PS ''Alice Dean'', which had a capacity of 880 tons, was a side-wheel, wooden-hulled packet steamer. It was launched from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

, United States, in 1863, running a scheduled route between Cincinnati and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Its captain was James H. Pepper. In June 1863 the Alice Dean served as a Union troop transport, carrying Federal forces from Memphis to join General Ulysses Grant's siege of Vicksburg. In July of that year, Confederate

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864) was an American soldier who served as a Confederate general in the American Civil War of 1861–1865. In April 1862, Morgan raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment (CSA) and fought in t ...

and his cavalry undertook a large scale raid from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

through

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

and then across

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. While crossing the Ohio River into Indiana at

Brandenburg, Kentucky Brandenburg is a home rule-class city on the Ohio River in Meade County, Kentucky, in the United States. The city is southwest of Louisville. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,643 at the 2010 census. History Brandenburg w ...

, the raiders captured the ''Alice Dean''. Using the ''Alice Dean'' as a ferry, Morgan's troops were transported to Morvin's Landing, near

Mauckport, Indiana Mauckport is a town in Heth Township, Harrison County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 81 at the 2010 census. History In the earliest times Daniel Boone and his brothers, most notably Squire Boone, were regularly in the area ...

. Morgan's Raiders had already appropriated a small packet named '' John T. McCombs'' and used her as a decoy to hail down and capture the ''Alice Dean''. After using the two boats for their purposes, Morgan's men burned the ''Alice Dean''. The ''McCombs'' was spared because its owner/captain was a friend of Morgan's second-in-command,

Basil W. Duke Basil Wilson Duke (May 28, 1838 – September 16, 1916) was a Confederate general officer during the American Civil War. His most noted service in the war was as second-in-command for his brother-in-law John Hunt Morgan; Duke later wrote ...

. The machinery was salvaged in the fall of 1863 and auctioned off to the C.T. Dumont Co. for $4,500. Part of the ''Alice Dean'' is on display at the

Battle of Corydon The Battle of Corydon was a minor engagement that took place July 9, 1863, just south of Corydon, which had been the original capital of Indiana until 1825, and was the county seat of Harrison County. The attack occurred during Morgan's Raid in ...

battlefield.Riverboat Dave's: Riverboats Starting With A
/ref> A towboat accident at

Leavenworth, Indiana Leavenworth is a town in Jennings Township, Crawford County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The 2010 US Census recorded a population of 238 persons. History Foundation and early settlement Leavenworth was laid out in 1818 in an oxbow of ...

in August 1959 caused the water of the Ohio River to drop five feet, which exposed the hull of the ''Alice Dean''. Local history buff took pieces of wood as plaques to commemorate the raid. In 1965 the Heth Civic Club took up a collection and bribed a local contractor to move his crane to the site of the Alice Dean in an attempt to recover the ship. The ship was disturbed and several truck loads of wood were recovered. There is a rare video of the expedition. Associated with this affair was "Sherman's Ride," in which a self-appointed

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to al ...

, Jacob Sherman, mounted a horse and galloped upriver to head off the down-bound ''Grey Eagle'' to prevent her from falling into the hands of Morgan. He succeeded. The grateful owners of the ''Grey Eagle'' presented a bell to the citizens of Mauckport in appreciation, and it still is there.''S&D Reflector'', June 1976 Following the loss of ''Alice Dean'', a second steamboat with the same name was built to replace her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alice Dean (1863) 1863 ships Steamboats of the Mississippi River Steamships of the United States Indiana in the American Civil War Kentucky in the American Civil War

See also

References