The Maiden Voyage of the Steamboat New Orleans
The New Orleans was the initial steamboat to sail the western waters of the United States. Its ownership lied with Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston, and it was fabricated by Nicholas Roosevelt. In 1811-1812, it traveled from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New Orleans, Louisiana, using the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, thus beginning the epoch of commercial steamboat voyages on the mid-western and western continental rivers.
The Venture for New Orleans
In a business endeavor that included Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston and Nicholas Roosevelt, New Orleans was created to operate steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in the United States. Fulton had already accomplished the commercialization of the steamboat on the Hudson River above New York City with the North River Steamboat (also known as Clermont) in 1807. Moreover, Fulton had familiarized himself with the Ohio River on a 1786 journey to Pittsburgh. Livingston, a wealthy New York politician and inventor, had facilitated the Louisiana Purchase while serving as minister to France from 1800-1804. Fulton and Livingston then asked Roosevelt, an inventor and steamboat specialist, to join their venture. Livingston’s side-wheel design was essential to the success of the project.
Fulton and Livingston were granted exclusive rights to steam navigation on the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers by the state governments of New York State and Louisiana, and their hopes of profiting from this were elevated. They perceived the tremendous potential of steamboat traffic on the western waters, and within two weeks of Clermont’s initial voyage, they began to make arrangements for a steamboat to be introduced to the western rivers.
At the time, Roosevelt ran a top-notch foundry – the Soho Works – at Belleville, New Jersey, on the Passaic River. He had been working on a stern-wheel steamboat for Livingston and was contracted to provide copper for warships from 1798 to 1800. Sadly, he lost his government contracts, thus ending the project.
In 1798, Roosevelt proposed to Livingston the idea of incorporating side-wheels into their designs, yet Livingston chose to use stern-wheels. After all other options had been explored, Fulton and Livingston decided to use side-wheels on Clermont. They were also indebted to Roosevelt for training and hiring many of Fulton’s skilled laborers.
Construction of the New Orleans
In order to prepare for their steamboat voyage from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, Fulton and Livingston sent Roosevelt to Pittsburgh to both survey and test the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. As well as seeking out supplies and coal deposits that could be mined to fuel the steam-powered boats. He arrived in April or May of 1809 with his wife, Lydia, who was the daughter of his business partner, Benjamin H. Latrobe, who was known for his work on the United States Capitol. On June 28, 1809, Roosevelt was paid $600 for an expedition on the Mississippi River. The couple would begin a six-month journey in a flatboat on the Monongahela River to explore the route to New Orleans. With letters of introduction, Roosevelt surveyed the depths and currents of the western waters with the belief that he could navigate the river with a steamboat. He even purchased property near Cannelton, Indiana, to have coal moved to the banks of the Ohio River. After reaching New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico coast on December 1, 1809, Roosevelt and his wife returned to New York, arriving on January 15, 1810.
After Roosevelt gave a positive report on Fulton and Livingston, he traveled with his family back to Pittsburgh in 1810 to be present for the building of the steamboat. Since the Falls of the Ohio, consisting of shallows, rapids, and white water, blocked the Ohio River, the partners decided to divide the western steamboat commerce into two sections. One, from Pittsburgh to Louisville, while the other, from Louisville to New Orleans. Roosevelt named the boat New Orleans, in honor of the city his boat would be based in. Shipbuilders and mechanics from New York were brought in to construct the boat on the banks of the Monongahela River, close to its junction with the Allegheny River. The machinery needed for the boat was made in New York and brought to Pittsburgh, due to the absence of local manufacturers able to do the job. The boat’s single cylinder, low pressure steeple engine, based on a joint design of James Watt and Matthew Boulton, and its copper boiler were both put together by engineers William Robinson and Nicholas D. Baker. Historians have argued whether New Orleans had a stern-wheel paddle or two side-wheel paddles, but evidence suggests it was the latter, with contemporary accounts noting the breaking of its “one wheel” and its sinking in 1814 with reference to the “wheel on the larboard side”. The pinewood for planking was brought from local forests and floated down the Monongahela River. Similarly to other Fulton-designed steamboats, New Orleans had a mast, spars, and two sails as a backup in case of a breakdown of the steam engine or a lack of fuel.
The New Orleans was approximately 148 feet 6 inches (45.26 m) long, 32 feet 6 inches (9.91 m) wide, and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep, and weighed in at a burden of 371 tons. This size far exceeded the barges of the time, which seldom surpassed 100 feet (30 m) in length. The cabins underneath the deck provided space for as many as sixty voyagers. The total cost of construction amounted to roughly $38,000. The boat was launched in March 1811 on the Monongahela River after taking a number of months to build. During the first trial voyage, it reached a speed of 3 miles per hour (5 km/h) on the Monongahela, Ohio, and Allegheny rivers, but had difficulty managing the current.
The First Journey
On October 15th 1811, New Orleans completed a successful trial trip around Pittsburgh. On the 20th, the steamboat, with Captain Roosevelt and his pregnant wife and daughter as passengers, made its way to New Orleans. The crew included an engineer, pilot, six hands, two servants, a waiter, cook, and a Newfoundland dog called Tiger. As the vessel departed, the people of Pittsburgh gathered to witness the grand event. During the first night, Roosevelt and his wife could not sleep, admiring the shoreline of uninterrupted trees. The pilot was pleased with the ease of navigation and speed of the boat. As New Orleans sailed downriver, the villagers of Beaver, Pennsylvania cheered the boat as it approached. At the first stop in Wheeling, West Virginia, Roosevelt welcomed the visitors by charging them a twenty-five-cent admission fee.
On October 27th, as the boat passed Cincinnati, Ohio, the locals were disheartened since it did not stop and assumed they would never lay eyes on the New Orleans again. In the early hours of the 28th, a loud, shrill whistle of the steam engine and sparks coming out of the smokestack, reminiscent of the “Great Comet of 1811”, announced the arrival of the boat in Louisville. The citizens of Louisville congratulated Roosevelt on his success but were uncertain they would ever witness the boat again, due to its inability of going upstream. To surprise them and to find investors for Fulton’s steam company, Roosevelt hosted a banquet on the boat. To the surprise of all, New Orleans proceeded upstream and went on a short voyage before returning to Louisville. For the following month, Roosevelt waited for the Ohio River waters to rise and enable the boat with its draft of less than six inches to pass over the risky “Falls of the Ohio”. During this time, Roosevelt also made a short trip upstream to Cincinnati before coming back to Louisville to traverse the Falls. On October 30th, Roosevelt’s second child, a son named Henry Latrobe Roosevelt, was born on the boat near Louisville. It then stopped at Shippingport for supplies and loaded coal near present-day Cannelton, Indiana. This had been set up by Roosevelt during his earlier trip to the area. After getting the coal, The New Orleans continued its voyage downriver.
During the journey down the Ohio River, the voyage was largely uneventful, however, the passage on the Mississippi was a different story. As New Orleans sailed by the Tennessee River, the crew spotted Chickasaw Indians, but they were peaceful and did not ally with Tecumseh in the War of 1812. Later, a fire broke out on board the vessel due to wood being placed too close to the stove, but it was quickly extinguished. As the boat traveled down the Mississippi River, a series of earthquakes occurred, however, the river water acted as a cushion and the boat was unharmed. At Natchez, the crew encountered Zadok Cramer, author of “Navigator” river guide, who was eager for any new geographical information. Finally, New Orleans arrived in New Orleans on January 10, 1812. Afterwards, Roosevelt and his companions returned to New York and New Orleans began making frequent trips between New Orleans and Natchez.
The New Orleans And American Expansion
Before and especially after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, settlers had been coming to the western lands via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. But with no practical way of traveling upstream, trading was limited. To get upstream, people had to either row slowly, pole the boat, or be pulled with ropes onshore. This made the return trip much longer, as it would involve a sea voyage from New Orleans to the east and then crossing the Appalachian Mountains. New Orleans was the first steamboat and made it possible to go upstream at three mph and downstream at eight to ten mph. This allowed for two-way traffic and opened up the area for commercial trading. In its first year, New Orleans made around $20,000 in net gain and showed that steam navigation could work. However, it was still more expensive than other methods of transport and other types of boats still increased in popularity. The river was also filled with dangerous obstacles and the “Falls of the Ohio” at Louisville caused a divide. Eventually, the riverbed was cleared and the Louisville and Portland Canal was built, so it was easier to travel the almost 1,000-mile long passage between Pittsburgh and the Mississippi River.
The launch of New Orleans initiated a notable economic transformation along the interior rivers. Fulton and Livingston plotted to have six steamboats journeying between the “Falls of the Ohio” and New Orleans, as well as five between the Falls and Pittsburgh. On April 8, 1812, Edward Livingston, the brother of Livingston, who was a New Orleanian politician, aided Fulton and Livingston in acquiring the exclusive rights and concession to the steam navigation on the new Louisiana Territory’s rivers for a period of 18 years, subject to the condition that they impose a freight rate that is no more than three quarters of the fee already charged by non-steam-powered boats. After New Orleans commenced sailing on the lower Mississippi River, Fulton and Livingston attempted to prohibit other steamboats from using the river, until rulings by the court terminated their monopoly on steamboat commerce in New York and Louisiana. As shipping improved, land development also escalated along the rivers beneath the “Falls of the Ohio” at Louisville.
Livingston and Fulton passed away prior to seeing the extended effects of New Orleans on the rivers of the Midwest and the West. Roosevelt, on the other hand, retired to Skaneateles, New York and lived until the age of 87, when he died in 1854.
The rapid development of technology, which included more efficient steam engines, improved steamboat designs for western rivers, and the construction of locks and canals, began with the steamboat New Orleans in 1811. Following the construction of New Orleans, several steamboats were built in Pittsburgh such as the Comet (1813), Vesuvius (1814), and Aetna (1815). The public became more confident in steamboat navigation when there were 12 such vessels on the mid-western rivers in 1817. This number increased to 60 in two years and the number of steamboats on the river rose to 143 by 1826. Although there was the danger of boiler explosions and river obstructions, 233 steamboats had been created up to that time.
The Demise of the New Orleans
The steamboat New Orleans suffered an unfortunate blow to its hull which caused it to sink near Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 14, 1814, two years after its first voyage. This event set a three year lifespan standard for steamboats.
Fulton’s steamboat company transferred an engine and related machinery to a newly constructed vessel, which they christened the New Orleans, in order to continue the Natchez steamboat trade.
