Editing SS Savannah (section)

==Development==
''Savannah'' was laid down as a sailing packet at the New York shipyard of Fickett & Crockett. While the ship was still on the [[slipway]], Captain [[Moses Rogers]], with the financial backing of the Savannah Steam Ship Company, purchased the vessel in order to convert it to an [[auxiliary steamship]] and gain the prestige of inaugurating the world's first transatlantic steamship service.<ref>Smithsonian, pp. 617–618.</ref><ref name=morrison406>Morrison 1903, p. 406.</ref>

''Savannah''  was fitted with an auxiliary steam engine and paddlewheels in addition to her sails. Moses Rogers himself supervised the installation of the machinery, while his distant cousin, and later brother-in-law, Stevens Rogers oversaw installation of the ship's rigging and sails.{{citation needed|date = June 2015}}

Since ''Savannah'' crossed the Atlantic mainly under sail power some sources contend that the first transatlantic steamship was the {{SS|Royal William}}, crossing in 1833. It used sail only during boiler maintenance. Another claimant is the British-built Dutch-owned ''Curaçao'', which used steam power for several days when crossing the Atlantic both ways in 1827.{{citation needed|date = June 2015}}