Neptune's Needle

Businessman and entrepreneur. By 1821, Lamar became a commission merchant in Augusta and, by 1823, in Savannah. Lamar's expanding enterprises included banking and steamboating.

In 1833 Lamar invested in and experimented with iron steamships for commercial navigation. In 1834 he launched the John Randolph, the first commercially successful iron steamboat in the United States, as one of his fleet of eighteen in the Iron Steamboat Company in Augusta.

In June 1838 his steamboat Pulaski exploded and sank, killing more than one hundred passengers, including Lamar's wife and six of their seven children. Lamar, his eldest son, and his sister survived. Turning to religion and temporarily abandoning shipping, Lamar returned to Augusta to rebuild his life. In 1845 the Lamars moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he resumed business as a commission merchant and invested in commercial vessels.

In the Civil War, Lamar supported the Confederacy, often at the expense of his business interests. Lamar's contributions during the war included constructing a floating battery for the Savannah harbor.

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Compiler

Peter Richards