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JAMES RUMSEY, THOMAS JOHNSON, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST AMERICAN STEAMBOAT
THOMAS JOHNSON (1732 - 1819) First Governor of Maryland, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Johnson also was an owner of Catoctin Furnace which manufactured cannon and cannonballs for the Continental Army. Very important A.L.S. 1p. 8vo, Frederick, Md, Jan. 8, 1785 to "James Rumsay" (actually JAMES RUMSEY) in Shenandoah. In part: "...I shall not speak to my Brother for any more iron until I hear from you again for if this does not answer your purpose in quality... I would by no means supply any more... Your information about the [Cunningham] Falls [on the Potomac] gives me a great deal of Pleasure we shall next year profit by this year''s Practice and Experience - an ample supply of good Boats against the Time they can be used is a main Object... I am secure from squandering the money but the Quality and Certainty of the Boats ought chiefly to influence..." Dampening of the text at top has caused some lightening thereat but all remains still legible, typical toning and soiling. Johnson was at this time near Catoctin Furnace. Following the Revolutionary War, Catoctin Furnace''s next venture related to James Rumsey''s steamboat. James Rumsey (1743–1792) was a mechanical engineer chiefly known for his design and construction of a water-jet propelled boat powered by steam machinery in 1786. Trials were held on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in present-day West Virginia before a crowd of local notables, including George Washington and Horatio Gates. Clearly this letter discusses that project in which Johnson was a partner. A pump driven by steam power ejected a stream of water from the stern of the boat and thereby propelled the boat forward. A Johnson descendant told the Columbia Historical Society in 1913 that Thomas Johnson had been with Washington to witness the steamboat and that some of the machinery was manufactured at Catoctin Furnace. ''Afterwards the machinery was taken back to Catoctin and for many years the cylinder, four inches in diameter, stood three feet above ground as a boundary between the Catoctin Furnace property and the land of William Johnson,'' according to the Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Vol. 16.

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December 10, 2016 11:00 AM EST
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