Editor’s Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article featuring stories by Captain William O. Benson (1911-1986). Beginning in 1971, Benson, a retired tugboat captain, reminisced about his 40 years on the Hudson River in a regular column for the Kingston (NY) Freeman’s Sunday Tempo magazine. Captain Benson's articles were compiled and transcribed by HRMM Contributing Scholar Carl Mayer. This article was originally published on ​July 8, 1983 in the Ulster County Gazette.

By WILLIAM O. BENSON as told to Ann Marrott
The Cornell Steamboat Company was quite an operation in its day.  At its height, about 1930, I would say Cornell was the largest tugboat company in the world.  With the railroad, ferry and tugboat operations, it employed between 800 and 900 people. 

I worked on the Cornell boats from 1930 to 1946 and was fond of some of her tugs like “Jumbo” and “Hercules” and the “Perseverance.”

One story about the “Jumbo” comes to mind.  On a June night in 1929, the “Jumbo” was going up under the Poughkeepsie bridge with a large heavy tow at about 2 in the morning.  It was very foggy and the tide was low.  They ran aground at Crum Elbow. 

Mel, one of the pilots, saw a man walking along the railroad tracks swinging a lantern.  He yelled over, “Hey.  Call our Kingston Office and tell ‘em we've run aground here and to send some boats to pull us off.” The man agreed. 

But the tide started to raise about four or five in the morning and they were able to back off themselves and started up the river.  Mel said to the pilot, if any of the tugs come down the river, don’t say anything about us running aground. 

Sure enough, when they got around Esopus Island, there were four or five tugs all coming down to pull the “Jumbo” out.  The superintendent out of the New York office was on the first tug and said, “Hey, we got a call that you fellows had run aground at Crum Elbow and we’ve come to pull you off. 

“No, we weren’t run aground, were we, Will?”

“No.  We’ve been coming all night.  Gee, that’s funny.  Who would call you up and tell you a think like that?” the other one asked. 

Then they all turned around and went back into the creek and no one knew the difference. 

The next was told to me by an older man about 1910.  Cornell owned a boat called the “Terror.” In making up a tow to Rockland Lake, a deckhand got his leg caught in a howser and he was thrown overboard and drowned.  Well, the family was going to sue Cornell for his death. 

So one day this friend of mine went to dock the boat in New York when he was told to take the “Terror” back to Rondout and not to stop for anything, no matter what.  They wouldn’t tell him why. 

When he got to Rondout about three that morning, there were seven or eight men waiting for him.  They immediately stripped her of her pumps and anything else valuable.  The next morning they hauled her over to the dock where the people were ready to claim her, but by that time the boat was worth only $100. 

Cornell had its wrecks, too.  The little tug “Cornell” was going down the river Nov. 4, 1955 helping the “Mary Cornell” with a big tow off of Tarrytown.  There was a south wind and ebb tide running.  It was very choppy and the “Cornell” was a boat that was low in the water.  Before she could get away from the tow, and the swells that were breaking between her and the scows, she started to sink and went right down.  She was the first diesel Cornell ever had. 

Another wreck occurred in 1919 when the Cornell tug “Hercules” was expressing a coal boat to Cornwall, when off Jones Point the pilot said to the deckhand, steer her for awhile.  I’m going down to the galley and knit my fishnets. 

The deckie dozed off near Fort Montgomery and the boat hit the shore, putting a hole in the bow.  The “Hercules” sank in 45 feet of water.  The only way the wrecking crew could locate her was by the howser she had had on the coal boat.  After they raised her, the “Hercules” ran for about 12 years. 

When Fred Coykendall asked the pilot how it happened, the pilot told him what he had been doing.  Coykendall said to the pilot, “well, now you can go home and knit your nets to your heart’s desire for the rest of your life.” And the pilot never came back on the boats again. 

I remember the last time I saw the “Lion,” one of Cornell’s tugs.  It was March, 1956.  The “Lion” left the Rondout Creek, her home port, forever.  She was towed away to Staten Island.  She had been tied up in the Cornell shops since the previous December, where they stripped her of everything they could use on other tugs, especially parts of her engine. 

She didn’t owe the Cornell Steamboat Company anything.  She had dragged heavy tows up and down the river, sometimes as large as 45 loaded scows.  I felt sad seeing her towed away, being that I worked on her on and off for many, many years. 
​
It also brought back some of the memories of the men that I had worked with, but who are long departed from the Hudson now.  But it was the old “Lion’s” time to step down for something new and younger.  Well knowing that, I will follow that trail, also.

​July 31,  Evening Post (NY)
STEAM BOATS. City of New-York, ss.
John T. Haviland and David Morris being sworn, severally, depose that they were pilots on board the Steam Boat Hope, on her passage from Albany to New-York last Saturday—that the said boat set out from Albany at 9 o'clock A. M. in company with the North River Steam Boat—that the Hope led the North River about two hundred yards when both boats were fairly underway, and continued to lead about that distance until she arrived at Paddock’s Point, or thereabout, when the steam of the Hope being considerably exhausted, the North River gained upon her, but did not approach within fifty yards of her, until the North River ran foul of the Hope, as hereinafter mentioned—that the North River came up and struck the Hope on her larboard quarter, a little below Paddock’s Point, on the east side of Hudson River, when the Hope was laying her course direct down the River—that when the North River struck the Hope, as aforesaid, there was room for four or five Steam Boats to pass between the Hope and the edge of the channel——That after the North River Steam Boat had struck the Hope, she kept her engine a-going until the Hope grounded, when the engine of the North River was stopped. That the pilot of the North, River Boat immediately called out to set the engine in motion, and that he would pay the damage. That the Hope draws more water than the North River, and therefore these deponents deemed it expedient to follow the channel from Albany to the place where the Hope was ran ashore by the North River. That these deponents did not intentionally run the Hope in the way of the North River to prevent her passing the Hope at any time during the passage from Albany to the place where the Hope grounded as aforesaid, and further these deponents say not.
            JOHN T. HAVILAND.  DAVID MORRIS.
Sworn before me this 30th day of July 1811. GARRIT GILBERT, Special Justice.

​September 17, 1811 Evening Post (NY) THE NEW ALBANY STEAM BOATS, HOPE AND PERSEVERANCE.
The Hope, Capt. Bunker, will leave New-York every Wednesday morning at 9 o’clock, and Albany every Saturday morning at the same hour.
The Perseverance, Capt. Sherman, will leave N. York every Saturday afternoon at half past 5 o'clock, and Albany every Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock, throughout the season.
Said boats will lay at the foot of Liberty-street, New-York, and in front of the Eagle Tavern, Albany.

December 3, ​1812 Alexandria Gazette (VA) STEAM BOATS FOR SALE.
THE ALBANY STEAM BOATS, Hope aud Perseverence [sic],
With their Machinery, Tackle and Apparel. These boats having run only one season are in the best order and repair. For terms apply to the Printers, or to H. Bleecker, Capitol Hill, Washington.

January 17, ​1824 Alexandria Gazette (Washington, DC)
THE HOPE LOST.
Baton Rouge, Dec. 13, [1823]—We learn from persons who have arrived here from Natchez, that the steam boat Hope, which left New Orleans some time since, struck a snag in the Mississippi river [on Dec. 7, 1823], about 20 miles above this place, and immediately went to the bottom. The passengers and crew with difficulty escaped.     Gaz.

January 23, ​1824-01-23 Philadelphia Inquirer
The St. Francisville paper informs us that on the evening of the 7th of December [1823], the steam boat Hope, on her passage from New Orleans to Alexandria, struck on a snag about nine miles below that place, directly opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek, and sunk. She went down in about a minute and a half after striking. Fortunately, no lives were lost.

Editor's note: The following text is from "The First Steamboat Race" by Jerry Canavit https://steamboats.com/jpgs/firststeamboatrace-canavit.pdf. Thank you to Contributing Scholar Carl Mayer for finding, cataloging and transcribing this article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written.

The First Steamboat Race. Jerry Canavit, ASN
With the success of Robert Fulton’s steamboats NORTH RIVER and CAR OF NEPTUNE, Captain Elihu S. Bunker decided he would run an opposition service line on the Hudson River from Albany to New York City. He planned to do this despite the exclusive monopoly held by Messrs. Fulton and Livingston that had been granted by the State of New York.

A group of businessmen from Albany, headed by James Van Ingen, contracted to have two vessels constructed for Capt. Bunker, similar in size and accommodation to Fulton’s NORTH RIVER steamboat to compete for a share of this lucrative business. The boats were named HOPE and PERSEVERANCE.

The steamboat HOPE was launched on March 9, 1811 — the PERSEVERENCE [sic] followed a few months later. The HOPE made her maiden voyage out of New York City on June 22, 1811 under the command of Capt. Bunker. Nearly 50 passengers were on board for this initial trip as thousands of spectators were present as the HOPE left for Albany. The large crowd was present not only to show their support for the new boat’s challenge to the “Old Line” in defiance of the present navigation monopoly, but to also witness the very popular Pandean Band, who after the vessel’s departure, began playing very popular patriotic music of the day.

Despite a strong headwind, the HOPE arrived at Albany in 38 hours and great satisfaction was expressed by all of the passengers.

The NORTH RIVER steamboat (often mistakenly referred to as the Clermont) was under the command of Capt. Andrew Bartholomew and was built by shipbuilder Charles Browne of New York City for Fulton and Livingston. She was launched on May 17, 1807 and was the first commercially successful steamboat to operate on the Hudson River (or any other river, for that matter). She measured 133’ x 13’ x 7,’ admeasured 182 tons, had a copper boiler, a Watt steam engine (generating 20 hp), and 3 cabins with 52 berths. She was enlarged in 1808 to measure 149' x 17'11" x 7'.

The HOPE was a slightly larger boat, running 280 tons and measuring 149’ x 20’ x 7’7.” She had a steam engine built by Robert McQueen and her accommodations were very similar to those of the NORTH RIVER.

The challenge of the new vessels would eventually have to be addressed in the courts, but before the legal problems could be worked out, the “monopoly” would issue a more immediate challenge to the new upstarts.

On July 27, 1811, the HOPE was challenged to a race by the owners of the steamboat NORTH RIVER.

The Race:
The race would be from Albany to New York. On July 27, the two boats lay side-by-side in their slips at Albany getting up steam in preparation for the contest. Whether the HOPE challenged the NORTH RIVER (James Flexner) or the NORTH RIVER challenged the HOPE (F. Van Loon Ryder) is unclear. The contest was to be settled on the river before it would be settled in the courts.

Both vessels left Albany at 9:00 AM. The HOPE got off to a better start, and kept the center of the narrow channel, blocking every attempt of the NORTH RIVER to pass. With stern and bow so close they seemed almost as one craft traveling together under a single cloud of smoke. The two steamboats pounded down the river at almost 5 miles-per-hour, while spectators crowded the banks to cheer the opponent of “the pernicious monopoly.” As they passed Norman’s Kill, Van Weis [sic] Point and Shodack Island, they maintained their positions — with the HOPE in the lead and the NORTH RIVER seemingly glued to her stern. As they passed Coxsackie and the Hudson River Islands they continued to run together as one. When about two miles above the town of Hudson and opposite Stockport Creek, the NORTH RIVER tried to make use of its lighter draught to pass the HOPE in shallow water. Gradually it pulled abreast of its rival — then there was a resounding crash. The vessels had collided. Although investigation revealed that neither was seriously damaged and no one was injured, the captains called off the race. The first steamboat race in history had ended without a winner.

Later, Capt. Bartholomew of the NORTH RIVER challenged Capt. Bunker to complete the race. The wager was $2,000 and the distance, any number of miles — at the discretion of Capt. Bunker. However, the race was never held. The HOPE (and sister ship PERSEVERENCE) continued to run throughout the 1811 season with passengers and freight between New York and Albany and enjoyed as much success as did the Fulton boats.

In 1812, the contest continued — this time in the courts. In the case Livingston vs. Van Ingen, a New York Chancery Court ruled against Fulton and Livingston. The decision was then appealed to the New York Court of Errors where it was overturned, giving Fulton and Livingston the sole right to “navigate the waters of New York State by boats propelled by fire or steam.”

The courts had decided that both the HOPE and PERSEVERENCE were operating illegally and ordered the steamboats to cease operating. It is not clear whether the vessels were disassembled by the owners to avoid confiscation, or if they were actually confiscated by Fulton and Livingston and broken up. Other accounts claim that the HOPE was sold to Robert Fulton and the PERSEVERANCE to Aaron Ogden, and the parts were then used in other vessels. Which version is correct is not known to this writer.

[Steamboats HOPE and PERSEVERANCE finished the 1811 season, but did not run in 1812. Starting on Nov. 18, 1812, a daily ad to sell the two boats appeared in the Alexandria Gazette (VA) for the next three months.

"On July 2, 1813, Steam Boat Hope left Albany for points south. She sank in the Mississippi on Dec. 7, 1823, after hitting a snag, going from New Orleans to Alexandria, about nine miles before her destination, opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek. Fortunately, no lives were lost." CM]

Although the NORTH RIVER steamboat did not actually win the first steamboat race in history, she did prevail in the courts. And, who knows, perhaps if the NORTH RIVER had been able to get around the HOPE, she might have won. But she didn’t. She won in the courts though, even if it was just a short-term victory — as the monopoly would later be broken by the courts in 1824 (Gibbons vs Ogden).

Other and more famous steamboat races would occur, but the contest on July 27, 1811 was the first — and started it all. The steamboat race would become part of Americana — as stories of the Diana and Baltic, Eclipse and A. L. Shotwell, and Robt. E. Lee and Natchez and others would live on for generations.

Mark Twain once commented “I think the most enjoyable of all races is a steamboat race. Two red-hot steamboats raging along, neck-and-neck, straining every nerve — every rivit [sic] in the boilers — quaking, shaking and groaning from stem to stern, sprouting white steam from the pipes, pouring black smoke from the chimneys, raining down sparks, parting the river into long breaks of hissing foam. This is a sport that makes a body’s very liver curl with enjoyment. A horse race is pretty tame in comparison.”

Hope and Perseverance would turn out to be not only the names of two important riverboats on the Hudson River, but would be the words that best describe the attitude and spirit of those who would eventually break the navigation monopoly of Fulton and Livingston and open up commerce to the waters and streams of the United States of America.

A Stranger, lately arrived here, who calls himself Dr. Anthony Yeldall, and sells Medicines from a Stage; who by his Harangues, the odd Tricks of his Merry-Andrew, and the surprising Feats of Activity of his little Boy, highly diverts the People, has for several Weeks past exhibited at Brucklyn, on Long-Island; to which Place, it is said, several thousand of People, mostly from this City, have flocked to see and hear him every Day of his Exhibition.

On Monday last a great Multitude, as usual, having attended him; on their Return to cross the Ferry, the Boats being insufficient to carry them all, were prodigiously crowded; every one got in as soon as he could, and when the Boat was full, they put off, without waiting for the Ferry-men.

One of the Boats thus put off about Sunset, having on board 110 Persons, Men, Women and Children. Before they could well fix themselves for rowing, the Rapidity of the Tide drove the Boat upon and over a Rock, by which the Rudder was beat off, and the Bottom shattered, through;which the Water rushed in Sluces [?]

Before they could think of any Measures for their Preservation, the Boat was driven upon and over another Rock, which increased the Leaks, together with the Confusion and Dismay of the People on board, where the Water rapidly increased every Moment.

The Tears and Cries of the Women and Children, the Looks of Astonishment and Terror of the whole Company, at the Prospect of immediate Death, from which no Means of Deliverance appeared, produced a Scene of Distress, that Words cannot describe. The Men were thrown into a Stupefaction, that hindered them from attempting any Thing for their Preservation; and their confused Noise and Gestures, were by the People on Shore supposed to be the Effects of Mirth and Jollity.

​At last some of the Boys on board began to lade out the Water with their Hats, which being observed by the People on shore, and in Boats at a Distance, convinced them that those distressed People were in Need of Assistance, which was given with all possible Expedition, by several Boats which arrived just in Time to save the People in the leaky Boat, which was upon the Point of sinking, the Water being above the Knees of the Men, and up to the Middle of some of the Children, and the Edge of the Boat not above a Hand's Breath above Water.

To such a Number of People in present Health and high Spirits, this striking Prospect of immediate Death, and providential Deliverance from it -- whereby many Families have been saved from Mourning, Lamentation and Woe, should not fail to making a strong and lasting Impression, and having a good Effect, not only upon the Persons who were the immediate Actors in the Scene, and their near Relatives, but upon all who were Witnesses of it.