4 THE DELAMATER IRON WORKS— 



colored servant of the President whose name is not recorded. Several others were 

 wounded. Colonel Gardiner's remains were carried to the White House, which event 

 resulted later in the marriage of his beautiful daughter to President Tyler. 



Stockton sought to lay the blame for the disaster on Ericsson, but Ericsson's 

 letters to Stockton protesting against the character of construction of the gun, and 

 pointing out its defects, were a complete refutation of the charge. 



This incident resulted in an estrangement from Stockton, whose treatment of 

 Ericsson was most uncalled for. Ericsson had left his interests in the matter of busi- 

 ness arrangements with the Government in Stockton's hands, presuming that the 

 latter would attend to his being paid for his engineering services as well as for the 

 use of certain devices, patents for which he had applied and which he was intro- 

 ducing in the vessel. Ericsson had put in some 200 days of draughting work alone 

 which his assistant Risley inked in and this, with his time of supervision in Philadel- 

 phia and New York, covering a period of over two years, together with his expense 

 of travel, placed him in a position where he was in need of money. Other work was 

 crowding upon him and demanding his time, but payments for it were not due. 

 Stockton continuously opposed the Government's paying him, and his influence was 

 so strong that not only did his effort in this respect succeed but he aroused a preju- 

 dice against Ericsson in the Navy which continued to exist for years. 



Finally, when his funds reached the low figure of $23.00, Ericsson wrote to a 

 friend, John C. Sargent, in his extremity, but apparently secured no relief from this 

 source, for Ericsson wrote to him, September 16, 1846: — 'T received your letter of 

 the 14th yesterday afternoon and opened it with a trembling hand. My worst fears 

 were realized and I turned nearly crazy for a few minutes. In my despair I re- 

 sorted to the expedient of asking DeLamater to help me and he has done so, for to-day 

 . appropriating the funds he has for meeting a bill at the end of the week. Now 

 if in addition to my anxiety already experienced I should ruin the young man's 

 credit by not being able to refund the money by Wednesday, I shall have to cut my 

 throat."* 



All that Ericsson was paid, for what was probably the greatest advance in 

 naval architecture which ever took place at one time, was $1,150.00, which was paid 

 on account as the work proceeded. 



Ericsson was thoroughly outraged by this treatment from the Government, but 

 he would never urge payment himself or allow others to press his claim. It was not 

 until after his death nearly 50 years later that his executors succeeded in having 

 a claim for $15,000.00 adjudicated by the Court of Claims and a bill authorizing its 

 payment passed by Congress. 



In this account of Ericsson's early experiences it would seem as if the Phoenix 

 Foundry had been lost sight of, but after the entry of Ericsson into the affairs of 

 the foundry he became so important a part of its personnel that what was his was 

 their interest, and their affairs were indissolubly associated. 



*Col. Wm. C. Church's "Life of Ericsson." 



