Constitution (1829 steamboat)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Constitution |
| Owner | Sloo & Byrne, William Bryan (or Byrne) |
| Operator | Captain Edward Auld |
| Port of registry | New Orleans |
| Route | New Orleans, Galveston, Texas, mouth of the Brazos River, Matagorda, Texas |
| Completed | 1829 |
| Out of service | June 1840 |
| Fate | Stranded at Matagorda, Texas |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 262 |
| Length | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Draft | About 7.5 ft (2.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam-powered sidewheeler |
Constitution is a former steamboat which operated in the Republic of Texas.
Constitution is a former steamboat, registered in New Orleans, but it primarily serviced the ports within the Republic of Texas. The steamer was 262 tons and 150-feet long.[1] Constitution was designed as a riverboat, and built at a yard in Cincinnati in 1829. It had a draft of seven feet and seven inches.[2]
Galveston to Houston for $1,000. He successfully navigated Constitution through Buffalo Bayou and docked in Houston on 1 June 1837. However, unable to turn the steamer around at Houston, the captain ran the engines in reverse for six-and-a-half miles, turning it about at a wide segment of the bayou now named for the steamship and the event: Constitution Bend.[2][3]
Auld did not take Constitution up Buffalo Bayou again. Instead, he offered monthly
Sabine Pass, Texas, though the steamer limped into Galveston for repairs.[2] Francis Cynric Sheridan remarked in his journal that a steamer named Constitution was used for lightering freight and passengers from his brig, passing through shallow waters to gain access to Galveston Island.[4]
References
- ^ a b Marilyn McAdams Sibley (1968). Port of Houston: A History. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 37–39.
- ^ ISBN 978-1609495916.
- ^ David G. McComb (1981). Houston: A History. Revised. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 205.
- ^ Richard V. Francaviglia (1998). From Sail to Steam: Four Centuries of Texas Maritime History, 1500–1900. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 139–140.
