# SS Fulton

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For other ships named List of ships named Fulton, see [List of ships named Fulton (disambiguation)](/source/List_of_ships_named_Fulton_(disambiguation)).

***Fulton*** was a wooden-hulled, [brig](/source/Brig)-rigged, sidewheel steamer built in 1855 by the [Smith and Dimon Shipyard](/source/Smith_and_Dimon_Shipyard) at [New York City](/source/New_York_City) for the New York & Havre Steam Navigation Company. She was chartered by the [Union Army](/source/Union_Army) in the [Army Transport Service](/source/Army_Transport_Service), during the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War). She returned to transatlantic passenger and freight service after the Civil War.

## Construction

The *Fulton* was built in 1855, by [Smith and Dimon Shipyard](/source/Smith_and_Dimon_Shipyard) of New York. She was launched on September 4, 1855.[1] Her sister ship [SS *Arago*](/source/SS_Arago_(1855)) was built by [Westervelt & Sons](/source/Jacob_Aaron_Westervelt). They were both constructed in 1855 for the New York & Havre Steam Navigation Company, then under contract with the [United States Government](/source/Federal_government_of_the_United_States) to deliver mail between New York and [Le Havre](/source/Le_Havre), France.[2] Both were named for steamship pioneers. *Fulton'*s namesake was [Robert Fulton](/source/Robert_Fulton) (1765–1815), an American engineer and inventor. Both were considered great improvements to their predecessors of the era. Their design included oscillating engines,[3] water tight bulkheads, and wire [bulwarks](/source/Glossary_of_nautical_terms_(A-L)#bulward), to reinforce the sides against the force of rough seas.[4] She could accommodate 300 first and second class passengers, 700 tons of freight and 800 tons of coal.[5][6]

The *Fulton,* was registered with the ‘’Record of American and Foreign Shipping,’’ from 1858 to 1869. Her ship [master](/source/Master_(naval)) was Captain J. A. Wotten; her owners were N.Y & Havre Steam Navigation Company; built in 1855 at New York; and her hailing port was the [Port of New York](/source/Port_of_New_York_and_New_Jersey).[7]

## Service history

The *Fulton* sailed on her first voyage on February 9, 1856, as a transatlantic [mail steamer](/source/Mail_steamer) for Havre Steam Navigation Company, transporting passengers, cargo, mail, and [specie](/source/Bullion_coin) between her home port of [Southampton, New York](/source/Southampton,_New_York), to [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool), [England](/source/England) and [Le Havre](/source/Le_Havre), [France](/source/France).[5]

Due to the outbreak of the American Civil War, government contracted mail service ceased operation. The *Fulton'*s last voyage, as a mail carrier, was on March 30, 1861.[8]

### American Civil War

Between 1861 and 1865, *Fulton* was chartered by the [U. S. Department of War](/source/United_States_Department_of_War) in the [Army Transport Service](/source/Army_Transport_Service), for use as an army transport, at a cost of 1,200 dollars per day. She made trips from New York to ports on the Southern coast. Captain J. A. Wotton and thousands of military men traveled with her on these excursions. She worked in operations with the [South Atlantic Blockading Squadron](/source/Union_blockade) throughout the war.[8]

On April 15, 1865, the steamer *Fulton* left New York to [Port Royal, South Carolina](/source/Port_Royal,_South_Carolina) with the news of the death of President [Abraham Lincoln](/source/Abraham_Lincoln). She hoisted her flag [half-mast](/source/Half-mast). The news of the assassination of the President fell with sorrow upon the officers at [Port Royal, South Carolina](/source/Port_Royal,_South_Carolina).[9] On June 29, 1865, the steamer *Fulton* arrived in New York from Portal Royal with the [14th Regiment](/source/14th_Regiment_(New_York_State_Militia)).[10] The *Fulton* continued in her troop, equipment and mail transport role through the end of the war.[5]

### Postwar

Following the war in 1865, she was put back on the New York and Havre route under the command of Captain [Samuel Samuels](/source/Samuel_Samuels), that was captain of famous clipper ship *Dreadnought*. The *Fulton* continued with this line until the fall of 1867, when she was withdrawn from service.[5][11]

In 1868–1869, *Fulton* and her sister ship *Arago* were chartered briefly by the Ruger Brothers for passenger service. However, without government subsidized mail service, both ships proved too costly for this purpose, given the stiff competition from more efficient screw steamers and European competitors.[2][6] The Fulton was later used in the [Hospital Transport Service](/source/Hospital_Ships_of_the_Sanitary_Commission#The_Hospital_Transport_Service), at the New York [quarantine station](/source/Quarantine).[6]

## End of service

In 1869, the *Fulton* was deemed to be unseaworthy and was broken up and sold for scrap.[5]

## References

1. ["By Telegraph."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83756526/fulton/). *The Buffalo Daily Republic*. 5 Sep 1855. p. 3. Retrieved 28 Jul 2021.

1. Morrison, John Harrison (1908). [*History of American Steam Navigation*](https://archive.org/details/historyamerican00morrgoog). New York: W. F. Sametz & Company, Incorporated. pp. [409](https://archive.org/details/historyamerican00morrgoog/page/n411)–432. Retrieved 28 July 2015.

1. McKay, Richard Cornelius (1934). [*South Street*](https://books.google.com/books?id=VJQM1m9CH0QC). New York: Haskell House Publishers, Ltd. p. 280. Retrieved 28 July 2015.

1. ["A Decided Improvement"](http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003410/1856-02-13/ed-1/seq-2/). *The daily Union*. February 13, 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 28 July 2015.

1. Bradlee, Francis B. C. (December 1910). ["Old Transatlantic Steam Liners"](https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7mAAAAMAAJ). *International Marine Engineering*. **15**: 505. Retrieved 28 July 2015.

1. Knox, Thomas Wallace (1886). [*The Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam Navigation*](https://archive.org/details/liferobertfulto01knoxgoog). G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. [364](https://archive.org/details/liferobertfulto01knoxgoog/page/n388). Retrieved 28 July 2015.

1. ["Record of American and Foreign Shipping"](https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571867/#720). *Mystic Seaport Museum*. Retrieved 2021-08-19.

1. ["Patriotic And Business Enterprise."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83744110/army-transport-service/). *The New York Times*. 20 Nov 1865. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-08-19.

1. ["Condition of South Carolina."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83767765/port-royal/). *Bangor Daily Whig and Courier*. 18 May 1865. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-19.

1. ["New York June 29."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83768089/14th-regiment/). *Bangor Daily Whig and Courier*. 30 Jun 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-08-19.

1. ["Miscellaneous."](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83774373/havre-route/). *New York Daily Herald*. 8 Jan 1867. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-08-19.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SS Fulton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Fulton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Fulton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.