Tennessee River Traffic

Tennessee River Traffic. . , After the Civil War, the governments of Chattanooga and Tennessee were both nearly bankrupt, but in July, 1866, Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Because they would not suffer from further military occupation, the way seemed clear for Chattanooga to get back on the track toward growth. Essentially, this path involved the same activities which had driven pre-war Chattanooga: attracting industry and exploiting to the fullest the already excellent possibilities of river and rail transportation. , , Navigation of the Tennessee continued to be organized as Upper River trade and Lower River trade because of the unnavigable Muscle Shoals. The full route for the Upper River boats was from Knoxville to Decatur, Alabama, but the companies involved found it more convenient to split the Upper River nearly in half, with Chattanooga as the midpoint between the other two ports. They did this not only because their boats could stay more consistently loaded with a shorter, more regular schedule, but also because at Chattanooga's railhead, cargoes could be shipped to, or brought from, Charleston in the east, and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the west. , , Steamers wharfing in Chattanooga commonly carried cotton, grain, sugar, molasses, whiskey, iron ore, coal, and passengers. When cotton was the main cargo, the biggest challenge for the wharf manager was to find a place to store it. When the wharf was clogged with cotton bales from Market Street to the foot of Cameron Hill, the cotton was stacked in vacant lots and sidewalks as far into town as Ninth Street (now M.L.King, Jr. Blvd.). , , Boats leaving Chattanooga carried finished wood products, pig iron, textiles and anything the railroad might bring from other parts of the United States, including people. A stately cruise of 12-15 mph was a pleasant and scenic way to reach a destination, and most of the boats that wharfed in Chattanooga could be rented for excursions or parties. , , The large photograph shows (from left to right): the Chattanooga, the Bridgeport, and the Lookout at wharf, with the Meigs Military Bridge in the background. These boats weighed, respectively, 159, 184, and 193 tons, and were used to transport men and war materiel to and from Chattanooga. All of these transports were built at shipyards in Bridgeport and Chattanooga, as were the Chickamauga and Wauhatchie (shown in the central inset photographs), sidewheel gunboats weighing, respectively, 227, and 89 tons. The left inset shows the shipyard in Chattanooga, which was located at the foot of Cameron Hill. The right inset shows the riverfront area and the Meigs Military Bridge as seen from Cameron Hill.