The first western steamboat was built at Pittsburg in 1811.

It gave an impetus to river navigation by steam, and before long the boats were ploughing the principal streams of the country.

The first steamer to cross the Atlantic was the _Savannah_, which made the voyage in 1819, but ocean navigation was not fairly begun until 1838, when the _Sirius_ and _Great Western_ made the voyage from England to the United States.

It is a noteworthy fact that one of the greatest of English scientists, after demonstrating that ocean navigation by steam was impossible, was a passenger on the _Great Western_ on her first trip across the Atlantic.
When the great Civil War burst upon the country the National Government not only failed to comprehend the gigantic nature of the struggle, but was almost wholly unprepared for it.

The navy consisted of 90 vessels, of which only 42 were in commission, while 21 were unfit for service, and of those in commission there were but 11, carrying 134 guns, that were in American waters.