James Rumsey was a native of Virginia, and resided at Shepard's Town. He proves by affidavit that he had conceived the idea of propelling a boat by steam in 1783, and actually made two experiments with a small one in the Potomac in December 1781, in the first of which she went three miles an hour against the cur rent, and in the last her speed was increased to four miles. His plan was to admit water through a trunk on the kelson of the boat, and by means of steam to discharge it at the stern, calculating that the power of reaction would propel her forward. The boat however was not made practically useful. Leaving the United States to his opponent Fitch, he sailed for London, where he made another experiment on the Thames, but whether on his former principle, or on some other, is not known. His death put an end to his operations. A controversy was carried on between Fitch and Rumsey for the honour of the first discovery of the power of steam for navigation, and two pam phlets were published by them, in defence of their respective pretensions, in 1788.
But for one of those unfortunate accidents which so often totally defeat the best contrived plans, Mr. Evans would have had the satisfaction of seeing one of his steam engines propelling a boat in the Mississippi two years before steam boats were seen on the Hudson. In the year 1802, having informed gentlemen in Ken tucky that he had his engine in motion, which he had long before invented for propelling boats and carri ages, Captain James 1\l'Keever, formerly of Philadel phia, and Mr. Louis Valcourt agreed to build a steam boat to ply between New Orleans and Natchez, and Mr. V. came to Philadelphia to order the engine. Two of Mr. Evans's workmen went with the engine to meet the boat at New Orleans, and set it up. She was of the burthen of 150 tons, and built in Kentucky. Soon after her arrival at New Orleans, she was sunk and destroyed during a hurricane. The engine was then applied to sawing timber, and when fairly in opera tion, the mill was destroyed by fire. Capt. M'Keever died in 1810., and the engine was then sold to press cotton, and was worked with success.1 From the report of the late Mr. Stackhouse, one of the engineers who was sent to put up Captain M'Kee ver's engine, it appears that " in twelve months and fifteen days, with three saws (but with power for four) he sawed 367,000 feet of boards and scantling; that nothing relating to the engine broke, or got out of or der, so as to stop the mill one hour. They sawed by day only,. and the three saws cut from 2,500 to 3,000 feet per day of twelve hours, with the consumption of about one and a half cords of wood per day. The en gine was of 20 horse power ; the cylinder was only nine inches diameter, and the stroke of the piston three feet, making thirty-six strokes per minute, and work ing without a condenser; the fire place was outside of the boiler.t In 1812 there were ten of Mr Evans's engines in use in different parts of the United States; ten wet e made, making, or engaged.§ After that time, seve ral were erected in boats; but owing to the explosion of the !Etna at New York, in the year 1824, such a prejudice was created against them, that the proprie tors were forced to take them out of all the boats ply ing on the North River and Delaware, and to substitute those on the low pressure principle, although fully as liable to explosion as the boilers of those on the high pressure principle.
In page 256 of the present volume, ample justice is done to Mr Fulton, to whom the United States and the whole world are under everlasting obliga tions, for showing the possibility of doing effectually, what had been only partially accomplished in Europe, in respect to the power of steam in navigating boats; no more need be said upon the present occasion on his great merits.
Mr Stevens, of Hoboken, New Jersey, had been for many years making experiments upon steam to no purpose, and at an immense expense; but it was not until the memorable year 1807 that he had been able, with the assistance of one of his sons, to set a boat in motion. Being prevented by the monopoly of Livingston and Fulton from sailing in the waters of New York, she was sent round to the Delaware, and plied in it for about two years.
Since that time the improvements in steam boats have gradually progressed, and there is now no ques tion about the superiority of the speed of the Ameri can boats over those of Europe. The common rate of going, in the North River, of the boats built by Mr Robert L. Stevens, is 131. miles per hour. The no ble boat, the President, Captain Bunker, plying be tween New York and Providence, through Long Isl and Sound, distance 200 miles, commonly performs that voyage in 16 hours. In page 257 of this volume, several facts on the subject of the rates of speed by the United States steam-boats are given. The two following instances were published in the newspapers in the month of April 1831.
The steam-boat De Witt Clinton, (of the North River Line,) left Albany at 4 minutes past 4 o'clock, Tuesday afternoon, April 1831, and arrived at the landing place in New York, at the foot of Barclay street, at 12 minutes before 3 o'clock 'Wednesday morning, making the entire passage, including the landings at Hudson, Catskill, Rhinebeck, IIyde Park, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh,West Point, and Caldwell's, in 10 hours and 44 minutes.
The steam boat Highlander left Wheeling, on the Ohio, at 12 o'clock, on the 12th of April 1831, and returned in less than 18 days. The distance to St. Louis is 1200 miles, 200 of which up the Mississippi, a river of very rapid current.
A citizen of the United States set the first example of crossing the Atlantic in a steam ship. Captain Moses Rodgers, in the ship Savannah, sailed from Sa vannah, is Georgia, in May 1819, to Liverpool, and thence to Russia, and returned to the United States in November of the same year: and from 1819 to 1821, the steam ship Robert Fulton plied between New York and New Orleans, calling at Havanna. The English ship Enterprise has since that time perform ed a voyage to India in 118 clays; and steam boats are in operation between the various British ports in India, and thence to the Cape of Good Hope.