Copy Book Archive

The Story of ‘Charlotte Dundas’ The invention of the steamboat was a formidable challenge not just of engineering, but of politics and finance.

In two parts

1803
Music: Jan Ladislav Dussek

By D. M. Duggan Thacker, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. Source

About this picture …

The steam tugboat PS Ben More was built in 1855, and can be seen here plying the River Thames about thirty years later. The design has changed very little from Symington’s boat of 1803, leading some to regard him as the pioneer of the modern steamboat, though he did not invent them and American Robert Fulton was more influential in developing them for commercial use.

The Story of ‘Charlotte Dundas’

Part 1 of 2

Steam power came to rivers and lakes even before it came to railways. Exactly who was ‘first’ is often debated, but the short answer is that a Frenchman was the first to try it, a Scotsman was the first to make it work, and an American was the first to make a profit from it.

THE world’s first steam-powered vessel was demonstrated by the Marquis Claude de Jouffroy, navigating the Doubs river between Besançon and Montbéliard in 1776.* Over in America, John Fitch demonstrated a second on the Delaware to members of the Constitutional Convention, meeting at Philadelphia in 1787.*

Brilliant though these innovations were, they were blind alleys both scientifically and commercially. The Marquis used an engine derived from the historic steam engine invented by Devonshire engineer Thomas Newcomen in 1712, which had already been superseded by James Watt’s revolutionary designs. Fitch had a better engine, but his mechanical oars were clumsier than Jouffroy’s paddle-wheel.

Politics and money also got in the way. The French monarchy’s Academy of Sciences snubbed the Marquis in favour of a rival, and the science-loving French Revolutionaries drove him into exile and poverty. Fitch patented his invention, but hopes of a government monopoly were dashed, and his financial backers deserted him in favour of enterprising competitors.

Jump to Part 2

A replica model of the boat, named ‘Perseverance’, is kept in Berlin’s Science Museum, and can be seen at Wikimedia Commons.

Précis

The first steam-powered river-going vessels were given trials in France in 1776 by the Marquis de Jouffroy, and eleven years later in America by John Fitch. However, political upheaval in the French Revolution, and the caution of American investors, combined with serious weaknesses in design to prevent further development at this stage. (51 / 60 words)

Part Two

© G. Laird, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0. Source

About this picture …

The William Symington Monument at his birthplace in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire. In addition to his pioneering work on steamboats, Symington (1764-1831) built and installed over thirty steam engines in mines and mills all across Scotland, an incalculable contribution to his country’s industrial and social improvement.

THE development of steamboats in France and America had stalled, but up in Scotland mining engineer William Symington was enjoying better results. Though his first experiments, beginning in 1788, had been frustrating for their niggling flaws and breakdowns, on March 28th, 1803, the steamship ‘Charlotte Dundas’ successfully drew two seventy-ton barges almost twenty miles along the Forth and Clyde Canal.*

Unlike Jouffroy and Fitch, Symington had designed a boat that looked to the future, with a paddle-wheel and a Watt engine enhanced by Symington’s patented horizontal pistons. However, nothing more came of it, as the Canal company feared the boat’s wash would erode the banks.

Four years later, American entrepreneur Robert Fulton launched a steamboat of very similar design on the Hudson River, powered by a Boulton and Watt engine imported from Birmingham.** At last, the idea caught on, so quickly that in 1838 the British-built ‘SS Great Western’ and ‘Sirius’ became the first ships to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone.

Copy Book

Charlotte Dundas was the daughter of Thomas, Lord Dundas, Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal. In that same year, Robert Fulton took a steamboat up the Seine (he was a friend of the US Ambassador to France) but unfortunately it sank. Fulton moved to England in 1804, working on munitions for the Royal Navy, and returned to the US in 1806.

Précis

In 1788, Scottish engineer William Symington began experimenting with steamboats, and overcame several setbacks to complete a very successful trial on March 28th, 1803, on the Forth and Clyde Canal. However, further investment was not forthcoming, and it was left to American Robert Fulton to convince the world of the potential of steam power for shipping. (54 / 60 words)

Source

With acknowledgements to Grace’s Guide.

Related Video

Below is some video footage of ‘Waverley’, the world’s only surviving ocean-going paddle steamer, on the River Clyde in 2016. The video includes shots from the shore and also footage of the engine room

Suggested Music

1 2

Piano Sonata in F minor (‘L’invocation’), Op. 77

3: Adagio non troppo ma solenne

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)

Played by Hanuš Bartoň.

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Piano Sonata in F minor (‘L’invocation’), Op. 77

1: Allegro moderato ma energico

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)

Played by Hanuš Bartoň.

Media not showing? Let me know!

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