16 THE DELAMATER IRON WORKS— 



built at the works and all the equipment was assembled there and installed in the ves- 

 sels. When all were completed, Jerry Mulford was delegated to find crews for them. 

 This was not an easy job, but he went out hunting for men and finally combed up 

 West Street in great shape, securing enough to man them, and they sailed away in 

 two detachments of fifteen each. The works were paid $60,000 in gold for each 

 vessel, equivalent in those days to $90,000 in currency. Some years later the de- 

 signer and builder each received from the Spanish government the Commander's 

 Cross of the Order of Isabel la Catolica, in recognition of their services. 



When in 1870 Mr. George H. Robinson, a son-in-law of Mr. DeLamater, be- 

 came his partner, he found that an arrangement between Ericsson and DeLamater 

 had been in existence for many years to the effect that for whatever experiments 

 Captain Ericsson wished to make at the Iron Works, either in building or testing 

 new machinery, no order was to be questioned. No bill was ever rendered to Erics- 

 son by DeLamater, and Ericsson made no charges to DeLamater for his services 

 in furnishing plans and engineering advice at any time. In balancing the old books, 

 items aggregating $260,000 were charged off representing a part of the expendi- 

 tures, yet the arrangement was one that neither party ever had cause to regret. 



I have already mentioned an instance where Captain Ericsson was in serious 

 financial stress, but this was not always the case with him. I might mention that 

 on one occasion, when Mr. DeLamater was in some pecuniary strait, he called upon 

 Captain Ericsson for assistance, and received this answer to his application : — 



"Dear Harry: I do not regret, and I am sure you need not, that you called on 

 me to give you a lift in your trouble. Taking my ability for granted, there is not a 

 man on earth you could with more propriety come to. There is, however, abundant 

 cause for regret that my means are at present so limited that I cannot offer a lift 

 worth accepting. The small amount of $50,000 mentioned yesterday is at your 



service. 



'T am, dear Harry, 

 "Yours truly, 



"J. Ericsson." 



Mr. DeLamater was the most intimate friend Captain Ericsson had. They 

 were in almost daily communication and for about twenty years Mr. DeLamater 

 dined at Captain Ericsson's every Monday, but even his great friend "Harry" could 

 not induce him to change his daily routine of life which kept him confined to his 

 house continuously, and he rarely saw anyone else except the men immediately en- 

 gaged on his work, among whom were Samuel W. Taylor, his secretary, and V. F. 

 Lassoe, his superintendent. 



At one time General McClellan expressed a desire to meet the man who 

 had done so much to turn the tide of the war at a critical period. When his 

 wish became known to Captain Ericsson, the latter said that he was very much com- 

 plimented, but that he was getting to be too old to make new acquaintances and he 

 would have to be excused. Mr. Geo. H. Robinson, who had a business appointment 



