Diving for treasured history

on Arkansas' White River 

 

Story and photos by Jim Pogue

Editor, The RiverWatch Online

 

he mid-19th century was a time when highways and railroads were rarities in the newly admitted state of Arkansas. Most settlers relied on steamboats plying the Arkansas, St. Francis and White rivers to bring them supplies and to carry their crops and goods to other markets.

 

     By 1860, more than a dozen vessels made regular runs between White River ports and Memphis, New Orleans and other river cities. They captured the essence of comfort and elegance of the time; reflecting refinement with their finely carpeted cabins, their musical bands and calliopes, and their tables laid with shining silver, fine china and linen.

 

     It was also a time before the Corps of Engineers regularly dredged and snagged Arkansas’ rivers. As a result, the vulnerable steamboats often ran aground on hidden shoals, or had their thin hulls ripped out by submerged tree trunks and other obstructions. Boiler explosions and fires also claimed many of the early steamers.

 

     The worst steamboat disaster on the White River occurred in 1854 when the 134-foot long Caroline caught fire and sank, killing approximately 45 people.

 

     When civil war swept across our nation in 1861, both sides used the rivers to transport troops and military supplies to battlefields throughout the region. Warships and cargo vessels alike were lost either through military actions, or by scuttling to blockade use of the waterways by the other side.

 

     Over the decades, time has erased many of these steamboat losses. But today, the Memphis District has taken on the difficult task of locating and identifying historic steamboat wrecks on the White River.

 

     Archeologist Erwin Roemer supports the Memphis District’s protection efforts. “Sunken steamboats are another form of environmental resources, and we’re looking for ways to better understand and protect them in relation to Corps projects like maintenance dredging,” he said. “In a sense, it’s just like protecting endangered species or wetlands.”

 

     The Memphis District is now conducting the Lower White River Navigation Improvement Study. Researchers have identified at least 55 wrecks on the White River, with the possibility of many more existing.

 

     Dredging is an integral tool in keeping the waterway open for commercial navigation. Roemer said it is important for us to know the locations of these shipwrecks so we can make every effort to avoid disturbing them with dredging.

 

     “We want to locate and identify the wrecks,” he said. “If we find that we can’t avoid disturbing them, other actions like recovering artifacts or even underwater excavation might be appropriate. But that is not the first choice.”

 

     The National Historic Preservation Act and the Abandoned Shipwreck Act largely drive the current work. In some cases, however, the shipwrecks are anything but abandoned.

 

     “In the case of Civil War vessels, ownership is pretty clear,” said Roemer. “Union vessels remain the property of the U.S. Navy, and Confederate vessels are the property of the General Services Administration. Otherwise, the State of Arkansas usually owns abandoned historic watercraft.” Because of this, the specific locations of the four or five wreck sites currently under investigation have not been announced.

 

     Roemer said salvage work or research fieldwork by private individuals may be permitted in some cases, but significant coordination with federal or state governments is required.

 

     Corps river survey boats using remote sensing equipment often provide the first clue to locating a potential wreck site. Large metallic pieces like the remains of boilers, iron plating or paddlewheel machinery give a strong return on magnetometer survey equipment. We then contract with a commercial marine archeology firm employing professional divers to do the more detailed survey and site-specific fieldwork.

 

     Mike Krivor of Panamerican Consultants, Inc., is in charge of the current work on the White River. His firm has dived on wrecks on many inland rivers, harbors in the Caribbean and in a variety of other locations around the globe. Much of this work has been sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

 

     “Diving conditions in river systems of the southeastern United States are difficult,” he said. “Typically there is zero visibility and we confront the ever-present factors of drifting debris and fluctuating river levels and currents.”

 

     Divers working off small barges using bottled air supplied by a lifeline usually perform dive operations. Roemer said the archeologist-divers are in constant communication with members of the support team on the barge who record their findings. Artifacts sampled are generally small and not impressive by most people’s standards. he said. They often include objects like spikes, nails or bolts used in ship construction. Roemer said these items may appear meager but they provide valuable information about the vessel’s architecture, technology and, in some cases, its uniqueness and specific identity.

 

     But Roemer was quick to add that the purpose of the current work is not so much to recover artifacts but to locate and protect the existing wreck sites.

 

     “If we tried to recover a lot of artifacts it would be necessary to make special arrangements to preserve them,” he said. “As soon as metallic objects that have been submerged for decades are exposed to the air they quickly begin to deteriorate. The same goes for wooden objects unless we take special measures to stabilize them.”

 

     Current work on the White River is expected to continue until mid-September, depending on river levels.