John Laurence Busch

In the years immediately following Robert Fulton's success, running t steamboats on rivers, lakes and bays became a normal and accepted part of American life.  Taking such a vessel on a voyage across the ocean was a different proposition altogether.  Experienced mariners didn’t think it could be done.  These early steamboats, they declared, were just too flimsy and unwieldy to withstand the dangers of the deep.

But Moses Rogers believed otherwise.  Combining his knowledge of the old mode of transport (sail) with the new mode of transport (steam), he set out to design a vessel that was capable of overcoming the many dangers of the sea.  This craft would be not a steamboat, but a "steamship," the first of its kind.  She was named Savannah.

This presentation will show how Captain Rogers designed and built this revolutionary vessel...nearly two centuries ago!

Biography:

John Laurence Busch is an independent historian who focuses upon the interaction between humanity and technology, specializing in the first generation of steam-powered vessels.  He has devoted years of research to discovering the true story of Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship Savannah.