Steamboat Engine Types During the Civil
War on the Chesapeake Bay
During the Civil War there were three basic types of
engines used to power steamboats on the Chesapeake Bay - crosshead,
vertical (walking) beam, and a shaft or screw-propeller driven
engine. A fourth type of engine, the stern-wheeler, was used primarily
on the rivers in the West. To learn more about how these engines
worked click on the engine type below.
Crosshead Engine
Vertical (Walking)
Beam Engine
Screw Propeller
Driven Engine
For more in-depth information concerning the different
types of steamboat engines we recommend Chesapeake Steamboats:
Vanished Fleet, by David C. Holly 
Photograph courtesy
of the Naval Historical Society
The George Page powered by a Crosshead
engine was a Confederate gunboat that operated along the Potomac
River.
Crosshead Engine
The crosshead engine was used in steamboats on the
Chesapeake Bay from 1813 through the 1860s. An A-frame placed
amidships on either side of the deck contained a vertically placed
channeled rail. Into this rail were placed the two ends of a T-bar
that were driven
up and down by a steam-driven piston. Some likened this to the
action of a guillotine, which this type of engine was also referred
to as. The two arms of the T-bar or "crossbar" where
connected to a crank that in turn was connected to a paddle wheel.
The up-and-down motion of the bar thus turned the two paddle wheels
on either side of the vessel.
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Photograph courtesy
of the Naval Historical Society
The USS Cour de Lion was a Union gunboat
that saw action throughout the Bay area. It was powered by a Vertical
Walking Beam Engine.
Vertical (Walking) Beam Engine
The vertical beam engine was introduced in the 1830s.
It derived its name from a large, diamond-shaped structure mounted
on an A-frame fore and aft in the middle of the deck; the structure
seesawed back and forth. One end of the beam was connected to
a steam-driven piston and the other to a crank connected to the
paddle wheels. Because this type of engine took up less space
than the crosshead it provided more space for freight and passengers.
Its configuration provided a powerful engine type.
Click here to
view a video on how the Walking Beam Steam Engine works.
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Photograph courtesy
of the Naval Historical Society
USS Monticello - Screw-Propeller powered steam engine.
Took part in action in the Bay as well as the Atlantic eastern
coast.
Shaft or Screw-Propeller Engine
The propeller-driven engine was introduced in the late
1830s. A multi-cylinder piston-driven engine powered by steam
was connected by a shaft to a stern propeller. Many vessels with
this type of engine also had sails. The screw-propeller was faster
and far easier to handle than either the crosshead or vertical
beam engines that used paddle wheels mounted on either side.
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