William Longstreet was born in New Jersey back in circa 1760. As a young boy the family moved to Augusta, Georgia. In 1790 he proposed to Thomas Telfair an idea he had to revolutionize something. More on that in a moment.
Anyway, his invention remained for several years just a thought until at last he secured funds from private sources. He was able to proceed with his invention in 1807.
Besides his invention which I will reveal shortly he also patented an improvement to the cotton gins. One was destroyed by a fire and the other was destroyed by the British in 1812. Now, what you may not know about William Longstreet is that he invented a steam boat a full three years before Robert Fulton did. His boat was launched in 1807, moving at an astounding 5 miles per hour. One other thing he was the grandfather to Confederate General James Longstreet and the father of Southern author Augustus Baldwin Longstreet. Until tomorrow keep a smile on your face and a penny in your pocket
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