Steamboat and Steamship Firsts

The End of the Age of Sail

Aug 10, 2006 John Crandall

There is a little controversy about what was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic because many did so with a combination of sail and auxiliary steam engines.

It took a few decades for someone to truly harness the power of Watt's steam engine for water transport, but the name of the American Robert Fulton is, of course, the name most often associated with the first viable commercial passenger steamer. His boat, the Clermont, began a regular route on the Hudson between New York and Albany in 1807. She was cumbersome, but her 4-5 miles an hour against the current was a wonder at the time. Her engines were set in masonry, and she carried a heavy cistern to house her condenser, but she didn't sink or blow up, and ran a regular route for years.

Once proven possible, steam boats and barges improved rapidly. By the 1820's British coastal ships and American river and lake steamboats were efficient and there were many in service. Men began looking for a way to harness the power of the steam engine for ocean voyages.

There is a certain amount of controversy as to what was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. The general consensus is that the Savannah was the first. This American built sailing ship was fitted with a side wheel and crossed the Atlantic in 1819, however its twenty-nine day voyage was scarcely an improvement over sail alone, and the engine burned all the coal and wood put aboard for fuel in only about 80 hours under steam. In short, she was not fuel efficient. She returned to Savannah, Ga. claiming a triumphant first, but her engine was then removed, and she finished her service as a sailing ship.

Some scholars have turned up evidence little noted in the English speaking world that the Curacao, a Dutch mail carrier, made several voyages in 1826-28 mostly under steam power, although she also had sail. And the Canadian ship, the Royal William made a similar voyage in 1833. But true transatlantic steam really gets underway in 1838 when the Great Western and the Sirius race each other for the title of first Atlantic passenger steamship. This was the death knell for the great Age of Sail, but it would be a long time before steam completely replaced sail. Clippers were still running on good winds to and from Australia as late as 1950.

Note: see F.B.C. Bradlee, "The First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic" (Salem: 1925)

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