''Constitution'' is a former steamboat which operated in the Republic of Texas. ''Constitution'' is a former steamboat, registered in New Orleans, but it primarily serviced the ports within the Republic of Texas. The steamer was 262 tons and 150-feet long. ''Constitution'' was designed as a riverboat, and built at a yard in Cincinnati in 1829. It had a draft of seven feet and seven inches.

Augustus Chapman Allen Augustus Chapman Allen (July 4, 1806 – January 11, 1864), along with his younger brother, John Kirby Allen, founded the City of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. He was born on July 4, 1806, in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present day h ...

and John Kirby Allenthe original developers of Houstoncommissioned ''Constitution'' for a demonstration voyage to prove the navigability of

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...

as far as their new town site. They had already dispatched the ''

Laura Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

'' for the same purpose, but detractors of the Houston town site objected that a truer test would be a much larger ship. The Allen brothers accepted the challenge. They hired Captain Edward Auld to pilot the steamer from Galveston to Houston for $1,000. He successfully navigated ''Constitution'' through Buffalo Bayou and docked in Houston on 1 June 1837. However, unable to turn the steamer around at Houston, the captain ran the engines in reverse for six-and-a-half miles, turning it about at a wide segment of the bayou now named for the steamship and the event: Constitution Bend. Auld did not take ''Constitution'' up Buffalo Bayou again. Instead, he offered monthly packet service between Galveston and New Orleans. He ran it aground in January 1838 near

Sabine Pass, Texas Sabine Pass is a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas. It lies at Sabine Pass, on the west bank of the Sabine River, the border between Louisiana and Texas, and was incorporated in 1861. Formally annexed by Port Arthur in 1978, Sabine Pass has its ...

, though the steamer limped into Galveston for repairs.

Francis Cynric Sheridan Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural M ...

remarked in his journal that a steamer named ''Constitution'' was used for

lightering Lightering (also called lighterage) is the process of transferring cargo between vessels of different sizes, usually between a barge (lighter) and a bulker or oil tanker. Lightering is undertaken to reduce a vessel's draft so it can enter port facil ...

freight and passengers from his brig, passing through shallow waters to gain access to Galveston Island.

References

{{Portal bar, Texas Steamboats 1829 ships Ships built in Cincinnati