In our March 2018 Section Meeting, guest speaker, historian and author, John Laurence Busch, discussed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a steamship, based upon his book “STEAM COFFIN Captain Moses Rogers and The Steamship Savannah Break the Barrier.”
Topic:
Building the First “Steamship” in History
About our Topic:
Historian and author John Laurence Busch will attempt to re-calibrate your mind before showing why the proposition of making the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on a “steamship” was met with a mixture of skepticism and fear. Then he will show how Captain Rogers addressed those fears, by designing a new kind of steam vessel, capable of overcoming the dangers of the deep.
The Savannah is more than a “steamship.” She is the first example of globalized high technology in history.
About our Guest Presenter:
John Laurence Busch is an independent historian who focuses upon the interaction between humanity and technology, with a particular specialization in the first generation of steam-powered vessels. He has devoted years of research to discovering the true story of Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship Savannah.
This led him to scour archives and libraries from Portland, Maine to Savannah, Georgia, and many locales in between, to piece together the life and career of Moses Rogers, as well as the actors and events that resulted in the formation of the Savannah Steam Ship Company, and the construction of the steamship Savannah.
This research inevitably continued across the Atlantic Ocean, where John searched the archives of the United Kingdom, and with the assistance of others, the archives of other European countries which experienced this “Wonder of the Age” called the steamship Savannah.
The result is STEAM COFFIN, the most descriptive account of the saga of Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship Savannah ever written. The foundation for such a story rests upon the contents of never-before-published manuscripts and newspaper articles, which provide an abundance of new details illuminating the actions and attitudes of those who participated in, and witnessed, the creation and voyage of the Savannah.
John’s careful weaving together of many disparate sources results in a narrative that recalls both the fabric and style used in storytellings of old. It also shows just what Captain Moses Rogers and the steamship Savannah accomplished for posterity.
Visit www.steamcoffin.com for more reviews and background…
ISA New Orleans Section 