The times., 1898-11-06
OUR FIRST STEAM WARSHP
She Was Launched Eighty
Four Years Ago.
DEMOLOGOS WAS HER NAME
She Was slid Into the Water at Corr
lears Hook and Renamed the Full
ton the Ftrst-BIosvn to Atoms by
an Explosion - Her Formidable
strength.

Today was the eighty-fourth anniyer-
sary Of the launching Of the first steam
warship of the navy. writes a correspond
! ent of the New York Sun. under date OF
| October ~
1t passed unnoticed, and there are few
today who are familiar with the history
of that innovation In the navy Only in
the musty records of the Navy Depart
ment can there be found mention of the
craft.
During the war of 1872 the United States
| Navy was making an excellent record at
sea, but the Government felt the pressing
necessity Of vessels. for coast defense
Finally a suggestion by Robert Fulton
was adopted and by special legislation
| Congress passed an act the same year
authorizing the immediate construction
of number of floating batteries after
4 type submitted to the Navy Department
\ by Fulton. 1t was not until early in 1914
| that commission was appointed to su-
| perintend the construction or the first Of
| these vessels.
The commission was composed OF 5. L.
| Mitchell, Henry Rutgers. Robert Fulton
| and Naval Constructor Adam Brown On
\ June 20. 1874, the keel of the new vessel
was laid at Corlears Hook on the East
! River, and October % of the same year
! the Demologos. as she was first called
1 was launched. 1t was estimated that the
| vessel would cost s320. coo. but owing to
many modifca tions in the original plans
| made before the work was completed the
| cost was somewhat smaller. II was AT
first intended that the Demologos should
| carry twenty guns, but this number was
increased to thirty. She was l55 feet long.
55 feet beam and 20 feet deep As viewed
in the light of modern times the most
peculiar thing about the ship was the sit
! uation of the propelling power In the
centre of the deck there was well-like
1 opening straight down to the water, in
which the single paddlewheel worked At
| the last moment this well was converted
| into a channel seventy feet long and the
| paddIewheel was increased TO sixteen feet
In diameter. The vessel was propelled by
single cylinder. The equilibrium of the
1 vessel was preserved by having the sylin-
der on one side of the wheel and the boil
4 er on the other. all the machinery being
\ placed amidship.
Rapid maneuvering in any direction was
| desired by the designer OF the Demoiosos.
! and with that end in view she was pro-
1 vided with two bowsprits and jibs and
four rudders. two at each end By this
! arrangement she could be propelled for
equal ease Two short. stout masts rose
forward and aft from the deck In these
days, when breech-loading guns were
| unknown 1t was customary to use loose
| powder. The explosive was kept near the
guns in time OF action, ready to be
packed down the old uiuzzle-loading
pieces. In this custom the designers Of
the Demologos recognized weak point in
warships, and they prepared to take ad-
/ vantage of IL. In addition to the vessels
| armament there was built a powerful
| pump. which was worked by the same en-
gine which propelled the wheel. This
| pump could send two streams of water
| considerable distance. and il was deter
I mined that these should be turned upon
an enemy when in close quarters. drench-
! ing the loose powder and rendering II use
| less
The greatest difficulty experienced by
! the builders was in getting the ships ar
| mament to New York. The thirty guns
allotted to her had TO be brought from
1 Philadelphia. and. as railways were then
unknown, they were hauled overland The
roads were miserable and most of the
! guns were hauled TO their destination, by
I strong teams OF oxen.
/ The day of the launching marked the
beginning of a new era in the navy and
was a memorable occasion. Fully 20.0oo
I people were present to see the strange
I looking craft glide down the ways into
the water. Cannon doomed and flags
/ waved from every building in sight.
When the Demoiogos entered the water
I she left behind her old name and was
| christened Fulton the First, despite the
( protests of her modest namesake- He
| did not live to see her completed. The
engines were not put in the vessel until
/ May, 1s15, and Fulton died three months
Q Eafo hot Not hs1
Fulton registered a tonnage of 2,50o- The
vessel attracted considerable attention
while in process of construction from the
English naval authorities. who were
I alarmed at the possibilities OF the new
craft English newspapers gave much
space to discussing her. One of them
gave the following description of the
new addition to the American navy:
There is now building in New York
! terrible engine of war, which is pro-
PEELED by steam. The length of the ves-
sci is 800 feet, 200 feet in breadth. and
the hull is constructed of alternate layers
of oak and cork planking thirteen feet in
thickness. She carries forty-four guns
and her quarterback and forecastle guns
are forty-four Founders. pump is
worked by machinery which enables her
to throw 100 gallons of boiling water per
minute upon the decks of an enemy.
over the gunwales are brandished with
the utmost regularity 500 cutlasses. also
worked by machinery. rendering boarding
impossible. From the lower deck the
same number of huge iron pixies of equal
length are shot forth and withdrawn
every quarter OF a minute. This, too. is
accomplished by steam"
The Fulton the First never had an op-
portunity to demonstrate her worth as q
1 fighting ship, although she would doubt
less have proved a formidable opponent
to any war vessel on the sea a that time
Her first trip was made on June l. 1915,
down New York Bay to the Narrows. On
July OF the same year she had a speed
: trial, steaming twenty-five miles out to
sea and back. The trip was accomplished
in little less than nine hours. and was
entirely satisfactory to both the Govern
ment and the builders. At the
close OF the war with England
the Fulton was tied up opposite the
Brooklyn Navy Yard, and remained
there until June 4. 1923 On that date
two barrels of powder stored in the hold
exploded and the ship was blown 10
pieces. Between twenty and thirty men,
who were on board at the time. were
killed The cause of the explosion was
never found out. Some years later another
vessel in the navy received the name Of
Fulton.