PEARLS OF HISTORY

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Which part of a river cruise sounds the most appealing to you? Is it the idea of floating languidly along a calm, flat body of water and watching the world slowly unfold just past your balcony? Is it the acclaimed entertainment, enlightening lectures, and tales from our onboard Riverlorian? Perhaps it’s the authentic Southern cuisine with a contemporary flair? The attentive service of our all-American crew? The free one-night pre-cruise deluxe hotel stay? The complimentary Hop-on, Hop-off shore excursions in every port of call? The wine and beer included with lunch and dinner and the free bottled water, espressos, cappuccinos and sodas throughout the voyage?

For all our guests, these attributes factor into their decision to travel with the American Queen Steamboat Company but, as you can imagine, the ports of call themselves are a key ingredient. And for many guests, the appeal is not just in the bucolic parks, idyllic main streets, quaint boutiques and charming sidewalk cafes. Instead, they are drawn to the long, varied and intriguing histories of each of our destinations. While all the regions in which we sail deliver rich history, the Lower Mississippi is among our most popular when it comes to seeing history alive and well on the riverbanks. That’s an important reason we’re currently offering the opportunity to save $600 per Stateroom* on 2014 Lower Mississippi River Cruises if you reserve your suite or stateroom by December 21, 2013.

In fact, history is truly everywhere you turn on a Lower Mississippi voyage on the American Queen. For example, Oak Alley, LA, a plantation that takes its name from the canopy of 300-year old oak trees stretching for a quarter of a mile down to the Mississippi River, was built in the late 1830s but many folks know it for its more recent turn as a filming location. The plantation has steadily gained fame with starring roles ranging from the Tom Cruise movie Interview with the Vampire to Beyonce’s Déjà Vu music video. Oak Alley has been featured on both the TV soaps Days of Our Lives and the Young and the Restless. Even so, one of Oak Alley’s most influential residents was not a Hollywood star but Antoine, a field slave. In 1846, he developed the “paper shell” pecan which could be cracked open with one’s bare hands. Later known as the Centennial Variety, it became the predominant pecan crop of Louisiana.

New Orleans, LA needs almost no introduction but even among the laid back vibe of today’s city, it’s easy to forget that the city has been shaped through war. New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French who named it after the Duke of Orléans. The 1763 Treaty of Paris turned the city over to the Spanish and despite its distance from much of the fighting, it played a significant role in the Revolutionary War as supplies and weapons were smuggled into the country via New Orleans and the Mississippi River. By 1803 the Louisiana Purchase gave the city to the United States. During the War of 1812, it was the site of a battle to fend of 11,000 British soldiers. Unknown to the Americans, the war had ended more than two weeks earlier. Because Union forces brought New Orleans under the control of the North during the Civil War, major battles were not fought in the city and both its unique culture and architecture faced no serious damage.

Natchez, MS is a tidy and stunningly beautiful city with roots going back to French colonists in 1716. Named after the Natchez tribe of Native Americans, its importance as the southern end of the Natchez Trace, a road built to return pilots of keelboats back north, made it a key jumping off point for settlement. Natchez was a wealthy city and a major port for the loading of cotton bound for New Orleans, St. Louis and Cincinnati. The city recovered from a tornado in 1840 which killed 269 people and had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States prior to the Civil War. Although occupied by General Grant’s army in 1863, Natchez survived the Civil War intact and today has some of the most extensive examples of antebellum homes in the country.

Charming but stubborn Vicksburg’s initial prosperity came to a horrific end during the Civil War. After a siege lasting 47 days, General Grant finally forced the surrender of Confederate General John C. Pemberton on July 4, 1863 with more than 37,000 soldiers either killed or wounded. The day before, General Robert E. Lee lost the battle of Gettysburg in a dark time for the Confederate States of America that became recognized as the turning point of the Civil War. While July 4 was known as Independence Day across America, the citizens of Vicksburg viewed that date as a day of defeat and did not celebrate the 4th of July again until 1945. But Vicksburg’s place in history is also owed to less deadly events. Few people know that local candy store owner Joseph Biedenharn made history on March 12, 1894 when he bottled the first batch of Coca-Cola in the city.

Baton Rouge, LA has had a patchwork history and many masters, having been under the control of France, Britain, Spain, Louisiana, the Florida Republic, the Confederacy and the United States. The original Louisiana State Capitol even bore a strong resemblance to a Neo-Gothic medieval castle. But the push to establish the city as a hub for river traffic came under the direction of French Canadians driven from their property in the north by the British. The group was known as Cajuns and their unique cultural influence is a key component of the area today.

Helena, AR has a vibrant blues community. The area has produced blues greats Robert Lee McCollum, Roosevelt Sykes, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Robert Lockwood, Jr. Helena is also the hometown of country music star Conway Twitty and gospel singer Roberta Martin. The town’s roots in music are deep, indeed. In fact, Helena is the home to King Biscuit Time, one of America’s longest running daily radio programs which first aired in 1941.

Our hometown of Memphis, TN has a history that extends far beyond Elvis Presley and Beale Street’s jazz and blues. The area thrived as a Chickasaw settlement 10,000 years prior to the arrival of explorers and colonists. Fort San Fernando de las Barrancas was built in 1795 by the Spanish governor of Louisiana but abandoned only two years later. By 1796, what was to be the future site of Memphis was part of the new state of Tennessee. In June of 1861, Tennessee seceded from the United States but its independence didn’t last long. Union forces bested Confederate soldiers on June 6, 1862 in a fierce naval engagement known as the Battle of Memphis. The Confederacy was never able to regain control of Memphis, despite constant attacks by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In the closing days of the war, the Mississippi River just north of the city was the site of the worst disaster in American maritime history. The steamboat Sultana, grossly overloaded with prisoners of war, exploded and sank, taking with it more than 1,500 souls.

Each port of call on the Lower Mississippi has not just one story to tell, but many. In honor of this unique region, we’re currently offering the opportunity to save $600 per Stateroom* on 2014 Lower Mississippi River Cruises if you reserve your suite or stateroom by December 21, 2013. Come aboard and experience the broad sweep of history in the cities and towns that have defined the diversity, culture and saga of what it means to be an American.

*Book early and Save $600 per stateroom ($300 per person) on any of our 2014 American Queen or American Empress 7-day or longer voyages when you pay-in-full at time of booking by December 21, 2013. Cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts; not valid for Group bookings or existing reservations. Savings is only on the price of the cruise, not valid on taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare. Promotional fares and amenities are capacity controlled, may vary by sailing and category of accommodations and may be withdrawn without notice. Fares quoted are in U.S. dollars, are per person and do not include air or land transportation. Port charges of $69 to $159 per person are additional and not included in the fare. Additional terms and conditions may apply - call for details.