The ship, which was built by Francis Fickett, was 100 feet long, 28 feet broad and 14 feet deep.  It had three masts which, of course, were of far greater importance in making progress toward its destination than was the steam engine.

Capt.  Rogers had gained a reputation for great courage and skill in sailing.  He had already had the honor of navigating the sea with a steamer, taking the New Jersey from New York to the Chesapeake in 1816, a voyage which was then thought to be one of great danger for such a vessel.

It was natural, then, that he was especially ambitious to go down in history as the first master of a steam ship to cross the ocean.  As soon as the vessel had been purchased by the Savannah ship merchants, the work of installing the engine was begun.  This was built by Stephen Vail of Speedwell, N.J., and the boiler by David Dod of Elizabeth, N. J.

The paddle-wheels were made of iron and were “detachable,” so that the sections could be removed and laid on the deck.  This was done when it was desired to proceed under canvas exclusively and was also a precaution in rough weather.

In short, the Savannah was an auxiliary steamer, a combination of steam and sail that later became well known in shipping.  This is much like the early development of the gasoline marine engine, which was an auxiliary to the sail, a combination that is still used.

Capt.  Rogers took the boat from New York to Savannah in eight days and 15 hours, using steam on this trip for 411/2 hours.  On May 26, 1819, under Capt.  Rogers, the Savannah set sail from her home port for Liverpool and made the trip in 25 days.

As long as the trip took, the voyage was considerably shorter than the average for the sailing ship in 1819, and this reduction in time was accomplished in spite of the fact that the Savannah ran into much unfavorable weather.  Capt.  Rogers used steam on 18 of the 25 days and doubtless would have resorted to engine power more of the time except for the fact that at one stage of the voyage the fuel was exhausted.

It was natural that the arrival of the steamer in English waters should not have been looked upon with any great favor by the Englishmen.  In addition to the jeers of the sceptical, the presence of vessels was accompanied by suspicion on the part of the naval authorities, and the merchants were not favorably impressed.

When the Savannah approached the English coast with her single stack giving forth volumes of dense black smoke, it was thought by those on shore that she was a ship on fire, and British men-of-war and revenue cutters set out to aid her.  When the truth was known, consternation reigned among the English officers.  They were astonished at the way the craft steamed away from them after they had rushed to assist what they thought was a ship in distress.

The reception of the Savannah at Liverpool was not particularly cordial.  Some of the newspapers even suggested that “this steam operation may, in some manner, be connected with the ambitious views of the United States.”