In February 1843, Vann advertised his new possession: "The new fast running steamer, Lucy Walker; Eckert, Master; Little Rock to New Orleans, sheet metal roof; two fire engines and hose" [(1)February 7, 1843]. Among the first passengers of the new Lucy Walker in March 1843 had been 200 Seminole Indians transported from New Orleans to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, under charter to the U.S. Army [(1)March 16, 1843]. The Indians had been captured in Florida by the Army as part of federal efforts to remove southern Indian tribes to Indian Territory. Five years earlier, other commercial steamboats had been used by the Army to transport Vann's fellow Cherokees to the West as part of their own Trail of Tears.
