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The Voyage of New Orleans
The New Orleans, the first steamboat to travel
down the Ohio and the Mississippi, left Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
in September 1811 to begin the long journey to New Orleans, Louisiana.
The steamboat was under the command of Nicholas L. Roosevelt who
had already traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi on a flatboat
to scout out a route for the trip. Robert Fulton, the designer
of the New Orleans hired Roosevelt to make both journeys. Roosevelt
was a skilled engine designer and Fulton trusted him to make the
dangerous trip.
After a successful launch it took the New Orleans about three
days to reach Louisville, Kentucky. Crowds gathered at every stop
the boat made. Although steam technology was not new, no one had
yet made a reliable steamboat that was able to travel long distances
and travel upstream against the current. On October 1, 1811, Roosevelt,
confident of the New Orleans left Louisville and sailed upstream
to Cincinnati, Ohio, to prove the vessel could accomplish that
feat. Soon after Roosevelt proved that the New Orleans was good
for upstream travel, he faced another challenge. Below Louisville
were the Falls of the Ohio, a series of rapids that could dash
the boat against rocks if the pilot was not careful. In November,
the water rose high enough for Roosevelt to try to run the falls.
Under full steam the New Orleans successfully ran the rapids.