User:Gatoclass/SB/United States (1821)

United States underway, from a drawing by Stanton
History
Name	United States
Namesake	United States of America
Owner	Thomas Gibbons (1821–22) New Haven Steamboat Co. (1822–32)
Operator	New Haven Steamboat Co. (1822–32)
Route	1823: Byram, CT–New Haven 1824: New York City–New Haven 1832: Hudson River
Builder	Jabez Williams (Manhattan, NY)
Cost	$22,399.44
Completed	1821
In service	1823-1840
Fate	Scrapped, 1840
General characteristics
Type	Sidewheel steamboat
Tonnage	180
Length	140 ft (43 m)
Installed power	1 × crosshead (square) steam engine
Propulsion	2 × paddlewheels

United States was a small passenger sidewheel steamer built in New York in 1821. After a brief deployment on the Hudson River, she was transferred to Long Island Sound to become the first steamboat owned and operated by the recently established New Haven Steamboat Company. In 1824, United States became the first steamer to issue tickets rather than "way-bills" to passengers—a system later universally adopted on U.S. steamers. The vessel thereafter maintained a regular service between New York and New Haven.

After suffering a fatal boiler explosion in 1830, United States was sold in 1832, returning to the Hudson River where she operated for some years as a passenger and towboat. She was broken up about 1840.

Construction and design

United States was built in 1821 by Jabez Williams of Manhattan, New York, for steamboat tycoon Thomas Gibbons. She was fitted with a "square" crosshead engine supplied by the Allaire Iron Works, and a single iron boiler, fitted forward of the engine in a cabin on the deck, which operated at a pressure of about 10 psi. Unlike later steamboats, the 180-ton, 140-foot long vessel was originally steered from the stern by a tiller, and had no pilot house, although "a kind of protection" was improvised for the pilot by the crew. After about four years' service, a pilot house was installed, attached to the roof of which was a carved eagle with extended wings.

Original furnishings for United States included "backgammon boards and lamps, $31.66; blankets, $22.25; two chessboards, $2.00; carpeting, $51.68; kitchen furniture, $109.86; bed lace, $2.50; set chess-men, $6.75; sheeting, $144.77." Total cost of the steamer, including furnishings and equipment, was $22,399.44.

Service History

Thomas Gibbons had originally intended to employ the United States on the Hudson River in opposition to the Fulton-Livingston Line, whose legally enshrined monopoly on steamboat operation in New York State Gibbons was in the process of challenging. During the vessel's construction however, Gibbons' legal challenge was dismissed by the courts and the Fulton-Livingston monopoly upheld. Gibbons consequently sold the vessel, in November 1822, to the newly organized New Haven Steamboat Company, which planned to operate the vessel on Long Island Sound between New York and New Haven, Connecticut.

Hell Gate confrontation

As the courts had prohibited the use of United States' engine in the waters of New York, her new owners were obliged, in the spring of 1823, to arrange for the schooner Huntress to tow the steamer out of New York. When Huntress and her tow arrived in the East River, several steamers of the rival Fulton-Livingstone Line harassed the two vessels, reportedly attempting to run United States aground as she approached Hell Gate. With a stiff breeze blowing however, Huntress was able to negotiate the Gate without difficulty, and after reaching Connecticut waters, the two vessels exchanged roles, with United States starting her engine and taking Huntress in tow for the remainder of the passage to Connecticut.

Long Island Sound service

United States in port, detail of a drawing by Stanton

In June 1823, United States commenced regular service between New Haven and Byram, Connecticut—the closest point to New York at which the boat was permitted to operate—with the remaining 25 miles to New York being covered by stagecoach. The following year however, the U.S. Supreme Court in Gibbons v. Ogden ruled the Fulton-Livingstone monopoly unconstitutional, and United States was able to dispense with the stagecoach linkup and open a direct service between New Haven and Maiden Lane, Manhattan. Around this time, United States initiated a ticketing system instead of "way-bills" for passengers—the first steamboat to implement such a system, which would later be universally adopted on American steamers.

A way-bill from the United States dated October 8, 1822. United States later became the first U.S. steamer to adopt a ticketing system for passengers.

With the Gibbons v. Ogden judgement, not only had the Fulton-Livingstone monopoly on steam navigation been overturned, but a retaliatory law enacted by Connecticut against the Fulton and Livingstone interests had also been struck down. This allowed the Fulton-Livingstone Line to compete on the New Haven route against the New Haven Steamboat Company, and in April 1824 the former began running two steamers, Fulton and Connecticut, in opposition to United States; however, the two opposition boats were withdrawn from the route after only a few months. When United States herself was withdrawn from the route with the onset of winter, another competitor placed a new steamer, Linnaeus, on the route, and the New Haven Company was forced to return United States to service.

Up to this point, the United States, as the only steamboat owned by the New Haven Steamboat Company, had been able to maintain only a three-day-per-week service, but in the spring of 1825, the company purchased a second steamboat, Hudson, and commenced a daily service with the two steamers. About this time, a new competitor in the shape of a small steamer named Providence ran for a short time on the route, but this boat too was purchased by the New Haven Company and joined the other two steamers, helping maintain the company's daily schedule. This arrangement appears to have persisted for the next five years.

Boiler explosion

On the afternoon of September 10, 1830, while on a passage from New York to New Haven, United States suffered an explosion in the main flue of her boiler. The explosion killed nine of those on board, including the steamer's cook, three waiters, a fireman, and two passengers who leapt overboard to escape the steam and drowned. Subsequent investigation concluded that the explosion was probably caused by a defective iron patch recently installed on the flue, although the boiler itself was also said to have been poorly designed.

As a result of the accident, the boiler of United States was replaced by a new, stronger and better designed model. The company also implemented a rigorous safety regime for its steamboats, which included checking the boilers' water levels when in operation every fifteen minutes, and "blowing out" the boiler tubes at the end of every voyage to prevent scaling. By these means, the company was eventually able to establish an enviable record of reliability for its vessels.

Later service

After installation of the new boiler, United States continued in operation with the New Haven Steamboat Company for another two years. In 1832, following the company's acquisition of a large new steamer named Superior, United States was sold to parties who returned her to service on the Hudson River as a passenger and towboat. She continued in this role until about 1840, when she was broken up.

Bibliography

• Bullock, C. Seymour (1906): "The Development of Steam Navigation", Part 3, The Connecticut Magazine, Volume 10, pp. 104-108, The Connecticut Magazine Co., Hartford and New Haven, USA.
• Morrison, John Harrison (1903): History of American Steam Navigation, pp. 339-341, W. F. Sametz & Co., New York.
• Stanton, Samuel Ward (1895): American Steam Vessels, p. 29, Smith & Stanton, New York.
• United States Treasury Department (1838): Steam Engines (Document No. 21), pp. 71-74, U.S. Treasury Dept.