Shreve also patented the snagboat, a boat used to clear fallen trees and other debris from clogged rivers. In 1827, John Quincy Adams appointed Shreve to the position of superintendent of western river improvements, a position he held for 14 years. In 1825, he established a port in Louisiana that was later named Shreveport. In 1836 he purchased land near Bellefontaine Cemetery where he lived until he died. He was very active in civic ventures and became involved in the expansion of the railroads and telegraph into Missouri. He lost many family members in the wave of cholera epidemics that hit St. Louis in 1849 and 1850. He died in 1851 and is buried in Bellfontaine Cemetery. [Final Resting Place, p. 28]