Shreve's Steamboat

As a young man Henry Shreve joined with a group of steamboat builders who wanted to challenge the Fulton- Livingston monopoly on the Mississippi. In 1811, Robert Fulton built the New Orleans, a steamboat of a new design, and it made the first successful trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. After proving the viability of steamboat commerce on the river, Fulton and his partner, Edward Livingston, established a monopoly with the state of Louisiana that granted them exclusive steamboat rights to the lower Mississippi.

Shreve signed on to be captain of the Enterprise, owned by a group headed by Daniel French. Shreve's experience on the Enterprise taught him a good deal about steamboating and contributed to the end of the Fulton-Livingston monopoly. He decided the boats could be improved and went to French with plans for a different design.

French turned Shreve down and he went about designing and building his own boat in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Shreve's design was similar to Fulton's New Orleans, but it had significant modifications. Shreve's boat, the Washington, had two decks instead of one, and the boiler was fitted on the lower deck instead of in the hold. The engine itself was of a simpler design, with fewer moving parts. It was positioned horizontally instead of vertically, weighed much less than the older engine designs and could produce around 100 horsepower.

The Washington eventually proved to be a reliable boat, although the boiler exploded while Shreve was still testing the steamer. Shreve took the Washington to New Orleans and after squaring off a final time with the Fulton-Livingston group, began to make regular runs with passengers and cargo.

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