Robert Fulton designed a submarine, the Nautilus, while attempting to convince Napoleon that it could create universal peace by ending naval warfare forever. The design followed David Bushnell's "Turtle," designed early in the Revolution. He tried to sink English blockade ships with it, but like Bushnell's, he had some difficulty locating enemy ships once he was underwater. Finding more possible support in England, he took his efforts to the English Admiralty and spent several years in frustrated negotiations.

He experienced considerably more success with his other major endeavor, the steamboat. While not original to him, Fulton made it the first commercially successful steamship in American waters.

Fulton was an inventor, engineer, and a painter of portraits and landscapes. His last major project was a floating fortress for New York Harbor. It was built for the War of 1812 and launched, but never saw action.

This cross section of the "plunging boat" shows the "chambers for submarine bombs, longtudinal section." This drawing is one of seven in a series prepared for the United States Government. It is designated, "Plate the first."

Medium : 1 drawing : watercolor, graphite and ink

Created/Published : 1806

Creator : Robert Fulton, 1765-1815, artist

Housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

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Product #: suplivelose