The record-union., 1898-04-01
FIRST STEAM WARSHIP.
BLOWING UP OF THE FULTON
AT BROOKLYN NAVY YARD.
Roberts Fulton's Vessel Which
Was Built to Protect New
York Harbor.


navy by the explosion of her maga-
zine occurred at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard on the afternoon of June 4, 1879.
This vessel was the Fulton, or Fulton
First, as she was known, there having
been three of her name on the list of
our navy. She was not only the first
steamship built anywhere for war use,
but was designed throughout and her
engines and boilers built and placed in
her, by the celebrated Robert Fulton
himself, whose famous Clermont was
then only five years old.
At the time of the disaster she was
used as a receiving ship, and as a re-
suit of the explosion, Lieutenant
Breckenridge and twenty three men
were killed outright Mrs Brecken-
ridge and nineteen men We're wounded,
and five men, who are presumed to
have met their death in some form at
the time, were reported missing.
The element necessary to all we'll
conducted affairs of the kind, that of
mysterious origin, was not lacking
Admiral Preble says "she was acci-
dentaly or purposely blown up" and
Commodore Chauncey, in command OF
the navy yard, held that the eXplo-
sion could not have taken place from
accident" There was a story current,
upon which much speculation was
based. that a gunner's mate had been
discharged and punished with the cat
on the morning before the explosion.
A perusal of the various comments
written at the time leads one, how
ever, to believe that it was an acci-
dent, pure mad simple 1t appears to
have been brought about by the unfa-
miliarity of a new gunner, Williams by
name. with the interior arrangement
of the vessel Just before the disaster
occurred he went below for the powder
with which to load the evening gun,
and took with him a light of some sort,
which should have been deposited in
what was called the hghtroom The
lightroom was separated from the
powder-room by two partitions. Just
how he brought about the explosion is
not known, but the sentinels at the
matches averred afterward that 1t took
place Immediately after he had en-
tered the magazine. When we are
told that the magazine contained only
three barrels of powder, all damaged
and condemned, we cannot but be as
tonished at the force of the explosion
which, accidentally or otherwise,
brought about the humiliation of the
vessel and the attendant loss of life.
The Evening Post" of that day ex-
plains it by saying: "The Fulton ap-
pears to have suffered very much from
the injuries of time. Her timbers, laid
open in every direction, appear much
decayed; and we have been assured by
a gentleman of the United States navy
that if she had been as sound as when
originally built. the explosion of fifty
barrels of powder could not have shat
tered her in that manner"
A description written the following
day SAYS: "In a moment masts, spars
and splinters were seen by many per-
sons in the neighborhood ascending into
the air in all directions, enveloped in
a thick volume of smoke, which was
followed by a report not louder than
a 32-pound cannon. BY the time we
had reached the dreadful scene a
great quantity of small boats, from
various quarters of the city, had gath
cred around; and large masses of
wreckage were floating in the water.
| The vessel was completely shattered
\ from stem 10 stern, anu heA pO"'
where the magazine was situated. is
| blown into atoms.
THE number of men belonging to the
vessel yesterday was 143, part of whom,
/ however, were ashore on duty; very for
tunately siXty-three were drafted only
the day before and sent to join the
frigate Constitution at Norfolk. At the
moment of the accident the officers and
their guests. whose names are in the
/ list of wounded, were in the ward-room
seated at dinner: among whom was
Lieutenant Platt and his son. who had
only yesterday morning returned from
a months leave of absence. Commodore
| Chauncey had been on board the frigate
all morning on visit of inspection, and
with Captain Newton left the ship only
! a few minutes before the explosion.
| When we arrived at the scene, among
/ the first we saw upon the wreck was
the Commodore, directing the move
ments of his men, who were clearing
the frigate and searching for the bodies
| of the dead and wounded"
/ The necessity which brought about
the construction of this Inflated ship
was the old one of defending our de-
fenseless coasts The citizens of New
| York becoming alarmed in 1872 for their
safety, a condition of mind that has
come about periodically ever since, ap-
pointed a committee known as the
coast and harbor defense committee,
the duty of which was to make ade-
quate plans for the city's defense
against the squadrons Of Great Britain.
Fulton, having then mastered the
problem of steamboat navigation, was
/ the man of the hour in New York. He
also filed the public eye in the matter
of harbor defense by reason of his ex-
periments with torDedoes, submarine
mines and submarine cannon. This
branch of his work was considered so
important that sum of money was ap-
prOpriated by the Government for his
use. The committee naturally turned
/ to him for aid in the accomplishment of
its task, and his suggestions were not
disappointing. He proposed to con-
struct what he termed a floating bat
terry. propelled by steam, which should
throw hot water and hot cannon balls,
and move at a speed of four miles an
hour.
/ The committee was COMPOSED of eX-
! perienced naval officers, and aston
] AfoiAiAA7 oS N1lG pLOpcSilIOil Al1uSl hdNC
seemed to men accustomed to sailing
vessels only, they approved the scheme
and recommended it's adoption by the
! Government. There was doubt about
the authority for granting an expendi-
tIlre for such purpose, but the COM
mittee generously offered to advance
the necessary amount rather than have
the country lose the benefit of Fulton's
/ idea. These public-spirited gentlemen
were Commodore Decatur. Captain