Rigged Model, Auxiliary Steamship <I>Savannah</I>
date: label: Date made
content: 1961
label: cleared Savannah, Georgia
content: 1819-05-22
label: sailed from Liverpool to Stockholm
content: 1819-07-23
label: sailed in the Baltic
content: 1919-08-13
label: returned to Savannah
content: 1819-11
label: sailed from New York to Savannah
content: 1820-10
label: wrecked at Fire Island
content: 1821-11-05
label: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named May 22 as National Maritime Day in honor of the <I>Savannah</I>
content: 1933-05-22
name: label: ship captain and owner
content: Rogers, Moses
label: owner
content: Scarbrough, William
label: ship captain
content: Holdridge, Nathan
label: designated 05-22 as National Maritime Day in honor of the <I>Savannah</I>
content: Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
notes: label: Description
content: The steamer <I>Savannah</I> holds pride of place in American history as the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic. Measuring 98’-6” and 320 tons, the little two-decker began as a sailing vessel at a New York shipyard. Local ship captain Moses Rogers and his partner William Scarbrough of Savannah, Ga. formed a Savannah-based steamship line, and Rogers had the shipyard convert the vessel to a 75-hp auxiliary steamer for a total cost of $66,000. It was luxuriously appointed, with 32 berths in 16 cabins, full-length mirrors, mahogany-lined public areas, and other amenities.
label: Description
content: On May 22, 1819 the <I>Savannah</I> cleared Savannah, Ga. under steam for Liverpool. It carried 25 cords of wood and 1,500 bushels of coal for fuel, but neither a single passenger nor any cargo. No one—not even the owners—trusted the new technology enough on the open ocean to invest their own money. On the 29-day passage to Liverpool, the <I>Savannah</I> operated its engines for about 100 hours, or 16% of the time. The rest was spent under sail.
label: Description
content: The failure to secure any paying cargo or passengers altered the company’s plans for transatlantic service. The steamer left Liverpool for Stockholm, Sweden on July 23, 1819, again unladen. Under steam 28% of the passage to Sweden, the <I>Savannah</I> became the first steamboat in the Baltic on August 13. Capt. Rogers declined an offer for the ship from Swedish King Charles XIV for $100,000 in hemp and iron, as well as an offer from Russian Tsar Alexander for an exclusive monopoly on steam navigation in the Black and Baltic Seas.
label: Description
content: The <I>Savannah</I> returned to Savannah in November 1819 and almost immediately sailed for Washington, DC. After two months in Washington, Rogers had failed to interest the U.S. Navy in his vessel, and it was sold to Capt. Nathan Holdridge of New York. He promptly removed the engine and began packet service between New York and Savannah. On its first voyage in October 1820, the <I>Savannah</I> sailed with 24 passengers and a full cargo hold. Ironically, four of its prior owners consigned cargo aboard the ill-fated vessel, now that it was an old-fashioned sailing ship. After a successful year as a packet, the <I>Savannah</I> wrecked at Fire Island, NY on November 5, 1821.
label: Description
content: In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated May 22 as National Maritime Day, in honor of the day that the <I>Savannah</I> hoisted anchor on its inaugural transatlantic passage. The Smithsonian has <I>Savannah’</I>s original logbook detailing that pioneering voyage.
place: label: ship built and sailed from
content: United States: New York, New York
label: sailed
content: United States: Georgia, Savannah
label: sailed
content: United Kingdom: England, Liverpool, Liverpool
label: sailed
content: Sweden: Stockholm
label: sailed
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
label: sailed
content: Baltic Sea
label: sailed
content: Black Sea
label: wrecked
content: United States: New York, Fire Islands, Fire Island
topic: label: related event
content: Expansion and Reform
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: See more items in
content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.319026
label: catalog number
content: 319026
label: accession number
content: 236167
objectType: label: Object Name
content: ship
label: Object Name
content: ship model
label: Object Name
content: model, ship
label: Other Terms
content: ship; Maritime; Packet; Auxillary Steam
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 29 1/2 in x 39 in x 14 in; 74.93 cm x 99.06 cm x 35.56 cm