# Shipwrecks in the Mississippi River **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428 "2008-11-19T06:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/1 "2008-11-19T06:57:07Z")
I live in Baton Rouge, LA close to the mighty Mississippi and I was wondering if somehow all the water was drained away how many Civil War era ships would we find? Considering it is fresh water how well woud the ships be preserved? It must be incredibly difficult to dive in the Mississippi considering the swift current and near zero visability. I have read that the river has changed course a lot since the 19th century and some wrecks have been found in farm land a mile or two away from the river… ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/2 "2008-11-19T15:04:01Z")
Well, there’s the Arabia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabia\_Steamboat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabia_Steamboat) With lots of well preserved artifacts. She was found about one-half mile from the river. The USS Naiad, and Saluda are also mentioned, but not that they were ever raised. ---
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/3 "2008-11-19T17:04:28Z")
Thanks for that Gary! ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/4 "2008-11-19T19:19:06Z")
We’ve got the [War Eagle](http://www.lacrosse.lib.wi.us/digitalproject/wareagle.htm). It burned and sank while docked and now sits on the bottom right at the confluence of the three rivers (La Crosse, Black and Mississippi). ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/5 "2008-11-19T19:32:12Z")
> [@Chris Moise](#): > > Considering it is fresh water how well woud the ships be preserved? Check this out. [http://www.timelesstimber.com/](http://www.timelesstimber.com/) Now, the 100+ year old timber they are recovering and using was in water that was likely deeper and colder, but that’s some evidence that yes, wood can be very well preserved under some conditions in freshwater. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/6 "2008-11-19T21:15:11Z")
Similar vein: Wired Magazine piece about underwater timber harvesting. > **[Reservoir Logs](https://www.wired.com/2007/02/logs/)** > > A submersible robot called the Sawfish can harvest healthy timber from long-forgotten underwater forests. Clear-cutting never looked so green. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/7 "2008-11-19T21:48:16Z")
Clive Cussler has a book or two documenting him and some friends attempt at finding civil war shipwrecks, they found several. [http://www.cusslermen.com/seahunters.htm](http://www.cusslermen.com/seahunters.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shipwrecks-in-the-mississippi-river/473428/8 "2008-11-19T23:09:28Z")
There’s the [Sultana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_(steamboat)), the sinking of which is claimed to be the “greatest maritime disaster in United States history”. It’s one of those wrecks where the debris was found some distance from the river, according to the Wiki article: > [@](#): > > In 1982, a local archaeological expedition uncovered what was believed to be the wreckage of the Sultana. Blackened wooden deck planks and timbers were found about 32 feet under a soybean field on the Arkansas side, about four miles from Memphis. The Mississippi River has changed course several times since the disaster. The main channel now flows about two miles east of its 1865 position.