Editing SS Savannah (section)

===The voyage===
[[File:SS Savannah from Chatterton.jpg|thumb|left | ''Savannah'' under both sail and steam power]]
After leaving Savannah Harbor on May 22 and lingering at Tybee Lighthouse for several hours, ''Savannah'' commenced her historic voyage at 5{{nbsp}}a.m. on Monday May 24, 1819, under both steam and sail bound for [[Liverpool]], England. At around 8{{nbsp}}a.m. the same day, the paddlewheels were stowed for the first time and the ship proceeded under sail. Several days later, on May 29, the schooner ''Contract'' spied a vessel "with volumes of smoke issuing", and assuming it was a ship on fire, pursued it for several hours but was unable to catch up. ''Contract''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> skipper eventually concluded the smoking vessel must be a steamboat crossing for Europe, exciting his admiration as "a proud monument of [[Yankee]] skill and enterprise".<ref>Smithsonian, pp. 631–632.</ref>

On June 2, ''Savannah'', sailing at a speed of 9 or 10 knots, passed the sailing ship ''Pluto''. After being informed by Captain Rogers that his novel vessel was functioning "remarkably well", the crew of ''Pluto'' gave ''Savannah'' three cheers, as "the happiest effort of mechanical genius that ever sailed the western sea." ''Savannah''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> next recorded encounter was not until June 19, off the coast of Ireland with the cutter HMS ''Kite'', which made the same mistake as ''Contract'' three weeks earlier and chased the steamship for several hours believing it to be a sailing vessel on fire.<ref>Smithsonian, p. 632.</ref> Unable to catch the ship, ''Kite'' eventually fired several warning shots, and Captain Rogers brought his vessel to a halt, whereupon ''Kite'' caught up and its commander asked permission to inspect the ship. Permission was granted, and the British sailors are said to have been "much gratified" by the satisfaction of their curiosity.<ref name=museum627>Smithsonian, p. 627.</ref>

On June 18, ''Savannah'' was becalmed off [[Cork (city)|Cork]] after running out of fuel for her engine, but by June 20, the ship had made her way to Liverpool. Hundreds of boats came out to greet the unusual vessel, including a British [[sloop-of-war]], an officer from whom hailed ''Savannah''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> sailing master Stevens Rogers, who happened to be on deck. The ''New London Gazette'' of [[Connecticut]] later reported the encounter in the following terms:

<blockquote>The officer of the boat asked [Rogers], "Where is your master?" to which he gave the laconic reply, "I have no master, sir". "Where's your captain then?" "He's below; do you wish to see him?" "I do, sir." The captain, who was then below, on being called, asked what he wanted, to which he answered, "Why do you wear that penant, sir?" "Because my country allows me to, sir." "My commander thinks it was done to insult him, and if you don't take it down he will send a force to do it." Captain Rogers then exclaimed to the engineer, "Get the hot-water engine ready." Although there was no such machine on board the vessel, it had the desired effect, and [[John Bull]] was glad to paddle off as fast as possible.<ref name=museum627/></blockquote>

On approaching the city, ''Savannah'' was cheered by crowds thronging the piers and the roofs of houses.<ref name=museum627/> The ship made anchor at 6{{nbsp}}p.m. The voyage had lasted 29 days and 11 hours, during which time the vessel had employed her engine for a total of 80 hours, about 11% of the time.<ref>Smithsonian, pp. 632–633.</ref>