page_title: SS Arago (1855)
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: SS Arago (1855) / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Arago, transatlantic steamship built 1855.
context_page_description: The Arago was a wooden hulled, brig-rigged, sidewheel steamer built in 1855 by Westervelt & Sons at New York, New York. Chartered by the Union Army during the American Civil War for use as a troop transport and in operation with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron throughout the war, Arago was the ship that returned the United States flag to Fort Sumter in April 1865. Returned to transatlantic passenger and freight service after the Civil War, she was sold to the Peruvian government in 1869.
context_section_description: The Arago, built by Westervelt and Sons, and her sister ship Fulton launched 4 September 1855, built by Smith and Dimon of New York, were constructed in 1855 for the New York & Havre Steam Navigation Company, then under contract with the United States Government to deliver mail between New York and Havre. Both named for steamship pioneers, Arago's namesake was François Arago (1786–1853), a French physicist. Considered great improvements to their predecessors of the era, their design included oscillating engines, water tight bulkheads, and wire bulwarks, to reinforce the sides against the force of rough seas. Specifically built to replace the Humboldt, lost in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 5, 1853, on the New York to Havre route, she cost 450,000 dollars to build.
  Launched in January 1855, Arago made her maiden voyage, with Captain David Lines in command, on June 2, 1855. Along with over 450,000 dollars in specie, her 215 passengers that trip included prince J. Bonaparte, the honorable Aaron Vail, and newspaperman G. W. Kendall.
caption: Arago
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