New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-06-18
THE HfRTFORD AND cHfCAGO.
FARnAGrr.s FAMors SNIP To- Hr PRESERVED As
LESSON 10 THE AMERICAS YorrH THE
CHICAGO To HAVE NEW MACHINERY
IAETIH

Axp TO nE rAsTER
Washington. Jane Il (SpcriaD II IS observed u'
an. feature - The Navy Appropriation hill ~ that
II carries money FOR new machinery Tor the cruiser
Chicago now IN Europe. ana Tor Fnrfnsnt famous
coyship the Hartford. now at Mare Island. II
seems To- be The general impression that The Hart
ford Will not be- used as IA general cruising veas"
br. win BE- sent 70 the Naval Academy, which
would bc a. good disposition To mnkc Of her a. she
f. both a steam and a sailing vessel. ANA would
max. n nrst-casa practice ship FOR the cadets Fur
,hermore there would be a better chance 10 pre-
eervc her there than II she went into regular com
,n,ssio, AS a cruising vessel there would be no
danger ~ rllng her ny on i.oncadOr. liNc the old
Koarsarge.
Apropos Of this disposition Of the famous crnft
II may not be amiss 10 recall that when the gal
liant Hartford launched at Boston. In ls5S. she
was sent 20 china as the flagship Of the late Com
modorc John NJ Stribbing. punctiliOu- naval or
ncer OF the old school who then commanded the
Asiatlc S1uaGron When the Hartford reached
Hong Kong late in 1879. that port was The naval
rendezvous Of the allied fleets Of Great Britain and
France. which Governments had been at with
China Tho Hartford was unanimously admired and
praised by tho naval officers OF those ana other
lions as IN" "handsonest man OF war ever put
q float She not only had lines Of beauty but she
was the fastest warship Of her class. and was com
monty spoken Of ~ The American clipper man-of-
war" She certninly. with her graceful shear and
symmetrical lines. compared favorably with the IA
nous American merchant clippers Young America.
y -. Palmer. and other Yankee ocenn grey
hounds" The only unfavorable criticism heard
was that she was two clippcry 20 be an efficient
lighting vessel but her subsequent career the
Mississippi "a New Orleans. Port Hudson and Mo-
such criticism. and To perpetunte her IA monu-
ment the valor and prowess OF the American
Navy will gladden. the hearts Of thousands OF peo-
pie here and abroad. Like the old Victory the nag
ship OF Lord Nelson. tho Hartford win be kept
afoat. as To remind the present and mture gen
eratons OF the kind ~ ships and the manner OF men
their ancestors were
The Hartford made her last cruise as flagship Of
Rear Admiral McCHulcy In the Pacific. and was
put out Of commission in 1851 at the Mare Island
Navy Yard The old ship. however. IL quite DIFF
ferent vessel to the one which Farragut fought
with at the battles the Mississippi River In 1852
In 1871, at the New York Navy Yard she was
torn all apart and practically rebuilt preserving
the original graceful lines and general Appearance
however. Another deck was added TO her at the
time but after little service II found TO make
the vessel tOpheavy and II taken on In 1881
she again repaired To the extent OF almost
making her over again. and was sent to Chilli
The repairs to the Chicago mean that she Is
to have engines and boilers OF more modern
type. and when she Is completed with these II IL
believed that she will be at least three knots faster
than now, or between eighteen and nineteen knots
speed. When she fitted With her present
machinery her speed exceeded the terms OF the
contract and not only was she built OF American
material by American workmen. but her unique
type OF engine" and novel type OF boiler were de-