The 19th-century river was a battlefield. Not of armies, but of iron and steam. Steamboats, titans of the waterways, clashed in a relentless pursuit of speed, pushing their engines to the brink and their crews to the edge of survival. Explosions shattered the air, flames engulfed wooden hulls, and collisions sent passengers screaming into the turbulent waters. This is the forgotten history of river steamboat racing – a thrilling, terrifying spectacle where the pursuit of victory often came at a devastating cost.