FITCH, John, an American inventor, and the
pioneer in steam navigation, born in Windsor, Conn., Jan. 21, 1743, died in Bardstown, Ky., in June or July, 1798. He worked on his father's farm till the age of 17, when he was employed for some time on coasting vessels, and then became apprentice to a clock maker. On reaching manhood he commenced business as a brass founder in a small way, failed in an attempt to manufacture potash, married unhappily, separated from his wife, and settled in New Jersey as a button maker and silversmith. When the revolutionary war broke out, he was elected a lieutenant in the New Jersey line; but on meeting with some real or supposed injustice he left the service, and was employed by New Jersey as armorer of the troops. Driven away by the invading army, he engaged in his trade of silversmith in Bucks co., Pa., till the approach of the enemy again made it necessary
for him to shift his quarters. He next supplied
the American troops at Valley Forge with
tobacco, beer, and other articles, in which he
drove a prosperous business, resulting in a
considerable accumulation of depreciated
continental money. With this he purchased
Virginia land warrants and removed to Kentucky, where he was appointed deputy surveyor. Being captured by the Indians, he was marched through the wilderness to the British post at Detroit, where he was detained some time as a prisoner. He was at length exchanged, and finding his way again to Bucks co., formed a company for the survey and purchase of lands in Kentucky and Ohio. On his return from these surveys, by which he acquired several hundred acres of land, he petitioned congress for an appointment as surveyor, and while awaiting the unsuccessful result of his application prepared a map of the N. W. country, which he engraved on a sheet of copper and printed on a press of his own manufacture. In April, 1785, the idea occurred to him of propelling a carriage along an ordinary road by the force of steam. After a week's study he abandoned it as impracticable, and devoted himself to the application of steam to the propulsion of vessels. He immediately sought to interest leading men in Pennsylvania in the project; in August following he addressed a petition to congress in regard to it, and in September presented a drawing of the boat, models, and tube boiler to the American philosophical society. He next petitioned the legislature of Virginia for aid. James Madison presented his memorial, and Patrick Henry, then governor, took an interest in the plan. But the legislature was slow, and Fitch conceived the plan of raising the necessary funds by the sale of his map. He accordingly executed a bond to Gov. Henry in the sum of £350, conditioned that if he should sell 1,000 copies of his map at 6s. 8d., he would in nine months thereafter exhibit a steamboat in the waters of Virginia. Nothing came of it. The assembly of Pennsylvania was next applied to, and encouraged him to the extent of a favorable report of a committee. The assembly of Maryland did the same; but there were no funds in her exchequer. The legislature of New Jersey rejected a proposition to grant £1,000, but gave Fitch an exclusive privilege for 14 years for the use of boats propelled by fire or steam. Disappointed in these efforts, Fitch formed a private company, and in April, 1786, the working model of a steam engine with a one-inch cylinder was the humble commencement of his enterprise. In three months' time he moved a skiff on the Delaware by his new contrivance at a speed satisfactory to the associates. In March, 1787, a bill vesting in John Fitch exclusive rights in the steamboat passed the legislature of Pennsylvania, and similar laws were enacted in Delaware and in New York. In August of that year a new steamboat was tried on the Delaware, with an engine of 12-inch cylinder. Though the boat did not