Robert Fulton was a great inventor. He was born in 1765 in Pennsylvania. He began his career as a painter, and then he worked at canal building and shipbuilding. By the end of his life in 1815, he was an important inventor in the development of the steamboat which helped the industrial revolution in America.
Robert Fulton also designed military instruments for France, England, and America. He was excited and passionate about creating and developing naval military technology. As an inventor, he invented the first feasible submarine. He also designed the first steam powered warship with paddles on the inside to avoid vulnerability. He developed many weapons to use on these ships, as all were unique. He worked first in France, then England,…show more content… It protected its paddles by sandwiching it in between two hulls. This ship had a channel running all the way through the bottom of the ship. This way, not only would you get the benefits from steam power, but you would not risk the major consequence of exposing the paddle wheels. This ship was built for the United States in 1815 (close to the end of the war) and was used for the remainder of the war. We can only wonder what might have happened if some of Fulton’s inventions, the Nautilus, the torpedo, or Demologos could have been used earlier in the war.
Robert Fulton sadly died before the ships completion. The U.S. Navy decided to rename the ship 'USS Fulton' out of respect for the man who designed it. Because the ship was not finished until late in the war, it was only able to fight in the last few days of the War of 1812. The USS Fulton was sent to the New York harbor as a receiving ship. A receiving ship is a ship that is inherently useless. Wartime was over, so it was not needed as a warship. Thereafter, it was used as a training ship for…show more content… This shot, which weighed 100 lbs, was shot by a unique cannon dubbed the 'Columbiad' this cannon would be mounted 4 feet below the waterline of the ship in watertight boxes. They were fired by dropping a hot coal into it through a tin tube that would launch the cannonball through the water
This ship blew up in a gunpowder explosion. A shipman that was sent to check on the powder kegs lit the ship up when he dropped a candle. This ship was carrying a fraction of the regular amount people at the time. Several people died, while others were wounded. This ship was moored in a harbor at the time. Thankfully, the blast did not damage the buildings or the dock nearby.
In conclusion, Robert Fulton was an important inventor, who contributed to the beginnings of the industrial revolution. Fulton designed the first steamboat. He also invented the torpedo and built the first submarine to be used in war, the Nautilus, he created the first steam powered war ship, the Demologos (USS Fulton), and he built the first steam powered floating battery or frigate. He designed many important naval ships and weapons used by these new ships. For example, he created the Columbiad cannon. This cannon launched 100 pound cannon balls over 20 feet through water below the water line. He created a mine triggered by a gunlock mechanism that was tugged along by the Nautilus. This mine proved itself by destroying a 40 foot