The Fulton, shown on the right, is racing against the Donna on the left of the picture. The date of launch of the Fulton is uncertain. Howard I Chapelle (The National Watercraft Collection p.116) suggests that racing Mississippi River steamers began in about 1830. The vessels shown in this picture resemble his description of the Eclipse built in 1852. The illustration of a paddle steamer named Fulton built in 1856, shows quite a different vessel (Ibid, p.117).