USA > Virginia > Historical collections of Virginia : containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities ; together with geographical and statistical descriptions ; to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia. > Part 52
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At Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side, " there is said to be a wonderful likeness of Washington in the stupendous rocks which overhang the Potomac. The nose, lips, and chin are admirably formel, and bear the semblance of studied art. The fiches is obscure ; yet there is sufficient to. give the mind a just idea of the noble form and digni- fied carriage, with the mudress of feature, which the original possessed so pre-tiniuently as to inspire all men with a profound reverence towards this august personage."
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Harper's Ferry is compactly, though irregularly built, around the foot of a hill ; but the engraving annexed shows bes a small portion of it. It contains about a dozen mercantile stores, several mechanical and manufacturing establishments. I Presbyterian. 1 Catholic, 1 Methodist, and 1 Free Church : and, including the suburbs, has a population of over 3,000. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passes along the left bank of the Potomac, and the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road passes through the town. The town is connected with the Maryland side by a fine bridge across the Potomac. of about 800 feet in length. The United States Armory and the National Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry, are worthy of atten- tion. In the latter, 80,000 or 90,000 muskets are usually kept, which, as they are sent away, are replaced by others from the factories.
Dwelling of Rumsey, the first Steamboat Inventor.
Shepherdstown is situated on the Potomac, in the northwestern part of the county, 5 miles north of the Baltimore and Ohio rail- road, and about 12 miles above Harper's Ferry. It was estab- lished by law in November. 1762, laid off by Capt. Thomas Shep- herd, and named Mecklenburg : its first settlers were German mechanics. It contains 6 or 8 mercantile stores, 3 merchant mills, 1 Episcopal. 1 Presbyterian, 1 German-Reformed, and 1 Lutheran church, and a population of about 1,600. There is a small stream, of considerable fall, which runs through the town, immediately opposite to which is an inlet-lock to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
This town is remarkable as being the place where the first steamboat was constructed and navigated. Previous to detailing the experiments at this place, we shall introduce a brief historical sketch of navigation by steam :
" Who invented the steamboat ?" is a question which has occasioned much contro versy-an achievement of which nations, as well as individuals, have been covetous.
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Several of the early experimenters in steare appear to have conceived of the idea. The first account we have on the subject, is given in a work recently published in Spain, combining original papers relating to the voyage of Columbus, said to have been pre. served in the royal archives at amancas, and among the public papers of Catalonia, and those of the scoretary at war for the year 1543. This narrative states that " Blasco de Gotar, ama-captur, calleted to the carter and king Charles, Voir the year 1543, an engine by which ships and vessels of the largest size could be propelled, even in a calm, without the aid of oars or sails. Notwithstanding the opposition which this pro- ject encountered, the emperor resolved that an experiment should be made, as in fact it was, with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the 17th of June, 1543. Garay never publicly exposed the construction of his engine ; but it was observed, at the time of his experiment, that it consisted of a large caldron, or vessel of boiling water, and a movea- . ble wheel attached to each side of the ship. The experiment was made on a ship of 209 tons, arrived from Calibre to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona; it was called the Trinity, and the captain's name was Peter de Scarza. By order of Charles V., and the prince Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry da Toledo, the governor, Peter Cardona, the treasurer, Ravago, the vice-chancellor, Francis Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castilians and Catalenians ; and among others, several sea-captains witnessed the operation-some in the vessel, and others on the shore. The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The treasurer, Ravago, an chemy to the project, said it would move iwo leagues in three hours. It was very complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler. The other commissioners affirmed, that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a galley served by the common method, and that, at its slowest rate, it would aviva league in an hour. The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine, and having deposited the wood-work in the arsenal of Barcelona. kept the rest to him- selt. Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravage, the invention was approved ; and if the expedition in which Charles V. was then engaged had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it was, he raised Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present, ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and conferred upon him other rewards."
The editor of the Franklin Journal, from which this extract has been made, observes, " when the ' Public Records' shall appear in an authentic form, their evidence must be admitted ; until then, he should not be inclined to commence the history of the invention of the steamboat so far back as 1543. For, circumstantial as the account is, it seems to have been written since the days of Fultou."
He is not alone in this opinion, as it is generally regarded as a mere fiction, the off- spring of an individual jealous of his country's reputation. This, too, it must be re- membered. is stated to have occurred 54 years previous to the birth of the Marquis of Worcester, to whom history assigns the credit of being the original inventor of the steam engine. When we consider how slow is the progress of invention -- how it took several generations of ingenious men, cach of whom successively contributed his share in improving upon the first crade conception of Worcester, ere it could be successfully applied-how rude the state of mechanic arts three centuries since, and the difficulties of perfecting so complicated a work of mechanism as the stram-engine -- it seems incredi- ble that one mind alone should have overcome them all, and, at a single leap, done that which has taken the successive light and talent of generations of men, and all the me- chanical skill and knowledge of the 19th century, to consummate.
The most prominent and authentic account of the carly projects of applying steam as a motive power to the propelling of vessels, is given in a treatise printed in London in 3737, entitled " Description and draught of a new-invented machine, for carrying ves. sels out of, or into any harbor, port, or river, against wind and tide, or in a calm : for which his majesty George II. has granted letters patent for the sole benefit of the au- thor, for the spice of 14 yerres; by Jonathan Holls." The draught ot drawing prefixed, is a plate of a stout boat, with chimney smoking. a pair of wheels rigged out over cach side of the stern, moved by means of ropes passing around their outer rims ; and to the axis of these wheels are fixed six paddles to propel the boat. From the stern of the boat a tow-line passes to the foremast of a two-decker, which the boat thus tows through the water. There is no evidence that Hulls ever applied his conceptions to practice.
Previous to the great and successful experiment of Fulton, in 1867, several attempts
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were made in this country and in Europe, to navigate vessels by steam. The first in order of time, was made by the subject of this sketch ; the second was John Fitch, who, in 1989, succeeded in propelling bie steamboat by paddles, at the rate of eight miles an hour, on the Delaware. In his autobiography he says, " I know of nothing so perplexing and vexations to a man of feelings, as a turbulent wife and steamboat building. I experi- cueed the former, and quit in season ; and had I been in my right senses, I should un- doubtedly have treated the latter in the same manner. But for one man to be leased with both, he must be looked upon as the most unfortunate man of this world." Fiteux died at Bardstown, Kentucky, about the year 1796. It was his wish to be buried ou the banks of the Ohio, that he might repose " where the song of the boatman would enliven the stillness of his resting-place, and the music of the steam-engine sooth his spirit." How melancholy is the sentiment found in his journal : " The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention; but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of attention." As early as 1753, both Rumsey and Fitch had exhibited models to Gen. Washington.
Shortly after the experiment of Fitch, a Mr. Symington succeeded in propelling a steamboat on the Clyde, in Scotland.
John Stevens, of Hoboken, commenced his experiments in 1797. With various forms of vessels and machinery, he impelled boats at the rate of five or six miles an hour. In the year 1797, Chancellor Livingston built a steamboat on the Hudson, and he upplied to the legislature of New York for an exclusive privilege. Being phable 10 comply with the conditions of their grant -- viz., that he should propel a vessel by steam at the rate of three miles an hour, within a year-the project was, for a time, dropped. He afterwards associated with Stevens, and being aided by Nicholas Rosevelt, they car- ried on theh experiments until Livingston was sent iminister to France. Mir. Stevens continued his experiments until several years later, when Mr. Liviagsion obtained a renewal of the exclusive grant from the legislature of New York. Mr. Stevens, with the assistance of his son, new applied himself with increased assiduity to the project, and succeeded in 1807, only a few days later than Mr. Fulton's convincing experiment, in propelling a steamboat at the required velocity. Mr. Faltou had, in 1803, made a successful experiment upon the Seine, with a boat which moved at the rate of four miles per hour.
Another of these indefatigable experimenters in navigation by steam, was Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, the inventor of the high-pressure steam-engine, the only one which can be successfully applied to locomotives. " In the year 1804, Mr. Evans, by order of the board of health of Philadelphia, constructed at his works, situated a mile and a half from the water, a machine for cleaning docks. It consisted of a large flat, or seow, with a steam-engine of the power of five horses on board, to work machinery in rausing the mud into scows. This was considered a fine opportunity to show the public that his engine could propel both land and water conveyances. When the machine was finished, he fixed, in a rough and temporary manner, wheels with wooden axlefrees, and, of course, under the influence of great friction. Although the whole weight was equal to 200 barrels of flour, yet bis small engine propelled it up Market-st., and round the circle to the water-works, where it was launched into the Schuylkill. A paddle-wheel was then applied to its stern, and it thus sailed down that river to the Delaware, a distance of 16 miles, leaving all vessels that were under sail at least half way, (the wind being ahead,) in the presence of thousands of spectators --- which he supposed would have con- vinced them of the practicability of steamboats and steam-carriages. But no allow- ance was made by the public for the disproportion of the engine to its load, nor for the rough manner in which the machinery was fixed, or the great friction and ill form of the boat ; but it was supposed that this was the utmost it could perform. In 1802, Evans built a steamboat to ply on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Natchez. The boat being ready. a drought left it high and dry, and the steam-engine was placed tem- porarily in a saw-mill. The mill was like to deprive some who sawed lumber of profit- able jobs ; and, on the third attempt, it was burnt by incendiaries. Thus were the pro- jectors ruined, and a laudable attempt to establish steamboats on the Mississippi, three or four years before Fulton's experiment, defeated."
JAMES RUMSEY, who is believed to be the first person that ever succeeded in propelling a boat by steam, was a native of Maryland. When a young man, he removed to Shep- berdstown, where he devoted much of his time to mechanics.
He was, at one period of his life, engaged as a merchant in company with a Mr
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Orrick, at Bath, in Morgan county. In September, 1:81, it appears from a letter of his, now before us, that he was employed by the Potomac company, of which Washing- ten was a member, to improve the navigation of the Potomac River. In the summer of the veg: 1783, he directed his attention to the subject of steamboats ; and in the autumn of 1754 succeeded in a private, but very imperfect experiment, in order to test some of the principles of his invention. In the October session of that year, he obtained the passage of an ret from the Virginia Assembly, guarantying to him the ex- clusive use of his ravendies in navigating the waters of the state, for the space of 10 years from data in January. Make or need a patent from the General Assembly of Maryland, for navigating their waters. Through the whole of this year he was en- gagged in working at his boat, hat was not ready for a public trial until 1786, the year following, In this experiment he was eminently successful. He succeeded in propelling his boat, by steam alone, at Shepherdstown, against the current of the Potomac, at the rate of four or five miles an hour.
There are now several persons living who were on board at this time : among these is Mrs. Ann Baker, the mother-in-law of the late Gov. Gilmer. Washington, it is said, was also among the passengers. In his correspondence, compiled by Sparks, is a letter to Rumsey, dated anterior to the public experiment in 1786, advising him to husten the 'construction of his boat, so as to prevent being forestalled by another individual, and to convinec the public of its practicability. Also, in a letter to Hagh Williamson, M. C., dated Mount Vernon, March 15th, 1785, Washington says, in alluding to Rumsey's boat : " If a model of a thing, in miniature, is a just representation of a greater object in practice, there is no doubt of the utility of the invention. A view of his model, with the explanation, removed the principal doubt I ever had of the practicability of propel- ling against a stream, by the aid of mechanical power ; but as he wanted to avail him- self of my introduction of it to the public attention, I chose, previously, to see the actual performance of the model in a descending stream, before I passed my certificate, and having done so, all my doubts are satisfied."
While at Shepherdstown, Mr. Rumsey dwelt in a small loz-house, now standing near the town jail in the outskirts of the village. It is the same building represented in the engraving. He was supplied with funds for the undertaking by his brother-in law, Charles Morrow, which proved the rain of the latter. The boat was hadt won the banks of the Fotomac, about half a mile above the town. She was called by the towns- people, not the steamboat, but " the flying-boat ;" and Mr. Rumsey himself. received, from the same source, the appellation of " Crazy Rumsey." There is a place upon the banks of the Potomac, formerly called " Rumsey's Walk," where Rumsey was often seen for hours walking to and fro, in deep meditation upon his favorite project. A por- tion of the boiler of his boat is now in the possession of Alexander R. Boteler, Esq, of Shepherdstown, to whose kindness we are indebted for some of the facts in this ar- ticle.
" Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine," an English publication, thus describes his boat :
" Rumsey's boat was about 5C fet in length, and was propelled by a pump worked by a steam-encine, which forred a quantity of water up through the keel ; the valve was then shut by the return of the stroke, which at the same time forced the water through a channel or pipe, a few inches square, (lying above or parallel to the kelsoo,) out at the stern under the rudder, which had a less depth than usual, to permit the exit of the water. The impetus of this water forced through the square channel against the exterior water, acted as an impelling power upon the vessel. The reaction of the efflu- ent water propelled her at the rate above mentioned, when loaded with three tons in ad dition to the weight of her engine, of about a third of a ton. The boiler was quite a curiosity, holding no more than five gallons of water, and needing only a pint at a time. The whole machinery did not occupy a space greater than that required for four barrels of flour. The fuel consumed was not more than from four to six bushels of coal in twelve hours. Rumsey's other project was to apply the power of a steam-engine to long poles, which were to reach the bottom of the river, and by that means to push a boat against a rapid current."
" After the experiment above alluded to, Rumsey being under the strong conviction that skilful workmen and perfect machinery were alone wanting to the most perfect suc
See Henning's Statutes, Vol. II., p. 502
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cess, and sensible that such could not be procured in America, resolved to go to Eng- land. With slender means of his own, and added, or rather wereld by some tanid and unsteady patronage, he there resumed with untiring energy his great undertaking. He proceeded to procure patents of the British government for steam navigation : date patents bear date in the beginning of the year 1788. Several of his inventions, in one modified form or another, are now in general use ; as, for instance, the cylindrical boiler, so superior to the old tub or still-boilers, in the presentation of fire surface, and capacity for holding highly rarefied steam, is described, both single and combined, in his specifi- cations, and is identical in principle with the tel-boller which he used in his Potomac experiment.
" Difficulties and embarrassments of a pecuniary nature, and such as invariably ob -. street the progress of a new invention, attend i bin in England. He was often com- pelled to abandon temporarily his main object, and turn his attention to something elso. in order to raise means to resume it. He undertook, with the same power, but by its mors judicious application, to produce higher results in several water-works, in all which he succeeded, realizing thereby some reputation as well as funds to apply to his favorite project.
" At another time, in order to avoid a London prison, and the delay. if not the de- feat of all his high hopes, he was compelled to transfer, at what he considered a ruinous sacrifice, a large interest in his inventions, -- a contract which entangled and embarrassed him through hie. Still, however, he struggled on, undismayed, and had constructed a boat of about one hundred tons burden, and pushed forward his machinery so near to the point of completion, as to be able to indicate a day not very distant for a public ex- hibition."*
Death, however, put an end to his career, in Liverpool, at a most fattering point in his life, and under circumstances of the most touching character.
Ramsey had consented, at the suggestion of some gentlemen, to give a public exposi- tion of his projet, for the purpose of enlisting the patronage of the public in his behalf. The evening came, and, to his astonishment, the hall was filled to overflowing with the learning, and fashion, and beauty of Liverpool. He was overwhelmed at this unlocked .. for token of interest ; and he seems to have been so conquered by his feelings, as to be unequal to the occasion. He saw that his most ardent hopes were upon the eve of ac- corplishment, and that the helping hand of penser was to be extended to bin; in Lis penury, and carry through in triumph the cherished object of his life. He arose to begin his lecture-his agitation was observed by a gentleman, who handed him a glass of water-he returned his thanks in a few incoherent sentences, sank in his chair, and never spake more. He was seized with an apoplectie fit, and died within two days after. Thus died poor Rumsey, another of those martyrs of civilization, of which those bene- factors of the human race who have labored in the department of mechanical invention -- whose works constitute the peculiar glory of our time -- form so long a roll.
Rumsey had obtained the patronage of some enterprising individuals, and the boat he constructed was set in motion after his death, on the Thames, in 1793.
A sharp controversy, at one time, existed between Rumsey and Fitch, as to the origi- nality of their respective inventions. Neither, however, can claim originality as to the idea, as has been shown. The Hon. Robert Wickliffe, Sen., of Kentucky, in a commu- nication on this subject to the American Pioneer, (Vol. I., p. 34,) says that about the year 1780, Fitch accidentally met Rumsey in Winchester, and imparted to him bis idva of propelling beats by steam. Admitting the fact, it proves nothing more than that from Fitch, Rumsey derived the bare idea : the principles of their machinery were dif- forent. Without deciding upon the respective merits of either, both certainly claim ad- miration for their perseverance, as well as sympathy for their misfortunes.
Gen. WILLIAM DARKE was born in Pennsylvania, in 1736. When he was five years of age, he removed with his parents to Virginia, within five miles of Shepherdstown.
* The last quotation is from the speech of Mr. Ruaney, of Kentucky, before the Congressional House of Representatives, on the occasion of offering the following polation, afterwards unanimously przed, Feb. 9, 1839. " Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, &c. &c., That the President be, and he is hereby requested, to present to James Rumsey, jun., the son and only surviving child of James Rumsey, deceased, a starstable gold medal, commentaire of his father's services and Mich netacy &P. ing to the world the benefit of the steamboat." For the speech above referred to, seo the National fu telligencer of that date.
"JEFFERSON COUNTY.
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Be war gifed by nature with an herculean bam ; his manners were rough : his mind was strong, but uncultivated ; and his disposition frank and fearless. In his 19th peur, he was with the Virginis provinciale at Braddock's defeat He then returned and con- When the revolutionary war broke ent, se joined the American army. He was taken prisoner at Germantown, and remained so until Nov. 1, 1750. In the succeeding spring he repaired to Winchester to recruit his regiment. He was colonel-commandant of the Hampshire and Berkeley regiments at the yage of York, and nobly sustained the character he had previously won for bravery and berole darioy. After the war he returned to agriculture. He was chosen, with Gen. Stevens, to represent Berkeley county in the Virginia convention of 1788, and voted for the federal constitution. Subsequently, he was repeatedly elected to the legis- laturc. At St. Clair's dofest, Col Darke commanded the left wing of the army. When the ludians were making their most desperate onsets, and the whites were falling in heaps before his eyes, St. Clair at this crisis ordered Darke to charge with the bayonet, who deave the encing from his position with his wand gadantry. but. for want of ride- men, could not continne the pursuit. The Indians again penetrated to the camp ; Darke, assisted by Butler and Clarke, made a second charge, with success-recovered the artillery, and drove the enemy before them. But these exertions were not sustained, so that a concentrated effort could not be made, and the loss of officers increased every moment. Among these was Capt. Joseph Darke, his youngest son, who was mortally wounded. His father saw him fall, paused for a moment, and then rushed to the con- test. The retreat soon commenced, and Darke arrived that evening at Fort Jefferson, distant 30 miles, with his son on a horse-litter, although he himself was wounded in the thick, and Halle to be vicataken and slain. A council of war was held at Fort Jeffer. ron, and Darke urged the expediency of an immediate attack, and contended that the Indians might be beaten, because they were flushed with victory and unprepared for the contest. But he was overruled. Darke died Nov. 20th, 1801.
Charlestown, the seat of justice for the county, is on the line of the rail-road from Winchester to Harper's Ferry, 8 miles from the Jatter, and :2 from the former. This town was established in Oc- tober. 1286, and nained from the Christian name of its first proprie- for. Col. Charles Washington, a brother of George Washington. Eighty lots were divided into lots and streets, and the following named gentlemen were appointed trustees: John Augustine Wash ington, William Drakc. Robert Rutherford, James Crane, Cato Moore. Magnus Tate, Benjamin Rankin, Thornton Washington, William Little, Alex, White, and Richard Ransou. Col. Charles Washington resided in a log-house, which stood a short distance from the town. A fine spring marks the spot. The whole of the land in the vicinity of Charlestown originally belonged to the Washington family, and a considerable portion still remains in the possession of their descendants. Col. Chas. Washington was the only brother of Washington that settled west of the Blue Ridge. He was an amiable, modest, and dignified gentleman, and in his appearance, as well as character, resembled his illustrious brother.
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