Fulton's "Steam Battery": Blockship and Catamaran Part 4

The war which was terminated by the treaty of Ghent, afforded, during its short continuance, a glorious display of the valor of the United States by land and by sea--it made them much better known to foreign nations, and, what is of much greater importance, it contributed to make them better acquainted with themselves--it excited new enterprises--it educed latent talents--it stimulated to exertions unknown to our people before.

A long extent of coast was exposed to an enemy, powerful above every other on the ocean. His commanders threatened to lay waste our country with fire and sword, and, actually, in various instances, carried their menaces into execution. It became necessary, for our defense, to resist, by every practicable method, such a formidable foe.

It was conceived, by a most ingenious and enterprising citizen, that the power of Steam could be employed to propel a floating battery, carrying heavy guns, to the destruction of any hostile force that should hover on the sh.o.r.es, or enter the ports of our Atlantic frontier. The perfect and admirable success of his project for moving boats containing travelers and baggage by the same elastic agent, opened the way to its employment for carrying warriors and the apparatus for fighting.

The plan was submitted to the consideration of the executive of an enlightened government. Congress, influenced by the most liberal and patriotic spirit, appropriated money for the experiment, and the Navy Department, then conducted by the honorable William Jones, appointed commissioners to superintend the construction of a convenient vessel under the direction of ROBERT FULTON, the inventor, as engineer, and Messrs. Adam and Noah Brown, as naval constructors. The enterprise, from its commencement, and during a considerable part of its preparatory operations, was aided by the zealous co-operation of Major General Dearborn, then holding his head-quarters at the city of New York, as the officer commanding the third military district. The loss of his valuable counsel in conducting a work which he had maturely considered, and which he strongly recommended, was the consequence of his removal to another section of the Union, where his professional talents were specially required.

The keels of this steam-frigate were laid on the twentieth day of June, eighteen hundred and fourteen. The strictest blockade the enemy could enforce interrupted the coasting trade, and greatly enhanced the price of timber. The vigilance with which he guarded our coast against intercourse with foreign nations, rendered difficult the importation of copper and iron. The same impediment attended the supplies of coal heretofore brought to New York from Richmond and Liverpool. Lead, in like manner, was procured under additional disadvantages. These attempts of the enemy to frustrate the design, were vain and impotent. All the obstacles were surmounted. Scarcity of the necessary woods and metals were overcome by strenuous exertions; and all the blockading squadron could achieve, was not a disappointment in the undertaking, but merely an increase of the expense.

So, in respect to tradesmen and laborers, there was an extraordinary difficulty. s.h.i.+pwrights had repaired to the lakes, for repelling the enemy, in such numbers, that, comparatively speaking, few were left on the seaboard. A large portion of the men who had been engaged in daily work, had enlisted as soldiers, and had marched under the banners of the nation to the defense of its rights--yet amidst the scarcity of hands, a sufficient number were procured for the purpose which the Commissioners had in charge. An increase of wages was the chief impediment, and this they were enabled practically to overcome.

By the exemplary combination of diligence and skill, on the part of the Engineer and Constructors, the business was so accelerated, that the vessel was launched on the twenty-ninth day of October, amidst the plaudits of an unusual number of citizens.

Measures were immediately taken to complete her equipment; the boiler, the engine, and the machinery were put on board with all possible expedition. Their weight and size far surpa.s.sed any thing that had been witnessed before among us.

The stores of artillery in New York not furnis.h.i.+ng the number and kind of cannon which she was destined to carry, it became necessary to transport guns from Philadelphia. A prize, taken from the enemy, put some fit and excellent pieces at the disposal of the Navy Department. To avoid the danger of capture by the enemy's cruisers, these were carted over the miry roads of New Jersey. Twenty heavy cannon were thus conveyed by the strength of horses. Carriages of the most approved model were constructed, and every thing done to bring her into prompt action, as an efficient instrument of war.

About this time, an officer, pre-eminent for bravery and discipline, was commissioned by the government to her command. Prior to this event, it had been intended by the Commissioners to finish her conformably to the plan originally submitted to the Executive. She is a structure resting upon two boats and keels, separated from end to end by a ca.n.a.l fifteen feet wide, and sixty-six long. One boat contained the caldrons of copper to prepare her steam. The vast cylinder of iron, with its piston, levers, and wheels, occupied a part of its fellow; the great water-wheel revolved in the s.p.a.ce between them; the main or gun-deck supported her armament, and was protected by a bulwark four feet ten inches thick, of solid timber. This was pierced by thirty port-holes, to enable as many thirty-two pounders to fire red hot b.a.l.l.s; her upper or spar deck was plain, and she was to be propelled by her enginery alone.

It was the opinion of Captain Porter and Mr. Fulton, that the upper deck ought to be surrounded with a bulwark and stanchions--that two stout masts should be erected to support latteen sails--that there should be bowsprits for jibs, and that she should be rigged in a corresponding style. Under authorities so great, and with the expectation of being able to raise the blockade of New London, by destroying, taking, or routing the enemy's s.h.i.+ps, all these additions were adopted and incorporated with the vessel.

It must here be observed, that during the exhaustion of the treasury, and the temporary depression of public credit, the Commissioners were exceedingly embarra.s.sed--their payments were made in treasury notes, which they were positively instructed to negotiate at par. On several occasions even these were so long withheld, that the persons who had advanced materials and labor were importunate for payment, and silently discontented. To a certain extent, the Commissioners pledged their private credit. Notwithstanding all this, the men, at one time, actually broke off. The work was r.e.t.a.r.ded, and her completion unavoidably deferred, to the great disappointment of the Commissioners, until winter rendered it impossible for her to act.

Under all this pressure, they, nevertheless, persevered in the important object confided to them. But their exertions were further r.e.t.a.r.ded by the premature and unexpected death of the Engineer. The world was deprived of his invaluable labors before he had completed this favorite undertaking. They will not inquire, wherefore, in the dispensations of Divine Providence, he was not permitted to realize his grand conception.

_His discoveries, however, survive for the benefit of mankind_, and will extend to unborn generations.

At length all matters were ready for a trial of the machinery to urge such a bulky vessel through the water. This essay was made on the first day of June, eighteen hundred and fifteen. She proved herself capable of opposing the wind, and of stemming the tide, of crossing currents, and of being steered among vessels riding at anchor, though the weather was boisterous and the water rough. Her performance demonstrated that the project was successful--no doubt remained that a floating battery, composed of heavy artillery, could be moved by steam. The Commissioners returned from the exercise of the day, satisfied that the vessel would answer the intended purpose, and consoled themselves that their care had been bestowed upon a worthy object.

But it was discovered, that various alterations were necessary. Guided by the light of experience, they caused some errors to be corrected, and some defects to be supplied. She was prepared for a second voyage with all practicable speed.

On the fourth of July she was again put in action. She performed a trip to the ocean, eastward of Sandy Hook, and back again, a distance of fifty-three miles, in eight hours and twenty minutes. A part of this time she had the tide against her, and had no a.s.sistance whatever from sails. Of the gentlemen who formed the company invited to witness the experiment, not one entertained a doubt of her fitness for the intended purpose.

Additional expedients were, notwithstanding, necessary to be sought for quickening and directing her motion. These were devised and executed with all possible care.

Suitable arrangements having been made, a third trial of her powers was attempted on the eleventh day of September, with the weight of twenty-six of her long and ponderous guns, and a considerable quant.i.ty of ammunition and stores on board; her draft of water was short of eleven feet. She changed her course by inverting the motion of the wheel, without the necessity of putting about. She fired salutes as she pa.s.sed the forts, and she overcame the resistance of the wind and tide in her progress down the bay. She performed beautiful man[oe]uvres around the United States' Frigate JAVA, then at anchor near the light-house. She moved with remarkable celerity, and she was perfectly obedient to her double helm. It was observed that the explosion of powder produced very little concussion. The machinery was not affected by it in the smallest degree. Her progress, during the firing, was steady and uninterrupted. On the most accurate calculations, derived from heaving the log, her average velocity was five and a-half miles per hour. Notwithstanding the resistance of currents, she was found to make headway at the rate of two miles an hour against the ebb of the East River, running three and a-half knots. The day's exercise was satisfactory to the respectable company who attended, beyond their utmost expectations. It was universally agreed that we now possessed a new auxiliary against every maratime invader. The City of New York, exposed as it is, was considered as having the means of rendering itself invulnerable. The Delaware, Chesapeake, Long Island Sound, and every other bay and harbor in the nation, may be protected by the same tremendous power.

Among the inconveniences observable during the experiment, was the heat endured by the men who attended the fires. To enable a correct judgment to be formed on this point, one of the Commissioners (Dr. Mitchel) descended and examined, by a thermometer, the temperature of the hold, between the two boilers. The quicksilver, exposed to the radiant heat of the burning fuel, rose to one hundred and sixteen degrees of Fahrenheit's scale. Though exposed thus to its intensity, he experienced no indisposition afterwards. The a.n.a.logy of potteries, forges, gla.s.s-houses, kitchens, and other places, where laborers are habitually exposed to high heats, is familiar to persons of business and of reflection. In all such occupations, the men, by proper relays, perform their services perfectly well.

The Government, however, will understand that the hold of the present vessel could be rendered cooler by other apertures for the admission of air, and that on building another steam frigate, the comfort of the firemen might be provided for, as in the ordinary steamboats.

The Commissioners congratulate the Government and the nation on the event of this n.o.ble project. Honorable alike, to its author and its patrons, it const.i.tutes an era in warfare and the arts. The arrival of peace, indeed, has disappointed the expectations of conducting her to battle. That last and conclusive act of showing her superiority in combat, has not been in the power of the Commissioners to make.

If a continuance of tranquillity should be our lot, and this steam vessel of war be not required for the public defense, the nation may rejoice that the fact we have ascertained is of incalculably greater value than the expenditure--and that if the present structure should perish, we have the information never to perish, how, on a future emergency, others may be built. The requisite variations will be dictated by circ.u.mstances.

Owing to the cessation of hostilities, it has been deemed inexpedient to finish and equip her as for immediate and active employ. In a few weeks every thing that is incomplete could receive the proper adjustment.

After so much has been done, and with such encouraging results, it becomes the Commissioners to recommend that the steam frigate be officered and manned for discipline and practice. A discreet commander, with a selected crew, could acquire experience in the mode of navigating this peculiar vessel. The supplies of fuel, the tending of the fire, the replenis.h.i.+ng of the expended water, the management of the mechanism, the heating of shot, the exercise of the guns, and various matters, can only become familiar by use. It is highly important that a portion of seamen and marines should be versed in the order and economy of the steam frigate. They will augment, diffuse, and perpetuate knowledge. When, in process of time, another war shall call for more structures of this kind, men, regularly trained to her tactics, may be dispatched to the several stations where they may be wanted. If, on any such disposition, the Government should desire a good and faithful agent, the Commissioners recommend Captain Obed Smith to notice, as a person who has ably performed the duties of inspector from the beginning to the end of the concern.

Annexed to the report, you will find, Sir, several statements explanatory of the subject. A separate report of our colleague, the honorable Oliver Wolcott, whose removal from New York precluded him from attending to the latter part of the business, with his accustomed zeal and fidelity, is herewith presented. A drawing of her form and appearance, by Mr. Morgan, as being like to give satisfaction to the department, is also subjoined, as are likewise an inventory of her furniture and effects, and an account of the timber and metals consolidated in her fabric.

It is hoped these communications will evince the pains taken by the Commissioners, to execute the honorable and responsible trust reposed in them by the Government.

SAMUEL L. MITCHEL.

THOMAS MORRIS.

HENRY RUTGERS.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1964

For sale by the Superintendent of Doc.u.ments, U.S. Government Printing Office Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C. 20402--Price 70 cents

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _The American Neptune_ (1946), vol. 6, pp. 253-274.

[2] _The American Neptune_ (1944), vol. 4, pp. 327-329.

[3] New York, 1853, pp. 13-17.

[4] Pittsburgh, 1896, pp. 8-16.

[5] See pages 172 through 176 for this report, which is reproduced from CHARLES B. STUART, _Naval and Mail Steamers of the United States_ (New York, 1853), app., pp. 155-159.

[6] National Archives, Navy Records Plans, 80-7-14; and HOWARD I.

CHAPELLE, _History of the American Sailing Navy_ (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1949), pp. 293-295.

[7] National Archives, Navy Records Plans, 80-7-9; and CHAPELLE, _History of the American Sailing Navy_, pp. 226, 228.

[8] National Archives, Navy Records Plans, 80-7-15.

[9] National Archives, Naval Records Collection, Miscellaneous Letters, 1819, II.

[10] See p. 169, reproduced from CHARLES B. STUART, _Naval and Mail Steamers of the United States_ (New York, 1853), p. 15.

[11] JEAN BAPTISTE MARESTIER, _Memoire sur les bateaux a vapeur des etats-Unis d'Amerique, avec un appendice sur diverses machines relatives a la Marine_ (Paris: L'imprimerie Royal, 1824).

[12] 1820-1823, vol. 7, p. 437.

[13] _Annales de l'industrie nationale et etrangere, ou Mercure Technologique_ (Paris, 1822), pp. 760-762.

[14] January 27, 1823, vol. 7, pp. 436-438.

[15] January-March 1935, vol. 61, pp. 322-328.

[16] HOWARD I. CHAPELLE, _American Small Sailing Craft_ (New York: W. W.

Norton & Co., Inc., 1951), pp. 29, 31.