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Document 30960

MARTIN VAN BUREN and JOHN FORSYTH
Appointment as Consul in Bristol, England issued to inventor of the improved steam engine, Francis B. Ogden.
Partly Printed DS: "M. Van Buren" as eighth U.S. President and "John Forsyth" as Secretary of State, 1p, 12¼x17. Washington, 1840 December 28. On vellum. In part: "Know ye, That reposing special trust and confidence in the abilities and integrity of Francis B. Ogden of New Jersey, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate do appoint him Consul of the United States of America for the Port of Bristol, in the Kingdom of Great Britain...I do hereby enjoin all Captains, Masters and Commanders of ships and other vessels, armed or unarmed, sailing under the flag of the said States, as well as all other of their citizens to acknowledge and consider him the said Francis B. Ogden accordingly...." FRANCIS BARBER OGDEN (1783-1857) served under General Andrew Jackson as Aide-de-Camp at the Battle of New Orleans. Ogden devoted his time to the study of mechanical science and, in 1813, received a patent for low-pressure condensing engines with two cylinders, the steam working expansively and the cranks being adjusted at right angles. In 1817, the first engine constructed on this principle was built by him in Leeds, England. Ogden submitted his plan to steam engine inventor James Watt, then 81 years old, at his Soho Engineering Works in Birmingham, England. Watt declared it would make "a beautiful engine" and that the combination was original. Ogden's brother Aaron operated a steamboat line between New Jersey and New York City and was involved in litigation resulting in the Gibbons-Ogden case before the Supreme Court (1824). Chief Justice Marshall's decision in the case established the principle of freedom of interstate commerce. The first screw propeller that was introduced into practical use and carried into successful operation by inventor John Ericsson (who built the ironclad Monitor in the Civil War) in 1837 was called the "Francis B. Ogden". Ogden was U.S. Consul at Liverpool (1829-1840) when he received this appointment. He served as Consul at Bristol from 1840 until his death in Bristol in 1857. Creased and rippled. Folds, horizontal fold touches the top of the "J", "F" and "th" of Forsyth's signature. Van Buren's signature light but legible.

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