Ep. 37: The Steamboat Yellowstone, Engine of Manifest Destiny
Wise About Texas
Ken Wise
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2017
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Built in 1831 for John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company, the steamboat Yellowstone was the first steamboat to travel past the Council Bluffs. She reached parts of the upper Missouri River previously unreachable by other boats. After conquering the fur trade, she was sold to Thomas Toby & Brother of New Orleans and registered under an American flag. But she was secretly at work in Texas. Sam Houston happened upon her on the Brazos river and commandeered her for his army! After saving the Texas Army, the Yellowstone raced full speed past the Mexican Army (avoiding bullets, cannon and over-eager ropers) and onward to Galveston. She later carried Sam Houston and Santa Anna–at the same time! Her last errand for Texas brought the Father of Texas to his final resting place. Author Donald Jackson called Yellowstone “the engine of manifest destiny.” Hear more about the exciting service of the Steamboat Yellowstone in the latest episode of Wise About Texas.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Howdy and welcomed Wise About Texas, the Texas History Podcast. |
| 0:13.7 | This is your host, Ken Wise, and I want to thank you very much |
| 0:17.5 | for tuning into this episode |
| 0:19.6 | to hear about some stories from Texas History. This episode's being released on April the 3rd, |
| 0:26.2 | 2017 and any time we're in the time period between October and April, we are smack in the middle of the anniversary of the Texas |
| 0:34.8 | Revolution. This year it's the 181st anniversary and we are a mere 18 days away |
| 0:41.9 | from the anniversary of the Battle of San Joseo. |
| 0:45.0 | And we all need to remember that it was Texas winning independence from Mexico that led to the entry of Texas into the United States. |
| 0:53.4 | Not annexation, as we learned back in episode 7 of |
| 0:57.7 | wise about Texas, but Texas joining the Union. |
| 1:00.2 | We weren't annexed. |
| 1:01.9 | We joined by Congressional Resolution. |
| 1:04.0 | That led to the U.S. Mexican War, which resulted in the United States expanding into the West all the way to the Pacific. |
| 1:11.0 | So the U.S. wouldn't be the U.S. without Texas winning its revolution, |
| 1:16.0 | and Texas wouldn't have won the revolution |
| 1:19.0 | without the subject of today's episode, |
| 1:22.0 | a boat. But not just any boat, the Steamboat |
| 1:26.3 | Yellowstone. Author Donald Jackson called her correctly, The Engine of Manifest |
| 1:32.4 | Destiny. So let's go back way back to 1831 and get wise |
| 1:38.1 | about Texas. Now steamboats revolutionized transportation in the United States as the US was settled rivers |
| 1:46.7 | formed one of the fastest and most efficient modes of transportation. |
| 1:51.5 | If you look along the major rivers of the U.S. from east to west, you'll be |
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