Mile 902.0 - Miles 902-898: RBD Winchester Towhead/Island No. 10

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

902-898 RBD Winchester Towhead/Island No. 10

Good north wind protection: there are several miles of steep narrow sandbars thrown up against the interior bank RBD from 902 downstream, the best found around 901 RBD. These would make for tight quarters, but would also be excellent protection for a cold north wind. You could pull in here off the main channel and make camp. Build a fire and enjoy the restless river, you with your feet propped up on a piece of driftwood and a plate of hot food in your lap while the wild winds of the north howl overhead and whip the river into whitecaps. Good sand up to bankfull 35CG.

The Donaldson family, for which the Missouri point is named, were plantation owners on the Tennessee side of the river before the Civil War. When Union forces were making their way down the river early in 1862, General John Pope had his men dig a canal across Donaldson Point. It was his hope that the canal would enable the U. S. Navy gunboats to bypass Confederate fortifications around Island No. 10. The rebels promptly scuttled one of their own steamers, the Winchester, at the foot of the passage to obstruct it. It was an unnecessary precaution, for the canal proved to be too narrow and shallow for the Union vessels. A few days after the Winchester was sunk, a Union reconnaissance party boarded the boat and set fire to it. The towhead that grew up around the sunken rebel boat in later years is still known as Winchester Towhead, and the remains of the rebel vessel are probably buried beneath it. (Braggs: Historic Names)

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