Chapter VII.
1819 to 1821.—The Savannah the first steamer to cross the Atlantic.—Arrival at Liverpool of the Waterloo, the first Irish Channel steamer.—Sailing of the Robert Bruce, the first steamer trading between Liverpool and the Clyde.—Curious Accident to the steamer Morning Star.—The Triton.—The Conde De Patmella, first European steamer to cross the Atlantic.—Cattle Ventilators suggested.—The Tourist.—Steamers between London and Leith.
Prior to the introduction of marine steam engines, the United States of America had no inconsiderable share of the world’s ocean traffic. No swifter ships raced with cargoes of tea from China to the Thames than the famous Baltimore clippers. No finer vessels crossed the Atlantic than the celebrated New York Packet Liners. It cannot be supposed that a people so enterprising as the Americans would make no attempt at ocean steam navigation. On the contrary, as they were the first to build a coasting passenger steamer, so were they the first to build a steamer to cross the Atlantic.
During the latter part of the year 1818, and the beginning of 1819, there was, in process of building at New York, a beautiful little ship of about 320 tons burden. Whilst on the stocks it was suggested to convert her into a steamer, which was accordingly done. After she was launched, the Savannah, that being the name given to her, sailed from New York to Savannah, and thence, about the 25th May, 1819, she sailed to Liverpool, en route to St. Petersburg. It was reported at the time that she was a present from the Americans to the Emperor of Russia. Although she did not steam the whole of the voyage from Savannah to Liverpool, which occupied twenty-six days, she was the first steamer that ever attempted to cross the Atlantic. British and Canadian authors have contended that she was not entitled to this honour, as her steam power was merely auxiliary, but the contention is somewhat ungenerous, and, if allowed, would debar later vessels, notably the Sarah Sands and the Great Britain, from claiming the title of steamships. The Savannah reached Liverpool on Sunday, 20th June, 1819, after a voyage of twenty-six days duration. Shortly after leaving Savannah it began to blow hard, and the following entry appears in the Captain’s log book:
“Stopped the engines, and brought the paddle-wheels
in-board in thirty minutes.”
When off the Irish coast, the coastguard, seeing a huge volume of smoke proceeding from a ship at sea, reported it to be a vessel on fire. A Government cutter from Cork put out to render assistance, and were much surprised on boarding her to learn that she required no assistance, except a Channel pilot, and that she had come from America. Her arrival at Liverpool was witnessed by great crowds of people, who had assembled to watch her entering the Mersey. After her visit to St. Petersburg she re-crossed the Atlantic, her engines were taken out of her, and, as a sailing packet, she traded between New York and Savannah, until she was wrecked off Long Island.
A month later, or to be exact, on the 22nd July, 1819, the first cross-channel steamer that ever entered the port, arrived at Liverpool from Belfast, after a passage of twenty-four hours. This steamer was the Waterloo, owned by Messrs. Langtry, of Belfast, who were also the owners of a fleet of smacks which traded regularly between the two ports. The Waterloo was a schooner-rigged paddle-steamer of 201 tons burthen, propelled by a pair of low-pressure engines of 80 h.p. each. Her length was 98 feet, and her breadth on deck was 37 feet. She had a dining room capable of accommodating all the cabin passengers at one sitting, a separate and neatly decorated cabin for ladies, and two staterooms for families. She carried sleeping accommodation for 22 cabin passengers, in addition to steerage passengers. The fares charged for a single passage between Liverpool and Belfast were, cabin £1 11s. 6d., steerage 10s. 6d. The Waterloo made two round voyages per week during the season, sailing from Liverpool every Monday and Friday. She was intended to carry passengers only (the cargo trade being maintained by the smacks), and cost her owners nearly £10,000.
On the 29th July of the same year, the first steamer that traded between Liverpool and Glasgow was advertised in the following terms:—
“Safe and Expeditious Travelling between Liverpool
and Glasgow.
The elegant new Steam-Packet Boat,
Robert Bruce,
Captain John Patterson,
will sail for Glasgow on Monday, 2nd August, at Seven o’clock in the morning, from George’s Dock, Pierhead. The accommodations for passengers are most excellent, and she is expected to perform the passage within 30 hours.
“The Fares in the Cabin, 40s.; Steerage, 21s. Passengers will be accommodated with Provisions on moderate terms. For passage apply to Captain Patterson, or to
John Richardson.”
From this date (1819) the expansion of the British steam coasting trade was most rapid. Within a very short time regular services were advertised between Liverpool and Isle of Man, Whitehaven, Dumfries, the Clyde Ports, Belfast and Dublin. Nor were these pioneers of the steam trade permitted to be monopolists of their respective stations. Frequently two, and in some cases three companies advertised steamers sailing for the same ports, of which some account will be found in the succeeding chapters of this volume.
An extraordinary accident is reported by the “Berwick Advertiser” (September, 1819), as having occurred to one of the local steam-packets. The Morning Star, while on her usual passage from Alloa to Leith, suddenly stopped. On investigation it was discovered that a salmon had entered and completely obstructed the condensing water pipes, and thus stopped the machinery.
In the fall of the following year (1820) steam communication between the Ports of London and Hull was projected.
Across the Channel the steam-packet Triton, built at Bordeaux, maintained a passenger service, three times each way per week, between Havre and Rouen. The passage occupied about nine hours, and the fares charged were 8s. first class, and 4s. second class.
On the 5th October, 1820, the steamer Conde De Patmella, Captain Silva, sailed from Liverpool for the Brazils. She made a remarkably rapid passage to Lisbon, arriving there in four days. This is probably the first steamer that ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Europe.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable steamers ever launched was a small steamboat, named the Snake, built at Bombay, and launched in 1820. She was the first steamer on the Indus or on any river in India. Her engines were designed and built by a Parsee, and were the first ever manufactured in India. How well they were constructed is evidenced by their lasting power. After a notable career of 60 years, she was broken up in 1880.
Above the initials “W. P.,” a correspondent of the “Liverpool Mercury,” in a letter dated 25th October, 1820, suggests the use of iron ventilators, to supply fresh air to the holds of steamers carrying cattle across the Channel, for, of course, at that date, steamers to carry cattle across the ocean were unthought of. He describes the ventilators suggested as “iron funnels with movable vane tops, which could be constructed by any mechanic at a cost of about £3 10s. each.”
In the spring of 1821, a new steamboat, named the Tourist, was launched at Perth. When launched she was the largest steamer in the United Kingdom, being 128 feet long by 40 feet broad. She was rigged as a three-masted schooner, with a clipper bow and bowsprit, and was propelled by two engines of 40 h.p. each. She was intended (as her name implies) for the passenger trade between Leith and the Northern Ports of Scotland, and her owners claimed that communication between the ports named “will thus be effected in one-third less time, and for one-sixth of the expense incurred by the present mode of travelling.” After running for a short time in the Leith and North of Scotland trade, she was placed on the station between Newhaven and London, on behalf of the London and Edinburgh Steampacket Co.
In May of the same year two steam vessels of upwards of 400 tons burden each, were built for the Leith and London passenger service. These steamers were not intended to carry cargo, but they had sleeping accommodation for one hundred passengers. They were propelled by engines of 100 h.p., and were expected to make the passage in about sixty hours.
