Uncle Sam (1852 sidewheeler)

History
Name	Uncle Sam
Builder	Domingo Marcucci, San Francisco
Completed	June 1852
Fate	Sank 1853 at Fort Yuma
General characteristics
Type	Paddle steamer
Length	65 ft (20 m)
Installed power	20 hp (15 kW) engine
Capacity	35 tons

Uncle Sam, was a side-wheel paddle steamer and the first steamboat on the Colorado River in 1852.

In November 1852, Uncle Sam, a 65-foot (20 m) long side-wheel paddle steamer was brought by the schooner Capacity from San Francisco to the Colorado River Delta by the next contractor to supply Fort Yuma, Captain James Turnbull. It had been built in June 1852 in San Francisco by Domingo Marcucci and disassembled for shipment.^[1] It was assembled and launched in the estuary, 30 miles (48 km) above the mouth of the Colorado River. Equipped with only a 20-horsepower (15 kW) engine, Uncle Sam could only carry 35 tons of supplies, taking 15 days to make the first 120-mile (190 km) trip.

Uncle Sam made many trips up and down the river for four months to finish carrying all the supplies for the fort, improving its time up river to 12 days. Negligence caused it to sink at its dock below Fort Yuma, and was then washed away and lost before it could be raised, in the spring flood of 1853. Turnbull who meanwhile had returned to the Delta from San Francisco with another cargo and a more powerful engine for the Uncle Sam.^[2] He returned to San Francisco, for a new hull, while the army sent wagons to recover the cargo from the delta again. However, Turnbull in financial difficulty, disappeared from the city leaving creditors unpaid. Nevertheless, Turnbull had shown the worth of steamboats to solve Fort Yuma's supply problem.^[3]

References

^ Scott, Erving M. and Others, "Evolution of Shipping and Ship-Building in California, Part I", Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, Volume 25, January 1895, p. 15; from quod.lib.umich.edu accessed December 14, 2014
^ "Sixteen Days later from California", Col. 3-4, New York Times, August 10, 1853
^ Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978, pp. 10–11

[1] Scott, Erving M. and Others, "Evolution of Shipping and Ship-Building in California, Part I", Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, Volume 25, January 1895, p. 15; from quod.lib.umich.edu accessed December 14, 2014

[2] "Sixteen Days later from California", Col. 3-4, New York Times, August 10, 1853

[3] Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978, pp. 10–11

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v t e Steamboats of the Colorado River
Particular vessels	Cochan Cocopah I Cocopah II Colorado I Colorado II Esmerelda Explorer General Jesup General Rosales Gila Mohave I Mohave II Nina Tilden Retta Searchlight St. Vallier San Jorge Uncle Sam
Steamboat Lines	California Development Company Colorado Steam Navigation Company George A. Johnson & Company Gulf of California Steamship Company Green, Grand & Colorado River Navigation Company Mexican-Colorado Navigation Company Pacific & Colorado Steam Navigation Company Philadelphia Silver and Copper Mining Company Stacy Brothers Union Line U.S. Reclamation Service
Water routes	Colorado River
Steamboat owners and captains	James Turnbull George Alonzo Johnson David C. Robinson Isaac Polhamus Thomas E. Trueworthy John Alexander Mellon
Builders	Austin Hills Domingo Marcucci John G. North Henry Owens Patrick Henry Tiernan
Shipyards	Port Isabel, Sonora Yuma, Arizona Territory
List of vessels	List of Steamboats on the Colorado River
Steamboats in other areas	Steamboats of California

v t e Steamboats of California
Particular vessels	Annie Abernathy Antelope Aquilo (yacht) City of Sacramento Bayocean Black Hawk Capital Captain Sutter Chrysopolis City of Seattle Delta King Delta Queen Eureka El Dorado El Primero George E. Starr General Frisbie Georgiana Goliah Hartford Governor Dana Ilwaco Issaquah Jack Hays Klamath (inland steamboat) Ocean Wave Magdalena McKim Mint Monarch New World Pioneer Rabboni Rosalie Sacramento San Rafael SS Senator Sitka Telephone Wallamet Washington Washoe Wilson G. Hunt Yosemite
Ferries of San Francisco Bay	Clinton Contra Costa Oakland Piedmont Solano Thoroughfare Transit Ukiah
Steamboat lines	Aspinwall Steam Transportation Line California Steam Navigation Company Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company George A. Johnson & Company Pacific Mail Steamship Company Simmons, Hutchinson & Company
Water routes	California Coast Colorado River San Francisco Bay Sacramento River San Joaquin River
Owners and captains	Joseph Barnard Benjamin M. Hartshorne George A. Johnson William Leidesdorff Charles Minturn James Turnbull Issac Warren
Builders	Domingo Marcucci John G. North Henry Owens Austin Hills Patrick Henry Tiernan
Shipyards	Hunters Point North's Shipyard Potrero Point Rincon Point Steamboat Point Sutter Iron Works Tichenor's Ways Union Iron Works Yerba Buena Cove
Lists of vessels	List of steamboats on the Colorado River List of steamboats and steam ferries on San Francisco Bay List of steamboats on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries
Steamboats in other areas	Columbia River Willamette River Oregon Coast Yaquina Bay and river Coquille River Cowlitz River Puget Sound Lake Washington Grays Harbor Chehalis River Hoquiam River Willapa Bay Columbia River (Wenatchee Reach) Lake Crescent Arrow Lakes Upper Fraser River Skeena River