“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 plans.”
“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 plans.”
No wonder Napoleon was impatient to learn more about Fulton and willingly admitted that his invention might “change the face of the world.” Bignon, the French historian, wrote in 1829 thathad Napoleon listened to Fulton this important letter might have changed the history of Europe. He supposes that had there existed a single steamboat in France at that time, the workshops would have immediately been busied in ‘multiplying the original.’ In a few years one or two hundred steamships, towing behind them transports filled with soldiers, would have been ready with their leader for the boldest of enterprises. Bignon declared that the men and the times alike were ready for the novelty. England would have been forced to submit to the terms of peace laid down by France. “Thus may the fate of nations depend upon a new idea; thus nature conceals within her bosom many unknown forces of which a single one is sufficient to change the destiny of the world.”
But Napoleon did not embrace the opportunity. His secretary said that when he presented Fulton’s memorial to him he exclaimed disdainfully, “Bah! Away with your visionists!”
And Bignon, who took the trouble later to talk with the members of Napoleon’s commission, said that they excused their lack of appreciation by the statement that Fulton’s plan was accompanied by a number of “foolish ideas” which obscured their view of the great underlying truth. “Put not yourtrust in scientists,” exclaims Bignon, in the light of Fulton’s success.
However, Lord Acton, the English authority upon this period of the world’s history, when asked what event he considered of greatest importance in the 19th century, replied, “The sinking of Fulton’s boat on the Seine,” meaning that accident alone turned Napoleon from its acceptance.
The words of several historians prove that the sunny day when Fulton’s steamboat voyaged back and forth upon the waters of the Seine, riding in triumph over the hidden wreck of its ill-fated predecessor, was really a great moment in French history!
Fulton was master of its movement and supremely happy in his accomplishment. He saw, with unshaken faith, as it is easy for us to see to-day, in a review of the history of the past century, that his twice-built boat on the river Seine was the forerunner of all the gigantic fleets of steamboats which now ride upon the waters of the world.
I have said that Fulton gave up his art, but only as a profession, for during the years he spent with Mr. and Mrs. Barlow he painted not only the panorama but several fine portraits. He made two oil portraits of Barlow, one as a gift to him, the other to keep for himself; as is proved by the fact that one is now owned, through inheritance, by a member of the Barlow family, the other by a descendant of Fulton. He mentions in a letter having painted a portrait of Mrs. Barlow, but this cannot now be found.
Joel Barlow had been engaged for some years in writing a long epic poem, “The Columbiad”; a review of Columbus’s discovery and the colonization of America; the establishment of the republic; the habits of the Indian inhabitants; the gradual growth of American welfare and peace. It was a long recital, in lofty sentences. Columbus, the discoverer, was the hero, pining in a foreign prison when Hesper, the evening star, enters his cell.
In thought she leads the captive to a mount of vision and unrolls upon a screen all that has happened and all that shall happen in the land Columbus discovered. The theme was vast and proved a pleasant and prolonged study for both Barlow and Fulton. The latter was so inspired by the flowing stanzas that he made twelve illustrations which were skilfully engraved for the large volume, published in 1807, at an outlay of nearly five thousand dollars. This was generously defrayed by Fulton to show his appreciation of Barlow’s many kindnesses.
The poem did not meet with much success. Public appreciation failed to crown it with approval; but as an example of loyal and generous affection between friends it will always command interest.
We now come to an interesting turn in the tide of Fulton’s affairs. He had proved that the steamboat would run upon the waters of the Seine; he had entered into a partnership with Chancellor Livingston to go to New York to build a boat for traffic on the Hudson River between New York and Albany; but the agreement, you remember, included Fulton’s return to England to order a suitable engine.
Accordingly, Fulton wrote a letter to Boulton& Watt, at that time the most famous engine-makers in the world, and inquired the price of the engine for which he sent a descriptive drawing. He wanted only parts of the machinery,—the cylinder of twenty-four horse-power, the piston-rod and piston, the valves and movements for their opening and shutting; the air-pump and condenser; all the other parts, he explained, could be made in New York, “as they require a particular arrangement which must be done while I am present.”
He had to get a permit to export the engine, so Fulton asked the builders to ship the engine to Mr. Brockholst Livingston, through the American Consul, in whose hands he placed the money for payment. He said that if any difficulty arose about getting the permit, he would seek it through the American Minister, James Monroe.
Boulton & Watt’s reply appears to have been disappointing, for a month later Fulton wrote to repeat the order and asked haste in its fulfilment, as “communication between France and England is daily growing more difficult.” Four weeks later the engine-builders declined the order, as they could not get permission to export the machinery. This was certainly discouraging, as France and England were again declaring war against each other; butFulton traveled over to Holland, and wrote from there to Mr. Monroe, asking his assistance, and adding:
… “Your desire to see useful arts introduced or created in our country is the strongest reason for your urging the permission and accepting no refusal; the fact is I cannot establish the Boat without the engine. The question is then—shall we or shall we not have such boats?”
… “Your desire to see useful arts introduced or created in our country is the strongest reason for your urging the permission and accepting no refusal; the fact is I cannot establish the Boat without the engine. The question is then—shall we or shall we not have such boats?”
At the same time Fulton sent a second entreaty to Boulton & Watt, telling them of his request of Mr. Monroe, and renewing the order. He says, “It gives me pain to trouble you on a business so insignificant, but I have no confidence in any other engines, and hope you will give me the necessary information on the Boiler and other parts so as to produce the best effect. I wish exceedingly to be obliged by you.”
But no reply came to either of these letters, and Fulton’s plan for the American steamboat seemed doomed to disappointment. Again he wrote to Mr. Monroe, but the diplomat probably hesitated to ask for a permit officially refused to an English firm of established reputation, and in behalf of an American enthusiast, already under watch by naval authorities. For the British had kept informed concerning Fulton’s submarine torpedo-boats, and at the suggestion of the English statesman,Lord Stanhope, they thought it best to have Fulton on their side of the channel. Accordingly, Lord Sidmouth, then Prime Minister, contrived a meeting with Fulton in Paris and persuaded him to take the trip to Holland, where, on neutral ground, he could confer with a representative of the British government.
Fulton thus described the meeting: “About this time, May, 1803, there was a gentleman in London, Dr. Gregory, who had known me in Paris for some years. I had many conversations with him upon my inventions and their probable success.” It was this Dr. Gregory whom Lord Sidmouth sent to talk to the inventor.
Fulton described his invention to Dr. Gregory and offered to put the English government in full possession of the combinations and movements of submarine torpedo-boats, so that any good engineer could make and navigate them; he also promised full directions for making submarine bombs and to explain the many ways to use them.
Dr. Gregory asked Fulton to go to Holland to await a reply. He promised to bring it in person, passing, for political reasons, under the assumed name “Smith.” For three months Fulton waited in Amsterdam, until “Mr. Smith” arrived in December with unsatisfactory proposals from thegovernment. Fulton declined these, but drew up another form of proposal for “Mr. Smith” to take back to England. Then Fulton returned to Paris.
The following March “Mr. Smith” arrived in Paris with a letter from Lord Hawksbury; it was encouraging; and Fulton decided to go to London to consider an engagement by the British government.
Busy days followed as Fulton made ready to take his final farewell of France. Barlow also was about to return to America, to spend his last days in peaceful retirement. Before leaving, Fulton packed a great number of his drawings and papers in a large box to ship to America; but the vessel was wrecked at sea and the box, when finally recovered, was so wet that much of the writing was impossible to decipher. Cadwallader Colden, who wrote the first life of Fulton, laments this accident and gives it as the chief reason that so little is known of Fulton’s life in England and France. But by the light of many gathered facts, the story of the years has been pieced together.
Napoleon was ready to declare himself emperor, and this took place on May 18th, 1804. This act was a disappointment to Fulton who had hoped that the French Revolution would result in theformation of a republic. He and Barlow were both glad to leave Paris at this time. Indeed, Fulton’s contract with Livingston necessitated his trip to England to get the engine, so the overtures of the British statesmen came just at the right time. Rebuffed and disappointed, after years of waiting for Napoleon’s recognition of his plans, Fulton, as a neutral, had perfect liberty to transfer his interests as well as himself to another country. He embarked for England in May, and in due season reached London.
Lord Hawksbury wrote Fulton, “If you should be disposed to accept active employment from the British government, you may rely on the most liberal treatment and recompense proportioned to your efficient service.” No wonder that Fulton departed happily from France.
Arriving in London, he established himself in lodgings and tried once more to order the engine for the American boat; he also tried to induce the British Ministry to accept his submarine torpedo. As his work in France had been publicly known, he signed his letters to the English statesmen “Robert Francis,” an assumed name which was no secret to the English but served to protect the torpedo project from the notice of French spies, should there be any.
At Boulogne, Napoleon was gathering his army for a possible invasion of England. France, enriched fifteen million dollars by the American purchase of Louisiana, was prepared to strike a newblow. History made rapidly during those days; maps and ruling powers were changing. Fulton swung his energies to a fresh scene of action at a crucial time.
He was indeed “playing with fire.” Fulton’s danger during his submarine experiments in the harbor of Brest, was small compared with the risk he would run should he fall into the hands of the French while using torpedoes against them. Fulton had been told by Napoleon’s commission that any one employing such weapons of destruction would certainly be hung if captured by the enemy; how much greater the likelihood now if France found the spurned machines effectively turned against Napoleon’s troops.
For so it was. Fulton was in England only two days when he proposed to the Ministry a practical trial of his plunging vessel, describing it as thirty-five feet long, having power to sail like an ordinary fishing-boat, with a capacity for machinery and provisions for six persons for twenty days at sea, capable of plunging and remaining three hours under water without aid. When necessary to renew air, the boat need not appear above the water, but approaching the surface, could project two tubes, one to discharge the foul air already breathed, the other to take in fresh air, accomplishingthe change in two minutes, when the boat could plunge again to remain another three hours below.
In this manner he promised that a crew could conceal themselves under water during a day of twelve hours, on renewing the air three times, and could remain many days in the neighborhood of an enemy without detection.
He proposed a submarine expedition to destroy the French fleets at Boulogne and Brest “as they now lie.” It was a daring plan, but Fulton admitted no possibility of defeat and offered personally to conduct the siege. He asked the aid of a good machinist to assist in fitting out the vessels, and an active sea-officer with power to choose one hundred hardy seamen from the fleet who were good swimmers,—also about forty tons of powder and seven thousand pounds, English money, to fit out the expedition.
But the British halted their judgment. Delay was irksome and Fulton urged the appointment of a committee to consider his plan.
Lord Sidmouth, who had sent Dr. Gregory to call upon Fulton in Paris, was no longer in power; but had been succeeded by the Right Honourable William Pitt, a relative of Lord Stanhope. The latter, with Lord Viscount Melville, First Lord ofthe Admiralty, finally drew up a contract, which was witnessed by Sir Home Popham, and was signed by Fulton in his own name.
Although Fulton was officially engaged by the English government, his plan was still under consideration, and the actual expedition met with several postponements. Pitt, although impressed by Fulton’s drawings and arguments, said that if the torpedo were introduced into naval practice it would in time destroy all military marines, and, as England’s pride and strength was in her navy, he hesitated to encourage a plan which might injure it.
In fact, Pitt was hoping for peace rather than war; and for several months the project languished.
We can imagine with how much pleasure Fulton accepted an invitation to breakfast with Mr. Pitt on the 20th of July at his country house near Putney Common. Sir Home Popham also was present and Fulton noted that “Lord Melville was expected but did not arrive.”
Fulton noted in his book of memoranda, that “during breakfast he explained the general principles of submarine navigation and attack which appeared to give pleasure and make a strong impression.” The enthusiasm of the inventorprevailed. Little by little he won by argument the approval of the half-sceptical British statesmen.
Finally Mr. Pitt directly asked Sir Home Popham if an agreement could be reached and Sir Home assented, saying Mr. Pitt’s “perusal and signature alone were wanting.” Then Mr. Pitt read and signed the papers, and delivered them to Sir Home Popham, with orders to call upon Lord Melville for his signature.
This was another red-letter day in Fulton’s history,—indeed in the history of the world’s naval warfare. For the signed papers were a contract with the inventor to fit out a British torpedo expedition against the French fleet at Boulogne. Sir Home left early, bearing the precious documents, and Mr. Pitt when alone with Fulton remarked upon the extraordinary invention which seemed to “go to the destruction of all fleets.”
Fulton replied, “It was invented with that view.” He added in his book of memoranda:
“As I had no desire to deceive him or the government, I did not hesitate to give as my opinion that this invention would lead to the total annihilation of the existing system of marine war.”
“But,” said Mr. Pitt, “in its present state of perfectionment those who command the seas willbe benefited by it, while the minor maritime powers can draw no advantage from what is now known.”
“True, unless plunging or submarine vessels were introduced into practice,” answered Fulton. “It probably would be some years before any nation could bring such a vessel to perfection—at all events there would be time to fit future politics to future circumstances; if at present the French preparations can be destroyed by submarine attack, it will convince Bonaparte and the whole world that Frenchmen never can make a descent on England, for any future fleet prepared by them may be burnt in like manner.”
Fulton notes that little more was said. It was agreed that the torpedo attack should take place at Boulogne as soon as the engines could be prepared, and, after agreeing to call again upon Mr. Pitt during the week, Fulton returned to London.
But the acceptance was for only one-half of his project. Torpedoes were to be used, set with clock-work for future explosion, and these weapons, leaded so they floated below the surface of the water, were to be towed by catamarans, or rafts, consisting of two long sidewise planks, so placed that a man sat between them on a submerged seat. He guided the raft toward the enemy’sship, attached the torpedo to the anchor-cable, and then paddled away, under water if need required, leaving the clock-work agent of destruction to float broadside beneath the vessel, with the turn of the tide, for later explosion.
In the dusk of the evening of October 2d, 1804, several catamarans, led by the flag-shipMonarchwith Admiral Keith in command, stole quietly into the harbor of Boulogne. Seamen, in black jerseys, waistcoats and trousers, with black caps pulled over their faces, managed to paddle each raft into position, attach the torpedoes and get away in safety. But the French ships swung about and avoided the bombs; only one wrought destruction upon a small vessel with a crew of twenty-one men. The other bombs drifted ashore and exploded without serious harm, and at early dawn the British sailed away, without losing a man, but with so slight accomplishment that it was termed a failure. Fulton was present, as were also Sir Home Popham and Viscount Melville. The inventor’s disappointment must have been great.
The attack was followed by a storm of protest in England. It was considered unlawful warfare,—the just idea of mercy construed as unfair such a form of siege. Others made fun of it, anda merry wag wrote a ballad for the newspaper, supposedly sung by the Secretary of War:
See here my casks and coffers,With triggers pulled by clocks!But to the Frenchman’s riggingWho first will lash these blocks?Catamarans are ready,(Jack turns his quid and grins)Where snugly you may paddleIn water to your chins.Then who my blocks will fasten,My casks and coffers lay?My pendulums set tickingAnd bring the pins away?“Your project new?” Jack mutters,“Avast! ’Tis very stale,—’Tis catching birds, land-lubbers,By salt upon the tail.”
See here my casks and coffers,With triggers pulled by clocks!But to the Frenchman’s riggingWho first will lash these blocks?Catamarans are ready,(Jack turns his quid and grins)Where snugly you may paddleIn water to your chins.Then who my blocks will fasten,My casks and coffers lay?My pendulums set tickingAnd bring the pins away?“Your project new?” Jack mutters,“Avast! ’Tis very stale,—’Tis catching birds, land-lubbers,By salt upon the tail.”
See here my casks and coffers,With triggers pulled by clocks!But to the Frenchman’s riggingWho first will lash these blocks?
See here my casks and coffers,
With triggers pulled by clocks!
But to the Frenchman’s rigging
Who first will lash these blocks?
Catamarans are ready,(Jack turns his quid and grins)Where snugly you may paddleIn water to your chins.
Catamarans are ready,
(Jack turns his quid and grins)
Where snugly you may paddle
In water to your chins.
Then who my blocks will fasten,My casks and coffers lay?My pendulums set tickingAnd bring the pins away?
Then who my blocks will fasten,
My casks and coffers lay?
My pendulums set ticking
And bring the pins away?
“Your project new?” Jack mutters,“Avast! ’Tis very stale,—’Tis catching birds, land-lubbers,By salt upon the tail.”
“Your project new?” Jack mutters,
“Avast! ’Tis very stale,—
’Tis catching birds, land-lubbers,
By salt upon the tail.”
In December another trial of the submarine torpedo-boat was made against the Red Fort in the harbor of Calais. Only one of the two bombs exploded and little damage was done.
So passed several months,—months of entreaty on Fulton’s part,—months of cautious planning on the part of the British statesmen. It was an open secret that they did not like that sort of warfare. Any man less persevering thanFulton would have thought their lack of interest a sufficient dismissal.
But Fulton eagerly continued to plead for a more extended trial of his new device. He explained that the partial failure of the early attempts was due to lack of knowledge in the men employed to handle the explosives. He lost no faith in his plan and urged that it be adopted “as a system” by the English fleet. Finally his persistence was rewarded; Mr. Pitt gave permission for a public demonstration of his plan at Walmar Roads, near Deal Harbor, within a mile of Mr. Pitt’s country residence, Walmar Castle.
Fulton secured the Danish brigDorothea—a prize of war—and anchored her within safe range from the shore, in easy sight of the crowd of distinguished visitors whom he invited to witness the experiment. The rumor spread that “Mr. Francis,” who had invented and built the machines used by Sir Home Popham against the enemy’s ships at Boulogne, was to try to blow up a three hundred ton brig with one of his novel catamarans. A multitude assembled on the beach eager to see the explosion.
Fulton wrote a letter to Lord Castlereigh, the next day, which gives a fine account of all that happened. He says:
“Yesterday about four o’clock, I made the intended experiment on the brig, with a carcass of one hundred and seventy pounds of powder; and I have the pleasure to inform you that it succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations. Exactly in fifteen minutes from the time of drawing the peg and throwing the carcass into the water, the explosion took place. It lifted the brig almost bodily and broke her completely in two. The ends sunk immediately and in one minute nothing was to be seen of her but floating fragments; her main mast was broken in three places; her beams and knees were thrown from her decks and sides, and her deck planks were rent to fibers. In fact, her annihilation was complete, and the effect was most extraordinary. The power, as I had calculated, passed in a right line through her body, that being the line of least resistance, and carried all before it. At the time of her going up, she did not appear to make more resistance than a bag of feathers, and went to pieces like a scattered egg-shell.”
“Yesterday about four o’clock, I made the intended experiment on the brig, with a carcass of one hundred and seventy pounds of powder; and I have the pleasure to inform you that it succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations. Exactly in fifteen minutes from the time of drawing the peg and throwing the carcass into the water, the explosion took place. It lifted the brig almost bodily and broke her completely in two. The ends sunk immediately and in one minute nothing was to be seen of her but floating fragments; her main mast was broken in three places; her beams and knees were thrown from her decks and sides, and her deck planks were rent to fibers. In fact, her annihilation was complete, and the effect was most extraordinary. The power, as I had calculated, passed in a right line through her body, that being the line of least resistance, and carried all before it. At the time of her going up, she did not appear to make more resistance than a bag of feathers, and went to pieces like a scattered egg-shell.”
The unbelieving statesmen were convinced by this demonstration before their very eyes. Fulton was of course happy and satisfied; and wrote to Benjamin West (whom he affectionately addresses as “Mammy”), giving a graphic account of the event.
Dover, Oct. 16th, 1805.My dear Mammy West;You have perhaps seen in the papers a French account of a little blow-up which took place at Boulogne on the first of this month; it was an experiment on a small scale to trythe effect of four of my submarine bombs or torpedoes. They were carried in by two small boats which the French have magnified to many fire-ships with a formidable attack of boats, etc., which shows that they were much frightened or that the public must be amused with a long story; however, the torpedoes did not produce the desired effect and I saw a great prejudice arise in the minds of the officers against them: but sure of their effects and convinced that they had only been badly applied, I the next day purchased a strong Danish brig of 250 tons, determined to blow her up and at the same time give the officers a lesson how to act: the brig was soon put in order, ballast and water casks were laid in, and sails bent as if intended for a voyage; she was then surveyed and acknowledged on all sides to be as strong as any of the craft at Boulogne: Everything being ready she was on Monday morning sent to Walmar road and anchored opposite Walmar Castle, about half a mile at sea. The public curiosity was soon excited, who expected the experiment to be made about 4 o’clock; but that evening and the next morning passed in practicing my men. About 3 yesterday I came on there and walked down the beach where I made the signal of attack: instantly one of my long galleys rushed forward and grappled the torpedo line in the cable of the tug. The force of the tide then pressed the torpedo, which was set to fifteen minutes, under her bottom, and in fifteen minutes the awful explosion took place: it lifted the whole body of the vessel almost out of water and broke her completely in two in the middle; the mainmast and pumps were blown out of her and in one minute nothing of her was to be seen but floating fragments. The torpedo contained 170 pounds of powder. The experiment was the most complete that could be desired but mosttremendous and frightful and carries with it one reflection which gives me some pain, that in vessels thus attacked it will be impossible to save the men, and many a worthy character must perish.All doubts are now removed on the power and simplicity of this invention. The defects which have attended it was bad management which is now corrected.Yours truly,Robt. Fulton.
Dover, Oct. 16th, 1805.
My dear Mammy West;
You have perhaps seen in the papers a French account of a little blow-up which took place at Boulogne on the first of this month; it was an experiment on a small scale to trythe effect of four of my submarine bombs or torpedoes. They were carried in by two small boats which the French have magnified to many fire-ships with a formidable attack of boats, etc., which shows that they were much frightened or that the public must be amused with a long story; however, the torpedoes did not produce the desired effect and I saw a great prejudice arise in the minds of the officers against them: but sure of their effects and convinced that they had only been badly applied, I the next day purchased a strong Danish brig of 250 tons, determined to blow her up and at the same time give the officers a lesson how to act: the brig was soon put in order, ballast and water casks were laid in, and sails bent as if intended for a voyage; she was then surveyed and acknowledged on all sides to be as strong as any of the craft at Boulogne: Everything being ready she was on Monday morning sent to Walmar road and anchored opposite Walmar Castle, about half a mile at sea. The public curiosity was soon excited, who expected the experiment to be made about 4 o’clock; but that evening and the next morning passed in practicing my men. About 3 yesterday I came on there and walked down the beach where I made the signal of attack: instantly one of my long galleys rushed forward and grappled the torpedo line in the cable of the tug. The force of the tide then pressed the torpedo, which was set to fifteen minutes, under her bottom, and in fifteen minutes the awful explosion took place: it lifted the whole body of the vessel almost out of water and broke her completely in two in the middle; the mainmast and pumps were blown out of her and in one minute nothing of her was to be seen but floating fragments. The torpedo contained 170 pounds of powder. The experiment was the most complete that could be desired but mosttremendous and frightful and carries with it one reflection which gives me some pain, that in vessels thus attacked it will be impossible to save the men, and many a worthy character must perish.
All doubts are now removed on the power and simplicity of this invention. The defects which have attended it was bad management which is now corrected.
Yours truly,
Robt. Fulton.
Success was apparently at hand, but again it eluded him. A strong combination of national forces turned the tide of war. Austria and Russia combined forces against Napoleon and the emperor was forced to break camp at Boulogne to transfer the seat of war to Central Europe; nor was this all; on October 21st, less than a week after Fulton’s demonstration of torpedo warfare, Nelson with his banner “England expects every Man to do His Duty,” won the great victory at Trafalgar, routing the forces of France and Spain, and disposing of any Napoleonic dream of conquest over England on the high seas. Great Britain held supremacy on the ocean,—she needed no new weapon of destruction; and with the artillery of France silenced, the country was unlikely to listen further to Fulton’s plan. The old way was considered the best way. Pitt was called “the greatest fool that ever existed, to encourage a mode of warwhich they who commanded the seas did not want, and which if successful would deprive them of it.”
So faded again Fulton’s dream of universal peace through the stratagems of war. Yet he was under contract with the British government to supply the invention, which he found, after many inquiries, they did not want. They offered to grant him an annuity if he would promise to suppress the submarine torpedo and agree thatneither England nor any other countryshould adopt it. Fulton sent a fearless reply to the Arbitration Committee who made the suggestion. He declared that he would never consent to the abandonment of his project. “In fact, I will do my utmost to make it a good philosophic work and give it to the world. I will then form a committee of the most respectable men of America and proceed regularly in experiments on a large scale, publishing the result from time to time and thus drawing the attention of the ingenious and enterprising to such pursuits. I shall hope to succeed in my first object, that of annihilating all military marines and giving liberty to the seas.”
The English probably smiled contentedly at the ardor of the enthusiast. Fulton continued:
“Gentlemen, a man who has the candor to give you this in writing has but little deception or fearin his character and will not abandon so glorious an enterprise for trifling rebuffs or mean consideration.
“At all events, whatever may be your reward, I will never consent to let these inventions lie dormant should my country at any time have need of them. Were you to grant me an annuity of twenty thousand pounds a year, I would sacrifice all to the safety and independence of my country. I hope that England and America will understand their mutual interest too well to war with each other. And I have no desire to introduce my engines into practice for the benefit of any other nation.”[2]
[2]On the 6th of June, 1914, the writer laid aside work upon this volume, to serve as sponsor for the U. S. Submarine TenderFulton, launched at Quincy, Massachusetts,—the first vessel of its type in our navy, to serve as Mother of the Fleet of Torpedoes.
[2]On the 6th of June, 1914, the writer laid aside work upon this volume, to serve as sponsor for the U. S. Submarine TenderFulton, launched at Quincy, Massachusetts,—the first vessel of its type in our navy, to serve as Mother of the Fleet of Torpedoes.
[2]On the 6th of June, 1914, the writer laid aside work upon this volume, to serve as sponsor for the U. S. Submarine TenderFulton, launched at Quincy, Massachusetts,—the first vessel of its type in our navy, to serve as Mother of the Fleet of Torpedoes.
Fulton did not forget his promise to build a steamboat for America, even though he was so occupied in trying to induce the English people to use his submarine torpedoes. As soon as he arrived in London, free from the entanglements of French warfare, he renewed his order for the engine and tried to gain permission for its shipment to America.
The permit was finally obtained, the engine built, and in March, 1805, Fulton notes in his account-book that he paid the fee at the Treasury “on receiving permission to ship the engine for America.” In January he had paid five hundred and forty-eight pounds for the cylinder and parts of the engine, and in March four hundred and seventy-six pounds, eleven shillings, sixpence for the copper boiler.
Some years ago, a story “went the rounds” of the newspapers that the boiler for Fulton’s American boat was made from melted copper pennies.Coins of 1799 to 1804 were rare and this fiction was invented to explain the scarcity, but Fulton’s notebook contradicts it. Copper was hard to get, and expensive, but Fulton found it and paid for it,—full value too, one would say!
The engine preceded Fulton across the water by a year, for Fulton stayed in England until the autumn of 1806. It lay at the Custom House for six months, and was then carted to a storage-house on South Street until the boat was built to receive it.
To this period of Fulton’s life belong two interesting letters: they prove that he was ever mindful of his brother and sisters in far-away Pennsylvania, even while he was debating anxiously with English statesmen and planning a novel boat for American waters.
The first letter was written to his brother-in-law, David Morris, and is full of intimate and wholesome advice for he evidently realized the shortcomings in his own early education. Written in London, October 25th, 1805, it says in part:
I wrote you on the 20th and sent you an order on John Mason, Esqr. for 300 dollars to be paid out of my dividends of the first of January 1806, which will make in the whole 900 dollars of which I desired the division as follows:300 to Mrs. Scott,300 to Mrs. Cook200 to Abraham50 to your wife50 for sundries, as you will find detailed when you receive my letter.Having observed bad spelling and writing in the letters I have received, and knowing that such errors may be corrected with a little industry and care on winter evenings, I have desired a friend of mine at New York to send you4 of Johnston’s spelling dictionaries.4 works on Arithmetic.4 sets of good copperplate copies of large and small hand.4 sets of theSpectator.One of each to be a fixture in your family for the use of the children; one of each for Bell’s family: one ditto for Mrs. Scott’s and one ditto for Abraham.The dictionaries will, I hope, correct the spelling and by reading theSpectatoroften it will improve the understanding and give ideas of a neat style. It is an immense object to learn children to write a straight fair hand, to spell well and cipher to the rule of three; and although this is not much of an education yet when well fixed in the mind with a little brains and some industry a man may learn anything. The greatest men America has produced had not much more education than here mentioned from their parents, but they had a great and meritorious industry; Franklin, Washington, and Rittenhouse are examples.Wishing you all well it will give me pleasure to hear that you do well.Robert Fulton.
I wrote you on the 20th and sent you an order on John Mason, Esqr. for 300 dollars to be paid out of my dividends of the first of January 1806, which will make in the whole 900 dollars of which I desired the division as follows:
Having observed bad spelling and writing in the letters I have received, and knowing that such errors may be corrected with a little industry and care on winter evenings, I have desired a friend of mine at New York to send you
One of each to be a fixture in your family for the use of the children; one of each for Bell’s family: one ditto for Mrs. Scott’s and one ditto for Abraham.
The dictionaries will, I hope, correct the spelling and by reading theSpectatoroften it will improve the understanding and give ideas of a neat style. It is an immense object to learn children to write a straight fair hand, to spell well and cipher to the rule of three; and although this is not much of an education yet when well fixed in the mind with a little brains and some industry a man may learn anything. The greatest men America has produced had not much more education than here mentioned from their parents, but they had a great and meritorious industry; Franklin, Washington, and Rittenhouse are examples.
Wishing you all well it will give me pleasure to hear that you do well.
Robert Fulton.
It is certain that Fulton had practised what he here preaches to his nephews and nieces. Duringhis study of the great men of the day, Franklin, Washington, and Rittenhouse, he had caught the illuminative spark of their genius, struck out upon life’s anvil by their hard blows of untiring work. The secret of their power was constant self-culture, and Fulton applied himself to gain this foundation of strength by the application of his mature mind to the education which circumstances had deprived him of in his youth.
Let us hope that the nephews and nieces gladly received these gift-books from their famous uncle whom they had never seen, welcomed the big dictionaries and arithmetics with joy, and studied hard during the winter evenings, as he suggested.
About the same time he also wrote the following letter to Mr. Hoge, the first settler in Washington, Pennsylvania, from whom he had received an inquiry in regard to the four lots he had purchased. It shows Fulton’s unfailing generosity to his brother and sisters:
“I thank you kindly for your friendly letter of the first of June; it is so many years since I had any communication with you, or accurate account of my relations, together with many copies of my letters being lost in my travels, and considering my property in your country of value only in as much as it was of use to my relatives, I had forgot thegrants I formerly made of the three lots. I find however that one of them has been transferred to Mr. Morris, one to Mrs. Cook, and one was left by my mother to Peggy Scott.
“I now desire that those grants may be considered permanent and resigning all claims to them, from this time I shall not reckon them in my calculations.”
In his will, drawn in 1814, Fulton left a legacy of money also to each of his sisters and his brother.
Before we approach the story of theClermont, it is fair and just to give credit to several men who worked very hard to try to build a “first” steamboat. There were so many attempts to produce the needed invention that it is hard to say which man should have the honor of being placed first.
Perhaps the earliest was Dr. John Allen, of England, who in 1730 wrote a scientific paper, entitled “Navigation in a Calm,” suggesting that a “fire engine with its furniture” could be put on board a ship and drive it twelve or fourteen miles an hour.
Probably most of those who read his pamphlet smiled at his absurd idea, but six years later, in 1736, Jonathan Hulls took out a patent for a tug-boat to be moved by wheels at the stern by the power of an atmospheric engine.
In America, where there are many deep rivers, it is not surprising to find that there were many experimenters: James Rumsey, of Virginia, built a boat for trial on the Potomac River and in 1787 had it working so well that he journeyed to England to try to advance his invention. There he persuaded a rich American to forward funds to build another boat for a trial on the Thames, but Rumsey died before his vessel was an established success. His system was not very practical and failed to work well.
Captain Samuel Morey, in 1793, built a tiny craft, “scarce big enough to carry himself,” it was said, and tried it upon the Connecticut River, but the first attempt failed to establish a claim to consideration and his plan was given up.
In 1792 another Connecticut man, Elijah Ormsbee, a clever carpenter, moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and built a boat in which his friend, David Wilkinson of Pawtucket, fitted “flutter wheels” and a “goose-foot propeller.” They made the boat run several times from Pawtucket to Providence, but that was the last heard of it. The piston was turned by atmospheric pressure, not by the direct use of steam.
Nicholas J. Roosevelt, who afterward became Fulton’s and Livingston’s representative in OhioRiver navigation, also had a “try” at inventing a boat; so had William Henry of Pennsylvania and Edward West; both left records of their attempts.
There were others, too, a long list of worthies, who labored well, but neither well enough nor long enough to convince doubting humanity that they had “found a way upon the waters.” Chief among them should forever stand the name of John Fitch, who had so sure yet faint a grasp upon the new science. In 1786, he built a boat thirty-four feet long, and launched it upon the Delaware River where it proved its worth. He organized a stock company to finance and direct the enterprise. The boat ran for a short time between Philadelphia and Bordentown, but the machinery was cumbersome, the service scanty, and the company lost money. In the autumn the boat was set aside and never used again. After a visit to France, where Fitch obtained a patent but failed to secure funds for a new boat, he returned to America as a deck-hand after his fruitless task. A few years later he died, a disappointed and discouraged man. To his mechanical genius there was linked an erratic character and an unsettled disposition. Had he been able to set aside the belittling influences of his life, there is no doubt that he would have been a great man.
As in “Prize Contests” of the present day,honorable mentionis made of those whose work was excellent although it failed to win the highest award; so may we unhesitatingly yield honorable mention to John Fitch for his years of study. Hedidbuild a boat; hedidmake it run; but he failed to establish steam navigation as a practical system of transportation and a commercial success.
In addition to these Americans there were men of science in other lands who busied themselves with the same problem. Earl Stanhope of England, whose attempt has been noted; Patrick Miller of Scotland; the Messrs. Hunter and Dickinson; William Symington, who tried a tug on the Forth and Clyde Canal; M. des Blanc, of France, who essayed to build a boat for the Rhone; all are recorded in history as having made honest attempts to prove that the power of steam could be applied to boats.But how?That was the question. And it should be noted that Robert Fulton did not accept the theory of any previous experimenter, nor did he merelyhappenupon his successful plan. He worked long and patiently, with varying degrees of success, until he discovered the proper tables of proportion,—the size and shape of the boat and its paddles, the weight and power of the engine, the strength of tide and currents, and all the manycontributing forces which united to form the practical and successful boat he finally produced.
Several interesting descriptions of Fulton’s experiments are in existence: one, dated Paris, Jan. 9th, 1803, is entitled “Experiments on the Model of a Boat to be Moved by a Steam Engine.” It describes six different methods by which he propelled a model of a boat three feet long and eight inches wide. From the knowledge he gained in these experiments, he compiled a “table of comparisons” showing the different distances covered by the use of varying sized paddles. He concluded: “Propelling a boat through water is the act of separating two bodies,—the boat from its oars or paddles, or whatever else is applied,—and this is governed by laws reducible to simple calculation.”
It was this science of calculation which gave Fulton the mastery of the situation, and his title, Inventor of Steam Navigation. He did not build a boat by guess-work, but built many boats by actual calculation of their power and speed; these he introduced upon several waterways and established each as a commercial success. Other men had produced the “flower of invention.” Fulton produced the more perfect flower and matured it to actual fruitage.
When Fulton, a youth of twenty-one, sailed from America in 1786, he carried one letter of introduction in his pocket and forty guineas in his purse. Twenty years later he returned, a man of prominence, with plans and purposes enough to fill the remainder of his life. His arbitration with the British government was finished; he had been paid for services rendered to the fleet; and the system of torpedo warfare remained his own, for he had declined to suppress it, at any price. He was content, in excellent health, “never better,” he said, and in good spirits. Thus he wrote to his friend Joel Barlow, announcing his return.
It was his hope to arrive in America by the 14th of November, his birthday, and eat roast goose in Barlow’s hospitable home, “Kalorama,”—a fine country estate near the city of Washington. But the slow-sailing ship in which he embarked from Falmouth during the first week in October did not come to port in Halifax, Nova Scotia, until the 13th of December, 1806.
How happy Fulton was to be again in his native land. He traveled at once by stage-coach to visit the Barlows in their new and delightful home, which he called the “Athenian Garden of America.” There he entered another circle of Barlow’s friends, statesmen of the day, among whom were Jefferson, Madison, and other men of prominence.
In Fulton’s letter to Barlow he had said, “You know I cannot exist without a project, or projects, and I have two or three of the first order of sublimity.” It was true, and he immediately set himself to the task of forwarding them. He certainly believed in the importance of the work he was about to begin.
The world has honored Fulton as the “inventor of the steamboat”; his history shows that his other invention, the submarine torpedo-boat, was of equal importance in Fulton’s estimation. Pledged to partnership with Chancellor Livingston to build the boat for the Hudson River, he also found time, soon after his arrival in America, to interest his countrymen in his project of submarine navigation. Joel Barlow helped him in this plan by inviting James Madison, Secretary of State, and Robert Smith, Secretary of the Navy, to witness an experiment at Kalorama, on the waters of Rock Creek. These men were favorably impressed,and Fulton soon after arranged a series of experiments in the harbor of New York; but three years went by before Congress appropriated money to finance the invention in a practical way.
Fulton’s fame had spread, and in March he was invited by Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States, to examine the ground and report on the possibility of building a canal to unite the waters of the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain; but Fulton replied, “although infinitely obliged by the proposal I am sorry I cannot undertake a work so interesting and honorable. The reason is I now have ship-builders, blacksmiths and carpenters occupied at New York in building and executing the machinery of my steamboat and I must return to that city in ten days to direct the work till finished, which will probably require four months. The enterprise is of much importance to me individually and I hope will be of great use in facilitating the navigation of some of our long rivers. Like every enthusiast I have no doubt of success. I therefore work with ardor and when adjusting the parts of the machine I cannot leave the men for a day. I am also preparing the engines for an experiment of blowing up a vessel in the harbor of New York this spring. The machines for this purpose are in great forwardness and Ihope to be able to convince the rational part of the inhabitants of our cities that vessels of war shall never enter our harbors or approach our coasts but by our consent. Thus I hope I am usefully employed for six or nine months.”
How strange seem all these plans in the light of a century’s progress! We are prone to think that civilization has come by leaps and bounds, but a letter like this proves that men have had to develop it by patient industry.
Fulton engaged a boat-builder, Charles Browne by name, whose yards were at Corlears Hook on the East River, to construct the hull. It was a hundred and fifty feet long, thirteen feet wide, drawing two feet of water, bow and stern sixty degrees. You will remember that the engine from England was safely stored in a warehouse on South Street, and it was carted over to place in the boat on April 23d, 1807. Fulton kept an account of all expenses and his worn little note-book tells many details which otherwise would have been lost.
Plenty of people laughed at the enterprise and few thought it would amount to anything. Idle-minded men crowded near the ship-yards and gave their reasons for predicting the certain failure ofFulton’s Folly, as they called the boat. This wasunpleasant but Fulton took no notice of them for he had long before realized that only wise people can grasp new ideas. His patience was inexhaustible and his temper undisturbed. He declined to listen to the jeers of the bystanders who often rudely intended their remarks to reach his ears. And day by day the boat advanced toward completion.
It will be remembered that Livingston, by the terms of contract, could not be called upon for more money; we can fancy then how great was Fulton’s anxiety when he found that the boat would cost more than he had surmised. It is said that when one thousand dollars were needed to pay the men, Fulton vainly spent an entire evening trying to persuade an intimate friend to lend the money. Nothing daunted, he renewed his entreaties the following day, and finally the friend reluctantly promised a hundred dollars if Fulton could persuade nine others to subscribe the same sum. This he did by promising the subscribers that their names should be kept secret, as they feared ridicule.