Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-09-23

maui Trip 10 Inc ocean eastward
of Sandy Hook and back again, a dis
lance of SO miles, in eight hours and
twenty minutes, without the aid of
sails, the wind and tide being partly
favorable and partly against her, the
balance rather in her favor"
Later, on the 18th of September,
with all of her guns on board and
carrying considerable quantity of
ammunition, the Fulton made another
trial trip, during which she fired off
her cannon successfully and without
the slightest injury to the craft or to
her machinery. 1t is said that her per-
Torrance more than equaled Fultons
expectations, and that she actually ex-
ceeded what he had promised the gov
ernment-that is, that she should be
able to make under steam from three
to four miles an hour.
Blew UP at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Inasmuch as the war with England
had been ended, the Fulton had no
chance to show what she could do in
action, and the government authorities
assigned her to the Brooklyn navy yard
to serve as receiving ship for the sta
ton. There she lay quietly rotting
away and inactive until the fateful
4th of June, 1920, when the powder in
her magazine-about two and half
barrels-blew up, killing "a and wound
ing 10 of her people while incidentally
wrecking the historic craft. Not until
six years later was any effort made
to build another steam vessel for the
United States navy.
In June, 1885, the secretary of the
navy discovered that congress, back in
1916, had provided money for the con-
struction of a steam vessel and steps
were at once taken to profit by that
appropriation.
The ship ordered was later known as
the U. S. S. Fulton (second), but there
was no one in the navy capable of de-
signing the necessary engines, and 1t
was not until the first half of 1886 that
a man of sufficient skill was found in
Charles H. Haswell, the memorable
father of the engineer corps Of our
fighting fleet. So well did Mr.. Hasweu
do his work that the U. S. S. Fulton,
launched May Is, 1887, was able to
make about fifteen miles an hour in
smooth water. Following the Fulton
we built two much larger side wheel
frigates, the Mississippi and Missouri,
profiting by what Mr.. Haswell had
shown possible in the earlier craft. The
Mississippi was built in Philadelphia
and the Missouri in New York, and
both ships turned out to be very fine
specimens of the steam propelled man
o'-war.
But side wheels were a handicap
when ships were under sail alone, FOR
then these big wheels had to be
dragged through the water, and, De-
sides, they were very much exposed
not only to the violence of stormy seas,
but to the possible attack of an en-
emys shot The engineering revolu-
ton which was to overcome these
drawbacks was effected by that nota-
BILE Swedish genius, the late Capt. john
Ericsson, and this time the city or
Philadelphia was to be the birthplace
of probably one Of the most startling
changes in warship propulslon-a
change that has persisted to this very
dav for sound mechanical and military
reasons.
Ericsson's Screw Propelled Craft.
Ericsson had demonstrated while In
England IN 1886 the possibilities OF
screw propulsion, but the august dig
nitaries of the British admiralty pooh
noohed his measure by patronizlng IN
dulgence. His only real encourage
ment came from Americans, and
among these was Capt. Robert ).
stockton of the United States navy,
then temporarily in London. Captain
Stockton persuaded Ericsson to follow
him hack to America, and in 1871 IN
duced the navy department to build
screw propelled ship of war. Thls YES
sci was the original U. S. S. Princeton.
Apart from this novelty the Prince
ton was unique in the type or engines
with which she was equipped, also due
TO the engineering skill OF Ericsson.
Rv reason of his cunning 1t was mace
nossible for the first time to put the
entire propelling mechanism below the
water line and beyond the reach OF an
enemy's shot and shell. In addition
to this, the screw propeller was not
the same drag upon the ship wnen un-
der canvas as were the older size
wheels, and later It was found possible
m disconnect the propeller from the
engines and leave it to revolve easily
with still less resistance to progress