Henry Miller Shreve (October 21, 1785 – March 6, 1851) was an American inventor and steamboat captain who removed obstructions to navigation of the Mississippi, Ohio and Red rivers.

[3] Shreve also made significant improvements to the steamboat and the steam engine, such as separate boilers to power side paddlewheels independently, horizontal cylinders, and multiple decks to allow for passengers and entertainment.

On July 7, 1788, the Shreves left New Jersey for their new home on property owned by George Washington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

[8] After loading his boat with cargo, Shreve and crew hauled and poled the vessel 2,200 miles (3,500 km) against strong river currents, probably reaching Brownsville before July 1814.

During the winter and spring of 1814, while Shreve was on the voyage to New Orleans, the Enterprise, with an engine and power train designed and built by Daniel French, was constructed.

Between June and December 1814, the Enterprise, under the command of Israel Gregg, made two successful voyages transporting passengers and cargo to ports between Brownsville and Louisville, Kentucky.

[11] By December, the company had decided to send the Enterprise to New Orleans with a cargo of munitions for General Andrew Jackson's troops to defend the city against an invasion by British forces.

[12] Command of the Enterprise was transferred to Henry Shreve because of his firsthand knowledge of the hazards to navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

[16] In May 1815, soon after being released from jail, Shreve commanded the Enterprise from New Orleans to Louisville, the first time a northbound steamboat was able to reach that city.

[1][24] He had been working on a design for a "snagboat" since 1821, "and the first twin steam snag-boat, the Heliopolis, was commenced...and completed in August, 1829, upon the plans and specifications and under the supervision and direction of Captain Shreve.

[2]On the 25th August, 1829, Captain Shreve reported to the Engineer Department that he had made experiments in removing snags "at Plum Point (the most dangerous place on the Mississippi River)...with the steam snag-boat Heliopolis, and that he had succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations.

"[25]As a result of the success of his design, Shreve was ordered in 1832 by Secretary of War Lewis Cass to clear the Great Raft, 150 miles (240 km) of dead wood on the Red River.