June 30, 1870… Race of the Natchez and the Lee
About 5 p.m. June 30, 1870, half the population of New Orleans lined the Mississippi River banks to see the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez begin the most famous steamboat race in American history, a 1200 mile run to St. Louis.
Captain John W. Cannon of the Lee seized the advantage at the start when he suddenly backed away from the wharf and took the lead. In less then four minutes the Natchez, captained by Thomas P. Leathers, followed. At Natchez, Mississippi, the next morning, 300 miles from New Orleans, the Lee was ahead by only eight minutes, both boats breaking a 14-year-old record for this trip. The race had attracted nation-wide attention by this time, and progress of the boats was telegraphed throughout the United States.
Cannon, preparing for a real test of speed, had stripped the Lee of windows and shutters to lessen wind resistance and refused all freight to make space for choice fuel, including dry pine knots, select coal, resin, and barrels of coal oil to force the fires. Leathers knew of these preparations, but refused to do likewise, signing on passengers that would require several stops, accepting some freight, and in general looking on the possibility of a race as an amateur event. July 1 the boats reached Vicksburg. Just above here a chartered steamer lay waiting and under full steam, without pausing, it sped alongside the Lee, transferring to it a full load of pine fuel. The Natchez, meanwhile, lost time towing its heavy fuel barges.
The Lee passed Helena, Arkansas, during the late afternoon of July 2, and fifty-four minutes later the Natchez rushed pass, having been delayed during the night by a broken pump. After the boats passed the mouth of the Ohio, low water and fog forced them to proceed slowly, but the Lee pushed on for fear the Natchez, would slip by in the fog. That boat, however, was finally enveloped in fog so dense that she had to lay by for about five hours, thus being definitely put out of the race. When the Lee pulled into St. Louis on July 4, the city turned out to greet the steamer with her record run of 3 days, 18 hours, and 14 minutes, a record that still stands today. The Natchez arrived in the late afternoon, 4 days and 51 minutes out of New Orleans. The Lee had had too many advantages, however, to make the race a conclusive test of speed.
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