Chapter IV.
“The Year 1815.”
To the student of British history, the year 1815 is one of the most remarkable of the nineteenth century. In June of that year was fought the Battle of Waterloo—a victory for the British which effectually destroyed the power of the first Napoleon, and delivered Europe from the terror of a military despotism. The merchants of the “good old town” of Liverpool were determined that the famous victory should never be forgotten by their descendants, and so they perpetuated the name in the “Waterloo Road,” the “Waterloo Dock,” and their latest seaside suburb “Waterloo.” Another event occurred in that same eventful month of June, 1815, an event unheralded at the time, but whose results have been more widely spread and more beneficent than those which resulted from the Battle of Waterloo. This was the arrival from the Clyde of the first steamer ever seen on the river Mersey. The following brief and unsatisfactory paragraph appeared in the “Liverpool Mercury” of the 30th June:—
“Liverpool Steamboat.—On Wednesday last, about noon, the public curiosity was considerably excited by the arrival of the first steamboat ever seen in our river. She came from the Clyde, and in her passage called at Ramsay, in the Isle of Man, which place she left early on the same morning. We believe she is intended to ply between this port and Runcorn, or even occasionally as far as Warrington. Her cabin will contain about one hundred passengers.”
This is one of the most tantalising paragraphs ever printed. If “the public curiosity was considerably excited,” the reporter certainly took no pains to gratify it. The name of the vessel is not given, nor any particulars of her dimensions, or of her power and speed. The daring mariners who navigated her are nameless, and the incidents of this pioneer voyage are left unrecorded.
“The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones.”
Fortunately we are able, from other sources, to gather some idea of the size and appearance of the vessel, and of the impression she made on the minds of the spectators. She was presumably one of the three steamers built on the Clyde in 1813, as competitors against the Comet, for passengers between Glasgow and Greenock; the other two were the Argyle and the Industry. There was only a difference of five feet between the smallest and the largest of these three steamers, so that a description of the Argyle will answer for the others as well. The Argyle was a packet steamer of 70 tons register, measuring in her keel 79 feet, with 16 feet beam, paddle wheels 9 feet in diameter, and engines 14 h.p. Her smoke was carried off by a funnel, which also did duty as a mast, being rigged with a large square sail. A gallery, upon which the cabin windows opened, projected so as to form a continuous deck, interrupted only by the paddle boxes, an arrangement which had the further effect of making the vessel appear larger than she really was. On the outside of the gallery eighteen large port holes were painted, which, with the two she displayed upon her stern, made the Argyle look so formidable to those to whom a steamer was a novelty, that it was stated in a Committee of the House of Commons, by several naval officers, that if they had met her at sea they would have endeavoured to reconnoitre before attempting to bring her to. After plying for twelve months between Glasgow and Greenock, the Argyle was sold to a London firm, who changed her name to the Thames. In consequence of this change of ownership, this vessel made one of the most remarkable voyages ever accomplished by any steamer. An interesting narrative of the voyage, from which these particulars are taken, was published in “Chambers’ Journal” on the 25th April, 1857.
The task of bringing the little steam-packet round by sea from the Clyde to the Thames, was intrusted to an ex-naval officer named Dodd, a man of considerable and diverse abilities. He projected the Thames tunnel, proposing to carry it across from Gravesend to Tilbury, at an estimated cost of under £16,000. According to an account of the voyage which Dodd himself published in the “Morning Chronicle” of the 15th June, 1815, and afterwards embodied in his evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, Dodd sailed from Glasgow about the middle of May with a crew of eight persons—a mate, an engineer, a stoker, four seamen, and a cabin-boy. His voyage at first was far from auspicious. The weather was stormy, the sea ran high in the strait which separates Scotland from Ireland, and either through ignorance or negligence, the pilot during the night altered the course of the vessel, so that it ran a great risk of being wrecked. Dodd had given orders that the steamer should be steered so as to gain the Irish coast by the morning; but at break of day a heavy gale was blowing, and it was discovered that, instead of being off the coast of Ireland, they were within half-a-league off a lee shore, rock bound, about two miles to the north of Port Patrick. Relying entirely upon the efficiency of his engine, Dodd at once laid the vessel’s head directly to windward, and ordered the log to be kept constantly going. The plan succeeded. The Thames began slowly to clear the shore, going direct in the wind’s eye at the rate of something more than three knots an hour. On the 24th of May the voyagers arrived safely at Dublin, where they were joined by a Mr. Weld and his wife. Mrs. Weld has the proud distinction of having been the first lady passenger to cross the St. George’s Channel on a steamboat. Mr. Weld kept a journal, from which the following is an extract:—
[10]“On the 25th May, 1815, I heard by accident that a steam-vessel had arrived at Dublin. I immediately went to see her, and found her on the point of starting with a number of curious visitors upon an experimental trip in the bay. I was so much pleased with all that I saw and heard concerning her, that, having previously intended to proceed to London, I determined to request Captain Dodd to receive me as a passenger, and to be permitted to accompany him throughout the voyage. He at once consented, and my wife having resolved on sharing the dangers of the voyage with me, we proceeded to make the necessary arrangements for our departure. On the 28th of May, being Sunday, we left the Liffey at noon. Many persons embarked with us from curiosity, but only to cross the bay as far as Dunleary (now Kingstown), where they landed. Unfortunately, the sea was very rough, which occasioned the most violent sea-sickness amongst the passengers. Several naval officers were on board, who were unanimous in declaring it to be their firm opinion that the vessel could not live long in heavy seas, and that there would be much danger in venturing far from shore. I deemed it right to inform my wife of this opinion, but, although she suffered greatly from sea-sickness, she persisted in her intention of accompanying me, and that evening, after having passed some hours on land at the house of a friend, the vessel put to sea, we being the only passengers. The shore was covered with several thousands of spectators, who cheered and wished us a prosperous voyage.
“The sea was comparatively calm as the vessel steamed into the Bay of Dalkey, and the passengers calculated on a pleasant voyage during the night, but, when beyond the shelter of the coast, they found it to be as rough as ever. The Thames again proved her admirable sea-going qualities, bounding so lightly over the waves that her passengers were not once wetted, even by the spray.”
She soon left behind her all the vessels which had sailed from Dublin with the same tide, and about nine o’clock next morning arrived off Wexford. The dense smoke which issued from its mast chimney being observed from the heights above the town, it was concluded that the vessel was on fire. All the pilots immediately put off to its assistance; and nothing could exceed their surprise, mingled with disappointment, when they saw that the ship was in no danger whatever, and that their hopes of salvage were at an end.
The weather had now become so stormy, that Captain Dodd determined to put into port, his great object being to navigate the vessel safely to London, rather than, by using great dispatch, to expose her to unnecessary risk.
At two o’clock on Tuesday morning, 30th May, Dodd left Wexford and sailed for St. David’s Head, the most westerly point of Wales. During the passage across St. George’s Channel one of the blades of the starboard paddle wheel got out of order. The engine was stopped and the blade cut away. Some hours after a similar accident befell the port wheel, which was remedied in the same manner. The loss of one blade in each wheel made no apparent difference in the speed of the vessel. Fortunately when the accidents occurred the sea was very calm. After a voyage of twelve hours duration, the steamer arrived at the Pass of Ramsay, between the island of that name and St. David’s Head. There the adventurers remained for three hours to oil the engine, and to give the stoker, who had not quitted his post for an instant since leaving Wexford, a little rest. There, too, as at Wexford, boats put out from different parts of the coast to the assistance of the vessel, which they believed to be on fire. Leaving Ramsay, the Thames steamed through the straits and across St. Bride’s Bay. The weather had again become unfavourable, and a heavy sea had arisen in the bay. So high indeed were the waves, that, when ingulphed between them, the coast, though lofty, could not be seen; but the little craft held her way most gallantly over all.
On the south side of St. Bride’s Bay, between Skomar Island and the mainland, there is a dangerous passage called Jack Sound. The pilot warned the captain against attempting this passage, except under favourable conditions as to wind and water, but Dodd, who knew the power of his engine, insisted on going through the sound, in order to save five hours, and to avoid another night at sea. The dangerous sound was safely navigated, and the voyagers reached Milford Haven. As they were steaming up the harbour, they met the Government mail packet proceeding from Milford to Waterford, with all her sails spread. They had passed her about a quarter of a mile, when Captain Dodd determined to send some letters by her to Ireland. The Thames was immediately put about, and in a few minutes she was alongside the packet ship, and sailed round her, although the latter continued under way. The captain and passengers wrote a few letters, put them on board the packet, sailed round her once more, and then continued their course to Milford.
The two following days were spent in satisfying the curiosity of numerous naval officers who were anxious to see the Thames, and to examine her engine, as well as to test her sailing powers. It became necessary also to clean out the boiler, which had not been done since leaving Glasgow. Late on the evening of the 31st May, she sailed in company with the Myrtle, sloop-of-war, whose captain (Bingham) and a company of ladies were aboard the steamer, anxious to see how she would behave in a rough sea. The Myrtle was obliged to hoist royals and studding sails to keep up with the Thames, and at last by crowding all sail, she got a little ahead. But the great superiority of steam was yet to be shown. Dodd gallantly determined to carry the ladies back to Milford, instead of transferring them to the Myrtle in an open boat. Accordingly he steamed back to Milford, leaving the sloop of war far behind, and when he was again outward bound, he found the sloop had anchored, being unable owing to the failure of the wind to regain her former station. Next morning (Friday) the voyagers found themselves mid-way across the Bristol Channel, with no land visible on either side, but towards evening the Cornish coast was sighted. The weather, however, had again become threatening, and the pilot did not consider it would be prudent to attempt to round the Land’s End that night, and Dodd accordingly decided to put into St. Ives. As the Thames approached the shore, a fleet of small craft was seen making towards her, with all possible speed by means of sails and oars, in the belief (as at Wexford) that the Thames was a ship on fire making for the port. When they discovered their mistake they tacked about and endeavoured to out-sail each other. All the rocks from which a view of St. Ives could be obtained were crowded with spectators, to whom the appearance of the Thames created as much surprise as the ships of Captain Cook produced amongst the islanders of the South Sea. The harbour of St. Ives affording no shelter from gales from the North East, Dodd took his vessel to the sheltered port of Hayle, four miles distant, where she lay in perfect safety. It had been represented to Mr. and Mrs. Weld that rounding the Land’s End was the most difficult and dangerous part of the voyage, and they had in consequence crossed the neck of land to the South coast with the intention of remaining there until the steamer arrived. On further consideration, however, they resolved, instead of waiting for the Thames, to return to Hayle, and to brave with the steamer’s crew the dangers of doubling the Land’s End. The weather having moderated they re-embarked at 4 o’clock on Monday afternoon, 5th June, and the steamer at once proceeded on her voyage.
As the little vessel rounded Cornwall Head, the more northerly of the two great promontories which terminate England on the west, a tremendous swell from the Atlantic met her, whilst the tide, which ran strongly down St. George’s Channel, combining with the swell, raised the waves to such a height as to render her position in the highest degree alarming. Dodd would not put back, and after a night of severe struggle, the adventurers succeeded in rounding the Land’s End, and found themselves in a comparatively tranquil sea. Next day the sun shone with great brilliance, and revealed the beauties of the South Coast as they steamed along it towards Plymouth, which they reached at eleven o’clock in the morning. As the Thames passed the various ships at anchor, the sailors on board ran in crowds to the sides of their vessels or climbed the rigging for a better view. The harbour-master, who had never seen a steam vessel before, was as much excited when he boarded the Thames as a child is in getting possession of a new plaything.
The whole of the following day (Wednesday) was occupied in showing the capabilities of the steamer to the Port-Admiral and to the naval officers who went on board.
The Thames left Plymouth at noon on Thursday for Portsmouth, where she arrived at 11 o’clock on Friday morning, having steamed 155 miles in twenty-three hours. At Portsmouth she created a greater sensation than at any of the ports she had visited. Tens of thousands of spectators assembled to gaze at her; and the number of vessels that crowded around her was so great, that it became necessary to request the Port-Admiral to assign the voyagers a guard, in order to preserve some degree of order. The Thames steamed into the harbour in the most brilliant style, travelling with the aid of wind and tide at the rate of between twelve and fourteen knots an hour. A court-martial was sitting at the time on board the Gladiator frigate, but the novelty of the steam-boat presented an irresistible attraction, and the whole court went off to her (except the president). At an early hour next morning (Saturday), the Port-Admiral, Sir Edward Thornborough, sent his band and a guard of marines on board, and soon afterwards followed in person, accompanied by three admirals, eighteen post-captains, and a large number of ladies. The morning was spent very pleasantly in steaming amongst the fleet, and running over to the Isle of Wight. The Admiral, and all the naval officers, expressed themselves delighted with the Thames.
From Portsmouth the steamer proceeded to Margate, which was reached on Sunday morning. She remained at Margate until the following day, when she started on the final portion of her voyage at half-past eight in the morning, and reached her destination (Limehouse), about six o’clock the same evening, having accomplished the ninety miles run from Margate in about nine hours. The Thames carried fifteen tons of coal, her consumption being, on the average, a ton for every hundred miles. So ended this memorable voyage, practically the first ever attempted by a steamboat on the open sea.
Dodd’s after career was a most melancholy one. Talented, enterprising and courageous though he undoubtedly was, yet he never succeeded in his enterprises. And in his later years, instead of seeking that divine help which would have enabled him to meet his disappointments with fortitude, he sought to forget them in intemperance, and almost literally died a beggar in the streets.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] “Chambers’ Journal,” 25th April, 1857.