At Baton Rouge, Bodmer witnessed the departure of the steamboat Napoleon on the evening before his own vessel left the city. When he again observed the boat on the following day in the vicinity of Fort Adams, he made this quick study.

At Baton Rouge, Bodmer noted the arrivals and departures of numerous steamboats. He sketched at least two of these, the Lioness and the Delphine. In his subsequent report to Maximilian, he mentioned that a great many flatboats were to be seen on the river, but that keelboats, common before the advent of steam-powered craft, were becoming increasingly scarce on the lower Mississippi.

While at Baton Rouge on the return voyage from New Orleans, Bodmer visited the U.S. military post located on the river above the city. According to Bodmer, the master of ordnance wanted to buy his view of the barracks, but Bodmer declined to part with it.

Bodmer arrived again at Baton Rouge from New Orleans on the morning of January 23, according to Maximilian's later report. He stayed here for three days, occupying the time with sightseeing and in making studies of the city and its immediate environs. This undated watercolor of a church at Baton Rouge was probably done during this period.