Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

---

Steam navigation.

The value of steam in navigation was demonstrated by Denys Papin in a model steamboat on the Fulda, near Cassel, in 1707. This was soon destroyed by a mob of boatmen. Jonathan Hulls, of London, England, set forth the idea in a patent obtained in 1736. Bernouilli experimented with a steamboat, using artificial fins, and Genevois with one using the duck's-foot propeller, in 1757. In 1775 M. Perier navigated the Seine with a small steamboat, and in 1783 Claude, Comte de Jouffroy, constructed an engine which propelled a boat on the Saone. Immediately after the close of the Revolutionary War, James Rumsey, of Maryland, propelled a vessel by steam on the Potomac River, a fact certified to by Washington. In 1785 an association was formed to aid him, which was called the Rumsey Society, of which Benjamin Franklin was president. Nothing came of it. The next year John Fitch, a native of Connecticut, exhibited a boat on the Delaware propelled by steam; and in 1788 he applied to the Continental Congress for a patent, saying his boat

Fitch's steamboat.

could be propelled 8 miles an hour by the vapor. A stock company was formed at Philadelphia, and built a steam packetboat, which ran until the company failed in 1790. Fitch's efforts in steam navigation also failed. John C. Stevens, of Hoboken, N. J., constructed a steamboat on the waters of the Hudson that was driven by a Watt engine, moved by vapor from a tubular boiler of his own invention, and a screw propeller. The same year Oliver Evans put a steam dredgingmachine on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers propelled by a steam paddle-wheel moved by a high-pressure engine, the first of its kind ever used. Meanwhile Robert [392]

Fulton's Clermont on its trial-trip up the Hudson.

Fulton, a professional painter, had conceived a plan for steamboat navigation while an inmate of Joel Barlow's residence in Paris. He met Chancellor Livingston in Paris, and interested that gentleman in his projects. He tried two experiments on the Seine in 1803. Fulton visited Scotland, where a steamboat was in operation, and received from the inventor a description of its construction. With these facts in his possession, Fulton planned, and, on his return to New York in 1806, built, in conjunction with Livingston, a steamboat, which he called the Clermont, the title of the latter's country seat on the manor. The vessel was 130 feet in length, 18 in width, and 7 in depth, and was of 160 tons burden. She was propelled by a Watt & Boulton engine.

Fulton was generally regarded as an unwise enthusiast, and when, on the morning of Friday, Aug. 7, 1807, the Clermont left New York on a trial-trip to Albany, bearing Fulton and a few friends who had faith in his enterprise, and the boat stopped a while on account of a slight imperfection, he was greeted by jeers from a crowd on shore. But she soon moved on out of sight of the deriding multitude, and made her way to Albany and back against wind and tide, frightening many along the shores of the river, who regarded it, as it cast forth sparks, flame, and smoke during the night, a monster of the deep. The great experiment then became a demonstration, and navigation by steam was then first successfully undertaken. From that day vast improvements have been made in steam navigation, until now steam-vessels are seen in all parts of the world, even among the ice-packs of the polar seas. the Clermont began regular trips between New York and Albany on Sept. 1, 1807, making the round trip of about 300 miles in 72 hours. On that day the following advertisement appeared in the New York newspapers: “The North River steamboat will leave Paulus's Hook (Jersey City) on Friday, the 4th of September, at nine o'clock in the morning, and arrive at Albany on Saturday at nine o'clock in the afternoon. Provisions, good berths, and accommodations are provided.”

Before the breaking out of the War of 1812-15 Fulton and Livingston had caused six steamboats to be built for navigating the Hudson and for ferrying at New York. Steam navigation was soon in operation on the rivers and lakes of the United States and quite early on the sea. In [393] 1808 Robert L. Stevens, son of John C., went in the Phoenix, then lately launched at Hoboken, around to the Delaware River; and in July, 1819, the steamship Savannah crossed the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Liverpool in twenty-six days. Six years later the steamship Enterprise went from Falmouth, England, to the East Indies, the first voyage of the kind ever made. For this achievement her commander (Captain Johnson) received $50,000. These were extraordinary voyages at that time.

The beginning of the regular navigation of the ocean between Europe and America was postponed until June, 1838, when the Great Western crossed the Atlantic from Bristol to New York in eighteen days. From that time steam navigation between the continents has been regularly kept up, and the Atlantic is now traversed by steam-vessels from New York to

A modern Ocean steamer.

Liverpool in about five and a half days. Steamships are seen on every sea. They are employed in Arctic explorations; and in the early part of 1879 a steamship made the first voyage from the waters of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific through the ocean lying at the north of Europe and Asia. The first American steam-vessel seen in the East India seas was the schooner Midas, which became a passengerboat in Chinese waters in 1844. See navigation acts.

---

Chronology.

The following is a record of the chief events in the history of commercial steam navigation. See navigation acts; Navy of the United States.

James Rumsey, of Sheppardstown, Va., invents a steamboat propelled by a steam-engine expelling water through a horizontal trunk-opening in the stern (1782). He experiments publicly in the presence of General Washington, on the Potomac River. Sept.,	1784
John Fitch, of Philadelphia, Pa., launches a steamboat worked by vertical paddles, six on each side, on the Delaware River	1788
Patrick Miller, of Dalswinton, Scotland, constructs a pleasure boat with paddle-wheels (1787), to which William Symington applies a steam-engine	1788
John Fitch sails a steamboat 18 feet long on the Collect Pond, New York City, where the “Tombs” now stands	1796
First practical steamboat, the tug Charlotte Dundas, built by William Symington, and tried on the Forth and Clyde Canal, Scotland	March, 1802
Robert Fulton, in connection with Chancellor Livingston, United States ambassador in Paris, builds a steam paddle-boat, 60 feet long, which is tried on the Seine	Aug. 9, 1803
John Stevens, of Hoboken, N. J., builds a steamboat with twin-screw propellers and an engine supplied by a flue-boiler	1804
Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, 160 tons, runs from New York to Albany in thirty-two hours, thus securing the

[394]

exclusive use of the Hudson for steam navigation under grant of legislature made in 1798	Aug., 1807
Phoenix, a single-screw propeller built by John Stevens, makes the first sea voyage of a steam-vessel from New York to Philadelphia	1808
First steamboat on the St. Lawrence River, the Accommodation, runs from Montreal to Quebec	1809
First steamboat on the western rivers, a stern-wheeler, is built by Fulton at Pittsburg	1811
Comet, first passenger steamboat built in Europe, by Henry Bell, runs on the Clyde 7 1/2 miles per hour. Jan. 18,	1812
Steam ferry between New York and Jersey City	1812
First steam-vessel on the Thames, brought by Mr. Dodd from Glasgow	1815
First steamboat on the Great Lakes, the Ontario, built at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y.	1816
Walk-in-the-Water, a steamboat for Lake Erie, launched at Black Rock (now part of Buffalo, N. Y.）	May 28, 1818
Savannah, Capt. Stevens Rogers, a steamboat of 350 tons, built in New York City, crosses the Atlantic from Savannah to Liverpool in twenty-six days, during eighteen of which she uses her paddles Off Cape Clear she is mistaken for a ship on fire, and pursued by the British cutter Kite. She sails from Savannah, Ga.	May 24, 1819
First sea-going steam-vessel of iron, the Aaron Manby, is constructed at the Horsley Iron Works, England	1821
First steam voyage to India made by the Enterprise, Captain Johnson, from London to Calcutta in 113 days, leaving Falmouth	Aug. 16, 1825
Fulton the First accidentally blown up at New York	June 4, 1829
Steamboat Royal William crosses the ocean from Quebec	1831
John Randolph, first iron vessel in American waters, built by John Laird, of Birkenhead, and shipped in pieces at Liverpool, built in the Savannah River as a tugboat	1834
Great Western Steamship Company formed, and keel of the Great Western (1,340 tons) laid at Bristol, England	1836
Peninsular Steamship Company founded	1837
Captain Ericsson's screw steamer, Francis B. Ogden, makes 10 miles per hour on the Thames	April, 1837
First voyage of the steamship Great Western, launched July 19, 1837, from Bristol to New York	April 8-23, 1838
Sirius, built at London, crosses the Atlantic in 18 1/2 days, reaching New York under steam a few hours before the Great Western	April 23, 1838
Thomas Petit Smith's propeller first tried in England on a large scale in the Archimedes of 237 tons	1839

Unicorn, first steam-vessel from Europe to enter Boston Harbor, arrives	June 2, 1840
First of the Cunard line, the Britannia, side-wheeler, crosses to Boston in 14 days 8 hours, leaving Liverpool	July 4, 1840
Pacific Steam Navigation Company established	1840
Screw steamer Princeton built for the United States navy	1843
Screw steamer Great Britain, first large ship with iron hull, designed by I. K. Brunel (3,443 tons, 322 feet long, 51 feet broad), launched July 19, 1843, sails from Bristol	Jan. 23, 1845
Pacific Mail Steamship Company organized	1847
Collins line of American steamships formed and subsidized by the United States government (It consisted of the Arctic, Baltic, Atlantic, and Pacific, and existed eight years. The barber-shops on shipboard were a new feature.)	1849
Inman line founded by William Inman, and the first vessel, an iron screw steamer, City of Glasgow, put in commission	1850
Emigrants first carried in steamships of the Inman line	1850
Allan line organized	1852
First trip around the world by a merchant steamer, the English screw steamship Argo	1854
Hamburg-American and Anchor lines established	1856
Great Western broken up for firewood at Vauxhall	1857
North German Lloyd line established	1857
Great Eastern launched, Nov. 3, 1857-Jan. 31,	1858
Iron-clad steamships introduced	1860
French line established	1862
Far East, with two screw-propellers, launched at Millwall	Oct. 31, 1863
Guion line established	1864
Trial trip of the Nautilus, with a hydraulic propeller (Ruthven's patent, 1849) worked by steam and no paddles or screw	March 24, 1866
White Star line begins with the Oceanic, with saloons and state-rooms amidships instead of in the stern	1870
Netherlands line established, 1872; Red Star line	1873
Steamship Faraday, 5,000 tons, 360 feet long, 52 feet wide, and 36 feet deep, launched at Newcastle	Feb. 17, 1874
First export of live cattle by steamer, 373 head, shipped from United States to England in the steamship European	July, 1874
Dead-meat trade between United States and England by refrigeration commences on White Star liners Celtic and Britannic	1874
Bessemer saloon steamer launched at Hull, Sept. 24, 1874, makes first voyage to Gravesend	March 5, 1875
Thingvalla line established	1879

[395]

Anthracite, a steamer 84 feet long, planned by Loftus Perkins, of England, with very high-pressure engines, crosses the Atlantic, 3,316 miles, in 22 1/2 days, consuming only twenty-five tons of coal	1880
Cunard steamer Etruria arrives at Quarantine, port of New York, one hour before the McKinley bill goes into effect, and Captain Haines reaches the custom-house barely a minute before midnight, saving thousands of dollars in increased duties	Midnight, Oct. 4, 1890
“Whaleback” Charles W. Wetmore steams from the head of Lake Superior to Liverpool	1891
Campania, twin-screw Cunard liner, with a gross tonnage of 12,500 tons, 620 feet long, 65 feet 3 inches broad, and 43 feet deep, launched on the Clyde	Sept. 8, 1892
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, twin-screw,

North German Lloyd, 649 feet long, 66 feet wide, 43 feet deep, 13,800 tonnage, 28,000 horse-power, launched at Stettin, Germany	May 4, 1897
Oceanic, White Star liner, 685 feet long, 68 feet wide, 44 feet deep, 17,250 tonnage, launched at Belfast	Jan. 14, 1899
Deutschland, twin-screw Hamburg-American liner, 687 feet long, 67 feet wide, 44 feet deep, registered tonnage of 16,500 tons, 37,800 horse-power, launched at Stettin, Germany	1900
[This vessel made the record voyage from Plymouth, over the long course, at an average speed of 23.51 knots per hour. On this trip 601 knots, equivalent to 692 statute miles, were covered in one day (July 30, 1901）].
Celtic, twin-screw, White Star liner, 700 feet long, 75 feet broad, 49 feet deep, 20,900 tonnage, built at Belfast, first voyage to New York	July 27, 1901

Fastest Atlantic Ocean passages.

Route.	Steamer.	Line.	Date	D.	H.	M.
Queenstown to New York	Lucania	Cunard	Oct. 21-26, 1894	5	7	23
New York to Queenstown	Lucania	Cunard	Sept. 8-14, 1894	5	8	38
Cherbourg to New York	Deutschland	Hamburg-American	Aug. 26–Sept. 1, 1900	5	12	29
Southampton to New York	Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse	North German Lloyd	March 30–April 5, 1898	5	20
New York to Southampton	Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse	North German Lloyd	Nov. 23-29, 1897	5	17	8
Havre to New York	La Touraine	French	July 16-23, 1892	6	14	26
New York to Havre	La Touraine	French	Oct. 29–Nov. 5, 1892	6	20	6
New York to Cherbourg	Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse	North German Lloyd	Jan. 4-10, 1900	5	16
New York to Plymouth1	Deutschland	Hamburg-American	Sept. 5-10, 1900	5	7	38
Plymouth to New York	Deutschland	Hamburg-American	July 7-12, 1900	5	15	46

Best records of other steamships.

Route.	Steamer.	Line.	Date.	D.	H.	M.
Queenstown to New York	Paris	American	Oct. 14-19, 1892	5	14	24
Southampton to New York	St. Paul	American	Aug. 8-14, 1896	6	0	31
New York to Southampton	St. Louis	American	Sept. 1-8, 1897	6	10	14
New York to Southampton	Furst Bismarck	Hamburg-American	Oct. 20-27, 1898	6	10	15
New York to Queenstown	Alaska	Guion	Sept. 12-19, 1882	6	18	37
Queenstown to New York	Alaska	Guion	Sept. 16-22, 1883	6	21	40
New York to Queenstown	Teutonic	White Star	Oct. 21-27, 1891	5	21	3
Queenstown to New York	Teutonic	White Star	Aug. 13-19, 1891	5	16	31
Glasgow to New York	City of Rome	Anchor	Aug. 18-24, 1886	6	20	35
New York to Glasgow	City of Rome	Anchor	Aug. 13-19, 1885	6	18	25
New York to Antwerp	Friesland	Red Star	August, 1894	8	22	13

Approximate Distances: Sandy Hook (Light-ship). New York, to Queenstown (Roche's Point), 2,800 miles; to Plymouth (Eddystone), 2,962 miles; to Southampton (The Needles), 3.100 miles; to Havre, 3,170 miles; to Cherbourg (The Mole), 3,184 knots. The fastest (lay's run was made by the Deutschland, of the Hamburg-American Line, August, 1900—584 knots, or 23.02 knots per hour.

the record-breakers in thirty-five years.

The following is the succession of steamships which have broken the record since 1866, with their running time. The route in all cases was that between New York and Queenstown, east or west:

Date.	Steamer.	D.	H.	M.	Date.	Steamer.	D.	H.	M.
1856	Persia	9	1	45	1885	Etruria	6	5	31
1866	Scotia	8	2	48	1887	Umbria	6	4	42
1869	City of Brussels	7	22	3	1888	Etruria	6	1	55
1873	Baltic	7	20	9	1889	City of Paris	5	19	18
1875	City of Berlin	7	15	48	1891	Majestic	5	18	8
1876	Germanic	7	11	37	1891	Teutonic	5	16	31
1877	Britannic	7	10	53	1892	City of Paris	5	15	58
1880	Arizona	7	7	23	1892	City of Paris	5	14	24
1882	Alaska	6	18	37	1893	Campania	5	12	7
1884	Oregon	6	11	9	1894	Lucania	5	7	23
1884	America	6	10	0

[396]

Lost Atlantic steamships.

Name of Vessel.	Owners.	Nationality.	Persons on Board.	Date of Leaving Port.
President	British and American S. N. Company	British	136	March 11, 1841
Pacific	Collins Line	American	240	Sept. 23, 1856
Tempest	Anchor Line	British	150	Feb. 26, 1857
United Kingdom	Anchor Line	British	80	April 17, 1868
City of Boston	Inman Line	British	177	Jan. 28, 1870
Scanderia	Anglo Egyptian Line	British	38	Oct. 8, 1872
Ismailia	Anchor Line	British	52	Sept. 27, 1873
Colombo	Wilson Line	British	44	January, 1877
Herman Ludwig		German	50	Sept. 28, 1878
Homer		British	43	Dec. 17, 1878
Zanzibar		British	48	Jan. 11, 1879
Surbiton		British	33	Feb. 18 1879
Bcrnicia		British	45	March 19, 1879
City of Limerick		British	43	Jan. 8, 1881
City of London		British	41	Nov. 13, 1881
Straits of Dover		British	27	Jan. 3, 1883
Coniston		British	27	Dec. 24, 1884
Ferwood		British	25	Jan. 20, 1885
Preston		British	29	Jan. 20, 1885
Clandon		British	27	Jan. 24, 1885
Humber		British	56	Feb. 15, 1885
Erin	National Line	British	72	Dec. 31, 1889
Thanemorc	Johnston Line	British	43	Nov. 26, 1890
Naronic	White Star Line	British		February, 1893

steamboats, Hudson River