The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-06-11
BUILDING OF PERRY's FLEET
story Told bv Noah Brown, One OF tho
Contractors.

Contractors.
In view of the fact that Perry's
sictorv on Lake Erie in the war of
1872 will probably he 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 fleet, iSat tie Palmer -Ouse.
He furnishes the statement Of Noah
Brown, MS grcat-uncle, as regards
The work.
The Brown brothers, Noah and
Adam, engaged in the ship-buiiding
business at New York in 1904 with
Furman CheeSeman. AS to the Perr,I
feet, Noah Brown says:
''In 1913 We were called upon by
The United States Government to go
and build Pcrry's feet l started
rom New York, Feb. II, and with d
mail gang arrived in ten DAYS at the
;own Of Erie. The weather then was
stormy and the snow deep. More
hands arrived the last Of April, and
ne began to drive business with con-
siderable speed, and the navy agent
)f Philadelphia sent on men, and
hey began to arrive in the middle Of
May. In all there had collected
lbout 200 men, and then we
we're short Of iron, oakum, and pitch;
out there was British schooner OF
n the ice. We proceeded to her and
rot out about twenty barrels Of pork
Ind a 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 l
ode all around to the neighboring
owns and bought of all the mer-
chants every bar of iron / could find.
The Government was to send iron,
pitch, and oakum, bat the roads were
10 bad that l had almost finished the
ieet before any arrived at Erie.
"My men several times raised anG
declared they would work no longer
f they could not.have better fare. I
atiS6ed them by giving them liberty
20 go and buy;all the cattle and other
provisions they could find. Several
we're gone tour or i've days, and when
;hey came back their report satisfied
;hem all, so I had little trouble after
7ards.
"The enemy often appeared before
,ur harbor and several times came to
IN anchor within three miles Of us.
Dur men drew arms and volunteered
10 protect the ship-yard, out the
enemy did not venture to land, as we
we're as willing they should not land
is they; so we had no use for arms.
"We had completed our vessels by
5afre-n;n1aaala4scs-o1 MI 1aala4scs -o1 as--fofsUSs. t17Fi
Three gun boats armed and fitted fol-
sea; two brigs and one sharp schooner
:or a dispatch vessel and a lookout,
IS she could outsail anything that
vas in the English fleet.
eve built also a block-housc, sc
'eet square, of heavy timber; like
wise a guard house of 40X20 feet, a
>ook-house Of l00X20 feet and loft
above to accommodate 200 men, a
blacksmith shop so feet long by III
.cct deep and a house for fifty men to
sleep in, an Office for myself and
Commodore Perry is feetsQuare, 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
I'D vessels that belonged to thei
iect and all their gun CARRIAGES"
Mr.. Brown says that after com.
dieting the work at Erie be was sent
TO Lake Champlain to build Commo.
lore McDonough's fleet there of one
ship and nine gunboats. In this way
ne became connected with the two
victories of the inland seas of 1872
which are familiar to every schoo
BOY and girl.
Continuing, Mr.. Brown said: SIN
February, 1915, we received orders tC
proceed to Sackctt's Harbor to build
two large ships to mount l3O guns OF
large caliber-100-poundcrs or the
lower deck, tiftr-poundcrs on the
middle deck, and thirty-two-ponndcT
IN the upper deck-likeWise thre'
arge-sized frigates.
"Peace coming on we did not com
plete our contract, but we got the
large ships well along. We proceeded
IN to the harb0r with about ZOO
ncn, ard when VIC were stopped we
mad seen 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 atloat in the inland
waters of our State that ever was
built. These ships were 25u feet oii
;hc upper deck and 200 feet straight.
SIN 1914 we built a hlGck-hOuSc.
forty feet square, ~ Mill Rock, il
Hell Gate, East River; likewise, tn:
second block-houSe at Williamsburg,
Long Island, opposite the city Of New
York. We built a block-housc on
Rockaway Beach, south side Of Long
Island, and furnished all the MT
terials to complete these three block
houses. We also built a steam
rigatc.
"Under the direction of Robert
Fulton, VIC built a vessel called The
Mute, bomb-proofed, and to he pro-
pelled by machinery under wa!cr.
Since the war we have built only ri'e
revenue cutter and one light &c =;
for the Government. - ChIrdE
Tribune.