Seine River Steamers The Élise was the first steam ship to cross the English Channel. She was bought in England 1814 by Pierre Andriel as" Margery", and renamed "Élise". Andriel intended to accomplish a spectacular crossing of the Channel to convince public opinion that steam ships could be ocean-worthy. She sailed up the Seine and arrived in Paris on 28 March, becoming a popular sensation. Two small saluting guns were mounted at the bow and fired in honour of Louis XVIII Early tugs used chains in the river to tow trains of barges up river. The low steam pressure and low power of
Seine River Steamers where small steamers take on loads for journey further up river. Continuous improvements to the shipping lane meant that regular traffic could be maintained and not just in periods of high water. In 1840 when the French nation desired the return of Napoleon's body from the Island of St. Helena, to his adopted nation of France, he travelled by sailing frigate to Cherbourg, then to a series of steamers up the river. On 30 November, la Belle-Poule entered the roadstead of Cherbourg, and six days later the remains were transferred to the steamboat la Normandie. Reaching Le Havre, the coffin