Lee Line Fleet 1899 w\gunboat Nashville

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported the following for May 2, 1899.  “The Gunboat Nashville anchored in Memphis harbor last evening.  She is en route from New Orleans to St. Louis.  There was a great crowd on the levee to welcome the ship.  Lee Line Steamers Robert E Lee, James Lee, Ferd Harold and the New Mattie and Kate Adams carried numbers of persons down the river to meet the ship and escort her to port.”  The index card to the left was clipped to a copy of this picture which I purchased on Ebay.  The picture was part of the collection belonging to the late Bert Fenn.  This card appears to have been from Fred Way who compiled Way’s Packet Directory and who worked as a steamboat and modern towboat pilot.

5 Responses to Lee Line Fleet 1899 w\gunboat Nashville

  1. Charles Ipcar says:

    Love this website!

    I and some of my friends have been puzzling over the above photo for a bit on another Facebook forum. The warship in the background cannot be the Gunboat USS Nashville, which had two funnels and did not lay that low in the water. The prime candidate appears to be the Monitor USS Amphitrite which was in the area from 1910 to 1916. The later date makes even more sense given that the Sadie Lee (2nd steamboat in) wasn’t even launched until 1901.

    • leelinesteamers says:

      Wow, Charles, first thank you for your interest in leelinesteamers.com.
      Second, your sharp eyes saw something that I had not seen regarding your
      correctly identifying the USS Amphitrite. Regarding the USS Nashville, the
      Memphis Commercial Appeal reported her visit to Memphis was accompanied by
      several Memphis based steamboats including a Lee Line boat. Wikipedia confirms
      the USS Nashville as a 2 funnel vessel. Again, thank you for your interest
      and keen observations.

      Jim Lee

  2. Charles Ipcar says:

    Thanks, Jim.

    I’m really enjoying your website.

    The Facebook forum I administrate is Called Paddlewheelers and Other Steamboats:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/Paddlewheeler/

    You might want to check out my Memphis Album. You might well find something to correct there yourself.

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