SAVANNAH

SAVANNAH. In May and June 1819, the SS Savannah became the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The Savannah was the idea of steamboat captain Moses Rogers, who convinced Savannah, Georgia, entrepreneurs to back the venture. The Speedwell Iron Works at Morristown, New Jersey, built the engine.

The Savannah was a 100-foot-long packet ship fitted with steam boilers, a seventeen-foot smokestack, and paddle wheels that could be collapsed and taken on deck in case of a storm. The Savannah also had three masts and full sail rigging in case of a boiler malfunction.

Rogers took the ship to sea on 22 May 1819. It reached England in twenty-nine days without incident. While the Savannah had spent much of its time under sail, it had proved such a design could safely cross an ocean. However, not until 1838 did anyone attempt another steam crossing.

The Savannah spawned several namesakes: a U.S. Navy cruiser that served in World War II; an oiler used from 1970 to 1995; and, in 1959, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Braynard, Frank O. Famous American Ships. New York: Hastings House, 1978.

Historic Speedwell. Homepage at http://www.Speedwell.org.

Philip, Cynthia Owen. Robert Fulton: A Biography. New York: Watts, 1955.

R. StevenJones

Savannah, a US paddle steamer of 380 tons, was the first vessel powered by steam propulsion to cross the North Atlantic when in May 1819 she made a passage from Savannah to Liverpool in 27 days. She was originally a sailing vessel but was later fitted with a small auxiliary engine with detachable paddle wheels that were unshipped and laid on deck when she was under sail. During her passage she was, in fact, under power for only 85 hours. The rest of the voyage was made under sail, as her master found that using wind and steam power together did not work—when she heeled while under sail one paddle dug deep into the water and the other beat on nothing but air. It was not until 1838 that one of the earliest ocean liners, the Sirius, crossed the North Atlantic entirely under her own power.