Ohio History Journal

Samuel A. Hudson's Panorama

Of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

By JOSEPH EARL ARRINGTON*

John Banvard and John Rowson Smith were the pioneers in

applying the panoramic art form of enlarged and continuous views

to the western river system.¹ Samuel A. Hudson followed close be-

hind them with his panorama of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the

first to picture the majestic Ohio. He had earlier created such a

panorama of the Hudson River,² and later was to make one of the

Gold Regions in California.³

The story of this artist has remained unknown, though he came

from an old and prominent New England family. Samuel Adams

Hudson was born February 13, 1813, at Brimfield, Massachusetts,

the son of Samuel Hitchcock and Miriam (Adams) Hitchcock.⁴

In 1823, when Samuel was ten years old, his father died, leaving a

family of eleven children. This son and two of his younger brothers,

William H. and George H., chose tailoring as their occupation,

adopted "Hudson" as their new family name (in 1836, at Sturbridge,

Massachusetts),⁵ and      became    interested  in  art as a     congenial

* Joseph Earl Arrington of New York City is the author of other articles on

Mississippi River panoramists, among them Leon D. Pomerede and Samuel B.

Stockwell.

He wishes to thank the many persons along the two rivers and along the exhibition

routes of the panorama who generously cooperated in furnishing the information

which made this article possible.

1 See John Francis McDermott, "News Reel--Old Style, or Four Miles of Canvas,"

Antiques, XLIV (1943), 10-13; Boston Evening Transcript, September 12, 1839.

2 Hanington's Dioramas, a playbill dated Worcester, Massachusetts, June 25, 1851.

Copy in the library of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester.

3 Boston Mail, April 4, 1849; Boston Journal, April 7, 1849.

4 Mrs. Edward Hitchcock, comp., The Genealogy of the Hitchcock Family

(Amherst, Mass., 1894), 292.

5 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, List of Persons Whose Names

Have Been Changed in Massachusetts, 1780-1892 (Boston, 1893), 79; Vital Records of

Sturbridge, Mass. to the Year 1850 (Boston, 1906), 218.

?? JOSEPH EARL ARRINGTON 1957

356     THE OHIO     HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

avocation. Then, in 1838, Samuel, having native ability and a special

talent for painting, made plans for the creation of the huge pan-

oramas that were to become an absorbing interest for a dozen years.⁶

He located at Boston in 1840 to follow his occupation of merchant

tailor,⁷ but was mostly away from the city from 1847 to 1852,

while painting and exhibiting his panoramas. During the latter

two years when the creation and exhibition of his large art projects

were drawing to a close, he and his brother William were partners

in a tailoring business at Worcester, Massachusetts.⁸ Samuel then

continued his regular work in Boston from 1852 to 1875. Later

he took a trip westward to Springfield, Illinois,⁹ where he died of

dropsy on February 19, 1877,10 leaving his widow, Eliza Jane

(Goodwin) Hudson, and an only child, Mrs. Mary Adele Gilbert.

His descendants continued to live in the Boston area,"¹¹ and honored

this ancestor by hanging three large portraits of him in their homes.

Hudson's avocation was rewarding, for we find records of a

number of his landscapes in addition to the panoramas. An oil

painting, "Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut," painted

probably in the 1830's, is still extant. It is a view overlooking

Farmington Valley, and is signed S. A. Hudson.12 A second large

landscape, without signature but credited to Hudson, and painted

probably in the 1840's, shows a distant view down the "Hudson

River from Stony Point."¹³ Hudson entered four landscapes in an

exhibition at Worcester in 1849. They were listed only as "paintings

from interesting points of view." Again in 1851 he placed two large

landscapes on view at the same place, one of "Newburgh, New

York" and the other of the "Lower Highlands of the Hudson

6 Providence (R. I.) General Advertiser, September 30, 1848.

7 John H. A. Frost and Charles Stimpson, Jr., pub., The Boston Directory (Boston

1840-75).

8 Henry J. Howland, The Worcester Almanac, Directory, and Business Advertiser

(Worcester, 1850-51).

9 John Bigelow to Samuel A. Hudson, Springfield, Ill., April 31, 1876. Copy in

the possession of Percival Gilbert, Sr., Boston.

10 Illinois State Journal (Springfield), February 20, 1877.

11 New England Historic and Genealogical Register, LXXXIII (1929), 339-340;

Percival Gilbert, Jr., to the author, August 2, 26, 1955.

12 It was reproduced in Harry S. Newman's periodical, Panorama, in October 1947.

As late as 1953 the picture was in Mr. Newman's Old Print Shop in New York

City. Letter to the author, April 30, 1953.

13 In 1953 it was owned by Albert Duveen of New York. Letter to the author,

March 10, 1953.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA               359

River." The exhibitors characterized both entries as specimens of

"a style of painting well adapted to extensive views."14

Hudson's main contributions to the art of the period were his

panoramas. These monuments are either not extant or not available

today for direct study, but the main facts about the creation, subject

matter, and exhibition of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers painting

are discoverable in existing records. There are three guide books

and two playbills in which the artist describes his work,¹⁵ and

numerous press advertisements and editorial comments about the

traveling exhibition. The artist started his project "with the pros-

pect of producing the FIRST and largest painting of the kind in the

world."¹⁶ The ambitious young man went on the spot to make the

first sketches when only twenty-five years old, and it required ten

years of struggle and sacrifice to complete the difficult undertak-

ing.¹⁷ He traveled up and down the rivers four times to make all the

sketches and drawings for it, and then, with a deep passion for

accuracy of representation, he "transferred to the canvas, things as

God and man has shaped them."18 The actual painting was done

in Louisville, Kentucky, the same city where Banvard had set up

his studio. A local editor made known the fact early in 1848 that

"this splendid production of the ready and gifted           Hudson has

been executed in this city. We have been admitted to his painting

gallery during its progress, and have watched its advancement with

14 Report of the Second Exhibition of Worcester County Mechanics' Association

(Worcester, 1849), 27; Report of the Third Exhibition . . . (Worcester, 1851), 34.

These canvases passed from an antique shop in Worcester to a New York art

dealer in 1931, but their present location is unknown. Clarence S. Brigham, director

of the American Antiquarian Society, to A. O. Vietor, April 14, June 8, 1943. See also

the Hudson file in the Frick Art Reference Library in New York City.

15 The guide books are: Hudson's Great National Painting of the Ohio and

Mississippi Rivers (New Haven, 1848), Gigantic Panorama of the Mississippi and

Ohio Rivers (Boston, 1848), and Geo. W. Cassidy's bewegliches Riesen-Cylorama

des Mississippi und Ohioflusses (Leipzig, 1850). Copies of the first and third are

in the New York Public Library; a copy of the second is in the Harvard University

Library.

The playbills are: Hudson's Mammoth Panorama of the Ohio & Mississippi

Rivers, for performances at Franklin Hall, Providence, Rhode Island, and The Mam-

moth Panorama of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, for performances at Hampden

Hall, Springfield, Massachusetts. A copy of the first is at the Rhode Island Historical

Society, Providence; the second appears in the Springfield Republican, March 17, 1849.

The guide books and playbills will be cited hereafter by their place of publication.

16 New Haven guide book, Preface.

17 Troy (N. Y.) Post, April 20, 1849.

18 Cincinnati Commercial, April 14, 1848.

360     THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

wonder and delight."¹⁹ To him it was as true to nature, "as if re-

flected through a camera obscura."²⁰

We know something of the artist's technique and have appraisals

of his work from editorial opinion. The scenes were not coarse

affairs, but were "put upon canvas with a masterly hand," and "in

a bold and effective manner," using "vivid and distinct colors" to

bring out the subjects. Many points of interest were given special

charm, "by the introduction of highly artistic effects." These effects,

however, did not obscure the essential details, for there was "a clear

and distinct view of every object," as "seen under the most favorable

circumstances." In the town views, "the buildings and streets are

not run into a confused mass," but all parts were visible. Water

in the rivers was not static, but it appeared to be in actual flow.

The drawing was skillful, "in preserving proportions, and managing

light and shadow," and there was "excellent judgement in colors

and the general effect produced by artificial light." Whether viewed

from a distance or close up it was "a highly finished picture

throughout." The scenes were continuous and related as a whole,

yet many of them formed "admirable pictures of themselves alone."

The final product was generally considered to be one of "rare

excellence" and a credit to the artist who created it by his "industry

and genius, through long years of toil and study," with heavy

expenditure.²1

Samuel A. Hudson did not work alone on the project, but not

all of his associates have been identified. Without giving names,

he mentions in one of the guide books that "the artists have com-

pleted the sketches of the Mississippi above the falls of St.

Anthony."²² An upper Mississippi section, however, if planned

originally, failed to become an important part of the completed

panorama. The names of the main artists were revealed in the

19 Louisville Democrat, April 15, 1848.

20 Ibid., March 29, 1848.

21 Cincinnati Gazette, quoted in New Haven guide book, p. 16; Providence (R. I.)

Republican Herald, September 13, 1848; Yankee Blade (Boston), November 11,

1848, Boston Daily Mail, November 11, 1848, both quoted in Boston guide book,

pp. 26-27, 28-29; Portland (Me.) Eastern Argus, April 13, 1849; New Haven guide

book, p. 16; Hartford Courant, July 26, 1848; Boston Courier, November 4, 1848;

Excelsior (Boston), November 4, 1848, quoted in Boston guide book, p. 28; Bangor

(Me.) Whig and Courier, June 23, 1849.

22 New Haven guide book, Preface.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA             361

press as the Messrs. Hudson, and were described as "modest,

but very worthy and gentlemanly young artists."²³ One was later

identified as Samuel's younger brother, George H. Hudson, by a

New   York minister, who congratulated him, after seeing "your

beautiful work of art."²⁴ The other brother, William, was probably

in the group of artists too, though not specifically identified. George

W. Cassidy was another associate. A German editor learned that

"Mr. Cassidy, with his friend Hudson, had spent two years on those

rivers, in order to make the sketches," for the panorama.²⁵ This

artist became the proprietor of a second copy of the painting, which

he exhibited.

Hudson's complete panorama was divided into four sections,

with the canvas of each one being wound around a large cylinder,

convenient for unrolling in exhibition halls. The first three sections,

finished in April 1848 and put on exhibition immediately, covered

the entire Ohio River and the Mississippi River as far as the

Chickasaw Bluffs in Tennessee. These sections were executed

on 20,000 to 22,000 square feet of surface,²⁶ the canvas being ten

feet high and its total length about 700 yards. The fourth section,

not finished or exhibited until the fall of 1848, covered the lower

Mississippi Valley. It added some 17,000 or 18,000 square feet,

making the total surface of the whole panorama between 37,000

and 40,000 square feet, and its approximate length 1,300 yards,

or three-fourths of a mile.²⁷ The second copy of the whole painting,

produced in the same year and abridging some of the upper Ohio

scenery, had an area of 27,000 or 30,000 square feet of canvas and

a length of half a mile.²⁸ The creation of this gigantic panorama

was generally conceded to be "a great achievement of the palette

and the easel."²⁹

23 Hartford Courant, July 21, August 2, 1848.

24 Worcester (Mass.) Spy, January 27, 1849, quoting a letter of A. V. C. Schenlk,

dated New York, June 28, 1848.

25 Leipzig guide book, p. 27.

26 Louisville Morning Courier, April 18, 1848; New York Herald, June 10, 1848.

See also the cover of the New Haven guide book and the Providence playbill.

27 Worcester Spy, January 24, 1849; Springfield Republican, March 13, 1849.

28 Leipzig guide book, Cover; Symbol (Boston), November 4, 1848, quoted in

Boston guide book, p. 27.

29 Portland Eastern Argus, April 13, 1849; Providence General Advertiser, Sep-

tember 30, 1848.

362    THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

The subject matter of the panorama was vast and varied,

especially as obliging editors of local newspapers described it.

First of all, it delineated the continuous and diversified landscape

along the majestic Ohio and Mississippi rivers, with only a few de-

partures to places of natural curiosity or historical interest. The

total coverage was nearly 2,500 miles, extending through 15 degrees

of latitude and 12 degrees of longitude, along the borders of eleven

states of the Union, and featuring the scenes peculiar to the states

or regions passed, from the fir and hemlock forests of the colder

northern Alleghanies, to the orange groves of the sunny South.

On the canvas was a succession of many physical features--forest

and plain, hills and hollows, mountains and caverns, plateaus and

lowlands, stretching out in all directions as far as the eye could see,

in the enlarging horizons of the western country. Other scenes of

special interest were the earth mounds, southern plantations, garden

spots, farm crops, and domestic animals. All of these scenes "were

made to appear as they are seen by the traveler" on the rivers, when

nature was robed in her best garments, in all their natural colors.

Picturesque landscapes, at sunrise, sunset, and by moonlight, ap-

peared regularly in the four days and three nights covered in the

panorama voyage.³⁰

The continuous rivers and their banks formed the immediate

scenery. There were rocky snags, sandbars, rapids, and falls; many

islets, islands, points, bends, deltas, and marshes, all with luxuriant

plant life; and frequent cliffs from 250 to 500 feet above the water

level. The coverage was expanded by the artist's method of giving

"views on both sides of the rivers--instead of one side only, and his

perspective is so managed as to show many creeks, and rivers, and

cutoffs, that could not be presented on an apparently flat surface."³1

Through this means were made visible parts of the headwaters, the

mouths of numerous tributaries, some canals on the Ohio, and many

bayous, lakes, and lagoons of the lower Mississippi.

The painting depicted the flowing waters of the river, and the

30 Portland Eastern Argus, April 13, 1849; Springfield Republican, March 13,

1849; Boston guide book, p. 28; Hartford Courant, July 21, 1848; Providence

Journal, October 9, 1848; Troy Post, April 20, 1849; Louisville Journal, April 17,

1848; Providence Journal, August 8, 1848.

31 Boston Daily Courier, November 4, 1848.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA             363

moving commerce on them--that vast fleet of steam and flat boats,

going up and downstream, by day and night. In the river scenes

were all types of western watercraft--museums and palaces, Noah's

arks and lumber rafts, skiffs and canoes, flat and keel boats, and

other cargo vessels. Splendid and fashionable steamboats were

made "to float along amid the variety of watercraft." Many of the

fatal boat wrecks alongs the treacherous waters founds space on

the canvas.³²

The most important subject matter of the panorama consisted of

the many cities, towns, villages, landings, and residences on the

banks of both rivers, so faithfully portrayed they could be recog-

nized instantly. These scenes appeared both during the day and

at night time. The geographical distribution of the towns on the

rivers was such as to constitute mostly "a panorama of the left

(East) bank of the Mississippi River, from New Orleans up to the

mouth of the Ohio, and the right (North) bank of the Ohio thence

up to Pittsburgh."³3

The beginning or ending of the painting depended upon the

way it was rolled on the cylinder, but here we shall start on the

Ohio and follow Hudson's first guide book as far as it goes, using

supplementary facts from the press. Beginning in Pennsylvania,

there was first of all a striking view of Pittsburgh, the Smoky City

of the West, at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela

rivers, the head of the Ohio. This large industrial city, with its

heavy river commerce and its "surrounding superb scenery," all per-

fectly painted, formed the admirable frontispiece of the whole

panorama.³⁴ Opposite Pittsburgh was Alleghany City, with its fine

bridge and seminary clearly visible from the river. Then followed

George Rapp's utopian town of Economy, and Beaver Town, on Big

Beaver Creek, across which a dam was built and in full view.

Ohio, while sharing the river scenery with two other states,

furnished most of the urban scenes. There were views of Wellsville,

32 Providence playbill; Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Me.), June 7, 1849; Spring-

field playbill; Lowell (Mass.) Advertiser, December 9, 1848; Troy Post, April 20,

1849; New Haven Palladium, July 3, 1848.

33 Springfield Republican, March 20, 1849; Cincinnati Morning Chronicle, April

25, 1848; New Haven Palladium, July 3, 1848; Kennebec Journal, June 7, 1849.

34 Boston guide book, pp. 28-29; Cincinnati Commercial, April 20, 1848; Hartford

Courant, July 17, 1848; Providence Republican Herald, September 27, 1848.

364    THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

a New England type village; then Steubenville and Martinsburg.

Next came the beautiful Wheeling Island, on the Virginia side,

and the Mound Scene on the Little Grave Creek, which the artist

thought was "one of the most interesting scenes that can be put

upon canvas." Marietta, the historic first settlement in Ohio, located

above the Muskingum River, had as its showpiece "the remains of

an extensive ancient fortification." Then appeared Point Harmar,

below the Muskingum, and Hockingport on the Big Hocking

River. The moonlight view of Blennerhassett's Island, with its

picturesque ruins of a splendid mansion and the wooding-up scene

of the steamer Brilliant, was the most beautiful island represented

on the Ohio. One observer was captivated by "the cold steely tints

of the moon contrasting with the firelight on the shore, and the

heavy profile of the woodland relieved by standing out against

the silvery reach of waters through which a noble steamboat is

cleaving its bright path."³⁵ Then followed the common views of

Coal Port, or Pomeroy's Landing, and Gallipolis, with its semi-

globular mound.

The scenes on the river between Ohio and Kentucky included

Hanging Rock by moonlight and Jackson Furnace Landing at the

Little Scioto River. Two remarkably accurate pictures, with elements

of pathos in them, were seen at Portsmouth, on the big Scioto

River, where only the naked abutments of the great bridge re-

mained after a flood disaster,³⁶ and at Manchester Bar and Islands,

where was still visible "the wreck of the unfortunate steamer, A. N.

Johnson" that had taken its heavy toll of life. Both Aberdeen, Ohio,

and the opposite town of Maysville, Kentucky, were shown, as

well as Ripley, Ohio, just below Red Oak Creek.³⁷

The last city in Ohio, and terminal point of the first section of

the panorama, was Cincinnati,³⁸ the Queen City of the West and the

largest one on the rivers except New Orleans. In the picture were

the floating wharves and river traffic, the commercial marts, social

halls, and professional colleges, and such landmarks as the Observa-

tory, Mount Adams, and the Landslide. A local editor felt "the

35 Yankee Blade, November 11, 1848, quoted in the Boston guide book, pp. 9, 29.

36 Louisville Democrat, March 13, 1848.

37 Cincinnati Commercial, April 14, 1848.

38 Hartford Courant, July 21, 1848.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA         365

view of Cincinnati is represented as very correct, surpassing any

other picture yet executed" of the city.³⁹

The towns on the lower Ohio formed the second section of the

panorama. Indiana was well represented with its cities and towns,

and the border state of Kentucky had a few urban scenes. Starting

with the Miami River, near the Ohio border, the views included

North Bend, with the residence and grave of President William

Henry Harrison; Lawrenceburg, Aurora, and Rising Sun; the Cleft,

or Devil's Hoof Mountain, and the Big Bone Lick health resort;⁴⁰

the Swiss town of Vevay, Carrollton Point, and Boones Oak on the

Kentucky River; Madison, with its hills three hundred feet high, and

the small town of New London. Just above the Ohio Falls were a

near view of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and a distant view of Louisville,

Kentucky. Here the falls made a very attractive sight, and Corn

Island that divided the river, added to the beauty of the scene. Next,

New Albany, the largest city in Indiana, appeared below the falls,

with its wide streets lined with trees. Then followed two romantic

spots--the Haunted Mill at Brandenburg, Kentucky, and Leaven-

worth, Indiana, with an encampment of Indians as seen by moon-

light. The concluding views of Indiana were of the Cannelton Coal

Banks on the Rock Island Bend, the enchanting Green River Islands,

and finally Evansville on the great northern bend of the river.

Only a small part of Illinois touches on the lower Ohio, and

the panoramic scenes there were few in number but very impressive

ones. First, there was the Wabash River, the border line between

Indiana and Illinois, and just below it Shawnee Town, a commercial

center of southern Illinois. Then appeared Caseyville, Kentucky,

with "tobacco plantations, Caseyville Bluffs, a field of hemp shown

in the foreground [and] slaves at work." Here is where the painter

"with infinite skill abandoned the river, and laid his scene in the

romantic fields of Kentucky." The excellent workmanship made this

a gem of the piece.41 Farther down the river, on the Illinois side,

were depicted the famous chain of bluffs that included Cave-in-Rock,

Battery Rock--standing 240 feet in the middle of the river--the

Devil's Portico, and Castle Rock towering 500 feet high. These

39 Cincinnati Morning Chronicle, April 25, 1848.

40 Boston guide book, pp. 11-12.

41 Louisville Democrat, April 21, 1848.

366    THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

were all splendid views, "executed with fine artificial effects," that

never failed to excite wonder and admiration.⁴² After passing the

Golconda Islands and the villages of Metropolis and America, we

come to Cairo, the last and corner city of Illinois, at the mouth

of the Ohio. It was represented by two views, one showing the

burning of the White Rose steamer on the Ohio, and the other

showing the town from across the Mississippi.⁴³

The third section of the panorama, probably a shorter one.

pictured the Mississippi River between the mouth of the Ohio and

Memphis. On the west side, the views were of "the low distant

shores of Missouri and Arkansas, with their forests of cottonwood,

sycamore and ash." New Madrid, Missouri, was featured as a

town destroyed by an earthquake that reversed the course of the

river for a few miles. On the east bank, below Cairo, were the well-

known iron and chalk banks of Kentucky. Along the river were

special views of Wolf Island, Pilgrim's Island, Needham's Cutoff,

Hales Point, with its cypress swamps, and Plumb Point Bar, where

snags and wrecks abounded. In Tennessee, the remaining part of

the third section included the Chickasaw Bluffs, and an encamp-

ment of Indians, "viewing for the last time their favorite hunting

grounds, and the graves of their fathers."⁴⁴

The fourth and last section covered the lower Mississippi, with

the states of Tennessee and Mississippi on the east and Arkansas

and Louisiana on the west. Here are shown the characteristic

features of the southern country and five of its large cities.⁴⁵

Hudson's second guide book lists the successive scenes. The first

one on the east side was Memphis, with an impressive skyline 240

feet above the river, on the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff. The United

States naval yards were at the mouth of Wolf River, and Fort

Pickering was just below the city. On both sides of the river were

shown many cultivated fields of "sugar cane, cotton, tobacco and

hemp--with slaves at work on the plantations."⁴⁶

Farther down the river were St. Francis Island and Horse Shoe

Cutoff, and then Walnut Hills, some of them five hundred feet

42 Hartford Courant, July 22, 1848.

43 Boston Courier, November 4, 1848.

44 Springfield playbill.

46 New Haven Register, March 2, 1849.

46 Springfield playbill.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA          367

high, on which stood Vicksburg, Mississippi, with its surrounding

plantations and cotton fields. Then passed in review Palmyra Island,

Arkansas, and its steamboat wrecks in the narrow channel--the last

one the Prairie Bird--Grand Gulf, Mississippi, the Cane Brakes, and

the Louisiana Lagoons, with their Palmettos, Spanish moss, and

wilds of nature. Natchez, with its elevated location, its pretentious

mansions of the planter class, its characteristic woods covered with

giant grapevines--all presented an impressive appearance. Then

followed Ellis' Sand Cliffs, the Red River with a moonlight scene

of Red River Cutoff, and the Bayou Sara Furnace, with another

moonlight view of the white cliffs. After passing La Cour's planta-

tion, which featured a sugar-cane crop, an old French mansion,

and the river levees, came a fine view of Louisiana's capital city,

Baton Rouge, high above the river, with its state house and United

States barracks. Nearby across the river was General Zachary

Taylor's noted plantation. The other scenes on the way to New

Orleans included Cantrell Church and its cemetery on the western

shore, Old Red Church, the wharf at Willow Grove, "with a ship

being loaded with sugar," Arnaud's or College Point, the location

of the University of Louisiana and St. Gabriel Church, Carlton,

and McCartey's Point, just west of the Crescent City.

The last scenes on the canvas were those of the colorful city of

New Orleans and just below it the historic battleground of General

Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. The view of this com-

mercial emporium, with its upper and lower shipping and its flat

and steamboat landing, revealed forests of masts of ships from the

sea and its thousand river boats. Among the prominent public

buildings were St. Charles Exchange and Theater, St. Patrick

Cathedral, the Barracks, Water Works, Government House, and

Branch Mint of the United States. The picture of New Orleans,

greatest of southern seaports and largest of western cities, con-

stituted a fitting climax to the pageant of towns and cities bordering

on both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the whole panorama, this

great metropolis was "represented with a correctness . . . seldom

seen surpassed on canvas."⁴⁷ and, like the other large cities, it

formed a magnificent picture of itself alone.⁴⁸

47 Providence Journal, January 2, 1849.

48 Louisville Democrat, March 29, 1848.

368    THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Hudson exhibited his panorama first in Louisville, Kentucky,

where it was produced. In March 1848 he offered a preview of the

part from Portsmouth to Ripley, Ohio, to some prominent people

who could help advertise the work. The first public showing of the

three sections just completed was announced for April 15, at the

Odd Fellows Hall, with tickets at fifty cents. Editors were highly

receptive. The enterprising artist had special claims for the fullest

patronage of the citizens of Louisville, because his studio was there

and his work had merit.⁴⁹ It was superior to his earlier painting

of the Hudson River and even surpassed Banvard's production in

scenic coverage and artistic skill. Moreover, all western people

had a special interest in this great picture that was soon to be

shown in the eastern cities and then taken to Europe, where the

West would be on display. It was therefore urgent that all those

living in the towns and states bordering on these rivers should see

for themselves "whether the artist has done justice to them in his

delineations."⁵⁰

At the appointed time and place the new painting was unrolled

before a very large audience that watched attentively all the scenes

as they passed. Frequently they demonstrated their feelings of ap-

proval by ovations, enthusiastic exclamations, and thunderous ap-

plause, especially at the moonlight views.51 After drawing large

crowds for one week, the painting was boxed up and taken up the

river to Cincinnati on April 24. There it came highly recommended

by editors, steamboat captains, and river pilots. Mayor William R.

Vance and the city council of Louisville extolled the work as "a

correct estimate of the beauty, extent and fertility of the Great

Valleys."⁵²

The citizens of Cincinnati had advance notice of Hudson's new

panorama, which opened in College Hall on April 24. Tickets

were reduced to twenty-five cents to gain wider patronage. Oppor-

tunities were afforded all school children to see this object-lesson

in geography, and sometimes three crowded performances were

held in one day. Hudson was acclaimed as a polished gentleman

49 Louisville Morning Courier, April 15, 1848.

50 Ibid., April 18, 1848.

51 Cincinnati Commercial, April 20, 1848; Louisville Morning Courier, April

17, 1848.

52 New Haven guide book, p. 15.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA           369

and a great scenic artist, whose panorama inspired viewers with

national pride.⁵³ After a successful run of one week, the proprietor

left Cincinnati on May 2 for Pittsburgh and the East, taking with

him new recommendations from Mayor H. M. L. Spencer, editors,

and river men.⁵⁴

The Pittsburgh press announced the coming of the picture on

May 9,55 but it failed to report its appearance there. Then it opened

at Franklin Hall in Baltimore on May 15 for a run of two weeks,

with tickets starting at fifty cents but later reduced one half. The

members of the Presbyterian General Assembly, while convened in

that city, visited the exhibition and gladly urged all church people

to profit by seeing it. After gaining wide patronage, the show ended

on June 5 for an appearance in New York.⁵⁶

The press notices in New York began two weeks before the

canvas arrived in the Apollo Rooms at 410 Broadway on June 12.

Past citations assured the public of its merits and popularity. The

great production, always judged creditable to the artist, met with

a good reception in this metropolis. The people crowded the hall

daily to enjoy traveling at home, and then the panorama left New

York on June 24 for Connecticut.⁵⁷

On the same day, it opened at the Temple in New Haven, where it

continued until July 14. The first guide book was printed here and

sold at the hall for twelve and one-half cents. William Goodwin

joined the Hudsons to promote patronage, and W. P. Gardner

played a new pianoforte with aeolian attachment, to accompany

the show. An interesting lecturer, sometimes the artist himself,

always explained the passing scenes. The population responded and

filled the hall nightly with admiring crowds, and the school children,

as many as five hundred in a group, eagerly attended the matinees.

The new panorama was becoming popular, as "traveling made

easy and cheap 'for the million.'"58

53 Cincinnati Commercial, April 14, 24, 28, 1848; Cincinnati Morning Chronicle,

April 29, 1848.

54 Boston guide book, p. 23.

55 Pittsburgh Dispatch, May 9, 1848.

56 Baltimore Sun, June 2, 1848; Providence playbill; Baltimore Clipper, June 3, 1848.

57 New York Herald, June 12, 14, 1848; New York Sun, June 13, 1848; Worcester

Spy, January 27, 1849.

58 Hartford Courant, July 17, 19, 1848; New Haven Register, July 3-14, 1848;

New Haven Palladium, June 24, 1848.

370    THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

The artist, with new support for his work coming from the

teachers, preachers, and editors, moved on to the American Hall

at Hartford on July 18, where handsome patronage awaited him,

and he continued there until August 1. The people felt an increased

patriotic fervor for their great and prosperous country.⁵⁹ Mrs. L. H.

Sigourney expressed her thrills in a poem about Hudson's pan-

oramic voyage,⁶⁰ and a deaf and dumb school shared the new

experience with the aid of their teachers. The whole commmunity

had a moral uplift after seeing this work, so elevating and refining

in its character, it was said. At this point the Hudsons suspended

their tour for three weeks in August in order to spare their visitors

the discomforts of the extreme hot weather and to gain a period of

rest for themselves,61 and time to work on the final section.

The exhibition went next to Providence, Rhode Island, opening

in Franklin Hall on August 21 and running for three months. It

received its best patronage there, from both city and country.

Playbills, filled with favorable press comments, were widely dis-

tributed, and advertisements stressed the educational and moral

values of the picture. During the first month many people of all

classes went to the performances. In the second month, a thousand

school children were attending weekly, and even after the thirteenth

week there were sometimes a thousand visitors daily. This panorama

was still in Providence in November, with an early removal north-

ward being planned.⁶²

It was not long, however, before the artist had completed the

long-expected final section of the lower Mississippi and added it

to the other three sections on view in Providence. Besides finishing

the original painting he had also produced a second copy of it to

satisfy the great popular demand. Thereafter the two panoramas

were exhibited to the public on separate itineraries--one continuing

in Providence, the other opening in Boston. The Providence press

announced on December 30 that "Mr. Hudson, having completed

59 Hartford Courant, July 18, 21, 26, August 2, 1848; Hartford Weekly Courant,

July 22, 1848.

60 Hartford Courant, July 27, 1848; Providence playbill.

61 Hartford Courant, August 2, 1848.

62 Providence General Advertiser, August 26, September 30, November 18, 1848;

Providence Republican Herald, October 4, November 8, 1848.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA            371

his magnificent painting of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers," would

reopen for exhibition at Franklin Hall during the first week in

January 1849.63 Then it was removed to Amory Hall in Woonsocket,

Rhode Island, on January 9 for another week.⁶⁴

Following the Woonsocket performances, the artist opened his

show at Waldo Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, on January 24,

where it had good attendance for a month. The picture was sched-

uled for reappearance in Hartford, but the American Hall there

was destroyed by fire on February 11. Hudson then remained

another week, giving the lectures himself, and offering benefit per-

formances for the keeper of the hall and the musician.65 He made

a return visit to New Haven on February 28, remaining until

March 10, where the lower Mississippi section was featured. Again

many children saw it while it was in that city.⁶⁶ The show opened

next in Hampton Hall, at Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 14

for two weeks. The record of its unprecedented success during the

past year was well known, and the attendance was heavy here too.

One more stop was scheduled, at Troy, New York, in April, before

the European tour would begin in May.⁶⁷

The famous picture appeared at Morris Hall in Troy on April 10

for a period of ten days. Then a tragedy occurred. The astounding

news came from the press that on April 19 "about half-past eleven

o'clock, p. m., fire was discovered breaking out near the second

flight of stairs, in Morris Hall." It soon swept across the building,

"wrapping the immense canvas of the panorama in its flames." The

painting, which was valued by its proprietors at $25,000 or $30,000

was only insured for $10,000. Arrangements had been almost com-

pleted to send it to France. The artist received the sympathy of the

whole community for the loss of his work of rare merit and great

value.⁶⁸

The news spread rapidly over the East and West, where some

63 Providence General Advertiser, December 30, 1848.

64 Woonsocket Patriot, January 5, 1849.

65 Worcester Spy, February 19, 22, 24, 1849.

66 New Haven Register, February 27, March 10, 1849; Springfield Republican,

March 14, 1849.

67 Springfield Republican, March 8, 20, 1849.

68 Troy Budget, April 19, 20, 1849; Troy Post, April 20, 1849.

372     THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

half million people had already paid admission fees to see this

spectacle that had helped raise the level of popular education in

America and rewarded the artist with a fortune of some $100,000.69

Though the artist assured the public that most of the original

sketches from which the painting was made were preserved, and

that the work would be reproduced as soon as possible,⁷⁰ there seems

to be no evidence that it was replaced. Fortunately, however,

another copy had already been created, and George W. Cassidy was

exhibiting it in Portland, Maine, at the time the original one was

destroyed. The editors there confirmed the fact that the lost painting

was "a copy of the one which is now exhibited in this city."⁷¹

The second painting of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which

the Boston press announced that "Mr. Samuel Hudson has just com-

pleted,"⁷² was first advertised on October 12, 18, and 28, and then

it opened in Amory Hall, on October 30, 1848. The admission

charge was twenty-five cents, with liberal terms offered for large

parties coming from neighboring towns. Press notices appeared

regularly in Boston and other New      England towns.⁷³ The artist

again made known his many certificates of merit from the South

and West, as well as the East, and he also printed a new complete

guide book in Boston. Finally, the editors reminded the citizens that

the painting was "the production of a Boston boy," whose "skill

and genius must be honored at home."⁷⁴ The population responded

generously. During November, Amory Hall was judged to be "one

of the most popular and attractive entertainments in the city."⁷⁵

The two hours spent in the hall seemed like moments to the de-

lighted spectators, because of the absorbing interest excited and the

frequent warm applause evoked.⁷⁶ Olive A. Stevens expressed her

69 Albany Argus, April 24, 1849; Woonsocket Patriot, April 27, 1849; Springfield

Republican, April 20, 21, 1849; Hartford Courant, April 20, 21, 1849; Portsmouth

(N.H.) Journal, April 28, 1849.

70 Troy Post, April 20, 1849.

71 Portland Advertiser, April 25, 1849.

72 Boston Courier, November 4, 1848.

73 Boston Mail, October 18, 1848; Worcester Spy, January 24, 1849; Salem

Gazette, December 8, 1848; Portsmouth Journal, November 11, 1848; Portland

Advertiser, March 29, 1849.

74 Boston Chronotype, November 18, 1848.

75 Boston Atlas, November 10, 1848; Boston Journal, November 1, 18, 1848.

76 Boston Bee, November 11, 1848.

HUDSON'S PANORAMA            373

appreciation of the artist's work in another poem.⁷⁷ After being

seen by crowded halls for five weeks, Hudson's first show in Boston

came to a close on December 7 and was taken to Lowell,

Massachusetts.⁷⁸

The exhibition opened in Wentworth Hall at Lowell on De-

cember 11 for a run of two months. The people in this factory

town were pleased to see this famous work of art that had already

been seen in the eight large cities of Cincinnati, Louisville, Balti-

more, New York, New Haven, Hartford, Providence, and Boston

by more than 380,000 persons in a period of eight months. Lowell

added to this number by attracting throngs to the hall, and the

painting was still being advertised there until February 8, 1849.⁷⁹

The itinerary of this copy during February and March is un-

certain. The Portland press stated specifically that Hudson's

panorama "was exhibited in Boston five months, to the admiration

of thousands of visitors,^"80 and carried his advertisements there at

Amory Hall regularly from November 6, 1848, to March 31, 1849,

when the exhibition was removed to Portland.81 The Boston press,

however, fails to offer supporting facts, and does not carry Hudson's

notices at all after the removal to Lowell in December 1848. There-

after the hall was occupied by other exhibitors, but it was possible

for two panoramas to be in Amory Hall at the same time, since

it had two large halls for public meetings.⁸²

The exhibition was well attended in Maine, though the popula-

tion was sparser. It opened in Portland on April 9. The manager

there, George W. Cassidy, incurred heavy expense to bring out the

painting in great style, at Exchange Hall, the only place in town

large enough to hold it. Cassidy himself explained the moving

scenes, and appropriate music was provided. The show was ap-

preciated in Portland and remained there until the middle of May.⁸³

77 Boston guide book, pp.31-32.

78 Boston Evening Transcript, December 11, 1848.

79 Lowell Advertiser, December 9, 1848; Lowell Gazette, December 22, 1848;

Boston Mail, January 4, February 8, 1849.

80 Portland Eastern Argus, April 7, 1849.

81 Portland Advertiser, November 8, 1848--April 7, 1849.

82 Boston Mail, January-April, 1849; Boston Courier, July-December, 1848; January-

April, 1849; S. Damrell, A Half Century of Boston Building (Boston, 1895), 31.

83 Portland Transcript, April 14, 1849; Portland Advertiser, April 5, 21, May

12, 1849.

374   THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

We find it on view in the State Street Chapel at Augusta on June

1 for a period of two weeks, where the people found it worthy

of their patronage.⁸⁴ The painting was taken to Bangor on June 18

and shown in Market Hall for three weeks. There the proprietor

announced that "in a short time the panorama will be removed to

Europe for exhibition," and it closed in Bangor on July 7, 1849.85

Information on the full itinerary abroad is lacking, but we find

the panorama on view next in Leipzig, Germany, in September 1850.

Cassidy employed the Buchhandlerborse for the purpose, and had a

new German edition of the Boston guide book printed there. The

picture was at the Saale der Tonhalle, in Hamburg during the

same year. The German press received the American painting with

much interest.⁸⁶ The later disposition of the famous panorama,

either in America or in Europe, remains obscure, and the final fate

of this copy of Hudson's work, unknown.

84 Kennebec Journal, May 31, 1849.

85 Bangor Whig and Courier, June 25, July 2, 4, 7, 1849.

86 Leipzig guide book, pp. 25-28.