501 



SHir-BUILDES'G. 



the coasting; tnule in 1841, on the Clarion, built for '. cedar; amidships the lower timber* wore of Southern 

 the service between New York and Havana. Phila- ; white-oak. There were five rows of yrllow-pino 

 delphia, however, was much more energetic in do- j keelsons amidships, 3 feet deep, and four rows lii 



deep. The bilge st leaks were 12 inches 

 This boat throughout was exceptionally 



inches 



square. 



strong, and the. manner in which the large striu-tuio 



of wood, was tied together, in this and similar vesM-K 



gives evidence of the great skill and ex } 



the ship-builders of this date. This \,-M! had full 



lli. i >is with luit little dead rise, and a sharp bow and 



11111. Her model is about that of the 



American steamers of to day, though 



sharper bow is built with iron 'vessels. 



In 1845 the postmaster-general was anthoiized to 

 contract with Mr. Edward Mills for 20 trips a yenr 

 !o Europe for the sum of 8400,000, and in 1847' tho 

 Washington and the Hermann began to compete with 

 the English steam-ship lines, which \vere rapidly 



sen-going 

 a longer, 



\t lupine tho screw than New York. The f.ict that 

 our builders did not develop the screw but kept to 

 the paddle was one of the reasons that nur merchant 

 marine suffered with the coming in of tho stcam-veR- 

 rcl. The greater part of the capital was then in 

 New York. The engines of the larger vessels, liko 

 those for the Pacific Mail, were built at the Novelty 

 Works in New York, and having the patterns for the 

 engines and all the necessary drawings of paddle- 

 ships, they wero naturally averse to building screw 

 Rteamers. These works passed into the hands of the 

 lirown Brothers, the bankers, who controlled a large 

 interest in the Pacific Mail, and in this way the 

 building of large paddle steamers for ocean naviga- 

 tion was kept up. The immense paddle-shafts that 



had to be imported from England were constantly obtaining the advantage over our sailing \< 

 breaking, making the expenses of such vessels be- Those vessels were long, sqnare-stenied thn o ileck- 

 yond their earnings. ors, with side paddle-wheels about the middle of the 



O;i March 3, 1847, Congress authorized the secre- length, bark rigged, and with a full allowance of 

 tary of the navy to contract for a mail steam-ship sails. They were very good sea boats, but were 

 service once in two months, or oftcner, from New beaten in time across by the Cuuarders from two to 

 York to Chagres, on tho Isthmus of Panama, and three days. 



from Panama to Astoria, touching at Monterey, Ban In 1850 the Franklin and Humboldt were built 

 Diego, and San Francisco. The Atlantic branch for tho same service, but were put on aline to Havre, 

 was culled the United States Mail, and the Pacific About this time the idea of a line to Liverpool took 

 branch the Pacific Mail. Three ships were built for shape, as our capitalists and ship-builders, who had 

 each line, all wooden paddle-wheel steamers, with so easily kept in tho lend in the days of the fast 

 wheels from 33 to 36 feet in diameter. While tho packets and clippers, did not like to see the English 

 three ships of the Pacific Mail, the California, Pan- absorb our carrying-trade, and only asked to be put 

 ama, and Oregon, were on their way to tho Pacific, ou an equal footing with the English shipping men 

 the news of the discovery of gold in California reached that they might agnin take the lead. Mr. Edwaid 

 the East, and when the California arrived at Panama K. Collins originated and carried through the idea 

 aa excited crowd of people was there waiting to bo of placing American ships on a lino to Liverpool, to 

 token to the north. surpass the English vessels running to that port from 



While the gold fever brought into existence the America. Under the laws of 1845 a contract wns 

 great clipper ship, it also gave an impetus to tho made with Mr. ColHns whereby he was to build and 

 construction of steamers, as the trade on the Pacific run four steamers from New York to Liverpool, to 

 reached in one year a magnitude beyond twenty | make twenty trips a year nnd to carry the mails, the 

 years' ordinary development, and, a steam-fleet being line to receive c8j,OCO a year. These vessels wero 

 needed, steamers were built one after the other. In to be suitable for war purposes. The Cunnrdeis 

 the course of the next ten years tho two lines spoken then running were from 1140 to 1500 tons register, 

 of above bad alone built 29 fine vessels of 38,000 All the Collins boats wero about 2800 tons, each of 



tons registry, costing about $8,300,000, and in those 

 ten years the vessels of these lines carried 175,000 

 persons to California, and brought back 200,000,- 

 000 in gold. The vessels became larger and larger, 



the best materials and workmanship, and supplied 

 with unusually powerful machinery. They were the 

 pride of America, being the largest and fastest 

 steamers then afloat. The four Rteamers first built 



wooden vessels attaining sizes up to 3300 tons regis- ! were the Arctic and Atlantic, built by Win. H. 



ter in 1861 ; the Golden City, of 3373 tons, built in 

 1864, was 343 feet long and 45 beam. 



The steamers of tho two principal lines were built 

 in New York, and ship-yards lined the East river. 

 Win. H. Webb having as many as a thousand men in 

 bis yard. The New York builders attained a world- 

 wide reputation, and obtained orders for war-ships 

 from Russia, France, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey, 

 among them being tho General Admiral, the iron- 

 clad frigates Re d' Italia and Re Don Luigi de Por- 

 tugullo, each of 3700 tons, and the iron-clad ram 

 I >"ii,lerberg, of 50JO tons, 380 feet long and 75 feet 

 beam. 



In the four cities of N'ew York, Philadelphia. Bos- 

 ton, and B.d.imore there were built from i 

 1861 about 80 sea-going steamers, with an aggregate 

 tonnage of about 120,000, and costing about $29,000,- 



Brown, of New York, under the inspection of (icnign 

 Steers, and the Baltic and Pacific, built by Brown 

 & Bell, of New York. The machinery was built by 

 .the Novelty and Allaire Works, of New York. 



The details of construction of the Arctic and Bal- 

 tic are as follows : 



Length on main deck, 282 feet ; depth under spar 

 deck, 32 feet ; beam, 45 feet. The frames were whito 

 oak and chestnut with tops of locust, live-oak, and 

 cedar ; stanchions and timber -heads of white oak ; 

 apron, breast hooks, and inner stem-post of live-oak ; 

 keel of white oak, 18 by 20 inches. The frames wero 

 double-sided 24 inches and moulded 21 inches over 

 the keel ; the lowerfuttocks were siiled 12 inches; nil 

 other timbers, 10 inches. The spacing was .'10 inches 

 amidships, increasing to 36 inches at the ends, with 

 the floors filled in solid to the turn of the bilge. 



000. Five-sixths of this tonnage was built in New j Tho ceiling-clamps and water-ways of the lower decks 



York. The first large American ocean steamer was were of yellow pine, the fine bilge streaks 12 inches 



the Massachusetts, sent out from Boston in 1844, square, bolted through the edges every 4 feet ; tho 



with a screw propeller as an auxiliary i>mver. clumps of tho lower deck, 8 inches ; upper deck, 7 



Tho United States, built in ls(7 by Win. H. Webb, inches. The gnrboards were white oak, 15 inches 



itended to bo a New Orleans packet, but was wide. inches thick, copper-bolted through the edge 



eventually xohl to the (ici man Confederation for war with 1-inch bolts every 3 feet and with two bolts 



service. She was 25(i feet long by 40 feet beam by through each timber. The rest of the outside plan k- 



304 fc't '! p For 50 feet at encii end, the frames, ing wns of yellow pinr, 5 to 7 inches thick and 6 to 8 



deadwood, and keelsons were of live-oak, locust, and inches wide. The r.iaiu kiel-., ,;i was wi.i.e oak, ::2 



