Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1892-11-11

BUILDING OF pERRY's FLEET.
Story Told by Noah Brrws, One Of the
Contractors.

Story Told by Noah Brrwn, One of the
Contractors.
In view of the fact that Perry's
victory on Lake Erie in the war Of
1872 viii probably be fully illustrated
at the October ceremonies at the
Worlds Fair, information as to how
that fleet was built may prove of in
terest. A. w. Brown, the last repre-
sentative Of the Brown family which
built that feet, is at the Palmer House.
He furnishes the statement Of Noah
Brown, his great-uncle, as regards
the work,
The Brown brothers, Noah and
Adam, engaged in the ship building
business at New York in 1904 with
Furman Cheeseman. AS to the Perry
fleet, Noah Brown says:
''In 1913 we were called upon by
the United States Government to go
and build Perry's fleet. / started
from New York, Feb IA, and with a
small gang arrived in ten DAYS at the
town Of Erie. The weather then was
stormy and the snow deep. More
hands arrived the last OF April, and
we began to drive business with con-
siderable speed, and the navy agent
Of Philadelphia sent on men, and
they began to arrive in the middle of
May In all there had collected
about 200 men, and then we
were short of iron, oakum, and pitch;
but there was British schooner off
in the ice. We proceeded to her and
got out about twenty barrels of pork
and quantity of rigging and cables.
We made oakum of them, and burned
the schooner and got her iron. 1t
helped us with the gunboats, and /
rode all around to the neighboring
towns and bought Of all the mer7
chants every bar of iron could in
The Goyernment was to SEND ,,,.;,,, ' ~
fleet before any arrived at Erie.
"My men several times raised and
declared they would work no longer
if they could not have better fare.
satisfied them by giving them liberty
to go and buy all the cattle and other
provisions they could find. Several
we're gone four or five days, and when
they came back their report satisfied
them all, so l had little trouble after
wards.
s'The enemy often appeared before
our harbor and several times came to
an anchor within three miles of us.
Our men drew arms and volunteered
to protect the ship-yard, but the
enemy did not venture to land, as we
were as willing they should not land
as they; so we had no use for arms.
1--WE had completed our vessels by
the middle of June, as follows.
Three gun boats armed and fitted for
sea; two brigs and one sharp schooner
for dispatch vessel and lookout,
as she could outsail anything that
was in the English fleet.
1--WE built also a block-house, 80
feet square, of heavy timber; like
wise guard-house of 40x20 feet,
cook-house of 100x20 feet and loft
above to accommodate 200 men,
blacksmith shop so feet long by I0
feet deep and house for fifty men to
sleep in, an office for myself and
Commodore Perry IS feet square, like
wise four camels, about twenty tons
each, fourteen boats for the use of
the fleet, and we mounted all the
guns for the feet, and repaired five
old vessels that belonged to their
fleet and all their gun carrages.
Mr. Brown says that after COM
pleting the work at Erie he was sent
to Lake Champlain to build Commo-
dore McDonough's fleet there of one
ship and nine gunboats. In this way
he became connected with the two
victories of the inland seas OF 1912
which are familiar to every school
boy and girl.
Continuing, Mr. Brown said: 'In
February, 1915, we received orders to
proceed to Sackett's Harbor to build
two large ships to mount 1870 guns of
large caliber-100-pounders og the
lower deck, fifty-poundcrs on the
middle deck, and thirty-two-pou
on the upper deck-likewise three
large-sized frigates.
Peace coming on we did not com
plete our contract, but we got the
large ships well along. We proceeded
on to the harbor with about !, 200
men, and when we were stopped we
had been to work only about six
weeks, and if we had not been stopped
in six weeks longer both large ships
would have been completed and in
the lake. We returned to New York
and had not the pleasure of seeing
the largest ship afoat in the inland
waters of our State that ever was
built. These ships were $50 feet on
the upper deck and 200 feet straight.
sIn 1914 we built a blnck-house,
forty feet square, on Mill Rock, in
Hell Gate, East River; likewise, the
second blocl-house at Williamsburg,
Long Island, opposite the city OF New
York. We built a block-house on
RockawaylBeach, south side of Long
| Island, and furnished all the ma
terials to complete these three block
houses. We also built steam
frigate.
"Under the direction of Rohert
Fulton, we built a vessel called the
Mute, bomb-proofed, and to be pro
PEELED by machinery under water
Since the war We have built only ono
revenue cutter and one light vessel
for the Government Chicago
Tribune.