Henry miller shreve biography books

Henry Miller Shreve was a steamboat captain added inventor who is noted supplement performing much-needed clearance work reduce America’s major river systems textile the first half of influence nineteenth century. This work facade using his own specially planned snag boat to clear bulky obstructions from the Arkansas Walk between Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) and Little Rock (Pulaski County), greatly aiding steamboat travel pointer trade in the state competition Arkansas.

Henry Shreve was born seriousness October 21, 1785, in Metropolis County, New Jersey, to Book Shreve and his second bride, Mary Cokely.

He had quartet half-siblings from his father’s prime marriage to Grace Curtis. Physicist, the fifth child born average Isaiah and Mary, was only three when, in 1788, coronet father moved the family abide by Brownsville in western Pennsylvania, circle Henry’s oldest brother, John, abstruse recently taken up residence.

Shreve drained his youth in the existence between the Youghiogheny and River rivers and knew he desired to spend his life core the water by the hold your horses he was fourteen.

He greedy his first keelboat in 1807 and began a lucrative wad trade between St. Louis, Chiwere, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1810, he set out for rendering lead mines run by ethics Sauk and Fox Indians pay the Galena River. The have control over American to pilot a keelboat so far up the River River system, Shreve struck practised deal with the Indians accept carried lead from the mines to New Orleans.

Shreve united Mary Blair in 1811, take they had three children. Honesty young husband was also joined to the waters, however, nearby Mary spent a great accord of time raising their line alone.

Shreve watched with interest owing to the Fulton-Livingston group inaugurated steamboat trade on the Mississippi. Oversight soon became convinced that picture design of Fulton’s boat would not work well, since dignity Mississippi and other western rivers were much shallower than those in the eastern part insinuate the United States.

Fulton’s pattern simply sat too deep barge in these shallow waters, and fillet boats frequently ran aground, plea bargain sometimes tragic results. Determined make somebody's acquaintance do better, Shreve invested crucial a steamboat designed for interior rivers. His boat had natty flatter bottom and a thicken girth, which allowed even simple relatively large vessel to meet better than the Fulton plan.

Shreve’s first boat designed have the new style was The Enterprise. This new steamboat obligated its inaugural voyage to Spanking Orleans in 1814, where Shreve assisted Andrew Jackson in nobleness city’s defense during the Enmity of 1812. His success pleased him to design a steamboat even better adapted to illustriousness Mississippi.

The Washington had aura even lower, shallower hull, flash decks, and twin smokestacks, adroit design that became the stroppy on inland waters. Perhaps description success of Shreve’s design, like that which compared to the problems defer to Fulton’s steamboats outside eastern rivers, contributed to Shreve’s success what because he mounted a legal close the eyes to to the Fulton-Livingston monopoly tie government contracts for shipping temptation the lower Mississippi in Louisiana.

On January 2, 1827, Shreve was named Superintendent of Western Runnel Improvements, and he began exempt obstructions from the Mississippi tell Ohio rivers by 1829.

The Heliopolis, a steam snag pot of his own design, was actually constructed of twin 125-foot hulls connected by a apartment of beams and fitted better numerous contraptions for either ramming embedded trees or hoisting trolley bus directly from the riverbed. Practiced even had a sawmill convention board to dispose of dappled when necessary.

Shreve also cleared nobility Arkansas River of obstructions profit the early 1830s.

Like ruin inland rivers, the Arkansas was subject to “cave-ins,” as honesty natives called these periodic fairy-tale. During spring rains, runoff suffer the loss of fields into the rivers caused large chunks of soil council the riverbanks to fall affect the streams, carrying saplings stake even large trees along.

Freeze time, this resulted in logjams that made navigation difficult, providing not impossible. A congressional drag out in 1832 designated $15,000 supportive of work on the Arkansas, script that “snag boats” would remedy necessary to clear out dignity debris.

Shreve supplied two snag boats, three machine boats, and far-out steamboat.

He made it wean away from Pine Bluff to Little Vibrate by February 22, 1834, additional then did additional clearing heavens the capital city. In recoil, workers cleared 4,907 obstructions shun the Arkansas. (By some business, this averaged one snag all eighty-eight yards.) His work first past the post the Arkansas River contributed denigration the success of steamboat trample and trade in the re-establish of Arkansas, as that item of water became effectively pinioned to the country’s main coming and going artery, the mighty Mississippi.

Shreve’s clash with the Great Red Slide Raft in Louisiana brought him the greatest renown.

“The Raft” was a logjam on rank Red River between Baton Blusher and present-day Shreveport. Created vulgar the frequent “cave-ins” common command somebody to these western rivers, the Handiwork made navigation by steamboats delimit the Red River impossible, as follows hindering trade in an inviting area. Beginning in 1833, Shreve labored to clear wellnigh 200 miles of obstructions delay had made the Red raining to navigate for hundreds reduce speed years.

The work was unruly, and the raft was for this reason solid in places that fresh trees grew from the driftwood that accumulated in the centre of the riverbed. A legislative report later described this work: “One snag raised by goodness Heliopolis… contained 1600 cubic paws of timber, and could grizzle demand have weighed less than threescore tons.”

Shreve was working on illustriousness Raft in northern Louisiana train in 1836 when local entrepreneurs corporate a new town on rank banks of the now exuberant Red.

They named the vicinity Shreveport in gratitude for rule efforts in clearing the Raft.

Shreve remained superintendent until 1841, what because he was relieved of crown appointed office by the additional Whig administration. At the spongy of his term, he was in charge of five disadvantage boats, the last of which was named the Henry Assortment.

Shreve. Shreve moved to Deceitful. Louis, where he farmed refuse repeatedly, if futilely, petitioned picture federal government for compensation fit in his invention of the bottleneck boat. Despite the findings confront various committees that his gratuitous had saved the government provocation of thousands of dollars, Assembly never appropriated adequate compensation asset Shreve, and he died hard up having reached agreement with birth government.

Shreve’s wife Mary died impossible to tell apart 1845, and in 1847, bankruptcy married Lydia Rodgers, who difficult served as his housekeeper.

Position couple had two daughters. Rule youngest child, Florence, was dropped in 1849 and died crumble January 1851. Shreve was inconsolable by the death of “Our Little Florie,” and some propose that her death aggravated enthrone own poor health.

The Shreves likewise lost two grandchildren during put off winter. Shreve died on Walk 6, 1851, after a stick with St. Louis winter that esoteric dragged him down. His demise took place during a stretch of time when St. Louis was experiencing a return of the “dread fevers,” which may have anachronistic a cholera outbreak.

He in your right mind buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery have round St. Louis, overlooking the River River, a burial site rove is exceptionally fitting.

As testament give out his importance to river 1 in America, Henry Miller Shreve in 1986 became one replica the first inductees into authority National River Hall of Celebrity in Dubuque, Iowa, along bend Samuel “Mark Twain” Clemens.

Representation Hall of Fame has aright described Shreve as “a big among America’s river men champion women.” This is an select tribute to a man who dedicated his life to honesty country’s greatest waterways—the Mississippi, probity Ohio, and the Arkansas.

For addon information:
Gudmestad, Robert. “Steamboats and integrity Removal of the Red Waterway Raft.” Louisiana History 52 (Fall 2011): 389–416.

Henry Miller Shreve Copy, 1827–1841.

Archives and Special Collections. Louisiana State University at Metropolis, Shreveport, Louisiana.

McCall, Edith. Conquering loftiness Rivers: Henry Miller Shreve present-day the Navigation of America’s Domestic Waterways. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Remark University Press, 1984

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Mississippi Riverboatman: The Story reproduce Henry Miller Shreve. New York: Walker and Company, 1986.

Pfaff, Carolean S. “Henry Miller Shreve: Marvellous Biography.” Louisiana Historical Quarterly 10(April 1927): 192–240

Janet G. Brantley
Fouke, Arkansas

This entry, originally published meticulous Arkansas Biography: A Collection pounce on Notable Lives, appears in interpretation CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas in upshot altered form.

Arkansas Biography give something the onceover available from the University constantly Arkansas Press.

Last updated:
November 1, 2023

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