Regarding the author's connection with a case (never brought to trial) involving a patent granted to Nicholas J. Roosevelt in 1814 for using vertical wheels with steam engines to propel boats.
Reproduction
Electronic text and image data. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan, Digital Library Initiatives, 2000. Includes both TIFF files and keyword searchable text. [Making of America] This volume is made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of Making of America IV: the American voice, 1850-1877.