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New Orleans (steamboat)
Encyclopedia
The New Orleans was the first steamboat
on the western waters of the United States
. Its 1811-1812 voyage from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
to New Orleans, Louisiana
on the Ohio
and Mississippi
Rivers ushered in the era of commercial steamboat navigation on the western rivers.
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The New Orleans was a joint venture of Robert Fulton
(1765-1815), Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813), and Nicholas Roosevelt
(1767-1854). Fulton had successfully commercialized the steamboat on the Hudson River
with his Clermont
in 1807 and Livingston was a wealthy New York
politician and inventor. Fulton became familiar with the Ohio River
while at Pittsburgh in 1786, and Livingston helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase
while minister to France
from 1800 to 1804; it was during this time that the two met. Both men realized the great potential for steamboat traffic on the western waters; accordingly, within twelve days of the completion of the Clermonts first voyage, they began to plan for the introduction of a steamboat on the western rivers.
They consulted Nicholas Roosevelt, an expert on all aspects of the steamboat and the inventor of the sidewheel method of steamboat propulsion, an innovation crucial for achieving practical speeds. At the time, Roosevelt manufactured copper and steam engines at the Soho Works on the Passaic River
at Belleville, New Jersey
, one of the best metal foundries in the nation. He had worked on a sternwheel steamboat for Livingston from 1798 to 1800 but stopped when he lost his government contracts for supplying copper for warships. In 1798, Roosevelt had unsuccessfully tried to convince Livingston to use sidewheels, but Livingston insisted on a sternwheel. However, after exhausting other options, sidewheels were the method Fulton and Livingston eventually used in the Clermont. Livingston and Fulton were in Roosevelt's debt, also because many of Fulton's highly-skilled workmen had been originally trained and employed by Roosevelt.
, he soon commenced exploring the intended route for the steamboat to come. He carried letters of introduction to all the important people along the route (Cincinnati, Louisville
, and Natchez
, then insignificant towns, were the only places of any importance), but none, least of all the pilots and boatmen, believed he could ever navigate the western waters with a steamboat. During this test voyage, Roosevelt recorded depths and measured currents for later reference. He also found coal along the banks of the Ohio River, opening up new mines that would be a useful fuel source when the steamboat passed by later. Reaching New Orleans, Louisiana
on December 1, he returned to New York by sea, arriving on January 15, 1810.
Roosevelt gave a favorable report to Fulton and Livingston, and the construction of the New Orleans immediately commenced in earnest. Designed by Fulton, the boat was built on the banks of the Monongahela River
by a shipbuilder and mechanics brought from New York, and the majority of the machinery for the boat was built at New York and hauled to Pittsburgh by land because Pittsburgh did not have an establishment of sufficient capacity to do such work at the time. The single cylinder low pressure steeple engine and the copper boiler were placed in the hold of the boat. That the New Orleans was a side-wheeler rather than a stern-wheeler is supported by contemporary accounts, including the Louisiana Gazette and Advertiser noting on January 13, 1812 that she was detained by the breaking of "one'" of her wheels, and an account of the ship's sinking in 1814 containing a reference to the "wheel on the larboard side." The pinewood used for planking was obtained from nearby forests and sent down the Monongahela. The boat included a mast and sails because Fulton thought the combination of steam and sails might be useful.
The most accurate estimates put the New Orleans at 148 feet 6 inches long, 32 feet 6 inches wide, and 12 feet deep, with a tonnage of 371. This made it considerably larger than the barges, then the largest craft on the rivers, which rarely exceeded 100 feet in length. The total cost of the construction was about $38,000, a considerable sum. The boat was first launched on the Monongahela, unfinished, in March 1811, but took many months to complete.
The New Orleans was taken on a successful trial trip around Pittsburgh on October 15, 1811, and finally set sail for New Orleans on October 20. Roosevelt was the captain, and his pregnant wife and young daughter accompanied as passengers. The crew consisted of the engineer Nicholas Baker, the pilot Andrew Jack, six hands, two female servants for Mrs. Roosevelt, a waiter, a cook, and a Newfoundland dog named Tiger. The people of Pittsburgh turned out en masse to witness the departure of the steamboat. The first night, Roosevelt and his wife were too excited to sleep, and so watched the shore, covered in almost unbroken forest, as it passed by. The pilot was reassured about the chances of success by the boat's ease of steering and uniformly quick speed. The next morning, October 21, the New Orleans was cheered by the villagers of Beavertown, Pennsylvania
, who had seen the boat approaching down a straight stretch of the river.
On October 27, the boat passed Cincinnati; the residents were disappointed it didn't stop and thought they'd never see the New Orleans again. At midnight on October 28, the boat arrived in Louisville
. Here, the local residents congratulated Roosevelt on his success, but told him they doubted they would ever see the boat again, because it would not be able to go upstream. To prove them wrong, he invited prominent citizens to a dinner on board the boat, and once everyone was on board, began powering upstream at a convincingly fast rate.
For the next month, Roosevelt waited for the waters of the Ohio River to rise enough for the New Orleans to safely (albeit barely, with a draft of less than six inches) pass over the treacherous Falls of the Ohio. Though the portion of the trip on the Ohio had been largely peaceful and easygoing, the passage of the Mississippi was to be fraught with danger and uncertainty.
The next major event was the occurrence, on December 16, of the New Madrid Earthquake
, centered near New Madrid, Missouri
. It was one of the strongest North American earthquakes ever recorded; seismologists estimate it was an 8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake negatively affected the journey by altering Mississippi landmarks such as river islands so much that the pilot had difficulty navigating. At some small river towns, villagers begged to be taken aboard to escape the desolation the earthquake had wrought.
After barely escaping a canoe attack by the Chickasaw
Indians, the New Orleans reached Natchez, Mississippi
on December 30. Here, they met Zadoc Cramer, author of the Navigator, who was eager for any new information about the geography of the river. Continuing on, they reached New Orleans on January 10, 1812, and shortly thereafter began regularly plying between New Orleans and Natchez.
in 1803, settlers rushed into the western lands via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. However, there was no practical way to go upstream, so trade was limited. In order to go upstream, one needed to either row laboriously at low speeds, push a boat with poles, or be pulled by men walking on shore with tow-lines. Failing that, a return by sea from New Orleans to an eastern port, and then a traversal of the Appalachian Mountains, was necessary.
The New Orleans, which achieved a downstream speed of eight to ten miles per hour and an upstream speed of three miles per hour, showed that upstream navigation was practical. In her first year of plying between New Orleans and Natchez, she averaged $2400 in receipts per trip, making the round trip about once every three weeks. Factoring in expenses, this amounted to a net gain of upwards of at least $20,000, which Zadok Cramer, author of the Navigator, described as "a revenue superior to any other establishment in the United States."
However, the public doubted that steam navigation could succeed, and it was still more expensive than other methods. As a result, the carrying of freight on flatboats and keels actually increased. In addition, the riverbed was dotted with dangerous snags, gravel and sandbars, and the falls at Louisville effectively cut navigation in two. Eventually, the riverbed was cleared, and the Louisville and Portland Canal
was built.
The intention of Fulton and Livingston was to have six boats running between the Falls of the Ohio and New Orleans and five between the Falls and Pittsburgh. On April 8, 1812, Fulton and Livingston secured, with the help of his brother Edward Livingston
, a New Orleans politician, the enactment of a law granting them exclusive rights to the use of steam navigation on the Louisiana Territory
's rivers for a period of 18 years. This was on the condition that they charge a freight rate of no more than three quarters the rate already charged by non-steam-powered boats. After the New Orleans began navigating the lower Mississippi, they attempted to prevent other steamboats from using the river, but Livingston died in 1813 and Fulton in 1815.
Following the New Orleans, several steamboats were built at Pittsburgh in the next few years, the Comet (1813), Vesuvius (1814), and Aetna. By about 1817, when there were twelve steamboats on the rivers, the skeptical public was convinced that steamboat navigation would work on the western waters, and within two years there were over sixty steamboats on the western waters. There were 143 steamboats on the river in 1826, and 233 had existed up to that time.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
on the western waters of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its 1811-1812 voyage from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
to New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
on the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
Rivers ushered in the era of commercial steamboat navigation on the western rivers.
Background
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
(1765-1815), Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813), and Nicholas Roosevelt
Nicholas Roosevelt (inventor)
Nicholas Isaac Roosevelt was an American inventor, a major investor in Upstate New York land, and a member of the Roosevelt family. His primary invention was to introduce vertical paddle wheels for steamboats.-Inventor:Nicholas Roosevelt was carefully educated...
(1767-1854). Fulton had successfully commercialized the steamboat on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
with his Clermont
North River Steamboat
The North River Steam Boat or Clermont was the first commercially successful steamship of the paddle steamer design. It operated on the Hudson River between New York and Albany...
in 1807 and Livingston was a wealthy New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
politician and inventor. Fulton became familiar with the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
while at Pittsburgh in 1786, and Livingston helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
while minister to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from 1800 to 1804; it was during this time that the two met. Both men realized the great potential for steamboat traffic on the western waters; accordingly, within twelve days of the completion of the Clermonts first voyage, they began to plan for the introduction of a steamboat on the western rivers.
They consulted Nicholas Roosevelt, an expert on all aspects of the steamboat and the inventor of the sidewheel method of steamboat propulsion, an innovation crucial for achieving practical speeds. At the time, Roosevelt manufactured copper and steam engines at the Soho Works on the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
at Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 35,926.-History:...
, one of the best metal foundries in the nation. He had worked on a sternwheel steamboat for Livingston from 1798 to 1800 but stopped when he lost his government contracts for supplying copper for warships. In 1798, Roosevelt had unsuccessfully tried to convince Livingston to use sidewheels, but Livingston insisted on a sternwheel. However, after exhausting other options, sidewheels were the method Fulton and Livingston eventually used in the Clermont. Livingston and Fulton were in Roosevelt's debt, also because many of Fulton's highly-skilled workmen had been originally trained and employed by Roosevelt.
Preparation and construction
Roosevelt arrived in Pittsburgh in April or May 1809 with his young wife Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt, the daughter of his business partner Benjamin H. Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol. According to a notation by Fulton, Roosevelt was paid $600 for an exploratory Mississippi expedition on June 28, 1809. Having built a flatboatFlatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
, he soon commenced exploring the intended route for the steamboat to come. He carried letters of introduction to all the important people along the route (Cincinnati, Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, then insignificant towns, were the only places of any importance), but none, least of all the pilots and boatmen, believed he could ever navigate the western waters with a steamboat. During this test voyage, Roosevelt recorded depths and measured currents for later reference. He also found coal along the banks of the Ohio River, opening up new mines that would be a useful fuel source when the steamboat passed by later. Reaching New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
on December 1, he returned to New York by sea, arriving on January 15, 1810.
Roosevelt gave a favorable report to Fulton and Livingston, and the construction of the New Orleans immediately commenced in earnest. Designed by Fulton, the boat was built on the banks of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
by a shipbuilder and mechanics brought from New York, and the majority of the machinery for the boat was built at New York and hauled to Pittsburgh by land because Pittsburgh did not have an establishment of sufficient capacity to do such work at the time. The single cylinder low pressure steeple engine and the copper boiler were placed in the hold of the boat. That the New Orleans was a side-wheeler rather than a stern-wheeler is supported by contemporary accounts, including the Louisiana Gazette and Advertiser noting on January 13, 1812 that she was detained by the breaking of "one'" of her wheels, and an account of the ship's sinking in 1814 containing a reference to the "wheel on the larboard side." The pinewood used for planking was obtained from nearby forests and sent down the Monongahela. The boat included a mast and sails because Fulton thought the combination of steam and sails might be useful.
The most accurate estimates put the New Orleans at 148 feet 6 inches long, 32 feet 6 inches wide, and 12 feet deep, with a tonnage of 371. This made it considerably larger than the barges, then the largest craft on the rivers, which rarely exceeded 100 feet in length. The total cost of the construction was about $38,000, a considerable sum. The boat was first launched on the Monongahela, unfinished, in March 1811, but took many months to complete.
Maiden voyage
Beavertown, Pennsylvania
Beavertown, Pennsylvania may refer to:* Beavertown, Blair County, Pennsylvania* Beavertown, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania* Beavertown, Snyder County, Pennsylvania* Beavertown, York County, Pennsylvania...
, who had seen the boat approaching down a straight stretch of the river.
On October 27, the boat passed Cincinnati; the residents were disappointed it didn't stop and thought they'd never see the New Orleans again. At midnight on October 28, the boat arrived in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. Here, the local residents congratulated Roosevelt on his success, but told him they doubted they would ever see the boat again, because it would not be able to go upstream. To prove them wrong, he invited prominent citizens to a dinner on board the boat, and once everyone was on board, began powering upstream at a convincingly fast rate.
For the next month, Roosevelt waited for the waters of the Ohio River to rise enough for the New Orleans to safely (albeit barely, with a draft of less than six inches) pass over the treacherous Falls of the Ohio. Though the portion of the trip on the Ohio had been largely peaceful and easygoing, the passage of the Mississippi was to be fraught with danger and uncertainty.
The next major event was the occurrence, on December 16, of the New Madrid Earthquake
New Madrid earthquake
The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811. These earthquakes remain the most powerful earthquakes ever to hit the eastern United States in recorded history...
, centered near New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, 42 miles south by west of Cairo, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. New Madrid was founded in 1788 by American frontiersmen. In 1900, 1,489 people lived in New Madrid, Missouri; in 1910, the population was 1,882. The population was 3,334 at...
. It was one of the strongest North American earthquakes ever recorded; seismologists estimate it was an 8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake negatively affected the journey by altering Mississippi landmarks such as river islands so much that the pilot had difficulty navigating. At some small river towns, villagers begged to be taken aboard to escape the desolation the earthquake had wrought.
After barely escaping a canoe attack by the Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
Indians, the New Orleans reached Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
on December 30. Here, they met Zadoc Cramer, author of the Navigator, who was eager for any new information about the geography of the river. Continuing on, they reached New Orleans on January 10, 1812, and shortly thereafter began regularly plying between New Orleans and Natchez.
Impact
During the preceding decades, and at an accelerated rate after the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
in 1803, settlers rushed into the western lands via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. However, there was no practical way to go upstream, so trade was limited. In order to go upstream, one needed to either row laboriously at low speeds, push a boat with poles, or be pulled by men walking on shore with tow-lines. Failing that, a return by sea from New Orleans to an eastern port, and then a traversal of the Appalachian Mountains, was necessary.
The New Orleans, which achieved a downstream speed of eight to ten miles per hour and an upstream speed of three miles per hour, showed that upstream navigation was practical. In her first year of plying between New Orleans and Natchez, she averaged $2400 in receipts per trip, making the round trip about once every three weeks. Factoring in expenses, this amounted to a net gain of upwards of at least $20,000, which Zadok Cramer, author of the Navigator, described as "a revenue superior to any other establishment in the United States."
However, the public doubted that steam navigation could succeed, and it was still more expensive than other methods. As a result, the carrying of freight on flatboats and keels actually increased. In addition, the riverbed was dotted with dangerous snags, gravel and sandbars, and the falls at Louisville effectively cut navigation in two. Eventually, the riverbed was cleared, and the Louisville and Portland Canal
Louisville and Portland Canal
The Louisville and Portland Canal was a canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio in the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1830, and was operated by the Louisville and Portland Canal Company until 1874, and became the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1962 after heavy modernization.Although...
was built.
The intention of Fulton and Livingston was to have six boats running between the Falls of the Ohio and New Orleans and five between the Falls and Pittsburgh. On April 8, 1812, Fulton and Livingston secured, with the help of his brother Edward Livingston
Edward Livingston
Edward Livingston was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. He represented both New York, and later Louisiana in Congress and he served as the U.S...
, a New Orleans politician, the enactment of a law granting them exclusive rights to the use of steam navigation on the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...
's rivers for a period of 18 years. This was on the condition that they charge a freight rate of no more than three quarters the rate already charged by non-steam-powered boats. After the New Orleans began navigating the lower Mississippi, they attempted to prevent other steamboats from using the river, but Livingston died in 1813 and Fulton in 1815.
Following the New Orleans, several steamboats were built at Pittsburgh in the next few years, the Comet (1813), Vesuvius (1814), and Aetna. By about 1817, when there were twelve steamboats on the rivers, the skeptical public was convinced that steamboat navigation would work on the western waters, and within two years there were over sixty steamboats on the western waters. There were 143 steamboats on the river in 1826, and 233 had existed up to that time.
Sinking
The New Orleans sank near Baton Rouge on July 14, 1814. This set the pattern for the average lifespan of a steamboat, about three years.External links
- Nicholas Roosevelt's 1811 Steamboat - a collection of primary and secondary sources