Ad. Hines (Steamboat)

The Ad. Hines was a steamboat chartered for use by Union forces during the Civil War, often in waters within or adjacent to Arkansas.

The Ad. Hines was a sternwheel steamboat built at Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in 1860. Various sources show that it weighed 100 or 112 tons. The steamboat mostly operated on the upper Mississippi River initially, though by early December 1860 a newspaper reported that it was receiving cargo for delivery on the Arkansas River.

On March 2, 1861, the Hines was leaving the port at St. Louis, Missouri, when its “wheel…caught in a line, and the pilot could not manage the boat properly.” The steamer struck the steamboat Sunshine, causing $1,000 in damage, and continued floating uncontrolled until it ran into another vessel, the Illinois. The Ad. Hines sustained $500 in damage in the collision.

The steamboat was first chartered for Union work from December 12 to 21, 1862, transporting “government stores” from St. Louis to Columbus, Kentucky. When returning to St. Louis, the vessel got stuck on a sandbar at Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, and was reported “in imminent danger of getting entirely out of the water for a few months, and of perhaps being lost.” The Hines was back in St. Louis by December 30.

The Ad. Hines was next chartered from March 21 to May 23, 1863, and took part in operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi. While engaged in the Yazoo Pass expedition, the vessel was attacked by guerrillas on the Coldwater River, with its captain being severely wounded. In late April, the Hines and another steamboat “towed twenty flatboats through the Duck Port Canal. These boats are capable of carrying one thousand men each.” (This was one of two Union attempts to circumvent Vicksburg’s defenses via canals.) The steamboat was again used by Union forces from November 3 to December 31, 1863.

In late February 1864, the Ad. Hines, carrying cargo from M. S. Mephan and Bro. of St. Louis, hit a snag on the Arkansas River about eight miles below Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) “and filled in about five minutes after striking. Her captain raised her with his own crew.” The gunboat USS Linden, dispatched to assist the steamboat, also hit a snag and sank on February 22, 1864.

The Ad. Hines was chartered from March 21 to April 24, 1864. On April 1, while transporting about 100 Unionist refugees from Fort Smith (Sebastian County), it was fired on by guerrillas, “but being some distance off the balls fell short.” The steamboat was sold to the U.S. Quartermaster Corps on June 1, 1864, and would remain a Union vessel for the rest of the war.

The Hines was hauling supplies to Fort Smith with the steamers Doane and Chippewah in late November 1864 when the Doane broke in two and sank at Strahan’s Landing; the other two vessels were stranded there by low water on the Arkansas River. Colonel Abraham Ryan of the Third Arkansas Cavalry (US) reported that the Hines was “afloat and in good position…but will have to remain…till [the] river rises.”

On January 17, 1865, the Ad. Hines and three other steamboats left Van Buren (Crawford County), “each having on board a small scout under the command of a line officer,” to transport refugees to Little Rock (Pulaski County). As they approached Ivey’s Ford about eighteen miles above Clarksville (Johnson County), they were ambushed by Confederate troops under Colonel William S. Brooks. The steamers Chippewah, Annie Jacobs, and Lotus were all hit and then ran aground, but the Hines, bringing up the rear, was ordered not to approach because of the danger. The Ad. Hines returned to Fort Smith to pick up soldiers of the Seventy-ninth and Fifty-fourth U.S. Colored Troops to aid the stricken steamboats.

The Ad. Hines was sold at public auction on March 19, 1866, and renamed the Nugget by its new owners. The steamer left St. Louis on April 20, 1866, with a load of supplies for Fort Benton, Montana. The Nugget hit two snags on the Missouri River and was repaired, but when it was a mile above Dakota City, Nebraska, it hit another that “came up through her bottom, knocking off her capstan, and breaking through the forward bulk-head, causing her to sink to her boiler deck immediately.” The steamboat’s hull beached on a sandbar while the cabins floated off. There were no casualties.

In early January 1871, newspapers reported that a salvage crew was working to get the cargo of the sunken Nugget. By February newspapers were reporting that “considerable freight…consisting of liquors, picks, shovels and other articles” had been recovered.

For additional information:
“Arkansas Intelligence.” Memphis Bulletin, May 17, 1864, p. 2.

“Evening Report.” Leavenworth [Kansas] Times, April 25, 1863, p. 2.

“From Cairo and Below.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 8, 1863, p. 1.

“From Cairo and Below.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 11, 1864, p. 1.

Gibson, Charles Dana, and E. Kay Gibson, comps. Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels Steam and Sail Employed by the Union Army 1861–1868. Camden, ME: Ensing Press, 1995, p. 6.

“Linden I (Sidewheel Steamer).” Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/linden-i.html (accessed September 1, 2026).

“Mere Mentions.” Sioux City [Iowa] Journal, February 10, 1871, p. 4.

“Port of St. Louis.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 12, 1862, p. 4.

“Port of St. Louis.” St. Louis Republic, December 30, 1862, p. 4.

“Proposals.” Nashville Daily Union, August 27, 1865, p. 4.

“River Intelligence.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 3, 1860, p. 3.

“Rivers, Business, and Weather.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 22, 1862, p. 4.

“Steamboat Collisions—No Serious Damage,” St. Louis Republic, March 3, 1861, p. 4.

“The Wreckers.” Dakota City [Nebraska] Mail, January 13, 1871, p. 3.

Sioux City [Iowa] Journal, May 5, 1866, p. 3, col. 3.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Vol. 41, Part 4, pp. 712–713; Vol. 48, Part 1, pp. 12, 14–15. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1890–1901.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies. Vol. 25. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1912, p. 781.

Way, Frederick, Jr. Way’s Packet Directory. Athens: University of Ohio Press, 1983, p. 5.

Mark K. Christ
Little Rock, Arkansas