On the Rivers

Expense report by William H. Patton, recording each place the travelers went, and their expenses along the way.

At Plaquemine, Louisiana, just south of Baton Rouge, the party boarded the steamboat Tennessean and proceeded northward on the Mississippi River. By this time, steamboat navigation was extremely common on the river systems of the interior of the United States. It is likely, however, that Santa Anna had never before been aboard a steamer.

Both Almonte’s journal and Patton’s expense report noted their daily progress. Early on, it became known that Santa Anna was aboard the vessel. North of Memphis, locals even offered to pay money to see Santa Anna.

On December 21, the party transfered to another boat, the Adriatic, for the journey on the Ohio River. During this time, Santa Anna’s health worsened. He had frequently taken leaves of absence from the presidency due to illness, and had likely rarely encountered such cold conditions. The party continued to Louisville, Kentucky, where the travelers began overland travel; the Ohio River was too ridden with ice floes beyond that point.