Dear Poe friends
Based on the readings during a recent visit to the National Archives, I have loaded a couple of pages on GeorgetownSteamboats.com describing the collision of the steamer Horizon on the Mississippi River and the burning of the steamer Clara Poe on the Cumberland River during the Civil War. The page link for the str Clara Poe is called A Case for Indemnity.
The loss of the Horizon and Clara Poe differ in several ways. The Horizon was definitely under contract to the US Army Quartermaster. Yet the military Vessel File at the National Archives has more original source papers regarding the burning of the Clara Poe .
One interesting aside from Horizon was a series of letters from an engineer named Kemper. In a letter dated 4 May 1874, Kemper’s attorney requested pay for service on the str Horizon while running the batteries at Vicksburg. As you no doubt have guessed, the response from the US Army Quartermaster was negative — stating “our records do not show that Kemper rendered the services”. Eleven years after the event the US Army Quartermaster refused to pay the engineer Kemper’s day wages even though Kemper had an affidavit from an officer on the boat stating that Kemper served at Vicksburg. No records – no pay – period!
There was no compensation for the str Clara Poe . Principal owner, Thomas W Poe had been dead thirteen years, when his brother, Jacob Poe, wrote his final letter to the US Army Quartermaster on 10 Jun 1890 -- six presidents and 25 years after the burning of the Clara Poe .
You gotta admire the US Army financial managers.
Follow the links. I think you will find these river tales amusing.
Fran Nash
PS If the links are not maintained by this email, I have attached the same document as a MS Word.doc.
Dear Poe friends
A rare photograph of the str Amelia Poe and its story . Check it out.
My history of the str Amelia Poe differs in minor details. Compare the differences.
Fran Nash