THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY • 1844 • BY J. H. B. LATROBE. Baltimore, March, 1871. Printed by John Murphy, Printer to the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, March, 1871. In the spring of 1828, my law office was in the Athenæum building, so called, afterwards destroyed by fire. My business was scant, for I had but recently been admitted to the bar. I was ruminating, no doubt, upon my prospects, when the door was opened, and a handsome, elderly man, of distinguished presence, entered and a

In the year 1809, Robert Smith, Esquire, then being Secretary of State, an application was made to him by the late Robert Fulton, Esq., for a patent for the using of vertical wheels with steam engines or other power to propel boats through the water; but though he filed such his application, &c., he neither subscribed nor swore thereto in the manner prescribed, or required, by law; for the name, Robert Fulton, is in the handwriting of another man. In 1814, (under view of the circumstance

Proposes Vertical Wheels with the Size of Cylinder and presses for Money Arrangements. Second River , Sept. 6th, 1798 . Dr Sir , I have your two letters of the 31st and 1st inst. before me. Since writing you the 27th, I made an experiment in order to ascertain as nearly as I could the power of the engine, and put on your wheels. This was done by laying the vessel on shore stern foremost so as to leave the wheels entirely out of the water. The Engine was then put to work at the rate of from 40 to

Second River , Sept. 10th, 1798 . Dear Sir , I acknowledge receipt of yours of the 3d Inst. By this time you have doubtless recd. mine of the 6th Inst. which gave you all the information on the subject of the boat I was then capable of doing; since which I have thought of trying another experiment upon the present plan and concluded to morrow to set about it. It will take us three days with two hands which will cost very trifling and enable us to calculate with more certainty what power will be

Acknowledges Wheels over the Sides to have been Proposed by Roosevelt and rejects them. Clermont , 18th Sept., 1798 . Dear Sir , Mr. Mouchette is just returned. I sincerely congratulate you upon the success of the engine of which he gives the most favourable report & fully justifies yr. confidence in your engines. I am sufficiently sanguine to hope that all difficulties are now vanished. Knowing our power nothing remains but adapt the vessel to it. In attempting this hitherto we have dec

Experiment made & Opinion of the Spanish Minister—Again Coaxes to have Vertical Wheels tried. Second River , Oct. 21st, 1798 . Dear Sir , I dropped you a line in haste on Friday last, since which I received your favour of the 10th: the person to whom you gave it in charge did not put it in the post office until yesterday. Your instructions therefore came too late for the rims, as they had by your former request been left off and no bad consequence has resulted. I have not yet seen Mr. St

Liv’n Acknowledges the Boat to Answer & Refuses to use Vertical Wheels. Clermont , 28 Octr., 1798 . Dear Sir , After sending mine of yesterday I received your favor of the 21st, in which you enter more particularly into the experiments you have made, but not so fully as I would wish, as you will find by the queries I have troubled you with. If you are right as to the motion through the water, the Spanish Minister could not err much in his calculation, for it appears to me that the tide i

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, To all to whom these LETTERS PATENT shall come : Whereas , NICHOLAS J. ROOSEVELT, a Citizen of the United States, hath alleged that he has invented a new and useful improvement IN PROPELLING BOATS &c. BY STEAM, which improvement he states has not been known or used before his application; hath made oath that he does verily believe that he is the true inventor or discoverer of the said improvement; hath paid into the Treasury of the United States the sum of t