COU RTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
''First trip ofFulton's steamboat to Albany, 1807" by Samuel Ho/Iyer (1826- 1919) Even though much of the machinery installed within the hull remained exposed to view and th e uncovered paddl ewheels loo ked rather in co mplete, by the time Moses and the Lydia sailed past this vessel at the end of]uly, it was nearly ready for its first major trial. After tying up his sloop to the wharf along South Street, Moses began the process of unloading th e barrels and hogsheads of sugar and set to work securing a cargo for the return trip to New London. His turnaround normally lasted from a week to ten days, and for this trip it would be no different. By Sunday, 9 August, the Lydia's holds were full and her hatch covers lashed for sea; they were ready to go. So was Robert Fulton. Having spent the prior week making final adjustments to his steamboat, he was prepared to make a short test run along the East River. At midday, Fulton and a small crew climbed aboard his creation. He gave the order to fire up the boiler, cast off, and put the engine into action. The sails, bent on two masts for auxiliary power, were lefr furled . Lining the shore were hundreds of onlookers who turned out to see if Fulton's Folly acmally might work. Robert Fulton turned his steamboat upriver on an ebb tide and would thus be trying to work against the current. Fulton
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and his crew soon found themselves in the company of a number of sailing vessels, which were also attempting to make their way upriver, towards Hell Gate and the western entrance to Long Island So und. Yet it was Fulton's Folly that made the most headway. "I beat all the sloops that were endeavoring to stem the tide with the slight breeze which they had," Fulrnn later wrote to his partner Robert Livingsto n. "H ad I hoisted my sails, I consequently should have had all their means added to my own."
Even though his stea mboat had only a partial complement of paddleboards attached to the wheels, it still managed to make three miles per hour. Once they had steamed and splashed their way abo ut a mile upriver, Fulton ordered the anchor dropped and had the crew double the size of the paddleboards. With this adjustment accomplished, the anchor was pulled in and Fulton's Folly was wrned about and pointed down river. On this rewrn leg, the steamboat went four miles per hour. Fulton himself was ve ry pl eased with the results of this short test run . While he knew that the machinery still needed some adjustmems, Fulton nevertheless felt that his invemion wou ld soo n be ready for its first trial run all the way up the North River to Albany.
Just where Captain Moses Rogers was durin g this East River test of Fulton's steamboat isn't known. He may have been watchin g from shore, along with hundreds of others; or it just might be that one of the sloops Fulton and his steamboat churned past that day on the upriver leg was the Lydia, loaded with ca rgo and heading back to Long Island Sound. Regardless, it seems clear that Moses had been a witness to this first real test of Fulton's steamboat, because in the days that fo ll owed he began to behave in ways that were most uncharac teristic for the m as ter of a merchant vessel. Upon his arrival back in New London on Monday, 10 August, Moses quickly unloaded his cargo and procured another. But he did not rake the usual seven-to-ten days to turn his sloop around; instead, he did it in four. On Friday, 14 August, Captain Rogers submined his cargo manifes t to the New London Custom House. Once again, he was hauling sugar to New York, but this time the Lydia's hold was less than two-thirds full. On the surface, this made no sense; m erchant captains did not normally depart with partially filled cargo holds when a few extra days in port would result in a full load and m aximum cargo revenue for the voyage. C learly, Moses was in a hurry to get to his des tination, which was none other
SEA HISTORY 134 SPRING 20\ \