approximately 65 days and would have earned Lincoln the amazing sum of $16. However, the life experience would have probably been much more valuable to Lincoln than the financial compensation. Thus concluded Lincoln’s 1828 flatboat voyage.

The following is a brief introduction to Lincoln’s 1831 flatboat voyage to New Orleans. For the full story, see Campanella’s book, Lincoln in New Orleans, published by the University of Louisiana Lafayette Press.

Having now relocated to Illinois for a year, Lincoln joined John Hanks on March 1, 1831, to travel to Springfield, Illinois, and meet with Dennis Offutt in advance of piloting what was reported to be an already-loaded flatboat to New Orleans, a trip of 1,588 miles. Along the way, they were joined by a third crew member, John D. Johnston. Upon arriving in

Springfield and meeting with Offutt, they learned that not only was the flatboat not loaded but that no flatboat existed. Thus, they negotiated to construct the flatboat for $12 per month for each of them.

The construction site for the flatboat was Sangamo Town about 7 miles northwest of the City of Springfield. It is noted that Lincoln ultimately moved to Springfield in 1837 and lived there until 1861. Given the anticipated cargo, a flatboat 18 ft x 80 ft requiring a crew of four was constructed. The flatboat was completed and loaded as of April 17th or 18th and launched into the Sangamon River on the 19th. Unlike the 1828 flatboat, this flatboat was to carry livestock requiring provisions for corrals and troughs. While poling down the river near New Salem, the flatboat struck and became stuck on a dam constructed of timber. Accounts indicated that Lincoln took charge and directed actions that resulted in the flatboat being freed from the dam without any significant damage. Because of the conditions along the Sangamon and Illinois Rivers, progress was comparatively slow, but the flatboat finally entered the Mississippi River at Grafton and proceeded to St. Louis arriving on April 24th or 25th. The flatboat crew now faced navigating 1400 miles to New Orleans. Unlike the flood conditions on the river in 1828, the river was experiencing somewhat greater than average springtime water levels. Thus, based on historical data, Campanella estimated a flatboat speed of 4.75 mph compared to the 5.5 mph speed estimated for the 1828 voyage. Given a 14-hour day, 6 am- 8 pm, the progress of the flatboat would have been 66.5 miles per day. Based on these estimates and newspaper listings of flatboat arrivals, Campanella posited that the most likely date of the arrival of the flatboat would have been during the second week of May 1838. Campanella further concluded that the crew would have completed all their tasks as of the third week in May.

The preceding discussion was only a very brief and incomplete summary of Lincoln’s 1831 flatboat voyage to New Orleans. As already noted, see Campanella’s book for a comprehensive description and analysis of the voyage.

Source

Lincoln in New Orleans, Richard Campanella, University of Louisiana Lafayette Press, 2010.