The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-03

ee.dH had made wonder
III progress Steamboats, were cross
ing the Atlantic. commercial steam
ers had visited many parts or IN.
world and the failure TO utilize steam
20 greater advantage in the navy has
oeeh frequently commented upou bv
historians.
n second steamer mot a fighting
s~eSsele IN the navy was a small ioe-
ton boat known AS the Sea CAL which
was used in 1923 as a disnatcb hoaf
Tor Commodore David Porter's mos
qu5to Meet employed in the West
Indies or the suppression Of piracy.
IN 1879 the Sea Gun was laid IN and
never used again, and for over ten
Sehia mere was no steam vessel in
the navy Yet Congress. in
gao had authorized the construction
OF one or more steam vessels and had
requested the Board Of Navy Com
hiissloherS 10 TAX steps for
ing such boats. Not until 1885 when
secretary OF the Nay Mahlon DECKER
son directed attention to this old ACT
81 congress, was progress attempted.
Inc nrst result of this new policy. in
Keeping with the growth Of steam
navigation, was the building of the
fuiton n Second. and she survived
uH'li 1902, when, lying in Pensacola
i1arbor, she was burned by the Com
federates.
AS there We're no engineers in the
'nited States Navy during the war
o1 lolz' ana as Robert Fulton was the
only man in the COUNTRY who thor
oughly understood the nrincinlas Of
steam navigation, he was the de-
slgner not only of the hull Of the
Fuiton the First. but also of the en-
Slnes and boilers. His design was 2
totai departure from existing methods
OF warshlp construction It was his
plan TO make his boat invulnerable
and SO obtain the equivalent of a fleet
az no greater cost than that Of a
frigate.
me hrSt necessity was to protect
the propelllnS system, and this was
done by having two hulls. as adopted
IN his ferry boats, with the paddle
wheel IN the space between the hulls
ana protected by an upper deck and
Sanctions. This deck also sheltered
the engine, which was in one hull. and
the boiler in the other. The bulls had
fiat bottoms. bluff ends. and long.
parallel middle bodies: they were
oouble-ended, so as to obviate the
necessity Of putting about. There
were rudders at the end of each hull.
four in all. and the main or gun deck
was built Of OAK. four feet and zen
inches thick. This gun deck had a
platform for thirty tnirty-two-pound-
ers. firing hot shot, and over the bows
were two guns called by Fulton
ColuInbiads in honor Of Joel Bar
lows poem, The Columbian" These
guns were provided to fire a 100
pound projectile at the enemy's boat
below the water line.
Skcptical AS To Steam.
The length of the Fulton was 1876
feet, breadth Sc feet, depth 20 feet,
tonnage 2,475, water wheel 16 feet in
~ i + 0r a n6 S0t
CINE cylinder had a five-foot stroke,
Fulton called her horse power 12O.
commodore Porter, who was placed
in command TO the vessel, suggested
some changes before her final com
pletion. He could not bring himself
to rely wholly upon steam power and
he caused two large masts to be in
stalled to support lateen sails and had
the sides built up to form protecting
~bulwarks for the sailors on deck.
Commodore Porter was the father
of Admiral Porter, who attained fame
as one Of the great ava figures Of
the civil war. The Commodore dis
tinguished himself in several en-
counters with British ships in the war
of 1912.
The New York committee repre-
senting the Defense Association
which was named to oversee the
construction Of the Fulton frigate.
was composed Of Gen. Dearborn, DR..
Samuel L. Mitchell. Thomas Morris,
and Henry Rutgers. In contrast to
the doubts which were cast by SO
many prominent citizens of that time
upon the serivecability OF steam for
water craft. a writer on the naval
history Of the United States, in com
menting on their report to the gov
eminent, has stated that it indicates
there were some men in those days
who were farSeeing and disposed to
appreciate the Importance of new dis
coveries. The following is an extract
from this report:
The Commissioners congratulate
the government and the nation on the
event Of this novel project. Honorable
alike to its author and its patrons. it
constitutes an era in warfare and the
arts. The arrival of peace, indeed, has
disappointed the expectations Of con-
Quoting her to battle. If a continuance
of tranquility should be our lot. n
this steam vessel Of war be not re
quired for public defense. the nation