The Steamer Bostona, tied up at Portsmouth, Ohio, during the Civil War

This photograph dates to the Civil War and captures two steamboats tied up on the Portsmouth, Ohio, river front. The boat closest to shore is the Bostona, which was owned and captained by William McClain, who operated the boat as regular US Mail packet, serving the Portsmouth, Maysville, and Cincinnati trade. This ship played the part of an Underground Steamboat in the McClain v. Esham (1856) lawsuit, helping Joshua, an African American carpenter escape his bondage in Kentucky.