OPENING OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SERVICE
When once the ability of steam-ships to make open-sea passages such as
those between Liverpool, Belfast, and Glasgow had been demonstrated,
shipowners began to turn their attention to the possibility of steamers
crossing the Atlantic. The first steam vessel which is known to have
made the crossing is the _Conde de Patmella_. Unfortunately very little
is known about this boat. She sailed from Liverpool on October 20,
1820, for Lisbon, and arrived there in the remarkably short time of
four days. Thence she sailed for the Brazils, being the first steam
vessel to cross the Atlantic from east to west. In the year 1819 the
_Savannah_, a sailing vessel using an auxiliary steam-engine, crossed
the Atlantic, but as this vessel sailed nearly the whole of the way
and scarcely used her engines except when leaving or entering port,
she cannot be described as having made the first steam crossing,
although this claim is often put forward by American writers. But
this voyage of the _Savannah_ is of great historical interest, as
it proved what many had doubted, viz., the possibility of a sailing
vessel with steam auxiliary crossing the Atlantic, and carrying enough
coals for her purpose. This boat when built was not intended for a
steamer. Messrs. Scarborough and Isaacs of Savannah thought that a
sail-plus-steam crossing could be made, and they accordingly instructed
Moses Rogers (who, it has already been mentioned, had made the first
sea trip by steamboat from New York to the Delaware in 1807 with
Stevens’ _Phœnix_) to look out for a hull in which an engine could be
placed for the experiment. He found the _Savannah_ then being built by
Francis Ficket, of the firm of Ficket and Crocker, at New York, and she
was accordingly purchased for Scarborough and Isaacs. Her engine is
stated to have been built at Morristown, New Jersey, by Stephen Vail,
though Daniel Dod[45] of Elizabeth, New Jersey--one of the foremost
marine engineers of America at that time--who built the boilers and
paddle-wheels, is sometimes said to have been responsible for the
engines also. The paddle-wheels were constructed with eight radii,
which were hinged at the axle, so that they could be folded and removed
from the paddle-shaft, and stowed on deck in dirty weather. She was
a full-rigged ship of 350 tons burden, 130 feet in length by 26 feet
beam, and 16¹⁄₂ feet depth. Her trial trip in New York Bay in March
1819 was considered satisfactory, although the steam pressure employed
was only 2 lb., while the estimated pressure was 10 lb. On March 28,
1819, she sailed for Savannah. Her engines were not used until April 2,
when her wheels were placed on the paddle-shafts. They were shipped and
unshipped at intervals, until the conclusion of the voyage on April 6.
At Charleston, South Carolina, President Monroe, of “Doctrine” fame,
visited her. She then returned to Savannah, and sailed thence for
Liverpool on May 24 carrying neither passengers nor cargo.
[45] Dod was killed in 1823 by the explosion of a boiler on a steamer
whose engines he was testing after having made some experimental
alterations.
On this first voyage to Savannah, which occupied 207 hours, the engines
were running for only 4¹⁄₂ hours. On June 17 she arrived off the coast
of Ireland, where the revenue cruiser _Kite_ pursued her, under the
impression that she was a ship on fire, and three days later she was
off Liverpool. The voyage occupied 29 days 11 hours, and according to
the record kept by Rogers, which is now preserved in the United States
National Museum, steam was raised six times on the voyage and the
engines were run for a total of 80 hours. The reason the engines were
used so little was that she had a very insufficient supply of fuel. She
steamed up the Mersey, her arrival--the arrival of the first vessel
under steam from America--being witnessed by thousands of persons, some
of whom could hardly believe their eyes, so often had the voyage been
described as impossible of accomplishment.
Extracts from the _Savannah’s_ log read:
“_Saturday, May 22, 1819._--These twenty-four hours begins with fresh
breezes at N.E. at 7 A.M. got steam up, winded ship, and hove up the
anchor, at 9 A.M. started with the steam from Savannah, at 12 A.M.
anchored at Tybee stowed the boat and spars and lashed them. Latter
part light breezes at S.E. and flying clouds.
“_Sunday, May 23, 1819._--These twenty-four hours begins with fresh
breezes at east and clear, latter part light breezes and clear.
“_Monday, May 24, 1819._--These twenty-four hours begins with light
breezes and clear at 5 A.M. got under way off Tybee Light and put
to sea with steam and sails, at 6 A.M. left the pilot, at 8 A.M.
took off the wheels in twenty minutes, middle part pleasant. Course
E.N.E., wind S.S.E., the ship going 6.7.8. to 9 knots, and without
her wheels.
“_Tuesday, May 25, 1819._--These twenty-four hours begins with light
breezes and pleasant, all sail set to the best advantage at 12 A.M.
Tybee Light bore W. 6 S. 8 leagues distant from which I take my
departure.”
[Illustration: THE “SAVANNAH.”]
The ship continued under canvas until May 30, when at 8 A.M. steam
was got up for ten hours. And on June 18 the captain entered: “4 P.M.
Cork bore W. 6 S. 5 leagues distant. At 2 A.M. calm, no cole to git up
steam.”
A later entry on _Sunday, June 20, 1819_, reads: “5 P.M. shipped the
wheels, frld. the sails, and running to the River Mercer at 6 P.M. came
to anchor off Liverpool with the small bower anchor.”
The voyage was not without its humorous side. The sailing master,
Rogers, communicated to the New London (Connecticut) _Gazette_ an
account of their experiences. The Cape Clear telegraph station had
reported a ship on fire, and the Admiral at Cork despatched a cutter to
her relief.
“Great was their wonder at their inability,” says the paper, “with all
sail in a fast vessel, to come up with a ship under bare poles. After
several shots were fired from the cutter the engine was stopped, and
the surprise of her crew at the mistake they had made, as well as their
curiosity to see the singular Yankee craft, can be easily imagined.
They asked permission to go on board and were much gratified by the
inspection of this naval novelty. On approaching Liverpool hundreds of
people came off in boats to see her. She was compelled to lay outside
the bar till the tide should serve for her to go in. During this time
she had her colours all flying, when a boat from a British sloop of
war came alongside and hailed. The sailing master was on deck at the
time and answered. The officer of the boat asked him--‘Where is your
master?’ to which he gave the laconic reply, ‘I have no master, sir.’
‘Where’s your captain, then?’ ‘He’s below; do you wish to see him?’ ‘I
do, sir.’ The captain, who was then below, on being called, asked what
he wanted, to which he answered--‘Why do you wear that pennant, sir?’
‘Because my country allows me to, sir.’ ‘My commander thinks it was
done to insult him, and if you don’t take it down he will send a force
that will do it.’ Captain Rogers then exclaimed to the engineer--‘Get
the hot-water engine ready.’ There was no such machine on board, but
the order had the required effect and the boat sheered off.”
From Liverpool the _Savannah_ sailed for St. Petersburg, calling at
Elsinore and Stockholm. This voyage lasted thirty-three days, on ten
of which the vessel was under steam; and twice the machinery was run
for a spell of fifty-two hours. Eighteen hours was her longest spell
while crossing the Atlantic. The homeward voyage was made in the stormy
months of October and November. The paddles were unshipped throughout
that voyage and were not again used until November 30, when she arrived
at Savannah, the ocean journey having been made under sail only. The
cost of purchasing and fitting out the _Savannah_ for this experimental
voyage was £10,000. In December she returned to New York, her machinery
was removed, and she was then used as a sailer between New York and
Savannah until 1822, when she left her bones on the shores of Long
Island.
One of the earliest steamers to cross the Atlantic in a west-bound
direction was a little vessel called the _Rising Star_.[46] It was
decided in 1818 that she should be built, but it was not until 1820
that her construction was begun. It has even been disputed that
this vessel made the voyage at all, and many of the principal books
of reference do not mention her; nevertheless, it appears to be
indisputable that she existed, that she made the voyage to Chili, and
that she had an eventful career which lasted several years, and was
finally wrecked; and that the circumstances under which she left this
country for Chili in connection with the Chilian revolution in favour
of independence, and the events subsequent to her arrival as far as
paying for the steamer is concerned, reflect as little credit upon
the Chilian Government as upon that of Great Britain. Early in the
last century the relations between Chili and Spain became strained to
breaking-point. The Chilian people determined to free themselves from
the yoke of Spain and to establish a republic. Whatever may be the case
now, there is little question that one of the characteristics of all
the South American States at that time and for many years afterwards
was an extraordinary ingratitude towards those who had in any way
helped them. The history of that revolution and of the prominent part
which Lord Cochrane played in bringing it to a successful issue are too
well known to need recapitulation, but a short reference to it is not
out of place in considering the circumstances under which the _Rising
Star_ was sent on her journey.
[46] The “Dictionary of Dates” and the American “Universal Gazetteer”
give the name of the vessel as the _Rising Sun_, but this would
appear, from Lord Dundonald’s papers, to be incorrect.
In a recent letter to the writer Lord Dundonald says: “In 1817, when my
grandfather, the tenth Earl of Dundonald, was engaged by the Chilian
Government to create and take command of the Chilian Navy, he made a
stipulation that a steamboat should at once be constructed and sent
out to Chili to take part in the war, his opinion being that the great
disparity in numbers between the Chilian Navy and the Spanish Navy in
the Pacific would be neutralised by the advantage obtained in utilising
a steam vessel for purposes of war. The vessel was constructed on the
Thames at Rotherhithe, and my grandfather had anticipated going out in
her, but as she took longer in construction than was expected, he went
out with his wife and two children in the _Rose_ merchantman of 300
tons.
“It appears that the _Rising Star_ was taken out by my great-uncle,
Major the Hon. William Cochrane, but apparently she arrived in Chili
when my grandfather had practically swept the seas of the Spanish
fleet; a revolution had just taken place on her arrival and there was
no money available to pay for the _Rising Star_. The history of the
claim made against the Chilian Government by Major the Hon. William
Cochrane of course need not be gone into except in a word or two; as
you will understand, Chili was at that time a prey to revolution and
a poor country with little money and little credit; she repudiated
obligations at that time and would be much ashamed of her action now.”
Don José Alvarez, the Chilian agent, in a communication to Lord
Cochrane, had called attention to the “unfortunate delay,” and urged
him to embark immediately with his family in the ship _Rose_ to
proceed to Chili. The agent’s letter contained “the assurance that I
will attend to the affairs of the _Rising Star_, and take care that
everything is done to her.”
The memorial of the Hon. William Erskine Cochrane to the President of
the Chilian Republic many years later, in reciting the circumstance,
states that Mr. Edward Ellice, then an eminent English merchant and
a well-wisher to the independence of Chili, undertook the completion
and equipment of the _Rising Star_, but after having expended £8000
and the machinery being found defective, he declined making any
further advance, and being unable to obtain repayment of the sum he
had expended or the funds requisite for the necessary alterations and
equipment he advertised the vessel for sale. Don Alvarez then wrote to
Lord Cochrane on April 18, 1820, announcing Messrs. Ellice and Co.’s
intentions and solicited his assistance and added: “I shall, on the
part of the Government of Chili, agree to the following terms: The
ship, engines and stores to be sold or made over to any one of your
nomination for £6000; by that person and at his expense, the engines
must be altered in the following manner, viz., the pipes which convey
the steam from the boilers to be removed and larger ones provided.
Alterations to be made in the condensers. The paddle-blades to be
altered. The smoke apparatus to be completed and fitted, and the
effect of the engines tried. The ship must then undergo any necessary
repairs in her hull and rigging, when she must be manned, victualled,
insured, and conveyed to Chili at the expence of the purchaser; boats
and pumps of which she is now deficient must also be provided. The
amount of these various items, together with the interest of money
and profit, to be calculated at nine thousand pounds, so that on the
arrival of the vessel at Chili she will be purchased by Government at
fifteen thousand pounds.[47] In addition to which the licences formerly
granted to Messrs. Ellice for the importation of goods to the amount of
40,000 dollars[48] of duties shall be made over and transferred to the
person who undertakes this matter, and all property conveyed out in the
_Rising Star_ shall be admitted into Chili free of duties.”[49]
[47] This includes the £6000 paid for the ship.
[48] These were originally granted as a bonus.
[49] No goods were taken out in the ship.
The _Rising Star_ was completed, and arrived at Valparaiso in April
1822. But Lord Cochrane’s work was practically over and she was
therefore not required for the purpose originally intended of enabling
the Chilians to cope with the Spanish Navy. In June 1823 there was a
sudden change of government in Chili, and the O’Higgins Cabinet was
overthrown. The change was accompanied by the restless outbreaks which
have often marked political differences in the South American States,
and a good many of the papers relating to the building of the _Rising
Star_ and sending her to Chili were destroyed.
The new Chilian Government, being very short of money, took advantage
of the destruction of the papers and repudiated the obligation to Lord
Cochrane. It would take too much space to go into the details of this
lamentable affair, but it is sufficient to say that the vessel was
sold, that the Cochrane interest in her vanished, and the Hon. Wm. E.
Cochrane was called on for payment of a considerable additional sum
solely in consequence of the vexatious delay of the Chilian Government
in saying whether they would or would not fulfil their engagement.
[Illustration: THE “RISING STAR.”]
From a journal kept by Major W. E. Cochrane it appears that on May 31,
1820, he made his first payment of £50 on account of the vessel to Mr.
Kier, engineer. He seems to have visited very frequently the yard at
Deptford where the vessel was built, sometimes with the Chilian agent,
and payments on account of construction of £50 or so are frequent.
By the 14th of the following September the engines were sufficiently
advanced to undergo a trial, with what result is not stated. On October
6, he paid Mr. Ellice £2000 on account of the price of the ship. On the
17th he paid her another visit, when the engines were tried, and on the
18th he went again and tried the open paddles. Extensive alterations
to the engines were necessary, for on November 11 there appears the
item that he paid the balance of Kier’s account for that work, £163
4_s._ 11_d._ On January 30, 1821, he went and took dimensions for the
smoke-burning apparatus.
The _Rising Star_ left the dock on February 5, when the engineers
received £1 for working on Sunday. On the 7th, the wheels were tried
and one of them broke, and on the 8th he ordered the wheels to be
brought to town. On the 16th, a payment was made of £79 19_s._ “for the
deeds relating to the purchasing of the _Rising Star_.” On the 21st,
he paid a bricklayer for constructing the smoke-burning apparatus in
the flues of the boilers. Presumably the repairs were effected after
the ship had been returned to dock, for on February 22 she was taken
out of dock again. On March 20, the name of Captain Scott, as master,
first appears. On the 24th, Major Cochrane “went to the ship and got
the balance wheels fixed,” and on the 26th “tried the wheels, which did
not propel.” The weights were taken off the paddles on the following
day and reversed, and another trial was made of which the result is not
stated, and there was yet another trial on the 11th of the following
month. In April he paid to Mr. Brent, the builder, for docking the
_Rising Star_, £120 15_s._ 3_d._ On May 9 he ordered “my new vertical
paddles,” which were erected on the 29th. On this date there is a
curious entry: “Steward and boat 6_s._ 6_d._,” which is probably the
first recorded instance of a ship’s steward receiving a tip. The wheels
were tried while the vessel was in dock on June 8, and were found to
act well, and Don José Alvarez visited her the next day.
On the 11th of that month the first real trial of the ship took place,
for the entry reads: “Tried the ship with my vertical paddles. She went
from 5 to 6 knots, (standard broke).” A new standard was ordered and
on July 5, “tried my new paddles, went 20 miles at the rate of 5³⁄₄
knots an hour.” On the 18th of that month he paid Brent’s bill for
alterations and repairs, £193 3_s._ 8_d._ On September 4 the ship was
taken five miles down the river, and on the 11th he “ordered her into
dock to have her paddle-case closed (on account of insurance).” The
paddle-cases were fitted on the 13th, and on October 17 she went down
to Gravesend. Then comes a series of entries which are interesting as
showing the rates of pay at the time.
They are as follows, and are dated October 18:
Paid one month’s wages to Captain Scott £10 0 0
Paid William Ford, Carpenter, for the voyage 13 10 0
Mr. Cook, Mate, one month’s voyage[50] 4 0 0
To Cluly, 2nd Mate, one month’s wages 3 0 0
To Leach, Steward 6 0 0
Wages of Seamen 20 6 6
[50] Wages is probably meant.
The _Rising Star_ sailed from Gravesend on October 22, 1821. Numerous
heavy bills came in shortly afterwards, among which are “Insurance on
ship £800,” and Mr. Brown’s account, in which is included the heavy
expenses at Cork, when the ship put in there in distress, having sprung
a leak off the coast of Portugal, £913 9_s._ 1¹⁄₂_d._
Altogether the actual outlay in cash amounted to £13,295 4_s._ 4¹⁄₂_d._
The sum agreed upon in the arrangement with Don Alvarez was £15,000, to
which was added the interest to the year in which the claim was made
thirty-four years later, bringing the total amount of the claim of the
Cochrane family on account of this little steamer to £40,500.
Mr. W. Jackson went to Chili to join Lord Cochrane as secretary, and
remained with him in that capacity until his lordship’s return to
England. Mr. Jackson wrote on June 20, 1856, from Melton Mowbray: “I
sailed in her [the _Rising Star_] to Valparaiso, having been appointed
joint agent with Mr. Barnard, already at that place, for her transfer
to the Chilian Government. She arrived there in April 1822 in excellent
condition, having proved herself a very superior sea-boat, frequently
going twelve knots an hour. She was then tendered to the Government on
the terms of the contract, but they first claimed her in virtue of a
partial advance they had made for the building of the hull, and failing
to obtain possession on that ground they repudiated the contract with
Alvarez altogether, without assigning any valid reason for so doing.
The sum agreed to be paid on her delivery was £15,000, no part of which
was there received.”
Unfortunately, little is known as to the nature of her machinery or
means of propulsion. An illustration of the _Rising Star_, published
in 1821, represents her as a full-rigged ship and carrying two funnels
placed abreast and situated between the main and fore masts; but she
seems to have neither paddle-boxes nor uncovered paddle-wheels. The
description attached to the picture states that the _Rising Star_ was
“built under the direction of Lord Cochrane upon the principle of
navigating either by sails or by steam, the propelling apparatus being
placed in the hold and caused to operate through apertures in the
bottom of the vessel.”
From this it may be conjectured either that the paddles were discarded
or that she was also fitted with some modification of the jet system.
Although no further attempt was made to send a steamer across the
Atlantic for many years, the project was not lost sight of, and schemes
innumerable were formed and abandoned. Ten years after the _Savannah’s_
voyage some Dutch merchants purchased the _Curaçoa_, a Clyde-built
vessel of 320 tons, and despatched her to the West Indies from Antwerp.
Her engines were of 100 horse-power, and consumed slightly over seven
pounds of coal per indicated horse-power per hour, but there is no
record of her having attempted to make the voyage under steam.
The first steamer to cross the Atlantic from west to east depending
largely though not entirely on her own steam was the _Royal William_,
built by James Goudie for the Quebec and Halifax Steam Navigation
Company at Quebec, in the shipyard of Black and Saxton Campbell, upon
the lines of an early Clyde steamer, the _United Kingdom_, built by
Steele of Greenock in 1826 for the London and Leith service. She was
176 feet long, and 146 feet between perpendiculars. Her beam was 27
feet, and outside the paddle-boxes 43 feet 10 inches, and her depth
17 feet 9 inches. Her tonnage is variously given as 830 gross[51] and
1370 B.M.[52] She had side-lever engines of 180 horse-power[53] or 200
horse-power,[54] by Boulton and Watt. She was engined at St. Mary’s
foundry, Montreal. Her launch took place on April 29, 1831, and after
trading for a time between Quebec and Nova Scotian ports she was sold
to another company, which ultimately tried the experiment of sending
her across the Atlantic. Mr. Samuel Cunard was one of the directors
of this company, but there is nothing to show that he assisted in the
promotion of the scheme to send her over the ocean.[55] Nevertheless
it is a fact that “the idea of starting a line of steamers to connect
the two countries had occurred to his mind as early as 1830.”[56] On
August 4, 1833, the _Royal William_ sailed from Quebec, coaled at
Pictou, and began her journey. She is said to have steamed the greater
part of the way, some writers say the whole of it, and arrived at
Gravesend on September 11 after calling at Cowes. Probably owing to
there being another vessel of the same name a few years later, some
misconception has arisen as to her performance, for as a matter of
fact, the first _Royal William_ did not steam all the way, but made
a considerable portion of the voyage under sail alone. It is to the
credit of Canadians, however, that this steamer was despatched, and it
is upon this particular enterprise that the claim of the Canadians to
have made the first steam-ship voyage across the Atlantic is founded.
The subsequent history of this vessel is interesting. She stayed in
the Port of London for a few weeks, after which she was chartered
by the Portuguese, and while in their service her speed attracted
the attention of the Spanish Government. The Spaniards purchased her
towards the end of 1833 at the time of the first Carlist rebellion and
changed her name to the _Ysabel Secunda_. It was shortly after this
that she obtained the doubtful honour of being the first steamer to
fire a gun in war, the Spaniards having armed her with six cannon. Her
eventful career ended when she went to pieces on the Santander rocks.
[51] “The Atlantic Ferry.”
[52] Kennedy’s “History of Steam Navigation.”
[53] _Ibid._
[54] “The Atlantic Ferry.”
[55] _Ibid._
[56] “History of the Cunard Company.”
[Illustration: THE “DIEPPE” (L.B. & S.C.R.).]
[Illustration: THE “UNITED KINGDOM.”]
These two voyages stand in a class by themselves, and both mark a
distinct step forward in the progress of the modern mercantile marine.
The earliest steamboats, whether European, British, or American, were
smooth-water vessels only, and were admitted to be of an elementary and
experimental character. The _Charlotte Dundas_ and _Comet_ in Scotland
and the _Clermont_ and _Phœnix_ in America were much beyond anything
that had preceded them, and were significant as indicating a perception
of the possibility of extending the activity of steam-propelled boats
from the placid waters of canals or rivers to the greater waters
of harbours, ports, and estuaries. The four vessels first named
demonstrated, each in her own way, that it was necessary to build the
hull to suit the engine, instead of acquiring a hull and putting an
engine into it and trusting to luck. The _Phœnix_ showed in 1807 that
a vessel constructed to carry a steam-engine of a suitable size could
be trusted on the open sea, by steaming from New York to the Delaware.
A few years later, the Clyde shipbuilders showed that they could
construct steamers which should go down the Clyde estuary and even
essay the journey to Ireland.
It is true they used sails whenever possible, but when winds or tides
were against them the engines alone were depended on. Vessels with
two and three masts were employed, and as marine engines were made
of greater size, power, and weight, vessels of greater dimensions
were equipped with them, and the coastal service was inaugurated. By
this time the engine had become a powerful auxiliary to sail on short
voyages for which large bunker space was not required. The maintenance
of the coastal voyages in all weathers proved the thorough seagoing
qualities of the steamers. In estimating the value of the _Savannah’s_
voyage and its place in the history of steam navigation, it must not
be forgotten that she was a sailing vessel, was built to be one, that
the form of her hull was not altered in any way when she was engined,
and that on her return, when her machinery was taken out of her,
she resumed her place in her country’s trade as a sailer. Quebec’s
_Royal William_, on the contrary, was designed and built to be a steam
auxiliary vessel, and it was not until she had established herself in
that capacity that her voyage to the Mother Country was decided upon.
The performances of these two ships were thus of great importance; they
demonstrated, in the case of the _Savannah_, that a little sailing ship
could carry a small auxiliary engine which might help her in and out of
port, and at other times if it were necessary and fuel permitted; and
in the case of the _Royal William_ that a steam packet could essay an
ocean voyage and depend both upon her sails and steam-engines to enable
her to reach her destination in good time.
No further attempts were made, however, until 1838, which was destined
to become a memorable year.
Before this, various companies had been proposing to build steamers,
but nothing had been done. In 1828 an Act of Parliament was obtained
for the incorporation of the Valentia Transatlantic Steam Navigation
Company, which was to run a line of steamers from the west coast of
Ireland to America. The company proposed to build a steamer at a cost
of £21,000. She was to carry fifty cabin passengers and as many in
the steerage, and 200 tons of cargo in her hold. It was suggested
that she should be of about 800 tons displacement, with engines of
200 horse-power, and her speed was to be such that she could make six
voyages each way in twelve months. The company announced in 1828 that
it would commence operations immediately, but the public held aloof,
and seven years later matters were no further advanced.
Then the project was revived, and considerable interest was taken
in it because it was suggested that the enterprise should be worked
in connection with the new railway from London, the new Post Office
packets and the Valentia Railway.
It was at this time that Dr. Lardner, a man of recognised scientific
attainments, made his remarkable assertion regarding the impossibility
of establishing steam navigation between New York and Liverpool.
According to a report of a meeting at which Dr. Lardner was present,
that gentleman pointed out that “the only difficulty would be as to the
run from Valentia to St. John’s.” He continued: “As a last resource,
however, should the distance between Valentia and St. John’s prove too
great they might make the Azores a stage between, so there remained
no doubt of the practicability of establishing a steam intercourse
with the United States. As to the project of making a voyage directly
from New York to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying,
perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making a voyage
from New York or Liverpool to the moon.”[57]
[57] Liverpool _Albion_, December 14, 1835.
While England was listening to the depressing remarks of Dr. Lardner,
America was at work.
In 1835 Junius Smith[58] from Massachusetts began to consider the
navigation of the ocean by steamers, and in 1836 he proposed to form
the British and American Steam Navigation Company. The company was
actually established in 1837 by Mr. Macgregor Laird with a capital
of £1,000,000, but Smith’s connection with the scheme ceased, as he
saw himself unlikely to make as much out of the enterprise as he had
anticipated.
[58] The name is given as “Junius Smith” in Appleton’s “Cyclopædia of
National Biography.”
Mr. Kennedy’s “History of Steam Navigation,” however, states that
Doctor Julius Smith organised in 1836 “a transatlantic steam-ship
company bearing the title of the ‘British Queen Steam Navigation
Company,’ with a capital of £1,000,000, and Mr. Macgregor Laird as
secretary.” The most remarkable event in the annals of this company
is the voyage of the Sirius from London to New York in 1838. “The
_Sirius_! The _Sirius_! The _Sirius_! Nothing is talked of in New York
but about the _Sirius_. She is the first steam vessel that has arrived
here from England, and a glorious boat she is.... Lieutenant Roberts,
R.N., Commander, is the first man that has navigated a steam-ship from
Europe to America.”[59] The _Sirius_ was sent across the Atlantic
really as a desperate remedy against competition.
[59] New York _Weekly Herald_.
The Transatlantic Company had placed a contract as early as 1836 with
Messrs. Curling and Young of Blackwall, London, for the construction of
the _British Queen_ steam-ship, but the bankruptcy of Messrs. Claude
Girdwood and Co. of Glasgow, who had contracted to build the engines,
caused considerable delay. Enterprising rivals at Bristol, seizing the
opportunity, formed the Great Western Steamship Company to build and
equip the _Great Western_, which they determined to put on the service
before the _British Queen_ could be got ready. In this they were
successful, and to save the honour of their own company the _British
Queen_ directors hired the _Sirius_ from the Cork Steamship Company.
It was known at the time that she was too small to be employed as a
regular transoceanic trader, and even before she started on her first
voyage the announcement was made that she would make two voyages only.
She was 178 feet long, 25¹⁄₂ feet broad, 18¹⁄₄ feet deep, and of
703 tons register. Her engines, like those of all other vessels
of her time, were of the side-lever type; their cylinders were of
60 inches diameter, and had a stroke of 6 feet, and she carried a
surface condenser similar to those now in use. She was a two-masted
vessel, carrying three square sails on the foremast, her aftermast
being fore-and-aft rigged only. She had one funnel situated abaft the
paddle-boxes, which were about amidships. A picture of the vessel is in
existence which represents her as three-masted, and with her paddles
rather far forward, but this is inaccurate. She was almost a new ship
at this time, and it is not likely that a mast would have been taken
out of her between her launch and her Atlantic voyage. Her schooner
bows bore as figurehead a dog with a star between his front paws.
The _Sirius_ left London, sailing from East Lane Stairs, on March
28. She took no goods, as she was intended to be a passenger steamer
only. On going down the river she overtook the _Great Western_ “with
a respectable pleasure party on board,” and a trial of speed was the
consequence. When the _Sirius_ had reached Gravesend she was upwards
of a mile ahead of her rival. She had made the distance from Greenwich
to Gravesend against a strong tide in one hour and fifty-six minutes.
Both ships had their colours hoisted, and the banks of the river were
thronged with spectators. Soon after the departure of the _Sirius_
the American Line packet-ship _Quebec_ came down the river in tow,
and wagers were freely laid that the _Quebec_ would arrive before the
_Sirius_ at New York. But those who backed the _Quebec_ lost their
money.
The _Ocean_, a vessel belonging to the Irish Company, acted as tender
to the _Sirius_ when the latter called at Cork, and arrived there from
Liverpool on April 3, with mails and passengers for the venturesome
little craft. At a few minutes after ten o’clock on the morning of the
4th, the _Sirius_ proceeded on her voyage. The day was beautifully
fine, every vessel in the harbour was decked with flags in honour of
the event, a salute was fired from the battery on shore, and every
boat which could be pressed into service was crowded with enthusiastic
sightseers when, accompanied by the _Ocean_, the vessel left the
harbour. The _Ocean_ went with her as far as the entrance to the bay.
The _Watt_, which arrived at Liverpool on April 8, reported having
sighted on April 5, in latitude 51° N. and longitude 12° W., the
_Sirius_ bound for New York, bravely encountering a westerly gale.
“When it is considered,” the Liverpool _Standard_ of the day naively
remarked, “that this is the first steam vessel to cross the Atlantic,
this information may not be altogether unimportant.”
New York was reached at ten o’clock in the evening of April 22,
not without some adventure. Lieutenant Roberts, her commander, was
determined to carry the voyage through, but it was only “thanks to
stern discipline and the persuasive arguments of loaded firearms”
that he brought the crew round to his way of thinking, as they became
somewhat demoralised by continuous head-winds and declared that it was
utter madness to proceed in so small a vessel. There were 94 passengers
on board, of whom 30 were in the state-cabin, 29 in the fore-cabin, and
35 were steerage passengers.[60]
[60] It has been said the _Sirius_ carried no passengers. According
to _Notes and Queries_, the New York _Herald_, of April 28, 1838, in
reporting the arrival of the _Sirius_, says that forty-two passengers
were on board, of whom eleven were females, for whose accommodation a
stewardess was carried. A contributor to _Notes and Queries_ quotes
the authority of the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen for the
statement that the stewards’ department consisted of three stewards,
one assistant, two cooks, and a boy, and he asks whether this staff
would have been required in an ordinary boat of 412 tons if there
were no passengers.
[Illustration: THE “SIRIUS,” FROM A PRINT OF 1837.]
The passage occupied sixteen and a half days, and the average speed
was 8¹⁄₂ knots per hour; about twenty-four tons of coal per day being
consumed. Her arrival at New York was hailed with delirious enthusiasm,
and the excitement was yet further intensified when it became known
on the morning of the 23rd, only a few hours after the _Sirius_ had
anchored off the Battery, that another steam-ship was sighted making
its way to the port, and that the approaching vessel was greater than
any steam-ship ever seen in American waters.
This was the _Great Western_, and New York celebrated the double
arrival with that strenuous abandon attainable only in the Empire City.
The _Great Western_ was built at Bristol by Patterson. She was brought
round to London and left London again for the western port on March
31. Off Southend she was discovered to be on fire, and the heat and
smoke were so great that all the engine-room staff had to take refuge
on deck. Fortunately they had forgotten to stop her engines, and the
vessel was beached on the Chapman Sands, her decks were cut into,
and volumes of water were poured upon the flames. The fire was soon
extinguished, and the damage was found to be much less than was feared.
She floated on the tide and resumed her voyage under her own steam to
Bristol. The fire was due to the ignition of the felt packing round
the boilers. Owing to this adventure the _Great Western_ did not
sail from Bristol for New York quite as early as was expected, and it
was this delay which enabled the _Sirius_ to gain pride of place. The
_Great Western_ left for New York three days after the departure of
the _Sirius_ from Cork. Her average speed to New York was 208 knots
per day, and she used 655 tons of coal on the voyage. Another account,
published in 1840, says that of her 660 tons of coal only 452 were used
when she reached New York. On her homeward voyage her speed was nearly
9 knots an hour as against the 8·2 knots outward, but she burnt only
392 tons of coal, the difference being accounted for by the fact that
on the outward voyage she experienced very rough weather. Although
she made a much faster passage than her little rival, it is but fair
to remember that she was nearly twice her size, and with engines
developing more than twice the horse-power.
A contemporary writer thus describes the _Great Western_: “The
officers, crew, and engineers are about sixty in number. The saloon is
75 feet long, 21 feet broad, exclusive of recesses on each side, where
the breadth is 34 feet and the height 9 feet. The decorations are in
the highest degree tasteful and elegant, and the apartment may vie
with those of the club-houses of London in luxury and magnificence.
The splendour of a saloon is, however, a matter of very inferior
consequence, and it is higher praise to state that the more essential
parts of the vessel and all her machinery are examples of mechanical
skill and ingenuity which cannot be surpassed.”
[Illustration: THE “GREAT WESTERN.” FROM A PRINT OF 1837.]
The saloon was decorated with about fifty panels, the larger ones,
according to a contemporary description, representing “rural
scenery, agriculture, music, the arts and sciences, interior views
and landscapes, and parties grouped, or engaged in elegant sports
and amusements; the smaller panels contained beautifully pencilled
paintings of Cupid, Psyche, and other aerial figures.”[61] Every
berth and cabin had a bell communicating with the stewards’ room, the
method of communication being described as follows for the instruction
of travellers: “When the attendance of the steward is required, the
passenger pulls the bell-rope in his berth, which rings the bell in the
small box (in the stewards’ room) and at the same time by means of a
small lever forces up through a slit in the lid a small tin label with
the number of the room painted requiring the services of the steward,
and there remains, until the steward has ascertained the number of the
room and pushed it down again. Thus, instead of an interminable number
of bells there are only two. This arrangement, which is alike ingenious
as it is useful, is deserving the notice of architects.”[62]
[61] _The Mirror._
[62] _Civil Engineer and Architect’s Journal._
From the same publication it appears that the floors are of great
length and overrun each other. “They are firmly dowelled and bolted,
first in pairs and then together by means of 1¹⁄₂-inch bolts about 24
feet in length, driven in four parallel rows. The scantling is equal
in size to that of our line-of-battle ships; it is filled in solid
and was caulked within and without up to the first futtock heads
previously to planking, and all to above this height of English oak.
She is most closely and firmly trussed with iron and wooden diagonals
and shelf-pieces, which with the whole of her upper works are fastened
with screws and nuts to a much greater extent than has hitherto been
put in practice. Her engines are the largest marine engines yet
made. The boilers are constructed with several adaptations for the
economy of steam and fuel on an entirely new principle. There are four
distinct and independent boilers, any number of which can be worked
as circumstances require. The wheels have the cycloidal paddles. The
figure-head is a demi-figure of Neptune with gilded trident, and on
each side are dolphins in imitation bronze.”
The _Sirius_ made two transatlantic voyages as advertised, and was
utilised henceforward for the trade for which she was built, namely,
carrying passengers and goods between ports on the coast. She traded
chiefly between Liverpool, Cork, Glasgow, and London, and occasionally
to St. Petersburg, and at last, in June 1847, she was wrecked in
Ballycotten Bay.
While the _Sirius_ and _Great Western_ had been monopolising the
attention of the public, the directors of the City of Dublin Steam
Packet Company, who had already formed a company to join in the
transatlantic traffic, determined upon making their start with the
new paddle-steamer _Royal William_. This was not the Canadian _Royal
William_, but a boat built in 1836 by Wilson of Liverpool, with engines
by Fawcett and Preston, and one of a quartet intended to compete with
the Government steamers carrying the mails between Liverpool and
Kingstown. She was a faster vessel than any of the Government boats.
One voyage, in which she created a record which stood for some time,
was when she was engaged between London and Dublin, and did the 260
miles run from Falmouth to Kingstown in 23 hours. She was slightly
shorter than the _Sirius_, but her capacity was 817 tons gross, and
her engines of 276 horse-power. Although she had accommodation for
eighty passengers, she had on board only thirty-two when she started
from Liverpool on Thursday, July 5, 1838. She carried no cargo, all the
space apparently being used for fuel.
“Coal filled her bunkers, her holds, and even her well-deck, so that
her paddles were buried six feet, her sponsons were submerged, and
it was possible, by leaning over the bulwarks, to wash one’s hands
in the water that surged at the vessel’s sides.”[63] Her departure
from Liverpool was celebrated in a manner befitting the occasion; the
spectators gathered by thousands, and every cannon on either side of
the river that could be used to fire a salute was requisitioned, while
the steamers and large sailing ships anchored in the river, many of
which carried guns, joined in the salute. The outward voyage lasted
nineteen days, but she did the passage back in fourteen and a half days.
[63] Kennedy’s “History of Steam Navigation.”
While she was being got ready, the directors accepted an offer from
Sir John Tobin to run a steamer, which was built for him, alternately
with the _Royal William_. She was named the _Liverpool_, and was of
1150 tons, carrying engines of 404 horse-power. She sailed on October
20, 1838, and had got about one-third of the way across the Atlantic
when it was found necessary to turn back on account of bad weather. She
accordingly took refuge at Cork. A stay of ten days was made there, and
she eventually arrived at New York on November 23.
The _British Queen_, as befitted her name, was launched on the Queen’s
birthday in 1838, and made her first voyage from London to New York in
July 1839. She was commanded by Lieutenant Roberts, formerly of the
_Sirius_, and was at that time the largest and fastest steam vessel
afloat; and with Roberts in charge, it is not to be wondered at that
she did some good work. Lieutenant Roberts, writing to a friend from
New York, says in the course of a letter dated June 1, 1840: “I can
only state there is not a faster seagoing vessel in the World, and time
will tell. We have beat the _Great Western_ every voyage this year and
[word illegible] last year; therefore whoever gave you the idea of our
Speed and Power were perfectly ignorant of Steam and Steam Vessels. I
have made the passage from Portsmouth to New York shorter than ever
performed, only 13 d. 11 h. from Pilot to Pilot. Let _Great Western_
do that if she can, though she has ten hours’ shorter distance to run.
I sail at 1 P.M. this day with full cargo and every berth taken, and
sincerely do I wish to make a short passage.” He adds: “I intend trying
for some shore berth ... but will not leave till I command the first
iron vessel to steam across the Atlantic.” This was not to be, however,
for he was in command of the _President_ when that ill-fated vessel
left New York with one hundred and thirty-six passengers on March 12,
1841. No trace of her has been found from that day to this.
[Illustration: THE “PRESIDENT.”]
The _President_ was launched on December 7, 1839, on the Thames by the
same builders, Messrs. Curling and Young. She was almost a sister ship
to the _British Queen_, as far as appearance and general equipment
went, but the engines of the second vessel were slightly more powerful.
[Illustration: THE “BRITISH QUEEN.” FROM AN ORIGINAL PAINTING IN THE
POSSESSION OF THE AUTHOR.]
The following comparative table, showing the dimensions of these
vessels, was published in 1840:
+-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+
| | _Great |_British| |
| DIMENSIONS. |Western._|Queen._ |_President._|
+-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+
|Extreme length (feet) | 236 | 275 | 265 |
|Extreme length under deck (feet) | 212 | 245 | 238 |
|Extreme length keel (feet) | 205 | 225 | 220 |
|Breadth within the paddle-boxes | | | |
|(feet) | 35·4 in.| 40 | 41 |
|Breadth, including paddle-boxes | | | |
|(feet) | 59·8 in.| 64 | 64 |
|Depth of hold at midships (feet) | 23·2 in.|27·6 in.| 23·6 in. |
|Tons of space | 679¹⁄₂ | 1053 | -- |
|Tonnage of engine-room (feet) | 641¹⁄₂ | 963 | -- |
|Total tonnage (tons) | 1321 | 2016 | 1840 |
|Power of engines (horses) | 450 | 500 | 540 |
|Diameter of cylinders (inches) | 73 | 77¹⁄₂ | 80 |
|Length of stroke (feet) | 7 | 7 | 7¹⁄₂ |
|Diameter of paddle-wheels (feet) | 28·9 in.|30·6 in.| 31 |
|Total weight of engines, boilers, | | | |
|and water (tons) | 480 | 500 | 500 |
|Total weight of coals, twenty days’| | | |
|consumption (tons) | 600 | 750 | 750 |
|Total weight of cargo (tons) | 250 | 500 | 750 |
|Draught of water with the above | | | |
|weight of stores (feet) | 16·8 in.|16·7 in.| 17 |
+-----------------------------------+---------+--------+------------+
They were square-sterned vessels, barque-rigged, and carried a
long white funnel with a black top. The paddles were placed almost
amidships, with the funnel abaft the paddle-boxes. The _Great Western_
might be described as a four-masted barquentine. She had one funnel
carried between the fore and main masts, and the paddles were set abaft
the main-mast. All three vessels had engines of the side-lever type.
Those of the _British Queen_ were supplied by Napier from the Clyde,
and those of the _President_ by Fawcett and Preston of Liverpool. The
_Great Western’s_ engines were built by Maudslay, Son, and Field of
London.
The _President_ was built of oak with fir planking, her upper deck
being flush from bows to stern. The stern was ornamented with
the British and American arms, supported by the lion and eagle,
appropriately painted. And for a figure-head she had a bust of
Washington. The paddle-boxes were decorated with a five-point star.
The first attempt to float the _President_ was not a success owing to
the tide not being high enough. A second attempt the following day
also failed, but on the third day, Monday, December 9, 1839, she was
floated, and towed out of the dock and down to Blackwall, where she was
safely moored.
After the loss of the _President_ in 1841, the British and American
Steam Navigation Company sold the _British Queen_ to the Belgians
and retired from business altogether, leaving the _Great Western_
practically in sole possession of the Atlantic. But, as the next
chapter will show, this splendid isolation was not hers for long.