Phillips County Historical Quarterly 

September, 1979

Published by
The Phillips County Historical Society

Meetings are held in September, January, April, and June, on the fourth Sunday in the month, at 3:00 P. M. at the Phillips County Museum.

The Phillips County Historical Society supplies the QUARTERLY to its members. Membership is open to anyone interested in Phillips County history. Annual membership dues are $5.00 for a regular membership and $10.00 for a sustaining membership. Single copies of the QUARTERLY are $1.25. QUARTERLIES are mailed to members. Dues are payable to Mrs. C. M. T. Kirkman, Treasurer, 806 McDonough Street, Helena, Arkansas 72342.

Neither the Editors nor the Phillips County Historical Society assumes any responsibility for statements made by contributors.

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PHILLIPS COUNTY
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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UNDER THE GUNS

A Woman's Reminiscences of The Civil War

By

Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer

Army Life At Helena, Arkansas.

Helena, Arkansas, was an important military station in 1862-63. In December, 1862, General Sherman, with his great fleet of boats and an army of twenty or thirty thousand men, moved from that point down the Mississippi River upon Vicksburg. There was nothing in the place of itself that made it a desirable camping-ground for troops, other than that it was an advance station far down into the enemy's country, and commanded considerable important territory. The soldiers called it a "God-forsaken place."

It was named after the daughter of the founder of the town, Helena; but the soldiers suggested that the name ought to be spelled with one syllable and two l's.

Along the river front the land was very low and subject to overflows, but was protected by a high embankment, which effectually shut out the flood tides of the Mississippi River. Just back of the town was a great green cypress swamp, that was crossed by a corduroy road--a road made of large round logs fastened together at each end. Back of the swamp rose high bluffs of yellow clay. They were unsightly and very precipitous; in most places perpendicular. Their uneven sides were seamed and wrinkled by the floods and storms of ages, and looked like a line of forts.

It is easy to imagine the discomfort of such a camping place. During the winter and spring

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the streets of the town were miry and almost impassable.

In December, 1862, I reached Helena with a heavy lot of hospital supplies. I sent a message to my friend, General Cyrus Bussey, who was Assistant-Secretary of the Interior during President Harrison's administration, but who was then in command, requesting an ambulance, that I might visit the several hospitals, He sent me a note, saying that it would be impossible to get about in an ambulance, but that if I wished he would send me an army wagon. Of course I accepted the offer. A big wagon, with four good strong mules attached, was sent me. A camp-chair was put in for my use; and Chaplain P. P. Ingalls offered to accompany me, and took a seat with the driver on a board which had been placed across the wagon bed. We started down the principal street of the town, towards the steamboat landing; but we had not gone far till the team began to mire. The mules made a desperate struggle to get out, and the driver tried to turn them towards the sidewalk; but the more they struggled the deeper they sank into the black mire of the street. The mules were in up to their sides, and the wagon had sunk almost to the bed.

Immediately a crowd of soldiers gathered on the board sidewalk. They had been through many a miry place, and knew just what to do. Boards from the near fence and rails were brought, and soon the space was bridged between the struggling mules and the board sidewalk. The mules were soon detached from the wagon, poles and rails were used to pry them out, and ropes were put about them, and they were pulled by main force to the sidewalk.

As the boards on which the men stood sank down in the mud, other boards were brought and laid on top of them, and many willing hands made the work of rescue possible. The last mule to be rescued was up to his sides in the mire.

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It seemed almost impossible to get a rail down under him, or to get ropes about him, so as to help him; but at last, covered with black mud and almost exhausted, he stood on the board sidewalk. Chaplain Ingalls and myself were then rescued, the wagon was abandoned, and a board put up, "No Bottom," to warn others.

Getting 2,000 Sick And Wounded Out of Helena, Ark.

On the 10th of August, 1863, accompanied by my secretary, Miss Mary Shelton, now Mrs. Judge Houston of Burlington, Iowa, I started on my return trip to Vicksburg, with a heavy shipment of hospital supplies.

The VAN PHUL, the steamer on which we took passage at St. Louis, reached Helena, Ark., on the 16th of August.

When the boat landed at that post, we found, on inquiry, that there were over two thousand sick and wounded there, and so stopped over with a part of our supplies, the rest going on to Vicksburg, where I had a covered barge that had done duty on the Yazoo River during the siege, but which was then lying at the wharf of Vicksburg.

We found the hospitals at Helena, if they may be called hospitals, in a dreadful condition. The Methodist and Baptist churches were crowded with very sick and severely wounded men.

There were very few cots in these two churches; most of the men were lying in the narrow pews, with the scant, uneven cushions for their beds. The weather was extremely hot, and flies swarmed over everybody and everything. The faces of some of the men, who were too helpless to keep up a continual fight with them, were black with swarms of hungry, buzzing flies. A few pieces of mosquito-bars were spread over the faces of some of the weakest patients; but, lying loose over their faces, they were

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of little advantage. Barrels in which had been shipped pickled pork now served as water-tanks, and were placed near the pulpit. They were filled every morning with the tepid water of the Mississippi River.

There was a barge of ice lying at the landing, brought down on purpose for the sick; but I could find no one who had authority to issue it, and so it was slowly melting away under the blaze of an August sun.

The men in charge were, however, willing to sell, and I had money to buy; and soon great crystal cakes of Northern ice were floating in every barrel of water in every hospital in Helena.

Acres of tents had been pitched by the roadside; and the mud, that in the winter had made the streets and roadways almost impassable, had now turned to dust, and every breeze sent it in clouds into the faces of the sick and wounded men.

There was another camp, called the Convalescent Camp, on the sandy beach of the river, the water being very low at the time. We found no convalescence there. The sun beat down on the white tents and the glistening sand till the heat was like a furnace.

Just back of these hospital tents and churches there was a wide cypress swamp, stagnant and green and deadly.

The men were discouraged. "We have been left here to die;" "No man could recover in such a place as this," was the verdict of all who had the strength and courage to express their feelings. The air was heavy with the deadly malaria, that ladened every breeze with poison.

It was good service to provide them with light hospital garments to take the place of their heavy soiled clothing, and with delicate food to take the

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place of coarse army rations; but, as one man said, "It's no use, ladies; we are all doomed men. It is only a question of time--your efforts will only prolong our suffering; we are all the same as dead men."

For two long days, through sun and dust, we went from hospital to hospital, till we, too, became hopeless.

Every wrong that they had suffered, every peril that had threatened them, was burned into our hearts and brains, till they became our own.

There were no high officials that we could appeal to. General Steele was pushing the Confederate forces toward Little Rock. There was no one having authority nearer than Memphis, Tenn; and I determined to go to Memphis, and invoke the help of the authorities there.

I waited for an up-bound steamer all night. I could not sleep; my heart and brain and blood seemed to be on fire. Thousands of despairing, suffering men were all around me; it seemed as if sleep had forever left my eyes and slumber my eyelids. All night long I waited for an upwardbound steamer, and while I waited I wrote letters to the wives and mothers of the men who had asked me to write for them. About daylight a boat came up from Vicksburg, bound for St. Louis; and I boarded her for Memphis, leaving Miss Shelton at the house where we had taken board, to complete the task of letter-writing. When I reached Memphis, I drove directly to the office of the medical director. An orderly was the sole occupant of the office. He informed me that the medical director had gone out hunting, and would not be back till evening. I was greatly disappointed as I had hoped much from him, but I was not discouraged. I decided to appeal to the commanding general.

The adjutant-general was the only person in the office.

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"I wish to see the general," I said, addressing the adjutant.

"The general is sick to-day, and cannot see any one. Perhaps he can see you to-morrow."

"My business is important and urgent; I cannot wait till to-morrow. Will you take a message to the general for me?"

"I cannot do that, madam; the general is very sick, and I cannot disturb him, but perhaps I can attend to the business."

Thus, encouraged, I began in a very energetic manner a statement of the condition of the sick and wounded at Helena. In the midst of it the door opened, and the general stood before me. I took in the situation in an instant, realizing that, sick or well, or whatever his condition, he was the man who had the authority, and I immediately turned to him with the case. I pleaded for those men as one would plead for his own life, and I concluded with a definite request: "I want you, General, to send down four steamers immediately, fitted out with cots and supplies, to bring all these suffering men away from that death-trap." He said that it should be done. "But, General," I continued, "I want the order issued before I leave this office. I want to go back and tell the men that the boats are coming--it may save some lives."

"I assume, madam, that the order has been given," said the adjutant, "and I will promulgate it immediately."

“May I depend on you to send the boats down there by to-morrow noon?"

"The boats will be there without fail."

"Remember," I said, "I have no other appeal but the newspapers and the great, generous people of the North who sustain them, if you fail."

"I hope, dear madam; that you will make no

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mention of this in the papers--the boats will be there." These last words were uttered as he closed the door of my carriage. I hurried away, as a steamer was coming in, and I desired, if possible, to get back to Helena that night.

I felt a little more certain of the boats coming because of my threat to appeal to the North through the newspapers, of which officials stood in some fear. There were, however, other reasons why I was justified in putting the case in that way of which it is not best to speak now. I reached Helena at half-past eleven o'clock that night, full of hope, and ready to rest and sleep.

The next morning early we were out in the hospitals, not for the purpose of distributing supplies, but as the messengers of glad tidings. And never did women go with gladder hearts to bear good news, since Mary left the tomb of her risen Lord, than we did that morning, as we went from hospital to hospital telling the men the boats were coming. We went to the two churches first; and in each I took a position in the pulpit, and called out at the top of my voice,--

"Attention, soldiers! Four hospital steamers will be here to-day to take you to Northern hospitals." The effect was magical. Men who were lying seemingly half-dead in their hopeless despair lifted their heads, and questioned anxiously,--

"What did you say?" and the glad message was repeated again and again, with the assurance that the boats would surely come.

"Then I'll get well." "Where are my shoes?" "Where is my hat?" and so we left them getting ready for the journey, and went from hospital to hospital with the glad message.

In one tent by the roadside, a beautiful brown eyed boy about sixteen years old, after I had made the glad proclamation, questioned, "Is that so,

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lady?"

"Yes, it is so; we are looking for the boats every minute." He slipped out of his cot; and, kneeling beside it, he lifted his eyes heavenward, and the tears running down his face, he repeated over and over.--

“Thank God, deliverance has come at last."

In one ward a man looked at us very earnestly, and then questioned, --

"Is it the truth ye are telling us, now?"

"Yes, it is the truth."

“Now, surely, ye wouldn't be after decavin' a poor sick man that's most dead with the heat, and the flies, and the cypress swamp, would ye, now?"

"No sir, I would not."

My anxiety was intense. What if the boats should not come? I stepped out of the tent and looked up the river, and there in full view the little fleet of four boats were coming around the bend of the river.

We both cried out in our joy, "The boats! The boats are coming!" but tears of thankfulness almost choked our voices. The excitement was intense. No one stood on the order of his going. The surgeons were willing all should go, and desired to go with them, and they did. Every man who could, rushed for the boats. Some who were not able to walk managed some way to get from their cots and crawl out toward the boats.

Oh! it was pitiful to see the helpless ones, the wounded ones, who could not move, waiting with anxiety for their turn to be carried to the boats, and pleading, "Please, ladies, don't let me be left behind."

"No, no! Don't be alarmed, you shall go," was

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repeated over and over. At last all were crowded into the four steamers, and the boats steamed away with their precious freight up the Mississippi River. We stood at the landing as the boats moved away. The poor fellows out on the guards tried to give three cheers, but the effort was a failure. We waved our handkerchiefs, and they waved their hats, or their hands, as long as the boats were in sight.

What a load of anxiety and responsibility was lifted from our hearts!

Gathering up the supplies still left over, we took the first steamer bound for Vicksburg.

When we reached the conquered city we found thousands of sick and wounded still crowded into the hospitals there, and we remained for some time ministering to them as best we could.

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UNDER THE GUNS is one of several books written by Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer. This one tells of her work during the Civil War, including the two chapters about Helena. The book was published at Boston by E. B. Stillings & Co., Publishers, in 1895. The copy of the Helena chapters was made from one of the books at the U. S. Army Military Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, having been located at that place by Joan Roberts, formerly a librarian at the University of Arkansas Library.

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The following sketch of Annie Wittenmyer is from FAMILY CIRCLE magazine, January, 1976, Page 59.

One volunteer who deserves more recognition than she has received is Annie Wittenmyer (1827-1900), who designed the system for feeding soldiers in field hospitals which is now standard practice for hospitals of every kind. Annie lived on the

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Iowa frontier. All but one of her five children had died in infancy and shortly before the outbreak of the war her husband had died as well.

Like Clara Barton, who founded the Red Cross, Annie took single-handed action to cut red tape on behalf of suffering soldiers. At Helena, Arkansas, for instance, she found more than 2,000 sick and wounded men tormented by mosquitoes. Water from the tepid Mississippi River stood in barrels which had held pickled pork, while a barge of ice melted at the river landing because no one had authority to pay for it. Using funds from the Sanitary Commission, she paid for the ice so that the men could have decent drinking water, and next day hounded the General into sending four steamers to remove the sick soldiers from a location she described as a "deathtrap.”

During the Civil War; regular rations of pork and beans were issued to soldiers sick or well. Women volunteers tried to scrounge milk, eggs and vegetables for soldiers who could not eat their rations, but this caused confusion. Annie drew up a plan for a regular diet kitchen in every hospital, which provided each patient with appropriate meals. The system was run by “dietary nurses," the precursors of today's dietitians.

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Y. M. C. A.

by

Gene Bradford

The Young Men's Christian Association of Helena was organized in the summer of 1899, as a result of a revival crusade conducted by John B. Culpepper (see article in the June, 1979, QUARTERLY). On the night of July 4, he asked that the young men interested in organizing a YMCA step forward, and a hundred young men responded.

During the week of July 19, the constitution and by-laws were adopted. The only lively discussion at this meeting concerned the matter of dues. An agreement was reached setting dues at $3.00 per annum for an associate member and $5.00 for active membership.

Earlier the suggestion had been made that the rooms used by the Ridge City Club be converted to a YMCA hall, but this proposal was rejected by the Ridge City Club. The next week the finance committee of the YMCA composed of Messrs. W. M. Neal, S. A. Wooten, and George Palmer succeeded in raising $900 for the purpose of securing a home for the organization and furnishing it.

At the same time the women were forming an auxiliary, the Women's and Young Women's Auxiliary, and reports were that it was growing in number and enthusiasm.

Interest in the YMCA began to wane and the August meeting, held at the Methodist Church, was not largely attended.

In the November 22 issue of the HELENA WORLD, the board of directors was chastised by Editor Neal for their lack of dedication, as follows:

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Evidently the directors responded, for the issue of December 20 reported that Mr. J. P. Conder of Missouri addressed a large number of ladies and gentlemen at 3:00 at the Methodist Church. He had come to Helena at the invitation of the board of directors, who were looking for a suitable man to take charge of the new association.

Later at a meeting at the residence of Mr. W. D. Reeves, Mr. Conder was employed as secretary at the salary of $75.00 a month. He responded by saying he was willing and would remain as long as he could make the association prosper.

Mr. Conder then issued the following report:

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Open house was a success according to the following report:

The following gifts were acknowledged: Mrs. G. W. Willey--an organ; Mrs. Valentine Werne--a pretty chair; Mr. Sam W. Tappan--use of a rolltop desk; Mr. Funkhouser--framed picture of Rev. John B. Culpepper; Mr. Joe Lawrence--picture; Mr. W. D. Reeves--picture moulding for the parlor which Mr. Loveland will put in place.

Work still needed to be done on the bathroom. The reporter stated that it would not be amiss to say that needed are a clock, two or three coal scuttles, a bookcase or two, a hat and coat rack, and newspaper files.

The January report was that the YMCA continued to grow and arrangements were being made to add the long hall over Loveland's place to the quarters by cutting a door in the west end of the gymnasium, and probably making another connecting opening between the reading room ad the hall. The hall would be used for the assembly room where the Sunday afternoon meetings, lectures, etc., would be held.

At the regular meeting that month Mr. William Anderson was appointed to the executive committee. The constitution of the Women's and

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Young Women's Auxiliary was read and adopted. The secretary reported that the ladies had instructed him to inform the board they would assume all bills for furnishing the rooms (about $180).

In February the report was that the bathroom was almost ready, and that 32 lockers had been built for use at $1.00 per annum...The bathroom contained four showers, one tub, a 150 gallon heater and 100 gallon boiler. The decision was made that boys under sixteen were to use the gym only in the afternoon. The secretary reported that the auxiliary had donated a piano.

The last week in February, the first in a series of musical and literary programs was given in the assembly hall. The attendance was large, the hall crowded.

The program opened with a solo by Mr. Henry Bookhart and chorus composed of Miss Winchester, and Messrs. C. S. Fitzpatrick and W. B. Watson. Others on the program were: Mrs. J. B. Pillow, J. A. Meinken, Miss Ester Rosamond, and Secretary Conder.

Early in March a call meeting was held to audit the bills. Secretary Conder was granted permission to move the gym equipment into the assembly hall and make the original gym the assembly hall.

In April, the YMCA organized and sponsored a brass band which furnished music at the First Annual Field Day of the YMCA, in May.

Then on May 29, the WORLD reported:

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Several times during-August the president of the board, Mr. R. C. Moore, called a meeting to elect new officers, but at no time did a sufficient number attend to constitute a quorum. So in September, the public was presented the question, "Do you want a YMCA?" Ballots and boxes were placed in the post office and YMCA rooms. People were asked to vote yes or no and sign the ballot. Hardly a dozen ballots were cast, silence was construed as a negative, and on September 12, 1900, the HELENA WEEKLY WORLD stated:

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Information for this article was found in the files of the HELENA WORLD.

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AN UPDATE ON THE PELICAN

by

Thomas E. Tappan

From the WATERWAYS JOURNAL, December 31, 1960.

In the late 1950s the PELICAN, being over 55 years old, the machinery needed major repairs or replacement. Another factor called for changes; the six boilers which supplied steam for high pressure engines, having 26 inch diameter cylinders with 10 foot stroke, called for a crew of 14 men on each shift.

Diesel powered engines had been in use in towboats since the middle of the 1920s, and had by this time become the most economical and reliable

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method of propulsion.

A contract was entered into by the Illinois Central and a diesel engine builder, to place two diesel engines on the PELICAN to replace the steam engines. The contract required that in case of an emergency, one engine would be able to maneuver the boat. One diesel engine was installed and the PELICAN was run under that power downstream from Helena to the incline on the Mississippi side of the river (the remains of the piling of the incline can be seen from the bridge when the water is low). When an attempt was made to return to Helena, upriver, the one diesel engine would not handle the boat. Fortunately, the steam engines had not been removed and steam was raised and the boat returned to Helena.

From 1961 on the boat was pushed or towed by the diesel towboat, the WM. B. BARNETT II. The superstructure and steam engines were removed and the boat was reclassified as a barge. This arrangement continued until 1972 when there was a forest fire on the Mississippi side between the river and the levee, and the railroad trestles were burned. The Illinois Central had been trying to abandon the line since 1968, and this proved to be the last straw.

The PELICAN barge was moved to St. Louis, where it was sold to be made into a floating restaurant to be located at St. Genevieve, Missouri. It was towed to Greenville, Mississippi where it was being cut in two to lengthen it, and it sank.

The sister ship of the PELICAN. the ALBATROSS, originally a train ferry, now the ADMIRAL, an excursion boat at St. Louis, was successfully converted to diesel power in 1974, by placing 3 Caterpillar 900 horsepower diesel engines, one in each wheelhouse and one on the stern. The PRESIDENT, an excursion boat at New Orleans, is also being converted to run with diesel power. The steam powered

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steamboat era is fast passing from the scene.

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Captions for the photographs on the next two pages.

Information for the first picture comes from the WATERWAYS JOURNAL of August 26, 1961. This picture of the sidewheel car transfer PELICAN is probably one of the last taken of that vessel as an operating steamboat. At present, the vessel has been stripped down to a barge and is towed back and forth across the river at Helena, Ark., by a Diesel tug. In this picture the wheelhouses have already been stripped off and a new pilothouse has been erected out forward on the craft.

In the spring of this year, 1961, the status of the PELICAN was changed from a steam vessel to a barge. The towing Diesel vessel requires a crew of only three men whereas the PELICAN, as a steam vessel, required a crew of 14.

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The second picture shows the PELICAN after the superstructure and steam engines and boilers were removed. Picture courtesy of Barbara Warnken.

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THE EXPLOSION OF THE GENERAL BROWN

A few years ago, Selby A. Clark of Bement, Illinois, wrote a letter to the Phillips County Library asking for any available information on the explosion of the steamboat, GENERAL BROWN, in 1838, at Helena. His great grandfather was captain of the steamboat, and was killed by the explosion. At the time that he wrote the letter, Mr. Clark was president of the Piatt County, Illinois, Historical Society. He runs an electrical service and supply company at Bement.

Two years passed, and as no information was forthcoming from Helena, Mr. and Mrs. Clark came here to take a look. Their main interest was in locating the graves of his great grandparents, Captain and Mrs. Samuel Clark.

At the time of his death, Captain Clark was 38 years old and lived at Madison, Indiana. He left a widow and four children, one of whom was Selby Clark's grandfather. It is assumed that Captain Clark was buried in the old city cemetery at Helena. When Mrs. Maria Clark died in 1861, her remains were shipped to Helena for burial beside her husband. Selby Clark still has the bill for her casket and the box that it was shipped in.

As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, there was a large slablike tombstone lying on the side of Graveyard Hill near York and College Streets. Its inscription was, in part, as follows: "Patric V. Dunn; Born 6th February, 1810, in the ? of Dublin, Ireland; Killed by the bursting of the steamer GENERAL BROWN 25th November, 1838; The deeds of kings and..." Patric Dunn was the bartender on the GENERAL BROWN.

The Clarks from Illinois had hoped to find just such tombstones of Captain and Mrs. Clark. A fair assumption is that Captain Clark's place of

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burial was still known and able to be located in 1861, if his wife's remains were shipped to Helena for burial at that time. The battle at Helena in 1863 successfully destroyed most of the stones on Graveyard Hill. A few stones were found and moved to the new cemetery on the north side of town, but the Clarks' stones were not among them.

When Mr. and Mrs. Selby Clark from Illinois stopped by the Library in 1976, they left the information and data used here.

MEMPHIS ENQUIRER
Friday, November 30, 1838.

Dreadful Steamboat Disaster--Twenty-Five or Thirty Lives Lost!

It is our painful task to record another of those horrible disasters which have become so frequent and so destructive of human life, on our western rivers.

On Sunday morning last, the steamboat GEN. BROWN, bound to New Orleans, while lying at Helena, Ark., blew up, and killed every officer and hand on board, except the first Clerk, besides several cabin passengers, and five persons on shore, citizens of Helena. Our informant, a passenger on board the UNITED STATES, was unable to give with certainty the names of any of the sufferers. Several ladies and children were on board, all of whom escaped unhurt.

The explosion was unexampled in its tremendous violence, throwing one of the boilers quite on shore, and leaving the boat a perfect wreck. Unlike most similar accidents, it took place after the boat had landed, and while the machinery was not in motion. The number of lives lost is supposed to be at least thirty, and has been estimated by some as high as fifty. We have heard the reported names of some who were killed, but as our information is not positive as to their identity, we forbear to give them.

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The BROWN was one of the fastest boats on the river.

FURTHER PARTICULARS

P. S. Since the above was put in type we have been favored with the following letter from Dr. J. B. Prescott, to Mr. Locke of this place, giving the particulars. Dr. P. Was on board the EMPRESS, and witnessed the terrible disaster:

"The steamboat GEN. BROWN blew up at this place today at 12 o'clock M., killing some 25 persons. Among the passengers killed and missing are Dr. Price and Mr. Blanchard of Vicksburg; D. L. Davis and W. A. Miller of Natchez; E. Hubbard of Montpelier, Vt.; E. Sibley of La.; J. K. Garthwait of Newark, N. J.; Mr. Conway, who was just coming on board, and two persons on the wharf boat. Officers: Capt. Saml. Clark, _____ Bassman, (mate); F. Underwood, (pilot); _____Wilson, (engineer); the carpenter and barkeeper. Levi Jones, (2d engineer) is so much injured that he will probably die tonight. Five firemen were also killed.

“The EMPRESS had been trailing the BROWN all morning. The latter boat landed here to put out and take in passengers. The EMPRESS was passing by at the moment of the explosion. Such havoc and destruction my eyes never witnessed. Scarce a piece of any boiler remained on the boat. One flue landed up the bank 100 yards distant--two boilers several rods, one of them laid open its whole length.

“Capt. Clark was thrown nearly on top of the bank, distant 100 feet, and instantly killed. Underwood, the pilot, went into the air many feet, apparently ahead of the steam, and fell into the river. Many are injured, who will probably die. Mr. George, of Vicksburg, had a narrow escape--he was in the pantry, and was severely cut and bruised upon the head by the falling ruins. The ladies all escaped injury. The social hall was swept even with the main cabin.

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"The boat was preserved from total ruin by the energy and promptness of Capt. John W. Russel of the EMPRESS. By the time he could land, the BROWN was on fire in several places, and the cry of "powder on board!" spread from all quarters. Capt. R. seized his buckets, and called on his crew to follow. They mounted the burning wreck, and soon mastered the flames. I have just this moment learned that there were six negroes in the forecastle who were rescued from certain destruction by the timely aid of Capt. R.

“The deck passengers, it is supposed, all escaped, as the explosion was directly upwards. The names of sixteen passengers, (gentlemen) only are registered. It is supposed there may have been four or five more. J. C. Long, cabin passenger, is so badly injured that he will hardly survive.

"This accident, and all its consequences, are justly chargable to the officers of the boat. She never blew off steam, during her stop, and the furnaces were twice filled up--so say the survivors. She was about to round out to give us chase."

We understand that the hull and cargo of the boat are uninjured.

*

Cincinnati Sept. 8. 38

Capt Samuel Clark

Dear Sir

You went over the River the other morning before I had an opportunity of talking to you about going on the Genl Brown as Clerk. I thought I would wright you a few lines when I arrived at Cincinnati and if you want me to go on him I will go. I had to come to Cincinnati to settle the old Business which I will get through with in a few days then I will return to Louisville and see you thare. Mr. Carr is out of a berth and would like to go with you if you have no other person in view.

Yours Respectfully

Robt. McConnell

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Louisville Dec 6th 1838

Dear Madam:

On the 4th instant we received the melancholy intelligence (which you no doubt have heard ere this), from the Gen. Brown. We should have written immediately and given an account of the sad fate of your husband, had it not been that we met a gentleman, a Mr. McCalister resides in your place, or near your residence, who told us he would see you immediately on his arrival, and relate to you the unfortunate affair.

Mr. McCalister was on board the Gen Brown at the time of the accident, and is able to give you a more minute account of it, than we can even now do. His statement to us has been fully confirmed by letters from Mr. R. McConnell, the clerk of the boat, ?.

It is truly distressing indeed, to us, but how much more so must it be to those who had husbands, brothers, and sons among the sufferers. Had the lives of the crew and passengers been spared, we should not have murmured at the loss of property; that might have been regained; but for the loss sustained by the untimely deaths of highly esteemed and valuable individuals (as we conceive your husband and many others on board to have been) it cannot be repaired.

We consider Capt. Clark to have been one of the first and best men that we have known on the river, and he was so considered by all who knew him, and his death is universally regretted in this place.

We have thought it a duty we owe Capt. C's memory to write you Madam this much. If we have offered one word of consolation, we are compensated. We wish we had the power to heal the wounds that have been inflicted on the hearts of those who had relations and friends on the Brown.

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One consolation we find ourselves, is that there is no blame to be attached to any part of the crew. There was no want of knowledge of their business--nor neglect of duty. The "Brown's" crew were all good men and well qualified for their different stations--and mostly of Capt. C's selection.

As soon as Mr. McConnell comes up, you shall be furnished with a statement of Capt. Clark's business as far as we are acquainted.

     Until then we are most respectfully

***

Dear Sister

I take this opportunity to inform you that we are all well and I hope these few lines may find you enjoying the same blessing-- Sister I wish you to write to me and let me know how you and all the family is getting along--also let me know wether Mr. Deane has finished Brothers tombstones or not. If not I wish you to tell him to have them finished as soon as he can so that they can be ready the first opportunity. I think it would be best to have one of them to go down with them to put them up—nothing more but remain your sincere Brother

NB Please give my love to your mother and all the family. I want you to write me a letter and leave it with the warf master and I will call for it as we return from Louisville. Do this and you will oblige your Brother.

J M Clark

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NB You will please say to Mr Deane that he must have them well boxed up so that they will not be spoiled or broken.

JMC

*

Mrs. Belle H. McKenzie of Helena mentioned the GENERAL BROWN in a letter that she wrote in 1917, in which she told of past events here:

The greatest tragedy that Helena ever had, was the destruction of the "General Brown," a fine new boat, bound on her first voyage South. She had just landed at the warf. Several Helenians had gone a-bord on a tour of inspection, when the boilers exploded killing most of them, the Captain and many of the passengers, besides fatally scalding many others. A history of the disaster could almost be read a few years ago, on some of the monuments in our old graveyard. From PHILLIPS COUNTY HISTORICAL QUARTERLY, March, 1970, Vol. 8, No. 2, Page 19.

***

BLAST KILLED MANY ON GENERAL BROWN
From the COMMERCIAL APPEAL, November 16, 1951

By Joe Curtis

This coming Nov. 25 will mark the 113th year since the great steamboat GENERAL BROWN'S boilers exploded at Helena, Ark., shattering the boat to pieces and killing a number of people.

It was Nov. 9, 1838 when the GENERAL BROWN departed from Louisville for New Orleans, on her first trip of the season. Although water in both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was very low, Capt. Sam Clark was quoted as saying he was confident of a safe trip.

When the Steamer BROWN was backing away from

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her Louisville landing, she was skirting a big sandbar in the Ohio River and collided with the WASHINGTON, upbound from New Orleans to Cincinnati.

The result of this was that the larboard water wheel on the GENERAL BROWN was badly damaged, but the boat continued downstream under power of one wheel, until the ship's carpenter patched the broken parts.

She made fairly good time down the Ohio and Mississippi arriving at Helena, Nov. 25, where she landed to let off a passenger.

Captain Clark was in his proper place at the forward part of the hurricane deck and when the passenger walked ashore, he picked up the big bell cord to give a signal to depart. There was only a single tap on the big bell when all the boat's boilers exploded at the same time and that single tap of the bell was to many passengers, a signal of departure from whence no one returned.

Captain Clark was still grasping the bell cord and was blown up into the air several feet, dropping back on the hurricane deck near the spot where he stood. A great part of the structural woodwork of the forward hurricane deck crashed, taking with it parts of the first cabin deck. He was dead when found later. Altogether, 55 persons were killed and 20 injured, many of whom died later.

Members of the boat's crew who perished were: Captain Clark, Joseph Underwood and Hamilton McCoy, pilots; James Wilson, first engineer; Basil Brown, first mate; Ely Johns, second clerk; Pat Dunn, barkeeper; 10 firemen and almost all passengers, whose names were not listed.

……line missing from clipping..of the boat had her fully inspected by experienced men two weeks before she was wrecked and found her in perfect condition from stem to stern and from the bottom of the hull to the top of her hurricane deck.

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Of course, way back in those years, there was no Government maintained steamboat inspection serice but owners had their vessels gone over several times a year, and if defects were found in any part of the structure, repairs were made.

Today, an explosion on a steamboat would almost be an impossibility. Steam is giving way to diesel engines and they create more power and are doing greater work than those old time steamboats.

***

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THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HELENA, ARKANSAS

vs

THE UNITED STATES

by

Dale P. Kirkman

U. S. Court of Claims, Congressional Jurisdiction Case No. 11,881.

Depositions of witnesses were taken at Helena by E. R. Crum, Clerk of the United States Circuit Court in and for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Dated June 20, 1905.

"This claim arises from the use and occupation by the Federal military forces of the church building of the First Baptist Church of Helena, Arkansas during the late civil war." It was presented under provisions of the Tucker Act of 1887. The claim was for rent of the building for 35 months, from July 12, 1862 to July 1, 1865, at $50.00 a month, $1,750.00 in all, and for damages to the building of $2,700.00, totaling $4,450.00.

The witnesses said that the church was never used for the benefit or aid of Confederate soldiers. It was never used for anything at all, except for services, until the Federal army took it over on the very day that Helena was occupied by them, on July 12, 1862. The Confederate army was never here to use it or not to use it.

The five people, three women and two men, who were called upon to give depositions 40 years after the fact, generally agreed on most details that had to be known to pursue the claim. Three of the five were members of the Baptist congregation, and two were not. Their recall of things in close detail was remarkable, especially considering the fact that

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this church building was no longer standing, and had been gone for many years.

Witnesses:

Eliza L. Jackson, aged 74 years, charter member of church, now resides at Brinkley, Ark., but is still a member of the Helena church. She was in Helena during the entire war, and often walked past the church when it was in use as a hospital for the troops.

Vienna M. Wooten, aged 73 years, lives at Helena and lived here during the war. She states that she has been a member of this congregation for 50 years.

Winnifred E. McAlpine, aged 70 years, lives in Helena, and is not a member of the Baptist Church. She said that the church in question was large, and was one of the best church buildings in town.

Thompson M. Oldham, aged 78 years, lives at Helena, and is a retired carpenter and builder. He is a member of the congregation, and lived in Helena during the war. He said that the church was used as a hospital and for quarters. He passed by there nearly every day during the war. He does not remember who did the work of repairing it after the war.

Samuel I. Clark, aged 71 years. Mr. Clark is postmaster at Helena, and is not a member of the Baptist congregation. He was an officer in the Federal army, serving first with the 1st Missouri Infantry, and then serving as 1st Lieutenant and adjutant with the 56th Colored Infantry when it was stationed at Helena from 1863-1866. Part of his regiment was quartered in the Baptist Church.

What the church looked like, from deponents recollections:

The Baptist Church was considered the finest church building in town, and had cost between $4,000-5,000 to build. Its belfry held the finest

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bell that had ever been brought to Helena. It was a frame structure and was weatherboarded on the outside, with a porch across the entire front with two doors opening on to it. ‘The building sat up on brick pillars about five feet high. There was no fence around it, and there were no church sheds or other buildings on the site. It was about 40' to 45' wide, and about 75' to 80' long, and estimated to be 25' from ground to eaves.

Inside, the church was hard plastered, and had four windows on each side, of plain glass. It was one large room inside, all on one floor, with no gallery. There were two rows of pews through the center, and a row of pews on each side, and about four rows of pews in the corner of each side. The pews were of oak, and there were doors to each pew. At the time that the church was built, most of its parts were made by hand on the job, such as doors and window sashes. All of the flooring and other lumber used in the church was hand finished.

What the Federal soldiers did to it:

The floor was pulled up and almost gone (this became an important point in deciding what amount of money was due the congregation), with nothing left of the building but the shingle roof and walls a mere shell. Part of the outside of the walls was stripped off, and the plastered inside walls were defaced in every way possible. There was no furniture left, no pews left, carpets, pulpit, doors and windows all taken off. All possible material was taken from the building to make desks, coffins, fixtures for cookhouses for the army. The church could not be used after the war, until major repairs were made.

The 1st Baptist Church of Helena was organized in 1852, and in 1853, the congregation bought Lot 134 in Old Helena as a site for its first church building. Mentioned in the land transaction were Trustees, John H: Hicks, Henry F. Mooney, and

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T. S. N. King. The site is where the Helena City Hall is now, on Perry St. This building was less than 10 years old when Federal troops took possession of it and injured it greatly. This was the Baptist Church referred to in Mrs. Wittenmyer's reminiscences on Page 1 of this issue of the QUARTERLY.

The building was repaired after the Civil War, but it was to have a short life. In 1871, it was blown down in a storm. A contemporary account of this event appeared in the QUARTERLY of June, 1969, Vol. 7, No. 3, "The Diary of Fred Sheldon," Page 29.

*

My very dear Grandpapa,

On Friday afternoon we had a terrible hurricane which did a great deal of damage to the town. The wind came from the northwest carrying everything before it. It levelled a large church right behind our office (this was on Perry and Ohio Streets where the old Coca-Cola building is now), with the ground, and that broke the fury of the wind or we should never have escaped.....

*

The HELENA CLARION of February 25, 1871, reported that the Baptist Church was blown completely down in the storm , and all the buildings near it were damaged. The members of the church were trying to raise money to rebuild, and were meeting at the Old School Presbyterian Church in the meantime.

After the first church was destroyed, a different site, a block west of here, was chosen for the next church building. This was the building of modern memory, on the northwest corner of Perry and Walnut Streets. The location was acquired in 1871-1872 by the Trustees, John H. Hicks, Thomas M. Jacks, and John Q. Taylor.

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Apparently this claim of the Helena Baptist Church was one of the last claims in the 50 years that it took for the government to clear up and settle these war claims. One of the points made in the examination of the case by the Court of Claims in Washington, was on the question of the floor of the church. If, as was claimed by several of the witnesses, the floor had been ripped out of the church building, how then was it possible for it to be used as a hospital or quarters, when the building sat on 5' high brick pillars? The credibility of the case in regard to other damages inflicted on the building by Federal troops, was hurt when the floor question stood in the way. The Court of Claims also thought the amount of rent asked, $50 a month for 35 months, was not reasonable for the use of a building whose value was between $4,000 and $5,000.

After being considered by Congress and the Court of Claims, in the long route that a case of this sort had to follow before it was resolved, the First Baptist Church of Helena was granted a total of $1,790.00 for its use and damages by Federal troops during the Civil War. The case is listed in the approval claims for Arkansas in the Omnibus Claims Bill of 1915, and that is probably when the money from the claim was finally received.

***

Most of the information for this article came from the papers of the claim itself. Also used were Deed Record Books of Phillips County, A-2, Page 373, L, Page 265, Y, Pages 98-9. Dorothy James placed the exact location of the first church.

*

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POLK W. AGEE

by

Thomas E. Tappan

A feature article by Jerome Obermark in the October, 30, 1977, issue of the COMMERCIAL APPEAL prompted me to visit Mr. Agee. I had known that he drew the plans for some of the houses in Helena, and because of the plans underway to make a Historic District, I thought we should have a list of the ones that he had designed before he left Helena in 1922. I had no idea that he had had his hand in the original plans and the remodeling of so many houses here, including my own grandmother's home.

Polk Agee was born in Helena, the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Agee. His father will be remembered as a longtime employee of the Phillips National Bank, now the First National Bank of Phillips County.

He may never be as world renowned as Frank Lloyd Wright, but as a fellow architect, he has hopes of bettering one of Wright's accomplishments. "He (Wright) was a practicing architect for 65 years.

If I can just make it about two years longer, I'll top him and may get into the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS," Mr. Agee said.

Mr. Agee is 86. He has been a practicing architect for 63 years. He is the oldest practicing architect in Tennessee. His certificate number is No. 383; the next closest was issued about 15 years later.

He entered the Engineering Department of the University of Arkansas in 1909. Later he transferred to the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, and received his degree in architecture in 1914. After apprenticing with two Little Rock firms during summers, he found plenty of work initially at

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Helena, being the only architect there then. But work dried up there because of World War I, and he moved to Memphis in 1922 and worked for two firms there before forming his own practice in 1924.

"My favorite styles are English and Colonial, and that covers a world of variety. They have the elements that have a lasting effect and are, in my opinion, best suited for residences," he said.

In Memphis, Agee's work is to be found in all the older neighborhoods from Chickasaw Gardens to Hein Park, and many more recent subdivisions. I remember my grandmother pointing out one of the first homes built in Chickasaw Gardens (old Clarence Saunders Estate turned into a subdivision about 1926-27) as one of his. It was a Colonial style with two story columns, and this house is still standing.

He has designed more than 40 churches and more apartments than he can remember. Some examples include the units across from Christian Brothers College on East Parkway, and a 36 unit development just north of St. Peter's Home for Children.

Mr. Agee has a lot of tales to relate about his clients. One woman, for example, called on him to make sure that her home would be warm enough.

She wanted a coal furnace that could be converted to gas. Then she wanted a gas outlet and a fireplace in every room, including the bathroom. Mr. Agee agreed to put a small fireplace across one corner of the bathroom on one condition: she should never tell anyone who designed her house. Another client asked him to design a beautiful home as a present to his wife, hoping it might save their marriage (it didn't work, he said).

I asked Mr. Agee if he would write us an article for the QUARTERLY, giving us a list of the houses and any memories he might have of Helena in the early 1900s. His generous letter follows:

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1/21/78

Dear Tom:

It is with especial interest that I read your historic book of Helena and West Helena. Having been born and reared in Helena and being in architectural practice there for eight years, from 1914 to 1922, I have had the pleasure of drawing plans for the remodelling of three of your "Historic Homes," namely Estevan Hall, the C. R. Coolidge, and the Clark Moore homes.

When I remodelled Estevan Hall, I had Mr. E. T. Walker, Contractor, to do the construction work. When we were tearing out some existing work, we found two roofs on the house, so we decided to leave the roofs on until we had a new roof at a higher pitch over the existing roofs. Evidently the original house was built of logs in the early 19th century, and as your book stated, it is probably the oldest structure in Phillips County. I knew Judge Hanks and Harry Stephens real well...Harry being the owner of Estevan Hall at the time I remodelled it.

I can remember as a boy the beautiful hills that surrounded this home and how we roamed these hills from the Hanks place to Maple-Hill Cemetery, digging in the ground at the three fortifications searching for minie balls, bullets, bayonets, buttons and any remaining articles of the Civil War.

The C. R. Coolidge home¹ brings back memories of my early childhood days, when the grounds that the house occupied were much larger, containing a large stable where Coots Lyford kept his Shetland pony. We used to have circuses in this area, using the pony as one of the attractions. The Coolidge family were very musical, and members of this family had an orchestra all of their own. In their music room I first heard the early Edison phonograph which played cylindrical wax records. It was quite wonderful listening to these early records

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with their scratchy sound.

The house at 805 Columbia Street was the home of Mrs. Clark Moore, whose daughter, Miss Marie Cocke, was quite an equestrian. She had a beautiful black pony, and she and Tom Ed. Tappan, Sr. would ride together during their courtship (that's your mother and father).

Looking through your book brings back memories of my early years in Helena. The General Tappan house is a good example of "Southern Colonial" architecture. The General, I knew very well; he sat in front of us in St. John's Episcopal Church. The ceilings in this home of his were 16' high, and one day some loose plaster fell from the ceiling and hit the old General on the head. He must have had a wonderful constitution, for the next Sunday he was at church with a bandage on his head.

The J. B. Pillow home, now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Francis Thompson, is a good example of highly decorated Victorian architecture and was built about 1896, at which time the construction of St. John's Episcopal Church had just been started--located on the S. W. corner of Pecan and Perry Streets. Some of us boys would go to the Pillow home, which was then under construction; there we found some beautiful colored glass that had been left outside by the contractor. It looked wonderful to us--this glass is now embedded in some of the front roof gables of the house.

I can also remember when the Episcopal Church was located on the corner of Cherry and Rightor Streets. While attending this church one Sunday morning, we found a piece of pipe sticking through the outside wall of the church. A vendor operating a peanut roasting machine next to the church had an explosion in the machine, sending a piece of pipe through the outside wall of the church. It made quite an impression on me at the tender age of four.

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Seeing a picture of the KATE ADAMS steamboat recalls her run from Memphis to Arkansas City. She would leave Memphis at five o'clock in the afternoon and arrive in Helena about 10 o'clock that same night to unload passengers and freight, staying in Helena approximately two hours. We boys and girls in our late teens would go aboard and dance by Handy's band, as he was playing on the KATE at that time. This boat had the most melodious whistle I have ever heard. When quite young, I would lie in bed at night and listen to the KATIE'S whistle when she was coming around the bend.

Another experience I had while traveling on the KATE from Memphis to Helena included one of my good friends, August Giovanetti, called "Juby" for short. Juby was a southpaw pitcher of the South Helena baseball team. I played on the West Helena² team and when Juby pitched, it was "curtains" for me. I just could not hit that guy.

But to get back to the trip on the KATE, Juby and I were on the upper passenger deck, where they stored some of the perishable goods. While both of us were sitting on what we thought could be a sack of potatoes, I noticed the sack I was sitting on had a large hole in the top and upon investigating, I found the sack was full of roasted peanuts. Needless to say, that the contents of the sack were much reduced when we arrived in Helena...but I can vouch for many stomach pains from the pillage. So, this wonderful boat was a joy to everyone who rode her and was known by all of us as the "Ever Loving Kate."

I could go on reminiscing at length, but it is sufficient to say that the part of my life spent in Helena was most happy and fulfilling.

I want to compliment your HISTORIC HELENA-WEST HELENA book, it is most interesting and informative. Keep up the good work.

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P. S. Another house that I have failed to mention is the Allin house, which has always intrigued me. This house is a colonial house with a Spanish and Mediterranean influence in the porches. It was lived in by the Abramson family before the Allins. I remember this because they had a daughter named Viola, whom I was very much smitten with at age 4.

*

Notes:

¹The C. R. Coolidge home was on the northwest corner of Perry and Columbia, where now stands a Union 76 service station. Other later tenants were the J. W. Clopton family, the Cad Polk family, and the J. H. Barrow family.

²The West Helena he mentions here is not the present West Helena. Most of Helena was east of Franklin Street, and I have seen references as late as 1906 referring to Columbia Street as being in West Helena.

Mr. Agee furnished the following list of houses in Helena that he drew plans for or remodeled.

Biscoe Street--Estevan Hall.

Columbia Street:
805. S. Clark Moore house. Occupied by several families since Mrs. Moore's death. Now owned by Mrs. Thrower.
928. Dr. William Richardson home. Now owned by Mrs. John C. Sheffield.
NE corner of Columbia and Miller Streets. Charles Wooten house. Now owned by Mrs. Harriet Collette.
Catholic Parsonage.

McDonough Street:
821. W. J. Polk home addition. Also known as Aubrey Burke house.
626. Amos Jarman house. Owned by Robert E.

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Murry family.

Perry Street:
Sam Austin house. Torn down in recent years by the City, and site now used for a parking lot.
Coolidge-Clopton-Polk-Barrow house. Now torn down.
925. Frank Moore house, now Gist-Sayle home.
1013. C. L. Moore III house, now A. P. Keesee house.
1112. Brill home.

Walnut Street:
520. Mrs. Nelia Lewis boarding house, later owned by Mrs. Katie Ince. Present location of Helena Insurance Co.
Barnes & Burnette Auto Co., now Ritchey Volkswagen location.
Remodeled old 1st Baptist Church at NW corner of Walnut and Perry Streets.

Franklin Street:
Two brick houses for Philip Solomon, behind present Mike Etoch house.
Dr. W. A. Ellis clinic, Franklin and Porter.

Beech Street:
809. Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Powell, owners. Once owned by Pat Anderson, and later by W. K. Monroe.
217. Bob Foster house, now owned by Floyd E. Curtis.
825. Once the Episcopal Rectory. This was a two story house once, and it was damaged by fire. Mr. Agee remodeled it after the fire, into a one story house.

Poplar Street:
815. J. B. Butts, Sr. house. Owned now by Weber family.
Maternity Ward, old Helena Hospital. Building now gone.
Mayer apartment building, corner of Poplar and York.

Oakland Avenue:
141. Jack Squier house, now belongs to Mr. & Mrs. Hugh M. Randall.
Polk Agee house. Later owners were Andrew

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Friberg, then C. B. Gardner. Now torn down.
110. W. F. Evans house, now owned by E. M. Polk, Jr.
120. Jack Kerby house. Previous owners were Aubrey Burke family, and Ben Ross family.
172. Owned formerly by the Barnes family. Now owned by Mr. & Mrs. Sonny Payne.
176. Jesse Vineyard house, now owned by Paul Smith.

Crestwood:
Dr. J. W. Butts home, now belongs to Mr. &. Mrs. Sam Ciener.
Morse Upshaw house, now owned by Mrs. W. N. Griffin.

Waverly Woods:
Mrs. O. C. Brewer's house.
Happy Rabb home. West entrance facing Oakland.

Arkansas Street:
Blackburn home.
Luther Richardson ice plant. Torn down.
Ellis G. Love warehouse (across from Levines).

Porter Street:
Ciener duplex, now Allan Levine home.

*

Photographs on following pages:

S. Clark Moore house at 805 Columbia Street, in 1922, after remodeling by Polk Agee.

Mr. Agee at work.

*

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