Iffiiil 
 
 6^ !■:•■!: ill B 
 
 III 
 
 ■iV.«8 
 
 I 
 
 IHI 
 
 i 
 
 Miii 
 

 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030901825 
 
ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 STEAM BOATS 
 
 OF THK 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES RENWICK, LL.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF NATURAL EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY AND CHEMISTRY 
 IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE, NEW YORK. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY W, HUGHES, (SUCCESSOR TO MR. VALPY,) 
 BED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 
 
ON THE STEAM BOATS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 The application of the steam engine to the purposes of navigation attracted the attention of 
 many persons in the United States at an early period. No sooner had Watf s improvements 
 become known, than the circumstances of the population of that country, and its very geo- 
 graphical character, pointed out the propulsion of vessels, as the most important of the 
 many uses to which that powerful agent may be made subservient. The Atlantic coast, 
 with the exception of the extreme north eastern part, is either intersected by deep bays, or 
 covered by islands. By these means a navigation parallel to the coast, might, at small ex- 
 pense, be extended from New York, to the southern limit of Georgia ; and in the opposite 
 direction, the Hudson River and Lake Champlain pointed out the means of extending the 
 water communication to the frontiers of Canada. These natural advantages have been im- 
 proved by artificial means, and at the present moment, an internal navigation exists from the 
 boundary of the British possessions, to the sounds which line the coast of North Carolina. 
 
 The parts of this navigation which have required no artificial improvement, are large and 
 deep rivers, lakes, sounds, and arms of the sea. In these, although transportation was secure 
 from the storms and waves which aiFect the open sea, yet this very security was gained at the 
 expense of time, so long as the currents of the atmosphere were the only power which could 
 be applied. 
 
 The accession of the vast territory known under the collective name of Louisiana, but now 
 divided among many states and territories, opened a still wider field for navigation by steam. 
 The Mississipi and its innumerable branches comprise navigable waters of many thousands of 
 miles in extent, but which, from the rapidity of their currents, are almost inaccessible from 
 the Gulf of Mexico, either by sails or oars. The population of the territories traversed by 
 these streams is sparse and scattered, almost wholly devoted to agricultural pursuits, and yet 
 feeling the -wants, and desiring the luxuries of the highest civilization. To supply these wants, 
 and furnish these luxuries, rapid methods of transportation, as well as great foreign importa- 
 tions, are demanded; and there are no means yet discovered by which these purposes could 
 have been effected, except by the steam boat. 
 
 Influenced by such considerations, attempts to apply steam to the purposes of navigation 
 were made in the United States, even before Watt had succeeded in giving a double action to 
 his engine. The earliest enterprises of this sort were those of Fitch and Rumsey, which both 
 bear the date of .1783. Both were founded upon the original form of Watt's engine, and both 
 
4 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 failed, rather from the inherent defects of that instrument, in its power of general application^ 
 than from any want of ingenuity or mechanical skill in the projectors themselves. 
 
 John Stevens, of Hoboken, commenced his experiments on steam navigation in 1791, and 
 for sixteen years devoted much time, labour, and money, to this object. In this pursuit he 
 sometimes acted alone, at other times had the aid of associates. Among these may be named 
 Chancellor Livingston, and Roosevelt, This association, among other persons, called to their 
 aid Brunei, since celebrated as the engineer of the tunnel beneath the river Thames. The 
 appointment of Chancellor Livingston to the post of minister to the consular government of 
 France, dissolved this association, at a moment when hopes of at least partial success might 
 reasonably have been entertained. 
 
 In the year 1801, a remarkable experiment was performed at Philadelphia, by Evans. This 
 engineer had been employed by the corporation of that city, to construct a dredging machine, 
 for the purpose of removing obstructions in the Delaware river. He proposed to work the 
 dredging apparatus by the high pressure engine, which he had invented some years before. 
 Constructing the vessel and engine at his shops, distant a mile and a half from the water, he 
 mounted the whole upon wheels, to which he gave motion by the engine, and thus exhibited 
 the earliest instance of locomotion. The vessel being thus transported to the water, and 
 launched, he next placed a paddle wheel at the stern, and connecting it with the engine, made 
 it the means of conveying the vessel to the place where the work of dredging was to be per- 
 formed. 
 
 Livingston, on reaching Paris, became acquainted with Fulton, and discovered that he had 
 also studied m what way the steam engine might be applied to the purposes of navigation. 
 Struck with the soundness of his views, Livingston induced him to enter into a course of 
 experiments, for the purpose of testing them practically. These experiments were performed 
 at Plombieres, and were subsequently repeated on a larger scale, upon the Seine, near Paris. 
 
 The results of these experiments were so satisfactory, that Livingston forthwith undertook 
 to provide the funds for building and equipping a steam boat of large size, in the United 
 States. As the workshops of that country could not, at that time, be depended upon for fur- 
 nishing an engine of good , construction, it was agreed that those of Watt and Bolton should 
 be resorted to. From a variety of circumstances, delays were not to be avoided and the 
 engine constructed by Watt and Bolton did not reach New York until 1806, nor could the 
 vessel be prepared to receive it before the summer of 1807. 
 
 The engine which was used in this final and successful experiment, and which was con- 
 structed from the draughts made by Fulton, in France, in the year 1803, had a marked influ- 
 ence upon the forms of those subsequently constructed for this purpose, both in England and 
 the United States. The cold water cistern of Watt's engine was dispensed with and in ord 
 to supply its place the diameter of the condenser was doubled; its capacity thus became h If 
 that of the cylinder, instead of one-eighth, as had before been customary. The water of ' " 
 tion was suppHed by a pipe passing through the bottom of the vessel. A parallel moti 
 seems to have been sent out as a part of the engine, but for reasons which cannot no h 
 discovered, a cross head, adapted for another purpose to the piston rod, was made to w k " 
 guides. This cross head was added for the purpose of bearing two connecting rods or 
 by which two working beams were, as it were, suspended. The working beams were ' 
 
 sarily two in number, in order to include the cylinder between them ; and Fulton beine 
 
 Q Mf W Oil \j 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 5 
 
 of the difficulty which would exist in uniting an engine constructed at one place with a vessel 
 built at another, had a double provision for uniting the beams to the cranks. The former 
 were, therefore, made of the form of an inverted j,, giving him the choice of taking off the 
 motion either from the horizontal or the vertical branch. The latter was found most expedient, 
 and thus the working beam became, in its primitive use, a bell-crank. The connecting rod 
 was therefore extended horizontally to meet the crank. 
 
 We may here state that this very form of engine, with the exception that the beams had the 
 usual shape, and the motion was taken off by a connecting rod directed upwards, was adopted 
 by Bell in the vessel which he constructed upon the Clyde in 1812; and that from this, as 
 the original model, aU the engines used in the British steam boats have been derived. 
 
 The paddle wheels of Fulton's first steam boat were attached to the axles of the cranks, and 
 the latter also bore spur wheels which drove pinions ; upon the axles of the pinions was placed 
 a heavy fly wheel. The latter was of essential use, so long as the velocity of the paddle 
 wheels themselves was not great; but, at the speed which is now customary, they cease to be 
 of value, as the paddle wheels themselves act as regulators. Fly wheels are, in consequence, 
 no longer to be seen in American steam boats. 
 
 The object proposed by Fulton, in the mode we have described, of connecting his water 
 wheels with the engine, was unquestionably that of enabling him to change their diameter, 
 and to raise and lower their axis of motion, until he should, by experiment, ascertain the size 
 and position most advantageous in practice. In conformity with this view of the subject, it is 
 known that the position of the axis was more than once changed ; and it is believed that the 
 diameter of the wheel was also altered, before the first steam boat was considered by him as 
 completed. In constructing his second steam boat, ' The Car of Neptune,' Fulton, being no 
 longer compelled to feel his way by experiment, made very important changes in the form of 
 his engine. The piston rod was stiU directed by a cross head,, moving in guides, but the 
 working beams were suppresse3 altogether, and two cranks, adapted to two separate axles, 
 were attached directly to the cross head by connecting rods. A fly wheel was stiU used, 
 driven by wheels and pinions, and in the slow rate of motion to which he restricted himself, 
 was found of great value. This form of engine is still much used, with the omission, however, 
 of the fly wheel. Two views of such an engine, with a boiler of a favourite form, are given 
 in Plate I. 
 
 In his first steam boat, Fulton was satisfied with endeavouring to attain the speed of four 
 miles per hour, which had been made the condition of his obtaining an exclusive right to 
 navigate the waters of the state of New York, by an Act of the Legislature of that state. By 
 an alteration suggested in the experiments of the first summer, and which consisted principally 
 in raising the axle and increasing the diameter of the water wheels, the velocity of the first 
 successful steam boat was carried up to six miles per hour. 
 
 The first voyage of Fvdton upon the Hudson was performed in the summer of the year 
 1807; and in the year 1808, the same vessel, much improved in convenience, began to ply as 
 a passage boat between the cities of New York and Albany. 
 
 In his subsequently constructed steam boats, Fulton aimed at, and succeeded in attaining, 
 a greater degree of speed ; but, even in the last which he constructed, he limited himself to 
 nine miles per hour, which, by the appHcation of theory, derived from the best published 
 experiments, he considered as the greatest velocity which could be advantageous. 
 
6 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 Three steam boats were constructed by Fulton for the navigation of the Hudson. These 
 were all flat bottomed. He alsp constructed a vessel intended for the navigation of Long 
 Island Sound, This had a keel, and although of little depth of hold, approached in figure, in 
 other respects, to the usual form of a fast sailing ship. He also drew the plan of another, 
 which was left unfinished at his death, and which was intended for the navigation of the 
 ocean. 
 
 The success which attended the vessel intended for the navigation of the Sound, but which, 
 in consequence of the presence of an enemy's fleet, had been restricted to the Hudson, seems 
 to have caused Fulton to doubt the propriety of the first model which he had adopted, and, 
 in consequence, the last vessel which he planned for the navigation of the Hudson, and which 
 was also left unfinished at his death, had a keel. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that after 
 innumerable trials, the present model of the most rapid steam boats has returned nearly to 
 the proportions originally adopted by Fulton. They have a keel indeed, but the floor timbers 
 have but a few inches of dead rise, and thus the bottom is nearly flat. Besides vessels intended 
 for the conveyance of travellers upon the Sound and the Hudson, Fulton constructed several 
 ferry boats, intended for the transportation of loaded carriages, and a formidable ship of war. 
 He also furnished plans for vessels intended for the mixed purposes of carrying freight and 
 passengers upon the Mississipi. 
 
 The elder Stevens of Hoboken, whom we have mentioned as having made experiments on 
 steam navigation, resxmied his attempts at the very moment that Fulton was about to put his 
 plan in operation, and it was only a few weeks after the first successful voyage of the latter, 
 that he also had a steam boat in motion. The speed of this was at least equal to that of the 
 first steam boat of Fulton. It plied for a time as a ferry boat from New York to Hoboken, 
 and, when excluded from the navigation of the Hudson by the exclusive grant to Fulton, 
 Stevens sent this boat round to the Delaware by sea, and was in consequence the first to 
 navigate the ocean by steam. 
 
 The form of engine adopted by Stevens difi"ered less from the original form of that of Watt, 
 than the form chosen by Fulton. The parallel motion and working beam were both retained 
 in their usual form and proportions ; the connecting rod was increased somewhat in length, 
 and the axle of the crank produced on both sides, in order to form the axle of the paddle 
 wheels ; the enlarged conductor, as a substitute for the cold water cistern, was also used 
 by him. 
 
 These forms of engines thus brought into use by Fulton and Stevens have directed the 
 practice of American engineers. The fly wheel used by Fulton has been laid aside as 
 unnecessary at high speeds ; the parallel motion has been superseded even in the engine with 
 a lever beam by a cross head and slides. Upon the Mississipi, and in a few instances in 
 the Atlantic States, horizontal engines have been employed ; and the description of engine 
 called high pressure, in contradistinction to condensing, is much used in the Western waters. 
 
 New York and its vicinity may still be considered as furnishing the most successful instances 
 of steam navigation. When the monopoly granted to Fulton by the state of New York was 
 decided to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, the navigation of 
 the Hudson was thrown open to competition. The number of passengers then conveyed upon 
 that river had already become enormous, and presented inducements of the most powerful 
 kind to the proprietors of steam boats. The boats of Fulton's Company had performed the 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 7 
 
 passage between New York and Albany, a distance once estimated at 160, but not exceeding 
 145 miles, in fifteen or sixteen hours ; but, for all useful purposes, a whole day might be 
 considered as expended in this voyage. It was now attempted to perform the passage between 
 sunrise and sunset. A vessel called the ' Sun ' was the first to undertake this, but was not 
 able to make her average passages in less than fourteen hours, and thus could fulfil the desired 
 object only during the longest days of summer. The engine of the ' Sun ' was on the plan of 
 Woolf, having two cylinders, in one of which the steam acted by its pressure, in the other 
 expansively, and was condensed on leaving the second. The boilers were cylindrical, and as 
 there were no return flues, and the fuel employed was pine wood, a great loss of heat ensued. 
 Flame, in fact, issued from the chimnies, to the distance of six or eight feet. 
 
 It was at this moment that Robert L. Stevens, the son of the Stevens who had devoted so 
 much time and labour to the early experiments on steam navigation, placed upon the Hudson 
 a vessel which he had constructed for the navigation of the Delaware, on which river an active 
 competition had been kept up, while aU opposition had been excluded from the former river 
 by the exclusive grant to Fulton. This vessel far exceeded the ' Sun ' in speed, and made the 
 passage easily in twelve hours. 
 
 The possibility of leaving New York after sunrise, and reaching Albany before sunset, for 
 the greater part of the season in which navigation is practicable, being thus established, several 
 other vessels were immediately constructed to fulfil the same object, and the steam boats 
 planned by Fulton himself, or constructed in direct imitation of them, were driven from the 
 river, or applied to the purpose of towing barges. 
 
 Among the vessels which replaced them a strong rivalry existed, and contests of speed took 
 place daily. These contests involved more than mere reputation, for the way passengers, who 
 often form the majority, were in the habit of entering the vessel which first reached their place 
 of embarkation. It thus happened that vessels which were frequently defeated were sure to 
 be losing speculations ; and even some of great speed, but which were not backed by a sufficient 
 capital, were also withdrawn, in consequence of the unprofitable prices at which the passages 
 were often given. 
 
 In the course of these contests, changes were made in existing vessels, and these changes 
 were copied in the construction of new ones. These changes consisted principally in an in- 
 crease of the stroke of the piston, and therefore in the length of the crank, and in cutting off 
 the steam at half stroke. The first object was accomplished, in existing vessels, by adding an 
 additional piece to the cylinder. Even some of the older vessels were improved in these 
 respects, and again replaced upon the navigation, and competed, with tolerable success, with 
 those of the improved description. The old vessels, thus improved, took their places in what 
 is called the night-line. The transportation of passengers on the Hudson is adapted to two 
 distinct classes, those who travel for business, and those who travel for pleasure. The former 
 are best accomodated by vessels performing their passage during the night, for thus business 
 may be transacted in New York on one day, and in Albany the next. No real advantage is 
 gained to these passengers by reducing the time of transit below twelve hours, and the old 
 boats, thus improved, were enabled to effect this. On the other hand, every minute saved in 
 the passage by day light was considered of advantage. 
 
 It appears probable that the use of a valve, cutting off the steam at half stroke, had at first 
 no other object in view than a saving of fuel. The person who first ascertained as a practical 
 
8 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 result, that a greater speed might be attained in a given vessel by using steam expansively, 
 was Adam Hall, at that time the director of the workshops of the Me^ Point Foundry As- 
 sociation. He, at aU events, entered very fully into the practical investigation of this subject, 
 and drew up a paper exhibiting his views, which was communicated to the writer of this 
 essay. The same views had been previously exhibited theoretically by the writer in a public 
 course of lectures delivered in February and March, 1830. These were soon after made 
 public in a treatise on the steam engine, which it is believed had some influence in the im- 
 provements that have since been made in navigation by steam. It was therein demonstrated, 
 that the power of a given engine might be doubled by loading the safety valve with 57fl5s. per 
 square inch, and cutting off the steam when one-eighth of the cylinder had been filled, and a 
 saving of two-fifths of the fuel effected at the same time. 
 
 In the subsequent improvements of which we shall hereafter speak, the excellent work- 
 manship of the Mat Point Foundry, with which, however, Mr. Hall ceased to be connected, 
 and the high scientific attainments of the Messrs. Kemble, its president and agent, had a very 
 important influence. 
 
 While the contests of which we have spoken were going on, Stevens was busUy engaged in 
 building a new steam boat, to which he gave the name of the ' North America.' As this vessel 
 embodied all the improvements either in the original structure, or derived from experience in 
 his former steam boat, we shall give a concise description of her form and arrangements. 
 The dimensions of the ' North America' were as follow : 
 
 Beam . . . . .30 feet. 
 
 Draught of water 
 Diameter of water wheel 
 Length of bucket 
 Depth of ditto . 
 
 The engines were two in number, and with the boilers, were placed upon the wheel guards, 
 thus leaving the deck free from incumbrance from stem to stern. The cabins beneath could 
 also be opened, so as to afford a clear view from the stempost to the cutwater. The engines 
 worked with beams, and had the following dimensions : 
 
 Diameter .... 44i inches. 
 
 Length of stroke ... 8 feet. 
 
 Strokes per minute . . .24 
 
 The steam was usually raised to a tension, over and above an atmosphere, of lOBo per inch 
 and was cut off at half stroke. The velocity through the water, as ascertained from the 
 average of a great number of passages, was 19-8 feet per second, or about 13 i English miles 
 per hour. The relative velocity of the outer circvunference of the wheel was 6- 6 feet per 
 second. 
 
 Another vessel, intended for a different navigation, namely, that from New York to New- 
 port R. I., was built shortly after the ' North America,' and was considered as successful an 
 apphcation, taking the difference of circumstances into account, as that steam boat. In th' 
 navigation it is necessary not only to pass the wide and often stormy eestuary, known as Long 
 Island Sound, but to enter the open ocean. It was therefore considered expedient to sacrifice 
 
 5 feet. 
 21 feet. 
 13 feet. 
 
 2 feet, 6 inches. 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 9 
 
 speed for the purpose of rendering the vessel more fit for the navigation of agitated and tem- 
 pestuous waters. 
 
 This vessel was called the ' President ;' the particulars of her structure, &c. were as follow : 
 
 Breadth of beam 
 
 
 
 32ifeet. 
 
 Draught of water . 
 
 
 
 9 feet. 
 
 Diameter of water wheels 
 
 
 
 22 feet. 
 
 Length of bucket . 
 
 
 
 10 feet. 
 
 Depth of ditto 
 
 
 
 3| feet. 
 
 Engines, in number. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Diameter of cylinders 
 
 
 
 4 feet. 
 
 Length of stroke 
 
 
 
 7 feet. 
 
 Number of revolutions 
 
 
 
 21 per minute. 
 
 The average velocity was 17'6 feet per second, or about 12 English miles per hour, and 
 the relative velocity of the circumference of the wheel was 6 1 feet per second. 
 
 On one occasion it became necessary for the ' President' to make a passage with only one 
 of her wheels and engines in action. In this passage the velocity of the boat was diminished 
 to 13*8 feet per second, but the relative velocity of the wheel fell but little short of that 
 acquired when both wheels were used, being 6"3 feet per second. The constancy which thus 
 appeared to exist in the relative velocity of the circumference of the wheel, in two boats of 
 very different form and structure, and in the same boat, when propelled by forces, differing as 
 much as in the ratio of 2 : 1, is a remarkable fact, and appears wholly irreconcilable with the 
 ordinary mathematical expression of the relation between the two velocities of the wheel and 
 the vessel. It had been deduced by a course of reasoning, which has been received without 
 question, that the velocity of the vessel bears a constant proportion to that of the wheel, while 
 in the instances we have cited they differ by a constant quantity. 
 
 Without attempting to question the skill in analysis of the distinguished mathematicians, 
 both French and English, who have investigated this problem, we may venture to state that 
 this appears to be a case in which the formula of Parent is applicable, and that the velocity of 
 the circumference of the paddle wheel through the water ought to be constant, and equal to 
 one-third of the greatest velocity at which a flat surface can be propelled through that fluid, 
 in a direction perpendicular to its plane. Assuming this to be twelve nautical, or 13"8 Enghsh 
 miles per hour, we have for the proper constant relative velocity of the circumference of a 
 paddle wheel 6| feet per second. On examination of the performance of a great number of 
 American steam boats, some of which we shall hereafter cite, it has been found that the 
 relative velocity of their paddle wheels has always been nearly this quantity. This fact is 
 thrown out for the present, for the purpose of drawing the attention of the scientific world to 
 it ; and should it be found to be universal, it wiU probably furnish a basis for the mathematical 
 theory of steam boats, whose resiolts will be more applicable to the cases which occur in 
 practice, than those which are now set forth, but which are of Uttle or no use to the engineer 
 or ship builder. 
 
 As the speed which has been stated for one of the vessels, which, from their having been 
 long attentively observed by the writer, have been chosen as instances, is far beyond that 
 which has been attained in Europe, it may be well that we should cite the facts whence this 
 statement has been derived. The distance from New York to Albany has been measured 
 
10 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 by the late Surveyor-General of tlie State of New York, in straight lines joining the extreme 
 points of the several reaches of the river, and amounts to 145 miles. The average passages of 
 the ' North America/ before the further improvements we shall mention, were performed in 
 lOhrs. 48min., after deducting stoppages. 
 
 The circumstances of the tide in the river caused the curious result, that among the passages 
 whence the above average was deduced, those which were performed in the shortest time were 
 upwards, or in opposition to the fall of the stream. The Hudson is affected by the tide 
 beyond Albany, but in the higher parts the flood is rarely attended by a strong current, and 
 at times no other effect is produced by it than a variation in the velocity. But the wave 
 which causes the tide reaches Albany in about eighteen hours ; and thus, a vessel leaving 
 New York soon after low water carries the flood tide with it, and if it perform the passage in 
 ten or twelve hours, feels its full influence for the whole of the way. In descending, the vessel 
 meets at least two successive waves, and thus has the tide alternately favourable and un- 
 favourable. 
 
 At New York the water of the Hudson at high water is usually nearly as salt as that of the 
 ocean ; but there have been two or three instances within the memory of man, when it was so 
 fresh at low water that outward-bound ships have filled their supply of water from it. At a 
 distance of seventy-five miles from New York the water is always perfectly fresh, and is rarely 
 perceptibly brackish above the highlands, which are fifty miles from New York. For the latter 
 distance the channel for the largest ships is never less than 1000 yards in width, and is in many 
 places seventy feet in depth. Ships drawing fifteen feet water have a good beating channel 
 at all times of tide as high as the city of Hudson, 120 miles from New York : the remaining 
 twenty-four miles are comparatively shallow and narrow. 
 
 The writer made in the ' New Philadelphia* one of the most remarkable passages ever 
 performed. Leaving New York at five o'clock p.m. with the first of the flood, he landed 
 at Catshill, distant 111 miles, a quarter of an hour before midnight. As passengers were 
 landed and taken in at seven intermediate points, the rate at which the passage was per- 
 formed was not less than eighteen EngUsh miles per hour. Now, as the current in no case 
 exceeds four miles per hour, the absolute velocity through the water must ha,ve been at least 
 fourteen miles. 
 
 It may be here remarked, that the demonstration which attempts to prove that the absolute 
 velocity of a vessel propelled by steam in a current differs when the direction of the motion 
 is with the stream, from that with which it may be moved against the stream, is at variance 
 with the facts. Upon examination, this demonstration will be found to rest upon false premises : 
 the conditions laid down are not those which actually exist. In order to view the subiect 
 in a proper light, let us suppose that a steam boat is abandoned to the current : in this case 
 it must speedily acquire the velocity of the stream, and be at rest in relation to the water on 
 which it floats. When the machinery begins to act, no difference of circumstances can arise 
 from the direction in which the prow of the boat is turned, and all the motions in reference 
 to the mass of fluid will be performed exactly as if that mass were not in motion. In 
 moving with the current, then, the rate of progress by the land will be the sum of the ordinary 
 rate of the boat's motion, and the velocity of the stream ; in moving against the cwrent the 
 rate of progress will be the difference between these two velocities. 
 
 In obtaining these velocities of thirteen miles and upwards per hour, it does not appear 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 11 
 
 that the force of the engines employed exceeded that which had been used in some American 
 vessels which had far less speed. Neither was the relation of the power of the engine, estimated 
 in the usual manner, to the tonnage of the vessel, greater than that found in European 
 steamers, whose velocity does not appear, at that time, to have exceeded ten miles per hour. 
 Besides, it cannot be denied that the advantage in the finish and workmanship of the engines 
 was on the side of the European vessels. We may therefore inquire to what circumstances it 
 was owing, that a rate of speed, which a high British authority has very recently declared to be 
 incredible, should be actually obtained. We ascribe this chiefly to the great difference in the 
 principles which governed the structure of the engines in the two different countries. In the 
 modifications of the original form of the engine of Fulton, the English engineers, whose efforts 
 were principally directed to the navigation of stormy seas, thought it indispensable that the 
 machinery should be included beneath the deck of the vessel. The stroke of the piston and 
 the length of the crank were therefore diminished, below the proportion originaiUy chosen by 
 Watt. In America, the vessels being principally intended for the navigation of rivers, no 
 such change occurred; and when it became necessary to make the 'New Philadelphia' compete 
 with vessels driven by more powerful engines, Stevens increased the length of the stroke and of 
 the crank. The new relation between the diameter and length of the cylinder thus obtained, 
 was followed, or even exceeded in all subsequent engines. No change was made in the 
 dimensions of the boiler, but the additional force was obtained by causing the steam to act 
 jexpansively. The latter method was attended by an anomaly, which is however readily 
 explained, when it is considered that the relative velocity of the circumference of the wheel is 
 constant. It was not found that the steam, although cut off, at first at half stroke, was much 
 increased in tension. The most obvious effect of the method was an increase in the velocity 
 of the piston, by which the steam was prevented from accumulating. 
 
 When we consider the wheel as a body revolving on an axis, and which meets with a 
 resistance, whose resultant is applied to a point at no great distance from its circumference, 
 it wiU be obvious that there will be a point, to which, if the crank be applied, the whole force 
 of the engine wiU be exerted to overcome the resistance ; but if the crank be applied to any 
 other point, a part of the force will be wasted upon the axle itself. Now, even in the long 
 stroke usual in the modern American engines, it does not appear that the crank extends as 
 far as this most favourable point ; but in the short stroke of the English engines a large 
 proportion of diewhole_£ower is lost. This advantage is, however, at present less sensible 
 in the American steam boats ; for the principle of using cylinders of great length having been 
 introduced, the next step was to increase the diameters of the wheels. The object intended 
 to be gained by the latter change was an increase in the velocity of the circumference of the 
 wheel, for the constructors of steam boats seem to have reached the conclusion that every 
 addition to this velocity would add as much to that of the vessel. In one instance the 
 diameter of the water wheels has been increased to thirty feet, and the stroke of the piston to 
 twelve feet. 
 
 As an additional means of obtaining high velocities in the piston, the dimensions of the 
 valves and steam pipes of the American engines have been increased beyond the proportion 
 used by Watt. The flow of the steam from the boiler is thus rendered more rapid, and the 
 velocity of the piston increased in like degree. We have already stated that the steam is 
 
12 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 cut off, and thus caused to act expansively : the advantage thus obtained is analogous to that 
 derived from the same method in the pumping engines of Cornwall, 
 
 As an accessory, and one of no httle importance, we may mention the form of paddle-wheel 
 originally introduced by the younger Stevens, but now universally adopted. The form of 
 this may be readily understood, by supposing a common paddle-wheel to be cut into three 
 parts, by planes perpendicular to its axis ; that one of these being supposed to remain at rest, 
 the second is moved through one-third, and the third part through two-thirds of the space 
 intervening between two contiguous paddles. 
 
 It seems to be conclusively shown by the researches of Barlow,* that the modifications 
 of paddle which have been tried in Great Britain, are, upon the whole, inferior to the common 
 paddle wheel. The triple wheel of Stevens does away the principal objection which can be 
 opposed to the latter, namely, the long interval between the successive strokes of the wheel 
 against the water, and their violence. 
 
 In vessels of small dimensions the same principle is applied, but the wheel is only double, 
 instead of being triple. 
 
 The velocity of the pistons of engines used for manufacturing purposes is about 200 feet 
 per second. In the ' North America' this velocity was carried up to 384 feet, and the rate is 
 now exceeded in many of the newer vessels. Thus, in the steam frigate ' Fulton,' the velocity 
 of the piston is 450 feet, and in the ' Cornelius Vanderbitt ' and ' Highlander,' as much as 
 600 feet per second. 
 
 We have enlarged upon the performances of the ' North America,' not from their being 
 unsurpassed, but in consequence of their forming an era in the history of steam navigation. It 
 was easily seen that the important part of the resistance, and which in fact seemed to oppose 
 an absolute barrier to all velocities beyond a certain limit, arose from the wave raised in front 
 of a vessel in rapid motion. 
 
 Don George Juan estimates, that this cause of resistance increases with the fourth power 
 of the velocity. It was attempted to lessen this part of the resistance, by altering the form of 
 prows. False prows were therefore adapted to the vessels in use; and, as the cavity left 
 behind the stempost causes a similar resistance, false sterns have also been applied. These 
 attempts have been eminently successful, and in some instances no visible wave appears on 
 the water, before the entrance of the extreme breadth of the vessel. This is remarkably the 
 case in some of the newer steam vessels, in which the form has been derived from that 
 obtained experimentally by the addition of false prows and sterns. The latest model of this 
 description is that adopted in the new steam frigate ' Fulton,' a draught of whose water lines 
 accompanies this paper. — (PI. II.) 
 
 A section of a vessel (the ' North Carolina,' PI. III.) of similar form, but of less draught of 
 water, is also appended, with a view (PI. IV.) of a third intended for sea navigation. 
 
 In the models of this new class of vessels, although built with keels, there is only a few 
 inches dead rise in the midship section, and the floor extends, horizontally, nearly the whole 
 length of the keel. This form will be better understood from the draught of the steam frigate 
 ' Fulton.' ^ 
 
 * Philosophical Transactions for 1834. 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 13 
 
 A long flat floor had been used before in the ' North America/ ' Dewitt Clinton,' and 
 several other vessels, but diffiered from that of the new models in being nearly rectangular, so that 
 the prow and stern resembled conoids applied to a paraUelopiped. In the new models all the 
 water lines are continuous curves, except at the place where the water wheels are applied, 
 where the sides of the vessel are vertical. The prows of the new models are wedges with 
 curved surfaces, instead of being conoidal, and the general character of their models appears 
 to be borrowed from the fast rowing boats, used by the Whitehall boatmen, in the harbour of 
 New York. 
 
 The first steam boat in which the new structure was adopted, was the ' Lexington.' This 
 vessel was planned by Captain Vanderbitt, a very enterprising and intelligent owner, and 
 commander of steam boats. The undertaking, considering the circumstances, was one of great 
 boldness, for this vessel was at once placed upon Long Island Sound, where it was exposed 
 occasionally to high waves. The experiment was so successful, that the passage to New Port 
 and Providence, R. I., was attempted ; and from the rapidity with which the voyages of the 
 'Lexington' were performed, the proprietors of the old class of vessels were compelled to with- 
 draw them, and substitute others designed upon the new model. So far as this particular 
 passage is concerned, the greater part of which is inland, and within reach of safe and con- 
 venient harbours, the experiment, although bold, is not to be considered as involving any 
 notable danger. But it has unluckily happened, that this apparent success has led to the 
 attempt to navigate the ocean in vessels of the same species of model. We cannot believe 
 that these vessels are to be considered as perfectly safe. Their length is as much as eight 
 times their breadth of beam, and the form of their prows and sterns extremely acute : hence the 
 tendency to hog, and break their backs is great ; and one instance has already occurred, where 
 a new vessel has gone to pieces by mere stress of weather. It may be possible, by trussing, 
 or by diagonal ceilings, to lessen the danger arising from this source, but vessels of this 
 model will be still exposed to being washed from stem to stern by the waves. 
 
 We do not class among the objections to steam boats of the new model as sea-going 
 vessels, the fact that the cylinder is wholly raised above the level of the deck. It might at 
 first sight appear that the vessel would in this way be rendered, in nautical language, too 
 crank. But when we consider that the heavy masts and sails with which ships are 
 loaded, are dispensed with altogether in steam boats intended for the navigation of rivers, 
 and may be replaced in those intended for the navigation of the sea by spars of the lightest 
 description, we shall see that the centre of gravity in the latter case, need not be more elevated 
 than it is in ships. Now it is a well known principle in the stowage of ships, that stabihty is 
 increased for a time by raising the centre of gravity ; nay, that were it so low as to coincide 
 with the centre of the part immersed, the condition of equilibrium would be indifferent. It 
 is also a well known fact, that a ship may be rendered more easy, and therefore more safe at 
 sea, by raising the centre of gravity beyond the point at which the greatest degree of stability 
 is attained. May we not, then, question whether the anxiety of the British engineers to keep 
 the weight low has been founded upon correct principles ? At any rate, although the American 
 engineers may perhaps have erred on the other extreme, their practice is not as inconsistent 
 with safety as some of their own countrymen have imagined. 
 
 One prominent mistake, however, appears to have been committed in the vessels recently 
 constructed for the navigation of the ocean in the United States. Departing from the practice. 
 
14 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 which had become sanctioned by successful usage, of employing two engines placed upon the 
 wheel guards ; a single one has been substituted. This being necessarily placed in the plane 
 of the keel, the rolling of the vessel is rendered more rapid, and more likely to be injurious. 
 It is indeed another well known principle in the stowage of vessels, that the rolling is to be 
 rendered less violent by placing the weights at the greatest possible distance from the plane 
 of the keel, as well as at the greatest height which is consistent with stability. 
 
 The use of a single vertical engine of ^ong stroke is attended vsdth another difficulty, namely, 
 that it requires a large opening to be left in the deck of the vessel, which cannot be suffi- 
 ciently defended from the influx of the sea ; for, the bulkheads which surround it, cannot be 
 rendered strong enough to resist a violent wave. 
 
 After all, the main objection to the present model of American steam boats, when con- 
 sidered in their fitness for the navigation of the ocean, is the weakness inherent in the great 
 proportion which their length bears to their breadth and depth. To remedy this defect is not 
 beyond the power of a skilfal application of the principles of carpentry. We have abeady 
 indicated the most obvious method which these principles would suggest, namely, the adoption 
 of the diagonal framing of Seppings, either in the form of trusses, or in the ceiling planks. 
 
 This defect being overcome, no doubt can exist that vessels combining great safety with an 
 average speed of at least twelve nautical miles per hour, can be constructed. Such vessels 
 might make the passage from New York to Liverpool in less than twelve days ; and with 
 such a speed there can be no reason to doubt that they might carry, in the form of coal, more 
 than a sufficient supply of fuel. A direct passage will be absolutely indispensable to success ; 
 for should it be found necessary to make intermediate ports, as for instance, Valentia, or 
 Cork, Halifax, or the Western Islands, the delay consequent on making a harbour, and in taking 
 in fuel, will prevent the passage being performed in a time much less than the average passages 
 of good ships. As the expense of the steam boats wiU be vastly the greatest, they would not 
 be able to compete with the existing packet ships. On the other hand, in a direct passage 
 performed with the speed of the American steam boats, the saving in time will more than 
 compensate the excess of the daily expense of steam navigation. 
 
 Since the preceding paragraphs were written, an experiment has been made, in the British 
 steamer, the 'Great Western,' which renders the successful navigation of the Atlantic 
 between New York and England, without stopping at an intermediate port, no longer a matter 
 of inference, but a fact estabhshed by experience. This vessel has carried more than a suffi- 
 cient supply of coals for the passage; and although having an average speed of no more than 
 nine nautical miles per hour, has been no more than fifteen days in making her harbour. On 
 examining this vessel, and comparing her performance with that of American steam boats, it is 
 easy to perceive that her speed might be very materially increased without making' any 
 important change in her engines, and probably with a savmg of fuel. It would be necessary to 
 modify the boilers so as to convert a less quantity of water than they now do into steam but 
 to furnish it of a tension of 20 or 301b instead of 3J, which they now carry. Nor when the 
 boiler is of sufficient strength, need any increase of danger be apprehended from using steam 
 of this medium pressure. It is now well established that the mere pressure of the 
 among the least important causes of danger, and that such as are most to be apprehended are 
 as likely to occur in using steam of a single atmosphere as that of ten or twelve. 
 
 The arrival of the 'Great Western' in New York, was preceded by that of the 'Sirius ' 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 15 
 
 although only by a few hours. The competition for the honour of successfully accomplishing 
 this voyage, between the respective owners and commanders of these vessels, involves less of 
 reputation than is generally beHeved. It is nearly twenty years since the ' Savannah,' a steam 
 boat built and equipped in the port of New York, made a voyage to Europe and returned. If 
 then new honours are to be awarded, it is to the parties concerned in the ' Great Western ' that 
 they are due ; for the mere practicability of the enterprise is not the point on which well 
 informed persons have ever hesitated ; but the doubt has been whether it can be made certain 
 within given limits of time, and whether these limits will be less than the average passage of 
 packet ships. This point, which the arrival of the ' Sirius' would have left in doubt, is decided 
 by the voyage of the ' Great Western.' The question of the relation between the cost of the 
 enterprise, and the freight, is still undecided. We do not doubt, however, that this wiU be 
 such as to yield a profit. 
 
 The ' Savannah ' proceeded from New York to Liverpool without stopping at any inter- 
 mediate port ; from Liverpool to St. Petersburgh, touching at Copenhagen. In returning 
 thence this vessel entered the port of Arendal in Norway, and then crossed the Atlantic a 
 second time to New York, without making any intermediate port. Steam, however, was not 
 used during the whole voyage, but the use of the engine was intermitted whenever the wind 
 was such as to enable the vessel to lay her course without deviation. No record appears to 
 remain of the time in which steam alone was used, but the two passages across the Atlantic 
 were each made in twenty-five days. 
 
 A year or two after the voyage of the 'Savannah' a splendid vessel was built in New York, 
 intended as a packet between that city and New Orleans. This vessel was 600 tons burthen, 
 rigged as a ship, and propelled by a powerful steam engine. Several voyages were performed 
 successfully by this vessel, but the number of passengers was not found sufficient to defray 
 the expenses, and the vessel was laid up. This vessel had sufficient burthen to have carried 
 fuel for an entire passage to Europe, but the public mind was not prepared for the experiment. 
 The navigation between New York and Charleston S. C. has been for some years partially 
 carried on in steam vessels. These have generally been of small size, and the engines of 
 inferior workmanship to those used upon the Hudson and Long Island Sound. The first 
 attempt to introduce a vessel of larger dimensions and greater cost was unfortunate. The 
 vessel was so weak, in consequence of her extreme lengthy and the desire to render her 
 buoyant, that in the second voyage she became a perfect wreck at sea, and was with difficulty 
 brought to the land. This was an unfortunate enterprise, not only in the loss of life with 
 which the wreck was attended, but in the check it gave to the spirit of enterprise which was 
 about to be directed to the navigation of the Atlantic. 
 
 For three years past, steam packets have plied regularly between Norfolk in Virginia and 
 Charleston S. C, passing the most dangerous part of the southern coast of the United States, 
 the shoals of Cape Hatteras. 
 
 At the present time, and for some months back, a steam vessel called the ' North Carolina,' 
 has been employed in the conveyance of passengers between Charleston S. C, and Wilmington 
 N. C. A gentleman who recently travelled by this route informs us that the passage occupied 
 \5\ hours. The distance by sea is 120 nautical miles, to which is to be added the distance of 
 the two places from the ocean. 
 
 The performances of some of the American vessels of the new model have been very 
 
16 ON THE STEAM BOATS OF 
 
 extraordinary. The following facts, in relation to two of them, have been derived from a com- 
 munication of Mr. Haswell, an engineer in the service of the United States, to whom the 
 construction of the machinery of the steam frigate 'Fulton' was confided. 
 
 Steam Boat ' Cleopatra.' 
 
 Diameter of wheel . . 23 feet. 
 
 Length of bucket • . Hi feet. 
 
 Breadth of do. . . 2 feet, 8 inches. 
 
 Revolutions per minute . . 24 
 
 Velocity of wheel per second . 28*8 feet. 
 
 of vessel . . 22-6 feet. 
 
 Relative velocity of wheel . 6*2 
 
 Steam Boat 'Lexington.' 
 
 Diameter of wheel . . 24 feet. 
 
 Length of bucket . . 11 feet. 
 
 Breadth of do. . . 2 feet, 8 inches. 
 
 Revolutions per minute . 23 
 
 Velocity of wheel per second . 28"8 
 
 of vessel . . 22'5 
 
 Relative velocity of wheel . • 6*3 
 
 These velocities would carry up the speed of the vessels to 15 English miles per hour, and 
 it appears that in many instances such a rate has been attained for a short time. But we 
 have no evidence to adduce that the ordinary average performances of the most recently con- 
 structed boats have amounted to more than fourteen English miles per hour. The average 
 passages between New York and Albany do not yet fall much short of eleven hours • and if 
 we allow no more than half an hoxir for stoppages, the rate is less than fourteen miles. 
 
 A speed almost equal is attained in the passage between New York and Providence Rhode 
 Island. This passage, as we have partly stated, is performed upon the arm of the sea, called 
 at New York the East River, and for its greater extent. Long Island Sound. On leaving 
 this, the open sea is entered, and the voyage, after passing through an open and wide bay, 
 terminates in a narrow river. In its circumstances of alternate shelter and exposure, it may 
 be likened to the passage from London to Calais. The distance, as measured on a good chart 
 is 160 nautical or 184-3 English miles. We have obtained the records of a voyage performed 
 between the two places, by the steam boat ' Massachusetts,' the circumstances derived from 
 which, with the dimensions of the vessel, are given beneath : — 
 
 Length of vessel . . 200 feet. 
 
 Breadth of beam 
 Draught of water 
 Diameter of wheel 
 Length of bucket 
 Depth of do. 
 Diameter of cylinder 
 Length of stroke 
 
 29^ feet. 
 8 feet, 5 inches. 
 22 feet. 
 10 feet. 
 
 2 feet, 4 inches. 
 
 3 feet, 8 inches. 
 8 feet. 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 17 
 
 Number of revolutions . . 26 
 
 Velocity of vessel per second . 19"95 feet. 
 
 Relative velocity of wheel per second 6'3 feet. 
 Whole velocity of wheel . 26-25 feet. 
 
 The passage whence the above data were derived, was performed in thirteen hours and a 
 half, and does not diiFer materially from the average of those now usually performed. 
 
 It would thus appear that no very great increase of speed has been gained in the steam 
 boats used in river navigation since the construction of the ' North America.^ As to those 
 which navigate the Sound, the improvement in velocity is considerable, but seems to be 
 attended with a loss of good qualities in other respects. But we are not to estimate the value 
 of the new models from speed alone. It is in the duty of the engines, or the effect produced 
 by a given quantity of fuel, that the newly constructed vessels manifest their superiority. 
 Not only is the size and nominal power of the engines used in boats of given dimensions 
 lessened, but the fuel consumed in the passages is diminished in a still greater ratio. Thus 
 the ' Erie ' and ' Champlain,' boats of a newer construction than the ' North America,' but 
 modelled after her, have each two engines 44 inches in diameter, and 10 feet stroke; while the 
 ' Rochester,' 20 feet longer than either, and of two feet less beam, has no more than one 
 engine of the same dimensions. In comparative speed the ' Rochester' has the advantage over 
 the others. The two vessels belonging to the Port of New York, which have the highest 
 reputation for speed, are the ' Passair,' and ' ComeUus Vanderbitt.' The former was con- 
 structed by the younger Stevens, and the latter is said to be as near a copy of her dimensions 
 and model, as could be constructed without direct reference to the original moidds. The ' Pas- 
 sair^ has not come into direct competition with the vessels which navigate the Hudson, but 
 the ' Cornelius Vanderbitt' exceeds them all in speed. The superiority of this vessel, how- 
 ever, rather consists in the capacity of arriving first at the several landings, in the case of a trial 
 of speed, than in any great reduction of the average time of passage. In fact, to gain several 
 miles in the course of a passage amounts to no more than a saving of a very few minutes of 
 time. 
 
 Our view of the subject would be incomplete, did we not refer to a vessel which has been 
 for some months in preparation in the port of New York, for the purpose of running between 
 that city and Liverpool. In this vessel a new form of boiler has been introduced, the prin- 
 ciple of whose action is, that the combustion shall be maintained by air forced into a furnace 
 without a chimney, and that the air, after acquiring, by the joint effect of compression and 
 elevated temperature, a tension equal to that of the steam, shall open a valve by which it may 
 join the steam in its passage to the valves of the engine. A sufficient number of experiments 
 have been performed with this boiler, to show that it will produce a given effect at a vast 
 saving of fuel, but various practical difficulties seem to oppose its perfect success. 
 
 In conclusion it may be stated, that in respect to speed the steam boats of the Hudson 
 exceed any others, have attained a velocity which is hardly believed to be possible in 
 Europe, and are for the navigation of rivers unequalled. The same principles, modified 
 according to the circumstances of the case, may be applied to give a greater velocity to vessels 
 intended for the navigation of the ocean than has yet been attained by the English steamers. 
 On the other hand, the vessels constructed in the United States for speed, want some of the 
 essential properties of good sea boats. In the competition and honourable rivalry between 
 the engineers and naval architects of the two countries, which the voyage of the 'Great 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 ON THE STEAM BOATS, &c. 
 
 Western' is likely to call forth, the advantages of the methods which difference of circum- 
 stances has brought into use in England and the United States wiU probably be combined. 
 We may therefore hope to see the rapid motion of the American vessels planned for river 
 navigations, united with the strength, safety, and seaworthy quahties of the British steamers. 
 By such an union the ports of the British channels, and the mouth of the Hudson, will be 
 brought within twelve days' passage of each other, and the time of transit diminished one half. 
 It is difficult to appreciate the advantages which wiU be mutually derived from such speedy 
 and easy communication, not only to the ports between which it shall be carried on, but to 
 both nations. 
 
 List of Steam Vessels of the latest Construction belonging to the 
 
 Port of New York. 
 
 
 Length 
 
 Breadth 
 
 Draught 
 
 Diameter 
 
 Length 
 
 Depth 
 
 No. of 
 
 Diameter 
 
 
 Number 
 
 
 on 
 
 of 
 
 of 
 
 of 
 
 of 
 
 of 
 
 of 
 
 Stroke. 
 
 of revo- 
 
 Names of 
 
 deck. 
 
 beam. 
 
 water. 
 
 wheel. 
 
 bucket. 
 
 bucket. 
 
 engines. 
 
 cylinder. 
 
 
 lutions. 
 
 vessels. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 2 
 
 Inches. 
 
 9 
 
 25 
 
 Steam Frigate Pulton* 
 
 181-5 
 
 34-5 
 
 10 
 
 22-4 
 
 11-5 
 
 36 
 
 50 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 200- 
 
 29-5 
 
 8i 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 44 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 
 Narragausett 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 
 60 
 
 12 
 
 
 Swallow 
 
 232-8 
 
 22-5 
 
 3f 
 
 24-2 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 27 
 
 Rochester 
 
 200- 
 
 25 
 
 3| 
 
 23-5 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 
 43 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 Utica 
 
 200 
 
 21 
 
 Si 
 
 22 
 
 94 
 
 24 
 
 
 39 
 
 10 
 
 
 N. Cobb 
 
 176 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 
 35 
 
 6 
 
 
 Clifton 
 
 135 
 
 18 
 
 3f 
 
 18-7 
 
 7 
 
 24 
 
 
 25 
 
 9 
 
 25 
 
 Erie I 
 Champlarn J 
 
 180 
 
 27 
 
 H 
 
 22 
 
 15 
 
 34 
 
 
 44 
 
 10 
 
 274 
 
 BeUe 
 
 190 
 
 26 
 
 ii 
 
 24-5 
 
 11 
 
 26 
 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 New York 
 
 230 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 Boston 
 
 150 
 
 28 
 
 7i 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 30 
 
 
 40 
 
 23 
 30 
 29 
 
 Highlander 
 
 181 
 
 24 
 
 4-3 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 
 41 
 
 Dewitt Clinton 
 
 230 
 
 28 
 
 5-5 
 
 21 
 
 13-7 
 
 36 
 
 
 65 
 
 OUve Branch, 1 
 (Ferry boat), J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 23 
 
 4J 
 
 15-3 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 
 25 
 
 8 
 
 30 
 
 Arrow 
 Bolivar 
 
 160 
 120 
 
 21 
 
 24 
 
 4-3 
 4 
 
 22 
 15 
 
 8 
 5-5 
 
 22 
 22 
 
 
 31 
 30 
 30 
 
 50 
 
 11 
 
 27 
 
 Fvdton, (Ferry boat), 
 
 95 
 
 25 
 
 4-7 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 24 
 
 
 4 
 8 
 
 115 
 
 30 
 
 Neptune, (Charles-"! 
 ton packet), j 
 
 220-7 
 
 25 
 
 7-5 
 
 25 
 
 9-4 
 
 36 
 
 
 25 
 
 Home, (lost on the! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 coast of North • 
 Carolina J 
 
 212 
 
 22 
 
 6-5 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 
 56 
 
 9 
 
 25 
 
 Echo 
 
 117 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 6-5 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cornelius Vanderbitt 
 
 175 
 
 24 
 
 5-3 
 
 22-2 
 
 10 
 
 
 20 
 41 
 
 6 
 10 
 
 32 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * Mr. Weale is indebted to Lieut. Lynch, of the United States frigate ' Fulton,' for the following additional statement :- 
 
 Tonnage of the United States steam frigate ' Fulton' cc » 
 
 Depth of hold .... 875 American tons. 
 
 „ , . , 12 ft. 
 
 Power of engine (mean average of steam) .... c^n h 
 
 (Made by Mr. Kemble, agent for the West Point Foundry Association.) 
 
 The cyUnders are laid nearly horizontal, vrith a very sUght upward inclination.