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James Rumsey |
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James Rumsey: Blacksmith-Inventor, by David G. Allen for the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association © 2008
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The First Steamboat James Rumsey claimed to have invented the first steamboat. His steam engine had one cylinder. The piston rod operated a water pump in like fashion. An intake valve allowed the pump to suction river water. Then that valve closed and the pump forced the water though a discharge pipe at the stern. The result was jet propulsion—not unlike the modern jet ski watercraft. Directly coupling the engine piston rod to the water pump piston was true genius. Rumsey, however, did not patent the direct coupling idea. It would be 1840 before anyone did. What may seem to us as common sense today had to be invented in 1787. On its demonstration run, Rumsey’s steamboat boat carried passengers at a speed of 3 miles per hour, both upriver and down. Those in attendance believed the boat to be carrying three tons—half of its maximum load. With the exception of his brother-in-law, Charles Morrow, who manned the tiller, Rumsey allowed only ladies on board for the maiden run. It has been speculated that he was fearful that male passengers might be too inquisitive in their study of the power plant. But he may have had another motive for only having the ladies on board—to demonstrate the engine’s safety and the lack of soot and cinders from the boiler’s exhaust. The only real problems with Rumsey’s engine were the continual steam leaks. Rumsey was constantly re-soldering steam pipes and fittings. Such was the state of technology available in the frontier village known as Shepherdstown. When Rumsey published his pamphlet on steam power and made his claim of invention, inventor John Fitch countered with his own pamphlet claiming that he was the inventor of the steamboat. Fitch had demonstrated a steamboat on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787.
Fitch’s boat used a steam engine to operate banks of oars on each side of the hull. Additionally, his engine weighed several times more than Rumsey’s and occupied 6-8 times the space. Technically speaking, Fitch was first. But if one is to compare apples to apples, Fitch powering oars is similar to Rumsey powering poles. Neither method of propulsion is practical. Although Fitch sailed nearly four months ahead of Rumsey, the difference between using oars and using a waterjet could be described as ‘light years’ in terms of thinking and pure invention. Had Fitch installed a steam engine on a Roman galley some 2,000 years ago, we would not call the galley a steamboat. We’d still call it a rowboat. Fitch and Rumsey desperately fought for an exclusive patent. But the patent process was different from what it is today and neither man would ever be able to claim exclusive right of inventing the steamboat. Twenty years later, in 1807, Robert Fulton demonstrated his Clermont, and he is considered the father of the steamboat. Fulton delivered a practical boat that was commercially acceptable. The Clermont was not a prototype. Fulton also benefited from his partnership with Robert Livingston who secured a monopoly for Fulton’s watercraft to transport passengers on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany. In modern times, we can see how Fulton’s success came about. Microsoft did not invent the internet browser. Microsoft did deliver a commercially acceptable browser. And Microsoft’s near monopoly on personal computer operating systems allowed Internet Explorer to become the dominant browser. The invention of the steamboat was the culmination of a thousand inventions. We should not try to tally up how many of those ideas came from James Rumsey but instead, see him as a visionary.
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