Mary Patterson [Steamboat]
The Mary Patterson was one of three vessels scuttled during the Civil War at St. Charles (Arkansas County) in June 1862 to block the White River as a Federal convoy sought to bring supplies to Union troops upriver. The Mary Patterson was a 105-ton sternwheel paddleboat constructed in 1859; it was 125 feet long and twenty-three feet and eight inches wide. The Des Arc Weekly Citizen of Des Arc (Prairie County) reported on March 11, 1859, that the Mary Patterson under Captain Morgan Bateman was leaving Napoleon (Desha County) to ply the waters of the upper White River, writing, “This boat has been built on White River, and is emphatically a ‘home institution.’ Success to you, Capt. Morg. May you …
