"Night Navigation on the Mississippi" Topic

How did boats typically navigate on the Mississippi at night? I've read accounts of military engagements at night, with them running past forts of various sorts. Those seem to be limited runs with a well known course.

What about non-military ships? I'm sure they had maps too but how far did they go at night? Was there anything in place to indicate a bend in the river?

Stay in the middle.

Stay in the middle is good advice:-) You would be surprised at how well you can see on a moonlit night and back in that era, I would assume that it would be even better with few distracting lights to ruin your night vision.

But what about when it is raining?

What about bends?

The current does not always stay in the middle. On bends and curves it tends to go toward the outer bank. But there are sometimes exceptions due to rocks, sand banks, drowned trees, etc.

What you need is a pilot who knows that stretch of river.

So there weren't little light houses or anything of the sort to point out where there was a bend in the river?

On a clear night it wouldn't be a problem but when it is cloudy it could almost be completely black.

A river pilot had to memorize the river. You can't go wrong by reading Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi for his account of learning to be a Mississippi River pilot and all it entailed.

link

Most passenger/cargo boats probably didn't move at night unless there was plenty of illumination from the moon.

During ACW, there were night runs past Island #10, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the forts below New Orleans. All but Island #10 (I think) were detected by the Confederate defenders who then "lit up" the night with either bonfires on the opposite bank (a la Porter's runs past Vicksburg) or by firing at the Union ships' gun flashes.

Both of Porter's runs past Vicksburg suffered damage to boats and had several sunk. The attempted run past Port Hudson resulted in the sinking of the USS Mississippi in the river for which she was named.

Jim

There are several contemporary illustrations of steam powered river boats with large iron baskets suspended out from the bows filled with flaming wood, presumably for navigation.

As Jim said, it would have to be a pretty important trip to get any sane riverboat captain to make a night run – remember, these are the same people who blew themselves up by jamming the saftey on the boilers to get more power when having a race.

I second Ryan's analysis. Mark Twain talks about the subject extensively. A good pilot knows his river better than his own hand.

Navigating a river at night, without being able to see navigational marks would be near suicidal. It would only be done through either dire necessity or with a clear military objective. In all cases local pilots were essential, as only they would know the locality well enough to be able to navigate the river safely, even by day. Even today ships rarely transit the river at night above New Orleans, and never navigate the river without a pilot at any time.

If I recall, although spotted by the Confederates and fired upon, almost all of Grant's fleet survived it's run by Vicksburg. Night effects gunners also, and I wonder if the bonfires the Confederates lit helped the craft to navigate.

I've gone through the first 26 Chapters of the Twain book, it is very useful.

Apparently ships would run up and down the Mississippi all day and night, sometimes only slowing down to take on more fuel.

Glad to hear that Twain was useful. Nothing would stop a good pilot except an alligator reef or a haunted bar'l.

Before 1820 it was rarely practiced, after 1830 it became the norm for operations.* Fog was a the real obstacle. No boats ran – day or night- in fog.

See "Steamboats on the Western Rivers" by Louis C. Hunter pp 258-259.

* Except on the Missouri River. The Missouri seems to have be an exceptional challenge to navigate.