Columbia (HnttJer^ftp 
 
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 THE LIBRARIES 
 
 Bequest of 
 
 Frederic Bancroft 
 1860-1945 
 
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ROBERT FULTON 
 
 FROM TH€ ORIGINAL PAINTING BY HIMSELF IM THE POSSESSION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF 
 
 ROBERT FULTON 
 
 BY 
 
 PEYTON F. MILLER 
 
 XLhc ItnfcfterbocRer press 
 
 NEW YOjR-K 
 

 '5l\^^>.h 
 
 Copyright, iqo8 
 
 BY 
 
 PEYTON F. MILLER 
 
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 /3ibc IhtifcJ^crbflcfter Jitess, IRew J^orft 
 
 
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PREFACE 
 
 The author is indebted for the facts 
 detailed in this book to the biographies of 
 Robert Fulton by Cadwallader D. Colden, 
 James Ren wick, J. Franklin Reigart, and 
 Robert H. Thurston, The Life and Letters of 
 Joel Barlow, by Charles Burr Todd, Lodge's 
 Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great 
 Britain, the Memoirs of the Duchesse de 
 Gontaut, Clermont or Livingston Manor, by 
 Thomas Streatfield Clarkson, articles in 
 Cassier's Magazine by H. N. Dickinson and 
 Henry Harrison Suplee, and information 
 given by D. McRa Livingston, Esq., and 
 other members of the Livingston and Lud- 
 low families, and books and pamphlets in 
 the private library of Mrs. John V. L. 
 Pruyn of Albany, New York. 
 
 P. F. M. 
 
 iii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 The Fulton family — Boyhood of Robert Fulton . . i-8 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Departure for England — Acquaintance with Benjamin 
 West — Artistic labors — A civil engineer — Devotes 
 time to scientific pursuits and inventions . . 9—17 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Visits France to introduce torpedo — Friendship with 
 
 Joel Barlow ...... 18-23 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Duchesse de Gontaut's Recollections of Robert 
 
 Fulton ....... 34—29 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 In France — Experiments with torpedoes and sub- 
 marine boat — Return to England . . 30-39 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Robert Fulton and Chancellor Livingston meet in Paris 
 — They experiment with steamboats and form 
 partnership — Fulton returns to England and sails 
 for United States ..... 40-55 
 
vi Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Arrives in New York — Efforts to raise money for build- 
 ing steamboat ...... .56-62 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Received with homage — Employed by Federal Govern- 
 ment to experiment with torpedoes — Trial trip of 
 the Clermont ...... .63-68 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 First voyage of the Clermont to Albany — Letters of 
 
 Fulton — Description of the Q^rmoni . . -69-77 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 The Clermont rebuilt and name changed to the North 
 
 River — Further legislation . . . .78-81 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Patents — Livingston concedes to Fulton invention of 
 successful steamboat — Litigation as to patents — 
 -Boats sailing Hudson River and their speed — 
 Ferryboats ...... .82-87 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Exposure of perpetual-motion fraud — British attempt to 
 capture Fulton — Claim of W. Stevens to invention 
 of successful steamboat denounced . . .88-98 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 Robert Fulton's death — Funeral — Will . ,. 99-104 
 
Contents vii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Fulton's marriage — Descendants — Description of 
 
 him ....... 105-110 
 
 Index ......... iii 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Robert Fulton .... Frontispiece 
 
 Robert Fulton ,,..... 102 
 
 IX 
 
The Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE FULTON FAMILY — BOYHOOD OF ROBERT 
 
 FULTON 
 
 Robert Pulton, the inventor, was a 
 descendant of the Reverend Doctor Robert 
 Fulton, who, on September 8, 1614, was 
 appointed by the Privy Council Chaplain 
 to Lady Arabella Stuart, the only child of 
 Charles, the fifth Earl of Lenox, who was 
 an uncle of James the First and a lineal de- 
 scendant of Henry the Seventh. She had 
 been obnoxious to Queen Elizabeth and also 
 to King James, who dreaded the supposed 
 danger of her leaving legitimate offspring, 
 and had secretly married William Seymour, 
 first Marquis of Hertford. As soon as their 
 
2 The Story of 
 
 marriage was discovered he was committed 
 to the Tower of London and Lady Arabella 
 given into the custody of Sir Thomas Parry of 
 Lambeth. They arranged to fly to France. 
 Seymour escaped but his wife was captured 
 and committed to the Tower, where she 
 ended her days. This Robert Fulton was 
 clearly a man of importance, having been 
 associated with a person of such distinguished 
 position in such a confidential relation. 
 His descendants were, in Cromwell's time, 
 driven from Scotland and went to Ireland, 
 and established themselves near Kilkenny. 
 Robert Fulton, the father of the inventor, 
 
 r 
 
 ' arrived in this country from Kilkenny about 
 1750. He settled in Philadelphia and, after 
 engaging in mercantile pursuits there for 
 several years, in 1759, having disposed of his 
 business, moved with his family to a farm 
 he had bought at Little Britain, Lancaster 
 County, Pennsylvania. He had married 
 Mary Smith, who was bom in Philadelphia 
 and was of Irish descent. Mr. Fulton died in 
 1768, leaving a widow, two sons, and three 
 
Robert Fulton 3 
 
 daughters in very poor circumstances. Both 
 he and his wife were Protestants and appear 
 to have had a fair amount of education. 
 
 Their son Robert was bom November 14/1 
 1765. In 1766 the farm was sold and the 
 family moved to the village of Lancaster. 
 Robert was not sent to school imtil he was 
 eight years old, his mother having taught 
 him to read and write and the rudiments 
 of arithmetic. Unlike most children, he 
 worked incessantly and never seemed to 
 find time for play. His alertness of mind 
 asserted itself from his earliest years, and 
 the quickness of perception which enabled 
 him to discern and seize anything that would 
 assist in his pursuits was marvellous. One 
 might well know nothing would escape this 
 bright boy that would be useful to him. He 
 showed a decided talent for drawing and 
 painting when very young and threw himself 
 into artistic efforts with enthusiasm and 
 some of the work done in those early years 
 he thought as well of as any he afterwards 
 did. 
 
4 The Story of 
 
 His career at school was not character- 
 ized by a close application to his studies. He 
 was industrious but not with books. He 
 could not be tempted from his pursuits 
 but was engrossed by them when his interest 
 was aroused. On one occasion, after having 
 seemed especially absorbed in some under- 
 taking, he exhibited a lead pencil he had 
 manufactured which was of the finest quality 
 and was quickly copied by his fellow-students. 
 On being remonstrated with by his teacher 
 for neglecting his books, he replied, "My 
 head is so full of thoughts of my own that 
 I haven't room for the thoughts from dusty 
 books." As a boy he displayed great in- 
 terest in machinery and never missed an 
 opportunity of being with men who were 
 manufacturing tools or working with them. 
 He soon became known to all the mechanics 
 in the vicinity and they were always glad 
 to welcome him to their workshops, and 
 sometimes pleased to avail themselves of his 
 suggestions. Some who were engaged in 
 mounting rifles relied on him for designs 
 
Robert Fulton 5 
 
 in ornamenting them and sketches of the 
 sizes and shapes, size of the bore and balls, 
 and calculations of the force and distances 
 they would carry. He would frequently 
 accompany them to a range where his calcu- 
 lations would be tested by shooting at a 
 target. 
 
 His spirit was always exalted and appealed 
 to by natural and artistic beauties. He 
 was full of affection for his family and willing 
 to yield to the commands of his superiors. 
 His love for his country was unbounded and 
 exhibited itself in his youth and all through 
 his life. 
 
 Like the boys of that period, in fact 
 like boys in the United States at all 
 periods, he revelled in celebrating the anni- 
 versary of our Independence, the Fourth of 
 July. It was at that time customary for the 
 people to illuminate their houses, and candles, 
 which were expensive and difficult for the 
 ordinary boy to procure, were much in de- 
 mand. Robert, in anticipation of the ap- 
 proaching celebration, had accumulated a 
 
v«.. 
 
 6 The Story of 
 
 goodly number, when a notice was posted by 
 the authorities forbidding the people to illum- 
 inate their houses. He immediately took his 
 candles to the store and exchanged them 
 for gunpowder and sheets of pasteboard, 
 which he directed the shopkeeper not to 
 roll. Upon being asked how he was going 
 to use the powder and paper, he said he 
 proposed to make candles which he would 
 shoot through the air on the night of the 
 Fourth. He was laughed at, but his efforts 
 were successful, his celebration being more 
 glorious than the town had ever before wit- 
 nessed, and in consequence the thirteen- 
 year-old boy became quite a local celebrity. 
 His society when a boy seemed always 
 much sought after by men, who, while glad to 
 have him about when they toiled, also wel- 
 comed him at other times. He frequently 
 accompanied another boy and his father on 
 fishing excursions. They went in a flat-boat, 
 which the boys propelled with long poles. 
 Young Fulton found this very laborious, so he 
 invented paddle-wheels which were manip- 
 
Robert Fulton 7 
 
 ulated by a crank and could be attached 
 and detached with ease. 
 
 In his boyhood the Revolutionary War 
 stirred the whole community, and in his 
 neighborhood a number of Hessian soldiers 
 were stationed. There were frequent col- 
 lisions between them and the townspeople 
 and Fulton had held them up to derision 
 in caricatures he had made of them. There 
 was so much disorder, it was finally arranged 
 that at night the Hessians and townspeople 
 should neither cross a rope stretched at a 
 place agreed upon. Fulton drew a picture 
 representing the townspeople on the Hessian 
 side of the rope and engaged in annihilating 
 the latter. It was displayed in a public 
 place and much admired. In fact it aroused 
 the people so much that that night the rope 
 was crossed and a conflict took place, which 
 was only stopped by the interference of the 
 authorities. 
 
 When Fulton was seventeen years old, ^ 
 his mother apprenticed him to a jeweller 
 in Philadelphia. In this new field, he con- 
 
8 Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 tinued his habits of industry and in addition 
 to his regular work painted portraits, mini- 
 atures, and landscapes. At the end of four 
 years with the money thus earned he bought 
 a small farm in Washington County, Penn- 
 sylvania, upon which he settled his mother. 
 He spent his twenty-first birthday with his 
 family, and, after installing them on the 
 new farm, went to the Hot Springs of 
 Virginia which are in the vicinity for the 
 benefit of his health, having suffered some- 
 what from a pulmonary trouble. At this 
 
 r place he was thrown in with a superior 
 class of people who became interested in 
 the young artist and he received orders 
 which enabled him to do considerable work 
 with his brush. His new friends and patrons 
 advised him to take a sea-voyage and go to 
 England and study under Benjamin West 
 and gave him letters introducing him to 
 
 K Mr. West. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND — ACQUAINTANCE 
 WITH BENJAMIN WEST ARTISTIC LA- 
 BORS — A CIVIL ENGINEER DEVOTES 
 
 TIME TO SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS AND 
 INVENTIONS. 
 
 In 1738, in Chester County, which adjoined 
 the one in which was the birthplace of Robert 
 Fulton, a son was born to a Quaker family, 
 whose circumstances were quite similar to 
 those of Fulton's. This little boy at an 
 early age manifested a remarkable talent 
 for drawing and painting. Although the 
 neighborhood was inhabited almost entirely 
 by Quakers and there were no incentives 
 to artistic pursuits, nothing could turn him 
 aside, and Benjamin West, young in years, 
 unaided by friends, hampered by the preju- 
 dices of those about him, and deprived of all 
 the helps and inducements to an artistic ca- 
 reer, persevered in his purpose. He painted 
 
 9 
 
lo The Story of 
 
 portraits for a time in Philadelphia, and 
 as soon as he had saved enough money, went 
 to Italy, where, with good letters of intro- 
 duction, an attractive appearance, and agree- 
 able manners, he was made much of by 
 people of the highest rank. He finally 
 settled in London w^here he became famous. 
 He was one of the founders of the Royal 
 Academy and was in 1792 elected its presi- 
 dent, which office he retained for many years. 
 The subjects of his paintings were chiefly bib- 
 lical and historical and many of them were 
 executed on commissions from George HI. 
 
 He introduced the innovation of paint- 
 ing historic subjects as nearly as he could 
 with truth and adherence to the facts, in 
 opposition to dressing the figures in the 
 costumes of the Greeks and Romans or 
 portraying them as naked as gods. His pro- 
 ductions were great in dimensions and num- 
 bers and at the time aroused enthusiasm 
 and interest, but do not rank high in the 
 opinion of art critics of the present. A 
 portrait by him of Robert Fulton is owned 
 
Robert Fulton li 
 
 by Robert Pulton Ludlow, a grandson of I 
 the subject, and adorns his house at Clav-' 
 erack. New York. 
 
 We can understand how much may have 
 been put into this portrait when we learn 
 the relations which existed between the 
 artist and Fulton. The latter having decided 
 to go to England to pursue his art studies, 
 on arriving presented the letters introducing 
 and recommending him to Mr. West, one 
 of which was from Benjamin Franklin, whose | 
 acquaintance he had made while living in ^ 
 Philadelphia. The reception he met far 
 exceeded his expectations. The famous and 
 well-established artist was more than cordial 
 to the struggling young American, who 
 had nothing to recommend him save his 
 talents, devotion to art, ambition, attractive 
 person, and charming manners. He lodged 
 while in London at 67 Margaret Street, Caven- 
 dish Square, and was received by Mr. West 
 as if he had been his son or a member of his 
 family ; he instructed him in the art in which 
 he was then regarded as so proficient and 
 
12 The Story of 
 
 introduced him to a class of people an as- 
 sociation with whom was an advantage 
 from every point of view for one who was 
 poor, struggling, and unknown. Fulton re- 
 mained with Mr. West for several years. 
 He was imdoubtedly successful as an ar- 
 tist, for in 1 791 and 1793 portraits by 
 him were exhibited at the Royal Academy 
 and in 1791 there were two portraits and 
 two genre pictures of his at the exhibition 
 of the society of artists of Great Britain. 
 
 While there were at that time many artis- 
 tic treasures in England, they w^ere scattered 
 all over the land in private collections and 
 there were no public art galleries of im- 
 portance in London. On leaving Mr. West, 
 Fulton, having procured the necessary letters 
 of introduction, set forth on a visit to various 
 private collections of works of art. Shortly 
 after he appears to have been at Exeter in 
 the county of Devon and for a while living 
 at Powderham Castle, the chief seat of the 
 Courtenays, the Earls of Devon, engaged 
 in copying some of the paintings it contained. 
 
Robert Fulton ' 13 
 
 His residence there seems to have filled him 
 with a sense of obligation, for afterwards 
 when living in New York and at the height 
 of his fame and prosperity, he returned 
 the favors he had received by kindness and 
 hospitality to a member of that family who 
 had fled from his own land in disgrace and 
 humiliation and against whom almost every 
 door was closed. 
 
 During Mr. Fulton's residence of two 
 years in the vicinity of Exeter he ex- 
 tended his acquaintance in a way that was 
 of advantage to him in his subsequent 
 career. It seems as if at this period, Art, to 
 which he had been so entirely devoted, did 
 not give to him all the results and scope he 
 had hoped for, and that his active mind 
 and taste for experimenting and invention 
 were asserting themselves and drawing him 
 away from his former mistress. 
 
 Among the men with whom he appears then 
 to have been most intimately associated was 
 the Duke of Bridgewater, who at that time\ 
 was in the possession of vast wealth, accu- ^ 
 
14 The Story of 
 
 mulated by him from the improvement 
 of his estate, which was rich in mines. He 
 had done this by canals and was regarded 
 as the original promoter of the canal system 
 which had enriched and developed England. 
 He seems to have induced Fulton to abandon 
 his career as an artist and become a civil 
 engineer. We find him living at Birmingham 
 and engaged at work on one of the canals then 
 being built in that vicinity although in a 
 subordinate position. He also seems to 
 have been on terms of intimacy with 
 Lord Stanhope, the third Earl, who was 
 a man of talent and had exhibited skill 
 as an engineer, and had also experimen- 
 ted in applying steam to navigation, by 
 using an apparatus modelled after the 
 foot of a water fowl, and in 1793 entered 
 into a correspondence upon the subject 
 with Fulton, who foresaw and predicted 
 the failure of his experiment. In a let- 
 ter to Lord Stanhope of October 7, 1793, 
 he refers to the "moving of ships by 
 means of steam" as "a subject on which I 
 
Robert Fulton 15 
 
 have made important discoveries." This 
 friendship was a lasting one, as indicated 
 by a frequent interchange of letters, and 
 was of much service to Fulton in transactions 
 he afterwards had with the British govern- j 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Fulton*s writings and inventions in- 
 dicate an intimate knowledge of the con- 
 struction of the steam-engine. John Watt, 
 who by this time had so improved it as 
 to make it of practical use universally, was-j 
 one of Mr. Fulton's Birmingham associates. 
 His correspondence with the inventor shows 
 that they were on confidential and intimate 
 terms. The following letter was written by 
 him to Messrs. Boulton & Watt: 
 
 " Manchester, Nov. 4, 1794. 
 
 " Gentlemen: 
 
 ** I shall esteem it a favour to be informed 
 of the Expences of a Steam Engine with a 
 Rotative movement of the purchase of 3 
 or 4 horses, which is designed to be placed 
 in a Boat. You will Will [sic] be so good 
 as to mention what sized boat it would 
 
i6 The Story of 
 
 occupy, as I wish to have it in as little space 
 as Possible, and what you consive will be 
 the Expence w^hen finished Compleat in the 
 Boat. Whether you have one ready of the 
 dimentions specified or how soon one might 
 be finished. With Weight of Coals which 
 it will consume in 12 hours, and what 
 Quantity of purchase you allow to Each 
 horse, as I am anxious to supply some En- 
 gines of the above dimentions as soon as 
 Possible. Your Emediate Answer will much 
 
 oblige Your 
 
 " Most obedient and very humble 
 Servant, Robt. Fulton. 
 
 ** Bridgewater Arms, Manchester." 
 
 This period was certainly a very busy one 
 for Fulton. His attention seems to have 
 been directed largely towards the improve- 
 ment of canals, which he believed in as 
 a means of developing the country far in 
 advance of turnpikes, and he applied his 
 mind intently to the problem of making 
 them practicable in hilly and mountainous 
 locaHties. In 1794 a patent was granted 
 
Robert Fulton 17 
 
 to him by the government of Great Britain 
 for a device intended to supersede locks on 
 canals by a plane of double incline, which 
 was contained in a book on Inland Naviga- 
 tion, published by him in 1796. He also 
 obtained patents for a machine for spinning 
 flax and one for twisting ropes and a mill ; 
 for sawing and polishing marble. He was 
 a man of indefatigable industry and carefully 
 and thoroughly worked out as far as possible 
 the various inventions he attempted. It 
 has been stated that he never made a model 
 of an invention until he had completed a 
 drawing which showed every part projected 
 on the proper scale. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 VISITS FRANCE TO INTRODUCE TORPEDO — 
 FORMS FRIENDSHIP WITH JOEL BARLOW 
 
 Robert Fulton was always a loyal Amer- 
 ican and labored with a view of returning to 
 the United States. He gave much thought to 
 questions of government and believed that 
 *'The whole interior arrangements of gov- 
 ernments should be to promote and diffuse 
 knowledge and industry ; their whole exterior 
 negotiations to establish a social intercourse 
 w4th each other and to give free circulation 
 to the whole produce of virtuous industry." 
 He also believed that the old world war 
 system was the cause of the misery of the 
 greatest number of its people. In one of his 
 manuscripts, this passage is found: ** After 
 this I was convinced that society must pass 
 through ages of progressive improvement 
 before the freedom of the seas could be 
 
 l8 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 19 
 
 established by an agreement of nations 
 that it was for the benefit of the whole: I 
 saw that the growing wealth and commerce, 
 and the increasing population of the United 
 States would compel them to look for a 
 protection by sea, and perhaps drive them 
 to the necessity of resorting to European 
 measures, by establishing a navy. Seeing 
 this, I turned my whole attention to find 
 out means of destroying such engines of 
 oppression by some method which would 
 put it out of the power of any nation to 
 maintain such a system, and would compel 
 every government to adopt the simple prin- 
 ciples of education, industry, and a free 
 circulation of its produce." 
 
 Influenced by such considerations Mr. 
 Fulton had been engaged for some time in per- 
 fecting an invention for the blowing up of ves- 
 sels by attaching under the water a copper ^ 
 canister of gunpowder, to be discharged by a 
 gunlock and clockwork. This he called a tor- 
 pedo and with the view of having it adopted 
 by the government of France, he left England 
 
20 The Story of 
 
 for Paris in 1797. Among the letters of 
 introduction he took with him was one to 
 ^Joel Barlow. Mr. Barlow was bom in Con- 
 ' necticut in 1754, and graduated from Yale 
 College in 1778. For several years he de- 
 voted himself to literary pursuits, and in 
 1788 went abroad as the representative of 
 a great American land company. He carried 
 letters introducing him to many prominent 
 people in Paris and elsewhere. The com- 
 pany did not prove to be a success, but 
 Barlow continued to live abroad. He devoted 
 his time to literature and associated on terms 
 of intimacy with many of the most distin- 
 guished people of Paris and London. In 
 1795 he was sent by the United States on 
 a mission to Algiers to secure the release 
 of a number of our citizens who had been 
 captured by pirates and were held as prison- 
 ers. This mission being successful after a 
 residence in Algiers of seventeen months, 
 during which there was a visitation of the 
 plague, he returned to Paris. His pen was 
 constantly in use for the benefit of his country 
 
Robert Fulton 21 
 
 and he exerted great influence in pacifying 
 France at the time of the adoption of the 
 treaty with England, under which the United 
 States agreed to observe a strict neutrality^ 
 in regard to France. 
 
 Mr. Fulton and Mr. Barlow became ac- 
 quainted shortly after his arrival, and com- 
 menced an intimacy which lasted until the 
 death of the latter. Fulton lived in his 
 house for seven years and had the advantage 
 of meeting his acquaintances and of always 
 possessing an admiring, congenial, and de- 
 voted friend. They seemed to enter into 
 each other's plans with the utmost enthu- 
 siasm and loyalty. The Columbiad, or Vis- 
 ion of Columbus, a national and historical 
 poem, written by Mr. Barlow, was dedicated 
 to Robert Fulton, who is described as the 
 *'dear friend" of the author. The twelve 
 plates illustrating this work cost five thou- 
 sand dollars, were designed and published 
 by Mr. Fulton at his own expense and 
 in his will he bequeathed them to Mrs. 
 Barlow, and also provided that an in- 
 
2 2 The Story of 
 
 debtedness of two thousand dollars to him 
 from the estate of Mr. Barlow, who died 
 without children, should not be collected 
 until after her death. 
 
 Mr. Barlow returned to the United States 
 and in i8i i was appointed Minister to France 
 succeeding General John Armstrong. He 
 died December 24, 181 2, at Zamowice, a 
 village near Cracow, on his return from 
 Wilna, whither he had been summoned for 
 a conference with the Emperor Napoleon. 
 
 During Mr. Fulton's residence in England 
 and France, he commanded the finest scien- 
 tific, artistic, literary, and diplomatic society. 
 After going to Paris, he learned French and 
 acquired a fair knowledge of German and 
 Italian. He also studied higher mathematics, 
 physics, chemistry, and perspective and 
 such other sciences as were connected 
 with his experiments in steam and subma- 
 rine navigation and torpedoes. He had 
 already acquired much knowledge of the 
 steam-engine and its application to navi- 
 gation, and it seems as if he were simply 
 
Robert Fulton 23 
 
 waiting to be brought into relation with 
 the right person, to evolve from his great 
 brain the invention that has done so much 
 for the development of his own and other 
 lands and for the comfort and convenience 
 of the people. At a dinner given by Mr. 
 Barlow during Mr. Fulton's residence in 
 his family, he sat next to Prince Talley- 
 rand, and conversed with him at great 
 length about his inventions, especially all 
 he expected to accomplish with the steam- 
 boat. The Prince was charmed with Mr. 
 Fulton's appearance and manners, and in- 
 terested in his conversation, but said after- 
 wards he was overwhelmed with sadness, 
 for he could not but feel that he was mad. 
 The house in which Robert Fulton lived 
 while in Paris, No. 50 rue Vaugirard, was 
 occupied by General Armstrong while Min- 
 ister to France, and he found the walls of 
 the rooms used by Fulton covered with plans 
 of steamboats he had drawn. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE DUCHESSE DE GONTAUT's RECOLLECTIONS 
 OF ROBERT FULTON 
 
 It is interesting to get a glimpse of Robert 
 
 Fulton while abroad as we do in the Memoirs 
 
 of the Duchesse de Gontaut. Her father, 
 
 Count Montault Navailles, superintended 
 
 the education of the Children of France 
 
 (Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X). 
 
 She was bom in 1773 and in 1 793 was married 
 
 to the Vicomte Gontaut Biron in London, 
 
 where they had fled to escape the horrors 
 
 of the French Revolution. She was a person 
 
 of the highest rank and of unusual beauty, 
 
 and during the Restoration was Gouvemante 
 
 to the Children of France, and followed the 
 
 wanderings of the Court of Charles X, after 
 
 he had abdicated in favor of the Duke of 
 
 Bordeaux, his grandson, the son of the Due 
 
 de Berri who was so cruelly assassinated 
 
 24 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 25 
 
 and who would have been known as Henri V, 
 if the crown had not been conferred by the 
 people upon Louis Philippe. The names of 
 Madame de Gontaut's husband and mother 
 were, during the French Revolution, on the 
 list of proscribed emigres, and as it became 
 necessary for some member of the family to 
 visit France in connection with the manage- 
 ment of their property, Madame de Gontaut 
 offered to go . A passport was procured which 
 described her as Madame Francois, a lace 
 merchant going to France on business. The 
 consul from Hamburg, Mr. Schemelpeninck, 
 it was stated, knew the parents of Madame 
 Frangois and would receive her cordially in 
 case she required assistance. 
 
 Madame de Gontaut gives us the follow- 
 ing accoimt of Mr. Fulton. She says she 
 saw no one on the vessel in which she crossed 
 the Channel she had ever seen before, but 
 states that "an Englishman came and spoke 
 to me perceiving that I spoke both English 
 and French, he asked me if I would not 
 interpret for him. I promised him I would ; 
 
26 The Story of 
 
 and he was very grateful, as he was going 
 to France on important business." On 
 arriving at Calais Madame de Gontaut 
 was arrested and charged with being a rich 
 Smigree, wife of a cordon bleu, and her pass- 
 port was claimed to be false. She was 
 taken before the Committee of Safety and 
 put under the surveillance of Madame Grand- 
 sire, who was proprietor of a hotel, and a 
 bailiff was detailed to be lodged there at her 
 expense. As she was leaving the room, 
 "the Englishman" who had asked her to 
 interpret for him told her the object of his 
 journey. He proved to be Mr. Fulton, the 
 inventor of the steamboat, and had a letter 
 recommending him to Monsieur Barthelemy, 
 then one of the Directors of the French 
 Republic, which procured for him a certain 
 consideration. 
 
 Madame de Gontaut was detained at 
 Calais three weeks, during which she was 
 frequently examined by the Committee of 
 Safety. Mr. Fulton, discovering how bad- 
 ly she was situated and that the authori- 
 
Robert Fulton 27 
 
 ties intended sending her to Paris under 
 arrest, proposed many plans for her es- 
 cape, and finally suggested that the easi- 
 est way was for her to marry him, and 
 upon her telling him she was married already 
 he said: "Oh, what a pity, what a pity! I 
 would make you rich. I am going to make 
 my fortune in Paris. I have invented a 
 steamboat and I am going to set the whole 
 world going. Besides I have invented a 
 way of blowing up an enemy's fleet by means 
 of submarine boats; nothing could be easier. 
 And it will be quite as easy to save you ; only 
 say the word, and I will go and claim you. I 
 will marry you and that will be the end of 
 it." 
 
 Madame de Gontaut finally succeeded 
 in communicating with Mr. Schemelpeninck, 
 who secured her release. One day she was 
 walking in Paris with her brother-in-law, 
 the Marquis de Gontaut, when Mr. Fulton 
 rushed up and seized both of her hands and, 
 addressing her as Madame Frangois, ex- 
 pressed his delight at seeing her. Her escort 
 
28 The Story of 
 
 informed him he had the honor of addressing 
 Mademoiselle de Montault. This had been 
 her maiden name and was assumed as a 
 matter of prudence. Mr. Fulton said : ' ' No, 
 no, it is Madame Francois. She is married ; 
 she told me so at Calais"; and then asked to 
 have the name repeated and wrote it on a 
 card. He immediately commenced to talk 
 about his object in coming to Paris, — to blow 
 up vessels and to run boats under the water 
 and by steam; and the Marquis, supposing 
 him to be mad, cut the interview short. 
 
 Madame de Gontaut was afterwards at 
 the opera in London, in the Duke of Port- 
 land's box with Lord Clarendon and several 
 other friends, when she saw Mr. Fulton 
 sitting in the pit. She told his story to her 
 friends who begged her to bow graciously 
 to him in case he looked up. He did and was 
 so cordially greeted that he came to the box 
 at once, and grasping her by the hand said, 
 "Mademoiselle Montault, what a pleasure 
 to meet you here — I could hardly believe 
 my eyes. " One of her friends said : ' * Monsieur 
 
Robert Fulton 29 
 
 is mistaken, for Madame is the Vicomtesse 
 de Gontaut. " Fulton then said, "This is too 
 much. She is always changing her name. 
 It is enough to drive one mad. If there is 
 any joke about it I would like to laugh too. " 
 Madame de Gontaut, after introducing him 
 to her friends, made him sit down and ex- 
 plained the mystery of Paris, Calais, and 
 London. He said, *' I congratulate your 
 husband on having a wife who at one time 
 was on the point of turning my head or of 
 sending me to the devil." This meeting 
 with Lord Clarendon was of great use to 
 Mr. Fulton. They saw much of each other, 
 and before returning to the United States 
 Mr. Fulton called upon Madame de Gontaut 
 and thanked her for having procured for 
 him, through Lord Clarendon, access to 
 ministers and men of science, who appre- 
 ciated him and made a trial of his steamboat 
 on the Seine in 1802 possible. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 IN FRANCE EXPERIMENTS WITH TORPEDOES 
 
 AND SUBMARINE BOAT — RETURN TO ENG- 
 LAND 
 
 As we have learned, Mr. Fulton was 
 dependent upon his own efforts for support, 
 and we find him at all times ready to work. 
 After he was settled with his friend Barlow, 
 in partnership with him, he established 
 the first panorama exhibited in Paris. He 
 painted the pictures and the venture proved 
 most successful, both partners receiving large 
 l^retums. He also painted portraits, one of 
 Mr. Barlow, an engraving of which can be 
 found in The Life and Letters of Joel Barlow 
 by Charles Burr Todd. His efforts and 
 energies were, however, at this period turned 
 in the direction of experiments with tor- 
 pedoes and submarine navigation. In De- 
 
 ^ cember, 1797, with Mr. Barlow, he made an 
 
 30 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 3 1 
 
 experiment on the Seine with a torpedo 
 boat he had constructed, to impart to tor- 
 pedoes loaded with gunpowder a progressive 
 motion to a given point and there explode 
 them. The first experiment was not success- 
 ful, both of the experimenters being nearly 
 drowned. As was always the case with 
 Robert Fulton, he was not daunted by 
 failure, but with renewed energy continued 
 his experiments imtil he had evolved a sub- 
 marine boat which could be navigated suc- 
 cessfully and project torpedoes as proposed. 
 All his accumulations had been spent 
 in these experiments and he went to France 
 hoping to interest the French govern- 
 ment in them. He brought from England 
 as has been already stated a letter of intro- 
 duction to M. Barthelemy, one of the mem- 
 bers of the Directory, and soon after 
 arriving became acquainted with M. Camot, 
 who was the ablest member of the original 
 Directory and afterwards Napoleon's Min- 
 ister of War, and was called by him the 
 "Organizer of Victory." This gave Fulton 
 
32 The Story of 
 
 considerable advantage in his dealings with 
 the government until the downfall of Camot. 
 He was listened to with interest at first and 
 was led to expect his invention would be 
 purchased. Greatly encouraged, he contin- 
 ued his experiments and spent the summer 
 of 1800 at Havre, with the intention of 
 trying his torpedoes on the British frigates 
 with which that port was blockaded. 
 
 In the following winter he constructed a 
 plunging boat and in the spring of 1801 he 
 went to Brest, to make a trial of her. The 
 fact that from motives of economy he had 
 used iron instead of copper or brass in her 
 construction hampered him on account of the 
 rust, but he made a number of remarkable 
 experiments. On July 3d, he descended 
 with three companions on board to a depth 
 of from five to twenty-five feet, and remained 
 in darkness one hour below the surface. In 
 his next descent he used candles but they 
 so exhausted the air he quickly returned 
 to the surface. On July 24, 1801, having 
 put a window an inch and a half in diameter 
 
Robert Fulton 33 
 
 near the bow of his boat, he descended and 
 found the light sufficient to enable him to 
 count the minutes on his watch. This boat 
 had one mast, a mainsail, and a jib. On 
 July 26th, he made another trial and found 
 her sailing qualities equal to any ordinary 
 boat. In two minutes he struck her mast 
 and sails and plunged. He then placed two 
 men at the engine by which she was moved 
 and one at the helm. He managed the 
 machine by which the boat was balanced 
 and could do it with one hand. In seven 
 minutes he found on coming to the surface 
 she had moved five hundred yards. Sub- 
 sequent trials demonstrated that he could 
 turn her around under water, that she was 
 obedient to the helm and the magnetic needle 
 worked as well under water as on the surface. 
 On August 7 th he descended with three com- 
 panions to a depth of five feet; at the ex- 
 piration of one hour and forty minutes he 
 commenced to use air from a reservoir he had 
 taken with him, and remained below four hours 
 and twenty minutes without discomfort. 
 
34 The Story of 
 
 For the purpose of testing his torpedoes 
 a small boat with a bomb containing twenty 
 pounds of powder was anchored in the harbor 
 and Mr. Fulton, having approached to within 
 two hundred yards of her, struck her with 
 a torpedo and blew her into atoms. During 
 the summer of 1801 none of the British 
 ships approached near enough to afford him 
 an opportunity to prove what he could do 
 with his torpedoes. 
 
 Mr. Fulton's plans had been rejected 
 by the Directory, but a change having 
 taken place as to one of its members, he 
 prepared a model of his boat and pre- 
 sented his claim; a commission was ap- 
 pointed which, at the end of three months, 
 rejected his plan. He then offered his in- 
 vention to Holland through Mr. Schemel- 
 peninck, its Minister, but it was declined. 
 He planned a larger submarine boat which 
 was not built on account of a lack of funds. 
 
 After Napoleon had become First Consul 
 and had been victorious in Italy, Egypt, and 
 Austria, England remained his implacable foe 
 
Robert Fulton 35 
 
 and her fleets ruled the seas. An attack upon 
 her was contemplated and in the words of the 
 French orator, M. Riouffe, all France needed 
 was "a fair breeze and thirty- six hours" to 
 cross the Channel and invade with armies 
 that had been everywhere victorious the 
 island so long and successfully guarded by 
 Lord Nelson and the British tars. This sit- 
 uation was appreciated by Mr. Fulton, who, 
 feeling sure of the success of steam navigation, 
 offered the result of his researches and ex- 
 periments in that line to the French govern- 
 ment. In 1 801 he wrote to the First Consul 
 in these words: **The sea which separates 
 you from your enemy gives him an immense 
 advantage over you. Aided in turn by the 
 winds and the tempests, he defies you from 
 his inaccessible island. I have it in my power 
 to cause this obstacle which protects him to 
 disappear. In spite of all his fleets, and in 
 any weather, I can transport your armies 
 to his territory in a few hours, without fear 
 of the tempests and without depending upon 
 the winds. I am prepared to submit my 
 
3^ The Story of 
 
 plans. " A commission, composed of Volney, 
 La Place, and Monge, was appointed from 
 the Academy of Sciences to investigate the 
 proposal, which was rejected as to the steam- 
 boat, but an allowance of ten thousand 
 francs was made for experimenting with the 
 plunging boat. Mr. Fulton demanded as pay 
 the cost of his boat — called the Nautilus, — 
 forty thousand francs, from which the sum 
 of ten thousand francs allowed by the govern- 
 ment was to be deducted; prize money for 
 each vessel destroyed, and an official recog- 
 nition of himself and his men as belligerents, 
 so that they would not be hung as pirates 
 if captured. He convinced the commission 
 of his ability to accomplish what he pro- 
 posed, but the Minister of Marine, Admiral 
 Pleville-le-Pelley, and the Maritime Prefect 
 at Brest, M. Caffarelle, insisted it would be 
 impossible to give commissions to men using 
 such appliances in war, as they would surely 
 be hung if captured, and his plans were 
 rejected. 
 
 When Robert Fulton first visited France, 
 
Robert Fulton 37 
 
 the atrocities and horrors of the Revolution 
 were over and the recollection of them was 
 dimmed by the bright days of freedom which 
 seemed to have dawned on the land that 
 had been for centuries ruled by despots and 
 plundered by a privileged class. He was 
 filled with enthusiasm, but a closer acquain- 
 tance with those in authority and the acces- 
 sion of Napoleon to the office of First Consul 
 and his high-handed manner of doing things 
 convinced him his hopes were groundless, 
 and that the people of France had exchanged 
 one despot for another. He no longer felt 
 called upon to aid her with his inventive 
 skill, and possibly incensed by the scant 
 courtesy with which the First Consul had 
 treated him, he looked elsewhere. 
 
 His experiments with his submarine boat 
 and torpedoes had attracted the attention of 
 the British government and caused great un- 
 easiness. An association was formed in 1803 \ 
 by Lord Stanhope to obtain information upon 
 the subject. In a secret session of the House 
 of Lords, Lord Stanhope stated that sub- 
 
38 The Story of 
 
 marine navigation had been so perfected in 
 France by Robert Fulton as to render the 
 destruction of ships absolutely sure. In 
 the summer of 1803, Lord Sidmouth, who 
 was Prime Minister, communicated with 
 Mr. Fulton and arranged for him to meet 
 an agent of the British government at Am- 
 sterdam. He went there in October and 
 waited three months, and the British agent 
 failing to come, he returned to Paris. The 
 agent came later to Paris, bringing a letter 
 which invited Mr. Fulton to come to London 
 and held out sufficient inducements, and in 
 May, 1804, he went there. Mr. Pitt had 
 succeeded Lord Sidmouth in office and in a 
 short time after Mr. Fulton's arrival he 
 granted him a personal interview. After 
 displaying and explaining his drawings, 
 Mr. Pitt remarked that if the torpedo was 
 introduced it could not fail to annihilate 
 all military marines. A commission was 
 appointed to examine the invention and 
 report. They decided that the submarine 
 boat was impracticable and advised testing 
 
Robert Fulton 39 
 
 the torpedo. An attempt made to blow up 
 the French fleet in the harbor of Boulogne 
 was unsuccessful. 
 
 In October, 1805, ^ brig of two hundred 
 tons, furnished for the experiment, was 
 destroyed by a torpedo in the presence 
 of the Prime Minister and a large num- 
 ber of naval officers. The ministry, after 
 deliberating some time, decided it would 
 be impolitic for the greatest maritime 
 power to introduce a system of warfare 
 that would put her on a level with other 
 nations and suggested that the inventor 
 would be amply compensated if he would 
 consent to have his invention suppressed. 
 This Mr. Fulton declined to do, stating his 
 inventions would always be at the service 
 of his country if needed. It appears that 
 Mr. Fulton was to have received ;;£4o,ooo if 
 successful, but having been only partly so 
 he was treated with liberality, for in October, 
 1806, he wrote Mr. Barlow he had been 
 allowed on an arbitration ;£i 0,000 and a 
 salary of ;£5ooo. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 ROBERT FULTON AND CHANCELLOR LIVINGSTON 
 
 MEET IN PARIS THEY EXPERIMENT WITH 
 
 STEAMBOATS AND FORM PARTNERSHIP 
 
 FULTON RETURNS TO ENGLAND AND SAILS 
 FOR UNITED STATES 
 
 Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, who 
 was a great-grandson of Robert Livingston, 
 the first Lord of the Manor of Livingston, 
 was appointed Minister to France by Pres- 
 ident Jefferson in 1801. While in Paris he 
 met Robert Fulton, and the congeniality 
 of their tastes and similarity of their pur- 
 suits soon established an intimacy between 
 them. The Chancellor, in addition to being 
 a man of large fortune, and belonging to an 
 opulent, influential family, several of w^hose 
 members had especially distinguished them- 
 selves, had filled high official positions and 
 
 possessed great political power. He was 
 
 40 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 41 
 
 a man of much cultivation with a decided 
 turn towards scientific researches. He had , 
 investigated the appHcation of steam to 
 navigation in 1797, and employed one Nesbit 
 to construct in a bay in the Hudson River 
 just south of Tivoli a steamboat. In March, 
 1798, he obtained from the legislature of 
 New York a grant of the exclusive right to 
 navigate by steam the waters within the 
 limits of the State for twenty years, provided 
 he should produce and keep running at reg- 
 ular and convenient intervals a boat of the 
 average speed of not less than four miles an 
 hour. The passage of this bill was easily 
 secured, although many of the members of 
 the legislature considered it rather a disre- 
 spect to and trifling with the law-making 
 power to request them to enact a law the 
 enforcement of which seemed so improbable. 
 The boat constructed by the Chancellor was 
 of thirty tons but proved to be deficient in 
 speed. He however continued his efforts 
 to solve the problem. He wrote to Thomas 
 Jefferson several letters upon the subject. 
 
42 The Story of 
 
 Mr. Fulton, after their meeting in Paris, 
 having disclosed to Mr. Livingston his discov- 
 eries and experiments in regard to the steam- 
 boat, which were those about which he had 
 corresponded with Lord Stanhope in 1793, en- 
 tered into an agreement with him to make fur- 
 ther experiments. Some made at Plombieres 
 on a little rivulet which runs through that 
 village mth a set of ingenious models he had 
 constructed during the summer of 1802, 
 convinced both Fulton and Li\4ngston of 
 the superiority of the paddle-wheel over all 
 other devices. Mr. Fulton prepared a work- 
 ing model of an intended steamboat which 
 he deposited with a commission of French 
 savants. The boat was completed early 
 \ in 1803, ^^ the joint expense of Fulton and 
 Livingston. When all was ready for the 
 experiment, Mr. Fulton was aroused from 
 his bed one morning and informed that the 
 boat had broken in pieces and sunk to the 
 bottom of the Seine. He rushed to the place 
 and foimd that the boat, not having been 
 built strongly enough for its machinery, 
 
Robert Fulton 43 
 
 had broken in two and sunk. He imme- 
 diately went to work and after twenty-four 
 hours of effort, part of which he was in the 
 icy water, without rest or refreshment, suc- 
 ceeded in raising her. The machinery was 
 little injured but the boat had to be almost 
 entirely rebuilt, and was completed in July, 
 1803. Sh^ was sixty-six feet long by eight 
 feet wide and was successfully operated, 
 but did not meet expectations as to speed. 
 This the inventors claimed was due to lack 
 of power in the engines. They were, how- 
 ever, so pleased with the result, Mr. Ful- 
 ton's proposition to the French government 
 having been rejected, an agreement was 
 entered into between him and Chancellor 
 Livingston under which Fulton was to re- 
 turn to the United States and continue 
 experimenting and Livingston was to fur-|i 
 nish the funds required and procure all'l 
 necessary legislation. 
 
 The Recueil Polytechnique des Fonts et 
 Chauss^es, Paris, 1803, contains the following 
 account of one of their experiments: 
 
44 The Story of 
 
 "On the 2ist Thermidor [9 August, 1803], 
 a trial was made of a new invention, of which 
 the complete and brilliant success should have 
 important consequences for the commerce 
 and internal navigation of France. During 
 the past two or three months there has been 
 seen at the end of quay Chaillot a boat of 
 curious appearance, equipped with two 
 large wheels, mounted on an axle like a 
 chariot, while behind these wheels was a 
 kind of large stove with a pipe, as if there 
 was some kind of a small fire engine {pompe 
 a feu) intended to operate the wheels of the 
 boat. Several weeks ago some evil-minded 
 persons threw this structure down. The 
 builder, having repaired this damage, re- 
 ceived, the day before yesterday, a most 
 flattering reward for his labor and talent. 
 
 "At six o'clock in the evening, aided by 
 only three persons, he put his boat in motion, 
 with two other boats attached behind it, 
 and for an hour and a half he produced the 
 curious spectacle of a boat moved by wheels, 
 like a chariot, these wheels being provided 
 
Robert Fulton 4S 
 
 with paddles or fiat plates, and being moved 
 by a fire engine. 
 
 "In following it along the quay the speed, 
 against the current of the Seine, appeared to 
 us about that of a rapid pedestrian, that is, 
 about 2400 toises an hour; while in going 
 downstream it was more rapid; it ascended 
 and descended four times from Les Bons- 
 Hommes as far as the pump of Chaillot; 
 it was manoeuvred with facility, turning 
 to the right and left, came to anchor, started 
 again, and passed by the swimming school. 
 
 "One of the boats took to the quay a 
 number of savants and representatives of 
 the Institute, among whom were Citizens 
 Bossut, Camot, Prony, Perrier, Volney, etc. 
 Doubtless they will make a report which 
 will give to this discovery all the 6clat which 
 it merits; for this mechanism, applied to our 
 rivers, the Seine, the Loire, and the Rhone, 
 will have most advantageous consequences 
 upon our internal navigation. The tows 
 of barges which now require four months 
 to come from Nantes to Paris, would arrive 
 
4^ The Story of 
 
 promptly in ten to fifteen days. The author 
 of this brilHant invention is M. Fulton, an 
 American and a celebrated mechanic." 
 
 The day before the trial of his boat on 
 the Seine Mr. Fulton wrote to Messrs. Boul- 
 ton & Watt of Birmingham, England, the 
 following letter: - 
 
 "Paris, the 6th of August, 1803. 
 
 *' Messrs. Boulton & Watt, Birmingham: 
 "Gentlemen — If there is not a law which 
 prohibits the exportation of steam engines 
 to the United States of America, or if you 
 can get a permit to export parts of an en- 
 gine, will you be so good as to make me a 
 Cylinder of a 24 horse power double effect, 
 the piston making a 4 foot stroke. 
 Also the piston and piston rod, 
 The Valves and movements for opening 
 and shutting them 
 The air pump piston and rod 
 The condenser with its communications to 
 the cylinder and air pump. 
 
 *'The bottom of the cylinder cast in form 
 as in the drawing and the dispositions of 
 
Robert Fulton 47 
 
 the parts as near as possible as they stand 
 in the drawing. The other parts can be 
 made at New York, and as it will save the 
 expense of transport, and they require a 
 particular arrangement which must be done 
 while I am present, I prefer having them 
 done there. Therefore, if it is permitted to 
 export the above parts, you will confer on 
 me a great obligation by favouring me with 
 them, and placing me the next on your list. 
 When finished please to pack them in such 
 a manner as not to receive injury, and send 
 them to the nearest port which I suppose is 
 Liverpool, to be shipped for New York to 
 the address of Brockholst Livingston Esqre.l 
 The Amount of the expenses will be placed 
 to your order in the hands of Mr. George 
 Wm. Erving, American Consul, Nicholas 
 lane, Lombard Street, No. 10, London. 
 
 ''The situation for which this engine is 
 designed and the machinery which is to be 
 combined with it, will not admit of placing 
 the Condensor under the cylinder as usual, 
 but I hope the communicating tube to the con- 
 
48 The Story of 
 
 denser, will not render the condensation less 
 perfect, or Injure the working of the engine. 
 
 "Should you find a difficulty in getting a 
 permit to export the parts above mentioned, 
 I hope to be able to obtain it through our 
 Minister Mr. Monroe. And as there is 
 some difficulty in passing letters to and 
 from Paris and Birmingham, which may 
 lose much time. You vAW be so good as to 
 furnish me the above parts as soon as pos- 
 sible without waiting to hear further from me. 
 
 ''Please to write me as soon as possible 
 under cover to Mr. Erving as before men- 
 tioned, in which I beg you to Answer the 
 following Questions : — 
 
 "What must be the size of the boiler for 
 such an engine? How much space for the 
 water, and how much for the steam? What 
 is the most improved method of making 
 the Boiler, and economic mode of setting 
 it? How many poimds of coal will such an 
 engine require per hour, and what is the 
 expence at Birmingham? 
 
 "Can you inform me what is the difference 
 
Robert Fulton 49 
 
 in heating with coals or wood, As in most 
 cases wood must be used in America, And 
 must not the furnace be made different 
 when wood is to be used? 
 
 ''What will be the consequence of con- 
 densing with water a little salt? As in the 
 place where the engine is to work the water 
 is brackish? 
 
 "What will be the Interior and exterior 
 diameter of the cylinder, and its length, 
 and what will be the Velocity of the piston per 
 second ? This information will enable me to 
 combine the other parts of the machinery, 
 
 ' ' When can the engine be finished, and how 
 much will be the expence? Your favouring 
 me with the execution of this order, and 
 answering the above questions, will very 
 much oblige your most Obedient, 
 
 "Robert Fulton. 
 
 " Rue Vaugirard No. 50 A Paris. 
 
 "Can the position and arrangement of the 
 Cylinder Condensor and air pump be ad- 
 hered to, as in the drawing, without In- 
 juring the working of the engine?*' 
 
 4 
 
50 The Story of 
 
 This letter was enclosed in a sheet on 
 which was the drawing mentioned; . . . 
 The manuscript note reiterates the instruc- 
 tions in the letter. 
 
 This order was declined in a letter dated 
 October 4, 1803, Boulton & Watt having 
 been unable to obtain the permission to 
 export required. 
 
 After the signing of the treaty of Amiens 
 in March, 1802, under which negotiations for 
 peace were made, Mr. Fulton seems to have 
 interested himself especially in the steam- 
 boat, and early in 1803 ^^ ^^^ made another 
 proposal to the French government. Citi- 
 zens Molar, Bandell, and Montgolfier (the 
 inventor of the hot air balloon) were ap- 
 pointed commissioners to investigate. 
 
 The following is a letter to them from 
 Robert Fulton: 
 
 "Paris, 4 Pluviose, Year XI. 
 "[25 January, 1803.] 
 
 ''Robert Fulton to Citizens Molar, 
 
 Bandell, and Montgolfier. 
 "Friends of the Arts. — I send you here- 
 
Robert Fulton 51 
 
 with sketch designs of a machine which I am 
 about to construct with which I propose 
 soon to make experiments upon the tow- 
 ing of boats upon rivers by the aid of fire 
 engines. My original object in attempting 
 this was to put it in practice upon the 
 great rivers of America where there are 
 no roads suitable for hauling nor indeed 
 are any hardly practicable, and where, in 
 consequence, the cost of navigation by the 
 aid of steam would be put in comparison 
 with the labor of men and not with that of 
 horses as in France. 
 
 "You can see that such a discovery, if suc- 
 cessful, would be infinitely more important 
 in America than in France where there 
 exist everywhere roads suitable for haul- 
 ing, and companies established for the 
 transport of merchandise at such moderate 
 charges that I doubt very much if a steam- 
 boat, however perfect it might be, could be 
 able to gain anything over horses for mer- 
 chandise. But for passengers it is possible 
 to gain something because of the speed. 
 
$2 The Story of 
 
 "In these plans you will find nothing new, 
 since this is not the case with paddle wheels, 
 an appliance which has often been tried 
 and always abandoned because it was be- 
 lieved that it had a disadvantageous action 
 in the water. But, after the experiments 
 which I have made already I am convinced 
 that the fault is not in the wheel, but in 
 the ignorance concerning its proportions, its 
 speed, the power required, and probably 
 in the mechanical combination. 
 
 "I have proved by very accurate experi- 
 ment that paddle wheels are much to be 
 preferred to bands of paddles, and in con- 
 sequence, although the wheels are not a new 
 application, yet nevertheless I have com- 
 bined them in such a manner that a large 
 portion of the power of the engine acts to 
 propel the boat in the same way as if they 
 rolled upon the ground; the combination is 
 infinitely better than anything which has 
 as yet been done up to the present time, and 
 it is in fact a new discovery. 
 
 "For the transport of merchandise I pro- 
 
Robert Fulton 53 
 
 pose to use a boat with an engine arranged 
 to draw one or several loaded barges, each 
 one so close to the preceding one that the 
 water cannot flow between to make re- 
 sistance. I have already done this in my 
 patent for small channels, and this is in- 
 dispensable for boats moved by fire engines. 
 
 "Suppose the boat A, with the engine, 
 presents to the water a face of 20 feet, but 
 inclined at an angle of 50 degrees, it will be 
 necessary to have a machine of 420 pounds 
 power making 3 feet per second to move 
 one league per hour in still water. If the 
 boats B and C have their faces parallel to 
 that of A they will each also require a force 
 of 420 pounds, that is to say 1200 pounds 
 for the three, while if they are connected in 
 the manner in which I have indicated, the 
 force of 420 will suffice for all, and this 
 great economy of power is too important 
 to be neglected in such an undertaking. 
 "Citizens: 
 
 "When my experiments are ready I shall 
 have the pleasure to invite you to see them, 
 
54 The Story of 
 
 and if they are successful I reserve the 
 privilege of presenting my labors to the re- 
 public or of taking for them such advan- 
 tages as the law may authorize. At the 
 present time I place these notes in your 
 hands in order that if any similar project 
 comes before you before my experiments 
 are completed, they shall not have the 
 
 preference over mine. 
 
 "With respectful salutations, 
 
 ''Robert Fulton. 
 
 "No. 50 Rue Vaugirard." 
 
 On Mr. Fulton's arrival in England in 
 1804, he went to Birmingham and made 
 some new specifications for the work. In 
 September, 1806, Mr. Fulton wrote to his 
 friend Barlow, who was then in the United 
 States, that he was about sailing for home 
 and "that the produce of my studies and 
 experience may not be lost to my coimtry, 
 I have made out a complete set of drawings 
 and descriptions of my whole system of 
 submarine attack, and another set of draw- 
 ings with description of the steamboat. 
 
Robert Fulton 55 
 
 These, with my will, I shall put in a tin 
 cylinder, sealed, and leave them in the care 
 of General Lyman, not to be opened unless 
 I am lost." 
 
 The vessel by which the cylinder was sent 
 to this country was wrecked, but the cylinder 
 was recovered; its contents, however, were 
 badly damaged by the sea water, some being , 
 entirely illegible and others deciphered only 
 with great difficulty. 
 
 Mr. Fulton sailed from Falmouth in 
 October, 1806, and arrived in New York 
 via Halifax December 13 th. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ARRIVES IN NEW YORK — EFFORTS TO RAISE 
 MONEY FOR BUILDING STEAMBOAT 
 
 Robert Fulton's return to his native 
 land must have filled him with many emo- 
 tions. He had sailed away to seek his 
 fortune twenty years before, and in that 
 period had elevated himself from a position 
 of obscurity to one of eminence. He had 
 worked hard, his ambition had spurred him 
 on to great achievements. He had through 
 his talents been brought into relations with 
 scientists and statesmen and had inter- 
 ested them in his inventions and asso- 
 ciated with persons of distinguished rank, 
 and attracted and charmed them all with 
 his ability, earnestness, enthusiasm, ap- 
 pearance, and manners. He had gone forth 
 friendless and had returned possessing the 
 
 confidence of some of the foremost men in 
 
 56 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 57 
 
 his own and other lands. There seemed to 
 be nothing more needed to crown his efforts 
 except opportunity, health, and years. Chan- 
 cellor Livingston, — with whom he had en- 
 tered into partnership in Paris and by whom 
 he was induced to return to the United 
 States, — after the signing of the Louisiana 
 Purchase treaty, which had been chiefly ef- 
 fected through his diplomacy, in December, 
 1804, left Paris and having travelled exten- 
 sively in Europe and England, returned to 
 the United States. He had every temptation 
 to lead a life of leisure, but such a thing 
 would have been impossible for a man of his 
 active temperament. The plans formed by 
 him and Robert Fulton in Paris received 
 his constant attention and on the arrival 
 of Mr. Fulton in New York, the latter found 
 matters in such condition that he was able 
 to proceed with his undertaking at once. 
 The vessel with which he would soon star- 
 tle the world had been already commenced 
 according to the plans agreed upon in Paris, 
 and the machinery from which her engine 
 
58 The Story of 
 
 was to be constructed had already arrived. 
 Mr. Fulton devoted himself to the work 
 with characteristic energy and enthusiasm, 
 and after the machinery had been removed 
 from the storehouse where it had been held 
 
 '^ for some time waiting for the Chancellor 
 to pay the charges, the work went on rapidly. 
 From time to time Chancellor Livingston 
 is gibed at in newspaper reminiscences and 
 so-called historical articles in magazines, 
 for the reason that he did not always appear 
 to have ready cash to proceed with his 
 steamboat venture. We have become so 
 accustomed in these days to millionaires 
 and to hearing of enormous undertakings 
 the successful carrying out of w^hich required 
 great expenditures of ready money, that 
 
 Twe forget how little cash was possessed by 
 any one in the United States one hundred 
 years ago. The Chancellor and his family 
 owned large tracts of land the revenues from 
 which enabled them to live in a manner 
 befitting their fortune and station but it 
 is very doubtful if any of them had much 
 
Robert Fulton 59 
 
 ready money. This fact did not deter him 
 from pushing the work on his steamboat 
 as rapidly as he could. There were times 
 while the first steamboat was being con- 
 structed when it seemed as if the enterprise 
 would have to be abandoned on account of 
 the lack of funds, which, however, always 
 seemed to come, although as the result of 
 earnest efforts and at the end of anxious 
 hours. 
 
 Robert Fulton did his share towards 
 raising the necessary money. In view of 
 the success of Fulton's invention, one can- 
 not fail to wonder at his experience with 
 the capitalists who refused to assist him. 
 The contract between the Chancellor and^ 
 Mr. Fulton had provided that the former 
 should bear the entire expense of building 
 the vessel and the latter had agreed to 
 assist in raising the fimds necessary. Hav- 
 ing little capital, he relied on persuading 
 some one to join them and he interviewed 
 several men of property and gave informa- 
 tion such as might attract others, offering 
 
6o The Story of 
 
 to sell for the cash required a one-third 
 interest in the invention, with all rights 
 accruing, but found no one who was willing 
 to have anything to do with such "a crazy 
 venture" as it was called. The Chancellor, 
 however, worked with a will and converted 
 such property as was available into cash, 
 and Robert Fulton went in and out among 
 the friends he had quickly gained after his 
 arrival, and he seemed to possess a peculiar 
 faculty in attaching friends who had great 
 faith in him and were unable to resist his 
 importunities. He proved by his confidence 
 in the undertaking and the progress which 
 was made as the months passed his faith 
 in the project and won unwilling and doubt- 
 ing helpers by his power of persuasion. 
 
 There is an anecdote that at a moment 
 when one thousand dollars was absolutely 
 ^needed, Mr. Fulton went to an intimate 
 friend, and, after an entire evening spent in 
 trying to convince him that his steamboat 
 would be a success and an interview the 
 next morning, the friend agreed to let him 
 
Robert Fulton 6i 
 
 have one hundred dollars, provided he 
 could induce some of his friends to advance 
 the remaining nine hundred. He succeeded, 
 but with great difficulty, — the individuals 
 who made up the balance refusing to sub- 
 scribe their names, through fear lest their 
 folly should become known. The months 
 between Mr. Fulton's arrival in New York 
 and the completion of the steamboat must 
 have been full of anxiety for both him and 
 the Chancellor. The former was driven 
 with work upon the steamboat, besides 
 which he devoted much time to experiments 
 with torpedoes. 
 
 As soon as Chancellor Livingston had en- 
 tered into business relations with Mr. Fulton, 
 he procured the passage of an act by the ; 
 legislature of New York, which renewed the 
 rights given him under the act of 1798 (see 
 ante, page 41) and granted him and Robert 
 Fulton jointly the exclusive right to navigate 
 the waters of the State of New York with 
 vessels moved by steam for twenty years, 
 provided they produced within two years a 
 
62 Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 boat of not less than twenty tons burden 
 which could attain to a speed of four miles 
 an hour against the current. The Chan- 
 cellor obtained renewals of this act from 
 time to time until he and Mr. Fulton were 
 prepared for their experiment. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 RECEIVED WITH HOMAGE — EMPLOYED BY 
 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EXPERIMENT 
 WITH TORPEDOES — TRIAL TRIP OF THE 
 CLERMONT 
 
 As soon as Mr. Fulton arrived in New 
 York he foiind that his inventions had 
 aroused much curiosity and given him a po- 
 sition of great distinction. He was received 
 by Chancellor Livingston and his family and 
 by the principal people of the place with 
 most marked attention, and wherever he 
 went he was surrounded with crowds anxious 
 to see the man who was attempting to do 
 such great things in navigation and warfare. 
 His experiments with torpedoes seem to 
 have especially interested the public and on 
 the advice of friends he soon visited Wash- 
 ington and presented his plans to the au- 
 
 63 
 
64 The Story of 
 
 thorities. They were received with so much 
 approval that an appropriation was made 
 to enable him to continue his experiments. 
 On his return to New York he delivered a 
 lecture upon the subject of submarine ex- 
 plosives to which he invited the officials and 
 chief citizens. He was listened to with 
 marked interest, and his audience displayed 
 much curiosity concerning the copper cylin- 
 ders and clockwork composing the machines. 
 This, however, was turned to consternation 
 and a hurried flight from the room when the 
 lecturer drew from one of the torpedoes a 
 peg and informed them that it was charged 
 with one hundred and seventy pounds of 
 powder, and if he allowed the clock attached 
 to run fifteen minutes longer they would all 
 be blown to atoms. After replacing the 
 peg and stopping the clock, Mr. Fulton had 
 great difficulty in re-assembling his audience. 
 On July 20, 1807, he attempted to blow 
 up the hulk of a brig furnished by the United 
 States government. The experiment was 
 at first a failure, the machinery not acting 
 
Robert Fulton 65 
 
 as was expected, the test having been made 
 without the locks which when attached 
 threw the torpedoes out of balance. It is not 
 to be wondered at that this small detail should 
 have escaped the vigilance of the inventor 
 when we consider how much there must 
 have been on his mind. After a delay of 
 several hours this defect was remedied, 
 the explosion took place and the brig was 
 destroyed as advertised, but not until after 
 the crowd that had assembled to witness it 
 had dispersed. 
 
 The steamboat, over which he had labored 
 for so many years, on the construction of 
 which he had staked his all, and in which 
 one of his best and truest friends had risked 
 his possessions and with which he hoped to 
 benefit all humanity and receive as a reward 
 imdying fame and a fortune far beyond the 
 dreams of avarice, was approaching com- 
 pletion. It was built at the shipyard of . 
 Charles Brown on the East River, and early ' 
 one morning in August, 1807, without any 
 
 announcement, sailed around and over to 
 s 
 
66 The Story of 
 
 the New Jersey shore. This little voyage 
 was satisfactory in every way and Messrs. 
 Fulton and Livingston were overjoyed at 
 their success. 
 
 On the 7 th of September following the 
 first trial trip was made. Invitations had 
 been extended to the high officials and 
 friends of Mr. Fulton and the Chancel- 
 lor and those who had assisted with funds 
 and political services in procuring what 
 was supposed to be the necessary legis- 
 lation. An announcement was also made 
 in the newspapers that the boat built 
 by Messrs. Livingston and Fulton, with 
 a view to the na\dgation of the Missis- 
 sippi River from New Orleans upwards, 
 would depart for Albany in the afternoon. 
 It was not then supposed that steamboats 
 could be profitably run between New York 
 and Albany. In consequence a large crowd 
 assembled to witness what most of them be- 
 lieved would be a failure. The boat was built 
 of wood and was one hundred and thirty feet 
 long, sixteen and a half feet wide, and seven 
 
Robert Fulton 67 
 
 feet deep. Her engine had a cylinder of two 
 feet diameter with four feet stroke of piston. 
 The boiler was twenty feet long, seven feet 
 deep, and eight feet wide ; the paddle-wheels 
 fifteen feet in diameter with floats four feet 
 long having a dip of two feet. Her capacity 
 was one hundred and sixty tons and she was 
 named the Clermont in honor of Chancellor 
 Livingston's estate on the Hudson. 1 She was 
 provided with large square sails attached to 
 masts that could be raised or lowered accord- 
 ing to the strength of the wind. The boiler 
 was constructed of wood bound with heavy 
 iron bands, the heat from which when the 
 steam was up caused the wood under them 
 to shrink while the spaces between the bands 
 swelled so that open spaces were produced 
 through which the steam escaped. This 
 was remedied in part by covering the boiler 
 with blankets and carpets. 
 
 The fuel used was seasoned pine wood 
 
 » I find a singular disagreement as to the measure- 
 ments of the Clermont and am indebted to Robert 
 Fulton Ludlow, Esquire, a grandson of the inventor, 
 for those given. — P. F. M. 
 
68 Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 and the smokestack of the vessel was much 
 longer than those now used, in order to 
 create a sufficient draught. Her course 
 was marked by a column of dark smoke 
 through which flames flashed, and, when 
 the fire was stirred, a tremendous shower 
 of sparks. 
 
 After the Clermont had proceeded a few 
 miles on her trial trip, which she did to the 
 astonishment of the spectators and the 
 satisfaction of those interested in the ex- 
 periment, Mr. Fulton observed that the 
 vessel was retarded by her paddle-wheels 
 dipping too deeply in the water and that 
 her speed could be increased by reducing 
 the diameter of the buckets of the paddle- 
 wheels. The Clermont returned to her dock 
 and in a few days the alterations were made 
 and upon another trial trip her speed was 
 much increased. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 FIRST VOYAGE OF THE CLERMONT TO ALBANY 
 — LETTERS OF FULTON — DESCRIPTION OF 
 THE CLERMONT 
 
 Between the 7th and nth of September, 
 1807, t^^ Clermont started on her first voyage 
 to Albany. It was a continuous triumph. 
 Her coming was beheld by those gathered 
 upon the river banks and employed in boats 
 on its surface with awe amounting almost 
 to terror. The black fire-streaked cloud 
 which came from her funnel by day, during 
 the hours of darkness became a trail of fire. 
 She reached Albany in thirty-two hours of 
 sailing, having stopped at the dock at Cler- 
 mont about two miles north of Tivoli for the 
 purpose of landing Chancellor Livingston and 
 to take on fuel — the voyage being resumed 
 the next day. The first voyage of the Cler- 
 mont to Albany was not referred to in the 
 
 69 
 
70 The Story of 
 
 New York Evening Post on the day she sailed 
 or afterwards, until the day after her safe 
 return, when a letter from Robert Fulton 
 to the American Citizen (which is given 
 below) was printed. 
 
 The following letters of Robert Fulton 
 are sure to interest the reader: 
 
 "New York, Sept. 15, 1807. 
 
 "To the Editor of the American Citizen, 
 
 "Sir: — I arrived this afternoon, at four 
 o'clock, in the steamboat from Albany. 
 As the success of my experiment gives me 
 great hopes that such boats may be rendered 
 of great importance to my country, to pre- 
 vent erroneous opinions and give some 
 satisfaction to the friends of useful improve- 
 ments, you will have the goodness to pub- 
 lish the following statement of facts: 
 
 "I left New York on Monday at one 
 o'clock, and arrived at Clermont, the seat 
 of Chancellor Livingston, at one o'clock on 
 Tuesday — time, twenty-four hours, distance 
 one hundred and ten miles. On Wednesday 
 I departed from the Chancellor's at nine 
 
Robert Fulton 71 
 
 in the morning, and arrived at Albany at 
 five in the afternoon — distance, forty miles, 
 time, eight hours. The sum is one hundred 
 and fifty miles in thirty-two hours, equal to 
 near five miles an hour. 
 
 *'0n Thursday, at nine o'clock in the 
 morning, I left Albany, and arrived at the 
 Chancellor's at six in the evening: I started 
 from thence at seven, and arrived at New 
 York at four in the afternoon — time, thirty 
 hours, space rtm through, one himdred and 
 fifty miles, equal to five miles an hour. 
 Throughout my whole way, both going and 
 returning, the wind was ahead; no advan- 
 tage could be derived from my sails: the 
 whole has, therefore, been performed by 
 the power of the steam-engine. 
 
 **I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 ''Robert Fulton." 
 
 Letter from Robert Fulton to 
 Joel Barlow 
 
 "My steamboat voyage to Albany and 
 
 back has turned out rather more favorable 
 
 than I had calculated. The distance from 
 
72 The Story of 
 
 New York to Albany is one htindred and 
 fifty miles: I ran it up in thirty-two hours, 
 and down in thirty. I had a light breeze 
 against me the whole way, both going and 
 coming, and the voyage has been performed 
 wholly by the power of the steam-engine. 
 I overtook many sloops and schooners beat- 
 ing to windward, and parted with them as 
 if they had been at anchor. 
 
 "The power of propelling boats by steam 
 is now fully proved. The morning I left 
 New York, there were not perhaps thirty 
 persons in the city who believed that the 
 boat would ever move one mile an hour, or 
 be of the least utility; and while we were 
 putting off from the wharf, which was 
 crowded with spectators, I heard a number 
 of sarcastic remarks. This is the way in 
 which ignorant men compliment what they 
 call philosophers and projectors. 
 
 "Having employed much time, money, 
 and zeal, in accomplishing this work, it 
 gives me, as it will you, great pleasure to see 
 it fully answer my expectations. It will 
 
Robert Fulton 73 
 
 give a cheap and quick conveyance to the 
 merchandise on the Mississippi, Missouri, 
 and other great rivers, which are now laying 
 open their treasures to the enterprise of our 
 countrymen; and although the prospect of 
 personal emolument has been some induce- 
 ment to me, yet I feel infinitely more pleasure 
 in reflecting on the immense advantage my 
 country will derive from the invention, " etc,__i 
 
 Letter from Robert Fulton to Chan- 
 cellor Livingston 
 
 " New York. 
 
 ''Dear Sir: — On Saturday I wrote you 
 that I arrived here on Friday at four o'clock, 
 which made my voyage from Albany ex- 
 actly thirty hours. We had a little wind 
 on Friday morning, but no waves which 
 produced any effect. I have been making 
 every exertion to get off on Monday morning, 
 but there has been much work to do — 
 boarding all the sides, decking over the boiler 
 and works, finishing each cabin with twelve 
 berths to make them comfortable, and 
 strengthening many parts of the iron work. 
 
74 The Story of 
 
 So much to do, and the rain, which delays 
 the caulkers, will, I fear, not let me off till 
 Wednesday morning. Then, however, the 
 boat will be as complete as she can be made — 
 all strong and in good order and the men 
 well organized, and I hope, nothing to do 
 but to nm her for six weeks or two months. 
 The first week, that is if she starts on Wed- 
 nesday, she will make one trip to Albany 
 and back. Every succeeding w^eek she 
 will run three trips — that is, two to Albany 
 and one to New York, or two to New 
 York and one to Albany always having Sun- 
 day and four nights for rest to the crew. By 
 carrying for the usual price there can be no 
 doubt but the steamboat will have the pre- 
 ference because of the certainty and agreeable 
 movements. I have seen the captain of 
 the fine sloop from Hudson. He says the 
 average of his passages have been forty- 
 eight hours. For the steamboat it would 
 have been thirty certain. The persons who 
 came down with me were so much pleased 
 that they said were she established to run 
 
Robert Fulton 75 
 
 periodically they never would go in any 
 thing else. I will have her registered and 
 every thing done which I can recollect. 
 Every thing looks well and I have no doubt 
 will be very productive. 
 
 "Yours truly, 
 
 ''Robert Fulton." 
 
 The Clermonfs trips between New York 
 and Albany were continued with regularity 
 until the close of navigation. She carried 
 all the passengers she could accommodate 
 and but for a few minor accidents had a 
 successful season. 
 
 The following is the tariff of prices, for] 
 ** Provisions, good berth and accommoda- 
 tions": 
 
 "To Newburgh, 14 hours, Fare, $3 .00 
 ** Poughkeepsie, 17 " " 4.00 
 
 " Esopus, 20 " " 5 .00 
 
 " Hudson, 30 " ** 5.50 
 
 " Albany 36 " " 7.00" 
 
 All passengers not bound to regular land- 
 ings were charged one dollar for every twenty 
 
76 The Story of 
 
 miles and no one was allowed to come on 
 board or to be put ashore for less than a 
 dollar fare. 
 
 The following is a description of the Cler- 
 mont by Professor Renwick as she appeared 
 on her first voyage to Albany : 
 
 "She was very unlike any of her success- 
 ors, and very dissimilar from the shape in 
 which she appeared a few months afterward. 
 With a model resembling a Long Island skiff, 
 she was decked for a short distance at stem 
 and stem. The engine was open to \4ew, 
 and from the engine aft a house like that 
 of a canal-boat was raised to cover the boiler 
 and the apartment for the officers. There 
 were no wheel-guards. The rudder was of 
 the shape used in sailing-vessels, and moved 
 by a tiller. The boiler was of the form then 
 used in Watt's engines, and was set in ma- 
 sonry. The condenser was of the size used 
 habitually in land engines, and stood, as 
 was the practice in them, in a large cold- 
 water cistern. The weight of the masonry 
 and the great capacity of the cold-water 
 
Robert Fulton 77 
 
 cistern diminished very materially the buoy- 
 ancy of the vessel. The rudder had so 
 little power that she could hardly be man- 
 aged. The skippers of the river craft, who 
 at once saw that their business was doomed, 
 took advantage of the unwieldiness of the 
 vessel to run foul of her as soon as they 
 thought they had the law on their side. 
 Thus, in several instances, the steamer 
 reached one or the other terminus of the 
 route with but a single wheel." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE CLERMONT REBUILT AND NAME CHANGED 
 TO THE NORTH RIVER — FURTHER LEGIS- 
 LATION 
 
 At the close of navigation in 1807, ^^^ 
 Clermont was taken to what was then 
 called Lower Red Hook, the bay south of 
 Tivoli, and ship carpenters from Hudson 
 enlarged her, a new boiler made of heavy 
 sheet copper was put in, and other altera- 
 tions made so that about May i, 1808, she 
 was launched and called the North River. She 
 had been made more comfortable and length- 
 ened to one hundred and forty feet, the shafts 
 of her wheels, which were of cast iron and 
 had proved incapable of sustaining the 
 weight to w^hich they were subjected, had 
 been replaced with shafts of wrought iron 
 
 which were supplied with wheel-guards or 
 
 78 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 79 
 
 outer supports. Her machinery was fitted 
 at the dock at the foot of Dey Street, which 
 was at that time far uptown. 
 
 By an act of the Legislature of 1807-8 
 the exclusive privilege of navigating by 
 steam the waters of the State granted to 
 Livingston and Fulton was extended for 
 five years for each additional boat built and 
 put in use, provided the time should not 
 exceed thirty years from its passage. This 
 act also provided that combinations to 
 destroy the Clermont or any other steam- 
 boat, or wilful attempts to injure her were 
 public offences punishable by fine and im-J 
 prisonment. 
 
 While this newly invented steamboat was 
 regarded with curiosity by all and hailed as a 
 great accommodation by those whose business 
 engagements and inclinations demanded swift 
 and frequent trips between New York and 
 Albany, those who were otherwise interested^ 
 and engaged in river transportation could not 
 but regard her as a dangerous competitor and 
 during her voyages many attempts were made 
 
8o The Story of 
 
 to injure her. Vessels ran into her intention- 
 ally and her progress was impeded as much 
 
 j as the river men dared. 
 
 ^ The following letter is from Robert Fulton 
 to the captain of the Clermont. 
 
 *' New York, Oct. 9, 1807. 
 
 "Capt. Brink, Sir: — Inclosed is the num- 
 ber of voyages which it is intended the boat 
 should nm this season. You may have 
 them published in the Albany papers. As 
 she is strongly made and every one except 
 Jackson under your command you must 
 insist on each one doing his duty, or turn 
 him on shore and put another in his place. 
 Everything must be kept in order — every- 
 thing in its place, and all parts of the boat 
 scoured and clean. It is not sufficient to tell 
 men to do a thing, but stand over them and 
 make them do it. One pair of good and 
 quick eyes is worth six pair of hands in a 
 commander. Let no man be idle when there 
 is the least thing to do and make them move 
 quickly. Run no risque of any kind; when 
 Tyou meet or overtake vessels beating or 
 
Robert Fulton 8i 
 
 crossing your way, always run under their 
 stem, if there be the least doubt that you 
 cannot clear their head by 50 yards or ^ 
 more. 
 
 " Give the amount of receipts and expenses 
 every week to the Chancellor. 
 
 *' Your most obedient, ^ 
 
 '* Robert Fulton.** 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 PATENTS — LIVINGSTON CONCEDES TO FULTON 
 THE INVENTION OF SUCCESSFUL STEAM- 
 BOAT LITIGATION AS TO PATENTS — 
 
 BOATS SAILING HUDSON AND THEIR SPEED 
 FERRYBOATS 
 
 Soon after the construction of the Cler- 
 mont was begun Mr. Fulton had applied 
 for patents. As the work progressed he 
 made improvements which were not covered 
 
 Y^by the applications already filed. His first 
 patent is dated February ii, 1809, and on 
 February 9, 181 1, he took out another patent 
 
 .^ for improvements. The Clermont had been 
 
 open to the inspection of the public, and 
 
 patents were applied for by various persons 
 
 for improvements on which patents had 
 
 already been issued to Robert Fulton. It 
 
 had been agreed between him and Chancellor 
 
 82 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 83 
 
 Livingston that the patents should be is- 
 sued in Mr. Fulton's name, which could 
 not have been done unless he swore the 
 invention and improvements were solely 
 his. In volume two of the American Medi- 
 cal and Philosophical Register, pages 260- 
 262, Mr. Livingston, in ''An Historical 
 Account of the Application of Steam for 
 the Propelling of Boats, " acknowledges that 
 all his efforts to successfully invent a steam- 
 boat had been unavailing, explains the 
 nature of the partnership between him and . 
 Mr, Fulton, and shows what part the latter 
 took in the experiments. A brief account 
 is then given of what had been accomplished 
 and to what extent the invention had been 
 used. 
 
 Mr. Fulton and the Chancellor found 
 themselves overwhelmed with litigation over 
 infringements of their patents and harassed , 
 by the competition of rival boats which 
 were to have been propelled by a pendulum. 
 When this was shown to be impracticable, 
 steam and the machinery of the boats run 
 
84 The Story of 
 
 by Mr. Fulton were very coolly adopted. 
 There seems to have been, as is almost 
 always the case with profitable inventions, 
 an attempt on the part of men of high 
 standing and great influence to rob the in- 
 ventor of the credit and profit his genius 
 and patient effort had won. In 1811 the 
 legislature passed on act providing for sum- 
 mary remedies for violations of Livingston 
 and Fulton's rights to the exclusive navi- 
 gation of the waters of the State with boats 
 moved by steam as they then existed, 
 but exempted from its provisions two boats 
 then running on the Hudson River and one 
 on Lake Champlain, on the ground that 
 the act as to those vessels would be e% post 
 facto. 
 
 Chancellor Livingston and Mr. Fulton 
 applied to the Circuit Court of the United 
 States for an injimction restraining those 
 vessels. This application was denied on the 
 ground that the court lacked jurisdiction. 
 Resort was then had to the Court of Chancery 
 of the State and the application was denied; 
 
Robert Fulton 85 
 
 an appeal was then taken to the Court of 
 Errors, which for such an appeal was com- 
 posed of the Senate and five judges of the 
 Supreme Court. There, in the winter of 
 181 2, the decision of the Court of Chancery- 
 was unanimously reversed and a perpetual 
 injimction ordered. 
 
 In 1808 a second vessel of about three 
 hundred tons was built by Mr. Fulton and 
 the Chancellor called the Car of Neptune. 
 In less than two years from the first voyage 
 of the Clermont a regular service between 
 New York and Albany had been established. 
 
 The Paragon was built in 181 1 — 331 tons. 
 In 1 813 a boat left New York for Albany 
 every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 
 afternoon at five o'clock. Before 181 7, the 
 time consumed in making a voyage between 
 the two cities was reduced to eighteen hours. 
 
 After 1820 the old boats were withdrawn 
 and new and more commodious ones re- 
 placed them. After the expiration of the 
 exclusive right granted to Livingston and 
 Fulton, great improvements were made. 
 
86 The Story of 
 
 In 1826 there was a daily service established 
 and the time had been lessened to fifteen 
 hours and competition had brought about 
 considerable reduction in the fares. In 
 1836 a trip was made between New York 
 and Albany in ten hours and twenty minutes ; 
 in 1840 in eight hours and twenty-seven 
 minutes; in 1841 in seven hours and 
 twenty-eight minutes; in 1862 in six hours 
 and fifty-one minutes; and in 1864 in six 
 hours and fifty minutes. 
 
 The change that has taken place in the 
 size of the boats on the Hudson River, on 
 the ocean, and in fact wherever steamboats 
 are used, and in the comfort and luxury 
 of their appointments and accommodations 
 would scarcely be realized. The last boat 
 launched upon the Hudson, the Hendrick 
 Hudson, which made her first voyage in 
 August, 1906, is an example. 
 
 In 181 1 and 181 2 Mr. Fulton built two 
 steam ferryboats for the North River and 
 one for the East, each of which consisted 
 of two complete hulls united by a deck or 
 
Robert Fulton 87 
 
 bridge, both ends being sharp, thus pre- 
 senting less resistance than a boat of much 
 less beam. Each had a rudder, so that 
 no time was lost in turning about. Each 
 boat had a beam of ten feet, a keel eighty 
 feet long, and five feet hold. They were 
 separated ten feet and confined by strong 
 transverse beam knees and diagonal traces, 
 a deck being thus formed thirty feet wide 
 and eighty feet long. The propelling wheel 
 and all the other machinery were placed 
 between the boats and a deck ten feet wide 
 on either side was left for vehicles, horses, 
 and cattle. Floating docks were built to 
 receive these boats much like those now in 
 use at our ferry landings. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 EXPOSURE OF PERPETUAL MOTION FRAUD — 
 
 BRITISH ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE FULTON 
 
 CLAIM OF W. STEVENS TO INVENTION OF 
 SUCCESSFUL STEAMBOAT DENIED. 
 
 Mr. Fulton's keenness in regard to ma- 
 chinery is illustrated by his experience 
 with a perpetual motion machine which 
 was exhibited in New York in 1813. For 
 some time he could not be persuaded to go 
 and see it, although crowds had visited the 
 isolated house in the suburbs in which it 
 had been placed. He finally consented to 
 go, paid the admission fee of one dollar, and 
 after he had been a short time in the room 
 in which the machine was, said, "Why this 
 is a crank motion," his trained ear having 
 detected an unequal velocity in the revolu- 
 tions of the wheels. After a brief conver- 
 
 88 
 
Story of Robert Fulton 89 
 
 sation with the person having the machine 
 in charge, he told him he was an impostor 
 and that his machine was kept in motion 
 by some concealed means. Mr. Fulton 
 then informed those present that the machine 
 was a fraud and if they would support him, 
 he would expose it or pay the damages. 
 Everybody consenting, he knocked away 
 some laths which extended from the machine 
 to the walls of the room, apparently to steady 
 the machine. A string of catgut was exposed 
 connected with the machine and running 
 through the wall to a loft several yards 
 away, where an old man was found turning 
 a crank as Mr. Pulton had suggested. The 
 crowd present immediately destroyed the 
 machine and the exhibitor fled. 
 
 During the war of 181 2 with Great Britain, 1 
 when our ports were menaced and often 
 blockaded by the armed ships of the enemy, 
 the reputation Mr. Fulton had established 
 throughout the world as an inventor of 
 submarine boats and torpedoes made the 
 English wary of coming into close contact 
 
go The Story of 
 
 with our ships and shores. While his inven- 
 tions were avoided and watched for, a sharp 
 lookout was kept upon the inventor and his 
 movements, and efforts were made to cap- 
 ture him. On one occasion a house on the 
 seashore at which he had been visiting was 
 surrounded and taken possession of by the 
 British just after Mr. Fulton had left. 
 
 The following is an extract from a manu- 
 script in the handwriting of Robert Fulton, 
 dated February, 1813: 
 
 "Steam boat experiments made on the 
 river Seine near Paris by R. Fulton in the 
 years 1802 and 1803, which being success- 
 full demonstrated the powers, proportions 
 and velocities of the machinery to drive a 
 given boat a given distance in a given time, 
 which being the first time such discovery 
 was made is in fact the date of the invention 
 of Usefull Steamboats: for previous to the 
 discovery no rule had been laid down to 
 secure success. The public thought usefull 
 steamboats impracticable and those few 
 who were making experiments were doing 
 
Robert Fulton 91 
 
 them feebly without aid or guide, groping 
 their way Hke men in the dark. 
 
 *' In 1806 Messrs. Livingston and Fulton 
 offered to take W. Stevens in as a part- 
 ner, he refused asserting that Mr. Fulton's 
 plan could not succeed. He W. Stevens in 
 the following year attempted to make a 
 small boat moved by high steam and Skulls, 
 but in August 1807 seeing Mr. Fulton's 
 North River boat start from New York and 
 run to Albany at the rate of 5 miles an 
 hour with wheels and an engine of proper 
 powers, he abandoned Skulls and put wheels 
 to his small boat here, then after Mr. Fulton's 
 ocular demonstration of the simplicity and 
 value of wheels Mr. Stevens made use of 
 them; but previous to which he could not 
 tell and did not know if oars, skulls, paddels, 
 flyers like those of wind-mills were best 
 or as good as wheels, but after seeing Mr. 
 Fulton's wheels he did not know their pro- 
 portions and power of engine to drive the 
 boat. He then composed in 1808 an engine 
 with two small cylinders, hoping to do with- 
 
92 The Story of 
 
 out a fly wheel, and made the water wheels, 
 about 9 feet diameter. The boiler was 
 composed of 8 or ten small sheets from 
 cylinders, the cylinders had not sufficient 
 power for the boat and the diameter of the 
 water wheels were too small — the boiler 
 and whole plan failed and he abandoned 
 them; all that time however Mr. Fulton's 
 North River Steamboat was successfully 
 running to Albany and twice a week past 
 Mr. Stevens door at Hoboken, he then made 
 a cylinder the same diameter as that in 
 Mr. Fulton's boat, but six inches shorter; 
 he constructed new wheels twelve feet in 
 diameter and copying from Mr. Fulton all 
 that was essential to secure success ; his boat 
 did in the summer of 1809 succeed on the 
 Delaware. He in this year took out a 
 patent for some unescential alterations in 
 the combination of the machinery which 
 has nothing to do with the success of the 
 boat, and for a kind of floats to take a pur- 
 chase on the water instead of wheels, which 
 floats however he has never used — and 
 
Robert Fulton 93 
 
 which can not be used and are in themselves 
 sufficient proof that Mr. Stevens did not 
 understand the subject, and could not, or 
 at least did not, succeed but by copying 
 Mr. Fulton. Indeed so sencible at this 
 time of Mr. Fulton's just claim to the in- 
 vention of Usefull Steamboats that he 
 accepted of a grant from Livingston and 
 Fulton to work under their patent on cer- 
 tain waters and nowhere else; of which 
 waters the Chesapeak is the most South- 
 ward ; in the preamble of the contract 
 he acknowledges Mr. Fulton's priority and 
 invention of Usefull Steamboats. Mr. 
 Fulton gave to him grants which managed 
 with address would produce him $15,000 
 a year — and this is the man who would 
 now oppose and invade the rights of his 
 benefactor — every honest man and friend 
 to Usefull talents will set their faces against 
 such Unjust and illiberal conduct — the inge- 
 nuity which gives to our country inventions 
 in a national point of view worth millions 
 Merits its warmest support and protection, 
 
94 The Story of 
 
 and the pirates of mental property must be 
 punished, or no one who has talents will 
 exsert them. The first Succesfull Steam- 
 boat which was ever put into actual and 
 permanent Operation and which removed 
 from the Public Mind all doubts on the 
 practicalibilty of such Boats, was built and 
 Navigated on Hudson River in the State 
 of New York in the Autumn of 1807. On 
 ■'the nth of February, 1809 ^^i*- Fulton 
 received his patent. On the 3rd of Jan. 
 1 8 10 Mr. Stevens obtained a patent not 
 for a Steamboat, but for a Boiler and par- 
 ticular combination of Machinery and the 
 before mentioned floats. Mr. Fulton's sec- 
 ond patent, which is merely for some com- 
 binations in the machinery is dated Feb. 
 9th, 181 1 ; Since Mr. Fulton has invented 
 and proved the Utility of Steam Boats, 
 but particularly since they are found to be 
 profitable, many pretenders have sprung 
 up. An Englishman by the name of Coxen, 
 after ascerting that he had made a steam 
 boat in England run 11 miles an hour 
 
Robert Fulton 95 
 
 formed a Company with a capital of ;i£2o,ooo 
 and built a Boat at Philadelphia which 
 could not run i mile an hour ; his plan has 
 totally failed; thus proving his ignorance 
 of the subject and little respect for truth. 
 Oliver Evans, who has Taken up the Idea of 
 Steam Engines with high steam, and calls 
 it a new invention, although they are men- 
 tioned In Boulton and Watt's patent 26 
 years ago and have had to be tried and 
 Abandoned by the best engineers in England, 
 Now says that he invented just Such Steam 
 Boats as are now in use, 30 years ago — the 
 Public certainly owes but little to this great 
 genius who has concealed such usefull know- 
 ledge for 30 years — had he died two years 
 ago all this part of his usefull invention 
 would have been lost. But Oliver finds 
 It Vastly convenient to date model inven- 
 tions as his own 30 years ago, he has con- 
 trived to patent almost the whole machinery 
 and lay a tax on the public; he has writ- 
 ten a book of dreams on Steam — car- 
 riages. Boats etc. without showing how to 
 
 / 
 
96 The Story of 
 
 make or put either in Successfull operation. 
 And then modestly says if anyone renders 
 such inventions usefull they must . . . 
 him — these are pretensions on a great scale — 
 Hitherto however all the Steam Boats which 
 are in operation have grown out of Mr. Ful- 
 ton's Success, and in all their escential parts 
 which constitute their success are piracies 
 of his invention, or constructed under his 
 licence. To Produce the first Usefull Steam 
 Boat it required the fortunate circumstances 
 of Adequate genius and Capital in the same 
 person or persons, he and Mr. Livingston 
 had both and they persevered to success — 
 had they not done so it is a fair inferance 
 that there would not now be a usefull Steam 
 Boat in America or elsewhere. Away then 
 with your Ephemeral pretenders, abortive 
 experiments and imaginations never proved 
 or practiced; give Livingston and Fulton 
 the merit and reward which to them is due. 
 This noble invention is among the highest 
 honors and Blessings of the Nation. Since 
 their Success a Steam Boat has been com- 
 
Robert Fulton 97 
 
 menced to run from Quebeck to Montreal, 7 
 one Runs on Lake Champlain to Skeens- 
 borough in state of New York. The cele- 
 brated boats of Livingston and Fulton Run 
 from Albany to New York — ^The Steam Boat 
 of Mr. John Livingston under the patent of 
 Livingston and Fulton nms from New York 
 to Brunswick N. J. — the boat on the Del- 
 aware, also under the patent of Livingston 
 and Fulton nms from Trenton to Phila. 
 Boats also under their patent and Grants 
 are now Building to carry on the line from 
 Philadelphia to Baltimore. Mr. Fulton is 
 building two Boats to continue the line from 
 Washington to Potowmack Creek and from 
 Richmond to Norfolk — and others are in 
 contemplation through the rivers and Bays 
 to Camden and St. Marie's. Boats are to 
 be Built to nm from Pittsburg to Louisville, 
 and two are building by Mr. Fulton to run 
 on the Mississippi from Louisville to New 
 Orleans — one is to be built to Navigate the 
 Red River from the Mississippi to Nache- 
 doches on the way to Mexico. So that the 
 
98 Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 prospect is that in three years from this date 
 there will be Steam Boat Communication 
 from Quebeck to St. Maries. Say the num- 
 ber of miles will not be more than number 
 
 miles land carriage, and from Quebeck 
 
 to Mexico by the way of Pittsburg say the 
 
 miles will not be more than miles of land 
 
 carriage — thus my countrymen are enter- 
 prices worthy of a great nation the result of 
 the virtuous labours of Livingston and Ful- 
 ton ; where there is the honest heart, the in- 
 dividual proud of his country's fame who 
 would deprive them of their honour and 
 reward?" 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 ROBERT Fulton's death — funeral — will 
 
 Robert Fulton was not the sole inventor 
 of the steamboat. Efforts in that line had 
 been made by various individuals, some of 
 which had been almost successful, but it 
 remained for him to accomplish what the 
 others had failed to do, he applied steam to 
 navigation in such a manner as to make it 
 a success financially and otherwise. His 
 achievement is not in the least belittled 
 when we admit that his success was due 
 largely to his association with Chancellor 
 Livingston. The latter assisted not only 
 with advice on a subject in regard to which 
 he was thoroughly posted but insured success 
 by the use of his wealth, influence, and 
 political power. 
 
 Both he and Fulton should have received 
 
 99 
 
loo The Story of 
 
 great pecuniary rewards. It was an un- 
 fortunate error of judgment to procure their 
 monopoly from the legislature of the State 
 of New York, they should have applied to 
 Congress and in all probability could quite as 
 easily have secured the grant there. The 
 field would have then been unlimited and 
 no questions would have arisen as to conflict 
 of jurisdiction. 
 
 The protection of their rights was much 
 affected by the death of Chancellor Living- 
 ston, which occurred February 26, 18 13, 
 and which was so quickly followed by the 
 death of Robert Fulton. The former left no 
 son, and the latter's was not of an age to 
 protect his father's interests, and the dreams 
 of fortune in which both had naturally and 
 properly indulged were never realized. 
 
 In January, 181$, Robert Fulton went to 
 Trenton to appear before the New Jersey 
 legislature on a petition to repeal the act 
 which interfered with the sailing of steam- 
 boats between New York and New Jersey. 
 The weather was unusually severe and Mr. 
 
Robert Fulton loi 
 
 Fulton was obliged to wait in the legis- 
 lative hall, which was badly heated, and 
 several hours were consumed crossing the 
 river which was blocked with ice. He 
 caught cold and before he had fully re- 
 covered went to superintend the work on 
 a steam frigate he was building for the 
 United States government. He was greatly 
 exposed, added to his cold, and on returning 
 home became very ill and on February 24, 
 181 5, died. His death came as a great shock 
 to his friends and the community. No one 
 had supposed that his life was in danger. 
 His remains, enclosed in a metallic coffin, 
 covered with mahogany, on which was a 
 plate with his name and age, were placed in 
 the vault of his father-in-law, Walter Living- 
 ston, and of Robert C. Livingston, who were 
 sons of Robert, the third Lord of the Manor, 
 in Trinity churchyard in the City of New 
 York. The grief manifested by all classes 
 was unusual. He had become a universal 
 favorite and his death in the midst of 
 his triumphs and labors was regarded as 
 
102 The Story of 
 
 imtimely and with universal sorrow. His 
 fiineral was attended by all the officials of 
 the nation, state, and city who were then 
 in New York, representatives of the prin- 
 cipal societies, and a great crowd of people 
 among whom w^ere the most prominent 
 citizens. As the funeral procession passed 
 from No. i State Street, where he had re- 
 sided with his family, to Trinity Church, 
 minute guns were fired from the battery of 
 the steam frigate he was engaged in build- 
 ing at the time of his death for the United 
 States government. The legislature, which 
 
 ; was then in session, passed a resolution 
 that both houses should wear mourning 
 for six weeks. This is the only instance 
 in this State in which such respect has 
 been shown on the death of a private 
 
 [citizen. 
 
 In 1 90 1 a monument of granite, with a 
 medallion of him in bronze, was erected to 
 his memory by the American Society of Me- 
 chanical Engineers on the south side of 
 Trinity churchyard. 
 
ROBERT FULTON 
 
 FROM THE BRONZE ON THE MONUMENT IN TRINITY CHURCHYARD IN NEW YORK 
 
Robert Fulton 103 
 
 There has been for many years a statue 
 of Robert Fulton, with a clay model of the 
 Clermont, at the entrance to Fulton Ferry, 
 Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 His will, which was made about a month 
 before his death, provided for an annuity of 
 seven thousand dollars for his wife, devised 
 the farm, purchased out his first earnings 
 and on which he settled his mother, to one 
 of his sisters, and disposed of a large estate. 
 His affairs on account of litigations over 
 infringements of his patents, and the mis- 
 conduct or mistake of some of the agents 
 he had employed to build boats under his 
 patents, which he had contracted to furnish 
 to other companies, were greatly involved 
 and his wife and children were left penniless. | 
 At the time of his death the United States 
 government owed Mr. Fulton one hundred: 
 thousand dollars for expenditures under his ^ 
 contracts and for the use of the vessel, the 
 Vesuvius, which was owned by him, at the 
 battle of New Orleans. Twenty years after 
 his death, in 1835, an act was introduced in 
 
I04 Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 Congress for the relief of the heirs of Robert 
 Fulton. This was not passed until 1846, and 
 
 / then interest was not allowed on the amount 
 claimed and that amount was reduced to 
 
 j seventy-six thousand three hundred dollars. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Fulton's marriage — descendants — de- 
 scription OF HIM 
 
 Robert Fulton married in 1806 Harriet 
 
 Livingston, a brilliant beauty and heiress, I 
 
 a daughter of Walter Livingston, who was 
 
 the second son of the third Lord of the 
 
 Manor and a brother of Henry who built 
 
 the fine old place in Columbia County 
 
 known as *'The Hill." This wedding was 
 
 characterized by the splendor, wealth, and 
 
 rank of the Livingstons and the virile 
 
 beauty, personal charm, and romantic career 
 
 of this successful young inventor and man 
 
 of the world. There were a son and three 
 
 daughters bom. The son died unmarried 
 
 and at an early age. Mrs. Fulton, who 
 
 had shown more than ordinary affection 
 
 for her husband, removed to her father's 
 
 105 
 
io6 The Story of 
 
 place, "Teviotdale," north of Germantown 
 in Columbia County, in 1815 and resided 
 there with her children. 
 
 Shortly afterwards she married an Eng- 
 lishman, Charles Augustus Dale, whose chief 
 interest appears to have been in horses. 
 It is related of him that, on a wager that 
 he could drive from New York to Teviot- 
 dale, his wife's residence, a pair of horses 
 in less time than it would take the steam- 
 boat to sail from New York to Chancellor 
 Li\dngston's dock, about one hundred miles, 
 he won, but one of his horses died almost 
 immediately after arriving. 
 
 Mrs. Dale accompanied her husband to 
 England where they both died. After her 
 departure, her children by Robert Fulton 
 were cared for and educated by the widow 
 of her brother Henry Walter Livingston. 
 Chancellor Livingston was not closely re- 
 lated to Robert Fulton's wife. 
 
 It seems as if a cruel fate had interposed 
 to prevent the fame of Robert Fulton being 
 preserved. His home had been broken up 
 
Robert Fulton 107 
 
 and his possessions scattered, many of them 
 passing into the hands of strangers. His 
 seal was given to a person not a member 
 of the Fulton family and possession of it 
 retained for many years in spite of repeated 
 efforts to obtain it by one of his grandsons. 
 It was recently given to some one who 
 promptly returned it to a member of the 
 Fulton family. There seems to be a singular 
 lack of delicacy or sense of justice in many 
 people about dealing in', obtaining, and re- 
 taining possession of the heirlooms of fam- 
 ilies to which they are not in any way 
 related. 
 
 His fine Sheraton dining table seems to 
 have been saved from the wreck. It was 
 for several years used as the council table 
 of the American Society of Mechanical 
 Engineers and is now the board room 
 table of the Trustees of the United Engi- 
 neering Building in New York City. That 
 society also owns a water color plan by 
 Robert Fulton for a high level canal. 
 
 The only child of Robert Fulton's daughter 
 
io8 The Story of 
 
 Mary, Robert Fulton Ludlow, is an artist and 
 lives in a fine old mansion built by the Lud- 
 lows about 1786 at Claverack, New York. 
 
 The Reverend Robert Fulton Crary, D.D., 
 an Episcopal clergyman, who resides at 
 Matteawan, New York, is the son of another 
 daughter. He has a son who bears the 
 name of his distinguished great-grandfather, 
 and three daughters. These are the only 
 descendants of Robert Fulton. Dr. Crary 
 has inherited the artistic gifts of his grand- 
 father. 
 
 Cadwallader D. Golden delivered a bio- 
 graphical memoir of Robert Fulton, who 
 was his personal friend, before the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society of New York in 
 181 7, which upon request he presented to 
 the Society for publication. It was resolved 
 that the proceeds of the sale should be 
 appropriated ''towards the erection of a 
 pedestrian statue" of Robert Fulton. 
 
 He is described in these words : ' ' Mr. Fulton 
 was about six feet high. His person was 
 slender, but well proportioned and well 
 
Robert Fulton 109 
 
 formed. Nature had made him a gentleman 
 and bestowed upon him ease and graceful- 
 ness. He had much too good sense for the 
 least affectation, and a modest confidence 
 in his own worth and talents gave him 
 an unembarrassed deportment in all com- 
 panies. His features were strong and of 
 a manly beauty; he had large dark eyes 
 and a projecting brow expressive of in- 
 telligence and thought; his temper was 
 mild and his disposition lively; he was 
 fond of society, which he always enlivened 
 by cheerful, cordial manners and instructed 
 or pleased by his sensible conversation. 
 He expressed himself with energy, fluency, 
 and correctness and as he owed more to 
 his own experience and reflections than 
 to books, his sentiments were often in- 
 teresting from their originality. 
 
 *' In all his domestic relations, he was 
 zealous, kind, generous, liberal, and affection- 
 ate. He knew of no use for money but as 
 it was subservient to charity, hospitality, 
 and the sciences. But what was most 
 
I lo Story of Robert Fulton 
 
 conspicuous in his character was his calm 
 constancy, his industry, and that indefatig- 
 able patience and perseverance which always 
 enabled him to overcome difficulties." 
 
 Robert Fulton was one of those splendid 
 and wonderful gifts for which this country 
 and the world have been so often indebted 
 to Ireland. Simple surroundings, adverse 
 circumstances, in fact all the things which 
 would seem to combine to keep people in 
 obscurity have no effect upon such souls 
 as Fulton's. They rise and shine, their 
 achievements fill the pages of history, and 
 their discoveries and inventions benefit the 
 Nations for all time. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Academy of Sciences, 36 
 Alteration to the Cler- 
 mont, 68, 78 
 American Citizen, The, 70, 
 
 71, 73 ,, 
 American Med. and Phil. 
 
 Register, 83 
 
 American Society of Me- 
 chanical Engineers, 102, 
 107 
 
 Armstrong, Gen. John, 22, 
 
 '' B 
 
 Bandell, Citizen, 50 
 Barlow, Joel, 20-23, 28, 
 
 30. 39. 54 
 Barth^lemy, M., 26, 31 
 
 Birmingham, 14, 15 
 
 Bonaparte, Napoleon, 31, 
 
 34, ZSy 37 
 Boulton & Watt, 15, 46, 
 
 50 
 Bridgewater, Duke of, 13 
 
 Brown, Charles, 65 
 C 
 
 Caffarelle, M., 36 
 
 Carnot, M., 31 
 
 Car of Neptune, the, 85 
 
 Chancellor Livingston, 40, 
 57-63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 
 83, 84, 91, 96-100, 106 
 
 Circuit Court, U. S., 84 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, 28, 29 
 Clermont, 67, 70 
 Clermont, the, 65 66, 67, 
 
 68,69,75,76,78,79,80, 
 
 82, 85, 103 
 Colden, Cadwallader D., 
 
 108 
 Columbiad, the, 21 
 Court of Chancery, 84, 85 
 Court of Errors, 85 
 Coxen, Mr., 94 
 Crary, Robert Fulton, 108 
 
 D 
 
 Dale, Charles Augustus, 
 
 106 
 Devon, Earls of, 12 
 Directory, French, 34 
 
 E 
 
 Evans, Oliver, 95 
 Evening Post, The, 70 
 
 F 
 
 Ferryboats, 86, 87 
 First Consul, 34, 35, 37 
 Francois, Mme,, 25, 27, 28 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 11 
 French Directory, 26, 31, 
 
 34 
 
 Fulton, Mary, 107 
 
 Fulton, Robert, acquaint- 
 ance with Barlow, 2 1 
 
 ancestors, i 
 
 III 
 
112 
 
 Index 
 
 Fulton, Robert— (Cont'd) 
 apprentice to jewel- 
 ler, 7 
 
 artist, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12 
 
 birth, 3 
 
 boyhood inventions, 
 
 4, 5. 6 
 
 — character, 5 
 
 — childhood, 3-7 
 
 — civil engineer, 14 
 
 — claim against Fed- 
 eral Government, 103 
 
 — death of, 10 1 
 
 — descendants, 107, 108 
 
 — description of, 108 
 
 — funeral, 102 
 in England, 11-17, 
 
 38,54 
 
 — in France, 19 
 
 — Fourth of July, 5 
 
 — inventions as to ca- 
 nals, 17 
 
 — inventions as to 
 
 canal locks, 17 
 
 — invention as to pad- 
 dle-wheels, 6 
 
 — invention as to saw- 
 
 ing and polishing mar- 
 ble, 17 
 
 — invention as to 
 spinning flax, 17 
 
 — inventions as to sub- 
 
 marine boat, 30, 32, 33, 
 
 37 
 
 — mventions as to tor- 
 pedoes, 19, 22, 30, 34, 
 
 37, 39 
 
 — inventions as to 
 
 twisting ropes, 1 7 
 
 — letters of, 15, 46, 
 
 50, 70. 7i» 73. 80 
 
 — litigation, 83, 84, 
 
 103 
 
 marriage of, 105 
 mechanic, as a, 88 
 
 — money received 
 from inventions, 39 
 monument to, 102, 
 
 103 
 
 partnership with 
 Chancellor Livingston. 
 40, 42, 43 
 
 — patents, 82 
 
 — patriotism, 18, 39 
 proposals to French 
 
 Government, 31,32, 34, 
 
 35, 36, 50 
 
 — raising funds for 
 steamboat trials, 59-61 
 
 — return to New York, 
 55, 63 
 
 — school-days, 4 
 
 — steam inventions, 14, 
 17, 42 
 
 — torpedoes, 19, 22, 31, 
 32, 34, 37, 64 
 
 Gontaut, Duchesse de, 
 
 24—29 
 Grandsire, Madame, 26 
 
 Lancaster, 3 
 La Place, M., 36 
 Legislation as to steam 
 navigation, 41, 61, 79, 
 
 84 
 Literary and Philosophical 
 
 Society of N. Y., 108 
 Little Britain, 2 
 Livingston, Harriet, 105 
 Livingston, John, 97 
 Livingston, Chancellor 
 
 Robert R., 40, 57-62, 
 
 63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 83, 
 
 84, 91. 96, 97, 98, 99. 
 
 100, 106 
 
Index 
 
 113 
 
 Livingston, Henry Walter, 
 
 106 
 Livingston, Walter, 105 
 Ludlow, Robert Fulton, 
 
 107 
 
 M 
 
 Manchester, 15 
 Molar, Citizen, 50 
 Monge, M., 36 
 Montgolfier, Citizen, 50 
 
 N 
 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, 31, 
 
 34, 35, 37 
 Nautilus, the, ;^6 
 North River, the, 78 
 
 Paragon, the, 85 
 
 Perpetual motion fraud, 
 88 
 
 Pitt, Wilham, 38 
 
 Pleville-le-Pelley, Admi- 
 ral, 36 
 
 Portland, Duke of, 28 
 
 R 
 
 Renwick, Professor, 76 
 Revolutionary War, 7 
 
 S 
 
 Schemelpeninck, Mr., 25, 
 
 34 
 Sidmouth, Lord, 38 
 Smith, Mary, 2 
 Stanhope, Lord, 14, 37, 42 
 Steam inventions, 14, 17, 
 
 42 
 Steamboat, trials of, 59, 
 
 6i, 65, 68 
 Stevens, W., 91, 92,93,94 
 
 Teviotdale, 106 
 
 Trial trip Clermont, 65-68 
 
 V 
 
 Vesuvius, the, 103 
 Volney, M., 36 
 
 W 
 
 Watt, John, 15 
 West, Benjamin, 8-12 
 

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