His lantern burst, the kerosene caught fire, and soon the ship’s deck was ablaze. The ship’s carpenter was tightening the bands of a leaking barrel of kerosene. Connections between steamships and trains made ports like La Crosse important transportation hubs for settlers moving to the western frontier., On the night of May 14, 1870, the War Eagle was docked at the Milwaukee Road Railroad Depot, just across the river from this spot. Her only casualty was a stray bullet that pierced her smokestack in 1862., After the war, the War Eagle again carried passengers and freight between the bustling towns along the Mississippi River. During the Civil War, the War Eagle transported troops and supplies. Built in Fulton, Ohio, in 1854, she boasted 46 staterooms, fine velvet carpets, luxurious furniture, and onboard barbershops. , Type: Wooden sidewheel riverboat, Built: 1854, Fulton, Ohio, Sank:, Length: 219’ Beam: 29’, Cargoes: Mail, package freight, passengers, troops, Propulsion: Paddlewheel, Depth of Wreckage: 10’, Determined Eligible for National Register of Historic Places, Just up the Black River from this point lie the remains of the sidewheel riverboat War Eagle.

Riverboat casino la crosse wi