Thanks so much for all this information, Maggie. When you say a steamboat is rated with a "capacity of 298 tons," does that mean it could accept a load of that size--be it men, equipment or whatever--and still stay afloat? Or does that include the weight of the boat itself? Or does it mean something else altogether?

From what you wrote, I suppose there must have been at least two Civil-war era vessels named "Tacony" (or "Taconey" or whatever): a riverboat and a U.S. Navy vessel used for blockade duty. As I understand it, the latter ship was named for a section of Philadelphia, where it was built. It's curious that a boat plying the rivers that far west of Philly would have the same name.

Again, much oblige for the details about the boats.

George Williams