Bertrand (steamboat)
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Bertrand Site
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Model of the Bertrand
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| Nearest city | Blair, Nebraska |
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| Coordinates | 41°31′24″N 96°1′44″W / 41.52333°N 96.02889°WCoordinates: 41°31′24″N 96°1′44″W / 41.52333°N 96.02889°W |
| Built | 1864 |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Added to NRHP | March 24, 1969 |
The steamboat Bertrand, carrying cargo up the Missouri River to Virginia City, Montana Territory, sank on April 1, 1865, after hitting a snag in the river north of Omaha, Nebraska. Half of its cargo was recovered 100 years later. Today, the artifacts are displayed in a museum at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge near Missouri Valley, Iowa. The display makes up the largest intact collection of Civil War-era artifacts in the United States.
The Bertrand was launched in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1864. It measured 161 feet (49 m) long, with a beam of 32 feet (9.8 m); its total burden was reported as 251 tons. A shallow-draft vessel, it drew only 18 inches (46 cm) when light, and perhaps no more than twice that when loaded.
Sources differ on the ownership of the Bertrand, but it probably belonged to the Montana and Idaho Transportation Line, based in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm was owned in part by John J. Roe of St. Louis.
On April 1, 1865, under the command of Captain James Yore, the steamboat struck a submerged log in the Desoto Bend of the Missouri River, about 25 miles (40 km) upstream from Omaha, Nebraska. In less than ten minutes, it sank in 12 feet (3.7 m) of water. No people died, but almost the entire cargo was lost; the estimated value of vessel and cargo combined was $100,000.
Over 100 years later in 1968, private salvagers Sam Corbino and Jesse Pursell discovered the wreck in the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the Department of the Interior. Since the boat was found on government property, the men had to comply with the Antiquities Act of 1906. They had to give all of the artifacts to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permanent preservation. The boat was excavated and over 10,000 cubic feet of cargo (over 500,000 artifacts) were recovered from the hold. This time capsule of life in 1865 is on display at the museum of the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge near Missouri Valley, Iowa.
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