OBITUARY. 379 



From 1871 to 1882 he was on special duty at Chester, Pa., and at the Navy Yard, Phil- 

 adelphia, in connection with the rebuilding and completion of double-turreted monitors, in- 

 cluding the U. S. S. Miantonomoh. During this period he was also ordered ^o duty abroad 

 in connection with the manufacture of armor for naval vessels, and made an extensive pro- 

 fessional tour in England, France and Germany. 



In October, 1882, he was assigned to duty as a member of the Naval Advisory Board. 

 This board was organized under the presidency of Commodore R. W. Shufeldt, under the pro- 

 visions of the Act of August 5, 1882, his other associates on the board being officers who 

 had gained distinction as experts in ordnance and engineering. The work of this board was 

 an important element in the early development of our modern steel navy. In fact, it deter- 

 mined the technical features of the designs of the Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and Dolphin, the 

 first vessels of our so-called new navy, and until its dissolution about five years later it exer- 

 cised important functions in connection with the designs of U. S. naval vessels. 



In January, 1887, Captain Fernald was relieved from duty with the Advisory Board 

 and ordered as superintending constructor of naval vessels building at the Union Iron Works, 

 San Francisco, Calif. While so serving he superintended the construction of the cruisers 

 Charleston (first steel vessel of this name) and San Francisco; also the double-turreted mon- 

 itor Monterey, a vessel whose design called for the heaviest battery installed up to that time 

 on a U. S. naval vessel. The unusual professional ability and experience of Captain Fer- 

 nald while on this duty were of special value not only to the Navy Department but also to the 

 shipbuilding yard, since few naval architects in this country, either in civil life or the naval 

 service, had had his opportunity for such extensive practical experience in work of this kind. 

 The high quality of workmanship on the vessels built under his supervision at this time 

 amply attested the efficiency of his performance of duty. 



In 1891 he was detached from duty as superintending constructor at the Union Iron 

 Works and ordered to the Navy Yard, New York, in charge of the Department of Construc- 

 tion and Repair. While serving as head of this department he supervised the building of the 

 armored cruiser Maine (subsequently destroyed at Havana, Cuba, in 1898) and the cruiser 

 Cincinnati, the last named having only recently been stricken from the navy list. Aside 

 from interruptions of additional duty as a member of various boards, he continued on duty 

 at New York until 1895. 



One of the most important boards on which Captain Fernald served during this period 

 was the so-called Stability Board, of which Rear Admiral John G. Walker, U. S. N., was 

 president. This board was charged with the general investigation of the stability of vessels 

 of the U. S. Navy, and had in its membership some of the most experienced officers of the 

 naval service. Captain Fernald was the senior of those representing the Construction Corps. 

 Extensive alterations subsequently made in the gunboats Machias and Castine, with a view 

 to increasing their efficiency and seaworthiness, were directly due to recommendations sub- 

 mitted by Captain Fernald while a member of this board ; and these alterations were carried 

 out subsequently under his personal supervision at the Navy Yard, New York. 



In 1895, in connection with his duties as a member of the Board of Inspection and Sur- 

 vey, he was ordered to proceed to Southampton, England, for the inspection of the mail steamer 

 New York and other vessels of her class, with a view to reporting upon their seagoing and 

 structural qualities in connection with their possible use for naval purposes in time of war. His 

 reports were of great value to the Navy Department, and it is a matter of history that these 

 vessels performed efficient service a few years later as armed cruisers in the naval service. 



