Robert Mullen
Image Courtesy of the Connolly Family
Catalog Numbers: WE.2010.1.051-057 & 059
May 15 marked the 150th anniversary of the burning of the steamboat War Eagle on the Black River in La Crosse just north of Riverside Park.
Five lives were lost that night. In addition to the boat and its contents, the fire consumed the adjacent railroad depot, a grain elevator, a warehouse and most of a train waiting at the depot.
The War Eagle site was recently added to the National Registry of Historic Places.
Since 1870, local residents have salvaged a number of items from the submerged wreck. Many of these artifacts have been donated to the La Crosse County Historical Society, including some 700 items brought up by local scuba diver Dennis Brandt in the 1970s and 1980s, when such activity was still legal.
One of the more interesting finds was this set of tools that belonged to the engineer of the War Eagle, Thomas J. Connolly. An experienced steamboat engineer, Connolly had signed on to work for the War Eagle for the season.
Thomas J. Connolly, an experienced steamboat engineer, was on the crew of the War Eagle, which sank in La Crosse 150 years ago.
We know these tools were Connolly’s because his name is stamped into each of them. Riverboat engineers often worked on different boats from season to season. Instead of relying on the new boat to have the equipment needed, engineers brought their own tools to the job.
Historian Louis Hunter described the engineer’s job as “a hot, greasy and generally thankless one.” The engineer worked out of sight in the engine room and received little credit unless he made a mistake.
Actually, the engineer was the boat’s unsung officer.
In addition to keeping the steam engine and all of the mechanical systems working properly, he was the handyman who could fix most things on board.
Besides taking orders from the pilot to keep the paddlewheels running forward or backward on a moment’s notice, he needed blacksmithing skills to make replacement parts for anything that had broken.
Connolly was probably aboard the War Eagle the night it burned, as the steamboat was scheduled to pull out of La Crosse after picking up the passengers on the midnight train. He likely had to scramble off the burning boat quickly to save his life.
It must have been a terrible blow for Connolly to have lost his wrenches, chisels, calipers, hammers and other tools in the fire. However, he probably had the means to replace them.
As a riverboat engineer in 1870, he earned $100-$125 per month, a decent salary for his day.
Connolly eventually returned to the river and continued to work as an engineer on other boats for a number of years. He lived in St. Paul and died there in 1885.
This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on May 16, 2020.
This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.
