ORIGIN OF FAST CRUISERS.
“On account of the heavy loss of our ships captured by the Confederate cruisers, and our failures to capture any of them with the exception of the ‘Alabama,’ which was accidentally discovered and destroyed by the ‘Kearsarge,’ our Navy Department conceived it necessary to have constructed a number of very fast cruisers, faster than any known afloat.
“The Department delegated Messrs. Stimers and Allen, when in the height of their power in their ‘Sub-Department’ in New York, to design and have them constructed.
“Not being naval architects, and not having any naval architect of competent knowledge in connection with their ‘Sub-Department,’ but having an exalted idea of their own abilities not only as naval architects and engineers, and everything else in that direction, they designed some ships of a peculiarly fantastic model, and engines of equally fanciful character which they called, for short, the ‘grasshopper engine.’
“Having the power to design these vessels and contract for them, they invited me to inspect the plans and build two of them.
“On looking over these designs, I began to criticise them, and recommended modifications.
“I was wound up suddenly by the observation that, as they intended to give us two ships and give us what they considered a fair price for them, we must build them exactly as they were designed.
“As the price they offered was high, and feeling that we would practically have our own way with them, provided we adhered to the general type of design, and having no responsibility, we thought that we had better take them and make a handsome sum out of them than to stand out on trifles and fight for glory alone.
“I had commenced at the beginning of the war with criticising the monitors, and our concern got nothing, and the grass might have been growing in our yard if we adhered to that course. So the price was fixed for these ships, and we were about going on, when the fatal contretemps of the launching of the Boston light-draught monitor occurred. The ‘fast cruiser’ contracts of Stimers and Allen were set aside, and a large sum of money saved to the government. The ring was broken. They who had had unlimited power heretofore suddenly found themselves without the power to contract for a dingy.
“This was really a great disappointment to us and several other contractors, because the price they fixed for the cruisers was liberal, and, as they would not listen to suggestions, they were naturally expected to take the responsibility.
“After the matter of the fast cruisers was taken out of the hands of the ‘Sub-Department of the navy’ after the sinking of the Boston monitor, the Navy Department ordered each of the four navy-yards to design one on a scheme of general dimensions, and giving the engines out by contract to the various engine-builders, the engines, with two exceptions, being designed by Mr. Isherwood. The machinery for the ‘Madawaska’ was designed by Ericsson!
“At the same time, to encourage private enterprise, one was given to us, hull and machinery of our own design. We awarded the engines to Merrick & Sons, who built them on their own designs. All of these vessels were constructed of wood. Our ship was called the ‘Chattanooga,’ and that built at the Philadelphia Navy-Yard was called the ‘Neshaminy.’
“The engines designed by Mr. Isherwood were geared, the propellers making two and one-half revolutions to the engine’s one. When these engines were designed, gearing was supposed to be an indispensable necessity in screw-engine practice.
“The engines designed for the ‘Madawaska’ by Ericsson were of the same design as that of the ‘Dictator,’ and would be considered of fantastic character at the present time; that, however, might be said of most marine engines of that period.
“Much was expected of the ‘Madawaska’s’ engines by Mr. Ericsson’s friends, but after a trial of twenty minutes it was stopped, as the crank-pin and main-bearing brasses ran out into the crank-pit before they had attained their required performance.
“The engines were subsequently taken out and compound engines of poor design were put in by parties who had never built a compound engine before. The performance of these engines was but little better than that of the original.
“Having been eminently successful in the introduction of compound engines in this country, by the construction of four compound engines for the American Line and one set for the ‘George W. Clyde’ of our own design, we made application to the government to substitute the design of compound engines in place of the first set of ‘Madawaska,’ but our offer was not accepted, unfortunately for the government.
“All of these vessels were of good model, and all built according to the latest improvements of the great ship-builders and contractors, and the devices in the way of rigging, spars, and other outfit, besides the model and general arrangements were from the stand-point and designs of the naval constructor and ship-builder at the yard where they were built. No ships in modern times have been superior to them in design, construction, and ship-building technique. The engines, however, were not up to the standard, and, no matter what else may be said of them, they were much too small.
“Some time after these vessels were laid up, an effort was made by private parties in New York to utilize them in a trans-Atlantic line to carry the mail, and a proposition was made to the government covering certain conditions under which they could be operated. The proposition meeting a favorable consideration, an exhaustive examination of the engines was made by Mr. Norman Wheeler, of New York. He found that the gearing of the driving-wheels and pinion had been worn down five-eighths of an inch during their trials; the project was abandoned, and the ships gradually disappeared.
“It has been stated that the ‘Wampanoag’ made her designed speed from New York to Charleston in one trial.
“The British government was very much interested in this scheme of building fast cruisers for our navy. Captain Bye-the-sea, who was Naval Attaché of Great Britain, was ordered to investigate the matter here. He decided to obtain the plans and drawings of the ‘Chattanooga,’ and applied to the Secretary of the Navy for his approval. The Secretary sent a letter to us stating that, so far as he was concerned, he had no objection. So we furnished Captain Bye-the-sea with the drawings of the ‘Chattanooga’ in return for some valuable information that he had, which we expected to utilize in some construction of our Navy Department. We did not, however, realize anything in that direction.
“The ‘Inconstant,’ built by the British government, was practically the same model as that of the ‘Chattanooga,’ but with another deck added to her, which gave her an entirely different appearance, and which made her look a good deal heavier above the water than the ‘Chattanooga’ did, particularly as far as the stern was concerned.
“The ‘Wampanoag,’ one of the ships built at one of the navy-yards, made what was designated as one quick trip from New York to Charleston; but in doing so the teeth of the gearing were worn to the extent of five-eighths of an inch, practically ruining her usefulness for any future service. The vessel was laid up and never sent to sea again.
“The ‘Chattanooga’ did not make a successful trial. The engines were too small, and a long contest between the engine-builders and Mr. Isherwood occurred over the construction of the machinery, ending in the engine-builders making modifications, and the vessel was laid up.
“As these ships were considered at that time too expensive to equip for sea service in time of peace, they were laid up; being wooden and very much neglected, they rotted at their wharves.
“The failure of these vessels to demonstrate the propriety of building fast cruisers was due altogether to defective machinery and to defective marine engineering as it generally existed at that date in this country, and to the material of their construction being of wood.”