U.S. Snagboat "General Barnard" 1885 Poster

The U.S. Snagboat "General Barnard" plied the Mississippi River from 1879 until 1900. Its primary job was to remove "snags" - submerged trees with their roots still attached - which tore the bottoms out of many steamboats, causing them to sink. It was named for General Gross Barnard, Chief Engineer of the defences of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War and a member of the Board On Improvement Of The Low Water Navigation Of The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers at the time of the boat's construction. In her 22 years of service to the Corps of Engineers the Barnard removed 6,584 snags, cut and removed 73,935 trees leaning out over the river, assisted 82 steamboats off sandbars, and travelled 130,732 miles.