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p
THE LIFE
OF
JOHN ERICSSON
BY
WILLIAM CONANT CHURCH
EdITOI or THS ASMY AND NaVY JOURNAL
ILLUSTRATED
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
IQII
ENOfftlBmiM
LlMffAftV
TO'
C6'C
1
' I
THE LIFE
OF
JOHN ERICSSON
1 ••
PREPAOE.
It i^as the declared wish of John Ericsson that I
should tell the story of his life. The executors of his
estate, Messrs. George H. Kobinsou and Cornelias S.
Bnshnell, have accordingly placed in my hands all of
his letters and papers. His life-long friend, Mr. John
O. Sargent, has freely opened to me the letters received
from Captain Ericsson during fifty years of intimate
intercourse and has given me the benefit of his recol*
lections of the great engineer. The associates of Cap-
I tain Ericsson in his office work, Mr. Samuel W. Taylor
and Mr. Valdemar F. Lassde, have also rendered me
) valuable assistance. To all of these gentlemen my
^ thanks are due. While the task of sifting the volu-
^ minons correspondence and collecting the necessary
i facts has not been a light one, it has brought full com-
^ pensation in the study of a great intellect and a gen-
4 erous heart.
w. c. c.
'^» Li-n
•J29
I
CONTENTS OF VOLUME L
CHAPTER I.
BABLY YBABS IN SWBDEN.
Birth.— Anoeetry.— Parental Iiiflaenoee.— Yonthfol Home.— Earlj
Ednoation and Associations. — The Qnome Prophecy.— First
InTentions.—The Qdta Canal 1
CHAPTER n.
BXPBBIBNOB m THB SWEDISH ABMT.
Autobiographical Account of Ericsson's Early Life. — Finds a Friend
in Oonnt von Platen. — ^Training on the Gk^ta Oanal. — ^Death of
Ericsson's Father. — Becomes a Soldier. — ^Military ^e in Jemt*
land.— ^Wonderful Gymnastic Skill and PhysicaM^rength. —
Promoted to a Lientenantcy and Appointed QoyeHmient Snr-
Teyor.— Birth of a Son.— His Flame Engine 14
CHAPTER HL
BBIOSSON IN HNGLAND.
Bemoyes to London. — ^His Promotion and Resignation as a Swed*
ish Officer. — Becomes a Partner of John Braithwaite. — ^First
Use of Compressed Air and Artificial Draught. — His Novel Ax>-
plications of Steam-power. — Inyents Sur&ce Oondensation. —
Quarrels with Sir John Boss. — Inyents the Steam Fire-en-
gine.— ^Prejudices of the London Firemen against it 86
VI CONTENTS OP VOLUME I.
CHAPTER IV.
OPENING OF THE ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERINO.
PAOB
Aristocratic Prejndice against Bailroads. — ^Stepheiison*s Contest
with Philistine England.— 'The Liverpool & Manchester Bail-
road offers a Prize. — ^The Argument for and against the Loco-
motive Engine. — The Bainhill Trial of 1829. — Stephenson's
Rocket and Ericsson's Novelfy. — The NoveUy shoots by the
Rocket like a Projectile. — A Mile in Fiftj-six Seconds. — Steam
Power Supersedes Muscle. — ^Public Excitement — A New Era
Inangorated 49
CHAPTER V.
THE HOT-AIB ENGINE.
A Spendthrift in Invention. — ^Associations with William Laird.—
The Caloric Engine the Sensation of London. — Faraday's Lect-
ure upon it. — Ericsson Anticipates Sir William Thomson's
Sounding Apparatus. — Applies Steam to Canal Navigation. .... 67
CHAPTER VI.
THE SCREW PROPELLER.
Fortunate iflBlt of the Bainhill Contest. — Ericsson's Viking
Blood. — Studies in Naval Engineering and Gunnery. — Bela-
tions to Captain Bobert F. Stockton.— The Screw Propeller, —
The First Steam Tug.— Early Experiments with the Screw • . • • 84
CHAPTER Vn.
REMOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES.
Adventurous Voyage of the Stockton Across the Atlantic. — Subse-
quent History of the First Screw Steamer. — Becognition of
Ericsson's Clidms to the Screw.— Bobert Fulton's War-steamer.
— ^Naval Opposition to the Use of Steam. — Award of a Gbld
Medal for the Steam Fire-engine.— Early Use of Propeller
CONTENTS OF YOLUME I. vii
PAOS
in American Waters.— Erioason's Personal Appearance and
.—Mis. Ericsson Joins her Hnsband 101
CHAPTER 7IIL
THE SCREW IN WAR VESSELS.
Screw Vessel Ordered for the Navy. — Captain Stockton caUs Erics-
son to His Aid.— His Testimony to Ericsson's Ability. — ^The
Direct-acting Screw System. — Stockton's Injustice to Erics-
son.— The Guns, '^ Oregon*' and ''Peacemaker." — Disastrons
Explosion of the Stockton Gnn. — President Tyler Loses Two
of His Cabinet. — Universal Excitement. — Success of the
Princeton.— Other Naval Vessels Rendered Obsolete. — ^Elrics-
son's Physical Strength 117
CHAPTER IX.
STOCKTON'S TREATMENT OP ERICSSON.
Ifirioeson Declines to be Held Responsible for the Princeton Disas-
ter.— Anger of Stockton. — Payment for the Princeton Refused.
— Correspondence with the Navy Department. — Application to
Congress. — Testimony of Dionysius Lardner and Professor
Mapes. — ^Legislative Lijustioe. — The Court of Claims Allows
tile Princeton Claim. — Congress still Refuses to Pay it. — Stock-
ton as a Duellist. — Stevens's Bomb-proof , 140
CHAPTER X.
SUCCESSES AND FAHiURES.
(General Introduction of the Screw. — Adopted for the British Navy.
— ^First Use of Twin Screws. — Ericsson's Business Methods and
Finances. — ^Auxiliary Steam Vessels. — Their Use During the
War with Mexico. — The Massachusetts General Scott's Flag-
ship.—The Princeton Claim Again.— Failure of the Iron Witch,
— Business Associations with. R. B. Forbes. — ^Ericsson's Work
for the Qovemment. — Competitive Trial of Screw-vessels. —
Rival Claims to the Invention of the Screw.— Contests in the
Courts 155
• • •
Viii CONTENTS OF VOLUMS I.
CHAPTER XL
THB ERICSSON HOT-AIB SHIP.
The Perfection Engine. — ^Plans for a War VesseL— Ericsson Em-
ployed by the United States Goyemment During the War with
Mexico.— Elected Honorary Ohnrch Member and Becomes a
Citizen. — Honors from England. — His Temperance Principles.
— ^Prosperity and Adversity 176
CHAPTER Xn.
APPLICATIONS OF THE HOT-AIR PRINCIPLE.
Sinking of the Ericsson in New York Harbor. — It is Raised and
Takes the Seventh New York Regiment to Richmond. — Its Use
during the Civil War. — Attempts to Apply Hot Air on a Large
Scale Abandoned. — Its Application to Small Motors. — Specula-
tions as to the Moral Results to Follow their Adoption. — Prince
Erapotkin*s Opinion. — Large Demand for the Caloric Engine.
— ^Ite Advantages and Profits 195
CHAPTER Xm.
THE REGENERATiyE PRINCIPLE.
Receipts for Patent Fees. — ^Report on the Hot-air Engine by Dr.
F. A. P. Barnard. — Application of the Regenerative Principle
by Sir William Siemens. — Faraday's Continued Faith in It. —
Its Application to the Steam-engine. — Professor E. N. Hors-
ford's Investigation of the Caloric Engine. — Its Progress Dur-
ing Thirty Years. — Ericsson Receives the Rumford Prize 206
CHAPTER XIV.
PERSONAL HISTORY.
Ericsson's Associates and Friends. — His Interest in European Pol-
itics.— He Meets with an Accident — Submits to a Surgical
Operation. — His Physical Condition. — His Acquaintance with
Professor J. J. Mapes. — His Favorite Authors. — His Mathe-
matical and Linguistic Acquirements. — His Relations with Mr.
Delamater.— Personal Anecdotes. — His Physical Vigor. — ^Hopes
to Live a Century 220
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. ix
CHAPTER XV.
INCEPTION OF THE MONITOR.
Erioflson*8 Preparation for His Great Work.— His Struggles with Pro-
fessional Jealousy. — ^Dealings with the Navy Department Pre-
yious to 1861. — I^esents Two Sub-aquatio Systems of Attack to
the Emperor of the French. — History of Armored Vessels.—
Outbreak of the Civil War.— Prompt Action of the Oonfed-
eiate Authorities. — Ericsson Offers His Services to President
Lincoln. — ^Is Called to Washington. — ^Dramatic Interview with
the Board on Aimor-Clads.— The Monitor Ordered 288
CHAPTER XVI.
BUILDINa THE FIBST MONITOR.
Partnership with Messrs. Bushnell, Winslow, and Griswold. — Inteis
view with Thomas F. Bowland. — Ijaying the Keel of the Moni-
tor.— Building and Launching of the Vessel. — Mishaps by the
Way. — Herculean Ijabors. — Doubts and Criticisms of Commo-
dore Smith. — Payments for the Vessel Delayed. — Cost and
Profit 264
CHAPTER XVn.
BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAO.
Professional Ignorance on the Subject of Armored Vessels. — Erics-
son's Mastery of the Subject. — The Monitor Intended for Far-
ragut's Fleet before New Orleans.— Ordered to Washington. —
Stopped en route at Fort Monroe. — Timely Arrival and En-
counter with the Gemmae.— Turns the Tide of Battle 278
CHAPTER XVin.
THE SUOGESS OF THE MONITOR.
Gongratnlations and Applause Following the Success of the Monitor.
•—Delight of the Swedes. — Letter from Mra. Ericsson. — Erics-
son's only Speech. — His Chagrin at the Drawn Battle between
the Monitor and the Merrimac, — ^Exaggerated Hopes and Fears
on both Sides 290
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IL
CHAPTEK XIX.
BEStTLTS FOLLOWma THE SUCCESS OF THE MOimX)B.
VAea
Confidence of the GoYernment in Ericsson and His Plans. — Other
Monitors Ordered. — Nautical Donbts. — ^Yielding to Professional
** Clamor.*' — Opinion of Admiral Bodgers. — ^Double and Single
Turrets. — ^Bnreau Opposition. — Imperative Demand for Armor-
clads. — Commodore Smith still Criticises. - ' Misconceptions
Concerning Monitors. — Captain Fox Converted. — Ericsson's
Beport to the Department of State. — The Dictator and the Pu-
rtton 1
CHAPTER XX.
DISASTBOUS INTBBPEBENCB WITH EBICSSON»S PLANS.
Ericsson's Disinterested Patriotism. — ^Pecuniary Embarrassments
Besolting from it. — Call for Light-draught Monitors. — The
Prompt Besponse. — Unfortunate Besult of Interference with
Ericsson's Plans.— Twenty Millions Wasted.— His Eflforts to
Prevent Disaster.— His Magnanimity. — His Military Foresight.
— Beoommends a Bepeating Bifle.— A Plan for Flying Artil-
lery 19
CHAPTER XXI.
BATTLE BBCOBD OF THE UONITOBS.
Evils of the Navy Bureau System. — Two Large Monitors Ordered. —
The Dictaiar and the Puritan. — ^Poverty of the Government. —
Pecuniary Embarrassments. — Application to Congress for Be-
OONTSKXS OF VOLUMB II.
lief. — Inter! erenoe with Eriesson's Work. — Handsome Ac-
knowledgments of his Services. — ^The Monitors nnder Fire. —
Attempts to Capture Charleston. — Dranubtio Episodes of War. . 36
CHAPTEK XXn.
THE MONITOB VEBSUS THB BATTLE-SHIP.
The Controversy over the Monitor. — Its Inflnence upon Naval Cod-
struction. — The Tests of Battle. — The Port-Stopper and Bal-
anced Budder. — ^Ericsson's Ability as a Writer. — Sailor Char-
' acteristics. — Opposition of Admiral Du Pont, Captain Peroival
Drayton, and others. — ^Monitors as Sea-boats. — Engineering
Ignorance. — ^Ericsson's Sea-lead .....,,.. 54
CHAPTER XXin.
FOBBIGN BBOOGNITION.
Foreign Demand for Monitors. — The MianUmomoh Crosses the At-
lantic.— Her Behavior at Sea. — Correspondence with the Britirii
Admiralty. — England^s Fleets again Made Obsolete by Erics-
son.— Buskin's Opinion of Ships of the Line. — ^England's Mis-
taken PoUoy toward the United States 75
CHAPTER XXIV.
BOLE of THE MONITOB.
Ericsson Declines to be Paid for Mgnitar Inventions. — ^Letters from
the Prince de Joinville and Admiral Spencer, B. N. — Threat
of War with Spain in 1878. — ^Monitors again in Demand 91
CHAPTER XXV.
BIVALS AND IMTTATOBa
The Monitoro and the British Admiralty.— Money Wasted on the
British Nayy. — Ttagic Besnlts of Cowper Coles's Bivalry. —
Letter liom Mrs. Ericsson. — Claimants for the Monitor. — Jonah
the First Submarine Navigator 104
CONTENTS OF VOLUME U.
CHAPTER XXVL
SEBVIGES TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN.
The Defence of Sweden. — ^Letter to Seoretaiy Seward. — ^The Swede's
Lack of Ability as a Soldier. — His High Qualities. — Monitors
and Gnnboats for Sweden. — Ericsson Opposed to Naval Attack
on Charleston, S. O. — ^A Cavalry Qnn. — Insurrection in Cuba. —
Ericsson's Aid Invoked. — Builds Thirty Gunboats for Spain. —
International Difficulties 120
CHAPTER XXVn.
BUILDINO AND MOUNTINQ HEAVY GUNS.
Improvements in Heavy Guns. — ^The Oregon and the Horsefall
Guns. — Advanced Ideas on the Subject of Heavy Ordnance. —
Bemonstrance against the Gxms of the Monitor, — Contract to
Build a 13-inch Gun. — Its Trial by the Gx>vemment. — Ericsson
Prophesies Failure of England's Armstrong Gun. — Gun-car-
riages.—Victor Hugo's Story of the Corvette Ckn^tnore. — Erics-
son's Compression Gun-carriage 184
CHAPTER XXVni.
THE ART OF WAB IN ITS INFANCY.
Neutralissation of the Ocean Proposed. — Beneficial Besults of the
Professional Study of War. — Subaquatic Attack. — The Bdle of
the Heavy- Armored Vessel Ended. —Locomotive Torpedoes. —
The Amphibic Projectile 148
CHAPTER XXIX.
ERICSSON'S PLANS FOB HABBOB DEFENCE.
Naval Approval of the System of Subaquatic Attack. — Opposition of
the Bureau of Ordnance. — ^Ericsson's Persistence. — President
Gkrfield and General Miles. — No Coast Defences Needed. —
How to Defend Our Harbors. — England's Critical Position. —
Unreliability of Torpedo-boats. — The Admiralty and the De-
ttroyer, — Tiuzets for Land Defence 167
CONTENTS OP VOI»UME II.
CHAPTER XXX.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO STEAM ENGINBERINa.
FAoa
Improvements in Steam Machinery. — Changes in Methods. — ^Erics-
son and his Critics. — His Advanced Ideas. — ^Difficulties with
which he Contended. — Competitive Trials between Engines. —
The Madcnoaska and Wampanoag Controversy. — The Expansion
Engine 182
CHAPTER XXXL
HONOBS CONFERRED UPON ERICSSON.
SVJse Reports of Ericsson's Death. — ^Invitation from the Crown
Prince of Sweden. — ^Appointed Commissioner to the Paris Ex-
hibition.— ^Receives the Thanks of the Swedish Riksdag. —
Honorary Degrees Conferred. — His Relation to His Profession.
— ^Monument Erected at His Birth-place. — Ericsson's Opinion
of the American Congress • 194
CHAPTER XXXH
ERICSSON'S SON AND RROTHER.
The Law of Heredity.— Nils Ericson's Ability as an Engineer. —
Ooirespondence between the Brothers.— John Invited to Re-
turn to Sweden. — Asked to Become Consulting Engineer for
the Scandinavian Kingdoms. — His Financial Condition. — Op-
position to His Brother's Change of Name. — His Opinion of
the United States. — John Ericsson's Son, Hjalmar. — His First
Letter to His Father.— His First Visit to Him.— Wielding the
Hammer of Thor. — Treatment of Medical Experts. — ^Death of
the Son.— Ericsson's English Wifa — His Relations to Her
Funily 206
CHAPTER XXXm.
FUBLIO AND PRFVATB BENEFACTIONS.
A Yearly Income of 70,000 Crowns.— How it was Expended.— The
Euthfol Steward.— An Affectionate Son.v~The Swedish Relar
CONTENTS OP VOLUME JI.
tives. — Oorrespondenoe with Them. — Oppodtioii to Early Mar-
riages.— Generosity Toward His Kinsmen and Friends. — ^Pablic
Benefactions. — Desires to be Buried in Swedish Soil. — Jemt-
land Memories. — Contributions for the Starving Swedes. —
Sympathy with Distress and Poverty. — ^The Blessingpi of the
Poor. — Attitude toward Sturdy Beggars. — ^Discourages Swedish
Emigration. — ^Romances of Touth. — ^Nobody's Advice Accepted.
— ^Recognition of Favors Received. — Treatment of Penny-a-
liners.— An Example and a Warning 222
CHAPTER XXXIV.
FRIENDSHIPS AND OHARACTERISTIOBb
Correspondence with Friends. — Answers to Letters Calling for Pro-
fessional Advice and Autographs. — His Biography by Adler-
sparre. — ^A Fuller History Proposed. — ^Friendship with Ole
Bull. — ^His Love of Music. — Intimate Relations with Cornelius
H. Delamater. — ^Ericsson's Hasty Temper. — ^His Manly Acknow-
ledgment of Fault. — ^Warm Regard for Peter Cooper. — Octoge-
narian Reminiscences 236
CHAPTER XXXV.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
Aooeptanee of the Doctrine of a Creative Intelligence. — ^The Qieat
Mechanician. — Omniscience Accepted, but not Omnipotence. —
Argument as to a Future Existence. — The Goal of Brahma. —
Aversion to Funerals. — ^The Sermon on the Mount — Hatred of
Cant. — Disbelief in Creeds. — ^Altruistio Principles.—- Methods
of Work 249
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE SUN MOTOR.
Presentation of the Rumford Medials.— Ericsson Begins His Investi-
galioDs into Solar Radiation.— His Theory as to the Influenoe
of River Currents. — He Invents His Sun Motor. — ^Its Prospeft-
OONTBNTS OF VOLUME II.
tiye Inflnenoe in Ohaiiging the Seat of Empira — ^Applies the
Solar Engine to Use with Qas. — ^Profits of this Invention Exceed
the $100, 000 Spent on Solar Investigation 260
CHAPTER XXXYH.
SdENTIFIO mVBSTIOATIONS AND INVBNTIONa
Experimental Apparatus for Solar Studies. — ^The Oentennial Vol-
nme. — ^Measurement of Solar Energy. — Ck)ntroTerBy with Eather
Seochi. — Unoomplimentaiy Opinion of TyndalL — Oontributions
to Scientific Periodicals. — ^The Lunar Temperature. — ^Elricsson a
Pioneer in Solar Physios 277
CHAPTER XXXVm.
THB HOME IN BEAOH STBEET.
r
The Philosophy of Otonerous Idying. — Removal to St. John's Park.
— ^Love of Flowers. — ^Description of the Home at 86 Beach
Street — Changes in the Neighborhood. — ^The Park Destroyed.
— ^Annoyances and Bemedies. — Oarlyle's Experience Bepeated.
— ^A Great Engineer as a Housekeeper. — Experience as a Bat-
catcher.— Diary and Accounts. — Growing Eccentricities. — ^Prej-
udice against Modem Invention. — Human Inconsistency. —
Hermit Life. — Spartan Habits. — Temperance Ideas. — "ExMii
Methods of Liring. — Celebrating Octogenarian Birthdays. —
Beoollections of Youthful Days 802
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THB CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFB.
Resolution to Die in the Harness.— The Last Invention. ^Death of
Cornelius H. Delamater.— Its Effect upon Ericsson.— His End
Approaches.— Bemarkable Tenacity of Life.— His Death upon
the Anniversary of the Monitor and Merrimac Contest. — ^Fun-
eral Ceremonies.— Sweden Asks for the Bemains.— Imposing
Ceremonies Attending Their Transfer.— Two Nations Join in
Honoring the Dead.— His Estate, and Directions as to its
Disposition*— The Dream of Piranesi.- Finis 820
r
LIST OF ILLUSTEATI0]5rS.
VOLUME I
via
John EsioaaQN at ram Tna hb mwr thb Fkoomios, 1841, FhmHtpiece
John EBioasoN'a Bikchflaob A2n> Mobxhobnt 2
BiiOBaoN's HoMB afokb ms Fathsb*s Failubi ••••. 10
HXADQUABKBBS GOIA Gahaii OoHPAznr 16
TaxoTMSAWi JoKN "ExioBBOftif JemtxiAhd Fisej) Chahbiubs. • • • 26
QaoovD Engbayino uadb bt EHioasoH, 1821, Acan> BioBiEBBEr 80
Ebiobson at thb Agb of Twbntz-obib 88
Thb Fntsr Stbam Fdeb Enchrb, 1829 45
Thb Bookht LoooMonvB 64
Thb Notbutt LoooMorrva, built bt Ebiobson to oohpkis wiir
Stbphbnbon's Bookht, 1829 57
ViBw of thb Novbltt with a Tbain of Engonb and Ooaghbb in
1829. (From pen-and-ink drawing by O. B. Vignolea.) 64
Hbbo's Botabt Enoinb 69
Ebiobbon's Oalobio Enoinb 74
Mbb. John Ebiobson Facing 115
Thb Btogeton obosbino thb Atlantio 102
Stbam Fdeb Enoinb awabdbd a Pbizb by thb Ambbtoan Inbti-
TCTB, 1840 . 107
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VAflS
Tmi VandaiiI^— PK>inDB Paofbllbb on thb Lakbb Ill
Emghibb of thb U. S. S. Pbingkeov 184
Ehghibb and Paddub of H. M. S. AoBZiiLaB 184
AmacuBT Skiam-pagkef-sbip MAflSAuuuHunv 165
Dbok Plan of Ebicbbon's Wab Vbebel of 1846 178
Thb Oaioeio Ship Ehiosson 197
FAGBnaiiB OF A Pbngil Skbich bt Ebiobbqn, omNo A Tbanbvbbsi
Sbohdn of hib Qbiginaij Monhob Plan ymn. a LoNcnrDDi-
NAL Sbokion DBAWN OVBB IF 288
Faosdulb of Ebiobbon's OBniorAL Pbnoil Dbawino of hib Mohi-
TOOB, 1854 289
Thb Obioinal Momiiob.. . 261
Battle bbtwebn thb Monitor and Merrimac: Hampton Roads,
Va,, March 9, 1862 Facing 288
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,
VOLUME IL
John Erigbson at the This hb Built thb Monitob, 1861. ,FroniUpieee
'Eaau)BPrR Afpabatus ov thb Obstbuozion Bbhdybb. Plan abd
QBoes-flogoTioN 50
OfisxBuoxioN Bbmotbb of Oaptain EHioasoN 56
BEinaH ABD AmKBTOAB TuBBBTBD YBSaBLB GOBIBABXflD 95
Dbvxlofmbnt of THB MoBiTOB Idba 97
Sbohonaii Ymw of a Monttob thbouoh Tubbbi abd Fnor-HoimB. 119
SbOKIDN ShOWINO THB FBIOTIOlf'^BAB AfFLIBD TO THB PbINGBTOB,
1842, ABD TO THB GUN-OABBIAaBB OF THB UbIZBD StASBB IBOB-
OLAD Flbbt, 1862--67 148
Bmmxm Showibo Oaftain Sooit's Plagiabzedc 148
Sbohon Sbowino Sib Wiluax Abhbtbono's Plaoiabibic 148
MuzzLB View of 12-ibgh Pbinokeob Gun, SBOwnra Fbiotxon-cqbab
t>F Gabbiaob 145
Botabt Gun-oabbiaob abd Tbanbet Platfobu AfFUBD to thb
Spanish Gunboat Tobnado, 1878. 146
ToBFBDO Actuated bt Ooicfbbssbd Aib Tbanedoitbd thbouceh a
TuBUiiAB Oabiob 158
Ibtbriob OF THB Debtbotbb, Lookinq towabd thb Bow 165
Mbxhod of Fibino the Sub-mabinb Qun fbom. an Obdinabt Vbb-
178
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
pAmm
LoNoiTDDniAL Bwonos OF Dbbtbotbb, SHo^KTiNa Gtn AJRD PkK>-
176
MonvB Enqinb of thb DmBOTBB 177
Lock on GdTA Oanal, Tbollhattan Famb 209
Thb Giant and the Dwabfb; ob, John E. and the LmiiB Ma-
211
HjAUiAB Elwobxh, Son of John Ebiosson 218
I>iAaBAM Showinq thb AanoN of thb Bivbbs in OAHETiNa Mat-
THB TOWABD THB EqUATOB 2d8
SoeiAB Enginb Opbbatbd bt THB Xntbbybktion of Stbam. Bumr
AT Nbw Tobk, 1870 267
Ebzobbon's Sun Motob, Ebbotbd at Nbw Tobk, 1883 269
SoLAB Enqinb Adaptbd to thb usb of Hot Aib. Patbntbd as a
PtJHPiNa Enoinb, 1880 274
OaPTAIN EsiOMON^d SOLAB PniOMBTBBy EbBOIBD AT Nbw ToBK,
1884 288
Thb Mo(»i's Subfaob doung thb Lunab Niobt, ab Sbhn by Lzobt
300
Exxebiob Yibw of EBtoasoN's Honsa, No. 36 Bbagh Stbebt, Nbw
Yobk. 1890 304
Ynw. OF THB Boom in whigh Ebiosuon Wobkhd fob Twbnxz«fzvb
Ybabs 314
THE LIFE
OF
JOHN ERICSSON
« L^homme vertaenz qui remplit fid^lement sea devoirs enyeni
le pays qtd Pa tu naitre, a dea droits k la reoonnaissanee de sa
patrie. Le philanthrope qui voae ses lami^res et see veilles aa
bien-dtre de rhumanit6 enti^, a droit de citojen ohez tons les
peaples.**— (7Aar{es9-«/Mf» (BemadaUe), Eing of Stoederu
LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
CHAPTER I.
BABLT YEABS IN SWBDEN.
Birth.— Anoesby.— Parental Inflnenoes.— Yonthfal Home.— Early Ed-
noation and Aasodations. — ^The Qnome Prophecy.— First Inven-
tions.—The G5ta Oanal.
THE story of the development of special faculties nnder
favoring conditions is always interesting, always instruc-
tive ; and this is the story of John EricBson. In him Kature
and Opportunity combined their forces to produce the great;
engineer. The good seed falling upon good ground brought
forth abundantly.
He was bom at the opening of this century of mechanical;
achievement, on July 31, 1803, and was a native of Yermland,
a division of Swedish territory nearly equivalent in size to
British Wales or the American State of New Jersey. Verm-
land is one of the seven ^^ lans " into which Central Sweden
is divided, and follows the ^^ Ian " of Stockholm in the order of
importance. On its easterly boundary lies the mining district
of Nordmark, and here, at the time of John's birth, resided
his father, Olof Ericsson, Inspector of Mines at L&ngbanshyt-
tan.
Whether or not we accept the theory that the physical and
intellectual vigor to which Greater Britain owes its glory is of
Scandinavian origin, it is beyond question that the Norseland
has been, for more than two thousand years, the home of one
of the most intelligent and energetic of peoples; a sturdy race
which has never yielded to a foreign conqueror since Odin, with
his Scythians from the Black Sea, colonized the Scandinavian
peninsula. No kingdom of equal extent occupies a higher
2 LIFE OF JOHN EBlCSaON.
place in modem history than Sweden. In territory Bhe is ex-
ceeded by California, and is scarcely more than one-half tlie
size of Texas. In population she is ontnnmbered by the States
of New York and Pennsylvania, and nearly equalled by the
single city of London. Even when under GastavDs Addlplius
she held chief place among the great powers of the world, her
people did not exceed two millions and a half — a population
Jotin EilcBon't BiitliplK* (nd MonuiMnt
less than that of any one of half a dozen States of the Amer-
ican Union.
John Ericsson was a Swede of Swedes. Explaining his use
of the signature of " Thule " on one occasion, he states that
*' Ultima Thule " was the home of his *' remote ancestry ; " not
a very definite designation, for some locate Thule in Southern
Norway, otliers in Iceland ; and Procopius, tlie secretary of
Belisarins, who described Scandinavia thirteen centuries ago,
gave to it the name of "Thule." The family name su^ests
SABLY. YBABS IN BWSDEN. 8
nothings as Eric is simply the eqnivalent of the Italian Enrico,
the Spanish Enrique, the German Heinrich, the English Henry,
and the Fi*ench Henri. The sons of Eric have always been
Dumeroos in Scandinavia, and they have been equally at home
in the palaces of kings and the hnts of the peasantry. Gns-
tavus Yasa, before he was crowned, bore this name, as the son
of Eric Johansson, the Swedish s^iator.
As far back certainly as the seventeenth centnry John
Ericsson's ancestors weare mines^ in the district where he was
born. Sir John Sinclair,* who visited Sweden shortly before
John's birth, describes this ciass of Swedes as tall, robnst, ac-
tive, and good-looking ; loyal to the death, brave beyond ques-
tion, and so honest that they could be trusted with anything.
Robbery was almost unknown among them. They were civil,
obedient, contented, and ardent lovers of their country ; posses-
sing, in short, the characteristics of those who have cultivated
for generations unnumbered the virtues of a free people.
The first of this Ericsson family of whom we have any ac-
count was Magnus Stadig, a miner, who died in 1739. Magnus
had a son Eric, bom in 1724. He died in 1755, leaving a son
1 Nils, bom in 1747. Nils Ericsson advanced the family one
: step beyond their ancestral employment as laborera in the Kord-
mark mines. He was a mining proprietor and accumulated
some property. This property was transmitted to his son Olof ,
the father of John, but OloFs inability to keep it returned the
family to its original condition of poverty ; so that among John's
earliest recollections was that of the appearance of the sheriff
selling the family furniture to satisfy the demands of importu-
nate creditors.
A better inheritance than ancestral wealth was the educa-
tion Olof received. To it were due the early influences that
shaped the career of his sons. He was a graduate of the gym-
nasium, or college, of Eitrlstad, the principal town of Yermland.
As Latin and Hebrew were part of the compulsory course,
Olof was well educated, after the standards of his tima He
was a clever mathenuttician and possessed an excellent mechan-
ical judgment. He does not appear to have been a man of very
* Gorrofipondenoe of the Right Hon. Sir John Sinelair, B*rt., with Bem-
iniBcences (tf Di8tmgoi8h«d Charactera. Two vols. London, 1881.
4 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
vigorons personality, nor did he inherit a strong constitution, if
we may judge from the record that he died at the age of forty,
his father at forty-three, and his grandfather at thirty-one.
Olof Ericsson is described as having been a man notable for his
good looks, his amiability of disposition, and his devotion as a
father. In 1799 he married Brita Sophia Yngstrom, of the
same age as himself, twenty-one. Her family was of Flemish
origin, and the marriage of her grandfather with a woman of
Scottish descent introduced a strain of Caledonian blood into
the veins of John.
Sir John Sinclair * reported a century ago that more than
sixty of the noblest and most powerful families in Sweden
were of Scotch extraction and proud of their origin. The
Caledonian Swedes are descended from officers of the Scottish
regiments who served with great distinction under Gustavus
Adolphus in his German war and afterward settled in Swe-
den. Tradition does not tell us to what family of Scotch
Swedes John Ericsson's great grandmother belonged, but the
strains of blood that came to him through his mother must
have been strong and rich in quality. Her family was origi-
nally named Horn, her father, John Ericsson's grandfather, hav-
ing been compelled, while serving in his youth in the Swedish
army, to change his name, to satisfy the susceptibilities of his
commanding officer, a Count Horn of the illustrious Flemish
line of that name. Jan Horn, or Yngstrom, seems to have
been a man of a sturdy nature, for he refused to accept from
Count Horn the money offered him in compensation for his pat-
ronymic. He would change his name he said, but would not
be paid for doing so. Two generations later, his descendant,
John Ericsson's brother Kils, was created a baron, and had the
satisfaction of hanging his escutcheon in company with that
of the proud Horns on the walls of the Swedish House of
Knights.
If to his father he was indebted for his mechanical bent, it
was from his mother, apparently, that John Ericsson derived
some of his most distinguishing characteristics. She came of a
longer-lived race, and lived to be seventy-five. She is described
** Oorrespondenoe of the Bight Hoxl Sir John SinoUir, Bart, with B«m-
ini8oeno68 of DiBtingniahed Charaotera. Two vols. London, 1881.
i:ably teabs in Sweden. 6
by a relative as a ^^ warm-hearted, intellectual, high-Bpirited
woman of great firmness of character, a cheerful disposition, and
active habits ; very handsome, tall and slender in figure, with
magnificent light blue ejes that deepened in color, sparkling
and flashing most brilliantly, when she was animated. Love of
reading is a Swedish characteristic, and Sophie Ericsson studied
ardently works of a philosophical, social, religious, and polit-
ical character. She was fond of fiction and poetry as well,
' and if we are to judge by a little library she left, Walter Scott
was among her favorite authors."
The family of Mrs. Ericsson had been mining proprietors
and landowners in Yermland for several generations. ^^ The
bounty of God," said Duke Charles of Sweden three centuries
ago, ^^has replenished the mountains of Yermland with all
sorts of ores." The mining district where the Ericssons and
Yngstroms had so long lived has yielded its treasures for more
than five hundred years, and during that time has developed a
people of a striking individuality. The Yermlander is a moun-
taineer, and he exhibits in marked degree the sturdy inde-
pendence and passionate local attachment distinguishing the
highlander. He is moreover by nature cheerful, intelligent,
industrious, persevering, frank, and hospitable.
Yermland lies among the chief watercourses and lakes of
Sweden, within six degrees of the arctic circle, two degrees
north of Sitka, Alaska, and in the latitude of southernmost
Greenland. It is on the borders of Norway, on the direct line
of travel between Stockholm and Christiania. During the Mid-
dle Ages it was the home of Swedish Eobin Hoods, who levied
toll upon the caravans carrying tribute to the Norwegian King
from the subject province of Sweden, and it was long a debata-
ble ground between the two Scandinavian kingdoms. In Erics-
son's youth dense forests still covered portions of its territory,
and in their hidden depths were to be found forgotten villages,
depopulated by the ^^ black death" of the fourteenth century.
Yermland is a region of legend, song, and romance, and
here the old Korse spirit has been least infiuenced by modem
change. It was the birthplace of Geijer, the historian and poet
of Sweden. In its imposing scenery and primitive Scandi-
navian spirit he found inspiration for those Swedish folksongs
1
6 LIFS OF JOHN £RIG880If.
which were so powerfnllj inflaencing national sentiment at
the time John Ericsson's mind was receiTing its strongest
impressions. Here too was bom Esias Tegner, the author of
^' Frithiof Saga,^ and chief of those to whom Sweden owes the
Gothic revival that marked the opening of the present century.
It was in Yermland forests that Almqnist soogfat in 1888 to
establish a colony which was to retnm to the old Norae princi-
ple of natural living, and to the old Norse paganism likewise.
To be a Yermlander, in short, is to be a Swede of the inten-
sest and most distinctive type.
In its natural features Yermland is a confusion of moun-
tains, streams, and lakes. Across it extend spurs from a range
of snow-clad hills whose northern limit is within the arctic
circle. These mountains are the q>ine of the Scandinavian
peninsula, and the dividing line between Sweden and Norway.
From their eastern slopes flow across Swedish territoiy the
streams emptying into the Gulf of Bothnia, and from the west
come the rivers whose waters pour into the Atlantic through
the Norw^ian fiords whence Harold the Fairhaired and Rolf
the Ganger set forth a thousand years ago upon those con-
quests '^ momentous at this day, not to England alone, but to all
speakers of the English tongue, now spread from side to side
of the world in a wonderful degree."
Through the narrow rifts or valleys separating the mountain
ridges of Yermland flow southward num«x>us swift streams, of
which the river Klar is chief. These streams empty at the
south into Lake Yenem, the boundary of the district, and
chief of European lakes, Lake Ladoga in Kussia alone ex-
cepted. East of Elfdale, as the central valley of the Klar is
called, rise numerous hills, none exceeding twelve or thirteen
hundred feet in height Here are found those ores of iron
famed the world over, from which ia wrought the steel used in
the best cutlery. The soil in Yermland is scanty and yields
meagre returns, though the Yermland plough is famous through-
out Sweden.
The scenes and circumstances of John Ericsson's early life
In this glorious mountain region, and among these primitive
people, were sure to powerfully influence a nature so intense as
his. After he left Sweden his affections seem never to have
BABLT TBARS IN 8WEDBN. 7
rooted themselvee elsewhere, and be turned toward the home
of his youth with always ardent devotion. '^ I am so entirely
I Swedish," he wrote in the midst of his trinmphs, ^^ that I can-
;not bear the thought that I am believed to have forgotten, or
! set aside in preference for some other, our beantif ul mother
, tongue, ^ the langnage of glory and heroes I ' "
Belief in the utterance of Yolvas or Sibyls is one of the an-
cient superstitions of Scandinavia. So the ancient Swede who
announced to the family of the YngstrOms that there should be
bom to them two sons who would be famous the world over
found sufficient credence to secure a plate in the family annals.
In the middle of the seventeenth century, when Brita So-
phia's father was a yoong man, he had in his service a poor
cripple, who, during the summer, drove his cattle into tlie
depths of the forest in search of pasture. In a measure his de-
formity shut " lame Eric " out from his kind, and he was more
at home with the birds and the brooks, his friendly herds and
the wild animals who had grown accustomed to his harmless
presence. Alone with them and his own meditations he had
abundant opportimity to cultivate the spirits of the wood and
had unquestioning faith in their existence. On one occasion
Eric failed of his customary weekly visit to L&ngbanshyttan,
and when search was made he was found lying sick in a lonely
bam. With illness added to his solitude, strange fancies had
come to him, and he reported the visit of a friendly gncHne
who brought report that a house was soon to be built at a cer-
tain point on the Yngstrom property, and tliat there should be
bom two boys ^^ whose names would be known the world over."
This story became a tradition in the Yngstrom family, and
when Brita Sophia went to housekeeping with her young hus-
band in a little one-story oottage with a turfed roof, inherited
from her father, and standing on the very spot the gnome had
indicated, she was sufficiently impressed with the prophecy to
remember it when the time for its application came.
After her marriage to Olof Ericsson in 1799 she bore to
him three children, Caroline in 1800, Nils in 1802, and John
in 1803. The young husband was part owner of a mine and
also superintendent of the works at L&ngbanshyttan, a region
noted for the beauty of ita scenery. Mountains covered with
8 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
fir enclosed narrow valleys where lay hidden tiny lakes, their
shores bordered by leafy woods, showing here and there among
the clearings clusters of cottages, the homes of an indnstrioas
people; prosperous and contented after their fashion, for Swed-
ish country life was at that time of the most frugal sort.
Shut out from the great world by the inaccessibility of their
position, they were a primitive folk, simple in their habits and
wholly removed from the French influences and ideas control-
ling at the capital ; for France and Sweden were at this period
united by a common dislike of Sussia, and every efiPort was
made by the French to maintain intimate relations with their
ally. So powerful was the influence of the French in Sweden
toward the end of the last century and the beginning of this,
that they were accustomed to say that they kept the Swedes,
as they kept the Turks, ^^ like wild beasts in their dens, to be
let loose for fighting whenever they desired."
The Ericsson family would have commanded attention any-
where. The daughter was a child of unusual beauty and the
boys were handsome, intelligent, and spirited. John was the
wonder of the neighborhood. From the very first he exhibited
the qualities distinguishing him in later life. He was ceaseless
in his industry ; busied from morning to night drawing, plan*
ning, and constructing. The machinery at the mines was to
him an endless source of wonder and delight. In the early
morning he hastened to the works, carrying with him a draw-
ing-pencil, bits of paper, pieces of wood, and his few rude tools.
There he would remain the day through, seeking to discover
the principles of motion in the machines, and striving to copy
their forms.
When it came to learning his letters, the precocious John
had opinions of his own as to how they should be formed. Ho
quickly perceived that the characters set before him were sym- •
bols, and he was discovered one day on the shore of the little
lake ^^ Hytt," bordering the homestead, drawing in the sand
characters that suited his fancy better than those of the Swed-
ish alphabet. There was bom with this sturdy spirit an uncon-
querable disposition to rebel against routine. Usually the boy
was too much occupied with his studying and contriving to
join in the pastimes of other children. When the family left
EABLY TEABS IK SWEDEN. 9
home, on some one of those excursions that famish the mild ex-
citements of rural life, he woold run down to open the gate for
them and then return to his drawing-board and his work-box,
delighted to find himself alone and free to follow his own de-
vices. Among his treasures was found a collection of drawings
— <;ircles, lines, squares, and curves in great variety ; not the
meaningless pencillings of a child at play, but complete me-
chanical sketches representing the machinery of the mines and
saw-mills of the district.
The elder brother, Nils, was more fond of pleasure, but his
subsequent career as an engineer shows also the influence of
I early training, for Olof Ericsson sought in every way to en-
1 courage the mechanical occupations of his sons ; and tfohn re-
membered his father with special affection as the one who
had first stimulated into activity the faculties in whose exer-
cise he was to find the joy of his life.
Olof Ericsson made no name for himself, but the world owes
him honor for what he did for his children. The Chinese en-
noble the ancestors and not the descendants of those who do the
state service, and the custom has its foundation in reason ; great
men, good men, useful men are the product of the high thought
and noble aspiration, the useful labors, and the self-discipline
of their ancestors. In the curious kaleidoscopic changes of
character produced by the admixture of bloods, almost every
pattern may appear, but none the material for which could not
be found in ancestral inheritance.
The years from 1811 to 1814 were trying ones for the
Swedes ; the war with Eussia, depriving them of Finland, was
in progress, and the freaks of the insane Gustavus lY. kept the
little kingdom in constant turmoil. Business did not thrive ;
many were ruined, and among them Olof Ericsson. The happy
life at L&ngsbanshy ttan was ended, the home there broken up,
and the Ericsson family were for the first time brought face to
face with the rude realities of life. The father had been edu-
cated for prosperity; he was a man of sensitive and refined
rather than of robust nature ; his son tells us that ^^ he could not
bear the smell of a peasant," and to a peasant's condition he had
now come. The blow was a cruel one, and Olof Ericsson would
have sunk under it had he not been sustained by the courage
'10 LIFE OF JOHN ISBIOBSOIT.
and vigor of liis wife. A hard winter followed and tho iniserf
of the distressed family was great. Bat the old life was ended
that a new and better one might open before them, and their
opportanitj soon came, as the hopefnl mother had insisted that
it wonld.
The project of the Gota Canal, with which the fortnnes of
the Ericeaons were to be identified, woa revived at this time.
BrioMM-i Horn* •Tlat hit Fittwr-t Pdlura.
Olof EricsBon secured the position of engineer or foreman in
charge of a gang of men engaged in blasting rock on the line
of the canal, his station being at Forsvik, near Lake Vettem,
one hundred miles from hie old home among the moantains of
Vermlaud. Tlie purpose of this canal was to establish ship
navigatioa across the Swedish peninsula by a series of short
EARLY YEAlbS IK SWEDEN. 11
canals connecting a chain of navigable waters stretching across
the conntry, and improving the navigation of the G5ta Siver,
which carries the waters of Lake Yenem into the Korth Sea.
The first suggestion of this improvement is traced to a Swed-
ish bishop, firock, who proposed it in 1526, daring the reign
of King Oustavns Yasa. For nearly two hundred years the
proposition slumbered, until, in 1716, the attention of Emanuel
Swedenborg was called to it by his brother-in-law, Eric Beoze-
lius, at that time librarian of CTpsala, afterward archbishop, and
always a tireless delver after forgotten facts.
Swedenborg, whose scientific and engineering reputation
has been discredited by his later claims to seership, was then in
the service of Charles XII. as '^ Assessor Extraordinary of the
College of Mines." To the King he went, full of the plan
thus suggested to him. His proposal that the project of the
time of the Great Gustavus should be revived was received with
eagerness by Charles, for the possession by Denmark of the
^ Sound " had closed the natural exit for Swedish vessels from
the Baltic. During the succeeding year Swedenborg was sur-
veying the route for the canal, and in February, 1718, he was
ordered to undertake the work at the King's expense. The
death of Charles, on December 11, 1718, put an end to the
project for a time.
Swedenborg declared that the Gdta Canal ^^ would have
been the wonder of the world if it had been completed/' and
a recent traveller tells us that having been^ completed it justly
ranks as one of the engineering ti*inmphs of tlie age. From
the sea level to the summit is one hundred and fifty feet, and yet
vessels of large size have no trouble in ascending or descending.*
'^ It is curious to see steamships half way up a hill, as helpless
as turtles turned on their backs. To stand on the deck and se-
renely contemplate the watery steps before you, or shuddering-
ly look at the slippery staircase behind, is very novel and well
worth a trial. All this happens at Akersvass, where there are
eleven locks now in use, and several others half ruined — the
remnants of philosopher Swedenborg's plans." *
In Swedenborg's time the canal does not appear to have pro-
^Aalesund to Tetaan, a Jonmej. Bj Charles R. Coming. Cnpplea k
Hnrd.
12 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON.
greased farther than the partial completion of an enormous
slnice, sixty feet deep. Bemains of this are still shown. This
sluice and two others were completed bj Yiman, whose work
sacceeded that of Swedenborg, or rather of Polheim, Gonn-
cillor of Commerce, and Swedenborg's superior officer in the
direction of this undertaking. In 1755 the malicious discharge
of an enormous quantity of timber over the Trolhetta Falls de-
stroyed the locks and the labor thus far expended was lost.
For more than half a century the canal waited upon fate
until it was once more taken in hand, this time by Count von
Platen. Meanwhile the science of canal building had made
great progress in Holland and England. Thomas Telford,
chief of canal builders at that day, had completed tlie Elsmere
Canal, joining the Mersey to the Dee and the Sevein, and was
busied with the grander project of the Caledonian Canal, open-
ing a water-way across the highlands of Scotland from the At-
lantic to the Korth Sea. In 1808 Telford was invited to Swe-
den by Count Platen and made a careful survey for the Gr5ta
Canal, which presented precisely the same difficulties as those
he was contending with in Scotland.
After working for two months, with a corps of assistants,
Telford sent to Platen an elaborate report with detailed plans
and sectional drawings. These were accepted and excavation
began. In 1810 Telford again visited Sweden to inspect the
work, leaving this time drawings for the locks and bridges.
The relations of England to Sweden were so friendly that he
was permitted to furnish the Swedish contractors with patterns
of the tools he used in canal making and to provide them with
experienced lock-makers and navvies from England for the pur-
pose of instructing the native workmen.
Thus were the latest results of English engineering experi-
ence carried into the wilds of Sweden, and brought to the very
door of the Ericssons, where the busy bmn of the boy John was
already occupied with the study of such mechanical contri-
vances and engineering undertakings as were within his reach.
A new career was opening to Sweden. Internal dissensions
were ended by a grant of the constitution now in force, the
termination of the royal line by the abdication of the insane
King Oustavus lY., in 1809, and the death of his uncle and
BABLT YSiLBS IN SWSDBK. IS
snocessor, Charles XITI., in the year following. A vigorons
soldier, Bernadotte, a Marshal of Napoleon, had assumed au-
thority over Sweden as elected Crown Prince. The enterprise,
originated in the time of the first of the great soldiers controll-
ing Scandinavia, Gustavus I., and commenced by that other
great military sovereign, Charles XIL, appealed at once to the
instinct of Bemadotte. Its nature was military no less than
commercial, for it was essential to the defence of a kingdom
whose vessels were shut into the narrow Baltic by foreign con*
trol of the only passage out The enterprise henceforth pro-
ceeded with as much vigor as the circumstances of the times
would permit, under the direction of the Mechanical Corps of
the Swedish Navy.
CHAPTER n.
BZPEBIENOB IN THS SWEDISH ABMT.
Antobiognphical Aooonnt of Ericsson's Early Life.-^Find8 a Friend in
Count Ton Platen.— Txaining on the GK^ta CanaL— Death of Erics-
son's Father.— Becomes a Soldier.— Military life in Jemtland. —
Wonderful Gymnastic Skill and Physical Strength. ^Promoted to
a Lieutenantcy and Appointed Qoyemment Snrr^or. — ^Birth of a
Son.— His Flame Engine.
WH£K Olof Ericsson, in 1811, removed from L&ngbans-
hjttan to Forsvik, in the Ian of Skaraborg or Maries-
tad, his eldest son, Nils, was nine years old, and John was
eight. Up to this time the boys appear to have been dependent
largely npon home instruction for their education. Indeed, in a
fragment of autobiography left by Kils, he relates that be had
no other education previous to 1814. This did not agree with
the recollection of the younger brother, and John's eagerness
for knowledge in his youth makes him much the more reliable
witness. A letter in Swedish, addressed in 1879 to a relative
in Stockholm, gives some interesting particulars of his early
education. In this John says :
Mt Dbab BjAidCAB : Thanks lor your letter of the 26th of April,
enclosing a copy of Nils Ericsson's autobiography. It was with the
greatest surprise I read this incomplete and very erroneous account.
I have also received the biography of the deceased engineer, written by
Major Adelskold at the request of the Boyal Academy of Science. I
have read with great sorrow and indignation the biography reflecting on
my f^ther^s character and representing him as neglecting the education
of his sons. No reproach could be more Tmj[ast. Olof Ericsson made
all possible sacrifices to give us a good education.
To begin with, he had in his house as a governess during the yean
1811 and 1812, Mrs. Malmborg from Vermland, and I remember thank*
fnUy all she taught me. At the same time he gave free board to the
talented controller who was then employed at the station of Forsvik,
XZPBBIXKOS IK THE SWEDISH ARMY. IS
that he might tMoh us dimwing and the modem EngliBh style, which he
executed in a manner rivalling that of the most skilfnl engrayen. Oar
father also seemed for ns permission from the chief, Captain ForseU, to
draw in the oifioe of the draughtsmen of the canal company. Thus I
seenred the opportunity in the year 1811 to make my first drawing to
the scale. I was also enabled to learn the art of drawing maps, and by
the end of the year 1812 could make a pretty accurate drawing, had an
excellent knowledge of drawing instruments and was well skilled in
their use.
In the year 1818 my father suooeeded in persuading the renowned
director of instruction, Pohl, to give me lessons in architectural draw
ing. During the winter of 1818-14, while we were living at the saw-
mills of Edet» where my father was commissioned to select the timber
for the lock gates of the west line of the canal, he kept in his house, as a
tutor for his sons. Dr. Aaelius, a near relative of the celebrated chemist.
Of course he plagued us with lessons in the Latin grammar, etc., but
I learned from him many other things of use to me ; for instance, how
to make and mix, out of materials obtained at the druggist's for a few
cents, the colors required for my drawings. In the summer of 1814 we
were living in the parish of Fredsberg, on the beautiful Lefs&ng, near
Hajstorp station, where my father held a position next to that of the
chief of the work. Then he got permission from the Court Chaplain to
employ the curate at Lefsftng to teach his boys French.
During the same period our indefatigable father succeeded in per-
suading the greatest mechanical draughtsman at that time in Sweden,
Lieutenant Brandenburg, of the Mechanical Corps of the Navy, to teach
us the modem art of ahading or finishing off of mechanical drawings.
The great draughtsman was also good enough to make for us drawings to
serve as models for our guidance. These I afterward used as patterns
until I was able in some measure to emulate the master's skill.
On one of his visits to LefsSng, Lieutenant Brandenburg was accom-
panied by the skilful Captain J. Edstrom, just returned from England.
This warm-hearted man took such a liking to Brandenburg's pupils that
he advised our father to take us, without loss of time, to Count Platen
and show him our little works. The g^reat man, who was then living at
Halmatorp, encouraged us with many kind words, and in a few months
the boys Nils and John Ericsson were appointed cadets in the Mechanical
Corps of the Swedish Navy. . Its xmiform we had the honor of wearing
TmtU the authorities of the company resolved to receive ' Canal Pupils.'
It was not long after I entered the draughtsman's office of the Canal
Company at Tfttorp before I was able to make, under Captain Edstrom's
friendly and useful direction, profiles, maps, and working drawings re-
quired in the constraction of the canal.
As early as the summer of 1815, Captain Edstrom commissioned me
to make drawings for the archives of the Canal Company, and in the
year 1816, at the age of thirteen, I was assistant leveller at the station of
16 LIPB OP JOHK EBICS80Tf.
Biddulugeii. In the jeu 1817 I vm the onl; leveller at Bottkilms
attttion, on the west line of the cannl. In 1818, at the age of fonrteen and
three-quarter jeara, I Beoured the position ol Isveller on the east line of
the canal at the atatioa of Norsholm, onder the ooTninand of Xiieqtenant
Bjding, chief of the vorks. Mj salary waa then thirtj crowns a month
with qnarteta and tnTelling ezpeuaes.
This extiaordinarilj qniok promotion, the abilitj' to fulfil the da-
ties of an officer required to make the plana and calonlations needed
for the work of the canal, after compaiatiTely little practice, does not
bear witnees to a negleoted education. The want of learning of which
mj brother complains I never felt, probablj becanse I devoted all my
leisure honrs to stadj, while he was occupied with societj. It is cer-
tain that when I entered the Swedish Army in 1820, at the age of seven-
teen, I would not have exchanged my knowledge for that poBsessed by
any of the youth who had passed their time at the univerBity, When I
arrived in England, at the age of twenty-two and thrae-qnarter yean, I
was not only equal, but superior to the English engineers in acquired
skill. This brief account should be enfficient to refute the accusation
that Olof Ericsson neglected the education of his sons.
At another time I will give you a fuller account of what bis youn{^
EZPEBIENOE IK THE SWEDISH ARMY. 17
est son did in Sweden from the time when, in 1809, seyenty years ago,
he dag his first mine, twelve inches in depth, and made for it with his
little hands, a ladder and windlass, nntil the day when, in Jemtland, he
made his final experiment in raising water by means of a yacnum created
by condensing flame.
My father wrote a beantifol hand and was an excellent bookkeex>er
and aocoontant. He possessed keen discernment in mechanical matters
and was a great admirer of Polhem. Before I was eleyen .years old, the
" mining laborer ** had, among other things, taught me to construct an
ellipse, and how to overcome the difficulty connected with the rotary
motion of the angles by the use of a ball-and-socket joint. The ' ' mining
laborer " also taught me at the same time how to create a vacuum and
raise water by the condensation of flame. I shall never forget the joy I
experienced when my father extinguished the confined flame and I for
the first time saw the water rising in the glass cylinder.
Nor is it true that my mother " assisted in providing for her family
by keeping a restaurant for the laborers." My father's salary was suffi-
cient for tiie support of his family, but she was x>er8uaded to take as
boarders the civil and military officers located at Forsvik station during
the years 1811-12. This charge she fulfilled rather as a hostess than as
the keeper of a boarding-house, and the result was most unfortunate for
my father. At the end of the two years he was deeply in debt to the
tradesmen at Mariestad, who provided groceries for the too liberal
table. In 1818, after the death of my father, and when her sons were
officers upon the canal, my mother again undertook to board the officers
belonging to the different stations. As everybody saw that she set too
generous a table and was always losing money, she was g^ven permis-
sion to brew a liquor to sell to the troops. This enabled her to make
good her losses and to pay the debts she had contracted against her
husband. I recollect so well the pride with which the sensitive wife
told me that she had sent the last payment to her husband's creditors.
'* Nobody," she said, " can now insult me by reminding me that they
have suffered loss of money through my husband." After my father left
his position at Hajstorp station he was employed at the quarantine sta-
tion of Kanso, where he died, in the summer of 1818, after a long ill-
ness, during which he was nunsed by my mother.
The statements of the two brothers can be reconciled by
assigning that of INils, concerning his dependence npon his
mother for his edacation, to the period preceding his father's
transfer to work npon the Oota Canal. The Captain Ed*
Strom referred to in the letter qnoted was ^^ Chief of the Cen*
tral Canal District/' and one of the two Swedish engineers,
Lagerheim being the other, sent by Count Platen to England,
3
18 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
at the expense of the Canal Company, for the pnrpose of ob-
taining exact information concerning the details of canal con-
struction. These two officers returned in 1815, thoronghlj in-
formed as to the best engineering work of that time, and
proceeded to instruct a number of pupils, cadets of the Swedish
Corps of Mechanical Engineers. The Ericsson brothers were
among these cadets ; John being then eleven yeai-s old and Nils
twelve. During the winter of 1816-17 John received lessons
in chemistry and algebra from Professor Rasl, of local reputa-
tion, who was engaged upon the canal. lie was also taught
field-drawing and geometry by a German engineer officer, Cap-
tain Pentz, who was building the fortification of Wanas at the
mouth of the 6ota Canal, on Lake Yettern. He learned Eng-
lish from the English controller of the works at Hajstorp
station, and had the opportunity to practise it with Englishmen
employed on the canal.
The particulars I have given of John Ericsson's early edu-
cation are important in their bearing upon his future career.
While his eagerness for instruction was extraordinary, and his
capacity for absorbing knowledge unusual, his opportunity for
acquirement was also a rare one for that time and place — in-
deed for any time and place — combining, as his instruction
did, the practical and the theoretical. He learned thoroughly
the art of presenting his ideas through the medium of mechan-
ical drawings and made himself independent of models. To a
friend who once said to him, ^' It is a pity you did not gi*aduate
from a technological institute," Ericsson replied, ^' No, it was
very fortunate. Had I taken a course at such an institution I
should have acquired such a belief in authorities that I should
never have been able to develop originality and make my own
way in physics and mechanics, as I now propose to do." *^ The
end," writes his friend, Count Bosen, in the letter quoted from,
"has proved yonr words true."
Except for the advantageous circumstances of John Erics-
son's youth his faculties could not have received the early
development which made possible his subsequent achieve-
ments; for continually occasions arose when his facility in
handling the tools of his profession was an important element
in his success. His extraordinary natural ability having been
B2PEBIBKCB IN THS SWEDISH ABMY. 19
thus developed by early training, he was able to do as mncli at
the drawing-board in a given time as two ordinary men. Not
only did nature endow Ericsson with an aptitude for his cho-
sen profession amounting to genius, but fortune also favored
him with exceptional opportunities for early training in its
mysteries.
The encouragement he I'eceived from Platen had also a
deciding influence in determining Ericsson's future career.
^^ Continue as yon have begun/' he said to John, ^' and you will
one day produce something extraordinary." The lad was not
one to forget such a greeting. When nearly seventy years old,
writing of another who in his youth had shown him similar
kindness, he said, ^^ I always held him in the greatest es-
teem ; he often encouraged me, and I have not yet forgotten
his words. What he said to the warm-hearted boy were not
empty words, and the grain he sowed has borne fruit." Even
at the time he was introduced to Count Platen the future engi-
neer had astonished the local gossips with a saw-mill, pumping-
engine, and a set of drawing instruments which he had made,
'^ all out of his own head." Certainly he had no other tools
than a gimlet and a jack-knife. The saw-mill and pump were
not childish attempts at imitation ; they were practical work-
ing models, needing only to be repeated upon a larger scale to
be useful machines. The boy was then only nine years old,
and we may imagine the delight that transported this youthful
inventor when he saw the water actually turning the wheel he
had attached to this mill and setting its miniature machinery
in motion.
Half a century later, when John Ericsson was asked to pre*
pare a list of his most noteworthy mechanical achievements, the
construction of this saw-mill headed the list of inventions, the
pumping-engine and the drawing instruments coming next
The mill was neat and tasteful in design and in every way a
remarkable piece of work for one so young. In a square wood-
en frame was set a watch-spring, transformed into a saw by the
aid of a file borrowed from a neighboring blacksmith. This saw
was moved by a crank cast from a broken tin spoon. The rest
of the machinery was of wood, and everything was complete —
the bed carrying the log and moved by a cord wound on a
20 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSPON.
dram ; the ratchet-wheel and lever to turn the drum ; the crank
shaft and the handle for turning it
Encouraged by the Buccess of this venture, tlie next year
this lad of ten undertook to design a pump for draining the
mines of water. The motive power was to be obtained by
the use of a windmill. Such a contrivance the youthful in-
ventor had never seen, yet he succeeded in drawing designs
for his mill after the most approved fashion of skilled engi-
neers by following a verbal description given by his father of
a mill he had just visited. But alas, he could conceive of no
way of adjusting it to the changes of the wind ! Again tlie fa-
ther visited a neighboring mill and in describing it referred to
a ^^ ball-and-socket joint." The boy seized the idea at once and
with his pencil joined the connecting-rod for the driving-crank
to the pump-lever with a ball-and-socket joint
John's visits to the office of the draughtsmen engaged upon
the plans of the grand ship canal had familiarized him with
drawing instruments and he imitated them as well as he could.
His home was in the depths of a pine forest, where his father
was superintending the selection of timber for the lock-gates of
the canal ; nothing was to be bought and he had nothing to
buy with. But the boy was as independent of outside assist-
ance as the much-contriving Crusoe on his island. Compasses
were made of birch-wood with needles inserted at the ends of
the legs ; steel tweezers borrowed from his mother's dressing-
case and ground to a point furnished a drawing pen, the thick-
ness of the lines being effectually regulated by a thread slipped
up and down the prongs.
At that time coloring was deemed essential to the complete-
ness of mechanical drawings. Gamboge and indigo were at
hand but no drawing brushes. After many refusals the young
draughtsman at length secured permission to rob his mother's
sable cloak of the hairs required for two small brushes, taking
care that these should be abstracted with such skill that tlieir
absence would not be revealed. Thus equipped he was able to
complete his drawing with the wood and iron distinguished by
appropriate colora.
It was this plan, conceived and executed under such circum
stances by a mere child, that attracted the attention of Count
EXPEBIEirCE IN THE SWEDISH ABMY. 21
Platen and opened to joung Ericsson tlie career he was to
follow with such brilliant results. He was not precocious, nor
was he the victim of any process of forcing, but with him the
comprehension of the science of motion was as intuitive as the
perception of the harmonies of color with Baphael or tliose of
musical expression with Beethoven.
Seeing his two sons raised to the dignity of cadets in the
Mechanical Corps of the Kavy, and wearing the uniform of his
Majesty's service, Olof Ericsson was a proud and happy father.
His sacrifices for his children were rewarded, and their future,
under the patronage of the powerful Count Platen, then one
of the most influential of Swedish subjects, seemed assured.
At this time John also executed a drawing of the Sunderland
iron bridge, and this Count Platen, years after, was accustomed
to show to visitors, when recounting his experience with his
youthful prodigy.
The canal opened a new world of mechanical interest to
John and he was not content to limit himself to the labor and
study required by his duties as one of the corps of construc-
tion. After his work for the day was done he would employ
himself during the long winter evenings ^ith copying the
plans of the canal and the designs of the machinery and imple-
ments used in its construction. Of these he had a complete port-
folio by the time he was fifteen years of age. Still this healthy
lad found time for the sports peculiar to the Swedish country
life, and many years after a friend of his youth wrote to re-
mind him of the occasion when lie saved from drowning one
of his fellow-pupils on the Gota Canal while they were skat-
ing on the ice at Motala.
Upon Europe had just dawned an era of peace destined to
last for a generation, but its results were not yet apparent and
Sweden was one of the poorest of European states. It was a
constant struggle to woo from the sandy soil of the stony penin-
sula even a scanty harvest of red rye, and the minerals wrested
from the still more reluctant rock barely sufficed to make good
the lack of daily food. Accumulation was almost impossible
and enterprise was paralyzed by the lack of capital to set the
wheels of industry in motion. " That canal," the people in its
vicinity were accustomed to say, ^^ is sure to get water in the
22 LIFE OF JOHN BRI088OK.
end, for the tears of the stockholders will snpply it." The
changes in the working force were frequent, because of the lack
of money, but these changes did not disturb the Ericsson bojs.
Though Nils was the elder by a year his position did not
equal that of John, for he tells us that he was occupied for
four summers, or until he was seventeen years old, in making
mortar and in carpenter-work. John, on the contrary, was
kept at this menial work less than six weeks. In the winter
the brothers were busied in the draughtsmen's office established
by Edstrcim for the instruction of his canal pupils. During
the long summer days of that high latitude they were occupied
witli out-door work, and John gained such skill that before he
was fourteen years old six hundred Swedish troops labored upon
the canal under his direction, though he was still too small to
reach the eye-piece of his levelling instrument without the aid
of a stool carried by his attendant. Thus was John Ericsson
identified almost from his cradle with great engineering works,
for the Gota Canal was one of the most formidable under-
takings of its kind. There could be no better school for profes-
sional training, and for seven years he enjoyed its advantages.
While the prospects of the sons were daily improving the
fortunes of the father were on the ebb. His capacity to spend
was beyond his ability to earn, and the generous-hearted and
liberal Olof Ericsson was again in pecuniary difficulties. Fail-
ing health added to his troubles, and the burden of life grew
too heavy for him. By favor of Count Platen he secured a Sit-
uation in the Quarantine Office at Kanso, a little island in the
Kattegat, near Goteborg, and immediately opposite the north-
ern extremity of Denmark. Hither he removed, leaving the
mother with her two boys, who were still employed upon the
canal. Soon Mrs. Ericsson was called from the care of her
sons to attend upon her husband, and, in the summer of 1818,
death ended his unavailing struggle with adverse fortune.
The death of the father seems to have made but little change
in the fortunes of the Ericssons. The energetic mother was
able not only to maintain her family, but, as her son has shown,
to pay the debts left by her husband. Her sacrifices for her
children were rewarded by their love and reverence, and neither
time nor absence could change their feeling toward her. Mra
EXPEBIENGS IK THE SWEDISH . ABM Y. 28
Ericsson lived until her sons were past middle life, dying in
1853, at the age of seventy-five. TV ben her eldest son, Nils,
luarried in 1833, she removed to his home, and afterward to
that of her daughter Caroline, who had married the Rev. J.
Odner. She was a welcome addition to the household, where
she occupied herself with the education of her grandchildren,
and in domestic duties, such as the care of the garden and poul-
try-yard, for, like her son John, she was always busy. Her
passion for reading novels does not appear to have been trans-
mitted to him, though he did inherit her marked tendency to
liberality in religious opinions. In spite of this peculiarity,
Mrs. Ericsson lived pleasantly with her orthodox son-in-law,
Pastor Odner, whose lines seem to have fallen in pleasant
places, for his Bectory of Kinnekuna was charmingly situated
at the base of a mountain of that name, rising from the shores
of Lake Venern. Here Sophie Ericsson enjoyed a tranquil
old age, telling her grandchildren, as stories of her sons' achieve-
ments reached her, of the prophecy that preceded their birth.
Nils, who most resembled his father, was the mother's fa-
vorite. Ue was more fond of pleasure and society than his
younger brother, less original and aggressive, and more dis^
posed to follow the beaten track of conservatism than his
brother John, who was from the beginning searching for some
new way of doing things, for some novel application of the
mechanical powers to add new forces to the world's wealth.
Commenting on a photojgraph, John once said : ^^ The form of
the forehead indicates that the man will see things as they are,
and not as they ought to be, a circumstance that will remove
obstacles from his path through life." This prophetic instinct
toward things as they should be was destined to keep him at
war, so much of the time, with received opinions on engineer-
ing subjects.
In 1820, when Ericsson was seventeen years old, he
reached a point in his career where two ways parted. With
the first suggestion of manly independence dawning in his
mind he began to rebel against the career laid out for him by
friends and guardians, though before he had been more than
content with it. To the home of his widowed mother had come
as boarders officers, civil and military, at work upon the canal,
24 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
and her honse was the rendezvous for the troops under their di«
Y rection. Her son was brought into association with those who
entertained him with stories of the great world ; the world in
which the Corsican cadet of Brienne had won an empire with his
sword, and the lawyer's apprentice, Bemadotte, a marshal's
baton and a crown. Military ambition began to stir in the
breast of the youth. Although he had worn the king's uniform,
and had directed the king's troops, it was not as a soldier. He
aspired to martial deeds, to break away from the bonds of
routine, and to lead the life of romance and adventure which,
to the imagination of the young man, always lies just beyond.
', So he resolved to enter the army.
Knowing well that his military ambition would receive no
encouragement from his good friend Platen, boy-like he con-
cealed his purpose from the C!ount. When it was made known
to Platen he was greatly disturbed and urged upon his young
prot^g6 the importance of continuing a career which opened
with such promise before him. By every possible argument he
sought to turn him from his purpose, but in vain. Finally,
out of all patience with the perverse youth, the Count left him
with the parting admonition, to ^^ go to the devil."
The organization of the Swedish army is peculiar. In ad-
dition to a small body of troops of the line, there is a laif^er
force, composed of a sort of peasant yeomanry attached to llie
soil and supported by it, an institution dating from the dis-
tribution in 1697 of crown lands, subject to an obligation of
military service. When not in active service these troops cul-
tivate their lands, or they are employed by the government in
constructing roads and fortifications, in draining marshes, dig-
ging canals, or in other public works. It was to one of these
regiments, then known as the Twenty-third Regiment Rifle
Corps, and now as the Royal Fait Zagar, or Field Chasseurs
of Jemtland, that John Ericsson was assigned with tlie rank of
Ensign. The headquarters of the regiment were at Froson,
near Ostersnnd, the capital of Jemtland, the Idn of Sweden
now governed by the second Baron Ericsson, the nephew and
namesake of John, and eldest son of Nils. The regiment was
a famous body of riflemen and Ensign Ericsson was soon num*
bered among its most expert marksmen.
£XP£BIENOS IN THS SWSDISH ABMY. 36
Just at this period Henrik Ling was introducing into Swe-
den his scientific system of gymnastics, based npon a stndj of
anatomy, and was endesToring to restore the invigorating cus-
toms of ancient Scandinavia, where grew such men as Olaf
Tryggveson, the first Christian king of Norway, who, as Car-
lyle tells us, *^ could keep five daggers in the air, always catch-
ing the .proper fifth by its handle, and sending it aloft again ;
could shoot supremely, throw a javelin with either hand ; ex-
celling also in swimming, climbing, leaping, the then admirable
Fine Arts of the North ; in all which Tryggveson appears to
have been the Baphael and the Michael Angelo at once."
If Ensign Ericsson could not equal this ^^ magnificent far-
shining man," the Hercules of Scandinavian history, he certain-
ly was a worthy successor. With characteristic enthusiasm and
energy he entered into the sports of his fellows and was soon
the champion in wrestling, leaping, lifting, and the like. He
had the bodily strength of two ordinary men. At first his zeal
outran his discretion and in leaping bars he was again and
again thrown, hurting himself badly ; but difficulties never dis-
couraged him. On one occasion while in garrison at Froson,
across the river from Ostersund, he lifted a cannon weighing
six hundred pounds, a feat making such an impression on his
comrades that one of them wrote to remind him of it half a
century afterward. He was only eighteen years old when he
performed this exploit. The effort was too great, and he suf-
fered in after life at intervals from the injury to his back re-
sulting from this supreme effort of strength. On the whole,
however, he gained greatly from this thorough physical train-
ing and was noted through life for his vigor and endurance.
Not in physical feats alone did the young officer excel. He
devoted himself with ardor to the study of his new profession
and, with his previous training to assist, became known almost
immediately as an expert artillery draughtsman. He studied the
science of artillery, too, and familiarized himself with the man-
ipulation of the eighty-pounders employed on the Baltic gun-
boats when nothing larger than a forty-pounder was known in
the American navy. He never lost the interest in military and
naval subjects then acquired and it was in part the secret of his
later successes in a field wherein he was supposed to be a novice.
LU-S OF JOHN EBICSSOir.
lu a letter to his
mother, written at this
period, Ericsson thns
describes his early ex-
periences as a soldier :
OBTESffnxD AxjJ Bt^b-
TIEXN, Angiut 16, 1831.
Mt Dx&x Mauu:
We faftve now flniahod
onr Aoniial Militaiy Ma-
msnTTes, which luted for
seven weeks. Dniing
that time I luve leaned
tolenbl; well what it
means to be a soldier, and
am inspired with an nn-
ohanging Iotq for the
militat; profession. Our
oolonel has jost left for
Blookholm. As we part- .
ed I reminded him of his
promise. "I will keep
my promise to jon," he
said, "and the diawing
7on gave me I shall pre-
sent to the King at the
first andience. Ha oer-
tainlj will appoint yon ait
officer ; at an; rate, yoa
are snre to be promoted."
He also told me he wished
me to pass my exjunins-
tion in the art of land
snrvoyiug; for this rea-
son I shall be obliged to
spend the winter in
Stockholm, whatever my
means may be. The ex-
penses will. I fear, be
heavy enough, as I most bay geodetical instniments ; besides, the pat-
tern of oar new nniform is now &zed, and io conaeqnenoe I mnst get
a green coat with epaulettes, new uniform tronsen, epaulettes for the
dress-coat, scales for the shako, a new sword of the special pattern of
onr regiment, a scarf and other small military ornaments. I mnst also
Unittnuil Jehn Erieuon, Jimtlind Fitid Chut
EXPEBIEKCE IN THE SWEDISH ABMY. 27
pftj for my commisBion. Now, I donH mention all this to oaose jou
amdetj, dearest mother, only to show yon that I really have necessary
expenses and do not sx)end my money carelessly and to no purpose.
I think I can defray most of the charges myself, but if you could
spare fifty rixdollars early in the winter without inconvenience, I should
be glad to have them. However, if you are short of money, I should
consider myself unworthy to be called your son if I ever thought of such
a thing. I know your business is getting along well now ; still I feel
almost ashamed of my request and I am really grieved to think that, old
as I am, I have many times been forced to solicit the assistance of a
mother who has to work for every farthing without aid. I know, how-
ever, the kindness of my mother's heart ! " No sacrifice is too great when
the happiness of my child is concerned," you think. What a blessing to
have a mother with such sentiments ! I have about one hundred and
seventy-five rixdollars left out of the money you gave me, and I expect
some more from Captain Edstrom. By careful economy I can manage
to get on until I receive my salary, when I shall be quite comfortable,
for with eleven hundred and twenty-five a year I shall be able to save
money for a lieutenant's commission and pay my debts to you.
With Ck)d's help, I hope to be appointed a lieutenant within two
years' time, for there are only four second lieutenants in advance of me,
and many vacancies just now. I am the oldest staff ensign of those who
are to be officers at the same time as I.
With the heartiest wishes for your happiness, and kindest regards for
my brother and sister, I remain.
Your obedient and loving son,
J. Ebzgbbon.
F. S. — ^At present I board in a farm-house very cheaply. I am study-
ing Euclid. Later on I am going to practise plotting under the Sur-
veying General, as it requires a certificate to show that I can measure
and map before I am allowed to pass my examination. My kind regards
to Halstrdm ; I long impatiently for a letter from him.
Jemtland, where yoang Ericsson's regiment was stationed,
and with which the fortunes of his family have now been asso-
ciated for two generations, is a mountain district, lying two
liundi*ed miles further north than Yermland, and it is even
mora striking in natural scenery, being the location of the
highest mountains of Sweden. From the hills of ^^ beautiful
FrosOn," a little town divided from Ericsson's station by a nar-
row channel spanned by a wooden bridge, a splendid view of
the greater part of the northern portion of Sweden is to be ob-
tained. In the foreground is the picturesque lake, or rather net-
28 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
work of lakes, called ^ Storsjon/' numerous wooded islands dot.
ting its surface, and beyond, to the west, the ^^ dark Oviks '' fur-
nish a sombre background, until thej blend in the distant ho-
rizon with the mountains whose huge peaks seem to stand like
a wall of separation between the two kingdoms of Sweden and
Norway. To the north stretches an immense wilderness where,
in Ericsson's day, roamed the Laplanders with their herds of
reindeer. To the south lies a charming landscape of hill and
dale, intersected by numerous watercourses, lakes smiling in
the sun, and foaming brooks plunging down the steep hill-
sides to disappear in the green-clad valleys beyond.
In other sections of Sweden the valleys near the high moun-
tains are uncultivated and almost uninhabited ; here they sup-
port a thrifty population. The general character of Jemdand
is that of a highland nearly a thousand feet above the sea level.
It is as far north as Hudson Straits, or Southern Greenland
and Iceland, and nowhere else is there to be found in a cor-
responding latitude, with an equal elevation, a section so highly
cultivated as this has been from time immemorial. Bich
meadows furnish pastures for the herds that constitute the chief
wealth of the people. The eighteen churches which can be
counted from a mountain on the southern shores of Lake Stor-
sjon testify to the extent and character of the population now
under the government of Ericsson's nephew.
The recommendation for Ensign Eiicsson's promotion went
to Stockholm in due course, but unfortunately his colonel. Baron
Eoskull, was in disgrace at court, and the recommendation was
not heeded. The young Duke of Upland, Bernadotte's son, in-
terceded with the king, winning his interest in Ericsson by
showing his soldier-father a military map made by the ensign.
This not only secured the desired commission of a second lieu-
tenant, but it also directed the attention of Bernadotte to the
great skill of Ericsson in this work. As a result, later on he
was summoned to the royal palace to draw maps to illustrate
the campaigns of the Marshal of the Empire.
A comrade of this period, Major Hjame, who survived Erics-
son, describes the young officer as ^^ a noble lad, frank, faithful,
and honest." He was never given to promiscuous acquaintance,
but with his little circle of intimates he was a special favorite.
EXPEBISNOS IN THE SWEDISH ABMY. 29
His temper was hasty, but his disposition was lively, cheerful,
and amiable. Major Hjarne recalls the picture of him as he lay
extended on the floor of his quarters, ^^ eating sugar and enjoy-
ing himself like a merry school-boy, for he was very fond of
sweets." Not a strictly personal characteristic, for he was at
that time a lad not yet out of his teens. Still, it was a taste
that he never outgrew, and three score and ten years later,
there was found in his room, after his death, the little store of
the sweetmeats which he always kept by him. " He was ex-
ceedingly active," we are further told, " always inventing, de-
signing, constructing."
Young Ericsson had made such excellent use of the instruc-
tion in topographical drawing received from the German engi-
neer officer Pentz, that when he entered the Swedish army he
found no one to excel him, with the exception of one officer.
Major Sodermark, who was renowned in this department. Soon
after he joined the service orders were given to survey the
district of Jemtland in which he was stationed. Officers to
perform this work were selected by a competitive examination
at Stockholm, and in this contest Ericsson easily won a prize.
The pay in his new employment was determined by the amount
accomplished, and the young surveyor from the 6ota Canal
was so indefatigable in his industry and so rapid in execution,
that he performed double duty and was carried on the pay-roll
as two persons in order to avoid criticism and charges of favor-
itism. The results of his labors were maps of fifty square miles
of territory, still preserved in the archives at Stockholm.
Even this double duty was not sufficient to satisfy the rest-
less energy and activity of the young chasseur, for in this high
northern latitude he could protract his work at the drawing-
board through the entire night, and this he frequently did,
without resort to artificial light, except for a few hours. As
occupation for his ^'leisure" he bethought himself of the
sketches and mechanical drawings he had accumulated during
his service under Count Platen. He decided to use them in
a work he proposed to prepare for publication, containing a
full description of the machinery and methods used in canal
work, the locks, and the various appliances for transporta-
tion. He enlisted in this enterprise Major Pentz, late pro-
EXPERIEKOE IN THE SWEDISH ARMY. 31
fesflor at Bostock, Oermanj, and probably the officer of the
same name from whom his lessons in topographical drawing
had been received. Fentz was to translate the work into Ger*
man to give it foreign currency.
It was necessary to engrave the drawings selected to illustrate
the book, and Lieutenant Ericsson determined to do this work
' himself. So he obtained leave of absence and hastened to
Stockholm where he applied to one of the best engravers for
permission to inspect his tools, and was laughed at for his sim-
' plicity in supposing that he was to be. thus permitted to learn
the mysteries of the craft. Nothing daunted he hastened to
. his room and set busily to work devising a machine for engrav-
' ing. This he was soon able to show in triumph to the disoblig-
ing craftsman. Back to his station he went with his new ma-
chine and commenced work upon the sixty -five plates of copper
carried with him. Within a year he had completed eighteen
plates, averaging in size fifteen by twenty inches. One of these
plates, the second one completed, was reproduced in a Swedish
illustrated magazine and is given here. In acknowledging the
receipt of a copy of this Ericsson said : " I remember very well
the surprise of certain engravers at the sharp white edges of the
pump-rods against the dark ground. The plan of rubbing these
parts with a fine varnish before the plates were prepared for the
aqua fortis, which suggested itself to the beginner, enabled him
to surpato the work of experienced artists."
Other occupations delayed the book, and before it had gone
farther it became apparent that the swift changes in the ap-
plications of machinery and the use of new methods were render-
ing the knowledge acquired at Gota out of date. So this un-
dertaking was abandoned. Major Fentz never got farther than
the preface with his part of the work, but as he had advanced
some money to purchase the copper plates, the completed en-
gravings were all turned over to him in settlement of this ac-
count. Busy as he was, the ardent young Swede found time
for sentiment, for this was the romantic period in the young
man's life. During it Ericsson established friendships and
developed enthusiasms which continued with him to the end.
More than fifty years after, when his knowledge of Swedish had
grown somewhat rusty from disuse, he wrote home to Sweden :
83 LIES OF JOHN BBIOSSON.
^ Overwhelmed with work, I have not had the time to write the
description you ask for in mj native tongne. I can think in
English four times faster than I can write in Swedish, and
write four times faster than I can think. As, now, 4 x 4 = 16
you will find my excuses sufficient. But this is only the case in
mechanical matters, because when the language of the heart is
to be used I prefer to express myself in my native tongue. Al-
though ignorant of all that properly belongs to mechanical phi-
losophy when I left Sweden, I was by no means inexperienced in
the language of feeling. . I sometimes wrote poetry to the won-
derful and enchanting midnight light of Norrland. Connois-
seurs often doubted that it came from the second lieutenant and
surveyor up among the mountains." Norrland is within less
than three degrees of the Arctic circle, and there the phenome-
non of the midnight sun is to be seen in perfection.
Human nature is the same under the Arctic circle as in the
torrid zone ; indeed, as Ericsson was fond of arguing, the con-
ditions of life in high latitudes are even more exciting. He
was a man of ardent temperament, and his veins, through life,
were always swollen to bursting with the swift-flowing current
; of healthy masculine vitality. The glories of the midnight
, sun could inspire him with poetry, but the sparkling eyes of
' the Jemtland maidens moved him still more profoundly. To
one of these the young lieutenant became deeply attached. She
was of an ancient and noble family, and her father was an of-
ficer of high rank. To her Ericsson was betrothed, with those
formalities which, in Swedish opinion at that time, imposed the
obligations of marriage, and were not infrequently extended to
include its sanctions as well. Indeed, under early Scandinavian
law, a betrothal without marriage secured rights of inheritance
to a child bom of such a connection that did not belong to the
child of a marriage not preceded by betrothal.
The laws of Sweden regulating the marriage of army officers
were exacting, and made impossible a legal union between a
poor lieutenant and a maiden whose womanly charms and her
excellent birth were her only dower. Precisely how the pair
stood related to one another from our point of view cannot, at
this distance of time, be determined. The connection was sub-
sequently dissolved, and being free, the young woman married
GriMun It th( *c« of TvnntydM.
t •
p
SXPEBIENGE IN THE SWEDISH ABMY. 35
another Swede of distingaished repntation, and lived to old age
as liis wife. One son, Hjalmar, was born at this time, and was
left in charge of Ericsson's mother in Sweden when he removed
to England. This child was well educated, and became a man
highly respected and holding a prominent position in govern*
ment employ. Ericsson at the age of twenty-one is described
as a handsome, dashing yoath, with a cluster of thick, brown,
glossy curls encircling his white, massive forehead. His month
was delicate but firm, nose straight, eyes light blue, clear and
bright, with a slight expression of sadness, his complexion bril*
liant with the freshness and glow of healthy youth. The broad
shoulders carried most splendidly the proud, erect head. He
presented, in short, the very picture of vigorous manhood. A
portrait of him at this age, painted upon ivory for his mother
by an English artist named Way, has been preserved and is
reproduced here.
Recalling his father's experiments, Ericsson at this time
conceived the idea that flame might be used in a receiver cor*
responding to the cylinder of a steam engine. Thus he hoped
to obtain power equal to that of steam with less expenditure
of time and fuel. Devoting to this project such leisure as he
had, he flnally succeeded in constructing a machine to illustrate
his principle. He set it in motion, and to his delight discov-
ered that it worked perfectly and produced several horse-power.
Dreams of a coming revolution in the mechanical world occu-
pied his waking thoughts. He prepared a paper, a translation
of which now lies before me, entitled, "A Description of a New
Method of Employing the Combustion of Fuel as a Moving
Power.'' This was written in Swedish, and sent, in 1825 or
1826, to the newly-organized " Institution of Civil Engineers,"
London, where a translation of it is still filed among the ar-
chives, « No. 119."
CHAPTER m.
EBIGSSON IN ENGLAND.
Bemores to London. — ^His Promotion and Besignation as a Swedish
Officer. — Becomes a Partner of John Braithwaite. — ^First Use of
Compressed Air and Artificial Draught. — ^His Novel Applications of
Steam-power. — ^Invents Surface Condensation. — Quarrels with Sir
John Boss. — ^Inyents the Steam Fire-engine. — ^Prejudices of the
London Firemen against it.
WITH the invention of the Elame Engine a new era opened
before John Ericsson. If the dreams suggested by this
first appeal to the judgment of the great world were not des-
tined to literal fulfilment they were at least prophetic of his
\ future. Military life lost its zest, and he turned from it, as he
had turned to it, with characteristic impatience of control.
King Charles John, when shown his drawings, had advised
him to go abroad, as his own country could not reward him as
he deserved. This advice was given now with more effect by
one of Ericsson's brother officers, who, in a letter written forty-
seven years afterward, said : ^^ I remember the ensign, by whom
I was so struck that I asked my brother officers to accept him
as a comrade, and urged the colonel to secure his promotion.
I could not bear the thought of his genius burying itself in
Jemtland, and when I heard of his attachment for a poor girl
I considered him lost to the world if he should settle there.
I advised him to go to England. He at once replied that I
ought not to have awakened a thought that had long slumbered
within him when I knew that his want of means made it im-
possible for him to realize his ambition. ^ How much do yon
need to start out with ? ' I asked. He answered, ^ I could go
in a fortnight if I had a thousand crowns.' I asked him to
draw a note for this sum ; this I endorsed and took to the bank,
and a fortnight later he had the money.''
XBIOSSON IN ENGLAND. 37
Leave of absence was obtained, and the bright yonng lien*
tenant, who had been the pride of the Boyal Chasseurs, turned
his face toward England, carrying with him the hearty good
wishes of his comrades and their honest regrets at parting. On
his way through Stockholm he spent a week in the capital, par-
ticipating in the festivities attending the birth, on May 3, 1826,
of the heir to the throne, afterward Charles XY. of Sweden
and Norway.
The snow was melting from the mountains and the birches
were budding in the valleys when John Ericsson left the nsr
tive land he never ceased to love, to seek elsewhere the op-
portunities she was too poor to offer him. What possibili-
ties were too great in the wider field that opened before this
vigorous young genius, with a thousand crowns in his pocket
and a substitute for the steam-engine among his luggage?
Arriving in England on Eriday, May 18, 1826, Ericsson pro-
ceeded as soon as possible to exhibit his wonderful Flame En-
gine in operation. It worked satisfactorily under the condi-
tions intended, but unexpected difficulties arose when he was
compelled to use coal instead of the resinous woods, so abun-
'.dant in his native forests. Coal burned too slowly, and in place
of the gentle flame gave out a fierce heat that speedily destroyed
the working parts of the engine.
This was no light misfortune for the young man whose hopes
were centred in the venture. Even a thousand crowns will
not last forever, especially where the money is borrowed, and
to the expenses of travel were added the cost of setting up and
exhibiting his machine. Cynical criticism succeeded to the
friendly admiration he had received at home, and the necessity
of securing an income speedily convinced him that it was use-
less to give further attention to the Flame Engine ; so he turned
his back for a time upon his ambitious scheme of superseding
steam. He was compelled to seek employment, and almost be-
fore he knew it, was committed to remain in England. Appar-
ently, he had obtained leave of absence with the intention of
resigning from the Swedish service. For some reason he
seems to have overstayed his leave, and was technically in the
position of a deserter. Through the intervention of his friend,
the Crown Prince, he was honorably restored to the service
38 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSON.
by the issue to him on October 3, 1827, of a commission
as captain in the Swedish Army. This commission he resigned
on the same day. The peculiar circumstances under which it
was received appear to have given the title of Captain special
value in his eyes, and he used it until the end of his life.
If the immediate purpose of Ericsson's transfer to England
was not accomplished, his introduction to another field of ac-
tivity was timely. A new era was opening to English engi-
neers, and for this the young Swede's peculiar abilities and
special training exactly fitted him. It was the characteristic
of his mind, as I have said, to see things as they ought to be,
and not as they are. His spirit of adventure into new regions
was as indomitable as that of the Norse rovers from whom he
inherited his mental constitution. All things in the engineering
world were to be made new, and there was need of men able
to discard the teachings of precedent without substituting
the conceit of ignorance. To England Ericsson carried his
wonderful physique, his magnificent brain, an unusual train-
ing in the technique of his profession, and a capacity for work
which was in itself genius. The Flame Engine had not re-
alized the expectations of the Norrland garrison, but in it were
the germs of ideas destined to grow and produce fruit.
There was something about the young man that inspired con-
fidence in those brought into personal contact with him. To
the ingenuousness of youth he added the experience . of man-
hood, and the lieutenant of twenty-three was too obviously a
master in his profession to be kept long in waiting. He was
fortunate enough to establish himself almost immediately in
intimate relations with the machine manufactaring house of
John Braithwaite, and soon after he became the junior partner
in the firm of " Braithwaite & Ericsson." " It was my good
fortune," he tells us, " to meet with Mr. Braithwaite's approba-
tion and friendship. In the various mechanical operations we
carried out together I gained experience which, but for the con-
fidence and liberality of Mr. B., I probably never should have
acquired. I am happy to acknowledge having, during our
labors, benefited much by his exquisite taste in the arts." *
Ericsson was not idle during the eighteen months interven-
* Letter to the editor of the London Builder, April 28, 1868.
£BI08S0N IK ENGLAND. 89
ing between his arrival in England and the acceptance of his
resignation as an officer of the Swedish army. Turning from
his Flame Engine, he attempted to combine steam with the
gases arising from the combustion of coal, and patented an
engine constructed on this plan. This patent was assigned to
a fellow-countryman, Count Adolph £. Yon Rosen.
Next he took a step farther in the direction of the future en-
gine, and attached a fire-place underneath a piston so as to
actuate it by the expansion of the air and communicate suction
to a working piston. An engine on this plan was patented and
a model erected at Limehouse, 1827. A motive engine of the
same general character was also put in operation at Limehouse
in the same year. In this the fire-place was fixed, at the bottom
of an eighteen-inch cylinder, and through the fire air was forced
80 as to expand by heat and at the same time combine with the
gases from combustion. A loosely fitting piston moved up and
down in this cylinder and set in motion a sixteen-inch working
cylinder.
A difficult problem of mine draining presented itself. To
solve it Ericsson invented and patented a pumping-engine con-
sisting of a series of cisterns rising one above the other. By
exhausting the air f ix>m these in succession the water was lifted
to the desired height The patent for this was taken out in the
name of, and assigned to Charles Seidler, who introduced the
first steamer on the Khine and into whose family Ericsson
afterward married. In 1828 Ericsson constructed and put
into successful operation at the tin mines near Truro, in Corn-
wall, an air compressor having an air-cylinder of twenty inches
diameter and five feet stroke. This operated a machine for
raising water from a mine shaft situated off shore at a con-
siderable distance from the point on the land where the actuat-
ing steam-engine and compressing cylinder were placed.*
Upon this invention Ericsson founded his claim to priority
in the use of compressed air for transmitting power. His
friend, CouYit Yon Eosen, showed his unbounded confidence
in the abilities of his young countryman, by investing £10,000
in this last invention, in the days when fifty thousand dollars
was no small sum.
* Letter of Ericsson tQ Hox:aoe Daj, October 18, 1878;.
(
(
40 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Ericsson accepted in the beginning the condosion, now nni-
versal, that a snbstitiite must be found for the wasteful steam-
engine. His studies by day and his dreams by i\ight were oc-
cupied with the problem as to how he might bestow upon his
race the priceless boon of a new work-compelling force. Still,
the improvement and adaptation of the steam-engine was the
business immediately in hand, and this was not neglected.
In the month signalized by the birth of Ericsson in Yerm-
land Bobert Fulton completed at Paris the trial of his first ex-
perimental steamboat In 1819, while the young Swede was
at work on the Gkita Canal, the Atlantic was crossed for the
first time by a steam vessel, the Sarxmnahy which made a fly-
ing visit to Stockholm, where he may have seen it By the
time he reached England the steam fleet of Great Britain had
increased to two hundred vessels, and the promising field of
engineering enterprise ofiFered by steam navigation opened
before him. He was quick to perceive the deficiencies of the
existing machinery and prompt in suggesting remedies. To
hasten the sluggi^ fires under the boilers was a prime neces-
sity. On this speed depended. A boiler was invented with an
attachment of bellows or centrifugal blowers to produce artificial
draughts. This principle of artificial draught was patented
in England, in 1828, a year before Stephenson made his repu-
tation by the application of the same principle to the Hochet
in connection with Booth's tubular boiler. The tubular prin-
ciple Ericsson also anticipated, for his boiler contained twenty
copper tubes and an internal furnace. It economized fuel, and
was so much smaller and lighter than other boilers that new
applications of steam-power were made possible. Patents were
also taken out for this in England, Prance, Sweden, and other
countries.
An opportunity to test the new boiler soon offered itself.
In 1827 Captain John Boss, who had made one unsuccessful
attempt to discover a Northwest passage, endeavored to in-
duce the British Government to equip another expedition to
the Arctic seas under his command. Failing in this, he finally
persuaded a liberal London distiller, Mr. Felix Booth, to fur-
nish eighteen thousand pounds to equip an expedition. Mr.
Booth was subsequently made a baronet for his liberality.
EBIOSSOK IN ENGLAND. 41
served a term as Sheriff of London, and had the honor of giv-
ing his name to the arctic region known as ^^ Boothia Felix."
An important part of the business of Braithwaite & Erics-
son at this time was that of constructing refi-igerators and cool-
ers for the mammoth London breweries and distilleries. This
brought them in contact with Mr. Booth, and throngh him
thej made the acquaintance of Captain Boss, who was fitting
up with new machinery an old side- wheel steamer he had pur-
chased for his expedition and named the Victory. Boss fell
in love with the new boiler and ordered one for his vessel, to
accompany a marine engine of eighty horse-power. To this
was applied a "surface condenser" of Ericsson's invention.
The success attending Ericsson's efforts to condense steam,
in connection with his brewery and distillery experiences, sug-
gested the idea of adapting the same machinery to steam ves-
sels, as a substitute for the plan then in vogue for cooling
the steam by discharging into it jets of cold water. In his new
condenser the steam was passed throngh a series of horizontal
copper tubes, collected in a boiler or evaporator into which
sea water was driven by a force-pump. This condenser was
operated upon the well-known principle that steam of some^
what less than one-half atmospheric pressure will cause water
to boil rapidly in a vacuum.
It was almost impossible to keep the condensers then in use
clear of water and preserve a vacuum in a marine engine, when
it was moving slowly in heavy weather, and it was then, if ever,
that perfect action was needed. As the ratio of condensing
surface increased in Ericsson's condenser in proportion as the
steam diminished, it was the most efficient when the engine
slowed down. In reference to this invention he said, May 16,
1868, in a private letter to John Bourne, the author of a work
upon the " Steam Engine," who applied to him for information :
"I claim to be practically the inventor of surface condensa-
tion applied to steam navigation." Various methods of con-
densing the steam had been tried, but nothing had been found
to supersede the plan of bringing the steam into contact with
jets of water. Watt, Cartwright, Napier, Trevithijsk, Syming-
ton, Mills, and many others in England failed in the attempt to
apply the plan of condensing by the application of cold water to
43 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
the oatside of the yessel containing steam. Mr. Hale, of Ba&-
f ord, did finally succeed, and claimed priority for his invention,
in ignorance of Ericsson's successful application of the prin-
ciple a dozen years before. "The high-pressure boilers of
the Victory^ said Ericsson, " would have been destroyed in a
single day but for the application of the surface condenser."
" The condenser," says John Scott Bussell, "is the most wonder-
ful part of tlie marine engine, as indeed of the ordinary steam-
engine. It is here that the whole process carried on in the
boiler in so great bulk, and at so much expense, is instantly
reversed, and all its laborious effects are at once annihilated.
Without a condenser of some form the development of the
steam-engine would have been impossible." Ericsson's conden-
ser made it possible, also, to use in steam navigation tubular
boilers, on which so much depends.
Into the Victory Ericsson also introduced the plan, after-
ward universally adopted in war vessels, of putting the machin-
ery below the water-line to protect it from shot. Fearful of
being anticipated, Koss concealed his intention of making an-
other voyage to the Arctic zone. Ericsson supposed he was fit-
ting out a vessel of war for experimental purposes, and " in
experimenting," as he was accustomed to say, " complication is
not regarded, since the intention generally is to ascertain facts
and effects never known, for guidance in future practice."
For the purpose intended the machinery of the Victory was
wholly unsnited, as its designer well knew. Koss concluded
that its room was better than its company and tumbled it into
the depths of the Arctic waters, where it may, in some post-
glacial age, furnish proof that the Esquimaux had advanced
ideas upon the subject of steam navigation.
Eighteen months after his return to England, in September,
1833, and six years after the Victory sailed. Sir John published
a narrative of his voyage, and then Ericsson for the first time
learned that he was most unfairly held responsible for the fail-
ure of Boss's second attempt to discover a Northwest passage.
He called his detractor to account in a vigorous letter, and Mr.
Booth was compelled to interfere to prevent a duel that threat-
ened, for Ericsson charged Eoss with an " utter forgetf nlness of
justice and candor "in dealing with him and Mr. Braithwaite.
EBIOSSOK IK ENGLAND. 43
To Bteam machinery wholly unsoited to the purpose intend-
ed Captain Eoss added further complications in the shape of
gearing and paddle-boxes, described by Ericsson as ^^ a perfect
specimen of ignorance of the laws which should be consulted in
the construction of bodies intended to move through water."
A specific contract had been entered into as to the amount of
power the engines were to furnish, but when the vessel was put
into the water from the dry -dock, she drew three feet more
than was intended. Captain Boss was unfair enough to as-
cribe the consequent diminution of speed to want of su£Scient
engine power, in spite of the fact, obvious to every one, that
his paddle-wheels were half immersed in water, besides being
boxed in such a way as to prevent a free current to and from
the wheels, which were themselves constructed on a false prin-
ciple. Undoubtedly a great mistake was made in fitting out
the Victory with new and untried machinery, but this was in
accordance with Captain lioss's own orders, and he, and not
Ericsson, was responsible for the result.
The letter setting forth these facts appears to have been
signed hj Braithwaite, but the rough draft of it in Ericsson's
hand-writing is found among his papers, with erasures and
changes showing it to be the original document. Ericsson was
accustomed to state his opinions with sufficient frankness, espe-
cially in his hot youth, and he was by no means reserved in his
characterization of what he declared to be deceit practised by
Captain Boss. After describing one of his misrepresentations,
Ericsson said : ^^ The deception had been so well kept up that
there was no occasion for this fresh lie to mislead us." This is
not the kind of language that captains in the royal navy were
accustomed to receive with equanimity, in the days when Wel-
lington fought with Winchelsea, and Benjamin Disraeli chal-
lenged O'Connell, and the other party to the contention having
a military reputation to sustain it is not strange that this dis-
pute should have threatened to end in bloodshed.
As soon as Messrs. Braithwaite & Ericsson learned the
purpose to which the Victory was to be applied, and thus for
the first time realized the mistake they had been led into, they
exerted themselves to the utmost to correct her deficiencies,
spending night after night personally upon the vessel, ^Ho
44 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSOK.
make good/' as Ericsson said, " as far as lay in our power, the
baneful effect of the wanton deception practised upon us." They
also kept their men at work night and day at a heavy expense.
Ilence they were naturally impatient of the charges of " gross
neglect so freely brought against them by Captain Ross."
Whatever the deficiencies of the Victory as a vessel for
Arctic voyaging, she marks a stage in the development of the
modern war vessel, and the ideas introduced into her, with the
intention of fitting her for naval service, have since become
common in the construction of machinery for war ships. The
engines of the Victory were at the bottom of a frozen sea, but
the experience of the young engineer acquired in adapting tliem
to their supposed use was of great value to him in his subse-
quent career as a naval constructor.
The year 1828, noted for the advancement made in naval
construction, was signalled by another revolutionary invention
by Ericsson. This was the steam fire-engine which is now in uni-
versal use, substituting machinery for the workers at the polls
who for so many years made the streets of our principal cities
hideous with their noisy rivalry and oftentimes bloody con-
tentions. The "fire laddies "had certain prescriptive rights,
for they were an ancient, if not a time-honored institution ;
even Kome was disturbed in the time of Pliny by the rivalry
of her various companies of matriculariL Fights were com-
mon among the London firemen previous to the year 1830,
and the methods of extinguishing fires showed no great ad-
vance upon the use of the early " divers squirts and petty en-
gines to be drawn upon wheels, from place to place, for to
quench fire among buildings." The chief advances had been
in the introduction of the air-chamber in fire-engines by the
German, Leupold, about 1720, the adoption of the system of
arranging two sets of men on a hand-engine, one above the
other, by Richard Newsham in 1725, and the use of flexible de-
livery hose so that the engines could be removed far enough
from the fire to prevent their being burned up, as they fre-
quently were before.
Some of the fire-engines and implements brought from Hol-
land by King "William HI., when he landed in Torbay in 1688,
were in 1828 still to be found in the public buildings of Londoa
BBIC330K IN ENGLAND. 4S
The engines of Ericsson's time required some sort of a reservoir
from which to suck the water, and it was tlie custom of the
Loodon firemen to eapply this by tearing a great hole in tlie
street to gatlier water, with the neoessarj result of filling the
BQctioD hose with stones and dirt.
Thrice had London been nearly destroyed by fire, Astley's
Theatre had been three times bnrnt, Drury Lane, Coreut Gar-
den, and the Surrey, each twice, and the Lyceum and Italian
Opera once each. As these confiagrations were largely the re-
sult of insuMcient fire service, it seemed obvious to young
Ericsson's enthnsiaetie mind that a steam fire-engine was cer-
tain of immediate adoption. He first designed one in 1828,
for experimental purposes, and it proved entirely successful,
throwing jets of water, varying from one inch to one and one-
quarter inch in diameter, to the tops of the highest chimneys
of breweries. Into this engine was introduced the artificial
draught boiler, supplying the air for combustion by the recip-
rocating blowing machine worked by the engine when in oper-
ation.
The experimental engine was followed by another, monnted
on a light frame and suspended on springs, so that it could be
46 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
ran over the pavements witliont jar. This too proved a perfect
success on its first trial, and sliortlj after its completion the
memorable conflagration at the Argjle Kooms gave opportunity
for proving in actual practice its gi*eat superiority over the
engines then in use. The service of the engine was offered gra-
tuitously, and the insurance companies showed their apprecia-
tion of the courtesy by presenting Mr. Braithwaite's men with
the magnificent testimonial of one sovereign. The night was
cold and the hand-engines became quickly frozen up and use-
less, but the steamer worked incessantly for five hours with-
out a hitch, throwing its stream clear over the dome of the
building.
Another opportunity for testing the fire-engine occurred
soon after, when Barclay's brewery was burned and Ericsson's
engine was boiTOwed and kept at work day and night for a
month, without interruption, pumping and starting the beer
from the difiPerent vats in the establishment. It was after-
ward taken on a sort of starring tour to Franco, where it was
used with great success in several towns, and from there to
Bussia, where similar results followed its trial.
A third engine was built for the Liverpool Docks, and
used for many years in extinguishing fires and in otlier opera-
tions requiring the pumping of large quantities of water. A
fourth, of beautiful construction, called the Cornet^ was built
for the King of Prussia in 1832, and Berlin was the first con-
tinental city to supply this means of extinguishing fires.
The fire-engine made by Braithwaite & Ericsson, with its
substitution of steam for hand power, was the first distinct de-
parture in principle from the engines in use, in one form and
another, at various periods since the beginning. The oldest
fire-engine of which we liave any account is described by Hero
in his " Spiritalia," b.o. 150, and the description answers very
well for the ordinary form of hand-engine displaced by the
steam-engine. This early engine had the air-chambers and two
single acting pumps, worked by a beam moved by brakes and
uniting their two streams in a common discharge, connected
witli a nozzle capable of being turned in any direction.
When an American hand-engine was first taken to Constan-
tinople, many years ago, the Pasha viewed its performance with
EBIOSSOJSr IK ENGLAND. 47
admiration, but exclaimed at the end, '' Mafihallah 1 very good,
bnt it will require a sea to supply it with water. It won't do
for us, for there is no sea in the middle of the city." So he
decided to continue the use of his squirts, and to follow the re-
ceived method of letting the fire spread until the wind changed
or it could find nothing more to destroy. A similar objection
was raised to Ericsson's invention, known from the manufact-
urer as " Braithwaite's engine." Speaking of it, an authority
says : ^^ The engine of Mr. Braithwaite, although most success-
ful in its working and adaptability to the purpose to which it
was designed, met with the usual opposition which all really
useful or important introductions seem destined to encounter,
and his proposals for bringing them into general use in Lon-
don met with the most determined hostility. First, it was
urged that to be good for anything it must constantly have a
fire alight or the steam kept up, as it would otherwise take too
long to bring it into operation ; then it was ' too powerful for
common use, too heavy for rapid travelling, and required larger
supplies of water than could be obtained in London streets.'
This in spite of the fact that Ericsson's engine had worked for
five hours at the Argyle fire when the other engines were frozen
up. Even if the steam fire-engines ^ could get water,' it would
not be desirable to use them, as the ^^^i^^ity of water thrown
by them might be injuriously applied and cause mischief.
In short, the managers of the fire brigade declined to en-
tertain Mr. Braithwaite's proposals, and their servants perpe-
trated every possible annoyance toward Mr. Braithwaite when
they met him with his engine at fires, which he for a long time
attended gratuitously, so that ultimately he withdrew in dis-
gust from the new field in which he had hoped to have both
profitably and usefully employed his talents and resources." *
Steam-power for extinguishing fires was in use in manufac-
turing establishments before it was employed in portable ma-
chines, every factory of any pretensions having its steam-
driven pump with hose and other attachments.
A floating steam fire-engine, having the speed of nine miles
an hour, was designed in 1835 for the London Fire-engine Es-
* Young : Fires, Fire-engines, and Fire Brigades. (The anther aoknowl-
edges his indebtedness to this work for manj of the facts given here.)
48 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
tabliBhment, but a land steam fire-engine was used by them for
the first time in July, 1860, in one of the back streets of DoC'
tors Commons. " In point of * efficiency, simplicity, durability
of parts, weight, and cost,' it was in no respects superior to Mr.
Braithwaite's [Ericsson's] steam fire-engine of 1829, while in
some respects it was inferior to it. In a report to the commit-
tee, the superintendent of the brigade admitted that this en-
gine required delicate handling; and so unsatisfactory upon
the whole was its performance that at the end of ten months'
trial it was withdrawn and replaced by one of a different
construction, bearing a close resemblance to that of Mr. Braith-
waite."
This claim for Ericsson of the invention of what has been
extensively known as Braithwaite's steam fire-engine is made
upon Captain Ericsson's distinct declaration that it was built
from his designs, as well as upon other authority. In a state-
ment appearing in the London Engineer, December 31, 1876,
he said : ^^ Having originated, elaborated, and perfected a new
system, I claim to be the father of steam fire-engines ; cheer-
fully admitting that but for the confidence and liberality of my
friend and patron, John Braithwaite, it would not have been in
my power to carry my plans into practice." This refers to the
experimental engine and the one first built from its design.
Continuing, Ericsson says further : " I designed two other steam
fire-engines ordered from Braithwaite's establishment about the
same time ; one for the Liverpool Docks and one for the Prus-
sian Government."
In his contest with the London Fire Brigade Ericsson ap-
pears to have had his first introduction to the official inertia
and prejudice he was destined to become further acquainted
with during his long career of invention. "Prejudice was
never reasoned into a man, and for that reason can never be
reasoned out of him."
CHAPTER IV.
OPENING OF THB ERA OF LOCOMOnVE ENGINEESINa.
Aristooratio Prejudice against Bailroads. — Stephenson's Contest with
Philistine England. — The Liverpool & Manchester Bailroad offers
a Prize. — The Argument for and agamst the Locomotive Engine. —
The Bainhill Trial of 1829.— Stephenson's Bocket and Ericsson's
NovtUy. — The NoveUy shoots by the Rocket like a Projectile. — ^A
Mile in FiftjHsix Seconds. — Steam Power Supersedes Muscle. —
Public Excitement. — A New Era Inaugurated.
IN 1798, when Lord Campbell went np to London to seek his
fortune, be was the subject of anxious apprehension on the
part of bis relatives because of the speed with which he was to
travel by stage. The distance of three hundred miles between
Edinburgh and the capital was made in sixty hours, and stories
were rife of deaths by apoplexy, as the result of travelling at
this alarming rate of five or six miles an hour. During the
quarter of a century following Lord Campbell's journey there
was some increase on even this remarkable rate of speed.
Twenty thousand miles of turnpike had been constructed in
England previous to the date of Ericsson's transfer there in 1826
and £2,200,000 had been expended npon them to increase the
possibilities of land carriage.
Advance in this direction had reached its limit. Light ve-
hicles, mounted on springs and speeding over the perfect high-
ways of Macadam had gradually replaced the pack-horses and
rude carriages of a hundred years before. Great attention had
been paid to improving the breed of carriage-horses, and seven,
eight, and even ten miles per hour were common with passenger
coaches. The Quicksilver Mail to Falmouth made eleven miles
an hour, including stoppages, and even seventeen miles an hour
were obtained for a short stage with the Shrewsbury coaches
over the exceptional route between Cheltenham and Tewksbury.
The three thousand miles of canal in England had relieved
4
60 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
to some extent the demand for heavy carriage, and snggestions
of a coming revolution were found in the development of the
system of tramways employed in the coal districts of Kewcastljs
where George Stephenson served his apprenticeship and
gained experience in engine construction. These had been in
nse for a century and a half, or since the time when Master
Beaumont, a gentleman of " great ingenuity and rare parts,"
had expended his fortune of £30,000 in substituting for the
ancient " waynes " " waggons "running on these parallel ways of
timber. But no one dreamed of the great changes involved in
the use of steam as a means of traction. As to the general
public, it ridiculed in its wisdom the idea of exceeding the speed
of the quick passenger coaches. Philistine England combined
its strength to defeat the projects of the engine-driver from
Killingworth colliery, with his wild plans for carrying freight
at the rate of twelve or fifteen miles an hour. His idea of a
tramway laid to a uniform grade over hill and valley, instead
of following the sinuosities of the ground, was bitterly opposed,
and the most alarming prophecies were in vogue concerning
the danger attending his plans.
As early as 1749 Watt had suggested the idea of applying
steam power to passenger coaches travelling over the common
roads, and various attempts had been made to realize this con-
ception. Experience at the collieries had shown the possibili-
ties of moving heavy wagons on tramways with stationary
engines, but a great contention had arisen over the suggestion
that it was feasible to use locomotives on such roads, while the
best engineers in England, Ericsson included, were seeking
some means of overcoming the supposed want of adhesion be-
tween the wheels and the rails. A learned advocate expended
his eloquence before a committee of Parliament ridiculing the
idea of going " at the rate of twelve miles an hour with the
aid of the devil in the form of a locomotive, sitting as postil-
ion on the fore horse." To his own satisfaction this man of
law proved that a gale of wind " would render it impossible to
set off a locomotive engine either by poking the fire or keeping
up of the steam until the boiler was ready to burst."
It is difficult now to realize the extent of the prejudice then
existing in England against railroads, especially among the
THE ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERING, 51
classes whose interests fortified their prejudices. Aristocratic
sentiment was long arrayed against a mode of conveyance
bringing noble and peasant to a 'common level ; even after suc-
cess was assnred English fashion clung to its earlier and less
convenient mode of locomotion simply because its abandonment
by the vulgar made it more exclusive, as it still clings to its wax-
candles to the exclusion of gas.
The Duke of Wellington refused to trust himself upon a
railroad until the year 1843, and went then only because he
was in attendance upon the Queen, who the year before fol-
lowed the example of Prince Albert in making use of this con-
veyance between London and Windsor. The favored of for-
tune always have a keen appreciation of the menace to their
privileges involved in radical changes of any sort in existing
conditions. In this case they appear to have had a particularly
lively premonition of the revolution to follow the success of the
Yorkshire engineer. The peers of England as landowners, and
the classes they represented or influenced, were among the chief
opponents of the railroad projects. ^^ Journeys at that time,"
says James John Garth Wilkinson, " were restricted to a small
portion of the community. The more the coaches were per-
fected, and the better horsed, the more expensive and select they
became. How shall we popularize travelling ? By a viler ex-
pedient of canals, carts, and the like ? This, too^ existed, but it
was used merely for necessity, and did not attract, or make all
men into travellers. To efiPect the better result an invention
grander and cheaper than had then traversed space was required.
To move the rich needed only a four-horse coach, ininning in
an agony of ten miles an hour ; but to move the poor required
cars before which those of the triumphing CsBsars must pale
their ineffectual competition. Thus, though the problem wat
the enfranchisement of the meaner classes from the fetters of
pedestrianism, yet the only solution of it lay in the increased
convenience of all ranks, from the noble to the peasant, and not
in the degradation but in the elevation of the locomotive art." *
The early projectors of railroads intended them for goods
transport ; especially for carrying ore a short distance from the
mines. They did not realize the possibilities of passenger traffic ;
* WiUdnaon^B Human Bodj and its Connection with Man, pp. 12, 18.
62 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
these revealed themselves only when rapid motion was a6su*ed
and in this revelation it was the fortune of John Ericsson to
play a most conspicuons part. He was at work on his marine
boiler, and fighting adverse pnblic sentiment with his steam
fire engine, while the Stephensons were bringing .to a snccess
ful issue the great scheme of a railroad between Liverpool and
Manchester. The appearance of tlie prospectus of this rail-
road in a volume labelled ^^ Some of the Bubbles of 1825,"
and found in one of the public libraries, shows how this project
was then regarded.
The elder Stephenson, who was the engineer of the railroad,
was an earnest advocate of locomotives, and argued strenuously
against the project of using stationary engines to draw the cars
from station to station. The possibilities of such engines were
limited to the carrying of forty tons of coal at the rate of six
miles an hour. Stephenson urged that ten miles could be ob-
tained with the locomotive, and in the hidden recesses of his
own mind cherished the thought of twenty miles. He did not
dare express it, for fear of still further increasing the prejudice
against his plans.
Upon the decision of this question of power turned the
whole future of railroad development, as the result has shown.
After much painstaking investigation the railroad officials
yielded to Stephenson's solicitations, and resolved to make a
trial of the locomotive engine in spite of the baleful prophe-
cies concerning it. An advertisement was issued offering a
prize of five hundred pounds for the best locomotive adapted to a
road of 5 feet 8^ inch gauge, capable of drawing a gross weight
of twenty tons at the rate of ten miles an hour, and conforming
to certain stipulations. It must consume its own smoke, accord-
ing to the provisions of the railway act, and its limit of weight
was fixed at six tons. The learned Government Inspector of the
Post Office Steam Packets pronounced the men who prescribed
this impossible condition of ten miles an hour ^' a set of char-
latans," and offered a breakfast on a stewed engine-wheel in
case their requirements were met.* Not a single eminent pro-
* For many of the facts given thus far in this chapter I am indebted to
Smiles's Life of George and Robert Stephenson, which is, however, truth-
folly described bj Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary as *' ignor-
THE ERA OF LOOOMOTIYE ENGINEEBING. 63
fessional man sided with Stephenson in his preference for loco-
motives, and public opinion was greatly excited over the dangers
supposed to attend this novel system. When Parliament had '
been applied to for a charter for the Liverpool & Manchester .
road, great care had been taken to avoid the suggestion of lo-
comotives, and the discussion before the committee was as to
the possibilities of traction on a railroad by horse-power. The
biographer of C. B. Vignoles, who was principal resident en-
gineer of the road from 1825 to 1827, says: "There can be no
doubt it would have risked the success of the bill if the pro-
moters had laid any stress on the possibility of steam becom-
ing the traction agent." *
Five months were allowed for completing the engines, yet
it was only by a bare chance that Ericsson was able to enter
the contest, for only seven weeks of the twenty-two remained
when he learned of the competition and commenced work on
his engine. He had never built a locomotive ; Stephenson had
been for five years at the head of an establishment for the man-
ufacture of such locomotives as were then in use on the colliery
tramways ; he had made a special study of this form of engine,
and he enjoyed the further advantage of controlling the road
ordering the trial and had the sympathy and support of its offi-
cials. He was thoroughly equipped for the contest, and before
Ericsson began work had substantially completed his trial en-
gine with the assistance of his son Robert, a young engineer of
Ericsson's own age, twenty-six. The Stephensons were able to
test their engine in actual practice on the Killingworth Bail-
road, and to correct defects that would have been fatal to suc-
cess on the day of the trial.
Describing the occasion, Mr. Booth says : f
The intense interest excited by the ofifer of this preminm was almost
unparalleled. The friends of Looomotive Engines hailed it as an era
ing faotB and pettifogging the whole case; about as one-sided an affair as
Abbott's Life of Saint Napoleon. *' This is certainly true, so far as oonoems
Smiles's meagre reference to Ericsson's part in the Rainhili contest.
*Life of Charles Blacker Vignoles, by his son, p. 111. Longmans, Green
& Go. 1889.
t Account of Liverpool k Manchester Railway, by Henry Booth, Treasurer
to the Company, p. 101. Philadelphia, 1881.
Si LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSBOIT.
which wu to create one of the greatest changes in the internal oommn-
nications of the kingdom that had ever yet taken place. The canal pto-
priatoiB dreaded lest the isane of these trials ehonld prove that a more
economical mode of coaveyaace might be established ; and the pro-
jectors of the Railway viewed the experiment as one calculated to mako
that grand work profitable to themselves and benefioial to the country,
or show to them what an immense expenditure had been incurred which
might otherwise have been avoided.
The public were not idle apectators ; they considered that the soo
oesefnl termination would not only confer individual benellts and local
advautagee, bnt a great national good, byintrodncing a system of oon-
veyanoe thronghont the oonntiy which is at onoe easy, safe, expeditions,
and economical, affording to the poor a Inxnry hitherto denied to them,
and to the opolent a despatch which hitherto no sum oonld pnrohase.
The conditions required a nm of seventy miles, bnt when
the day for the contest came, the only portion of the railroad
completed was a level stretcii of about two miles at a little place
called Bainhill. Tlie competing locomotives were compelled,
therefore, to cover their distance by making twenty trips hack
and forth over one and three-qnarter miles of track. Five en-
gines entered for the trial at !RainIiill. Three were of little a(v
count. The only one whicli disputed for the supremacy with
Stephenson's Rocket, was Ericsson's NoveUy. Minor defects
in its workmanship, such as Steplienaon had every opportnnity
to detect and correct, prevented the NoveUy from completing
THE ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE ETTC^INEEBING. 66
the required distance. So Stephenson was the only one who
strictly conformed to the conditions, and the prize was awarded
to him.
According to contemporary accounts, however, the sitcoia
cPegtime was with Ericsson. His singularly quick comprehen-
sion of the problem before him, and his masterly control of its
conditions were shown in his ability to enter such a contest
with so little time for preparation, and no time for experiment.
Previous experience with the Victory, and with his steam fire-
engine no doubt led up to this result. In both of these he used
artificial draught, which is the essential factor in the produc-
tion of high speed, increasing heat in the furnace as the black-
smith does in his forge with his bellows. Without this the
modem locomotive would be an impossibility.
To whom belongs the credit of first inventing what is known
as the steam-blast does not appear. It is certain that its value,
indeed its absolute necessity, in locomotives constructed for
speed, was never understood until the Kainhill contest made it
clear. Ericsson's previous use of this means of creating power
with the least expenditure of grate surface, and corresponding
compactness of construction, shows his thorough appreciation
of its importance.
In an article on the " Civil Engineers of Britain,'' in Black'
woocPs Magazi/ne for October, 1879, we are told that : " There
are various claimants for the honor of the invention, which
proved to be the very vital breath of the locomotive, the steam-
blast, and the actual discovery, not of the method itself, but
of its prodigious efficacy, seems to have taken Stephenson as
ranch as anyone else by surprise at the experiments at Kainhill,
in 1829. On the first day of her trial the Rochet derived but
little benefit from the discharge of the exhaust steam up the
chimney, and, indeed, made steam nearly as freely when stand-
ing as when running. The mean speed kept up by the engine
was under 14, and the maximum 24 miles an hour. Without any
load a velocity of 29^ miles an hour was attained. Ericsson's-
engine, the Nbvdty, shot by the Rochet like a projectile ; but
the workmanship was not equal to that of the stout Korthum-
brian, though the scientific condition of the Nomtty was proba-
bly of a more advanced order. Had the workmanship been as
66 LI^E OF JOHN ERICSSON.
strong as the design was original, the prize wonid have been
won by the NoveUy^ and the early history of railways wonld
have assnmed a different complexion. After the trials, the two
exhaust orifices of the Rochet were thrown into one, and so
contracted that the exhanst steam prodnced a powerful blast
in the chimney. The results were such as to indicate the full
value of this mode of developing heat."
Edward Alfred Cowper, a member of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, said in 1884,* of the Novelty: " It was a very
light engine, and would not draw a heavy load, and the flue
gave way several times, but I think it due to the memory of
[my old master, John Braithwaite, to state that it was the first
'engine that ever ran really fast, as it did a mile in fifty-six
I seconds."
Sir Charles Fox, afterward the engineer of the London
Crystal Palace, was at that time a young man in the employ of
Ericsson, to whom he was indebted for his first start in life.
He was on the Novdty when it shot by the Rooket^ and never,
he was wont to say, could he forget the expression on the face
of Bobert Stephenson at the momentf
Speaking of this trial, Fraze^s Magazme said, in 1881:
"For the first time the shrill whistle of the locomotive was
heard in Middlesex. Few were the spectators, for the trial was
essentially a practical experiment ; but the faces of wonder and
dismay with which they beheld the advancing, the self-moving
machine were not to be forgotten. As the engine gained her
breath, and with the sharp sigh, or rather snort, now so fa-
miliar to our ears, rapidly attained the speed of thirty miles an
hour, the anxious lines on the face of the great engineer relaxed.
By the time of the return to Kilbum it was clear that the en-
gines designed for the London & Birmingham traffic would
answer the expectations of the engineer."
The defects of Ericsson's engine were such as might be
expected in a construction put at once to the test without pre-
vious experiment. These defects were all easy of correction
had opportunity offered. But time did not allow, and Erics-
son was even obliged to ask for a delay, to adjust the wheels
* Heat and its Meohanioal Applications, p. 78.
t Blackwood's Magazine, p. 87. Jnlj, 1880.
THE ERA OF LOOOMOTIVB EKGIWEBEIirG. 67
of hU eogiDe to tbe track, for It had never been on the railB
before. He always claimed the credit of being the first to
demonstrate the error of the then received opinion that exten-
sive surface mnst be exposed to the fire to secnre the Decessaty
amonnt of steam. His little Ifovdty, with its compact machin-
ery, was a revelation as to the poseibilitiea of steam, yet nei-
ther for Stephenson nor for Ericsson is to be claimed the excln-
sive credit for that memorable day at Bainhill. Ae Stephea-
Th* NonNy LocofiuliH, bulH by ErloHii to compaU wHh Sttplwtun't R«h>t, ISM.
son has himself said : "The locomotive is not the product of
any single man, but of a nation of engineers."
If he spoke critically of Stephenson's engine Ericsson al-
ways refrained from attacking Stephenson personally, content-
ing himself with defending his own invention when unfair
comparisons were made. " As to Geoi^ Stephenson," he onee
instructed his secretary to say in reply to a letter, " the Cap-
tain refrains from doing anything calcniated to tarnish tba
fame of that truly great engineer."
58 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Neither Ericsson Bor his friends were satisfied with the jus-
tice of the decision against him at Rainhill, so far as it assumed
to decide as to the merits of the rival engines. This decision
was in part due to the hasty action of the hot-blooded young
Swede, in withdrawing the Ifovdty from the contest. In a
manuscript left by Ericsson, he says :
It is very surprising that the several writers on railway locomotion
have overlooked the fact that the NoveUy contained the essential prop-
erties indispensable to success, while the Rocket, which took the pre-
mium, lacked those very properties. A glance at these locomotive
machines as first placed on the Liverpool & Manchester Bailway shows
that the constructor of the former had grasped the subject and that the
constructor of the latter had not.
Ericsson, duly appreciating the necessity of protecting the mechan-
ism from shaking and jar on the rail, suspended the entire framework,
boilers and engines, on springs of the most perfect elasticity ; but in
doing this he did not, like Stephenson, overlook the fact that unless the
power of the engines be applied to cranks on the axle of the driving-
wheels in a horizontal direction, the action of the springs would be in-
terrupted and counteracted. Consequently the NoveUy, actuated by
horizontal connecting-rods moved along the road with periect steadiness
while the Rocket, with her diagonal connecting-rods had a violent racking
motion from side to side. Mr. Hackworth's Sans Pareil, with her verti-
cal connecting-rods, proved worse even than the Rocket, in fact did not
admit of springs of sufficient elasticity to be of any utility.
But a far more important feature in the consti-uction of the Novell}/
claims attention. Ericsson, duly estimating the insufficiency of chim-
ney-draught, provided his engine with artificial means for supporting the
combustion in the boiler furnace. A blowing machine was applied,
moved directly by the engine, so that the supply of air was greatest
when the engine worked at maximum speed. Stephenson, on the other
hand, depended on the chimney-draught. True, a discovery was made
by Mr. Hackworth, during the trials at BainhiU, that the admission of
steam into the chimneynn a peculiar way produced a powerful draught.
But this principle of artificial draught did not enter into the original
construction of the Rocket, while the plan of the NoveUy was wholly based
on that principle. In fact, no chimney at all was applied.
Ericsson has been justly censured for withdrawing the NoveUy from
the contest in the absence of his friend John Braithwaite, to whose liber-
ality, keen mechanical perceptions and enterprise the directors of the
Liverpool k Manchester Bailway were indebted for the benefit conferred
on their g^eat undertaking at the time by the performance of the
NoveUy, It is difficult to see how, if the contest had not been aban-
doned, the judges could have refused awarding the prize to the NoveUy ^
THE ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERING. 69
in view of her greater speed than the other competing engines, and in
yiew of her superior principle of construction compared with the Rocket
In reply to an inquiry from Mr. C. II. Haswoll, EricsBon
said (February 2, 1875) :
Mt Deab Haswkll : As far as I know the boiler of the NbveUt/, as well
as the boilers which I designed for the steamship Victory, 1828, were the
first in which the furnace with its surrounding water space was placed be-
low the horizontal part of the boiler which contained the flues. The pres-
ent locomotive boiler, as well as the boilers of Stephenson's engines built
1830, are, with reference to the point mentioned, copies of mj originals of
1828. The boiler of Stephenson's Rocket, 1829, it should be observed, had
a separate Jtre-box secured to the horizontal part or flue boiler, the water
surrounding the furnace circulating through pipes connected with the
said flue boiler. Yours trulj,
J. Ebiosson.
Stephenson ran the whole distance without the carriage
containing his water-tank, an essential part of liis outfit, and
with the water in the boiler raised to the maximum tempera-
ture. This offended Ericsson's sense of fair play, as his engine,
owing to its construction, was compelled to run handicapped
with the load of a water-tank. The contemporary accounts
certainly awarded the palm of victory to him, and those who
read the newspapers of that day will suppose that the prize was
surely his. The account of the performance of the NoveUy
given in the London Times (October 8, 1829) was very full
and most enthusiastic. Aside from its commendation of Erics-
son's Novelty^ it is interesting as a contemporary account of an
historical contest. The Times said :
The directors of the Liverpool k Manchester Bailroad having of-
fered, in the month of April last, a prize of £500 for the best locomo-
tive engine, the trial of the carriages which had been constructed to con-
tend for the prize commenced to-day. The running ground was on the
Manchester side of the Bainhill bridge, at a place called Eenrick's Gross,
about nine miles from Liverpool. At this place the railroad runs on a
dead level, and formed, of course, a fine spot for tiying the comparative
speed of the carriages. The directors had made suitable preparations
for this important as well as interesting experiment of the powers of
locomotive carriages. For the accommodation of the ladies who might
visit the course (to use the language of the turf) a booth was erected on
n
60 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
the Bontb dde of the railroad, eqnidiBtant from the extremities of the
trial gronnd. Here a band of musio was stationed and amused the com-
pany daring the day bj playing pleasing and favorite airs.
The directors, each of whom wore a white riband in his batton-
holoy arrived on the oonrse shortly after 10 o'clock in the forenoon, hav-
ing come from Hnyton on cars drawn by Mr. B. Stephenson's locomotive
steam carriage, which moved np the inclined plane from thence with
considerable velocity. Meanwhile ladies and gentlemen in great num-
bers arrived from Liverpool and Warrington, St. Helens and Manches-
ter, as well as from the snrronnding country, in vehicles of every de-
scription. Indeed, all the roads presented on this occasion scenes sim-
ilar to those which roads leading to race-courses usually present during
days of sport. The pedestrians were extremely numerous, and crowded
all the roads which conducted to the race-ground.
The spectators lined both sides of the road for the distance of a
mile and a half ;. and although the men employed on the line, amount-
ing to nearly three hundred, acted as special constables, with orders to
keep the crowd off the course, all their efforts to carry their orders into
effect were rendered nugatory by the people persisting in walking on the
course. It is difficult to form an estimate of the number of individuals
who had congregated to behold the experiment, but there could not, at
a moderate calculation, be less than ten thousand. Some gentlemen
even went so far as to compute them at fifteen thousand. Never, per-
haps, on any occasion were so many scientific gentlemen and practical
engineers collected together on one spot. The interesting and impor-
tant nature of the experiments to be tried had drawn from all parts of
the kingdom to be present at this contest of locomotive carriages, as
well as to witness the amazing utility of railways in expediting the com-
munication between distant places. The attendance of the members of
the Society of Friends was extremely numerous also, and their appear-
ance on a race-course gave rise to some amusing badinage during the
day.
There were only one or two public-houses or taverns in the vicinity
of the trial ground. These were, of course, crowded with company as
the day advanced, particularly the railroad tavern at Eenrick's Gross,
which was literally crammed. The locomotive carriages attracted, of
course, the attention of every individual on the road. They ran up and
down during the afternoon more for amusement than experiment, sur-
prising and even startling the unscientific beholders by the amazing
velocity with which they moved along the rails. Mr. Bobert Stephen-
son's carriage attracted the most attention during the early part of the
afternoon. It ran without any weight being attached to it, at the rate
of twenty-four miles in the hour, shooting past the spectators with amaz-
ing velocity, emitting very little smoke but dropping its red-hot cin-
ders as it proceeded. Cars containing stones were then attached to it,
weighing, together with its own weight, upward of seventeen tons, pre-
THE EBA OF LOOOMOTIVB ENGINEERING. 61
paaraioiy to the trial of its speed being made. This trial oconpied, with
stoppages, seventy-one minutes, and proved that the carriage can, draw-
ing three times its own weight, nm at the rate of more than ten miles
an hour.
Bnt the speed of all the other locomotive steam carriages on the
conrse was far exceeded bj that of Messrs. Braithwaite & Ericsson's
beautifal engine from London. It was the lightest and most elegant
carriage on the road jesterday, and the velocity with which it moved
snrprised and amazed every beholder. It shot along the line at the
amazing rate of thirty miles an honr I It seemed, indeed, to fly, present-
ing one of the most sabUme spectacles of human ingenuity and human
daring the world ever beheld.
Of the second day's trial the Times of October 12, 1829,
said:
Messrs. Braithwaite & Ericsson's engine (the Nbveiiy) proved it-
self to-day to be as good (proportionally) at drawing a load as running
without one. It drew, in one hour, three times its weight a distance
of 20f miles I
In its issue of October 16, 1829, the Times said :
The definite trial of Messrs. Braithwaite A; Ericsson's locomotive
carriage (the Novelty) was fixed for this day. The load having been
attached, the engine started on its journey shortly after one o'clock. It
performed two trips with great celerity ; but when running down the
course for the third time the pressure of the steam was too great for
the boiler, which unfortunately burst.* This accident put an end to
the trial and the Novelty was taken from the course.
The trials which have taken place have satisfactorily proved the su-
periority of the principle on which the Novelty is constructed. The
machine was, however, too hastily and slightly fabricated — defects which
Messrs. Braithwaite & Ericsson can easily remedy in any future engines
which they may construct for railroads.
To John Bourne Ericsson wrote (January 19, 1875) saying :
The Novelty was provided with a blowing machine operated by
a short lever attached to the extension of the axle of one of the bell-
cranks. The air was forced into a close ash-pit, the fuel, coke, being
supplied from the top by means of a hopper having two slide valves.
The bottom of the ash-pit, as well as the grate, moved on hinges in
* This ifl a mistake. The escape of steam from the yielding of green joints
misled the reporter.
62 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
order to admit of cleaning. The fnmace was upright, resembling an
inverted tnmoated cone. The flue, made of oopx)er, was a descending
one, leading out of the top of the fnmace and returning three times,
with the exit at the extreme end of the horizontal part of the boiler.
Several boilers built on this plan all proved very satisfactory. In my
steam fire-engine of 1840, however, though the blowing machine was re-
tained, the fire-box was square and the tubes straight, as in Booth's
boiler — ^I persist in not calling it a Stephenson boiler.
As to straight tubes, Braithwaite and myself built a boiler with
twenty straight copper tubes and an internal furnace in 1828, the oper-
ation of which was witnessed by Captain Boss and other pei*sons. We
abandoned this mode of construction because it was difficult to make
steam-tight joints and not so economical as the descending flue, or the
helical flue coiled round the furnace. Ill-natured people in Liverpool,
during the Bainhill trials, insisted that Booth borrowed his idea from
London.* Unfortunately my drawings of these boilers were destroyed
many years ago.
The Novelty was planned and built ready for transportation to
Liverpool in seven weeks. But for a letter received from a friend in that
town, at the end of July, 1829, informing me, merely as news, that a
''steam race" was expected, the Novelty would never have been con-
structed.
After the Bainhill trials, I used the Novelty as an experimental
engine to test the efficiency of exhaust draught and independent power for
operating the blowing machine, etc., etc. At the end of those experi-
ments, the Novelty could hardly be recognized as the Novelty. I after-
ward designed another form of locomotive engine of very elegant ap-
pearance, two of which were built by Braithwaite, intending to astonish
the world at the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Bailway. They
proved utter failures for want of steam ; my opponents' outcry against a
close ash-pit having induced me to abandon the blowing machine and
resort to exhaust draught, produced by a small fan-wheel turning with-
in a magnificent polished copper vase placed on the top of the boiler ;
very classical but miserably inefficient.
The two locomotives here referred to were called the * I^^inff
William ' and * Qiceen Adelaide.^ t To them was for the first
time applied in 1830, the link motion for reversing steam-
* That is to say, from Ericsson's previous use of it in London.
f Speaking of the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Bailway, Sep-
tember 15, 1830, Rev. Olintbus J. Vignoles, in his life of Charles Blacker
Vignoles, says: "New engines made by Ericsson k Co. for this occasion, viz..
Queen Adelaide and WiUiam the Fourth, had been contracted for by the
Liverpool & Manchester directors, but they had not reaohsd Liverpool in
time to be ' proved * before the day of opening.'*
THB ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERING. 63
engines. The so-called Stephenson link is a modification of
Ericsson's original link motion.
The several statements made by Ericsson concerning the
Kainhill trial, and here quoted, were all of them sent in answer
to requests for information coming from authorities on steam
engineering and the authors of works of professional reputa-
tion. The final paragraph of the letter last quoted shows how
ready he was to admit his mistakes when once thoroughly con-
vinced that he was wrong.
Among those present at Kainhill was a young man named
John Scott Eussell, who has since become so widely known as
one of the most eminent of English engineers. To the seventh
edition of the "EncyclopfiediaBritannica," published three years
after the contest, Mr. Russell contributed an article in which he
said : ^^ The Novelty had to be withdrawn, through a series
of unfortunate accidents which had no reference to the charac-
ter or capabilities of the engine ; and we well recollect that it
made a powerful impression on the public mind at the time.
On the first day of the trial, Thursday, October 6, 1829, it went
twenty-eight miles an hour (without any attached load) and did
one mile in seven seconds under two minutes. This perform-
ance will now appear trifling ; but at the time the sensation it
produced was immense."
The directors asked for ten miles an hour and Ericsson gave
them nearly thirty- two miles (31.9). It is true it was with an
unloaded engine, but this immense step forward was enough to
prove the possibilities of locomotion. "It is far from my
wish," Mr. Nicholas Wood, one of the judges, had said before
the trial, " to promulgate to the world that the individual ex-
pectation, or rather profession of the enthusiastic specialist will
be realized and that we shall see engines travelling at the rate
of twelve, sixteen, eighteen, or twenty miles an hour. Nothing
could do more harm toward their adoption or general improve-
ment than the promulgation of such nonsense."
What was to be said, then, of this Swedish youth of twenty-
six, fresh from his Norrland forest, who gave them more than
thirty miles an hour ? Stephenson, too, exceeded his expecta-
tions, for Mr. Russell credits his locomotive with twenty-four
miles an hour, drawing three times its own weight, and thirty
64 LIFE OF JOHN EBI08SON.
miles without a load. "Had the Beventy milee been ons
leogth/' says Mr. BQseell, " the Socket would have maintained
an average velocity of fifteen miles an honr."
Ericsson, while vastly increasing the speed of locomotives,
at the same time reduced the weight eighty-five per cent, aa
compared with those then in use. The Rocket, though it
weighed four times ae much aa the Novelty^ was also a great im-
provement in this respect upon the engines preceding it.
Charles Blacker Yignoles, F.B.S., rode with Ericsson that
day, and forty-one years after (January 11, 1870), in his address
upon taking the chair as president of the English InstitatioQ of
Civil Engineers, Mr. Tignoles said : " The NoveUy was long
remembered aa the beau ideal of a locomotive, which, if it did
not command success, deserved it.''
" To most men," says another authority, John Bourne, " the
prodtiction of such an engine would have constituted an ade-
quate claim to celebrity. In the case of Ericsson, it is only a
aingle star of the brilliant galaxy with which his shield is
spangled."
Ericsson's engine leaped at once to the very front of locomo-
tive performance thus far, if we are to accept the statement of
Mr. Cowper, confirmed by the excellent authority of Ericsson
and Tignoles, who declared that the Noveliy ran, on one occa-
sion, with them on board, at the rate of fifty miles an honr.
The Great "Western Railway of England had distanced all
competitors when it made this speed on a continuous journey,
excluding stops from the calculation. The average speed of all
the express trains in England is now 44i miles an hour, exclud-
ing stops, and in the United States 41| miles. The maximum
speed is 47 miles, and the highest speed beyond the bounds of
THE ERA OF LOCOMOTIVE EKGINEERING. 86
Anglo-Saxon civilization is 37 miles an hour. This is the speed
of the trains that skirt the base of the Pyramids. France fol-
lows next with an average of 36^ miles and a maximum of
43 miles from Paris to Calais. The great advance is in the in-
creasing number of the trains run at these high speeds.*
We may imagine the excitement following the announce-
ment in the Tvmes concerning the performance of the N<yoeUy^
for to this engine, as we have seen, England's great daily de-
voted chief attention. Railroad shares leaped at once to a pre-
mium, and excited groups gathered on 'change to discuss the
wonderful event which British opinion had led everyone not to
expect The pessimists were silenced ; the art of modem rail-
way travel was inaugurated, miles divided where leagues sepa-
rated before ; men were called upon to adjust themselves to
new conditions created by the possibilities of freer intercourse,
and the era of great cities and mighty states extending their
sway over continents was opened.
To the young engineer who played his part so well that day
was accorded the rare privilege of living long enough to witness
the development of the new age he had helped to usher in. In
the closing years of his life he could look back upon '^ a change
in the physical relations of man to the planet on which he
dwells greater than any that can be distinctly measured in any
known period of historic time:" a change he had a most
memorable part in creating, and all of which had come within
the period covered by his professional labors.
In 1841, when the railroad had fairly established itself as
a popular means of transit, eighteen hundred miles of track
had been built and three hundred thousand passengers were
carried weekly. When Ericsson died, nearly half a century
later, the annual receipts of English railroads were more than
the capital outlay in 1841 and the number of passengers had
increased more than forty-fold.
The trial on the Liverpool & Manchester road not only at-
tracted the attention of all England, but it brought together, as
the reports show, a great gathering of the engineers of that
day. Coming together and dining together are in England re-
* Express Trains, English and Foreign. Bj B. Fozwell and T. 0. Farrer.
London, 1889.
6
66 LIFE OF JOHN SBICSSOK.
lated as caase to effect. A grand banquet was given in Liver-
pool to the directors and officers of the railway and to the com-
peting locomotive builders. Toasts and speeches followed, and
if Ericsson did not carry home with him the £600 offered as a
prize, he at least made himself known to all England as one
of the rising men of his profession.
If slow to realize the possibilities of railroad locomotion in
advance, the capitalists were prompt to take advantage of the
change when it came. A powerful combination was formed to
open communication with the French capital by railroad and
steamboat, and Yignoles was sent over to secure the necessary
concession from the French Government. Thiers, then Minis-
ter of Public Works, visited England with his under-secretary to
inquire into this method of locomotion. But he did not pro-
pose to trust himself to it, for he carried with him for private
use a lumbering coach of the time of Louis Quatorze. M.
Thiers examined, listened, responded politely to those who
sought to instruct him, and went back to report th^t railroads
were not suited to France, and to violently oppose them from
his place in the Corps Legislatif. Thus the introduction of
railroads into France was postponed for eight years, and an il-
lustration given of the enormous difficulties against which such
men as Ericsson contend. Naturally, Ericsson did not share
the reverence for official utterance entertained by ^^ Sir Joseph
Porter, K.C.B.," and if he on occasion spoke evil of dignita-
ries, his experience through life gave him ample justification.
OHAPTEE V.
TBE HOT-AIB ENGINE.
A Si>6ndthrift in Inyention. — ^Associations with William Laird. — The
Caloric Engine the Sensation of London. — Faraday's Lecture upon
ii — ^Ericsson Anticipates Sir William Thomson's Sotmding Appa-
latus. — ^Applies Steam to Canal Navigation.
JOHN ERICSSON was now fairly entered upon his en-
gineering career. Fortnne, as well as fame would have
been within his reach had he possessed what is called ^^ the
nose for money." But the Swede has been described as ^^ one /
born to own a million and to spend two." And if this de-
scription does not apply to the race, it certainly does apply to
this particular representative of it. He was accustomed to
say he cared not who drew at the spigot, so long as he controlled
the bung, and the spigot was always open. Nor was Ericsson
in any active sense anxious for fame. He wished to accom-
plish, not to proclaim his accomplishment ; though he was quick
enough to defend his reputation when assailed, or to assert him-
self when he detected a disposition to set him aside. His one
consuming passion was to bring forth some new thing, or to
transform the old in the alembic of his creative imagination.
For this he would sacrifice his own means and, so far as they
would let him, the means of his friends. Not otherwise ex-
travagant, in realizing his engineering conceptions he was a
spendthrift. For this reason, the partnership with Braithwaite,
so valuable in practical experience, was not a commercial sue-
cess. The steam fire-engine was a mechanical triumph, but it
did not bring orders to the workshop. It was a generation in
advance of the demand. Though the experiments with the
Victory laid the foundation for future triumphs in naval con-
struction their immediate result was most unfortunate.
In the field of locomotive construction Ericsson was distanced
68 UFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
by the more, steadj-going, if less brilliant, Stephenson, whose
labors, concentrated upon the work of improving and adapting,
were not disturbed by the constant buzzing of inventive con-
ceits. Ericsson's energies, on the contrary, were divided among
the numerous schemes constantly bom of a prolific brain, and
such of these adventures as were profitable were, like the ^^good
ears " of Pharaoh's dream, ^^ devoured by the thin ears blasted
by the east wind." Invention followed invention at the aver-
age rate of three or four a year for a long period, limiting the
term to devices put in actual operation, and excluding the nu-
merous modifications introduced into existing patents.
Ericsson shared the experience common to inventors, and
discovered at times that he was forbidden to use his own ideas
because they were vaguely suggested in some previous patent
or had been monopolized by some later discoverer, more enter-
prising than he in availing himself of the protection of the
Government. He never invented anything, he was accustomed
to say, without finding it claimed by some one, as soon as at-
tention was called to its value by its introduction into use.
Following his abandonment of the field of locomotive con-
struction, he designed a steam-engine formed of a hollow drum
of metal with inclined planes set on the inner surface. The
steam was admitted at the centre and striking these planes set
the globe in motion, at the rate of over six hundred miles an
hour, or nine hundred feet in a second. This steam wheel was
a beautiful piece of work, so true a circle and so highly polished
that it continued to rotate for several hours after the steam
was shut off. It was set up at Birkenhead, England, in 1831,
and connected to a centrifugal pump by band wheels to reduce
the speed. The pump, another of Ericsson's inventions, raised
a standard column of water thirty-two feet high, and two feet
in diameter. The enormous speed of the prime motor rapidly
destroyed the belts, but the action of the pump was perfect.
A patent for this rotary engine was obtained February 8^ 1882,
and one-half interest in it assigned to William Laird, of liver-
pool, who advanced the money to pay for the patent and con-
duct experiments. The title of the engine was '^ an improved
engine for communicating mechanical power." One-half inter-
est in another rotary engine^ bearing the same title, was also
THE HOT-AIB ENQINB.
69
to Mr. Laird. This, as we are informed by a memo-
randum found among Ericsson's effects, '^ proved a complete
failure when put to trial."
Botarj engines have been the dream of inventors for gener-
ations ; indeed, since the time of Hero of Alexandria, b.o. 130.
They are practicable, and have been to a certain extent success-
ful. Other engines convert reciprocating into rotary motion ;
in a rotary engine the steam is applied directly in the line of
motion, and thus follows the movement of the earth upon its
Htre*t Engint.
axis. The enormous speed of nine hundred feet a second, ob-
tained by Ericsson's engine, was almost exactly equal to that of
Liverpool around the axis of the globe.
William Laird, with whom Ericsson became associated at
this time, was one of the founders of Birkenhead, opposite
Liverpool. As late as 1818 this place was notliing more than
a fishing village, with less than fifty inhabitants, and the first
shipbuilding docks were not erected there until 1824. The
friendship established by Ericsson with the heads of the great
shipbuilding house of Laird & Son extended to the third gen-
70 ' LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
eration. On the death of the father of the present Mr. Will*
iam Laird in 1874, his son wrote to Ericsson, saying : " I re-
member very well that in the earlier days of Birkenhead yon
were intimate with my father and grandfather, and it is pleas-
ant to know that the lapse of so many years has not altered
your feelings of friendship and esteem for them."
On February 27, 1830, Ericsson patented, in the name of
John Braithwaite, an apparatus for making salt from brine.
The fluid was first heated in closed boilers, placed underground,
and next turned into large open cisterns, there agitated by
centrifugal fan-wheels, and then allowed to settle and de-
posit the salt. It worked perfectly, and proved to be economi-
cal. The crystals were of unusual size but much discolored,
and numerous experiments failed to discover any method of
overcoming this fatal defect. Messrs. Cropper, Benson & Co.,
of Liverpool, advanced £5,000 for obtaining the patents for
this invention and erecting experimental works at Livei'pool
and Winsford in Cheshire. To them the patent for this " im-
proved method of manufacturing salt" was assigned, and they
were given control of it as general agents. Twenty years later
the Siemens Brothers wasted a still larger sum in the unsuc-
cessful attempt to improve the process of manufacturing salt
by their " Regenerative Evaporator."
To the steamer Corsair^ plying between Liverpool and
Belfast, was applied in 1832 a centrifugal fan-blower, operated
by a separate small engine, and intended to increase the draft
in the furnace by creating an artificial current of air. This
was the first employment, for marine purposes, of a device
subsequently brought into general use on American steamers.
'• I claim," said Ericsson in a letter to John Bourne, " to be the
father of the independent power fan-blower system for steam
vessels, now universally adopted in American river navigation.
So far no one has disputed my claim."
On February 8, 1832, a novel device for a rotary engine
made its appearance from the busy workshop of the inventor's
brain, and a modification of it followed during the succeeding
year. These engines were patented, and experimented with, at
the expense of Mr. William Laird, who received a one-halt
interest in the patents. One was applied to a vessel on the
THE HOT-AIB ENGINE. 71
Mersey and the other was set up for trial at the establishment
of Messrs. Maudsley. They worked well, but consumed more
steam than ordinary reciprocating engines, having the piston
moving backward and forward in the steam cylinder, as in
"Watt's engine.
These failures to introduce more economical methods in the
use of steam seem to have intensified Ericsson's determination
to find a substitute for it. He had never laid aside the ex-
pectations connected with his earliest invention of a flame-en-
gine ; indeed, their influence may be traced through all the ex-
periences of his long and busy life. They at one time led him
very near to the danger-line of speculation as to the possibility
of perpetual motion. He knew of no engineer, he said, who
had not at some time been fascinated with this conceit. In the
mechanical operations of nature there seemed to be, with contin-
ual waste, some law of compensation at work, and Ericsson was
led to the conclusion that there exists in nature a principle of ab-
solute reproduction of mechanical force. For this he sought as
for the pearl of great price. The dynamical theory of heat
was not accepted when his studies began, and his experiments
led him to believe that heat was an agent exerting mechanical
force without itself undergoing change. In this opinion he
was supported by the declaration of his countryman. Professor
Harvef eldt, a famous mathematician, that there was nothing in
the accepted theory of heat to prove that a common spirit-lamp
might not be sufficient to drive an engine of one hundred horse-
power. Ericsson hoped at least to so lessen the consumption
of fuel in the production of mechanical power as to extend the
range of manufacturing industries into regions not furnished
with fuel, as well as to remove farther into the future the in-
evitable period when the world's coal supply will be exhausted.
The smoke-jack, setting flgures in motion by the action of
the rarefled air rising from a hot stove, is the simplest expres-
sion of the mechanical force Ericsson sought to control in his
^' caloric engine." As early as 1699, the Frenchman, Amouton,
had applied this principle to a wheel moved by a column of
heated air. A century later, in 1797, an Englishman, Glaze-
brook, patented the idea of transferring the heat in an air-en-
gine from the hot air going out after doing its work to thq
72 LIFE 07 JOHK EBIOSSOK.
cool air coming in to take its place and continae the circuit
The same idea is found in Lillej's English patent of 1819, and
in the hot-air engines of Bev. Dr. Kobert Stirling, to whom the
credit for its conception is usually given.
Stirling, who was a clergyman of Ayrshire, in the year
Ericsson arrived in England, 1826, applied for a patent for an
air-engine representing what is known as the regenerative prin-
ciple. The fact that Ericsson opposed this application shows
what he thought of StirUng's claim to originality. His oppo-
sition was unavailing, for a patent is on record as having been
granted in the following year.* The reverend gentleman de-
scribes his apparatus for receiving and transferring the heat as
similar in principle to ^^ JefiFrey's Kespirator," then used by con-
sumptive patients to transfer the heat contained in the air ex-
haled from the lungs, to the cool air inhaled to take its place.
Stirling's device was imperfect, and his engine, as Chambers
states, was crude and incomplete. Nevertheless, it greatly
annoyed Ericsson by its claims to priority. His own applica-
tion of a ^^ regenerator " was first made in 1833, when he in-
vented and patented in England, France, the United States, and
other countries a ^^ caloric engine " with an ^^ organ-pipe regen-
erator " consisting of a faggot of small copper tubes. Through
these tubes the heated air passed on its way out of the working
cylinder to the ^^ cooler," and on the outside of the tubes the
cold air from the cooler passed in an opposite direction on its
way into the cylinders. Thus, there was a transfer of heat
from the air going out, after doing its work, to the cold air
coming in to take its place over the furnace. This transmission
of heat from the outgoing to the incoming air reduced to the
minimum the waste of heat, and consequently of power. This
<< regenerator " was the result of many years of study and care-
ful experiment to determine the most efiFective means of pre-
venting the loss of heat, for Ericsson had discovered that it
was necessary to maintain the air in his working cylinder at a
high temperature until the end of the piston's stroke. The cyl-
inder for compressing the air was surrounded by a water-jacket,
to keep down the temperature and protect the leather fasten-
ings from the high heat.
*3ee Volome 6, Third Series, Bepertory of PatentSy 1838.
THE HOT-AIR EKGINX. 73
An experimental caloric engine of five horse-power, and
with a working piston foarteen inches in diameter, was set in
motion at London, in 1833, and at once excited extraordinary
interest. Sir Riciiard Phillips has recorded, in his ^^ Dictionary
of the Arts of Life and of OivilizatioD," the " inexpressible de-
light " with which he witnessed the workings of this machine.
^^ With a handful of fuel applied to the very sensible medinm
of atmospheric air and a most ingenious disposition of its dif-
ferential powers, he beheld a resulting action in narrow com-
pass, capable of extension to as great forces as ever can be
wielded or used by man."
" The principle of the new engine," Sir Bichard tells us, j
'^consists in this, that the heat that is required to give motion-
to the engine at the commencement, is retained by a peculiar'
process of transfer, and thereby made to act over and over
again, instead of being, as in the steam-engine, thrown into a
condenser, or into the atmosphere as so much waste fuel. And
the well-known phenomenon that temperature, or quality of
heat, is always equalized between substances, however unequal
they may be in density, forms the basis of the new application
of heat." *
Dr. Alexander Ure, author of the technical dictionary bear-
ing his name, was another believer in the caloric engine, assert-
ing that this invention wonld throw the name of James Watt
into the shade. The little engine was in its day the sensation
of London in scientific and mechanical circles. It was visited
by a large number of men of reputation, as well as by curious
crowds of sightseers, and for many years after was a theme of
discussion in engineering circles. Among those who called to
visit this new motor was Lord Althorp, afterward Earl Spen-
cer, then Chancellor of the Exchequer and Ministerial leader in
the House of Commons. He was accompanied by Mr. Brunei,
the distinguished engineer and citizen of two worlds, whose
name is associated in London with the Thames Tunnel, and in
New York with the Bowery Theatre of his designing. Mr.
Brunei was not favorably impressed. Believing that his judg-
ment was founded on an erroneous impression of the new pow-
* Diotionaiy of the Arte of Life and CivUizatioxi. Bj Six Biohard PliU-
Upe. London, 1833.
THE HOT-AIB ENGIKE. 76
er, EricBBon entered into a lively discoBsion with him. This
was continued by correspondence, with the usual result of es-
tablishing each party to the controversy more firmly in his own
opinion.
Professor Michael Faraday, however, declared by John Tyn-
dall to be ^^the greatest experimental philosopher that the
world has ever seen," was prepared to give a hospitable wel-
come to Ericsson's theories and studied his new engine with
the greatest attention and interest. He refused to accept the
condemnation passed upon it by nearly all the leading scien-
tific men of that day, and denied that the principle on which it
was based was unsound. Ericsson counted with great confi-
dence upon the results expected to follow Faraday's advocacy
of his invention, for the distinguished investigator announced
his intention of delivering a lecture upon it at the theatre of
the Soyal Institution, London. A large audience was attracted
by this announcement, including many gentlemen of distin-
guished scientific reputation. Just as Faraday was prepar-
ing to appear upon the platform he came to the conclusion
that he had made a mistake as to the principle of the expan-
sion of air upon which the action of the machine was depend-
ent. He accordingly commenced his lecture, greatly to the
disappointment of Ericsson, by the announcendent that he was
unable to explain why the engine worked at all. He confined
himself, therefore, to an explanation of the regenerative appa-
ratus, for using the heat over and over again in thp production
of force. ^* To this part of the invention he rendered ample
justice, and explained it in that felicitous style to which he is
indebted for the reputation he deservedly enjoys, as the most
agreeable and successful lecturer in England." *
The caloric engine of 1833 was a sore puzzle to the savans
of that day. They were unwilling to accept Ericsson's theories
and claims concerning it, but their own opinions as to the nat-
ure of heat were not sufficiently settled to enable them to ex-
plain clearly their skepticism. Aristotle had told them that the
first principle in nature, through all of its manifestations, was
* A Leotore on the Late Improvements in Steam Navigation and the Arts
of Karal Warfare, with a brief Kotioe of Ericflson's Caloric Engine, delivered
before the Boston Ljoeum, tj John O. Sargent New York, 1844.
76 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOBSOlf.
unity, and that these manifestations were always reducible to
motion as their foundation, and Bacon had declared that '^ the
very essence of heat or the substantial self of heat is motion,"
but the science of thermo-dynamics was not yet established on
the present basis of theory and experiment. It was not until
sixteen years later, in 1849, that Joule, in his paper before the
Iloyal Society, presented his final conclusion as to the mechani-
cal equivalent of heat, and established the existence of an exact
relation between heat and force.
The r^enerator was correct in theory, as subsequent ex-
perience has shown, but its advantages were to some extent
neutralized by the obstruction it offered to the free passage
of air. Other practical difficulties presented themselves in an
engine that required 450^ F. of heat instead of the temperature
of 212^ at which water is turned into steam. Oxidation soon
destroyed the pistons, valves, and other working parts.
Ericsson's use of high temperature in an air engine seems
to have suggested the use of a similar apparatus to increase
the temperature of steam. Accordingly his next invention was
a super-heating condensing steam-engine. It consisted of two
sixteen-inch cylinders and had a stroke of eighteen inches. The
power was communicated through cog-wheels to a double-acting
pump, thirty inches in diameter and thirty inches stroke. Steam
was generated at only eight pounds above the atmosphere. In
Watt's time five to ten pounds was the ordinary pressure and
it has since risen as high as seventy-five or even one hundred
pounds. With this low pressure the engine proved to be eco-
nomical. But here again arose the difficulty attending the use of
high temperatures. The lubricants were carbonized, and the
pistons, left without protection from friction, were rapidly de-
stroyed.
In the intervals of his study of new motors, Ericsson found
time to perfect a variety of minor inventions. Most of these
appear to have been more ingenious than profitable. There
was at least one exception. This was a sounding instrument
constructed upon the principle of measuring depths by the
compression of air, and anticipating by many years the similar
device for which credit has been given to Sir William Thom-
son. It was patented in England and the United States, sub-
THE HOT-AIK ENGINE. 77
seqadntlj Improved, and under the name of '^ Ericsson's Sea
liead " came into extensive use. Thousands were sold and the
instrument stood the test of many years' trial in the British and
American mercantile and naval marine, and was especially ap-
proved of by the hydrographic bureaus of the two govern-
ments. By means of tallow, held in the usual manner by a cav-
ity in the base, it was determined whether the lead had touched
bottom or not, and a dial registered the depth in fathoms. Sir
William Thomson's instrument, like that of Ericsson before it,
is based upon the theory that the pressure of the sea for each
succeeding fathom of descent increases in a definite and practi-
cally direct ratio. The difPerence in the two instruments is
in tlie method of registering the pressure. In Ericsson's in-
strument this is done by noting on the dial the height to
which the column of water ascends against the pressure of the
air ; in Sir William Thomson's, by the change the rising water
effects in the color of tubes lined with cliromate of silver.
The anxiety to make quick passages, and the temptation to
avoid the delay occasioned by the old method of taking sound-
ings, resulted in the loss of many fine ships. As soundings
could be taken by the new lead without stopping the vessel, it
was welcomed with enthusiasm by those who tested it. The
British Admiralty referred it for trial to Lieutenant Philip
Bisson, K. N. After testing it for nine days, at depths varying
from five hundred to six hundred fathoms, he reported, saying :
" Bespecting the accuracy of the instrument, I found it perfect ;
and as to simplicity I need only say that all my crew soon un-
derstood its use. And on these grounds I can strongly recom-
mend this instrument as being of great practical utility. I took
accurate soundings in sixty fathoms from a vessel going at the
rate of six knots." Sir William Thomson's machine has since
taken soundings in one hundred and twenty fathoms from a
vessel moving sixteen knots an hour, and this could have been
done with Ericsson's. Captain Ogden, U. S. S. Decatur^ re-
ported that it never failed to give correct soundings, and that it
was of great use in running in the night along shoals and reefs
in the Indian Ocean. "No commander who has ever used
one of ihem," he said, " would be willing to be without it."
Speaking of this instrument, Ericsson says : " It was contrived
78 UFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
in conjunction with Francis B. Ogden, Esq., TJ. S. Consnl at
Liverpool, a gentleman practically skilled as a sailor and known
for his scientific attainments. The writer has great pleasure
in according to Mr. Ogden the principal merit of this very use-
ful instrument" Doubtless the idea was Ogden's, and the de-
velopment of the mechanical details Ericsson's. As finally
completed it was known as ^' Ericsson's Improved Sounding In-
strument," and a patent for improvements on it was taken out
as late as September 23, 1863.
When Ericsson arrived in England there were some 2,500
miles of canals in operation in the United Kingdom, and by the
time the railroads appeared as a rival to check their growth,
the mileage had increased to 4,000 miles. The traffic upon
these artificial water-ways, connecting the natural watercourses,
was an important factor in commercial enterprise. The result
of the Kainhill trial of locomotives had greatly alarmed tlie
canal proprietors as to the future of their property. Ericsson
sought with others to find some means of enlarging the capacity
of the canals. In connection with C. B. Yignoles he patented
a plan for propelling canal-boats by placing on board a steam-
engine and using it to set in motion two rollers, pinching be-
tween them a fiat bar of iron fastened to a wooden rail running
along the bank. This was simply the application of a device
previously invented by Ericsson, and designed primarily to en-
able locomotives to ascend heavy grades. It was originally
supposed that it would be impossible for a locomotive to draw
trains of cars even up ordinary grades without some such de-
vice, and among those suggested was the one appearing in the
illustration. The railroad on Mount Cenis was constructed
over thirty years later on Ericsson's plan.*
In 1834 Ericsson tested on the Begent's Canal a system of
propulsion by movable shutters resembling Venetian blinds.
These shutters projected beyond the stem post of the boat and
were set in motion by a steam cylinder placed in the bottom of
the vessel parallel with the keel. The speed obtained was
satisfactory, but the movement of the shutters jarred the
mechanism so much that it could not be made to work continu-
ously. In a modification of this system, patented in 1834, the
*See N9W York Times, Maroh 18, 18160.
THE HOT-AIB ENGIKS.
79
propelling blades were operated by the engine and the jarring
motion was thns avoided. This was applied to a canal-boat in
France with economical results.
A hydrostatic weighing machine was another of Ericsson's
inventions daring his residence in England. For this a prize
was awarded by the Society of Arts. Its inventor had given
mnch attention to hydrostatics and had noted, without reason-
ing concerning it, this remarkable peculiarity of fluids : ^^ with
a specific gravity only one-twentieth part that of gold, water
holds, bulk for bulk, a greater quantity of heat, and while so
light that no substance once immersed in it can ever rise from
its surface, except in an ae'rif orm state, it resists pressure to a
degree nearly equal to that of the metals themselves." ^^ Who
can prove," asks Ericsson, " that the waters on the surface of
the globe would not ages ago have become crusted over with
solid matter, and the world converted into a parched desert^
80 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
but for its remarkable property of submerging and retainlnf?
every solid inanimate substance, permitting only a partial escape
in the aeriform state?" Believing that a fuller knowledge
should be acquired of the mechanical laws governing this mys-
terious combination of matter, he invented an apparatus for
testing the compressibility of water. This he called the "hy-
drostatic gauge." The measurement was efPected by means
of mercury brought into contact with distilled water at sixty
degrees^ this water being subjected to hydrostatic pressure. A
compression of ^pQ^pQ^^ was thus readily detected in a column
of water only a few feet high. The possibilities of this instru-
ment were of course limited to the strength of the material of
which it was composed. This, Ericsson estimated at two hun-
dred thousand pounds per square inch of section. As he had
no time to experiment with this device, to determine the pre-
cise relations of force and compression characterizing a fluid,
he placed it in the London Crystal Palace Exposition of 1851,
with a hydraulic machine constructed for the purpose of test-
ing it.
In 1836 Ericsson patented a machine for cutting files auto-
matically. One model was put into operation at Sheffield and
another in Belgium. Several files could be cut at one time, and
in cutting taper files the force of the blow was proportioned to
the width and depth of the cut at different parts of the file.
For double-cut files two machines were used, the bed of one
inclining to the right and that of the other to the left, to give
proper inclination to the rows of teeth crossing one another.
For " floats," or files with a single row of teeth, and for round
and half-round files a straight bed was used. Two beds were
employed on each machine, so that the " blanks " could be ad-
justed upon one while the other was cutting. The machine
made two hundred and forty strokes in a minute; three
times the rate of handwork. As these blows were of uniform
strength, steel of uniform hardness was required, and with this
excellent files could be made.
Another steam-engine was added to the list of inventions
about this time and applied to a canal-boat in France, a patent
being taken out there, as well as in England and the United
, States. It was a ^^ semi-rotary engine," the steam cylinder con-
THE HOT-AIB ENGINE. 81
taining a piston projecting like the spoke of a wheel from a
central axis. This piston was moved back and forth by the ac-
tion of the steam through an arc of three hundred degrees:
and imparted a continuous rotation to the driving-shaft by the
means of a peculiar application of ^^ friction disks." It was in-
genious but not economical. A semi-rotary engine was among
the ideas patented by John Watt in 1782. If equal power
could be thus obtained, rotary engines would have the great
advantage of compactness of construction. There are two dif-
ficulties : first in securing a satisfactory packing of the piston,
without excessive friction, and next in the loss of effective
pressure in consequence of the resistance of the steam behind
the piston.
Ericsson had now been ten years in England, and during
this time he had patented thirty inventions, considered by him
of sufBcient importance to claim a place in a list I have before
me in his handwriting. It was prepared in 1863 and includes
just one hundred inventions, after the precedent of " The Cen-
tury of Invention," written in 1656 by Edward Somerset, Mar-
quis of Worcester, who in his turn may have derived his idea
from the " Centuria di Secreti Politici, Cimichi, e Naturali,*'
by Francesco Scarioni of Parma (Venice, 1626).
Very little is to be learned concerning the details of Erics-
son's life in London. We find him recorded on his patents as
an engineer, located, October 10, 1834, at " Union Wharf, Al-
bany Street, Eegents Park ; " July 13, 1836, at " Brook Street,
New Road," and on July 6, 1839, at " Cambridge Terrace,
Hyde Park." He was an agreeable companion, and by no
means unsocial in his nature, but constant occupation gave
him small opportunity for the ordinary intercourse of society.
Still, he was an admirer of ladies in his own way and did not
scorn to trim his plumage accordingly. In matters of dress
he was at that time very particular and maintained an extensive
wardrobe. His friendships were usually the result of profes-
sional association, and through them he secured a circle of ac-
quaintance sufficiently large for the limited need of social in-
tercourse, since he was less dependent than most men on human
friendship.
Among his earliest acquaintances in England was Mr.
6
82 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON.
Charles Seidler. The wife of Mr. Seidler had a half-dster,
Amelia ByaiiL When Ericsson first knew her brother-in-law,
AwiaIia was a child of ten years. She grew into a lovelj
woman, the most fascinating he had ever seen, as he was aocns-
tomed to say, intelligent, generoa's in disposition, cultivated,
and a fine musician, as well as very handsome. Her father,
Edward Byam, was the second son of Sir Charles Byam, at one
time British Commissioner for Antigna, and her uncle, Bev.
Bichard Burke Byam, was for forty years rector of Kew and
Petersham, where he confirmed several members of the royal
family.
When Amelia Byam was nineteen years old, and John
Ericsson thirty-three, they were married by license, on October
IS, 1836, by the incumbent of St John's Church, Padding-
ton. The witnesses signing their names to the register of the
church were Mr. and Mrs. Seidler and their daughter ; Mrs.
Seidler's sister, Louisa Browning; John Braithwaite, Ericsson's
partner ; and ^^ John Milner." Bef erring to this occasion thirty
years after, the bridegroom said : ^' I have not been in a church
since March, 1826, except once in London, when on a certain
morning I committed the indiscretion of not only going inside
the holy room, but of also appearing before the altar and there
giving a promise difficult to keep."
Speaking of one of his rivals, he said : '^ That the beautiful
and musical Miss Byam preferred the foreign engineer hurt
the proud banker's vanity exceedingly, as he was one of the
handsomest men in London."
A niece of Mrs. Ericsson married, in 1868, Colonel, afterward
lieutenant-Oeneral, Sir Trevor Chute, K.C.B., of the British
army, and one of the Chutes of '^ Chute Hall," England. She
appears frequently in Ericsson's domestic correspondence as
^^ the magnificent Lady Chute," descriptive in this case, no doubt,
but not necessarily so, for he was accustomed to relieve the strain
of exactitude required in his daily pursuits by indulging in hy-
perbole when he found occasion to deal with ladies. His na-
tive Swedish is said to lend itself to this form of expression
more readily than any other European language, except the
Spanish. Lady Chute lived in Kew Zealand, and of Erics-
son it must be said that his admiration for women was in in-
TKE HOT-AIB ENGINE. 88
▼erse ratio to their social demands upon him. He was wOling
enough to be entertained by them when the humor pleased
him, but quite unwilling to assume any responsibility for them
necessitating the occupation of his valuable time. He was him-
self accustomed to say that he was not fitted for domestic
life.
CHAPTER VL
THB SCREW PBOPELLER.
Fortomta Besult of the Bainhill Oonfcest.— Erioason's Viking Blood.—
Studies in Naval Engineering and Qxinnery. — ^Relations to Oaptain
Robert F. Stockton.— The Screw Propeller.— The First Steam Tng.
— ^Early Experiments with the Screw.
NEITHEB the comments of the critics nor the failure of his
plans could discourage Ericsson's belief in the principle
of his hot-air engine. In it he proposed to substitute air for
water, as a medium for transferring heat into power, and thus
escape the danger attending the explosive properties of steam.
But what particularly fascinated his imagination was the idea
that he could, by the use of his ^' regenerator," or respirator, as
it should more properly be called, save the waste of heat at-
tending its use in the steam-engine. Brande describes the
respirator as ^^ an instrument covering the mouth with a net-
work of fine wire, through which persons of weak lungs can
breathe without injury. The wire being warmed by the breath,
tempers the cold air from without." *
A similar net-work of wire was used in a second caloric en-
gine contrived by Ericsson in 1838, the " orifice through which
the air to be expanded by heat into working force passed in
and out being covered by a metal box wherein sheets of wire
gauze were closely packed, their meshes receiving heat from
the warm air passing out and transferring it to the cold air
coming in.
Theoretically, this " regenerator " would prevent all waste
of heat, except such as was lost by radiation from the machine
itself ; practically this result was only partially accomplished.
The name given to the engine indicated that Ericsson was at this
date possessed by the idea which, as Professor Bankine tells us,
* Bnmde'i Diotionarj of Science, Literaturci and Art
•THE SCREW PBOPELLVB. 86
*'ha8 been the chief impediment to the progress of the aocnrate
knowledge of the laws of the relations between heat and motive
power " — the idea that the phenomena of heat are caused by
the presence, in greater or less qnantity, of a substance called
^^ caloric." * Heat was not then recognized as a mere form of
activity, and no account was taken of the large amount of heat
necessarily transformed into work. !No sufficient provision was
made in the furnaces for this loss of power, and unexpected dif-
ficulties were met with in heating at all a substance so little
affected by radiant heat as air. Hence, the inventor did not at
this time go beyond the construction of a model engine for the
purposes of experiment.
In the interval of five years between this experiment and
the preceding one, with the first caloric engine, in 1833, Erics-
son had made good use of his studies into the conservation of
heat by improving the steam-engine, so as to lessen the loss of
heat attending the process of condensing the waste steam into
water. With these labors he found time for others, destined to
produce even more important results.
Keviewing his life toward its close, he was accustomed to
say that his failure to secure the much-coveted prize in the
Bainhill locomotive contest was most fortunate for him. With
success would have come immediate prosperity and correspond-
ing temptation ; as it was, his struggle with adverse fortune
continued until his blood was cooler, and the heat and passion
of youth had in a measure abated. He was naturally an in-
tense man in every way, and when the full tide of life poured
through his yelnsVwere fairly bursting under the constant
strain of a vigorous vitality that must find relief in some form
of activity. With his great mental power and intense nervous
force were combined enormous muscular strength and corre-
sponding physical passion. He was, in short, in every respect,
a high- pressure engine.
The taste for strong drink is a Swedish characteristic, and in
his younger years Ericsson shared it, though he never permitted
it to master him ; still, until he changed his habit, when he was
about fifty years old, he was accustomed to take his brandy and
his heavy sherry, if not immoderately or impnidently, at least
* Bankine'fl Manual of the Steam Engine and other Prime Movera. 1881.
86 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
with fitudions regalaritj. With his ardent temperament he
felt that idleness, or the temptation of leisurely social inter-
course, would have put a lion in his path, for it was the time
of high living and hard drinking in England. From this pos-
sible danger, as well as from other temptations^ he was saved
bj the strain of constant occupation.
) Naturally amiable and generous, Ericsson was, at the same
time, a man of ungovernable temper. Like the Scandinavian
hero, Odin, ^^ he looked so fair and noble when he sat with his
I friends that every mind was delighted, but when he was in a
heat then he looked fierce to his foes.'' He was controlled by
a strong sense of justice, but he did not readily brook opposi-
: tion, and he had his experiences of the " Berserk fury," such as
compelled the Korse warriors of old to bite their shields, and
to wrestle with the stones and trees, lest they slay their friends
in their rage. ^' There was no king who would not give them
what they wanted rather than suffer their overbearing ; " * and
they were few who cared to encounter John Ericsson when the
Berserk fury was on him.
At the time when Ericsson was first busied with his caloric
experiments steam navigation upon the ocean was opening the
way to new conquests over space. In 1807, on August 7th,
the Catherine of Glemumt^ nicknamed by the derisive
" FuUoria FoUy^^ left her wharf at New York, followed by
taunting shouts of " God help you, Bobby 1 " " Bring us back
a chip off the North Pole," "A fool and his money," etc.,
and steamed up the North River to set the farmers on its
banks fleeing home with the tidings that the devil was sailing
up the Hudson " on a saw-mill."
In 1832, the year before the caloric engine appeared, came
the first wild suggestion of the possibility of establishing a
regular line of steamers between England and America. In
1838, when the improved caloric engine was finished, the pio-
neer of the ocean line, the Cheat Western^ crossed the Atlantic
in fifteen days ; just equalling the time of the sailing ship
JPennaylvania, which three months before had madlb ^^the
shortest passage as yet."
To Ericsson seems to have been apparent ten years earlier
* Vide Dn GhaiUn's Viking Age,
THB SCREW PBOPELLSB. 87
what did not become clear to othen until this experiment in
ocean navigation, that steamers could not compete in a fair con-
test with sailing vessels until there was a radical revolution in
the means of applying power. Especially did he see that the
objections taken by the old salts to the use of steam for naval
vessels were well founded, so long as the imprisoned steam
was in danger of being let loose by exploding shell, and the
clumsy paddle-wheels, with the machinery coupled to them, to
be torn to pieces when most needed in order to escape the per-
ils of battle. Some time previous to 1833 he was called upon
by a carrying company in London to conduct numerous trials
with submerged propellers on the London & Birmingham
Oanal, and we find evidence that he was certainly conducting
such experiments as early as 1833. Describing his subsequent
progress, he said, in a letter to John Bourne, published in the
London JSnffineer, December 31, 1875 :
1835. Designed a rotaiy propeller to be aofcnated by steam power,
oonsiBting of a series of segments of a screw, attaohed to a thin broad
hoop supported by arms so twisted as also to form part of a sorew. The
[ propeller subsequently applied to the steamship Princeton was identical
■ with my said design of 1835. Even the mode adopted to determine, by
, geometrical constmction, the twist of the blades and arms of the Prince^
' tan's and other propellers was identical with my design of the year last
mentioned.
1836. Ck>n8tracted a small propeller boat, operated by steam power,
in a large circular cistern, for the satisfaction of certain puties intending
to take an interest in my invention, and to furnish means for seonring
letters patent for the same.
1837. Designed an engine for imparting motion directly to the sorew
propeller shaft, consisting of two steam cylinders placed diagonally at
. right angles to each other, the connecting-rods of which were coupled to
a common crank-pin. This engine was applied, in the year 1838, to the
iron screw steamer Robert F. Stockton, which crossed the Atlantic, under
canvas, 1839, and was afterward employed as a tug-boat on the river
Delaware for upward of a quarter of a century.
This last was the first direct-acting screw propeller engine
ever btfflt.
The large circular cistern here referred to was one of the
public baths in London. A steam boiler was placed over this
and steam from it conducted through a pipe to a small engine
88 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON*
eet in the little boat. The accnracj of the inventor's theoreti*
cal calcalation was shown by the complete snccess of the ex-
periments. On the first trial the toy boat, less than two feet
in length) as soon as the steam was turned on started on a
voyage aronnd the basin at the rate of more than three miles
an hour. This was an instance of the nice application of theory
to practice for which Ericsson's career was remarkable. If he
could not always control the conditions of economical success,
he never proposed mechanical absurdities or impossibilities.
His chief rival for the honor of introducing the screw,
Francis Pettit Smith, was at this time striving to work out the
problem of using the old device of an Archimedean screw by
^^ rule of thumb,'' for he was a farmer and not an engineer or
mechania Only by the accidental breaking of the long screw
he was using did he discover that he was on the wrong track.
His labors undoubtedly did much to smooth the way for the
early introduction of the propeller, and up to the time that
Smith, and Ericsson appeared no permanent or practical prog-
ress had been made in screw propulsion. In 1836, when their
patents were taken out, there was no vessel propelled by a screw
in existence. Experiments, indeed,. had been made in England,
in America, and in France, showing that by means of a screw,
a vessel might be driven through the water. But the recol-
lection of these experiments had in a great measure died out,
and what remained of it operated rather as a discouragement
than a provocative to enterprise, since it carried the presump-
tion that if the mode of propelling by the screw had been found
satisfactory it would not have been relinquished.''^
Shortly after Ericsson's patent was granted, the Frcmoia B.
Ogdeny a vessel 45 feet long, 8 feet beam, and 3 feet draught,
was built for the purpose of effectually testing the power of the
screw, and launched upon the Thames in the spring of 1837.
Two propellers, 6 feet 3 inches in diameter, were so fitted to
the stern of this vessel that either could be used. " So sue-
oessfnl was the experiment that when steam was turned on for
the first time, the boat at once moved at a speed of upward of
ten miles an hour, without a single alteration being required
in her machinery. This miniature steamer had such power,
* I^AtiBe on the Sorew PropeUer. Bj John Boame, O.B. London, 1862.
THB SOBBW PBOPBLLBB* 89
too, that she towed a Bchooner of one hnndred and forty tons
burden at the rate of seven miles an hour, and the American
I f packet ship TarorUo at the rate of more than four and a half
f I IfTiAta An ^Qii^ against the tide." "This fact," Mr. Sargent
f . lells ns, " excited no little interest among the boatmen of the
Thames, who were astonished at the sight of this novel craft
moving against wind and tide without anj visible agency of
propnlsion, and, ascribing to it some supernatural origin, they
united in giving it the name of the Flying Devil. But the
engineers of London regarded the experiment with silent neg-
lect." *
In the summer of 1837, Ericsson invited the Lords of the
British Admiralty to take an excursion in tow of his experimen-
tal steamboat. The Ogden was taken to Somerset House, the
headquarters of the British Kavy, and lashed alongside the Ad-
miralty barge containing the First Lord, Sir Charles Adams ;
the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir William Symonds ; the Hydro-
grapher. Captain Beaufort, and Sir William Edward Parry, the
hero of five expeditions to the Arctic seas, who had recently as-
sumed the duties of the newly created office of " Comptroller of
Steam Machinery for the Royal Navy." Other gentlemen of
scientific or naval distinction accompanied this party. The
results of the expedition are best told in the language of Mr.
John O. Sargent, the friend of Ericsson for half a century.
He described it while the circumstances were still fresh in recol-
lection, in his lecture delivered before the Boston Lyceum in
December, 1843,* as follows :
In the anticipation of a severe soratiny from bo distingaished a
personage as the Ohief Gonstruotor of the British Navy, the inventor
had oaref ally prepared plans of his new mode of propnlsion, whioh were
spread on the damask oloth of the magnificent barge. To his utter as-
tonishment, as we may well imagine, this scientific gentleman did not
appear to take the slightest interest in his explanations. On the con-
trary, with those expressive shrugs of the shoulder and shakes of the
head which convey so much to the bystander without absolutely com-
mitting the actor, with an occasional sly, mysterious, undertone remark
to his colleagues, he indicated very plainly that though his humanity
would not permit him to give a worthy man cause for so much unhappi*
* fl«rgent*i Lecture on the Late Improvements In Steam Navigation, ete.
90 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
sees, jet that ** he oonld i^n* if he would " demonstrate by a single wofd
the utter futility of the whole invention.
Meanwhile the little steamer, with her precious charge, proceeded
at a steady progress of ten miles an hour, through the arches of the lofty
Southwark and London Bridges, toward Limehouse, and the steam-
engine manufactory of the Messrs. Seaward. Their lordships having
landed and inspected the huge piles of ill-shaped oast-iron, misdenom-
inated marine engines, intended for some of his Majesty's steameiSy
with a look at their favorite propelling apparatus, the Morgan paddle-
wheel, they re-embarked and were safely returned to Somerset House,
by the disregarded, noiseless, and unseen propeller of the new steamer.
On parting. Sir Charles Adams, with a sympathizing air, shook the
inventor cordially by the hand, and thanked him for the trouble he had
been at in showing him and his friends this interesting experiment ; add-
ing, that he feared he had put himself to too great an expense aod trou-
ble on the occasion. Notwithstanding this somewhat ominous finale of
the day's excursion, Ericsson felt confident that their lordships could
not fail to perceive the great importance of the invention. To his sur-
prise, however, a few days afterward, a friend put into his hands a letter
written by Captain Beaufort, at the suggestion, probably, of the Lords
of the Admiralty, in which that gentleman, who had himself witnessed
the experiment, expressed regret to state that their lordships had cer-
tainly been very much disappointed at its result. The reason for the dis-
appointment was altogether inexplicable to the inventor, for the speed
attained at this trial far exceeded anything that had ever been accom-
plished by any paddle-wheel steamer on so small a scale.
An accident soon relieved his astonishment, and explained the mys-
terious givings-out of Sir William Symonds, alluded to in our notice of
the excursion. The subject having been started at a dinner-table when
a friend of Ericsson was present. Sir William ingeniously and ingenu-
ously remarked, that ''even if the propeller had the power of pro-
pelling a vessel, it would be found altogether useless in practice,
because the power being applied in the stem it would be absolutely impos-
sibie to make the vessel steer." It may not be obvious to everyone how
our naval philosopher derived his conclusion from his premises ; but his
hearers doubtless readily acquiesced in the oracular proposition, and
were much amused at fche idea of undertaking to steer a vessel when
the power was applied in her stem.
But we may well excuse the lords of the British Admiralty for
exhibiting no interest in the invention when we reflect that the engi-
neering corps of the empire were arrayed in opposition to it ; alleging
that it was constructed upon erroneous principles, and full of practical
defects, and regarding its failure as too certain to authorize any specu-
lations even of its success. The plan was specially submitted to many
distinguished engineers, and was publicly discussed in the scientific jour-
nals ; and there was no one but the inventor who refused to acquiesce
THE SCREW PBOPELLSR. 91
in the tmth of the nnmerous demonstrations proving the vast loos of
meohanioal power which mnst attend this proposed substitute for the
old-fashioned paddle-wheel.
Mr. Francis B. Ogden was a gentleman well known at that
time to trayelling Americans, as Consnl of the United States at
Liverpool. He was a liberal-minded man and one whose prac-
tical experience in steam navigation made him an invaluable ally
to Ericsson. Though not an engineer by prof ession, Mr. Ogden
had been distinguished, Mr. Sargent tells us, ^^ for his eminent
attainments in mechanical science, and is entitled to the honor
of having first applied the important principle of the expansive
power of steam, and of having originated the idea of employ-
ing right-angular cranks on marine engines. His practical ex-
perience and long study of the subject — for he was the first
to stem the waters of the Ohio and Mississippi, and the first
to navigate the ocean by the power of steam alone— enabled him
at once to perceive the truth of the inventor's demonstrations ;
but not only did he admit their truth, he also joined Gap-
tain Ericsson in constructing the first experimental boat," and
to this boat his name was given.
In Mr. Ogden Ericsson found an attentive listener to his
engineering ideas, and a warm sympathizer with projects so
novel that they confused the mind of the average Englishman,
who hates a thing merely because it is new. To a man pur-
sued almost to his death by the tribe of the 'twUl-never-doists,
acquaintance with such a man as Ogden was like the shadow of
a great rock in a weary land. ^^ How I hate that expression ^ it
will never do,' " says Hayden — the unfortunate artist to whom
England owes its possession of the Elgin marbles — in his ^^ Lec-
tures on Painting and Design ; " ^' it has always been the fa-
vorite watch-cry of those in all ages and all countries who look
on all schemes for the advancement of mankind as indirect re-
flections on the narrowness of their own comprehensions."
This was not Ogden's first venture with Ericsson, for I find
the record of an obligation he entered into in 1831, binding
himself in the penal sum of £20,000 as assignee for Ericsson
of the rights in the United States ^'to a certain invention,
being an improvement in the application of steam for mechan-
92 LIFE OF JOHN EKIGSSON.
ical purposefi." This is evidentlj the steam-drum, in which
William Laird also invested. Ogden, being a citizen, took out
the patent in the United States, and assigned to Ericsson one-
half interest. It was through Mr. Ogden, too, that Ericsson ap-
plied at Washington, in 1837, for a patent for his propeller.
" One thing is forever good : that one thing is success.'*
" Will it pay ? " is the supreme test of success in contemporary
appreciation of mechanical improvements, and Ericsson's inven-
tions, as we have seen, did not always pay. Sometimes because
the result he sought could be more economically accomplished
in other ways, if less efficiently, and as often because a long ed-
ucational process was required to convince those he wished to
benefit of their need of what his genius had provided for them.
The reception, no less than the conception, of new ideas neces-
sitates evolution, and this is a weary world for those who see
much beyond their fellows. Ericsson's investments in '^fu-
tures," as they would be called on the exchanges, were too
heavy, and the financial difficulties resulting from this impru-
dence were increased by the enforcement of an obligation as-
sumed on behalf of a friend. The firm of Braithwaite &
Ericsson had failed, and the bailiffs were on the track of the
junior member. So, for a time, he enjoyed the hospitalities
of "The Fleet" as a foreign debtor. In the year 1837, so
disastrous to many others, he took the benefit of the " act for
the relief of insolvent debtors," and secured his discharge in
bankruptcy.
We had in our navy at this time, a sailor, Kobert F. Stock-
ton, who united qualities rarely found in combination. An ac-
complished and experienced officer, showing an intelligent inter-
est in all that concerned his profession, he was at the same time
a man of fortune and family infiuence, as well as an important
factor in the politics of his native State of New Jersey, after-
ward representing it in the Senate of the United States. Lieu-
tenant Stockton was building the Delaware & Haritan Canal,
and had invested in it his fortune, and that of his family. The
financial difficulties of 1837 compelled him to visit England to
procure the means for completing the canal. There he made
the acquaintance of Ericsson, no doubt through Mr. Ogden,
who was a fellow-Jerseyman, and a representative, as Stockton
THE SOBEW PBOPELLEB. 98
himself was, of a family honorably identified for several gene-
rations with the history of the State. Robert Ogden, the
grandfather of one, was a member of the Continental Congress,
and the ancestor of the other was one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence.
Thns it happened that Ericsson and Stockton were brought
together jnst at the time when the inventor of the propeller was
most in need of influential assistance to enable him to develop,
in some more congenial clime, schemes in danger of perishing
under the chilling influence of British hostility and indiffer-
ence. To Stockton the State of New Jersey is indebted for
the early development of her railroad and canal system, and
his experience in this work, supplementing his naval training,
led him to give much attention to the construction of steam
engines, and the subject of applying steam to war vessels at a
time when most naval officers were still insisting upon the ad-
vantages of sails.
Stockton was induced to accompany Ericsson in one of his
excursions on the Thames on the Franda B: Ogden^ and at
once appreciated the value of the invention received with such
cool indifference by the officials of the British Navy. He com-
prehended immediately the revolution it was destined to work
in naval warfare, and this was sufficient to fix his attention
without reference to its commercial value.
His perceptions were quick, his self-reliance was unlimited,
and he was nearly as energetic as Ericsson himself in carrying
ont a plan once conceived. A single trip from London Bridge
to Greenwich was sufficient to induce him to at once order from
the inventor two iron boats for the United States, to be fitted
with his steam machinery and propeller.
" I do not want," said Captain Stockton, " the opinions of
your scientific men ; what I have seen this day satisfies me."
A dinner at Greenwich ended this excursion and Stock-
ton, who added oratory to his other accomplishments, made a
speech declaring to Ericsson, ^' We'll make your name ring on
the Delaware, as soon as we get your propeller there."
Betuming to the United States, Stockton was, in December,
1838, promoted to captain and ordered to the Mediterranean as
fleet-captain on board the flag-ship of Commodore Hull. He
04 LIFE OF JOHN SRIGSSOK.
was alBO made bearer of despatches to the American Minister
to the court of St. James, and improved the opportunity of his
visit to England to thoroughly inform himself as to the condi-
tion of the marine armaments of Great Britain. He also found
time to witness the trial of the screw steamer built for him,
the Robert K Stooktony and for further consultation with
his friends Ogden and Ericsson. It would have been im-
possible to find two men better fitted to assist Ericsson in the
realization of his ambitious schemes with reference to manne
propulsion, for the studies and experience enabling them to
comprehend his plans had not closed their minds to new sug-
gestions. " Stockton was, moreover," as Philip Hone says in
his "Diary," "not one of the timid sort, and did not often
find his modesty crossing the path of his undertakings." *
The Stockton was launched in the river Mersey on July
7, 1838, and immediately fitted with her double cylinder,
direct-acting engine and the patent spiral propeller. After
several highly satisfactory trials with her at Liverpool, she was,
on January 12, 1839, tried on the river Thames, in the pres-
ence of Captain Stockton, Mr. Ogden, and about thirty other
gentlemen invited to witness her performance. The London
Times of that date mentions as present several distinguished
British and Swedish naval officers, Mr. Yignoles, and other
engineers, and Major-General Sir John Fox Burgoyne — a nat-
ural son of the Burgoyne of Saratoga surrender, the engineer-
in-chief in the attack on New Orleans, repulsed by Jackson,
and the father of a son destined, thirty years later, to fall a
victim, as a captain in the British navy, to Cowper Coles's at-
tempt to rival Ericsson in marine construction. Sir John was
at this time Chairman of the Board of Public Works and Com-
missioner of Steam Navigation, etc., in Ireland.
The results obtained with this vessel were considered at the
time most extraordinary. The Times described them at length,
announced that they appeared "quite conclusive as to the
success of this important improvement in steam navigation,"
and forecasted " important changes in steam navigation " from
its introduction. The Robert F. Stockton was an iron steam-
boat, seventy feet in length on deck and ten feet beam, drawing
• Diary of Philip Hone, vol i., p. 278.
THE SCREW PROPELLER. 95
three feet of water and propelled by a fifty-horse power engine.
Of such engines the Times said :
They may be made much stronger and more compact than ordmaxy
marine-engines, in consequence of the power being applied directly to
the shaft which works very near the bottom. This for sea-going vessels
will be very important, and their original cost may be considerably re-
duced, as all the paraphernalia of shafts, wheels, wheel-guards, etc., will
be dispensed with. We were struck with the great regularity of the
motion, not the slightest jar being perceptible. The engines consist of
two cylinders sixteen inches in diameter with eighteen-inch stroke, and
are worked by steam, of a pressure varying from thirty-five pounds to
flfty-flve pounds to the square inch, their construction is extremely sim-
ple and evinces a knowledge of steam machinery by the inventor which
is calculated to give additional confidence in the success of his propeller
in all the varieties of its application for the canal, river, or ocean navi-
gation.
The Stockton was built at Birkenhead, on the Mersey, by
Messrs. John & Macgregor Laird, who were the pioneers in
building iron vessels, one of their boats, the Albur&ay having
been sent with the Landers to Africa to explore the Niger.*
From them, no doubt, Ericsson obtained thus early, ideas on the
subject of iron ship construction of which he was able, later in
life, to make most effective use.
Some gentleman, whose knowledge of the text of Shake-
speare was obtained at second-hand, objected to one of his plays
on hearing it for the first time, because it was too full of fa-
miliar quotations to do credit to the author's originality. Erics-
son was the subject of similar criticism in his old age. His
knowledge of and experience with many mechanical contriv-
ances in common use to-day dated so far back of any existing
recollection that he was supposed to have copied from others
what he, in fact, originated himself, or certainly first brought
into use. The spectacle of saucy little steam-tugs drawing
huge vessels after them at will, so familiar now in American
waters, was wholly unknown to British seamen in 1838. So
strange, indeed, that the stolid watermen watched the feats of
towing on the Thames vrith the sort of curiosity attending a
balloon ascension, as an entertaining exhibition in dynamics,
wholly disconnected from any relation to the daily business ot
* Fairbairn'B History and Progrees of Iron Ship Building, p. 4
98 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
life. Even the commendation of the Times could not aronse
in conservative British ship-owners, or naval officers, the ambi-
tion to avail themselves of this new power.
Just previous to this, in the winter of 1837, Ericsson's pro-
peller had been fitted with great success to a canal boat of ten
horse-power called the Novelty^ pljii^g npon the canal between
Manchester and London, and realizing a speed of eight or nine
miles an hour. ^' This," says Bourne, ^' is the first example of
a screw boat being employed for commercial purposes; but
this boat was in a short time laid up, owing to the failure of
her owners. In the early part of 1839 another iron steamer,
70 X 7 feet, with 14-horse-power engines, was built by Mr. J.
T. Woodhouse, and fitted with Ericsson's propeller to run on
the Ashby-de-la-Zouche Canal, near LeiceBter, England. She
attained a speed of nine to ten miles in deep water. These ex-
periments were not repeated, and it required a struggle of years
to persuade the British public and British officials of the value
of the screw." *
In his petition of 1850 to the Privy Council Ericsson tells
us that the success attending these several vessels was, at the
time, faithfully and favorably recorded in the Times news-
paper. Mechanics Magaziney the dvU Engineers mid Archi-
tects JownuxL^ and the London Journal of Arts a/nd Sciences.
Although the importance, usefulness, and practicability of
the invention were thus established, and public attention at-
tracted to it, ^^ yet so little was it then understood and such was
the opposition and indifference of engineers and others inter-
ested in the invention that no benefit resulted to the inventor."
Ericsson further called the attention of the Privy Council
to the fact that his patent ^' was the earliest in date, and that
in a book recently published by Bennet Woodcroft, Professor of
Machinery in the University College of London, on * The Ori-
gin and Progress of Steam Navigation,' it is admitted that
your petitioner, John Ericsson, accomplished for the screw pro-
peller in America and in England what Fulton did for the
paddle-wheel in the former country,t which testimony your pe-
* A Treatise on the Screw Proi>eUer, bj John Boume, p. 88. London, 1862.
f See Woodcroft^s Sketch of the Origin and Progress of Steam Navigation,
p. 102. London, 1848.
THE SOBEW PBOPELLEB. 97
titioners Babmit is the more valaable as proceeding from one
who is himself the inventor of an improved propeller, and to
whom yonr petitioners were wholly unknown. The efforts of
jonr petitioners, and particularly yonr petitioner, the said John
Ericsson, have mainly contributed to the introduction and prac-
tical application of the screw as a marine propeller to the al-
most incalculable benefit of this great commercial country."
This petition presents very fully, in formal language, a his-
tory of its author's claims to the screw propeller. Various na-
tions have claimed it for their citizens, just as they have claimed
the steam-engine and other useful inventions. In front of the
Polytechnic School at Vienna stands a bronze monument,
erected in 1863, by a national subscription, to the memory of Jo-
seph Kessel, the Austrian to whom his countrymen ascribe the
first use of the screw. Bessel's first drawing was made in 1812,
while he was a student in the University of Vienna ; his first
experiments were made in 1826, with a barge driven by hand,
and February 11, 1827, an Austrian patent was issued to him.
In 1829 he applied his screw to a boat with an engine of six
horse-power and made for a time six miles an hour. Then a
steam-pipe burst and the police, whose heads were more occu-
pied in those days witli the plots of Carbonari than with scien-
tific investigation, put an end to further experiments.
It is a curious fact that John Bourne, who devotes a treatise
to the screw propeller and describes one hundred and twenty-
six different inventions, does not so much as mention the orig-
inal of the Austrian monument. In 1823, Captain Delisle, of
the French Engineers, presented a memorial to the Minister
of Marine describing a proposed method of propelling vessels
by means of a submerged screw. No attention was paid to it
and it was forgotten until revived in after years to furnish a
pretext for the invasion of Ericsson's patent in France where
his propeller was the first introduced and obtained a wide accept-
ance. Weighing Ericsson in the balance with his chief rival,
Smith, Bourne says: '^ Ericsson, previous to his connection
with the screw, was an accomplished engineer ; Smith was only
an amateur, with almost everything except the leading idea
to learn. Ericsson's mechanical resources gave him means of
overcoming difficulties such as Smith did not possess; and
7
08 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
Smith had therefore to accept expedients then nsnal among
engineers as his starting-point, whereas Ericsson conld reject
those expedients in favor of others which his own ingenuity
suggested. Thus, in bringing np the speed of the screw, Smith
had to snbmit to the use of gearing, because that was the ex-
pedient which was approved by orthodox engineers ; but Erics-
son threw the dogmas of engineers to the winds, and coupled
the engine immediately to the propeller." *
In March, 1845, Ericsson made affidavit that before the year
1833 he had devoted much time and attention to the invention
of stem propellers, having been appointed by a carrying com-
pany in London to conduct numerous experiments in propelling
canal-boats with submerged propellers in the London & Bir-
mingham Canal. In 1833 his attention was particularly di-
rected to the subject of oblique propulsion, on the principle
for which he afterward obtained letters patent in England.
He employed Elias Harrison, afterward Chief Engineer on the
IT. S. S. Prmcetonj to fit stern propellers of various patterns to
a canal boat called the Francis and belonging to Messrs. Robins
& Mills, forwarders, 128 London Wall. All of these propel-
lers were connected with the engine with a cylindrical iron
shaft projecting through the centre of the stern-post and
worked below the water-line. They were placed between the
rudder and the stem-post, and were protected by an overhang
which also gave support to the rudder from above ; wheel and
rudder being supported from below by a flat iron bar bolted
to the after end of the keel, extending beyond it and turning
in the space between tliis and the overhang. The same device
was, toward the end of 1834, applied by Ericsson to a new canal
boat called the AnndtoHtcs built by Robins & Mills, the over-
hang in this case forming part of the boat itself. These facta
are stated in an affidavit made by Harrison, who further states
that the screw was thus put into practical operation on the An^
natarivs ^^ before May, 1835, this deponent having been e^i-
ployed by the aforesaid Robins & Mills as chief engineer rmy
ning the said boat for many months from that time."
Farmer Smith's attention was not directed to the subject of :
screw propulsion until 183S, but he preceded Ericsson with his'.
* Boame's Treatise on the Screw Propeller, p. 90. '
THE 80BEW PBOPBLLSB. M
English patent. It was dated May 31, 1836, Ericsson's July
13, 1836, or six weeks later. That the latter earned his inven-
tion into practice at once is shown by his statement and that
of Count Von Rosen to the Privy Council, as well as by contem-
porary newspaper accounts.
The Mechanics M(igasine of June 3, 1837, described the
towing of the American packet ship TarorUOj of six hundred
and thirty tons burden, on Jane 28, 1837, and published the
certificates of the pilot and mate that the vessel was towed
"at the rate of four and a half knots an hour against the tide."
Two years later the same vessel was again towed by another
propeller, and this led to some confusion of dates, upon which
has been founded a denial of the original performance. The
EnterprisCy built for the Ashby-de-la-Zouche Canal, ran there
for one season, but without profit to her owner. She was ac-
cordingly transferred to the Trent and Mersey where she met
with great success as a steam-tug hauling coal barges.
Among Captain Ericsson's papers appears a letter from
Count Yon Bosen enclosing this financial statement. It pre-
sents a very interesting condensed history of his early relations
to the propeller.
BBIGSSOirS PATENT PBOPELLEB.
Db.
1880. To ooBt of first experimental model 27 14 10
" "patent 150 0 0
*< " Robins & Mills' oanal boats machinery. . . 1,264 17 2
*• "modelNo.2 26 12 6
<* « experimental boat (^^K20n 894 16 11
" " canal boat /ft?W7i JVb. 1 282 18 8
« « engine and propeller of the Robert Btoeh-
ton 1,629 2 6
•« " Robins* oanal boat 208 10 7
«* «• Robins' experiment 115 8 1
" ''modelNo.S 44 0 9
** " Rossidre rotary engine and propeller 516 11 2
" «« <» «« <* «« 80 5 2
" *' engine and propeller /8if0dk^on 87 12 8
«« » «« • *« <* 66 18 8
*^ *' Captain Ericsson's maintenance 94 8 0
" '• fl&w^ton machinery 196 11 8
" *• No. 8 rotary engine and propeller 404 17 8
*< « Roesi^re*s rotary engine and propeller. . . . 804 16 10
1887.
Jan.
April
Nov.
1888.
Jan.
1.
May
7,
<i
1».
Ang.
c<
24,
IC
«
l(
(C
Dec.
7,
«<
81.
1889.
Jan.
i;
(<
i»l
<4
26,
100 LIFE OF JOHN SBI08S0K.
1880. £ 9 d
Feb. 15, To cost of /SfeMJb^^nmaohiiienr 180 7 0
Maj 26, " " " '* 248 19 7
" ii « "SmodeU 140 11 5
June 5, '* " engine and propeller for canal boat AMy-
de-ict-Ztnushe 662 17 9
« 26, '* << semi-rotary engine and propeller 802 18 2
Sept 2, '< ** CapUin EriesBon's maintenance 600 0 0
Nov. 6, «< " Robins' canal boat 27 17 6
Dec. 81, '< << GapUin Ericsson's maintenance 60 0 0
1840. JStockton mMihineTj 47 0 0
Jan. << « Robins' canal boat 16 18 6
Jnly, <* « Captain Ericsson's maintenanoe 240 18 0
Dec. 81. •• «« •• " *« 60 0 0
1841. «* "
SJTOO 6 1
Ob.
1887. £ 9 d
April 6, By cash (V^Idn and ^S!bN;ft((m boats 06 0 0
May 16, «• " «* " *• 170 0 0
Sept 18, ** old material canal boats 260 0 0
Oct. 2, «* cash Robins & MUls 466 6 11
1888
Jan. 26, ** " Offden toid Stockton 860 0 0
March 1, " " Robins 180 0 0
" 6, " " ** 416 16 8
April 22, *< «• Ogden toid Stockton 400 0 0
May 10, " '• " ** 166 0 4
Jnne 8, *» " Robins 00 8 7
28, *' •• Roesidre 100 0 0
Ang. 24, " »* " 160 0 0
Oct 2, '' << Ogden vnd Stockton 660 0 0
1880
Jan. 6, •' •• Rossidre 180 0 0
Feb. 20, « *< Ogden 9aid Stockton 442 11 0
Jnly 6, «* '« " ** 672 12 0
Ang. 8, '* " AMy-de-la-Zcntehs 200 0 0
Dec 81, " old material, Robins 60 0 0
1840.
Jan. i^ ^^ QMh Ogden «ad Stockton 770 18 0
Feb. «' •* Robins 40 12 6
Aug. " old material, Robins 26 10 6
6,712 10 8
Balance 8,017 6 6
8,730 6 1
Balance 8,017 6 5
1846. CtaJiAmphion 1,600 0 0
1,617 6 6
Lawexpenses. 156 0 0
1,678 6 6
•• •
. «•
'* • • •
CHAPTER VIL
BEHOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES.
Adreniiiroiui Voyage of the Stockton Across the Atlantic.— Snbseqnent
Histoxy of the First Screw Steamer.— Becognition of Ericsson's
Claims to the Screw.— Bobert Fulton's War-steamer.— Naval Oppo-
sition to the Use of Steam.— Award of a Gold Medal for the Steam
Fire-engine. — Early Use of Propeller in American Waters. — ^Erics-
son's Personal Appearance and Habits.— Mrs. Ericsson Joins her
Husband.
UNDER date of May 30, 1839, this entiy appears in the
published " Diary of Philip Hone."
Among the maritime exploits with which these adrentiuroiis times
abonnd, the arrival, on Wednesday last, of a little steam schooner, called
the B(^>ert F. JStodcUm, from England, was one of the most remarkable.
She sailed from Gravesend on April 18. She is only ten feet wide and
seventy feet long, and her bnrden is thirty tons. She is bnilt entirely
of wrought sheet-iron, and is intended as a towing vessel on the New
Jersey OanaL The commander is Gaptain Crane. She performed her
voyage in forty-six days, with no serions disaster except the loss of one
seaman, who was washed off this little cockle-shell by one of the seas
which were constantly sweeping her decks. Never, I presnme, was the
western ocean crossed in so small a craft. There was not room enough
to lie straight nor to stand erect. This little vessel b'es near the Battery,
and is visited by hxmdreds of curious persons, anxious to realize the
possible truth of the nursery story about the *' three men of Gk>tham "
who ** went to sea in a bowL" *
Crane was a captain in the American merchant marine and
a most intrepid sailor, as this experience shows. His crew con-
sisted of f onr men and a boy, and he made the passage under
sail alone. In admiration of his daring the New York authori-
ties presented him with tlie freedom of the city. The little tug
* Diary of PhiUp Hone, 1838-1861. Bdited by Bayard Tuokermin. Vol.
102 LIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSOIT.
was set to work on tlie Delaware & KaritAti Canal, and nearly
thirty years after was still doing duty as the New Jersey. On
Noromber 17, 1866, Bennet Woodcraft, then Librarian of the
British Patent Office, wrote to Ericsson expressing a desire to
parchase the original engines of this Tessel, to place them in the
Patent Office Hnseam — " not only for their historical valne, bnt
also to put an end to F. P. Smith's false claim to any invention
in regard to screw boats or their first introdnction." Ericsson
replied : " Tlie Robert F. Stockton {N'ew Jersey) is still in oper-
ation as a tow-boat after twenty-five years' constant service.
The original engine was some time ago taken out It will give
me great pleasure to send it to yon free of cost, if not broken
np."
The Stockton, or Nho Jersey, was at this time in the pos-
session of the Messrs. Stevens, of Iloboken. Ericsson ofFered
to replace the old engine with a new one, but without avail, and
on Angost 15, 1873, he wrote: "Nothing could indnce the
Messrs. Stevens, who claim to be the originators of screw pro-
pnlsion, to permit the macliinery of the real pioneer screw ves-
sel to be placed in your mneenm. Accordingly, some time ago,
REMOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES. 103
the Robert F. Stockton was hauled ont of the water and cut up,
each plate being separated from the others, while the machin-
ery was broken up and put into the melting-pot. So careful
were the parties mentioned to prevent the smallest part to re-
main as a proof that the remarkable vessel once existed, that
^ not a vestige now remains,' says my inf ormant^ who has access
to the premises where the vile act of destruction took place. A
meaner proceeding cannot well be imagined, but I expected
nothing else, since it leaked out during the negotiation what
the old machinery was wanted for."
This letter was in response to one from Mr. "Woodcrof t of a
month earlier, saying : " The benefit you have conferred on the
world by the screw propeller is beyond computation. If I could
obtain the original engines, in whatever state they now are, I
should be proud of them as a trophy, to be placed in the Patent
Office Museum in London, where they would be side by side
with Miller's experimental engine that drove a paddle-wheel
boat in 1788 ; Watt's steam-engine, by which circular motion
was first given to a shaft ; Bell's engine that drove the first
practical paddle-wheel steam-boat in Europe in 1812, on the
Clyde ; Stephenson's locomotive, the Rocket^ and your locomo-
tive, the Novelty. If you could possibly point out the way in
which I could obtain them, I would spare neither expense nor
trouble." This is what was thought at the British Patent Office
of Ericsson's claim to the screw propeller, after a generation of
trial, investigation, and controversy.
^^ Not only did Captain Stockton order on his own account
the two iron boats," says Mr. Sargent, " he at once brought the
subject before the Government of the United States and caused
numerous plans and models to be made at his own expense, ex-
plaining the peculiar fitness of the new invention for ships of
war. So completely persuaded was he of its great importance
in this aspect, and so determined that his views should be car-
ried out, that he boldly assured the inventor that the Govern-
ment of the United States would test the propeller on a large
scale ; and so confident was Ericsson that the perseverance and
energy of Captain Stockton would sooner or later accomplish
what he promised, that he at once abandoned his professional
engagements in England and set out for the United States."
104 LIFE OF JOHK SRIOSSON.
Speaking of the screw propeller, Mr. Sai^nt sajs farther :
^^The circnmstances under which this invention was devised
and prosecuted, the perseverance with which it was followed up
by Ericsson, through all discouragement and neglect, and its
/ ultimate success in its precise origmal shape prove it to have
been the result, not of a happy accident, but of patient reflection
and scientific calculation. It was not hit upon, but was wrought
out; it was not suggested, but elaborated; demonstrated in
theory to the inventor's own satisfaction before it was submit-
ted to the test of successful experiment." *
Ericsson was at this time superintending engineer of the
Eastern Counties Bail way, one of the principal lines centring in
the British metropolis, designed by Mr.Braithwaite and opened
in 1839. For this road Ericsson built a machine of his own
contrivance for constructing embankments. He resigned his
position and started for New York November 1, 1839, in the
steamer Chreat Western^ the pioneer of the first line of Atlantic
steamers.
The Chre(xt Western had a stormy passage and did not ar-
rive in New York until November 23d, so Ericsson had an
opportunity of realizing the difference between planning ships
on shore and sailing in them on the sea, for he was dreadfully
sea-sick. ^^ Before May 26, 1826," he says, in a letter written
in 187S, ^^ I hailed from Sweden, after that date up to Novem-
ber 1, 1839, 1 hailed from England, and since November 23d,
same year, I have been a steady New Yorker."
It does not appear to have been Ericsson's original inten-
tion to become a resident of the United States, for I find among
his letters the following from his friend Ogden, to whose
friendly suggestions his journey to the New World waa in no
small measure due :
»
Oak Dalb, Thursday Night.
Mt Dbab Ebiosson : I have just got through with a lot of letters for
you to take with you to the United States, but I have determined to put
them into your hands myself, and to bid yon good-by in person. I am
going up to town on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning shall go
directly to Swartwout, wherever he may be — ^if you have not yet
learned, inquire either of Miller, in Henrietta Street, or of Blood, 12
* Sargent's Leoture on Improvements in Steam Navigation.
BEMOVAL TO THE UIOTED STATES. 106
North Andle J Street, but at all eyents hold yourself ready to dine ^th
QB on Sunday, somewhere, where you will get much information on the
subjeot of your transatlantic tour.
Bemember me kindly to Madam and believe me,
Yours truly,
Frangib B. Ocomr.
At the time of Ericsson's transfer to the United States
there were no steam vessels in onr navy. In 1813-14 Kobert
Fulton had built his Demologos or Fulton. This was the first
war-steamer ever built, and into her Fulton introduced a va-
riety of devilish contrivances for confounding an enemy ; fur-
naces for red-hot shot, submarine guns sending one hundred
pound balls twelve feet below the water-line, and an engine
for discharging an immense column of water upon decks and
through portholes. The FulUyti was never entirely completed,
the war with England which had called for her construction
having ended. She was converted into a receiving ship and
stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There she was blown
up in 1829, whether by accident or design has never been set-
tled, and a large number of persons on board of her were
killed.
In 1837-38 a second FuUon was built Though this vessel
attained a high speed, she was entirely nnsuited to naval pur-
poses, and in 1839 was lying a useless hulk at the Brooklyn
Navy Yard. Stockton was an ardent advocate for the introduc-
tion of steam into the naval vessels already in service, and his
conferences with Ericsson had satisfied him that it was possible
with a vessel on an entirely new plan to convince the most con-
servative of the value of steam. By act of March 3, 1839, Con-
gress had authorized the construction of three ships of war, and
it was Stockton's confident assurance that he would be allowed
to build one of these that prompted Ericsson to prepare the
plans of a steam frigate in England and bring them with him
to this country. Every detail for such a vessel had been most
thoronghly considered, and the plans included not only the
model of the vessel bnt her engines and motive power, her
guns, and the method of mounting, aiming, and firing them.
. Unexpected difficulties attended the carrying ont of the proj-
ect Stockton and Ericsson had conceived between them. A
106 LIFE OF JOHN EKIOSSON.
powerfal eervice sentiment resisted innovation of every sort, as
it always has done and always will do. " Do you not know,"
Ericsson once wrote, "that yon can never convince a sailor! "
"The head of the Navy Department," so says Stockton's bi-
ographer, " is generally a politician more solicitous to obtain
popularity among the officers than competent to discharge judi-
ciously the functions of his office. He listens, therefore, to the
voice of the superannuated officers, who, with professional dog-
matism, denounce all novelties, and pronounce all innovations
dangerous. The application of steam to national ships-of-war
from the first was resisted by many naval officers, and had to
encounter the most stubborn prejudices and most determined
opposition. It was confidently asserted by the old captains
that steam vessels would be worthless except for purposes of
transportation." *
An officer of the navy. Captain William M. Hunter, sub-
mitted a plan for a vessel with submerged wheels on the sides
and Stockton urged the building of a steam frigate after the
designs of Ericsson. It was finally decided to build one vessel
on each plan. There was delay in carrying out the purpose of
the !N'avy Department, and work was not begun until 1842,
upon the vessel proposed by Stockton and called the Princeton^
after the city of his residence.
Meanwhile Ericsson found abundant occupation. Just
after his arrival here the Mechanics' Institute of New York,
taking alarm at the destructive fires devastating the city, in
January, 1840, offered its great gold medal as a prize for the
best plan of a steam fire-engine. With his previous experience,
Ericsson had no difficulty in securing this prize. In this en-
gine he adhered to his early system of using a blowing appa-
ratus to generate steam, in deference to the prevailing opinion
that the sparks from an engine using the *' steam-blast " would
endanger the wooden houses so common at that day. The
engine used in 1829, at the Argyle fire, had six horse-power
and threw one hundred and fifty gallons of water in a minute
to the height of one hundred feet. It took twenty minutes to
get up steam. The new engine got up steam in ten minutes,
had the power of one hundred and eight men, and threw three
* Life of Gominodore Robert F. Stockton. New York, 1866.
I
BEXOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES. 107
thousand gallons of water in a mmate through a li-iDch pipe to
a height of one hundred and five feet. It weighed two and
one-half toos.
The main purpose of Ericsson's visit to the United States
was to introduce his propeller to American waters. In a letter
to his friend Sargent, dated Jannar; 24, 1845, he sajs : " I
visited this conntr; at Mr, Ogden's most earnest solicitation, to
introduce my propeller on the canals and inland waters of the
Union. I had at the same time strong reasons for supposing
that Stockton wonld be able to start the ' big frigate ' for which
I had prepared such laboriooa plans in England. On arriving
here I soon fonnd that Captain S. had not that power with
the administration he had told mo in England — where lie once
assured ine he could get mj propeller introduced in the Am-
erican navy at once. He, on one occasion, expressed himself
thus : ' I will let jou have,' or * yon shall have ' the ' finest fri-
gate in the American navy ' — meaning to try the propeller on.
" Stockton's inability to do anything with the navy induced
me at once to tnm round and see what could be effected with
private individuals. The result was the fitting out of tlte C^ar-
108 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSOK.
ion, the Vandalia, on the lakes, the Bteamboats PrcpelleT, EricB-
son^ and a barge for the Canadian Government, all mnning on
the St. Lawrence. Yarions other vessels were in contemplation,
when at last Captain Stockton ordered his four iron boats, for
which he never paid me one cent. The steamboat JSncMon, on
the Delaware, and nnmerons other propeller vessels were sncces-
sivelj commenced, all without the least assistance from Captain
Stockton, who all the while threw cold water on mj endeavors."
In a letter to Captain Stockton, dated " Astor House, New
York, August 31, 1840," Ericsson called attention to the fact that
his "journey to this country " was undertaken "for the sole pur-
pose of carrying out patents in which yourself and Mr. Ogden
are equally interested with myself." He stated that Mr. Ogden
had agreed to loan him £150, and asked for a similar loan from
Stockton, adding, " Tour refusal would be unwelcome news, I
can assure you." His gun-lock was at that time being tried at
Sandy Hook, and he had great hopes of profit from that. He
says, in concluding his letter, " Mr. Ogden tells me you are
about starting an ocean steamer at Philadelphia — I will not ex-
press my apprehensions that the news are too good to be true."
The canal barges for Stockton were vessels of six feet
draught and two hundred tons burden, 100 x 22^ feet They
were built early in 1842 and ran from Philadelphia, two of them
to Albany and two to Hartford. They were ordered through
Ericsson from a New York builder named Cunningham, and
were the occasion of some unpleasantness growing out of cir-
cumstances the significance of which is not now apparent. In a
letter dated November 1, 1842, Stockton says : " There seems
to be no end to the misunderstanding between us." In this
letter he also says : " What I have done for yon, the trouble,
pain, anxiety, suspense, and inconvenience which I have under-
gone in my desire to serve you — not myself, seem to be alto-
gether overlooked by you, and you seem to accuse me of hav-
ing made use of your services for my own ends and afterward
to refuse you what you thought was your just due. I was
not disposed to submit to this in silence and was desirous to
know whether you intended to make any charge for any other
services you have rendered, because I did not wish unexpected-
ly to be reminded of them."
REMOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES. 109
This seems to have been simply a phase of the old quarrel
between client and patron. ^ I hope/' said Dr. Johnson, in his
famoQS letter to Lord Chesterfield, ^' it is no very cynical as-
perity, not to confess obligation where no benefit has been re-
ceived, or to be unwilling that tlie public should consider me as
owing that to a patron which Provideuce has enabled me to
do for myself." Stockton's confident assurances had thus far
resulted in nothing tangible, and whatever assistance he might
receive, the proud-spirited engineer believed to be due from a
public servant to one who was himself seeking public ends,
fie felt that he was superior to Stockton in every respect, ex-
cept the possession of wealth and infiuence, and he was by no
means disposed to accept the position, in which it was sought
to place him, of an '^ ingenious mechanic " developing the ideas
of a progressive naval officer.
The increase of intelligence has in some measure relieved
the men of brains from their position of slavisli dependence
upon men of position, but their emancipation is not yet complete,
as Ericsson discovered. He struggled through life to assert the
dignity of his profession, and we shall see how constantly his
uncompromising spirit kept him at war with circumstances.
From his cradle almost he had had the command of men ; the
sense of strength which superiority in any department gives
was active within him, and in his field he was inclined to be as
autocratic as one who controls the resources of an empire.
Among those who witnessed the early trials of Ericsson's
propeller in England were two American ship captains and ship
owners, Messrs. Kussell E. & Stephen E. Glover, of New York.
The Glovers were enterprising men and they determined, with-
out waiting for others, to apply the screw to the Clarion^ a ves-
sel they were building to run between New York and fiavana.
This was the fourth vessel to receive the Ericsson propeller ; the
Ogden being the first, the Stockton the second, and the Van-
dalictj plying between Oswego and Chicago, the third. Four
vessels were put on the Kideau Canal and St. Lawrence, viz.,
the Baron Toronto^ Royal Ba/rge^ Propeller^ and Ericsson /
seven sailed from Philadelphia to various ports ; one was on
the Erie Canal ; four on Lake Erie ; two, besides the Vandaliaj
ran from Oswego to Chicago ; two from New York to Canada ;
110 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
one was pat on the James Biver Canal and one on the Ddawara
This makes in all twentj-foar merchant vessels receiving the
Ericsson propeller before the Princeton went into commission,
February, 1849. There was besides the Eevenue Cutter Jef--
fei*son on Lake Erie.
Great interest in this new motor was awakened by the dis-
cussions in the New York papers at the time the (Marion was
built in 1840, and its obvious adaptability to the necessities of
American shipping was soon made apparent. From a list pre-
pared in 1843 by Lieutenant Johnson, a Swedish naval officer,
acting under the instructions of his Government, it appears
that the propellers at that time numbered in all forty-two ; one
built in 1839, six in 1841, nine in 1842, and twenty-six in 1843.
The history of the introduction of steam navigation on United
States waters shows that several years before screw propulsion
had assumed importance in England the carrying trade of our
great lakes was to a large extent conducted by screw vessels.
On April 6, 1841, Captain James Yan Cleave and Mr. Ben-
jamin Isaacs purchased the right to use the Ericsson propeller
on the lakes. The Vandalia was their first vessel, and on De-
cember 1, 1841, her owners reported that she had proved a
great success. ^ She has astonished us all," they said.
At a still earlier date the canal barge Ericsaonj built from
the plans of her namesake, made her first voyage from Sock-
ville to Montreal, forty miles in sixteen hours — no gi*eat speed,
the significance of the voyage being in the ability shown to
master the rapids. Another propeller EricMon^ built in 1842,
to run on the Delaware & Chesapeake Canal, between Phila-
delphia and Baltimore, carrying passengers and freight, proved
so great a success commercially that two other vessels, the Cum*
herland and the Baltimore^ were ordered and the ^^ Ericsson
Line " established, greatly to the discomfort of the Philadelphia,
Wilmington & Baltimore Bailroad, with whose business it most
seriously interfered. The railroad was compelled to reduce its
fares one-half. It finally persuaded the State of Delaware to
impose a prohibitory toll on passengers going on the propeller
line, but this did not restore its freight business. The Erics*
son line of steamers was incorporated by the State of Mary-
land in 1844, and it is still in operation with five propellera
BEMOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES. Ill
Oct of it has grown the New York & Baltimore Transporta-
tioD Oompaoy, equipped with eight steamere and plying dallj
between Baltimore & New York.
When he first came to New York Captain Ericsson took np
his residence at the Astor honse, in those days a famons hos-
telry, especially affected by New Englsnders, Daniel Webster
making his home there when in the city and the New England
Society there doing yearly homage to Plymouth Kock. Among
the New England habitats of the place was Mr. John O. Sar-
gent, a lawyer of Massachnsetts birth, who to his legal learning
united fine abilities as a writer and much experience as an ed*
113 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
iter. He liad founded the Collegian when a student at Har-
vard in 1830, had for four years, 1834-37, contributed the po-
litical articles to the Boston AUob^ and was at this time asso-
ciated with James Watson Webb in the conduct of the New
York Courier and inquirer. The New Englander and the
Swede had a common fondness for a good glass of sherry, and
were accustomed to linger over their wine after the ^^ fifteen
minutes for refreshments" Americans had left the dining-
room. Thus they fell into conversation, conversation led to ac-
quaintance, and acquaintance ripened into a friendship lasting
to the end of Ericsson's life, Mr. Sargent, who was eight years
his junior, surviving him.
Immediately after his arrival in New York, Ericsson estab-
lished business relations with the ^^ Phcenix Foundry,'^ which
about this time passed under the control of two young men,
Messrs. Hogg and De Lamater. With the junior partner, Mr.
Oomelius H. De Lamater, his relations became very intimate,
and their associations of business and friendship continued
through life.
Another of Ericsson's early acquaintances in New York was
Mr. Samuel Bisley, to whom I am indebted for a description
of his appearance, his characteristics, and his personal habits at
this time. Mr. Bisley says :
My first acquaintance with Captain Ericsson, or rather my first sight
of him, I think, occurred in the summer of 1889 * He had brought with
him from England a working model of the propeller engine he had de-
signed for the war steamer Princeton, and a twelve-inch wronght-iron
C^nn. The model engine referred to was erected in the Phoenix Foun-
dry engine works, West Street, New York, and put in operation there.
Captain Ericsson would frequently visit the works, bringing with him
friends and Government naval officers to witness its working. Of these
I think Mr. Ogden was one, Captain Stockton, of the United States
Navy, the promoter of the building of the Prtncetonf another.
Captain Ericsson all his life was careful of his personal appearance ;
at the time I refer to he was exceptional in dress, not dandified, but
more in keeping with the present morning call attire than an ordinary
day habit, A dose-fitting black frock siuiout coat, well open at the
front, with rolling collar, showing velvet vest and a good display of
• This must have beeu in 1840, as Ericsson did not arrive until (he last of
November, 1889.
REMOVAL TO THE UNITED STATES. 113
shirt front, a fine gold chaiii hung round the neck, looped at the first
bntton-hole of the vest and attached to a watch carried in the fob of
the vest Usnallj light-colored, well-fitting tronsers, light-colored kid
gloves, and a beaver hat completed the dress. To this add a well-bnilt
militaiy fignre, abont five feet ten and one-half inches in height and well
set np, with broad shoulders and rather large hands and feet ; the head
well placed and supported hj a military stock round the neck. Expres-
sive features, blue eyes, and brown, curly hair, fair complexion. His
head was about medium size,* his mouth well cut, upper lip a little
drawn ; the jaw large and firm-set, conveying an expression of firmness
and individual character.
Up to the summer of 1842 I was in constant attendance upon the
Gaptain, being a sort of factotum to him in preparing his models. At
that time he boarded at the Astor House where I first met his wife. He
was very reserved about his models and inventions and seemed to have
a mortal dread of their being discovered. I remember once, at a later
period than I am now referring to, we shook hands and I pledged my-
self most solemnly not to reveal a discovery of his that at the time he
considered of vital importance to the caloric engine, but which on trial
was disappointing to him. It, however, led up to uses by which he
profited eventually.
Ericsson's manner with strangers was courteous and extremely tak-
ing. He invariably made friends of high and low alike. With those in
immediate contact in carrying out his work he was very popular. He
had few intimates of his own social leveL Mr. John Osborne Sargent,
brother of Epes Sargent, was one of them. With such I think he would
be very hearty, open, and frank, and he was a good talker.
In the fall of 1842 the Captain employed me to superintend the
building of an iron screw steamer at Bichmond, Va., for the navigation
of the James Biver and Kanawha Canal, in that State. Owing to the
shallow water in the canal, the Oovemor McDowell^ as the vessel was
christened^ was put to other use, although the result of the experiment
was in the main satisfactory. She was followed by another steamer pro-
pelled by paddles, but again the difSculty of running the boat through
about three feet of water was insurmountable. The Captain was at the
trial of the McDoweU and was introduced to the Gk)vemor, after whom
the boat was named. Being present at the interview, I had an oppor-
tunity of seeing both men at their best, the Governor gracious and afOft-
ble and withal dignified, Ericsson lifting his hat and holding it above
his head while bowing respectfully, then replacing it and shaking the
hand held out to him by the Governor.
The following year I went with the Captain to 95 Franklin Street
as his assistant, and remained with him until the fall of 1846, when I left
him to go to China. During the period I was with him he accomplished
* Twenty-three inches in oircumferenoe. He was about five feet seven
and one-half inches tall.
114 LIFE OF JOHN EEI08S0N.
an unmense amonnt of work. He would work out designs in pencil and
I wonld make fresh drawings from them in detail. He gave up this
praotice, he informed me, after I left him and gave particular att^tion
to all details, working out every screw in finished drawings. He said
he profited by it in the end.
Ericsson's habit of life at that time was to breakfast at 8.30 ▲.!£.
dine at 4 p.m., with a onp of tea and toast at 7 p.ic He nsually went to
the engine works to see how his work was progressing in the forenoon,
but as a mle he spent about fourteen hours a day at his drawing-board.
In designing he was marvellously quick, and with his scale and a
pencil he would sketch almost , equsd to a finished drawing. He had
been thoroughly grounded in Euclid and his conceptipns of mechanical
movements were clear and distinct. He had great method and order in
laying out his work and its continuance after was easy to him — more, in
fact, a pleasure than a labor. His mechanical resources in designing
were practically unlimited. The engines in the caloric ship Ericsson
were a remarkable evidence of his superiority in this respect. In some
respects his wonderful inventive faculty may have acted as a drawback
to the successful working out of his plans. Had he, for instance, given
more time to the improvement of the steam-engine in his earlier days it
is not improbable that he would have outstripped all competitors in its
development.
During this time he designed the iron steamer Iron Witch as a pas-
senger day boat between New York and Albany. In this he introduced
the comx)ound principle in the engine, using the steam expansively in a
second cylinder. The boat attained a speed of about seventeen miles an
hour, as well as I remember, but was not fast enough to outrun the old
line boats, and she was withdrawn from the route.
About 1845 I made drawings from a sketch by Captain Ericsson for
a further improvement in the compound principle in the steam -eng^e.
I think a model was also made and a patent applied for.
I have remarked that Captain Ericsson was, at this period of his life,
exceptionally handsome in personal appearance, and that he was equally
attractive in dress and bearing. To me, from my first intercourse with
him to the last, he was always gentle, kind, and considerate. In habit
of life he was frugal, but in carrying out his mechanical conceptions, or
in the elaboration of them, money was not considered.
I last saw Captain Ericsson on July 1, 1887, at his home. Beach
Street, New York. Being on my way to England, I called to say good-
by; we had not met for several years. He was very cordial, going
over his daily habits of life, his work, the improvement of the steam-
engine, the sun motor, and the lunar investigations. He was in good
health and spirits, and laughingly told me that he was going down by
gravitation only at the rate of about three-fourths inch in seven years.
Twice, on taking my leave, he shook hands, and bid God bless me, re-
peatedly saying good-by. My last letter from him is dated November
• •
*
• •
BEMOVAL TO THE UKITED STATES. 116
9, 1888. In it, in reference to his health, he writes : ** I very seldom
quit my drawing-table before 11.00 p.m., and not once in the oonrse of
the year go to bed before half an honr past midnight. Brain, mnsole,
and eyes, thank God, all hold good."
Mra. Ericsson did not accompany her husband to the United
States, but soon followed him. Crossing the ocean in the mid-
dle of winter, in one of the uncomfortable boats of that time,
she bad a trying passage, arriving in a state of complete ex-
haustion. She remained with Captain Ericsson for a time at
the Astor House, and until they transferred their residence to
Ko. 95 Franklin Street, where he had his office as well as his
home. This was a fine house in that day, and stories of John's
extravagant living went back to Sweden, as would appear from
a letter received from his mother at this time. Do not, he
said, in reply, ^^ put any faith in the gossip about our ^ lavish-
ing.' There are people who cannot understand that one can
live in a grand house, wear fine clothes, and yet starve. As to
my wife, her elegant garment is a black dress which I gave her
five years ago, and yet she gains everybody's attention."
Mrs. Ericsson was a woman who would attract attention in
any dress. She was above the medium height ; in fact, quite aa
tall as her husband, who was five feet seven and one-half inches.
A trifling masculine in her type, but bearing herself with grace,
her beauty and dignity of manner made her a noticeable figure
wherever she went. Her husband was proud of her beauty,"
and she was equally proud of his talents, but his mind was too
much occupied with his work to leave him opportunity for those
domestic interchanges which are the recreation of leisure hours.
His wife was not a woman to be neglected, and, as her hus-
band expressed it, was " jealous of a steam-engine." It is not
the habit of imperious beauties to admit even a Frankenstein to
rivalry, and Mrs. Ericsson soon tired of the isolation in which
she was left. She did not like America, and as her husband '
was engaged in a desperate straggle with fortune, it was finally ,
decided that it was best for her to return to her relations in ;
England until Ericsson found the opportunity, that never came, :
to join her there. He made such allowance for her support as;
his means admitted of from time to time, and they continued'
116 LIF£ OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
^in correspondence up to the day of her death, without again
meeting.
Ericsson appears to have stripped himself for the battle he
was constantly waging against conservatism, and it left him lit-
tle leisure for anything else. A tender-hearted and affection-
ate man in his way, his intellect dominated his affections, and
he was to an unusual extent independent of them. They were
with him rather sentiments than motive forces, and he gave
himself small opportunity for their cultivation. His love for
his mother was always controlling with him, and while she lived
he continued in constant correspondence with her, though there
were times of intense absorption in his work when even she for
the moment seems to have been forgotten. His check-book
gives proof, however, of his constant rec(^ition of the claims
of filial duty, as well as of his obligation as a husband. It
seems to have been his wish that his wife should share his for-
tunes in the United States, for a letter to him from her sister
shows that on one occasion she refused to leave England after
he had paid her passage across the ocean. This letter was
written just after Mrs. Ericsson's death, and in it her sister
says, that ^^ Amelia's " last words were, ^^ I have always been a
trouble to you all. Forgive me."
CHAPTER VIIL
THB 8GBEW IN WAR VESSELSb
Soiew Vessel Ordered for the Navy.— Captain Stockton calls Ericsson
to His Aid. — His Testimony to Ericsson's ' Ability. — The Direct-
acting Screw System. — Stockton's Injustice to Ericsson. — ^The Guns,
" Oregon ** and "Peacemaker." — ^Disastrous Explosion of the Stock-
ton Qun. — ^President Tyler Loses Two of His Oabinet. — Universal
Excitement. — Success of the "Princeton." — Other Naval Vessels
Bendered Obsolete. — ^Ericsson's Physical Strength.
" TXTHILE busily engaged," said Ericsson, in a letter already
▼ V quoted from, " and perfectly independent of Captain
Stockton, so far as the introduction of the propeller went, I un-
expectedly received a letter from him in the fall of 1841, ask-
ing me to meet liim at Princeton, K. J. There he informed
me that he had received ordeins to build a steamer of six hun-
dred tons for the navy. He at this interview consulted me as
to the best dimensions for such a vessel. I made a sketch on
the spot, and after some discussion he agreed to my proportions.
He then desired me to make out a general plan for the whole
ship, arrangement of steam machinery, etc. I went to ITew
York, and in about a week returned to Princeton, with such
general plans, and with these Captain Stockton was delighted.
I also brought an estimate of the cost of the steam machinery,
made at his particular request The maximum of the estimate
was seventy-five thousand dollars. Captain Stockton told me he
would put it down at one hundred thousand dollars, on which I
remarked that it was too much ; to this he replied, ^ I want to
make ample allowance for paying you for the use of patents,' or
words to that effect. Captain Stockton, having made his formal
arrangemtots with the Government and fixed on Messrs. Merrick
& Town* as the builders of the engines, desired Mr. Merrick
*0ono6ming the maohinery of the Frinceton^ Mr. J. Yaughan Merrick,
the son of one of the baildeni, says in a letter to the author of this biography :
118 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
to go to New York to receive my inBtructions with regard to
the engines. Captain Stockton not only desired me to make
the plans and superintend the manufacture of the engines, but
lie frequently complimented me as the only man in America
capable of doing it.
" At a dinner given by Captain Stockton to the Corpora-
tion of Princeton on the day the Princeton was launched at
Philadelphia, h^ told his guests he had been all over the
world in search of a man that could invent or carry out what
he thought was necessary to make a complete ship of war;
he had at last found that man. ^ He is,' he said, ^ my friend
here by my side, Captain Ericsson,' and he desired the com-
pany to drink my health with * three times three.' Such were
his sentiments then concerning the man who, in May, 1844,
had dwindled into an ^ingenious mechanic,' ^a mechanic of
some skill.' Again, on board the Princeton^ at a public trial
in New York Bay, Captain Stockton proposed my health to
hundreds of respectable gentlemen in these words : ^ Captain
Ericsson, the most extraordinary mechanical genius of the
present day.' "
This was said by Ericsson in a letter written in 1845 to Mr.
John O. Sargent in the confidence between client and attorney,
and the writer further says : " I am ready to swear to the con-
tents if needful." Letters not necessary to produce here, as
they form part of the official record at Washington, show these
facts : On May 27, 1841, Captain Stockton wrote to the Secre-
tary of the Navy transmitting a model for a steam ship-of-war
'* The maohinerj of the Princeton was of a novel typ^y *^^ ^ beUeve has never
been copied (certainly not in the United States), although its performance was
good, and its location in the hall was low—an excellent point for war ves-
sels of light draught The writer, at a later period, when a draughtsman
in the Sonthwark Foundry, made several sets of drawings of the details of
these engines for foreign governments (the art of blue printing not having been
invented). The originals were the handiwork of the inventor, and were beau-
I tif ul specimens of work. It was one of Ericsson's great peculiarities that his
I design sprang from his brain in so perfect a shape that there was little to do
j except to embody them in the drawings. I thiuk that Ericsson's career
i proved that the pencU^ as well as the pen, is mightier than the sword. NajK)-
1 leon did not effect greater changes in the face of Europe than has ErioHSon
j produced in naval warfare, and these latter are lasting, while the former have
long since passed into other formst**
T^E SCREW IN WAR VESSELS. 119
and asking that Lientenants E. B. Thomson and William Hunt
-be detailed to assist him in preparing the drawings to show
the character of the vessel proposed. This request was granted
on June 1, 1841. September 2l8t, Commodore Charles Stew-
art, known as " Old Ironsides," from the frigate Constihttion
which he immortalized, was informed that the Secretary of
the Navy had authorized the construction at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard, commanded by him, of '^ a steamer of six hundred
tons on the plan proposed by Captain Stockton ; steam to be
the main propelling power upon Ericsson's plan." He was fur-
ther informed that Captain Stockton had been requested " to
prepare a draft of the plan of the steamer."
The origin of the plan proposed by Captain Stockton is in-
dicated in a letter addressed by him to Ericsson more than two
months previous to this, in July, 1841. In this letter he said :
I
I
In making np the eetimafce of the oost of the ship, it will be neces-
saiy to consider what must be pat down for the nse of jonr patent-
right. It will be necessary, therefore, for jou to write me a letter,
stating jour views on that subject As a great effort has been made to
get a ship bnilt for the experiment, I think yon had better say to me in
your letter that yonr charge will hereafter be (if the experiment shall
prove saooessfol) , but, as this is the first trial on so large a scale, I
am at liberty to nse the patents, and after the ship is tried Goyemment
may pay for their nse in that ship whatever snm they may deem proper.
To this Ericsson replied as follows :
Nbw York, Astob Hottsb, Jnly 38» 1841.
To Oaftain B. F. Stockton :
Sm : I have duly reoeived yonr commnnioation on the subject of
my patent-right for the ship propeller and semi-cylindrical steam-en-
gine ; in reply to which I beg to propose that in case these inventions
should be applied to yonr intended steam-frigate, all considerations re-
lating to my charge for x^tent-right be deferred until after the comple-
tion and trial of the said patent propeller and steam machinery. Should
their success be such as to induce Cbyemment to continue the nse of
the patents for the navy, I submit that I am entitled to some remunera-
tion ; but, considering the liberality that thus enables me to have the
utility of the patents tested on a very large scale, and the advantages
which cannot fail to be derived in consequence, I beg to state that
whenever the efficiency of the intended machinery of the steam-frigate
120 LIFE OF JOHN EBIC8S0N.
•
shall have been duly tested, I shall be satisfied with whatever earn you
znay please to reoommend, or the Goyemment see fit to pay for the
patent-right
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
John Ebiobson.
In a letter to Sargent, written a few years later, ^^ Febroary
15, 1846," Ericsson said : " I do not understand why Captain
Stockton wanted the services of Lieutenants Hunt and Thom-
son in connection with the plans of the Prmcetony excepting
as a vehicle of communication between him and myself. As
such, these gentlemen certainly were useful, but in no other
manner, as neither of them pretends to the slightest knowl-
edge of mechanics. The making of a plan for a common
wheelbarrow requires far more knowledge in mechanics than
possessed by these officers. Captain Stockton himself, on the
other hand, never made a plan in his life."
Stockton's whole stock in trade as a naval designer appears
to have been the model of a vessel prepared by Ericsson when
they were together in England. "In the summer of 1839,"
Ericsson tells us in one of his letters, " I prepared a model of a
war BcrewHsteamer of two thousand tons, with a set of detailed
drawing plans, for Captain Stockton. These plans and this
model Captain Stockton presented to the United States Navy
Department in the fall of 1839." This was before Ericsson
arrived in this country.
Again Ericsson says :
I am the father of the direct-acting screw system. On leaving Eng-
land for this country the whole engineering world opposed me, and ridi-
culed the idea of driving engines fast enough to turn the screw diredly,
I, however, adhered to my plan, and built over twenty directnicting en-
gines, not one of which ever failed, before a single individual followed my
system. Smith and the whole Archimedean screw fraternity advocated
the cog-wheel system, and the Maudsleys, Watts, Bennies, Seawards,
and Napiers all built cog-wheel engines for the British Government
with such bad success that the screw system was on the eve of being dis-
carded from the navy. In the meantime some forty propeller vessels
had been fitted out in this country under my patent, all with direct-
acting engines ; and presently the Princeton appeared in the Mediterra-
nean, and the eyes of the naval anthorities of England were opened and
the direct-acting system insisted on. The host of great engineering
THE SCREW IN WAB VESSELS. 121
honaes now all entered the field, and all sortB of direot-aoting enginea
were planned by men who had no experience in the working of engines
of qnick action. I say, without hesitation, that most of their engines
are disgraceful to the profession. These boasted engines do not even
hold out during the trial trips over the measured mile, in the placid
waters of Stokes Bay. Did you ever hear of the direct-acting engines of
the Princeton being out of order during her remarkable cruise? It is,
I believe, on record that this ship was under steam for forty conseoutiYe
days and nights, at Vera Cruz.*
Captain Stockton's orders ^^ to superintend the building of
said steamer [viz., the Prmcetonjj under the Commandant of
the Navy Yard in Philadelphia," were dated at Washington,
September 22, 1841, and addressed to him at Princeton, N. J.
Immediately upon their receipt. Captain Stockton appears to
have yisited Philadelphia for he wrote from that city, Octo-
ber 2, to Ericsson in New York:
I will meet you at the depot at Princeton on Tuesday morning, if
you can make it convenient to dme with me on that day; you may re-
turn to New York in the night train. I have received orders to build a
ship of six hundred tons ; I have remonstrated against it. [He wanted
a liurger vessel.] In the meantime I wish to converse with you on the
subject. B. F. 8.
^^ Tuesday *^ was the 5th. As the result of the conference
on that day, apparently, Stockton wrote from Philadelphia,
October 8, saying to ^^ Captain Ericsson, Astor House, New
York:'»
I wish you would make the drawings of a ship with the dimensions
we spoke of. I will go to Washington as soon as you can send them to
me. Put both bow and stem to her, and make her midship section ao«
cording to the plan we spoke of at my house.
Kext followed a series of calls for one thing and another.
October 13th Stockton wished '^a drawing of the amidship
section with engine, as well as the others.^' October 17th he
called for various details which he was required to send to
Washington, ^^ cost of hull, equipments, etc., etc., as well as for
the engines, displacement, metacentre, centre of gravity, centre
* Letter to John O. Sargent, dated May 5, 1864.
122 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
of flotation, five midship sections, etc." ^^Yon are so mncb
better skilled in these matters," he says, very trnthfolly, ^^that
you will have these all ready by the time I get through my
work, when I propose to take them all to Washington."
November 21, 1841, the working drawings for the engines
were called for ; April 13, 1843, the ^^ drawings for the wheel
and gun-carriage." Altogether one hundred and twenty-four
working drawings were furnished by Ericsson, occupying, with
the sketches, skeleton plans, and diagrams necessary in their
construction, two hundred and seven days of the time of a
man who could do in one day double the work of an ordinary
draughtsman ; one hundred and thirteen days were devoted to
actual superintendence at New York and Philadelphia, and in
travelling to and fro. This was but part of the labor to which
Ericsson gave two of the best years of his life. It was the
strictly professional service of an engineer, and could not by
any honest possibility be included in Ericsson's expression of
his willingness to leave the question of iAiejpaymerUfor his pat-
ents to the generosity of the Government.
He was, besides, put to no inconsiderable expense during the
two years for office e2q)enses, travelling expense, postages (which
were a serious matter in those days), and the like. The manu-
facturers of the machinery, guns, gun-carriages, etc., testified
that they did their work from Ericsson's drawings and under
his directions. Stockton gave his assurance over and over again
that if the vessel succeeded there would be no diffioolty about
pay, and a letter from him to Ericsson, dated Philadelphia, Feb-
ruary 2, 1844, shows that he acknowledged the obligation by a
partial payment of $1,150.
It is necessary to be thus specific in order to lay the basis for
a proper understanding of the action taken by Captain Stockton
upon the account rendered for these services when this account
was referred to him by the Departni*^^*^. By this time the man
whose genius he had extolled in England, and to whom he had
held out such brilliant anticipations ; the one man he had
hunted the world over to find, who coald build a complete ship;
the only man in America capable of making the engines she re-
quired, etc., had become ^' a very ingenious mechanic by the
name of Ericsson."
THE BOKEW IN WAB VESSELS. 123
In the letter dated February 2, 1844, here referred to,
Stockton said : " Will you send me a bill and receipt for the
$1,160 which I paid yon for services rendered in constracting and
superintending machinery, etc., for the U. 8. ship Prmoeton. I
will include it in the PrinoetorCa expenses, and repay myself for
the advance in that way if I can." In a note accompanying
this letter Ericsson says: '^The preceding letter for the first
time suggested to Captain Ericsson that any difficulty was an-
ticipated in securing him an adequate compensation for his ser-
vices in the construction of the PrincetonJ^ When Ericsson's
account was referred by the Department to Stockton he sent in
reply a letter which extinguished Ericsson's hope of obtaining
pay for his services out of the appropriation for the Prmceton^
to which it was properly chargeable. The events immediately
succeeding the completion of the vessel explain this change of
attitude toward the man Stockton had before extolled.
I have mentioned the fact that Ericsson brought with him
from England a wrought-iron gun of his own designing. This
gun was built at the Mersey Iron Works, near Liverpool, and
was forged of the very best material, as the manufacturers as-
serted. Still, it had the defect of a forged gun ; strong longi-
tudinally, it was weak transversely and opened cracks under the
proof firing in rear of the trunnions, and thus near the butt of
the gun. To remedy this, Ericsson adopted an expedient now
in universal use. Hoops three and one-half inches thick, made
of the best American wrought iron, were shrunk onto the
breech of the piece up to the trunnion bands. These hoops
were arranged in two tiers, one above the other, in such a man-
ner as to break joint, and they were so perfectly matched as to
appear like a single band.
That this expedient proved entirely successful is shown by
the fact that the gun is still intact, and is now (1890), on exhi-
bition at one of our ITavy Yards, after having been fired some
three hundred times with charges varying from twenty-five to
thirty-five pounds of powder (enormous in that day) and a two
hundred and twelve-pound shot. In 1842, before going aboard
the Princeton, this gun was fired from one hundred and twenty
to one hundred and fifty times, after being banded ; and aimed
by its designer, the ex-Swedish artillerist, Ericsson, it pierced a
124 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
target of four and one-half inches of wrought iron. This tar«
get is also still to be seen.
Thus the discovery that this thickness of armor was no pro-
tection against artillery fire was made by Ericsson many years
in advance of others.
Fired by Ericsson's example, Stockton aspired to bnild a
gan of his own. He had one forged at Hamersley Forge and
sent it to the Phoenix Foundry, New York, to be bored and
finished under Ericsson's directions. It was of the same calibre
as the imported gun, viz., twelve inches, but a foot more in diam-
eter at the breech, and much heavier. This Stockton gun was
considered at the time to be a remarkable specimen of work-
manship, and groat confidence was placed in its strength, be-
cause of the supposed superior quality of American iron; it
was believed to be capable of sustaining the explosion of any
amount of powder that could be put into it, having been thor-
oughly tested by charges varying from twenty-five to fifty
pounds. It was the largest mass of iron that had at that time
been brought under the forging hammer, and had a massive ap-
pearance by the side of its slender companion on the Prince-
ion,
But this appearance of strength was deceptive. The fibrous
quality, giving strength to the iron, was in some way destroyed
in the process of manufacture, and the specific gravity of the
metal reduced nine per cent, below that of ordinary iron. This
fact was not discovered until it was too late. Ericsson had a
natural partiality for his own gun and advised Stockton to use
it for the purpose of exhibition instead of the Peacemaker^ as
the second gun was called, but he does not appear to have
doubted the sufficient strength of the Stockton gun.
Describing the trial of this gun a newspaper letter, dated
New York, January 17, 1844, says :
Instead of being placed on the ground in some remote comer, as is
usual in proving guns of not one-third of her calibre, such was Stock-
ton's confidence in this wrought-iron piece that the proving was actually
performed on board a small vessel of some twenty feet beam and seventy
feet in length. This appears the more astonishing when we consider
that the charge was fifty pounds of powder ; and a charge that might well
be required for the capacious maw of a gun fifteen feet long, with a bore
V
THE SCREW IN WAR VESSELS. 126
of twelve inoheB, carrying a ball of two hmidred and thirteen ponndB
weight, and itself weighing ten tons.
So mnoh for Oaptain Stockton's big gun — ^the largest piece of
wronght-iron in the world, and forged in this city, of American iron I
Here, where fonr short years ago they conld not forge an ordinaty
steam-engine shaft ! There was a christening scene on board the PHnce-
Um yesterday, and from a font of champagne this magnificent piece of
ordnance was appropriately baptized the Peacemaker. *
In his diary under the date of February 20, 1844,t John
Qnincj Adams says :
The Honse of Bepresentatives yesterday adjonmed over till to-
morrow, for the avowed purpose of enabling the members to visit the
Prtnceton, a war-steamer and sailing vessel combined, with the steam
machinery of Ericsson's propeller, all within the hull of the vessel and
below the water-line. This vessel, the '' gimcraok of sundry other inven-
tions *' of Oaptain Stockton himself, was built under his directions, and
was commanded by him. She was ordered round here to be exhibited to
the President and the heads of the Executive Departments, and to the
members of both Houses of Congress to fire their souls with a patriotic
ardor for a naval war. On Saturday last, by invitation from Oaptain
Stockton, the vessel was visited by the President, the Heads of Depart-
ments and Senators, and for this day, at eleven o'clock, Oaptain Stock-
ton has issued a card of invitation to every member of the House of Bepre-
sentatives, besides a general one in the NoHoTicd Intelligencer this morn-
ing. I went with Isaac Hull Adams to Ghreenleaf s Point, and thence
embarked in the Princeton's barge on board that vesseL
I was punctual to the hour of eleven and the firsf of the company
that came. Oaptain Stockton received me with great politeness, and
showed me all the machinery of the ship. Afterward upward of a hun-
dred members of the house came on board. The two great guns are
called the Peacemaker and the Orator [Oregon], A salute was fired from
the carronades, and the Peacemaker was three times discharged.
Eight days later, February 28th, we find this entry : f
Dies iras, I had received an invitation from Oaptain Bobert F.
Stockton to another party of pleasure, with the ladies of my family, on
board the war-steamer Princeton, We declined the invitation. I had en-
gaged to dine at six o'clock this evening with Mr. Grinnell and Mr.
Winthrop, in company with Mr. Pakenham, the new British Minister.
* Boston Post of January 20, 1844.
f Memoirs of John Qainoy Adams, Comprising Portions of His Diary, from
1795 to 1848. Edited by Charles Francis Adams. Vol. xi.
126 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
. . • "While we were at dinner, John Barney bnist into the chamber,
rushed np to General Scott, and told him with groans that the Presi-
dent wished to see him ; that the great gnn on board the Prinoekm^ the
Peacemaker^ had burst and killed the Secretaiy of State, Upshur ; the
Seoretaiy of the Navy, T. W. Gilmer ; Captain Beverly Eennon ; Virgil
Maxey ; a Oolonel Gardiner, of New York, and a colored servant of the
President, and desperately wonnded several of the crew. General Scott
soon left the table, Mr. Webster shortly after, also Senator Bayard. I
came home before ten in the evening.
29th. At the House, immediately after the reading of the Journal, a
message was received from the President, announcing the lamentable
catastrophe of yesterday, bewailing the loss of his two Secretaries, with
others, and hoping that Oongress will not be discouraged by this acci-
dent from going on to build more and larger war-steamers than the
Princeton.
The biographer of Commodore Stockton * says :
During the progress down the Potomac the great guns of the Prince^
ton had been again and again -discharged, until public curiosity appeared
to be satiated. The company had returned below, and at the festive
board the voice of hilarity resounded through the proud ship. Some
of the guests had commenced retiring and were renewing their scrutiny
of the different parts of the ship. Captain Stockton had risen to ofifer
a toast complimentary to the Chief Magistrate of the Bepublic. As he
rose, with his wine-glass filled in his hand, an officer entered and in-
formed him that some of the company desired one of the great guns
to be again discharged. Captain Stockton shook his head and saying,
'< No more gunS to-night," dismissed the officer. He soon again re-
turned, while Captain Stockton was speaking on the subject of his toast,
with a message from the Secretary of the Navy, expressive of his desire
to see one of the big guns fired once more.
This message Captain Stockton considered equivalent to an order, and
immediately went on deck to obey it He placed himself upon the breech
of the gun, aimed and fired. Feeling a sensible shock, stunned and en-
veloped in a cloud of smoke, for an instant he could not account for his
sensations. But in a few seconds, as the smoke cleared, and the groans
of the wounded and the shrieks of the bystanders who were unhurt re-
sounded over the decks, the terrible catastrophe which had happened
was revealed. He was severely hurt, but the strength of his intellectual
powers, now intensely concentrated, sustained him. Calmly and clearly
his voice pealed over the elements of confusion and disturbance ; a few
brief orders, recalling his men to a sense of duty, were given, the dead
and wounded ascertained, and all proper dispositions respecting both
* Life and Speeches of Robert F. Stookton. New York, 1856.
THE SOBEW IN WAR VESSELS. 137
being made, when, as he tnmed io leave the sad scene, he fell into the
arms of his men, exhausted physically and was borne insensible to his
bed.
" There were two hundred ladies on board," Philip Hone
tells us :
But, fortunately, they were all below, dining and drinking toasts.
The noise of mirth and joTiality below mingled with the groans of
the dying on deck. By this circumstance they were saved. Not one
of the ladies was injured. But oh, the anguish of wives and daughters
at the sight of the mangled remains of their husbands and fathers.
Nothing so dreadful has ever happened in this country, except the
shipwreck of the Eose in Bloom and the conflag^tion of the Bichmond
theatre. The wife of Cbvemor Gilmer was on . board. The story
of her woe is melancholy and touching' in the extreme. Her lamented
husband entered upon the office of the Secretary of the Navy a few days
since, and the estimation in which he was held is proved by his nomina-
tion having been unanimously confirmed without debate by the Senate.
Mr. Gardner's two daughters were also witnesses of their father^s death.
President Tyler gave a new instance of folly and bad taste in a
toast that he gave at the entertainment which terminated so tragically
on board the Princeton, It was : '* Oregon, the Peacemaker , and Oap-
tain Stockton." Oregon is the bone of contention at this time between
Great Britain and ourselves, to settle which difficulty a new minister
has just landed on our shores. It is a subject which requires to be
handled with the greatest delicacy. The Peacemaker is the great gun
which was to hurl defiance at Great Britain or any other nation which
might stand between the wind and Colonel Benton's popularity. Cap-
tain Stockton is the fire-brand which was to ignite the whole ; and in
, the excited state of the public mind on this subject, the President gives
this mischievous sentiment. The Peacemaker at the same moment
broke the peace in the manner which has been described, and amidst
■m the melancholy reflections arising from this fatal day's excursion will be
^ mingled a feeling of contempt for this act of folly.*
David Gardiner, one of the victims of the disaster, was a
descendant of the lords of the manor of Gardiner's Island, off
the east coast of Long Island. His remains were carried to
the White House, and the event resulted in the marriage of his
1^ beautiful daughter, Julia, to President Tyler.
The injuries of Captain Stockton were, fortunately, only
* Diary of PhiUp Hone, 18284851, edited by Bayard Tuokerman, vol. 11..
I p. 207.
128 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
slight. He soon recovered and demanded a Court of Inquiry to
investigate the question of his responsibility for this sad acci-
dent, turning his rejoicing into mourning. This court exon-
erated Stockton from all blame. In their report they referred
to the consultations held by him ^'with three gentlemen pos-
sessing from their scientific acquirements and practical experi-
ence on snch subjects, very superior qualifications in questions
of this character ; and whose opinions were entitled to high re-
spect, Mr. William Young, of the West Point and other foun-
dries, Captain Ericsson, and Francis B. Ogden, Esq."
During his triumphant exhibition of his pet vessel, Stockton
had apparently forgotten Ericsson, and an examination of the
contemporary accounts of her performances shows how little
was said of him in connection with this triumph of naval con-
struction. This neglect was so marked that a writer in the
Brother JanatJumy a New York newspaper of March 2, 1844,
was tempted to say :
We apprehend thai it will be necessary for his sober friends to
provide the gallant admiral of the great Tyler squadron with a siraifc
jacket. What with revolutionizing New Jersey by his eloquence, and the
art of naval warfare by his inventions, he is in a fair way of having his
head turned. If we can believe all we see in the newspapers, he will
hardly be satisfied till the nation shaU give him an opportunity with his
steamer Princeton^ to annihilate a few British squadrons, and bum down
the oity of London. We do not desire in the least tg detract from the
credit to which Captain Stockton is entitled for the construction of the
Princeton, He deserves praise for having put himself in the hands of
a thoroughbred engineer, and for having acquiesced in his suggestions
and followed his advice.
A remarkable result has been accomplished, manifesting a fertility
of invention and a skill in construction which indicate the mind and
the hand of a master in theoretical and practical mechanics. The na-
tion is well aware to whom our navy has been indebted for this new
wonder, and we should not be surprised even if Congress should some
day attain the information which Captain Stockton has withheld in his
recent report to the Secretary of the Navy. It is not a little surprising
that in commending to Congress the numerous striking inventions and
constructions which give his single ship her boasted advantage over en-
tire naviesy he should have omitted to mention even the name of the
individual who had invented, planned, and superintended the whole of
them.
THE SCREW IN WAB VESSELS. 129
The report here referred to was forwarded hj Stockton
February 6, 1844, after the Princeton had received her arma-
ment on board and was fitting for sea. He dwelt with enthu-
siasm upon the ^' great and obvious advantages " she possessed
^^ over both sailing ships and steamers propelled in the usual
way/' With engines lying " snug in the bottom of the vessel
out of the reach of an enemy's shot," showing no chimney and
^^ making no noise, smoke, or agitation of the water (and, if she
chooses, no sail) she can surprise an enemy," and ^^ at pleasure
take her own position and her own distance."
The Princeton was the only war vessel that then possessed
these advantages ; she had by far the most formidable guns
afloat and could '^ throw a greater weight of metal than most
frigates, with a certainty heretofore unknown." '^ By the ap-
plication of the various arts to the purposes of war on board
the Prinoeton^^ said Stockton, ^' it is believed that the art of
gunnery for sea service has, for the first time, been reduced to
something like mathematical certainty. The distance to which
these guns can throw their shot at every necessary angle of ele-
vation, has been ascertained by a series of careful experiments.
The distance from the ship to any object is readily ascertained
with an instrument on board, contrived for that purpose, by an
observation which it requires but an instant to make, and by
inspection without calculation. By self-acting locks the gun
can be fired accurately at the necessary elevation — ^no matter
what the motion of the ship may be. It is confidently believed
that this small ship will be able to battle with any vessel, how-
ever large, if she is not invincible against any foe. The im-
provements in the art of war, adopted on board the Princeton^
may be productive of more important results than anything
that has occurred since the invention of gunpowder. The nu-
merical force of the navies, so long boasted, may be set at
nought. The ocean may again become neutral ground ; and the
rights of the smallest, as well as the greatest nation, may once
more be respected."
All of this was true, and it was further true that to the ge-
nius of John Ericsson were due these changes which inevitably
revolutionized naval methods and speedily compelled the re-
eonstruotion of every great navy. This important fact Cap-
0
130 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
tain Stockton omitted to mention in his report. The name of
Ericsson did not appear there, and he left it to be inferred, if
he did not directly state, that it was to Stockton himself that
the country was indebted for this marvel of a naval vessel. In
a measure this was true. While it is not certain that Ericsson
might not have otherwise obtained an opportunity to develop
in practice the ideas he had elaborated a dozen years before, it
is evident that this opportunity did come to him in 1842-44:,
through Stockton. The two men were necessary to each other,
and if there had been a sufficiently generous recognition of this
fact on both sides, even the disaster attending the Peacemaker
might not have prevented them from together accomplishing
great results for our navy.
The history of gun construction shows how much tentative
effort is required to develop even a sound theory in ordnance,
and in the half century and more that has passed since Erics-
son drew the plan of his twelve-inch gun nothing has occurred
to show that he was mistaken in contending, as he did to the
last, that he was on the right track with his forged and hooped
gun. On the contrary, the development of heavy ordnance
thus far has been precisely in his direction. The two men
upon whom we principally depended throughout our Civil War
for heavy guns. Major T. J. Rodman and Captain Robert C.
Parrott, both testified that their inventions dated from studies
prompted by the bursting of the Peacemaker,*
" I do not pretend," said Parrott, " to be the inventor of
the idea of putting a band on the gun, because that thing has
been tried before, but I believe my gun is the first banded gun
that was ever actually introduced into the service of any coun-
try as part of its armament." This is perhaps true in the sense
in which the word " introduced " is here used, for the ill fate
of the Peacemaker prompted the transfer of the Oregon to a
Navy Yard, where it has since remained. But the idea was
there, and had our ordnance officers kept their heads, and
availed themselves of the talent and experience Ericsson was
ready to place at their disposal, they might have led the world
in ordnance from that time on. As to his own forged and
* Beport of the Joint Committee on the Gondnot of the War. Second See*
sion, 88th Congress, voL 11., pp. 99, 186.
THE SCREW IN WAR VESSELS. 131
hooped gun he always contended that none of his works fur-
nished better evidence of his thorough knowledge of dynamics
and his practical experience of the strength of materials.
Twenty one years ago he declared that nothing more reliable
had, up to that time, been produced, and this declaration
may be repeated now. Stockton's imitation was not Ericsson's
gun.
^^ ^ The United States Government having been the first to
introduce heavy wrought-iron ordnance, why does it not con-
tinue to build guns of that material ? ' European artillerists
repeatedly put this question. Probably the answer will be
found in the fact that, although having in the meantime suc-
cessfuUy constructed wrought-iron ordnance of considerable
size, the first essay at building heavy guns for naval purposes
proved most disastrous.'* *
As to the gun-carriage and the "friction gear," by which the
recoil of the gun was controlled, nothing more reliable was
contrived until Ericsson undertook the handling of the enor-
mous monitor ordnance. Of the Oregon its author says : " Ex-
perienced commodores at the time protested loudly against tlie
proposition to * mount the monster gun ' on board a vessel so
lightly built as the Princeton^ insisting that, among other dif-
ficulties, the breeching would tear her upper works to pieces.
It was urged by the opponents of my new system that the
handling of such guns at sea would prove impossible, the con-
structing carriages of sufficient strength being pointed out as
impracticable ; while the imprudence on the part of the Navy
Department of intrusting such matters to mere engineering
skill was severely criticised. In spite of the remonstrances,
however. Captain Stockton's influence with the Government
prevailed. In the meantime the problem of handling the
twelve-inch gun received due attention. Calculations of the
dynamic equivalent of the recoil convinced me that a moderate
resistance, if continuous and uniform, would suffice to bring the
piece to rest in less space than that required by breecliing.
Friction, being the simplest means of obtaining a continuous re-
sistance, was accordingly resorted to." *
* OontributionB to the Centennial Exhibition. By J. Erieason. 1878.
132 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
The infitrument for measuring distances, spoken of in Stock*
ton's repoii;, Ericsson had just invented, and in 1851 it was
awarded a prize at the London Exhibition. It worked auto-
matically, dispensing with calculations and indicating the range
by the movement of a hand upon a dial. The self-acting gun-
lock was invented by 'him as early as 1828, and shown to
the head of the British Ordnance Department, Sir Henry
Yane. It was proposed to appoint a board of officers to test
Ericsson's gun-lock in actual practice. As this would disclose
the secret of the invention, and the British Government re-
fused to enter into an agreement to pay for it if the trial was
successful, the instrument was locked up in a safe until 1839.
Then it was shown to Captain Stockton, who was quick to per-
ceive its value, though most unwilling to accord to the inventor
proper credit for it.
In the semi-cylinder engine of the Princeton Ericsson
took especial pride. Of it, Chas. B. Stuart, Engineer-in-Chief
of the United States !N'avy, said, in his work on ^^ The Naval
and Mail Steamers of the United States," published in 1853.
The semi-oylinder engine of the Princeton is nnqneBtionablj the most
remarkable modification of the steam-engine that has ever been carried
into snccessfal practice. A vibrating piston of a rectangular form mov-
ing in a semi-cylinder is an old mechanical device. Mr. Watt, in his
celebrated patent, embraced this plan of transmitting the motive force
of steam to machinery. Since his time, several engineers have at-
tempted to build engines on this plan, but without success. In com-
mon with Mr. Watt, they have adopted the single semi-cylinder with
packing against the piston-shaft. Ericsson's plan differs materially from
these various attempts, he having introduced double or compound semi-
cylinders of different diameters with double pistons placed in opposite
directions on the piston-shaft, both being acted upon by the steam at
the same time, their differential force being the effective motive power
of the engine. The combination of two such double semi-cylinders,
arranged so as to transmit their power in directions nearly rectangular
to a crank-pin common to both, also contributes to the complete suc-
cess of this sing^ilar engine.
The device of the blower, worked by a separate small steam-
engine, first introduced, as we have seen, in 1831, in the steam-
packet Goraaivy enabled Ericsson to substitute for the ordinary
fixed smoke-stack, offering in action a target for shot, a teles-
THB SOBBW IK WAB VSSSBLS. 133
oopic chimney. This conld be used when natural draught was
desired, and lowered when the blowers were at work. His en-
gine as a whole was regarded by experts as one of the most re-
markable features in the vessel, weighing, as it did, less than
one-half as much as British marine engines of equal power,
and occupying but one-eighth the space. The moving parts
were so light that the quantity of matter to be kept in motion
was hardly one-sixth as great. The compactness of Erics-
son's engine as compared with the engines of British naval
vessels at that time, is shown by the two illustrations given
on the next page.
A semi-cylinder engine had been applied to the Stockton in
1838, and the model of the engine for the Princeton was
brought by Ericsson with him from England. The link mo-
tion applied to it was that introduced by him in 1830 into his
locomotives King William and Qiceen Addaide^ subsequently
into the Stocktony and later on into hundreds of screw-propeller
engines. The engine was first introduced on the Stockton and
patented in 1839.
A committee of the American Institute was appointed to
visit tlie Princeton and report upon this ^^ important experi-
ment in steam navigation." They announced that this vessel
was " in every way worthy of the highest honors of the Institute
— a sublime conception most successfully realized, an effort of
genius skilfully executed, a grand, unique combination, honor-
able to the country as creditable to all engaged upon her."
The chairman of this committee was Commodore George C.
De Kay, a gentleman of high reputation and large experience
in ship construction. The Secretary was Professor James J.
Mapes, Yice-President of the Institute, and among its members
was Professor James Benwick, the physicist.*
The sensation produced by the Princeton wherever she ap-
peared is shown by the description given by two eye-witnesses,
John O. Sargent and Francis B. Ogden, of a trial of speed be-
tween the naval vessel and the pioneer steam-packet between
New York and Liverpool. The occasion was the departure of
* The other members were J. 8. Drake, H. Meigs, Adoniram Chandler,
PhUip Sohnyler, Geo. F. Barnard, Gordon J. Leeds, and Thomas S. Cum-
mings.
EnglnH and Paddlil <if H. M. S. AchlllML*
* The lootitioii ol the engines and the propeller of the Prinettan, knd the
engine* and piddle* of the AchSle*, with referenne to the w«t6r-Hno li A,
ehowa what t, complete revolution Ericsson effected in the matter of proteotion
against shot and ihell. Hie early use of coal protection !b *1bo ahowD, but not
the relatlTe aiie of the eDginee, m the dUgrunt are not drawn to the Eam«
THE SCREW IK WAR VESSELS. 135
the Chreat Western upon one of her transatlantic voyages, Oc-
tober 19, 1843. Describing the scene, Mr. Sargent says:
The Batteiy and the piers were thronged with an expecting mnlti-
tade. At her appointed honr the QreaJL Western came plowing her way
down the East Biver, under oircnmstances which manifested more than
ordinaiy effort. She was enveloped in clouds of steam, and of dense
blaok smoke ; her paddle-wheels were revolving with unusual velooity,
leaving a white wake behind her, that seemed to cover half the river
with foam ; and with her sails all set she was evidently prepared to do
her beet in the anticipated race. As she passed the Battery she was
greeted with three hearty cheers, and a fair field with no fkvor was all
that she seemed to challenge, and the least that all were willing to allow
her.
She had left Gastle Gkurden about a quarter of a mile behind her, when
a fine model of a sailing ship, frigate-like, apx>eared gliding gracefully
down the North Biver, against the tide, without a breath of smoke or steam
to obscure her path — ^with no paddle-wheels or smoke-pipe visible — pro-
pelled by a noiseless and unseen agency, without a rag of canvas on her
lithe and beautiful spars — ^but at a speed which soon convinced the as-
sembled thousands that she would successfully dispute the palm with
the gallant vessel, celebrated throughout the world, and everywhere ad-
mitted to be the queen of the seas. Such is the march of improvement
in the arts. The newcomer was the United States War Steamer Prince-
ion, The agent by which she was moved was Ericsson's propeller. She
soon reached and passed the Gh^at Western, went round her, and passed
her a second time before they had reached their point of separation. In
a moment, practical men began to speak lightly of their hitherto favor-
ite i>addle-wheel, and the propeller that they had shrugged their shoul-
ders at» and amused themselves with for some years of doubtful experi-
menty rose into altogether unexpected favor." *
Of the numerous screw steamers planned by Ericsson, the
Princeton was the only one built under his superintendence.
The others were constructed from drawings made in his o£Sce.
He was extremely particular abont the quality of both materi-
als and workmanship, and his thoroughness in inspection is
shown by a story told of him which also illustrates his enor-
mous physical strength.
On one occasion, during the constrnction of an engine at
Delamater's, a certain casting appearing to him doubtful as to
soundness, Ericsson ordered it broken up. And, possibly bus-*
^ Sargent's Leoture on Steam Navigation. New York, 1844.
1S6 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
pecting that blowholefi might be plugged, or the soflpected piece
made to do duty in some way, he insisted on having it broken
on the spot. Some stalwart workmen accordingly attacked it
with heavy two-handled sledges, bat, failing to make an im-
pression, they desisted at length, saying : ^^ We will put it un-
der the drop by and by." His quick temper rose at this, but
he spoke not a word ; with his right hand he snatched the
sledge from the nearest man, and in an instant it whirled like
a meteor before the eyes of the astonished spectators, the pon-
derous tool driving its head at the first stroke through the
shell of the dubious casting, making it a hopeless wreck.
He tossed away the sledge as if it had been a jackstraw, and
turning on his heel, strode away with the remark : " Now you
fMxy put it under the drop." *
So thorough was the work upon the PrmceUm that after
serving through the Mexican War, and doing more duty than
any other naval vessel, she was sent to Europe without being
repaired. Her success was the final triumph of the principle of
screw propulsion. It was most fortunate for Ericsson, in his
contest with the adverse opinion of authority, that he was able
to present his new potor in a remarkably perfect condition at
the start. Yet his proposition to substitute the propeller for
the paddle-wheel was received witli ridicule by all officialdom.
Government officers at Washington, enjoying a high repu-
tation for scientific attainment, proved, to the satisfaction of
themselves and their fellows, that the Princeton never could
attain a speed of five miles an hour ; she was able to make over
twelve, and this was relatively equal to eighteen or twenty
miles now. The most prominent of the Gk>vemment naval
constructors assured his Department that a mere glance at the
propeller intended for the Princeton was sufficient to convince
the practical eye of the absurdity of the scheme, ^^ the surface
of the blades was too small for the body to be propelled." The
President of the United States was warned by Government
engineers that utter failure would attend the attempt to use
engines constructed on such erroneous mechanical principles as
those of this vessel. The learned Franklin Institute con-
demned the vessel, and the builders of her engines received in-
*Soientifio Amerioan, December 14, 1889.
THE SOBEW IN WAR VESSELS. * 137
timations from the members of the Institute that they onght
not to be parties to this waste of the public money.
Indeed, public opinion has been so misled by statements
finding their way into standard publications, encyclopedias and
the like, that one who undertakes to set forth the plain facts
concerning Ericsson's inventions must expect even now to be
condemned as a partisan. His engines, using a half cylinder
instead of a whole cylinder, have been confounded with the
one patented by Watt, to which they bear only the most super-
ficial resemblance. Ericsson understood that it was possible to
make circular pistons tighter than those of his semi-cylinder
engines, and he introduced this modification into engines, made
otherwise on the plan of his Princeton engines, and put into
the Daylight and the Penguin,
Returning to the biography of Captain Stockton, we learn
that the construction of the Princeton ^^ confuted the ignorance
and antiquated dogmas of the Washington Kaval- Bureau. Her
speed and sailing qualities, her admirable model, the impreg-
nable security of her motive power (being placed below water-
line), and her powerful armament made her an object of uni-
versal admiration. Wherever she appeared immense crowds
gathered to witness her evolutions and inspect her machinery.
She was kept in continual service from the time she was
launched until the antipathy of the blundering incapables who
controlled the Bureau of Construction at Washington directed
her to be broken up. On her visit to the Mediterranean she
attracted the attention of the curious and of the skilful en-
gineers of every naval power ; and, while the United States
neglected to multiply such cheap and efficient auxiliaries of
naval defence after her model, England and France profited by
the experiment, and their navies are now [1856], crowded with
powerful steamers, many of them built on the model and pos-
sessing all the peculiar characteristics of the Prinoeton.^^ *
As soon as he gave his attention to marine engineering,
which was shortly after his arrival in England in 1826, Erics-
son saw clearly that three conditions were essential to the in-
troduction of steam into war vessels : first, the instrument of
propulsion must be beneath the water ; second, the machinery
* Life of Stockton, p. 8L
138 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
must also be placed below the water-line to be protected from
shot, and finaU j, the draught of the furnaces must be made
independent of a smoke-stack liable to be shot away at any
moment All of these indispensable conditions were fulfilled
in the Princeton and he enjoyed the gratification of finding
his old antagonists of the British Admiralty compelled to fol-
low his lead.
When he left England Ericsson entrusted his interests to the
guardianship of Count Adolph E. Yon Bosen. In 1843 Count
Kosen received an order from the French Goyemment to fit
a forty-four gun frigate, the Pomone, with a propeller on
Ericsson's plan, and with engines of two hundred and twenty
horse-power to be kept below the water-line, as in the Prince-
ton. In 1844 the English Government gave Count Bosen
instructions to fit the Amjphion frigate with a propeller and
with engines of three hundred horse-power. These were also
to go below the water-line.
Aside from the Victo7n/j fitted out by Ericsson in 1828,
*^ these were the first engines in Europe which were kept below
the water-line. They were also the first direct acting hori-
zontal engines employed to give motion to the screw. The air-
pumps,, which were also horizontal, were double-acting, and
were furnished with canvas valves to diminish the shock inci-
dent to the shutting of large apparatus where so high a speed
had to be maintained. Both vessels were completely success-
ful. The speed engaged to be given was five knots an hour.
The speed of almost seven knots an hour was actually at-
tained.'' *
The designs for the machinery of this first British naval
steamer carrying a propeller were made in New York by Erics-
son. He had made scores of plans before he finally decided
that the application to vessels of war of side propellers was in-
admissible, because of their exposed position, the difficulty of
actuating them with the propeller shaft under water, and the
additional power required because of the breadth of the beam.
] " When the Ui 8. S. Princeton^ propelled hy Ericason^a
\8orew and armed by Ericasovi^awrought'iron gwn^ was launched
the war between armor and projectiles began. Heretofore the
* Vide Bonme^B Treatise on the Screw PropeUer, p. 89.
THB 80BEW IN WAR VESSELS. 189
means of propnlfiion by steam had been by machinery entirely
above the water, and exposed to an enemy's fire : the screw did
away with this great drawback, removing the working-beam
and paddle ; compact engines in the hull, giving motion to a
j propeller protected in part by the element in which it acted.
; The centre of gravity was also lowered, and, the paddle-boxes
I being removed, there was less surface to armor, and less target
I to hit.
j "The Princeion was in reality Ericsson's first monitor, giv-
ing a warning on both sides of the Atlantic of the changes
that were to ensue. Congress resounded with eulogies of the
! genius which would enable us in the near future to defy the
I navies of Europe. Parliament, perceiving the error the ad-
I miralty had made in driving the Swedish inventor from Eng-
; land, voted large sums of money to build trial propellers and
J built-up guns. The British foundries were ready for the emer-
j gency ; stimulated by the success of their fii-st iron steamers,
they hastened to increase their plant so as to include the fabri-
cation of armor plates for iron men-of-war. The age of iron
had begun." *
* Development of Armor as AppUed to Ships. Bj Lieatenant Jacob W.
MiUer, TJ.aN. Prooeedings XT. S. Nayal Institate, No. 10, 1879.
CHAPTER IX.
STOOKTOirS TREATMENT OF EBIOSSON.
Declines to be Held Responsible for the PrinceUm Disaster.-^
Anger of Stockton. — ^Payment for the Princeton Befnsed. — Corre-
spondence with the Navy Department. — Application to Congress. —
Testimony of Dionysins Lardner and Professor Mapes. — ^Legisla-
tive Injustice. — The Court of Claims Allows the PrinceUm Claim.
— Congress still Refuses to Pay it. — Stockton as a Duellist. — Ste-
vens's Bomb-proof.
■f TT'HEN the Peacemaker exploded with such fatal results
y ▼ Captain Stockton bethought himself of Ericsson. If he
was not disposed to share the credit of success with him he
was quite ready to give him his full measure of responsibility
for disaster. It was on the programme that Ericsson should
accompany the Princeton when she was ordered from New
York for exhibition to convince the public officials at Wash-
ington of her value. He proceeded accordingly to the foot
of Wall Street at the appointed time, expecting to be taken
aboard there, but the vessel carrying his fortunes, not less than
those of Stockton, steamed by without stopping for him."*^
From Washington came the echoes of the cannon celebrat-
ing the triumphs of the ambitious naval captain, of the speeches
sounding his praises, and of the clinking of the glasses in
which delighted visitors drank his health. There was no music
in all this for the man who had spent so many years in devel-
oping the ideas thus coolly appropriated. He was in no state of
mind, therefoi*e, to obey with alacrity the summons that came
for him to appear and assume the responsibility for the one de-
fective feature in the vessel and its equipment ; so he left his
* I make this statement upon the authoritj of Mr. Samuel W. Taylor,
for many years the confidential secretary of Captain Ericsson, from whom he
obtained tiiis information.
STOCKTON'S TREATMENT OF ERICSSON. 141
associate to his own explanations. His agency in the snccess
of the Princeton had been, as he believed, most nngenerons-
\j ignored, and he did not propose that criticism for disaster
should be diverted from Stockton to himself. Ericsson's rea-
sons for declining to respond to the summons calling him to
Washington are given in this letter :
Nbw Yobx, March 1, 1841
Drab Sib : Your letter of the 28th did not reach me until 5 o'clock this
afternoon. The awful calamity which you relate was therefore known
to me twenty-seven hours before the receipt of your communication,
but for the joyful intelligence of (Japtain Stockton's safety I am still in-
debted to you. Your request for me to come on immediately, whilst yet
the funeral knell is piercing the air of Washington, you can readily im«
agine is not very agreeable.
How differently should I have regarded an invitation from Captain
Stockton a week ago I I might then have had it in my power to render
good service and valuable counsel. iVbto I can be of no use. I must be per*
mitted to exercise my own judgment in this matter, and I have to state
most emphatically that since Captain Stockton is in possession of an ac-
curate working plan of his exploded gun my presence at Washington
can be of no use, should an investigation of the causes of the sad acci-
dent be deemed necessary.
The circumstances attending the loading, quantity and strength of
powder, weight, nature, and fit of ball, etc., of course 1 cannot inquire
into. On the other hand, any detailed information from the forge as
to the quantity of metal and the mode of proceeding with the forging
from day to day, and also a similar statement from the Phoenix Foundiy,
showing the quality of the chips or borings in every part of the gun
I can readily procure whilst remaining here.
With the sincerest wish that Captain Stockton may now have suffi-
ciently recovered to bear with the fatigue of hearing you read this, I am
Yours truly,
J. Ebiosbon.
Wh. H. Thohfson.
The haughty naval officer never forgave this defection, as he
considered it, and in his mind it was ascribed to other motives
than those of wounded professional pride. ^' If Ericsson had
.not been a coward," he once said to Sargent, " there would
liave been no trouble abont his getting his money for the vessel."
As it was, Stockton prevented the payment of Ericsson's bill
irom the appropriation for the Princetonj and there was no
142 LIFS OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
possibility of his obtaining remuneration for the two years he
had devoted to the Government work, and for the charges to
which he had been subjected, except by the tedious and uncer-
tain process of an appeal to Congress.
With a bill made out in due form, and amounting altogether
to $15,080, Ericsson sent this letter :
CiTT OF Nbw Yobk, March 14, 1841
Sib: I have the honor to transmit to you, annexed, the biU for my
services as engineer in planning and superintending the steam machin-
eiy, armament, etc. , of the XT. S. steamer Princeton^ and for certain in-
ventions therein specified.
I beg leave to state that the j^erdidm charge of five pounds sterling
includes all my office, travelling, and other professional disbursements,
and barely covers my expenses for the time during which I have been
occupied on this important national work.
Of the value of the inventions which I have introduced in the Prince-'
ion^ the results of much previous labor and outlay, it does not become
me to speak. On this subject I can only refer to the recent official re-
port of Captain Stockton, and to the report made by the American Insti-
tute of New York at Captain Stockton's request, a copy of which is here-
with enclosed. In any point of view, I trust that my professional
charges will be deemed reasonable by the Department, for it has been
my intention to make them so. "When the sum total of charges is com-
pared with the magnitude of the work that has been i>erformed, it will
exhibit a moderate compensation for services of such variety and extent.
I have the honor to be your most obedient servant,
John Ebiobboh.
To the Am. Tms SBOBErABT of tub Navy.
The charge was for two hundred and thirty days at five
pounds a day, and $5,000 for services, specified as follows:
For services rendered in inventing, designing, and perfecting the
following improvements connected with the arts of naval warfare and
with steamships of war, and applied to the U. S, steamer PrinceUm,
viz, :
The heating apparatus, by which a g^at saving of fuel is effected,
which has never before been attained ;
The new gun-carriage, by which not only the heaviest piece of ord-
nance can be handled by a few men, but which so gradually checks the
recoil that the ship receives no injurious shock ;
The sliding chimney and mechanism by which that great desideifr*
STOCKTON'S TREATMENT OF EBIOSSON. 143
turn, the absence of a projecting obimney in a ship of war, has been
attained; and
The spirit-level, bj which the elevation of a piece of ordnance may
be readily ascertained with the ntmost precision. • • •
A reply came at once from the Department stating that the
account had been received and ^' referred to Captain Stockton
for report." Twenty-five days passed and Ericsson again wrote
saying : ^^ The great length of time which I devoted to this
work compelled me to incur pecuniary liabilities which render
it necessary for me to solicit as early an attention to my account
as may be consistent with the multiplicity of business."
No reply. Again he wrote, a month later (May 8, 1844),
suggesting that it might be necessary for him to apply to Con-
gress, and asking such information as would enable him ^^ to
judge of the propriety or necessity of making such an applica-
tion." This time an answer came at once, saying that the De-
partment was waiting for Stockton, and the next day this letter
was received :
Navt Depabiment, May 11, 1844.
Sm: A letter has this day been received from Gaptain Stockton
which contains the following paragraph in relation to your claims :
"In regard to Captain Ericsson's bill, which was sent to me at the
same time, I must say that, with all my desire to serve him, I cannot
approve of his bill ; it is direct violation of our agreement as far as it ia
to be considered a legal claim upon the Department."
With snoh an unfavorable expression of opinion, the Department
cannot allow your claim.
I am respectfully yonrs,
J. 7. Mason.
Gaptain J. Ebiosson, New York.
'Nine days after the date of this letter Stockton sent this
communication to the Department :
Pbingeton, May 20, 1844.
Sib : In answer to your last communication of the tenth instant, on
the subject of Gaptain Ericsson's account, a copy of which had been pre-
viously sent to me by the Department, and which I could not approve,
I have the honor further to state :
That it has given me great pleasure to acknowledge on all proper
oooasiona the services of Gaptain Ericsson's mechanical skill in carrying
144 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
out my well-intended efforts for the benefit of the country and, although
I am still free to do so, yet my duty to the (Government, and not more
than a proper regard for myself, require me to say, that I was quite sur-
prised to learn that he had presented ant/ claim or demand tohatever,
against the Department, for services rendered to me in fitting the
PrinoeUm; nor was my surprise at all diminished on the perusal of his
accounts to find that he had been so eztravagant in all his demands.
That the (Goyemment may have a proper understanding of the true
position of Oaptain Ericsson toward the Gk>yemment and myself in re-
gard to any demand he has made or may see fit to make for services
before alluded to, however eminent and labariotis they may turn out to
be, it seems to be proper here to state some of the circumstances con-
nected with my first acquaintance with him and his subsequent visit to
the United States.
Previous to my acquaintance with Captain Ericsson I had proposed
to the President of the United States and the Navy Department to con-
struct a steamship-of-war, whose machinery should be entirely out of
the reach of shot. Pursuing my inquiries on this subject a few years
afterward in England, I was informed by Mr. Francis B. Ogden, our
Oonsul at Liverpool, that a veiy ingenious mechanic by the name of
Ericsson had been devoting much time and attention to the matter of
submerged wheels. He afterward introduced him to me ; subsequently
I had constructed in England, under his immediate superintendence,
an iron boat with submerged wheels, and which boat was afterward sent
to the United States. I also had constructed under his direction an
engine similar to the one now on board the Princeton, which was also
sent to the United States.
Having obtained these two models, I took my leave of Oaptain Erics-
son, not knowing that I should ever again see him, and not supi>osing
that his personal services would be ever required or desired by me. I
had the fullest confidence that all that I wished could be done qxdte as
well by the mechanics in the United States as by Captain Ericsson.
I had no idea that Captain Ericsson intended to come to the United
States until I received a letter from him announcing his arrival in New
York. I have invariably given him to understand in the most distinct
manner, whenever the subject was alluded to, that I have no authority
from the Government to employ him, and that if he received anything,
that it must be altogether gratuitous on the part of the Government, that
considering the great opportunity he, as an inventor, would have to in-
troduce his patents to the world by the aid of the Government, I did not
think it proi>er for him to make a charge for their application to the
Princeton, in all of which he has concurred as far as I know, up to the
time of his presentment of his extraordinary bill.
It appears, then, in the first place, that Captain Ericsson came to the
United States without my invitation or approbation, and allow me fur-
ther to add, much to my surprise and annoyance. Having thus thrust
Stockton's tbeatment of ebiosson. 145
himself upon me, and believing him at that time to be a mechanic of
some skilly I did not employ him, hui I permitted him, aa a particular act
of favor and kindness, to superintend the constmction of the machinexy
of the Princeton, on the success of which he had placed so much of his
future hopes and exx>ectations. Captain Ericsson himself considered, at
the time he thus volunteered his services, that the opirartunity afforded
him to exhibit to the world the importance of his various patents,
would be a satisfactory remuneration for all his services in getting them
up on SQ magnificent a scale.
In giving you this brief and general statement of my views on the
subject of your letter of the 10th inst., I have endeavored to avoid every-
thing not directly connected with the subject of your inquiiy.
Your obedient and faithful servant,
R. F. Stogicedn.
To Hon. John T. Mason, Secretary of the Navy.
It thus appears that Captain Stockton, after delaying a re-
port upon Ericsson's claim for services as long as he conid,
finally took a position concerning it which was in flat contra-
diction of his own previous action and of oral and written prom-
ises to Ericsson. The distinction between a claim for patent
fees and one for professional services is too obvious to suffer
them to be for a moment confounded. Besides, Stockton was
held by the strongest obligations that can bind an honorable
man to urge upon the Government Ericsson's title to the re-
cognition of his patent claims, for these had been made con-
tingent only upon the success of the Princeton and its complete
success was not questioned. Even were the facts as stated they
would not justify Stockton's position, and if the letter does not
actually misstate facts it does furnish an example of the sup-
jpressio veri, aitggestio falsi.
" To the Honorable the Congress of the United States,"
" John Ericsson, of the City of New York, Civil Engineer," ac-
cordingly addressed a memorial setting forth the facts, as shown
by a series of twenty-six letters and documents accompanying
the petition, and saying in this temperate language : ^^ It is
suggested by Captain Stockton that your memorialist has no
^ legal claim ' upon the Department. By this expression Cap-
tain Stockton does not intend to deny that the services al-
leged have been rendered — that the work for which your me-
morialist claims compensation has been done by him and well
10
146 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
done — nor that the United States are in the present enjoy*
ment of the unpaid results of youi* memorialist's labor and
invention. • . • A claim founded on such considerations
and so verified, jour memorialist cannot well distinguish from
a Megal claim.'"
Ericsson then quotes the letters which passed between him
and Stockton in Julj, 1841, with reference to his leaving the
matter of payment for his patent rights to the Government, and
continues : ^^ This your memorialist presumes to be the agree-
ment which Captain Stockton alleges to be directly ^ violated '
by the account which your memorialist has submitted to the
Department. It is true that your memorialist consented thus
to leave the amount of his patent fees to what Captain Stock-
ton should ^ recommend,' or the Oovernment should see fit to
pay. Six months have elapsed since the ship was tried. Four
months have elapsed since Captain Stockton reported to your
honorable body that the Princeton can make greater speed
than any sea-going steamer or other vessel heretofore built, and
expressed his belief that she would prove ^invincible' against
any foe. Meanwhile the Government has not seen fit to pay
your memorialist anything for his patent rights. Meanwhile
Captain Stockton has not been pleased to recommend that any-
thing should be paid to your memorialist for his patent rights.
And when your memorialist calls upon the Department — not
for the patent fees in question — but for the bare repayment of
his expenditures and compensation for his time and labor in
the service of the United States — still leaving his patent
charges to their own voluntary action — he is told that the
* Government cannot allow his claim,' and the presentation of
his bill, ^ if it is to be considered a legal claim upon the De-
partment,' * violates an agreement.'
" This agreement, it is obvious, had reference ordy to the
patent rights in question and not to the services of your me-
morialist as engineer, his expenses in that capacity, nor to his
compensation for the numerous inventions and improvements
unconnected with the engine and propeller which were subser
quently introduced in the Princeton. Your memorialist never
contemplated that these services should be gratuitously rendered,
and it would require certainly a very clear and unequivocal ex*
STOOKTON^S TBEATMENT OF EBIGSSON. 147
pression of each an intent on his part to lead any one to a con-
clasion 8o extraordinary.
^^ Under these circumstances jonr memorialibt is compelled
to apply to yonr honorable body for relief, and would respect-
fuUy solicit the attention of your honorable body to the veri-
fied accounts he has the honor to transmit to them. The ad-
vances which your memorialist has made on account of the
United States and the great length of time during which he
was devoted to this work without compensation have exhausted
his resources, and the refusal of the Department to entertain
his claim leaves him no recourse but that of making a direct ap-
peal to the representatives of the American people.
^^ All of which is most respectfully submitted by
*^ Your obedient servant,
"John Ebiosson."
The documents accompanying this memorial were the of-
ficial orders directing Stockton to build the Pri/ncetonj a series
of letters from Stockton calling upon Ericsson for the plans,
designs, superintendence, travelling, etc., charged for in his
bill, and affidavits from Professor Dionysius Lardner, Pro-
fessor James J. Mapes, and Bobert Schuyler, setting forth that
the charge of £5 per day was not only moderate but far less than
such exceptional professional services might properly command.
There were also letters and contracts showing that the speci-
fications called for " a semi-rotary engine on Ericsson's patent
principle" and for his propeller, and that the work upon the
equipment of the vessel was done from his designs and under
his superintendence. The sequence and order of these letters,
together with their text, shows that while Stockton stood be- 1
fore the Department as sponsor for the Princeton he was de-
pendent for every detail of its equipment upon Ericsson's skill
and experience. Yet in his official report upon the completion
of the vessel Ericsson's name does not appear, nor is there any
allusion to him in the message of President Tyler to Congress
transmitting this report, February 12, 1844.
" Of this," wrote Mr. Sargent at the time to Senator More-
head, " Captain Ericsson does not complain. But not satisfied
with deriving all the credit^ Captain Stockton is altogether in-
148 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSON*
active in procnring Captain Ericsson compensation for his ser
vices. Whether or no this arises from a desire to keep Erics-
son altogether oat of view, and then monopolize all the credit
yon can judge as well as I. Stockton has taken all the glory.
In his report he even speaks of ^ submerged wheels,' to avoid
an allusion to ^Ericsson's propeller,' and besides all this
suffers Ericsson to go without remuneration for his laborious,
valuable, and unremitted services for two years. Ericsson
was the author and maker of the whole thing, that is to say
everything about her in which she differs from others. Sills
for constructing for the United States the most formidable
ship of war that floats the seas, and that has excited the wonder
and admiration of so many thousands of our citizens, sleep on
the table of the Secretary tmpaid. His letters on the subject
remain unanswered. Is not this disgraceful to the navy ? "
The I7aval Committee of the House of Eepresentatives unani-
mously reported a bill to pay Ericsson $15,080, but it was
defeated by a narrow majority. In 1848, a similar bill was de-
feated by an unfavorable report from the Senate Naval Com-
mittee.
For eight years nothing further was done in Congress.
Meantime, the Act of February 24, 1855, established a Court
of Claims to adjudicate upon questions in dispute between
the Government and individuals, reserving to Congress the
right to approve or disapprove the decisions of the Court.
On March 26, 1856, the Senate of the United States ordered
Ericsson's papers to be referred to the Court of Claims. The
Court united in a decision granting him $13,930, and refer-
ring this award to Congress in the usual form for approval.
This was the amount of his bill for $15,080 — less $1,150 he had
received, including the thousand dollars referred to in his cor-
respondence with Stockton. Ten days after this judgment the
Senate committee reported a bill providing for the payment of
this net sum. In the United States Senate on May 14, 1858,
an earnest speech in support of the claim was made by the
Hon« Stephen R. Mallory, representative from Florida, whose
experience as Chairman of the Kaval Committee had made him
familiar with the value of Ericsson's services. " There was no
experiment in the Prinoeton^^ Mr. Mallory said. ^^ The exper-
btookton's tbeatment of ebicssok. 149
iment had been made at great cost by Captain Ericsson. He
had ezhaasted every dollar he had on earth in making the ex-
periment. . . . The Princeton is the foundation of our
present steam marine. It is the foundation of the steam ma-
rine of the whole world. . . • The qualities which the
Princeton had we have translated into other vessels, but we
have never excelled her. ... If he had volunteered his
services, I ask, when the country has reaped these great advan-
tages by them, is it just, is it generous, is it magnanimous in the
American people to refuse him this paltry compensation t A
letter from Stockton, written in 1853, was interpreted by the
Court of Claims as showing that he merely held that there was
no legal contract and not that no service was rendered. The
Court of Claims did not accept Stockton's view of the case and
finding in his letters, as well as elsewhere, proof that payment
of some sort for service was expected, granted Ericsson the
amount asked for."
There the matter has rested from that time to this. Con-
gress neglected to appropriate the money, and the bill for
Ericsson's relief, like so many other meritorious measures,
after running the usual course, disappeared in the sandy wastes
of legislative talk. The decisions of the Court of Claims ad-
verse to the claimants against the Government were concurred
in at that time without examination. The decisions in their
favor were sent to a committee, where, in the language of one
of its members, you needed ^' law, equity, evidence, and inspira-
tion to get anything."
The justice of his demand being recognized, and the Court
of Claims having reported in its favor, Ericsson had every
reason to believe that his money would soon be received.
Thus he was tempted to give to the collection of his ^^ claim "
time which he might have devoted to more profitable pursuits,
and was kept for years in a constant state of irritation and
anxiety. The chief theme of his discourse with his friend Sar-
gent, in a long series of letters, extending over a number of
years, was the injustice of Congress, and his favorable opinion
of American methods did not grow apace. At the conclusion
of a long letter on this subject, he writes : ^^ I will say no more ;
the gross injustice in the whole matter makes me nervous, far
160 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOir.
more than if doomed to decapitation in twenty-fonr honrs.''
He was constantly harassed for money at this time, and sub-
jected to endless embarrassment and humiliation. For this the
law afforded no possible redress against the Sovereign Con-
gress. The Navy Department did finally, in 1848, allow him
two thousand dollars for the use of his patented engine but his
bill for two years' services devoted to the construction of the
Princeton still stands as an unpaid judgment against the
Government.
If an ^^ngenious mechanic" had rendered service under
like circumstances to an architect employed to build a house,
can there be any doubt that he would not only have had a legal
claim against the owner of the house but a lien upon the prop-
erty as well ? A claim that is legal as against an individual
is not under our system enforceable against the Government ;
that is all. Judge Story, in his '^ Commentaries on the Consti-
tution," points out the serious defect of both Federal and State
constitutions in failing to provide any means of enforcing a
just claim against the State, such as exists in England under
what is called a petition of right to the Court of Chancery.
^^ Cases of the most cruel hardship and intolerable delay, have,"
said Judge Story, " already occurred, in which meritorious cred-
itors have been reduced to grievous suffering, and sometimes
to absolute ruin, by tardiness of a justice which has been
yielded only after the humble supplication of many years be-
fore the legislature."
Such is Ericsson's case, and in this instance the United
States has availed itself without compensation of the experience
acquired at great cost by a private individual, and has con-
tinued to make use, from that day to this, of ideas undoubtedly
originated and first applied by him, without payment for the
service rendered. If this does not violate the letter it cer-
tainly does offend the spirit of the constitutional requirement
that private property shall not be taken for public use without
just compensation; for property, as the United States Su-
preme Court has said, " is a word of large import."
In 1866 a competent engineering authority declared that no
screw propeller engine " has since been constructed to go below
the water-line which surpasses that of the Princeton in trust-
Stockton's treatment of ebiosson. 161
worthiness, durability, strength, lightness, and mechanical ex-
cellence of performance. It was simpler and had fewer parts
than any propeller engine ever pnt into a war steamer." Erics-
son was the pioneer in applying power directly to the shaft
turning the screw, so as to get rid of the complication of belts
or gearing, and the engine of the Princeton was the first ex-
ample of this type. It marked a new departure, and was at
the time openly and unsparingly ridiculed by all the expeits
who examined it. In spite of them and their wisdom it did
its work so perfectly and accurately that it wore out one hull,
and another was built expressly for it.
Whatever feeling Ericsson may have had toward Captain
Stockton, it did not survive the occasion. In his Contribu-
tions to the Centennial Exhibition, 1876, he gives some account
of his transactions with him (Chapter XXYI.) making no allu-
sion to the differences between them, and speaking of him as
^^ that enterprising and spirited officer." Ericsson's published
references to Stockton were all dignified and free from passion,
though in one of his private letters, written in 1844 when he was
smarting under the sense of recent injustice, he does speak of
^' the deep rascality of that letter of Stockton's." In another
private letter, also written at that time, he said : ^^ Give Stock-
ton time and he will produce certifiaxtes that gun, carriages,
heaters, engines, and propeller of the Princeton are all failures.
Ten to one he will make me out to be the Government's debtor
—only give him time." Francis B. Ogden, who had a pro-
'prietsirj interest in the propeller, shared its inventor's opinion
as to Uie hostility of Captain Stockton. Writing concerning
some of Ericsson's difficulties, he said (in a letter dated June
25, 1849) :
I enter feelingly into your disgust at the unfair decision of juries and
judges ; but, my dear friend, you have a recuperative hundrod horse-
power in your favor in your own inexhaustible resouroes. Write me
immediately and more frequently — tell me what you are doing — where
is Stookton and what is he about — has he influence with the present ad-
ministration? If he has I need not ask how he employs it. I have it
from the best authority that he has sworn to ruin me— «s well as your-
self. I should like to have him within ten paces, with aU his boasted
chivalry and devU-may-care deeds. What is Robert Stevens doing ? Will
162 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
his Bhot-proof frigate ever be afloat, or his thirty mile Bteamenie7«ra0«
taniBh the world ?
The ^^ ten paces " has reference to Stockton's early reputa-
tion as a duellist. At one time, when feeling between British
and American officers ran high, just after the War of 1812,
Stockton accepted challenges to fight all the captains of the
British regiment then garrisoning Gibraltar. Several meetings
took place and Stockton had a most adventurous escape from
arrest after wounding his adversary in one of them.
How deeply Ogden was interested in his partner's success is
shown by these extracts from letters written by him to Erics-
son from Liverpool.
Febmary 3, 1842. As soon as any money comes in that yon can
spare do let me for God's sake have a little for old scores, for I do as-
sure you I am still devilish poor, although Stockton's acceptance has
kept me afloat for the present, and I hope for better times some day
hereafter.
Febmaiy 18, 1842. I am delighted with your satisfaction at the com-
ing in of the works of the frigate, and with the rapid progress you are
making ; and I do not allow mjself to put in a hypothetical if as to the
success of the iron boats. [These were the fonr canal barges ordered by
Stockton.] I look upon that as settled. Had Stockton come forward
three years ago, as he ought to have done, his property would have been
at this day worth twice what it is ; never too late, however.
Liverpool, April 3, 1842. Count Yon Bosen has had two interviews
with the Lords of the Admiralty, and seems to think that they favored
the idea of giving your propeller a trial. I have written to President
Houston, of Texas, urging him to let me build him an iron ship, fitted
with Ericsson's propellers and armed with Paizhan guns."
May 20, 1842. My chief, nay for a time to come my only depend-
ence is in your success, and as I embarked with yon heart and soul, and
have never for one instant faltered, but have stnck by you in good re-
port and evil, and as far as it was in my power have assisted you and pro-
moted your views, I feel quite certain of all your exertions in my favor.
My head is yet above water, but I tell you in sincerity that I have not
money to go to market with. I have property here worth four times as
much as it would now sell for. I have debts (good in time) due from
the United States to the amount of $15,000, from which I cannot now
realize a shilling.
Your arrangement with the Lake people I approve highly of, for in
the first instance, a peppercorn is of more importance than any sum that
might be recovered or rather jeopardized by the uncertainty of the law.
STOCKTON'S TREATMENT OF EBIOSSOH. 168
I am xejoioed at the prospect joor iron boats wH open* and indeed I
look upon the thing as f airlj before the pablio, sink or swim, aoooid-
ing to its own merits. Of the result I hare not the least donbt. Snob
is Robert Stevens's standing that it will not be advisable to come out
against his plan imtil yon are in sncoessfol operation — then plunge a
SkLO-poimd shot into his citadel, and don't take it for granted because he
says so that his " Pa *' was the inventor of the propeller. Bring him down
to particulars and jou will find it to have been quite a different thing.
Should he attempt to introduce it into his iron bomb-proof, make no stir
about it until the thing is complete, and Congress has acted upon your
claim. Then you will have groimd to go upon.
Jime 3, 1842. Since the fate of the Clarion^ no sea-steamer, I
suppose, will be started until the Princeton sets the question at rest,
which I trust it will do to the satisfaction of all the world except Robert
Stevens, who of course will be an unbeliever until he can establish his
okdm to it in the name of his ' Pa,' who tried everything and succeeded
in nothing. The Marquis of Worcester was a fool to him with his '' Cen-
to " ; Stevens was a Millio.
These familiar letters show the relations existing between
the two men to whom we are chiefly indebted for the steam
propeller — to Ericsson because of the engineering ability and
persevering energy devoted to the solution of a problem so
long baffling mechanics — to Ogden because of the sound nauti-
cal judgment and personal influence which contributed to its
early introduction. The Clarion of the Havana line, alluded
to here, was the first ocean steamer fitted with the propeller.
Stevens's " bomb-proof " was the iron-clad vessel begun by
Bobert L. Stevens at Hoboken, in 1843, carried on during his
lifetime at heavy expense, and continued after his death by
General George B. McClellan, Stevens having left a million
dollars for this purpose in his will. It was never completed,
and was finally sold for old iron and broken up. Stevens's bat-
tery as well as the Princeton originated in the Oregon boun-
dary troubles of President Tyler's administration and the
" fifty-four forty or fight " sentiment of that day, which de-
manded that the boundary line between the United States and
the British possessions should extend to latitude 54^ 40^ N.
In 1842, April 14, an act of Congress was passed authoriz-
ing a contract with Mr. Stevens for an iron-dad steam vessel,
a joint conmiission of army and navy ofiBcers having decided, af-
154
LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON,
ter experiments at Sandy Hook, that four and a half inches of
armor were proof against existing ordnance. Similar experi-
ments in England led to similar conclusions. Before Stevens's
vessel was began Ericsson and Stockton had shown that this
thickness of armor coald be easily pierced, and the contract
with Stevens was changed accordingly.*
In this and in other ways Ericsson and the Stevens an-
tagonized, for among the numerous claimants for the screw
was John Stevens, who experimented with it in 1804. Og-
den's letters quoted here appear to be the echo of Ericsson's
own sentiments concerning Stevens. Ericsson's antagonisms
were, however, directed against acts rather than individuals,
as even his friends sometimes discovered to their cost. He
was too large-minded to indulge in antipathies merely personal.
Confident in his own abilities he asked only for a fair field
and no favor, and his feelings of hostility never survived their
occasion, as was shown in still another instance when he re-
buked with dignity a correspondent who assumed upon his sup-
posed hostility to his Bainhill antagonist, George Stephenson, to
speak slightingly of him. It was not his habit to speak ill of
others and he was always ready to rebuke those who imagined
that they could turn what they assumed to be his hostilities
to their personal account. Favors done him were written on
adamant ; injuries were inscribed upon the waters. When he
had acquired wealth some one sought to annoy him by writing
from abroad, that a movement was on foot to erect a monu-
ment to one of the numerous claimants to the invention of the
screw. Ericsson's response was a check for five hundred dol-
lars as a contribution to the monument.
*See Amerioan O^rolopedla of Biography, article B. L. Stevexu.
CHAPTER X.
SU00B8SB8 UKD VASLVXaB.
General Introdiioiion of the Screw. — ^Adopted for the BzitiBh Navy. —
Eiist Use of Twin Screws. — ^Ericsson's Business Methods and Fi-
nances.— ^Auxiliary Steam Vessels. — ^Their Use Daring the War with
Mexico. — The Masaachuaetta General Scott's Flag-ship.— The Prince-
ton Glaim Again. — ^Failure of the Iron Witch. — Business Associa-
tions with B. B. Forbes. — ^Ericsson's Work for the Qovemment. —
Gompetitiye Trial of Screw-vessels. — ^Biral Glaims to the Inyention
of the Screw. — Gontests in the Oonrts.
ERICSSON'S occnpation with the Princeton continued for
two years, from September, 1841, to September, 1843,
Daring this period, as already stated, twenty -five vessels trading
in American waters received the screw, besides the original im-
ported tng Robert F. Stockton. By the end of 1843 the list of
screw vessels afloat on this side of the Atlantic had extended
to forty-two. They are enumerated and described in the report
of the Swedish Lieutenant Johnson referred to on page 110.
Speaking of this report, an English authority says :
The f^te of mechanical inventions is much like that of the seed in
the parable. The invention most fall on a proper soil and be nnrtured
by favorable circumstances of time and place, in order to bloom into
success. The application of the steam-engine to navigation was of
greater necessity to the large extent of the rivers and lakes of the Unit-
ed States than with ourselves ; and Fulton did right to take his marine
engine back to his own country. For similar reasons the screw pro-
peller worked its way into use tiiere much quicker than with ourselves.
It is worthy of notice that Ericsson applied his propeller to upward of
sixty vessels in America before any other form of propeller was adopted,
nor is it less worthy of remark that the adoption of his propeller proved
a great commercial success from the start, many of the original vessels
being now, after fifteen years of service, in good working condition.*
* The London Bnglneer, May 11, 1866.
156 LIFE OF JOHN EBIGSSON.
The machinerj of these early veBsels was bailt in New
York, Philadelphia, and Oswego.
Daring the two years principally devoted to the Prvncetan
time was found for other work. June 24, 1843, engines upon a
new principle were experimentally tested in a canal barge called
the Black Diamond^ and the next year a model was deposited
in the Patent OfSce, June 8, 1844, and a patent applied for
June 24th. October 6, 1843, Enfus K. Page, of Hallowell, Me.,
was given the right for eighteen months to negotiate ^' on joint
account" with "any prince, power or sovereignty," except
France, for applying Ericsson's propeller and engines to ves-
sels on the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. In 1842 back
action engines were planned, and in 1843 they were applied to
the Bevenne cutter Legate^ and afterward to H. M. S. Am-
pKioUy the first British war vessel fitted with the Ericsson pro-
peller. They are described as ^^ a species of steeple-engine laid
upon its side." The steeple-engine is one familiar to travellers
on American rivers. The guides to the connecting-rod rise
vertically along the crank-shaft, and require for their accom-
modation the high frame rising above the deck like the steeple
of a country church.
In 1843, too, twin screw engines were applied to the steam-
ship Marmora^ these consisting of two independent beam en-
gines placed transversely in the ship, the beams operating close
under the deck. This was the first practical application of the
twin screw system. Single cylinder screw engines were also ap-
plied in a peculiar manner to numerous freight vessels on the
canals and rivers of the United States, to adapt them to the ne-
cessities of navigation in shallow waters. The piston-rod and
driving-crank were so connected by cog-wheels as to move in
opposite directions through equal arcs in equal times.
Soon after his arrival in Kew York Ericsson opened an ac-
count in the bank of " Manhattan Company," a corporation
chartered in 1799 under the pretence of introducing water into
New York, and owing its existence to a scheme of Aaron Burr's
for neutralizing the influence in New York City of Ilamilton
and the Federalists. With this ancient and substantial institu-
tion Ericsson continued to bank until his death. In his series
of check-books are found the only accounts he ever kept,
SnOOSSSES AND FAILUBSS. 167
for^ whatever his accomplishments, book-keeping is not to be
inclnded among them. Departing from the strictly legitimate
uses of the check-book, he filled his up with memoranda of
various sorts — most useful for biography, if somewhat disturb-
ing to the cashier's idea of the fitness of things. Here is to be
found the only consecutive account that has been preserved of
Ericsson's transactions from day to day, and from year to year.
His check-books tell in their way the story of their owner's
personal peculiarities, and with mute eloquence testify to his
generosity, his kindness of heart, his strict integrity, and,
most of all, to his overmastering disposition to spend his money
upon his ideas rather than upon himself. There was for him
no resting-place of ease, of Sybaritic enjoyment, or even of per-
sonal comfort, as most men regard comfort. Always just be-
yond lay the goal of higher attainment.
The account in these check-books begins with July, 1844,
and one or two of the books before 1844 have disappeared. The
sum to Ericsson's credit at this time was $5,361.16, and the
deposits during the previous six months had amounted to $21,-
423.33. For six weeks from July 1 there were no deposits :
then on August 15, 1844, $3,700 went into the bank, and
the next day $3,500 more. Meantime checks had been drawn
for these items :
Payments on acconnt of machineiy contracted. $2,897 14
For patent expenses on the propeller 316 93
Salaries of office assistants 80 00
Rent for one month 128 00
Marble bust from H. Kneeland (on account) . . 70 00
For "Duck*' (Mrs. Ericsson) 150 00
For i)ersonal expenses 150 00
Total »3,792 07
Substantially thus runs the account from month to month.
It shows that as soon as he was released from his obligations to
Stockton, Ericsson found abundant and profitable occupation.
Had his honest bill against the Government received recogni-
t]on« he would have had to his credit nearly twenty thousand
dollars on July 1, 1844, less than five years after he landed,
a stranger, in the country; by no means an inconsiderable
168 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
sum for any profeBsional man in those days, and especially
for one starting life anew in a strange country. During the
entire year 1844 Ericsson's receipts were nearly forty thou-
sand dollars, $39,121.16, and the year following they were
more than double this, or $84,536.84. In these two years, as
his records show, he was carrying out contracts for steam-ma-
chinery for seven or eight steam vessels. One of these was
the Revenue cutter LegwrSj another the Bevenue cutter Jef-
ferson^ and a third the 188-ton twin screw propeller Midas,
The Midas belonged to Messrs. J. M. & R. £. Forbes and W.
C. Hunter, and was the first American steamer to pass the Cape
of Qood Hope, and the first to ply in Chinese waters. She
sailed from New York November 4, 1844, and fell a victim to
neglect and bad engineering. Her boilers wei*e ruined and
she was transformed into a sailing vessel.
The Midas was followed by the auxiliary steam bark
JSdithy 450 tons, belonging to Robert B. Forbes and Thomas
H. Perkins, Jr., two of the most enterprising of Boston
merchants and ship owners in the China trade. Mr. Per-
kins who, during the War of 1812, served on a private armed
ship, and took part in several naval engagements, was familiar
with navigation, as was also Mr. Forbes. Both of them were
men of rare force of character, of far-sighted views, and in-
dependent judgment. It was with such men that Ericsson
always succeeded best. It was only the timid worshippers of
precedent who feared him. The "opium war" of 1842 had
opened five treaty ports in China to foreigners, and as there
was an active contest for their trade the Edith was built with
a fine model and a full rig, to enable her to run between India
and China in competition with the fast English opium clippers.
Speaking of this vessel's trial trip, Ericsson wrote : " The
Edith went four and a half miles in twenty-seven and a half
minutes, being at the rate of nine and eight-tenths miles per
hour (statute). My guarantee was, as you will recollect, seven
statute miles. This result far exceeds anything that has at-
tended the application of my propeller, and that it should be
so in this particular case, being the first in which my patent in-
vention for unshipping the propeller has been applied, is most
gratifying." The Edith sailed from New York January 18,
SU00V8SES AND FAILUBES. 169
1845^ and was the first American steamer to vusit British India
and the first sqnare-rigged propeller that went to China under
the American flag.
On March 11, 1845, Ericsson acknowledged the receipt of
$1,000, patent fees, from Messrs. Forbes & Perkins for the
propeller and shipping apparatus of the EiUh^ and agreed to
protect them against adverse claims for patent fees.
In February, 1845, Ericsson wrote to Sargent, saying : ^^Jn
oonfidenoey our Boston friends have about made up their minds
to build at once a large packet with my auxiliary propeller for
the Atlantic. I am almost crazy with joy in consequence. It
is by far the most important move yet."
The owners of the Ediih were so well satisfied with her
performance that they resolved to follow her with another
auxiliary screw-steamer, that is, a vessel rigged as a sailer but
fitted with engines and a propeller to be used as occasion re-
quired. This was the MasacuihysettSy 770 tons, old measure-
ment, belonging to Mr. Forbes and some friends. She bad
the same general arrangement as the Edith, for turning up her
propeller out of the water and was, like her, f nil-rigged with
double topsails and masts and spars aloft, so that she could
either steam or sail. She was intended for the transatlantic
trade, and left New York on her first voyage, September 16,
1845, as the pioneer steam packet between the United States
and England under the American flag. Neither of these two
vessels was successful commercially, for reasons explained by
Mr. Forbes in his volume of " Personal Beminiscences." They
met the fate that usually overtakes the pioneers in any enter-
prise, and their ill success was in no way connected with Erics-
son^s work, which was done to the entire satisfaction of the
owners of the vessels. Fortunately, the Mexican "War created
a demand for transports and these vessels were chartered and
afterward bought by the United States. The Massachu^etU
carried Winfield Scott to the siege of Vera Cruz and was af-
ter the war employed on Lighthouse service. She was re-
christened FaraUonea and was finally sold and transformed into
a sailing ship called the Alaska, The Edith was lost in a fog off
Santa Barbara Cove while in charge of an officer of the Navy.*
* Penonal Beminisoenoes. By Bobert B. Forbes, pp. 210-210.
160 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Mr. Forbes Bent to the Navy Department a most flattering
account of the Masaaohusetts and proposed that Ericsson's pro-
peller and unshipping gear should be applied to a f rigate, de-
claring that it was his ^^ greatest ambition '' to build a ship of
war for the navy to be used as a merchant vessel until occasion
required its service, for war. At this time Ericsson's attorney
Mr. Sargent wrote from Washington that the Committee of Con-
gress was proposing to cut down the Princeton claim to $6,000
and pay him that. To this he replied, saying : " So far from
refusing the $6,000 recommended, I gladly accept it as a god-
send, since I have for several weeks past made up my mind to
receive nothing whatever. I am now on the point of conclud-
ing very favorable contracts with gentlemen in the East, which
in another year will make me independent of Government.
Hence, $6,000 will be of far greater importance to me now than
three times that amount this time twelve months, and I have
good reason to believe that Stockton has sworn vengeance
against me and that it would be a very heavy sacrifice indeed
that he would not make to purchase my downfall." This letter
throughout shows how sound a judgment Ericsson had even in
matters where his interest might seem to blind him to the facts.
Early in 1845 (says Mr. Forbes in his Beminiscences), I signed a
contract to build an iron steamer to be called the Iron WUch. My
assooiates were J. M. Forbes, J. E. Mills, W. S. Wetmore, John E.
Thayer, Edward King, M. O. Boberts, and John Ericsson, the eminent .
engineer, who designed her, and expected her to beat idl competitors
on the North Biver. Hogg & Delamater were the bnildeis. She had
sea-going inclined engines of great power, intended to openie small
IMiddle-wheels. She was very nicely built, and had superb engines,
plenty of boiler, fire, and grate surface. All American engineers, who
had long pinned their faith on the beam-engine and long stroke, with
wheels of large diameter, predicted the failure of the Iron Witch. On
trial, it was found that she could just beat the old Trw/, but stood no
chance with the more modem boats on the route to Albany. She ran for
a time in charge of Captain Boe, continually losing money ; when it was
determined to try an experiment suggested by Ericsson ; namely, to re*
more her side-wheels, and put on geared side-propellers ; with these she
made no increase of speed, and added much to theribration. Some five
or ten thousand dollars were thus wasted, and the material went into the
80EAp-heap.
The ih)» FTttc^— known in my books originally as the AUeganta^-^
SUOGESSES AND FAILUBES. 161
proved to be a grand failure. Her maohineiy being very massive, it was
concluded to put it into a sea-going steamer. A contract was made with
Mr. Brown, who built the Falcon, taking the Iron Witch's hull in part pay-
ment. He fitted her with an ordinary beam-engine ; and, for a long
time, she ran in connection with some railroad on the North Biver. The
Fakon was sold to Qeorge Law, and, I believe, was the first to run in
connection with the Chagi'es and Panama route to Califomia. It will
readily be conceived that the Iron Witch spec resulted in a heavy loss to
all concerned. The wise men of Gk)tham, who predicted her failure, had
no doubt that her powerful eng^es would revolve her small wheels up to
any desired speed ; but they said she would not go fast. Ericsson had
no doubt of his power to work up to more than thirty turns, and had full
faith that she would go over twenty miles per hour. The result proved
that no amount of steam could get the wheels beyond about thirty
turns ; and with this she went about seventeen statute miles, or just
enough to beat the old Troy, With an active competition under the
control of such men as Daniel Drew, this slow rate was a failure.
A speed was guaranteed ^^ six miles per hour faster than the
average run of the boat Errvpvre upon the Hudson Biver/' and
the gentlemen advancing the money to build the vessel were
to have one-half the patent right for the Hudson Kiver and one
half of all profits the Iron Witch and all other boats similai'ly
equipped might earn upon that stream. Success would have
made Ericsson a rich man, but success did not come. Alto-
gether, this was one of the most trying experiences of his life,
and failure left him in a position from which nothing but great
abilities could have extricated him.
Ericsson's accounts show that a little over ninety thousand
dollars was expended on the Iron Witchy and nearly one-half
of this amount was furnished by Mr. Forbes and his brother.
The vessel had double engines and in these the steam was
worked highly expansively and on a new plan. As both pad-
dle-wheels and propeller were applied to her, an excellent op-
portunity offered for a comparison of the two, greatly to the
advantage of the propeller. In a letter dated April 3, 1846,
Ericsson wrote :
T!he Witch ran yesterday up and down the Hudson eighteen miles each
way in one hour and fifty-five minutes on 16^ pounds of steam in the
boilers, all we could carry without foaming. Her speed at that low
pressure (only one-third of what we intended to cany) is conclusive as
to our ultimate success. • • • In a few weeks we will show the faat-
11
163 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSOK.
est reaael now in the world, and perhaps, the fastest erer i% be seen pio«
pelled by steam force.
Ericsson's idea was, that great speed could be obtained hj
the nse of small wheels, and over eighteen miles an hoar was
certainly by no means a contemptible result, but it was not suffi-
cient to give him and his associates the monopoly of steam navi-
gation on the Hudson, which he had confidently hoped to secure.
For the invention he filed a caveat August 23. 1845. In it he
describes himself as an alien, who has declared his intention of
becoming a citizen of the United States. The amount lost by
Mr. Marshall O. Eoberts, of iN'ew York, in this enterprise was
sufficient to threaten him with pecuniary embarrassment, but
his fortunes took a happy turn just then and within the next
ninety days he was able to console himself with the addition of
half a million dollars to his possessions.
The business associations formed at tliis time between Erics-
son and Forbes resulted in personal friendship, and this con-
tinued for nearly half a century, or until the death of Ericsson,
followed within a few months by that of Mr. Forbes. The
shipmaster's ill ventures in the steamship line in no way af-
fected his confidence in the engineer, and he was in the habit
of consulting him upon all occasions. He asked his opinion as
to the rig of ships, as to the introduction of salt water into
cities, and concerning a great variety of subjects which occu-
pied the busy brain of this energetic and public-spirited Yankee
skipper and merchant. In a letter written just after Ericsson's
death, giving some account of his early acquaintance with him,
Mr. Forbes said : ^' This brief sketch of my intimate association
with Ericsson, covering a long period of time and much cor-
respondence, never interrupted by an hour of unfriendliness,
proves that, while a man of positive convictions, he never gave
me any offence, and proved a firm friend and able correspond-
ent nearly up to his death." *
* Letter from R. B. Forbes to the Army and Navy Jonmal» March, 1889.
In a letter addressed to Mr. Forbes in 1888, Ericsson said with reference to
the introduction of salt water into seaboard cities : ** The subject was brought
to mj notice thirty years ago (».6., 1858). I have erer since taken much in-
terest in the matter, and strongly adrocated the salt-water system. It is only
a question of time when it will be introduced, as the steam engine demand
has already increased to such an extent that fresh water cannot be suppUed«
SUCCESSES A^D FAILUBES. 163
EricBSon in 1844 planned an iron tow-boat, built by Otis Tufts
for the Boston underwriters, and named the H. B, Forbes. She
had great power, applied to twin screws, was the first twin screw
propeller built in New England and was generally recognized
as the most powerful tug-boat in the United States. After a
service of fifteen years in Massachusetts waters, during which
she towed the huge ship Ghreat jRepuUic around to New York,
the Forbes was sold to the United States and, in 1862, towed a
frigate into action during Du Font's attack on Fort Boyal.
On her way along the coast, soon after, she ran ashore and was
burnt to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy. The
specification for this vessel, dated July 13, 1844, provides for
water-tight bulkheads.
Objections to the screw arose at the beginning because of
the practice of cutting out the stem of vessels to make room
for it Ericsson accordingly carried the propeller shaft on the
side of the stem-post, working it abaft the rudder and securing
the further advantage of deeper immersion. This device was
first applied to the Edith and Massachvsetts with great econ-
omy of fuel, and in 1849 was adopted for the U. S. war steamer
San Jacinto^ 1,460 tons, whose beautiful lines gave opportunity
for a striking exhibition of this new method of applying the
screw. A precisely similar vessel, the U. S. S. Saranaoy was
fitted with the ordinary side-wheels and the two vessels were
tried together under similar conditions, the result clearly dem-
onstrating the superiority of the screw vessel. Now, a naval
power would as soon think of building a vessel without engines
as without the screw. To meet the early objection to the
screw, Ericsson built his ships precisely on the model of sail-
ing vessels of the first class, with similar lines in the run and
similar form of stern, the perforation in the hull for the pro-
peller shaft being the only indication of a steamer.
In 1840 Mr. Isambard Kingdom Brunei, the younger of the
two eminent engineers of that name, recommended as the result
of his investigations into the merits of the screw, that it be
adopted on board the steamer Great Eastern. Previous to
this. Captain Bichard Clayton, II.K., made six voyages across
For the Bteam-boiler salt water is nearly as good as fresh. Other purposes are
too ntimeroiis ta mention."
164 IJFS OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
the Atlantic in the pioneer vessel of the first transatlantic
line, the Oreat Western^ to note the exact performance of
her paddles and engines on behalf of Mr. Branel. The atten-
tion of the Admiralty was called to Mr. Brunei's conclnsionA
concerning the screw, and Sir E. Parry, Controller of Steam
Machinery, proposed that he should apply the propeller to a
naval vessel to be bailt for the parpose of experimenting with it.
When his engines were approaching completion, Mr. Bru-
nei inquired as to the progress of the ship and ascertained that
the vessel ordered had never been laid down. As the result of
his inquiries he was sent for by Sir George Cockbum, the First
Naval Lord. In his room was a model of the stem of an old-
fashioned three-decker with the whole lower deck exposed
through openings designed to make room for the screw. On this
model was written "Mr. Brunei's mode of applying the screw
to Her Majesty's ships." Pointing to this Sir George said :
" Do you mean to suppose that we shall cut up Her Ma-
jesty's ships after this fashion, sir ? "
Mr. Brunei smiled and disclaimed all responsibility for this
ridiculous application of the screw. " Why, sir," said the First
Lord, " you sent it to the Admiralty." This was denied, and in-
vestigation showed that it came from the office of the Surveyor
of the Navy, the gentleman who had three years before reported
that a vessel could not be steered with the power applied at
the stem.* Mr. Brunei's experience shows how useless was
Ericsson's attempt to overcome the interested or prejudiced
judgment of Mr. Symonds. It was not until two years later
that Mr. Brunei got his vessel, the HaMery and so thoroughly de-
monstrated the advantages of the screw that in 1845, eight years
after Ericsson's excursion with the Admiralty lords, twenty of
Her Majesty's vessels were ordered to be fitted with the screw.
The unique engines of the MasaacAusetts furnished the
model for the screw vessels of Sweden, and her horizontal
double-actiug air-pumps were extensively copied in tlie British
and American navies. The back-acting engines applied to the
United States Revenue cutter Zegare, so named after an At-
tomey-Gteneral of the United States, were copied with slight
modifications into the British screw-steamer Arivphion. la
* Life of I. K. Brunei, CivU Engineer, p. 285.
SnOOBSSBS AND FAILUBBS. 166
1844 and 1845 EticBBon applied to several veeeels vertical en-
gines for working twin screws indepeudenti; of each other.
These were so nopopalar at the time with engine-driverB that
he diacontinaed their ase bat they have since oome into favor.
jlfamerooB freight steamers on the canals and lakes were fitted
with machiuery especially adapted to their use.
Ericsson's plan of coapling the engine directly to the pro-
peller shaft met with great opposition, but in the end his jndg-
mant prevailed, and the rapid introdnction of the propeller is
Auiillvy SMun-pKktt-thip MuHchuHtti,
no donbt dee to hie early appreciation of the Becessi^ of get-
ting rid of the cltimsy gearing throngb which motion had been
transmitted to paddle-wheels. The change involved a difficulty
with the valves of the air-pnmp. After many experiments he
finally overcame it by nsing valves of canvas resting on per-
forated plates. These were first applied to the Masaachuaetis
and attracted great attention from engineers. On this vessel,
also, he first discarded the hoop aaed to strengthen his original
- propeller, securing the same result by bracing the blades diag-
onally.
166 UFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
By 1849 the screw propeller had been applied to twenty-
fonr steamers belonging to the United States Oovemment.
Four were naval vessels — the Princeton / the Water Witohy a
harbor tug ; the Scourge^ a purchased steamer^ and the Sa/n
JacintOy 1,461 tons. Three of these vessels were boilt by the
Treasury Department, the Jefferson^ Legare^ and Spencer ^ and
seventeen were merchant vessels — purchased for transport ser-
vice by the Quartermaster-General of the army, General Jesup,
during the war with Mexico. Various forms of propellers were
tried on these vessels, six having Ericsson's propeller and some
a flat-bladed propeller invented by Loper, who claimed to have
improved upon Ericsson.
During the winter of 1846-47 Ericsson spent much time in
Washington seeking for Government work to retrieve his fort-
unes, after the miscarriage of his plans in connection with the
Iron Witch, He made a most favorable impression upon the
Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, and was consulted
by him with reference to changes required to improve the Rev-
enue cutters, being also requested to go to Pittsburg to take
charge of alterations in the Revenue cutter Robert J. Walker.
The Secretary gave him orders for the introduction of his sys-
tem for supplying fresh water from the boilers of steamers, and
altogether Ericsson received so much encouragement that he
wrote, April 27, 1847: "Appearances now indicate that I
reached the climax of misfortune in putting propellers into the
Iron Witch, and that I am henceforth to taste some of the
sweets of my long and laborious career."
He was then in the forty-fourth year of his age, and had
been for over thirty years continuously at work, but the end of
his probation of disappointment and comparative poverty was
not yet. He was even then engaged in a struggle that proved
to be one of the most bitter he was destined to know during a
long life full of conflict and opposition.
" The triumphs of genius," says Dr. Dionysius Lardner, *^ are
not unattended with alloy. The moment that any invention
proves to be successful in practice a swarm of vermin are fos-
tered into being to devour the legitimate profits of the inven-
tor, and to rob genius of its fair reward. Captain Ericsson, so
long as his submerged propeller retained the character of 3 mere
BUOCESSES AND FAILURES. 167
experiment, was left in undistnrbed poseesBion of it ; bnt when
it forced its way into extensive practical use — when it was
adopted in the United States navy and in the Bevenue ser-
vice— when the coast of this country witnessed its application
in nnmeroas merchant vessels — when it was known that in
France and England its adoption was decided npon — then the
discovery was made for the first time that this invention of
Captain Ericsson's was no invention at all — that it had been
applied since the earliest dates in steam navigation. Old pat-
ents— some of which had been still-bom, and otiiers which had
been for years dead and buried — were dug from their graves, and
their dust brought into courts of law to overturn this invention
and wrest from Captain Ericsson his justly-earned reward." *
When in 1838 Ericsson applied for a patent at Washington
he appears to have had some difficulty at first in obtaining it,
owing to a supposed interference with a patent granted to one
Jesse Ong, of North Huntington, Pa., May 23, 1837, or nearly
a year after Ericsson had procured his patent in England, but
before his application for it in the United States had been
filed. He was informed, however, by the examiner of the Pa-
tent Office that the similarity was confined to the principle, the
application being new, and he heard nothing more from Ong.
The principle of the propeller was then so little understood
that any revolving wheel seems to have been mistaken for it,
whether this was intended to turn under or above water, at the
stem or stern, or even at the side. As late as May 17, 1873,
Sir E. J. Beed wrote to Ericsson : " The action of the screw
propeller is a subject which has not been exhaustively, or in
my opinion, satisfactorily dealt with by any English writer."
From Abo, in Finland, Samuel Owen wrote to the London
EngineeTy December 22, 1871, saying : " John Ericsson took
the idea from my father's propeller, which was shown to him
at the time." To this Ericsson, in a letter to John Bourne, re-
plies with characteristic directness :
This assertioii I have to state is an unqualified untmih, the oom«
mnuication addressed to the Engineer being the fiist intimation I have
that the steam-engine builder Samuel Owen, in Stockholm, at any time
^ Popular Lectures on Soienoe and Art, New York, 1840,
168 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
eondncied experiments relating to stem propnlsion. With referanoe to
the drawing of Mr. Owen's propeller wheel, published in the Engineer,
it is soaroely necessary to call your attention to the fact that it could
not have been intended to operate under water, since the blades are at-
tached to a centre-piece and arms, which, if immersed, would to a great
extent neutralize the propulsive energy of the wheel. Mr. Owen pos-
sessed too much practical knowledge to support the blades in such a
manner had he intended his wheel to operate under water. Evidently,
then, the wheel which Mr. Owen's son mistakes for a screw propeller, was
simply a transverse stem wheel provided with flat blades placed ob-
liquely. It will be observed that the drawing published in the Hhigi'
neer furnishes no evidence that Mr. Owen had any conception whatever
of a screw propeller, his flat blades and solid centre-piece and arms
being incompatible with the principles of a screw.
The claim to priority giving Ericsson the most trouble in the
United States was that of J. B. Emerson. This was founded
upon a patent originally taken out May 23, 1837, for improve-
ments in the steam-engine and improvements in propelling.
Ericsson showed that no draughtsman conld by any possibility
constrnct from the specifications filed by Emerson a propeller
containing the distinctive and patentable features of his own de-
vice. The Patent Office at Washington, with its records, was
burnt in 1836 and inventors were granted the privilege of re-
filing their papers. Taking advantage of this privilege, Emer-
son filed in 1841 drawings, and again in 1846 amended drawings,
embodying in them features obtained from the plans of Erics-
son's screw previously recorded. At the time Ericsson obtained
his patent a thorough examination was made by the Patent Office
of all previoas devices, and the originality of his device estab-
lished so far as the Patent Office could do so. This examination
was repeated in 1846 at the request of the Navy Department,
and with the same result. No attempt was made by Emerson
to introduce his propeller into actual use ; it never went beyond a
record in the Patent Office. But when he found that Ericsson
had achieved success, he brought suit for infringement, sought
to restrain him by injunction, and busied himself with tra-
velling along the lakes, where the Ericsson propeller was com-
ing rapidly into service, demanding royalties for its use. He
also gave public notice through the newspapers that no patent
fees "Could be safely paid to Ericsson, and by a long and vexa*
SU00E8SE8 AND FAILUBBB.
169
tioQB litigation kept him worried for many years. After the
issae of this notice nothing farther conld be collected for the
patent, and Ericsson's income from this source was at once cnt
off and the expenses of litigation took its place.
Emerson finally memorialized Congress asking $15,000 as
compensation for the use of his patented ^^ spiral propellers "
on Government vessels. His memorial was referred to En->
gineer-in-chief of the United States Kavy, Charles H. Haswell.
He reported against Emerson's claims as covering a form of
propeller-blade employed neither by Captain Ericsson nor Cap-
tain Loper and '^ positively impracticable for any useful pur-
pose." This was the opinion of an expert whose professional
training enabled him to estimate at their true value vague re-
semblances that confused courts and bewildered juries.
As Messrs. Hogg & Delamater were the parties defend-
ant, they had been subjected to the expenses of litigation, and
on February 24, 1847, Ericsson executed on their behalf an as-
signment of all his patent rights in the propeller. This as-
signment specifies the original patent of 1838, a patent for
improvements dated November 5, 1840, the patent of Decem-
ber 31, 1844, for an " unshipping apparatus," and the patent
of September 9, 1845, for an elliptical propeller. A circular
issued by Ericsson contains this announcement :
The patentee offers to dispose of his right at the rate of $8.60 per
ton register measurement for vessels of 1,600 tons and npward, with an
increase of ten cents per ton for vessels below that tonnage, thus :
Par ton.
Forvessels of 1,600 tons.... 98 50
u
It
it
«
tt
it
H
U
1,500
1,400
1,800
1,200
1,100
1,000
900
it
«
•t
tt
tt
tt
• • • •
8 60
8 70
8 80
8 90
400
4 10
420
For vessels of 800 tons $4 80
" " 700 " 4 40
" « 600 " 4 50
'* " 500 " 4 60
" " 400 " 4 70
'• " 800 " 4 80
** " 200 *« 4 90
•• " 100 " 6 Ot
Nbw Yobk, March 15, 1840.
J. Ebzobbon, Patentee,
05 Franklin Streel
170 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Many persons occupied their daj dreams with speculations
upon the possibility of screw propulsion ; some experimented
with screws more or less impracticable in form or in the
method of applying them ; Ericsson alone invented a submerged
screw, so complete at the outset in its mechanical details that it
was capable of immediate use. Further, his large experience
in mechanical construction enabled him to determine the best
methods of applying his propeller to vessels of various kinds.
What is absolutely the best form of screw is not even now de-
termined, nor is the theory of its operation placed beyond dis-
cussion. As for the screws invented since Ericsson demon-
strated the advantages of this method of propulsion, their name
is legion. For a time he received a royalty on his patent, but he
was forced to maintain his rights against constant aggression.
And, at the end of a long and expensive contest in the courts,
it was finally decided that the invention of the screw could not
be protected in the United States by a patent.
Nevertheless, the demonstration of the efficiency of the
screw which converted tlie world dates back to the building of
the United States steamer PHnceton and its engines, in 1842-44,
by John Ericsson, or from his plans and under his supervision.
All who have investigated the subject, as such authorities as
Scott Russell, Bourne, and "Woodcraft have done, will accept
the dictum of the '' Encyclopsedia Britannica," that ^^ a small
vessel fitted with a propeller patented by Ericsson was the^«^
brought into practical use.'' I^ug after steam had been applied
to navigation, battle-scarred and experienced old admirals in
the British service were declaring that a sailing ship would
always beat a steamship, and that steam could never be de-
pended upon. The control such uncon vincible gentlemen
exercise over naval affairs in England has resulted in the
British Admiralty's always following, instead of leading, in
the march of improvement. Long after the screw had dem-
onstrated its efficiency, the English dockyards continued to
turn out the good old-fashioned paddle-wheel steamers, and in
the end they were obliged to adapt these as best they could to
the new motor. Ericsson's early antagonist. Sir William Sy-
monds, who prevented the Admiralty from considering his in-
vention when it was offered to them in the beginning, contin-
SUCCESSES A3n> FAILUfiES. 171
ned to resist for twenty-two years longer the idea of adopting
the screw in war-vessels.
When in 1850 Ericsson appeared by connsel before the
Qneen's Privy Coancil and asked for the extension of his Eng-
lish patent, it was necessary to prove that his propeller was an
invention and a meiitorioos one, and that tlie time covered by
the original patent had not been long enough to safficiently
remunerate the inventor. The proof on all these points appears
to have been found sufficient, as the application for renewal was
granted. Ericsson's counsel was Sir F. Thesiger, late Attorney-
General, afterward Lord Chancellor, and finally, as Baron
Chelmsford, one of the leaders of the Conservative party in the
House of Lords. Mr. Thesiger served in his youth as a mid-
shipman in the navy, and was better fitted than most attorneys
and judges in those days to understand the distinctive features
of Ericsson's invention. He showed that the only propeller in
use before 1836 was the Archimedean screw, and one with arms
like the vanes of a smoke-jack ; he pointed out the advantages
and indicated the essential differences between these and his
client's invention, which offered the first ^^ efficient means of
screw propulsion known to the scientific world." He described
the difficulties encountered in endeavoring to secure the recog-
nition of tlie screw in England from the Admiralty and others,
and demonstrated that there had been thus far an actual loss
on the patent of £3,271 16s. 2d. This did not include these
further items taken into account between these parties in in-
terest in their private settlement, viz., '^Captain Ericsson's
time, three years, £1,500 ; M. Hobin's time, eight years,
£2,400 ; Count von Eosen's time, ten years, £5,000."
Mr. Thesiger gave some account of the litigation resulting
from the rival claims in England to the invention of the screw,
ending finally in the union of the several interests, and called
as a witness Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, whose patent for screw
propulsion, taken out in 1832, had been extended. Mr. Wood-
croft said in his testimony : *^ The parties having patents for
the screw propeller have united ; they are Messrs. Smith, Lowe,
Ericsson, Blaxland, and myself. After fighting each other for
many years, we have got tired of it and want to be amica-
ble."
172 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Bt thb A^noBNBT-GsMBBAL. ToH Were to be a partner in the profits!
AnsuDer. Profits I We have had none.
QuesUan. Did not Captain Ericsson first introdnoe a fixed shaft, or
a shaft running horizontally below the water-line ?
Answer. Yes, Oaptain Ericsson did.
Question. He was the first that introduced the shaft ranning below
the line of the water through the stuffing-box outside the stem?
Answer. Yes.
YariouB witnesses were called to establish Ericsson's title
to the screw, and after listening to this testimony and to the
arguments, the Council reached their conclusions as thus re-
corded:
Thb Attobnbt-Genhbaii. I xmderstand your lordships to grant this
extension ui>on the same terms and the same conditions as Mr.
Smith's ?
Mb. Babon Pabkb. Yes.
Thb ATTOBinET-GENBBAii. And further, the Grown using it may em-
ploy engineers to make it ?
Mb. Baboh Pabkb. Yes.
Of this judgment the London Mechcmici J^agaame said at
this time :
The Attomey-Oeneral demanded that a condition should be attached
to the prolongation, to the effect that the Government should have the
use of the patent and with it of all the other patents for the screw pro-
peller gratuitously. The argument relied on to extort this concession
appears to be worthy of the narrow-minded policy, which has almost in-
variably characterized the treatment of inventors by the authorities of
this country. As our readers well know, the proprietors of the various
screw patents have been at law with each other for some years — ^they re-
ceiving the shells while the lawyers swallowed the oysters ; and when
they finally make peace and have a prospect of getting a few of the
oysters for themselves, they are coolly told by the Attorney-General —
'' You are going to make some money now, so you can bear to be fleeced
a little." This is really the truth of the matter. If people want to use
the screw propeller in their national capacity, why should they not pay
for it the same as they would have to do in their individual capacity ?
The Admiralty subsequently made an award of £20,000 for
the use of the screw. This sum was divided among the five
inventors whose names are given above by Mr. Woodcroft. The
SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. 173
proportion coming to Ericsson was bj him made over to Mrs.
Ericsson who was living in England at the time of the award.
To his associate. Count Yon Bosen, he had previously (Julj 15,
1845) assigned his patent rights ^' within England, Wales, and
the town of Berwick on Tweed and all his Majesty's colonies
and plantations abroad." This was necessary to enable him
to carry on litigation in England. "Berwick on Tweed,"
then a free town, independent of both England and Scotland,
now constitutes a county by itself.
Count Yon Bosen took charge of the introduction of Erics-
son's propeller in France. At the end of ten years of constant
effort, he reported that it had established its superiority with
the public and the government, " but," he adds, " I have ex-
perienced nothing but disappointment and discouragement at
seeing the invention, when its merits were acknowledged, boldly
infringed upon and pirated by the very people who showed
themselves at first most averse to it. Now (February 8, 1848)
there are upward of 5,000 horse-power of engines, made or in
course of construction, applied or to be applied to screw-ships
on our system. On these, a large amount of patent fees are
due, for which I shall be obliged to sue."
The claim made on behalf of John Ericsson to the honor of
substituting the screw for the paddle-wheel has been hotly dis-
puted. In the end, when all the evidence is sifted, his name
will be associated with that great advance in steam navigation,
as the name of Watt is associated with the steam-engine, Ful-
ton's with the steamboat, and that of Morse with the tele-
graph. Let them build monuments as high as they may to
others, they can never overshadow the memorial which the
impartial judgment of the future will accord to Ericsson.
As a sci*ew is reported to have been introduced into England
from China early in the seventeenth century, its origin may
be referred to a period as remote as the invention of the wind-
mill, or the smoke-jack it so much resembles. Still, it is to
Ericsson, unquestionably, that we owe the revolution in steam
navigation resulting from the demonstration of the possibilities
of the screw propeller.
How important his labors in this regard were, in establish-
ing the supremacy of steam upon the ocean, is shown by the
174 LIFE OF JOHN EBI0S80N.
calculation made in 1852 that the cost of £198 14^. 3d. for
transporting four hundred tons of merchandise over a distance
of five hundred miles with a full-powered paddle vessel, was
actually reduced bj using a screw vessel of auxiliary power to
£60 128. 6^. or seventy per. cent^ In this difference lies
the solution of the problem of competition with sails.
Any device, from a smoke-jack to a windmill, with arms
turning upon a centre, or having the spiral motion of the screw,
was considered sufficient to antagonize Ericsson's claims to pri-
ority. ^^ The principle of the propeller," Mr. Sargent tells us,
" was first suggested to the inventor by the analogies of nature,
and a study of the means employed to propel the inhabitants
of the air and deep. He satisfied himself that all such propul-
sion in nature is produced by oblique action ; though, in com-
mon with all practical men, he at first supposed that it was in-
separably attended by loss of power. But when he reflected
that this was the universal principle adapted by the great Me-
chanician of the universe, in enabling the birds, insects, and
fish^ to move through their respective elements, he knew that
he must be in error. This he was soon able to demonstrate,
and he became convinced, by the strict application of the laws
which govern matter and motion, that no loss of power what-
ever attends the oblique action of the propelling surfaces ap-
plied to Nature's locomotives."
In connection with his studies of the propeller at this time
Ericsson applied to the equipoise rudder his plan of investigat-
ing the operation in nature of the mechanical laws, as would
appear from a letter written twenty years later to Mr. Robert
B. Forbes. In this he said :
Kbw Tobk, September 29, 1857.
Mt dbab Sib : I note with profound satisfaction that you have been in
the habit of swearing by me. Swear on ; my opposition to the equipoise
rudder famishes no just ground for yonr withdrawing yonr con^denoe.
You say that the several engineers that yon consnlted all pronotmced
in favor of the equipoise ; yon mean that all of them agreed that the
mdder conld be worked wi^ very little power and that it would steer.
Any person of ordinary intelligence oonld see all that. The drag in-
separable from this steering apparatus, this "vile contrivance'* as yon
* John Bourne's Treatise on the Sorew PropeUer, p. 183. London, 1858.
SU00ES8ES AKD FAILUBBS. 176
xemember I called it at our interview, leqnireB, however, some knowledge
of hjdro-dynamios to determine. Your saggestion is far from being cor-
rect that my knowledge on the snbject is mere theoiy. All mj early
propeller experiments in England were made in boats steered by equi-
poise rudders. I know the critter to pieces, and so do the canal men of
Europe^ who no longer favor this machine, invented for the lazy at the
expense of force and time. Yon will admit on reflection that a mdder
to be theoretically perfect should form an elongation of the vessel and
be if possible, devoid of thickness. The Great Oonstmctor of the craft
of the deep^ not only carries out this theoiy bnt adds flexibility to the
mdder, which renders its action absolutely perfect by presenting the
greatest angle at the aft end.
The current of water, instead of being forced violently from its
course along the body is ffradtMQy deviated on meeting the rudder,
thereby causing a minimum retardation to the moving body, remov-
ing at the same time the greatest action to the extreme end, where
the leverage is greatest. Although we cannot, with all our boasted
ingenuity, imitate this beautiful property of flexibility which Onmipo-
tence employs, we can at least construct our rudder so as to form
an eiongaHon cf the vessel As the thin stem-posts of iron vessels admit
of a mdder almost devoid of thickness, we are enabled in that class
of vessels to do all that theoiy demands. Let us, then, not introduce
a detached body to be towed abaft the vessel.
I note particularly what you say of the small angle required by
your rudder. There is a flxed law in dynamics that '' eveiy deviation
from a straight line of a moving body is attended with a given diminution
of speed or momentum." Do not suppose that there is any way to cheat
thislaw.
» Very truly yours,
J. EmoEnoN.
kti,
CHAPTER XI.
THB ERICSSON HOT-AIR SHIP.
The Perfection Engine. — ^Plans for a War YesseL — ^Ericsson Employed
by the United States Govemment Dnring the War with Mexico. —
iflected Honorary Ghnrch Member and Becomes a Citizen. — ^Honors
from England. — ^His Temx>erance Principles. — ^Prosperity and Ad-
yersity.
D TIRING the years in which Ericsson was so constantly oc-
capied with the application of his ideas to the practical
purposes of navigation, and in defending himself against the
efforts to rob him of the fruit of his industry, he still found
time to develop various new inventions. He designed in 1846
an apparatus for heating the feed- water of boilers, and a high-
pressure condensing steam-engine with two single-acting cylin-
ders, the diameter of one being five times that of the other.
This engine was patented in America and in other countries.
It received the special attention of Professor Dionysius Lard*
ner, the British writer and lecturer on Physical Science, who
had been Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in
the London University until domestic difficulties led to his
transfer to the United States. During his residence in !N^ew
York, Dr. Lardner devoted several months to the theoretical
study of Ericsson's engine, and he continued these investiga-
tions after his removal to Paris. He estimated that Ericsson's
engine showed an economy of fuel equalled only by the engines
used in the mines of Cornwall.
Lardner endeavored to introduce this engine into France,
and there was an amiable dispute between him and its inventor
as to whether he should receive any remuneration for this ser-
vice. On August 23, 1849, he wrote to Ericsson from Paris,
saying : " After the services you formerly rendered me, I think
you need not have felt much hesitation in accepting my aid
THE ERICSSON HOT-AIR SHIP. 177
without thinking of compensation in any shape. I can assui-e
you that I would act for you as zealously and carefully as for
myself. However, seeing what your sentiments are on this
point, I believe that it will be best for you that I should at
once acquiesce in your proposition of accepting a fifth of the
net profits for France, if through my exertions the patent
should be rendered productive.'' As Professor Lardner had
gathered $200,000 from a lecturing tour in the United States,
he was much more independent in his circumstances than
Ericsson was at this time.
. In the spring of 1846, the House Committee on Naval Af-
fairs of the 29th Congress considered the subject of employing
steam for naval armaments and sent a circular to various per-
sons, asking an opinion as to the practicability of rendering an
iron vessel shot-proof. Among the replies accompanying the
report of the Committee (Report No. 681, H. R., 29th Con-
gress, 1st Session) is one from John Ericsson. He argued tliat ]
^^ the weight of a floating body is prescribed within such nar-
row limits as to preclude the possibility of making the side of \
a vessel of sufficient thickness to prevent penetration by heavy ,
projectiles. He recommended, therefore, a system of water- !
tight bulkheads, so distributed that less than one-fortieth of
the ship's displacement would 'be occupied by water entering
through a shot-hole. He proposed also to strengthen the bows
so that they would deflect a shot when the vessel was fighting
bows on, the method he always favored. He forwarded a plan
for a 1,200-ton iron vessel. This he proposed to build, and arm
with two 12'inch and four 8-inch guns, for $415,000. She was
to be 200 feet long by 86 feet beam, and to make ^' fifteen miles
an hour at sea iif pretty rough weather." Three of his guns
were to be placed within the line of the protected bow, one was
to train over the stern, and the other two were to be placed
amidships. These guns were to be mounted on circular rail-
ways and the engines of the vessel vifere to be partially pro-
tected by stowing the coal in water-tight bulkheads over the
engine-room.
This Congressional inquiry antedates by nine years the ap-
pearance, during the Crimean "War, of the first IVench armor-
dads. Ericsson's rejection in 1846 of the idea of undertaking
13
178 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
to protect the ordinary war-ship against shot, cleared the way
for his final conclusions as to the only possible type for a com-
pletely protected armored vessel. He advanced step by step in
his study of battle-ships, until his mastery of the subject en-
abled him to act at a critical moment with the utmost prompt-
ness and decision, while others were yet lingering in the pre-
liminary stages of discussion. This diagram of the deck plan
of the vessel ho recommended to Congress also suggests the
monitor idea of all-round fire.
D«cK Plan of EricMon't War VmmI of 1840.
The committee in their report called attention to the fact
that the J^rinoeton was the first ship ever constructed with her
machinery and propeller so arranged as to be secured from an
enemy's shot, and urged that ^^ this fact should hereafter be the
governing principle in the construction of a steam navy." They
also said : '^ The machinery and propeller of this ship were in-
vented and arranged under the superintendence of that eminent
civil engineer, Captain John Ericsson." The committee recom-
mended the building of twelve iron war steamers and one iron
frigate, but beyond the competitive trial of the paddle-wheel
Saranao and the screw vessel San Jacinto^ already recorded,
and the building of the 23-gun paddle-wheel steamer Sua-
quehanruij nothing was done. This was in the line of Con-
gressional precedent. In 1816 the national legislature had de-
cided that the navy must be gradually increased and improved.
So, for the next twenty-three years they spent an average of
$600,000 a year in partially building frigates and seventy -fours,
erecting houses over them at a large expense, and then leaving
them to rot on the stocks, while the men who were to man
them were deprived of the opportunity to practise their pro-
fession, which the commissioning of these vessels would have
given them.
THE EBI08SON HOT-AIB SHIP. 179
This was one of the most trying periods of Ericsson's his-
tory, and at times he was driven nearly distracted by pecuniary
difKcnlties. In full reliance upon the justice of Government
he had expended $6,000 in money, besides his time, in the work
upon the Princeton. This involved him in debt, and he was
constantly harassed by the attempt to meet over-due obliga-
tions out of an empty purse. His check-book shows balances to
his credit during the two years ending with May, 1846, varying
from $1,000 to nearly $14,000, but much of this was expended
in completing conti^act work. On May 5, 1846, he was reduced
to $38.54, and against . the entry of this ominous balance he
has made a memorandum in Swedish to the effect that it was a
most discouraging exhibit for so many years of hard work.
He had not even then touched bottom, and $23 was at one time
the limit of his credit with the bank. September 16, 1846, he
wrote to Mr. Sargent, saying :
^< I received your letter of the 14th yesterday afternoon,
and opened it with trembling hand. My worst fears were
realized, aud I turned nearly crazy for a few minutes. In my
despair I resorted 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 next week. Kow, 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
next Wednesday I shall have to cut my throat."
^^ It is unfortunate," said Ericsson, in a previous letter, ^^ that
I have allowed the supposed payment of my Princeton claim to
enter into mjfinanoial calculations, as, in all probability, it will
be the means of throwing me on my beam ends ; still more un-
fortunate is it that immediately on the success of the Princeton
I did not pack up my traps, make.a present of my inventions
to the United States, and recross the Atlantic with a grateful
heart to find my retreat left open, an advantage which I do not
now enjoy." *
From this condition of pecuniary distress Ericsson was
for a time relieved by the fortunate sale to the Government
of the steamer MaaaachusettSy in which he had a part inter-
est, and by the receipt, December 27, 1847, of a payment of
* Letter to John O. Sargent, New York, Jnlj 20, 1846.
180 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
$4,300 for the application of his fresh water apparatus to that
vessel.
A portion of this year was occupied with a careful study of
oscillating engines, and on June 17, 1847, he wrote to the Com-
mittee on Engines of the United States War Steamers that he
had ^^ succeeded in removing the principal imperfections of
this simple instrument for transmitting the force of steam for
purposes of locomotion.'' He was also called upon.bj the United
States Treasury Department for a report upon the alterations
required in the Revenue cutter Polk^ and he presented to the
War Department a plan for an iron steamer to navigate the Gulf
of Mexico and tlie Bio Grande. This was a time of war, and the
Government were looking in all directions for an improvement
in the means of transporting troops and supplies to Mexico.
The apparatus for condensing into fresh water the steam
generated by the boilers of ocean-going vessels was applied in
1848 to the Alabama^ a steamer belonging to the Quartermas-
ter's Department of the United States Army to the U. S. S.
Ediiky then fitting out for the Pacific, and to the Bevenue cut-
ter Legard* The profit on the $10,725 received for this ser-
vice constituted nearly all of Ericsson's income for this year.
But his frugality in personal expenditure enabled him even
then to respond to the calls of duty and affection, as is shown
by his remittances to his wife in England and his mother in
Sweden. A report to the Quartermaster-General stated that
there was a saving of twenty-five per cent, in fuel from the use
of the fresh water apparatus, and that it condensed all the steam
generated during an entire day, with full fires and engines sta-
tionary. The captain of the Alabama^ after a voyage from
Kew Orleans to Chagres and back, said :
The condensing apparatus for making fresh water for use of pas-
sengers and crew works admirably, famishing one thousand two hun-
dred gallons, if necessary, for twenty-four hours, enabliDg ns to dis-
I>ense with at least three thousand gallons of water, which weight can be
carried in fuel or cargo. We drank this water from choice during the
whole voyage ; it is clear as the purest spring water.
Unfortunately, iron had been used for the tubes instead of
copper, and these were rapidly destroyed by the galvanic ac-
tion resulting from the use of copper in the vessel itself. So
THE EBICSSOiCr HOT-AIB SHIP. 181
the inventor's confident expectation that his apparatus wonld
be introduced into other Grovemment vessels, and ultimately
into the Atlantic steamers, was not realized.
In January, 1847, Ericsson was in Philadelphia experiment-
ing in the use for locomotives of anthracite coal, which had been
first employed on steamboats in place of wood ten years earlier.
January 6th he wrote: "Christmas and New Year's have
played the devil with my work on the Reading road. We are
now at work again, and probably this week we shall know some-
thing more of burning anthracite than we now do.'' He was
not an observer of holidays, and all days were much the same
with him.
Ericsson became a naturalized citizen October 28, 1848, and
his correspondence for 1848 contains the only political allusion
I have been able to find. The Democrats had nominated as
their candidate for President, General Lewis Cass, of Michi-
gan, and for Vice-President, General W. C. Butler, of Kentucky.
Writing to his enthusiastic Whig friend, Sargent, May 81st,
on the eve of the Whig !N^ational Convention, Ericsson said :
"Opposed by two generals your party cannot surely think
of any other man than the victorious soldier whose military
lustre is untarnished by a single spot or speck. I therefore
take it for granted that Taylor will be nominated." He sym-
pathized with his friend's enthusiasm, but personally he took
very little interest in the contentions dividing parties at that
time. It was not until slavery became the main issue in the
c-ontest that his earnestness was aroused. He was hostile to
slavery from the beginning, and was accustomed to say that he
could conceive of nothing meaner than the desire of one man
to live on the toil of another.
1849 was another trying year for Ericsson. His receipts
from all sources were only two thousand dollars and at the end
of this year he records against his balance of $132.32 on his
check-book this legend, written in Swedish : " A beautiful bal-
ance indeed to start the new year with. One gives much for
little as he grows older and more used up." He was occupied in
1849 in an unsuccessful attempt to secure a contract for an
immense pumping-engine for a new dry dock at the Brooklyn
Navy Yard. "You must know," he wrote to his agent at
182 LIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Washington, ^^ that I built in Europe a machine raising 3,000
gallons of water per minute to precisely the same height as will
be requisite at the Brooklyn dock by means remarkably sim-
ple, durable, and efficient and cheap. But as we have no dry
docks in England or on the continent, I could not profit by my
beautiful machine. Now, however, is a chance of making a
little fortune."
Ericsson was a pioneer in the attempt to solve the difficult
problem of introducing steam power upon the canals of the
United States. In 1844 he entered into a contract with Charles
Dimmock,* of Richmond, Ya., to build small steamboats for
canal navigation. It was agreed that they were to exceed the
horse-boats in speed, and as they failed in this he became in-
volved in an unfortunate litigation with the purchaser. With
his usual hopefulness he had guaranteed results which the con-
ditions of canal navigation made it impossible for him to realize.
In October, 1849, he entered into a contract with James S.
French, of Old Point Comfort, Va., to build for him for $3,000
a model locomotive, to test French's invention for obtaining
greater adhesion to the rails and security against derailment
with lighter locomotives. This engine, called the Clirnbery was
to be used on an experimental road authorized by the Virginia
Legislature.
In 1849 Ericsson secured a patent for his ^^ independent
action condenser.'' It provides for condensing the exhaust
steam from a marine engine by passing it through tubes,
around which circulates cold water from the sea, the water
flowing in a direction opposite to that of the escaping steam.
The water is supplied by a pump, worked by an auxiliary
engine so as to be independent of the action of the engine
running the vessel, and can either be returned to the boiler to
be again converted into steam or used for other purposes.
This invention is described at length in Ericsson's volume,
" Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition," and appears to
be an improvement uix>n his previous condensers. In 1847 a
board composed of three naval engineers, and four other ex-
perts, reported to the Secretary of the Treasury on this appar-
* An ex-armj officer, West Point graduate, and native of MassaohnflettB,
who died in the Confederate service in 1863 as General Dimmook.
THE ERICSSON HOT-AIB SHIP. 183
atns as applied to the revenue cutter Legwri^ 8&7ing» ftt the
conclnsion of a very flattering report :
We caxmot but congratulate onrselTes and the profession with which
we are connected that yon have seen fit to test this experiment by the
oonstraction of the apparatns upon which we have been called to
report. Snoh enconragement identifies in the merits of success the
patron with the improyement, and is honorable to yourself no less than
to the nation in whose service you have bestowed it
They reported a saving of 7.56 per cent, in fuel, ^^ and alto-
gether, independent of the loss of heat by the presence of scale
in the boiler when salt water is used, and from leaks incurred
by the oxidizing effects of salt water."
A number of minor inventions were sent to the Crystal
Palace Exhibition of 1851. For an alarm barometer a prize
medal was awarded. The tube of the common barometer was
so enlarged at the upper end that the mercury in falling ran
out of the lower end and into a cup, so adjusted that its weight
set loose a catch and released the hammer of a gong moved by
a spring. An index regulated the altitude of the mercurial
column at which the gong would sound, thus giving notice of
sudden changes.
The Croton Aqueduct Department of New York adopted,
after a series of careful experiments, a fluid meter of Ericsson's
invention, measuring the flow of water by plungers of definite
size working between stops. He also patented a meter for
measuring fluids by a calculation of the velocity with which
they passed through apparatus of different dimensions.
In 1851 a pamphlet was published in London entitled
^^ Brief Explanation of some Pliilosophical and other Instru-
ments placed in the United States Division of the Industrial
Exhibition of All Nations, Hyde Park, London, by John Erics-
son, Knight of the Order of Vasa, Member of the Royal Acad-
emy of Sciences, Stockholm ; Corresponding Member of the
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia ; Member of the Boyal Acad-
emy of Military Sciences of Sweden ; Hon. Member of the
American Institute, New York, &c., &c., &c." It was accom-
panied by this dedication :
184 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON.
To HiB BOTAL HlOHRESS PBINCB AliBEBT :
JjiLUSTBious Pbinob — ^In lajring before yonr Boyal Highnefls the ftO«
oompanying Brief Statement of some Philosophical and other Instm-
menta -placed in the Industrial Exhibition of All Nations, it is my dutj
to state that these mechanical productions, the result of much labor^
would neyer haye been put before the public in the complete form they
now appear, but for the encouragement extended by your Boyal High-
ness to all nations alike — an encouragement entitling your Boyal High-
ness to the gratitude of the whole dyiUzed world, and the results of
which mark an epoch in the annals of mankind.
Your Boyal Highness's most humble Servant,
J. EEKBSQEr.
Naw YoBK, June 16, 1851.
Included in the brief explanation are seven of EricBSon'a
inventions — the instrument for measuring distance at sea ; the
hydrostatic gauge for measuring the volame of flaids under
pressure ; the reciprocating fluid meter ; the alarm barometer ;
the pyrometer for measuring high temperatures ; the rotary
fluid meter, and the sea-lead. Lithographic illustrations of
these several instruments accompanied the text. The various
distinctions referi*ed to in the title-page of this pamphlet were
conferred upon him after he left England in 1839. In 1843,
( the Franklin Institute elected him a corresponding member,
I in recognition of the service rendered in designing the steam
fire-engine, for which the New York Mechanics' Institute
awarded the only gold medal it has ever bestowed upon an in-
ventor. In 1847 the Boyal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm
elected Ericsson an honorary member; in 1850 the Swedish
' Oovemraent bestowed upon him the distinction of Enight of
tlie Order of Yasa, and in 1852 the Royal Military Academy of
Sciences of Sweden elected him an honorary member.
The studies into the nature and application of heat as a me-
chanical force, begun by Ericsson at the time of his youthful
invention of the flame-engine, were continued at intervals for
three score years and ten, or until the end of his active and use-
ful life. At a very early date he discovered the fallacy of the
conclusions concerning high temperatures resulting from the
use of Wedgewood's method of measuring these by gauging
the dimensions of a cylinder of clay before and after heating it
in a furnace. This measurement gave 21,637 degrees as the
\
THE EBIOSSOir HOT-AIB SHIP. 186
temperature of iron melted in cupola furnaces. Ericsson satis-
fied himself that this was at least six times too great, and the
actual temperature proved to be 2,786 degrees. The inven-
tion of the pyrometer was one result of these studies. Erics-
son's method of measuring high artificial temperatures by the
expansion of confined gases has since been shown to be one of
the most reliable of the dozen different methods tested, and,
he was a pioneer in this field of investigation, as in so many'
others. Of the others none have been superior, except per-
haps Siemens's method, recently adopted, of measuring tem-
peratures by changes in resistance to electricity.
After his removal to the United States in 1839, Ericsson
continued his experiments with hot air as a motor, building
eight caloric engines for experiment between 1840 and 1850.
Seven of these cost together $9,400 and the eighth $7,000.
He gradually enlarged the dimensions of these experimental
engines from the fourteen inches of his original model to six-
teen inches and then to thirty. Into these engines he intro-
duced the principle of " regeneration," as he called it, or
transfer of the heat from the outgoing to the incoming air by
passing the currents alternately through a metal box or chest
filled with wire meshes.
Theory, he said, ^^ clearly indicates that, owing to the small
capacity for heat of atmospheric air — that beneficial property
which the Great Mechanician gives to it as a fit medium for an-
imated warm beings to live in — and, in consequence, also, of the
almost infinite subdivision among the wires, the temperature
of the circulating air in passing through the regenerator of the
caloric engine must be greatly changed. Practice has fully
realized all that theory predicted, for the temperatures at x
and z [that is, at the points of entrance to and exit from the re-
generator] have never varied during the trials less than 350 de- .
grees, when the engine has been in full operation ; indeed it
has been found irriposstile to obtain a differential temperature
of less magnitude with sufficient fires in the furnaces. The
great number of disks, their isolated character, and the distri-
bution of the air in sndh a vast number of minute cells, readily
explain the surprising fall and increase of temperature of the
opposite currents passing the regenerator, and which constitutes
186 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOIT.
the grand featnre of the caloric engine, effecting, as it does,
sach an extraordinary saving of f nel bj rendering the caloric
not converted into work active over and over again.*' *
Letters from Ericsson show that he was at work upon his
caloric engine in 1847. Early in December of that year a
model engine was sent from the factory and set np in his room
at !N'o. 95 Franklin Street for experiment. On December 2Sd,
he wrote to Sargent : " The caloric is very nearly finished. It
will beyond all question succeed. Never felt so sure in my
life." Six weeks later, January 14, 1848, he wrote : " I am at
this moment under lock and key with Harrison, who is en-
gaged in the secret operation of stuffing the guts of the regen-
erator of the caloric, which is in all other respects ready for
trial. I have had pressure, and all is tight. The thing must
go."
Bat not yet, for January 20th he wrote again, saying:
" The caloric is not yet completed ; a deposit of water, occa-
sioned by the pressure of atmospheric air within the machine,
has given me trouble, great trouble. The steam formed from
this water has produced inflammation in the stomach of the re-
generator. Cold applications have been resorted to without
reducing the undue temperature. All that medical skill can
effect will be done, and no fears need be apprehended as to the
safety of the patient."
On the principle that troubles never come singly, Ericsson
at this time, as he wrote another correspondent, '^ suffered the
pains of the damned," having been obliged to lose three of his
strongest back teeth, to cure the toothache. A few days later,
January 27th, he reported concerning the ailing one, for whom
he himself served as physician, that ^^ the patient is yet labor-
ing under his intestine complaints, caused by water in the
stomach, but his physician entertains strong hopes of a com-
plete cure." On February 2, 1848, he wrote :
^^ I fear the unexpected difficulty cannot be got over with-
out a material change in the apparatus. ^ Take nothing for
granted ' is an excellent precept in all mechanical combinations
where the physical agents are called upon to cooperate. Un-
derstand me, I have not discovered anything wrong in the
** Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition, p. 429.
f ^
THE ERICSSON HOT-AIR SHIP. 187
principle of the motive engine, practical difficnlties alone have
presented themflelves in a new quarter. Bent as I am on doing
something great in my line, I thank God that I have the vast
steam-engine improvement to fall back npon^ scarcely inferior
in importance, whilst more readily convertible into dollars. So
don't be alarmed, we shall still go to London together."
This indicates a purpose of visiting Engknd, which was
never realized.
Five days elapsed and again, on February 7, 1848, Erics-
son wrote : '' I have, after serious reflection, decided on mak-
ing the requisite alteration in the caloric, the new parts are all
on hand and probably in two weeks I start again. The new
difficulty I met with took me aback for a day or two, but I feel
now as warm and confident as ever — ^now, don't laugh at me
when I tell you *nex6 time^ the thing will go off witliout a
screw to alter. I can hardly be mistaken in supposing that I
now see all the difficulties that can have any material bearing
on the operation of the great principle in practice. I am
shocked to think that for a single moment I should have con-
templated relinquishing my gigantic scheme."
February 15th ^^ the alteration of the caloric was more than
half completed " and the inventor was ^^ in fine spirits and full
of confidence." In another fortnight he was able to announce
that all difficulties had been overcome and the caloric engine
was ready for trial. March 3d he reported, saying : ^^ I wrote
last Saturday that the caloric was ready for trial. So it was,
excepting some hard ingredients for its stomach which it does
not take five minutes to cram in. Now these ingredients, how-
ever simple, the manufacturer did not let me have until last
night — confound him! On starting the affair this morning
everything went straight off, as I had calculated, and, as you
suppose, the thing does everything but talk. I am writing
under the dick-clack of the machine, and have not time to go
into particulars now."
We may be sure that this ^^ click-clack " was music in the
ears of Ericsson, and these letters indicate the intense delight
he took in his chosen work of mechanical creation. ^' Caloric
does work," he wrote, on March 8th, ^^ and not a single practi-
cal detail remains to be removed."
188 LIFE OF JOHK EBI0S80K.
The engine here alluded to was followed by others, as we
have seen, and finally, in 1851, the work of developing this new
motor had advanced to the production of a ninth experimental
engine, this costing $17,000, having two feet stroke and two
compressing cylinders of forty-eight inches diameter. The re-
generator of this engine contained an aggregate of 13,520,000
meshes for each working cylinder, the two thus distribnting the
air through more than twenty-seven million minute cells, there
being, necessarily, as many small spaces between the disks as
there are meshes. As there were 228,000 feet, or forty-one and
one-half miles of wire in each regenerator, the metallic surface
presented was equivalent to that of four boilers, each forty feet
long and four feet in diameter. The regenerator occupied but
two cubic feet and the boilers would fill 1,920 times that amount
of space. After putting a moderate quantity of fuel into the
furnace, the engine worked for three hours without fresh fuel,
and it frequently worked for one hour after the fires had been
drawn. But eleven ounces of fuel were consumed per horse-
power per hour. It was estimated that nine ounces were re-
qijiired to make good the loss of radiation into the air in con-
tact with the exterior of the machine, only two ounces being
lost in the process of transferring the heat to and from the re-
generator.
1851 was one of Ericsson's prosperous years. He had en-
tered upon 1850 with some sarcastic reflections concerning the
very unsatisfactory showing of $132.32 to his credit at the
Manhattan Bank, but by January, 1851, his balance had in-
creased to $8,690.10. More than that, his improved caloric
engine was regarded as a success, and there is an entry in his
accounts recording the receipt of ten thousand dollars from
William Bloodgood and Dr. C. Bellinger for ten per cent, inter-
est in the foreign patents. Previous to this he had disposed of
interests in his American patents to Edwin W. Stoughton, sub-
sequently United States Minister to Bussia, and to Messrs.
Tyler and J. Bloodgood, the entries indicating the sale of two
tenths interests to the two gentlemen last named for $11,000.
In January, 1852, the King of Sweden sent to Ericsson
his sincere congratulations on the success of his test caloric
engine.
THE BBIOSSON HOT-AIB SHIP. 189
a
The r^nlarity of action and perfect working of every part
of the experimental thirty-inch engine, completed in 1851,"
Bays Ericsson, *^ and above all its apparent great economy of
fnel, inclined some enterprising merchants of New York in the
latter part of 1851 to accept my proposition to construct a ship
for navigating the ocean, propelled by paddle-wheels actuated
by the caloric engine. This work' was commenced forthwith,
and pashed with snch vigor that within nine months from com-
mencing the constrnction of the machinery, and witliin seven
months of the laying of the keel, the paddle-wheels of the ca-
loric ship MicMon turned around at the dock. In view of the
fact that the engines consisted of four working cylinders of one
hundred and sixty-eight inches diameter, six feet stroke, and
four air-compressing cylinders of 137 inches diameter, and six
feet stroke, it may be claimed that, in point of magnitude and
rapidity of construction, the motive machinery of the caloric
ship stands unrivalled in the annals of marine engineering.
The principal engineers of New York all expressed the opinion
that a better specimen of workmanship than that presented by
the huge engines of the caloric ship had not been produced by
our artisans at that time." *
The EricMon was certainly a singularly bold undertaking,
and it shows the confidence her designer inspired in business
men that he should have been able to obtain the money to
build her. Her principal owner was Mr. John B. Eitching,
a young man of wealth and enterprise. Another gentleman
interested was Mr. Edward Dunham, president of the Com
Exchange Bank of New York.
The cost of the vessel was about half a million dollars, her
engines costing $130,000. Her length was 260 feet, breadth
40 feet, and draught 17 feet, tonnage nearly 2,200. The keel
was laid in April, 1852, she was launched five months later,
September 15, 1852, and went on her trial trip January 4, 1853.
Thus in nine months, or half the time ordinarily required at
that date for completing a vessel of her class, Ericsson had
pushed to completion this vessel of novel design and including
so many new and untried problems of construction. It is a
remarkable illustration, not alone of his industry, energy, and
*Contribation8 to the Centennial Bxhibition, p. 483.
190 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
skill in management, bat of the completeness of his preliminary
preparation in the way of designing and planning. He could
carry in his head every detail of the most complicated constmc*
tion, and when his drawings were completed every bolt was
in place, every screw where it should be, and he was able to
keep several establishments busied on different parts of his
mechanism with the certainty that when the several parts were
brought together, they would fall into adjustment without
change — provided his working drawings had been strictly fol-
lowed. He was most exacting in his requirements and he
thoroughly understood what good work was. So if the work
upon the Ericsson was hurried, it was in no respect slighted.
Up to that time no finer or stronger ship had been built in
the United States. Indeed, the agreement with the builders
required that the vessel should be ^^ the strongest ever built in
New York,'' and Ericsson was not the man to let such a stipu-
lation become a dead letter enactment. The Soientijlc Amer-
iocm totally condemned the principle of the caloric ship, and
persistently predicted its failure, but in fairness it said : ^' We
heartily wish success to Captain Ericsson and his compatriots,
for patriots they certainly are. The caloric ship Ericsson is a
marvel of faith and enterprise, their energy and spirit deserve
success and the praise of the whole world. The caloric ship
has new and very excellent features about it. The designer
and constructor of its machinery have shown themselves to have
long heads and skilful hands. We have seen nothing to com-
pare with the castings. It is safe and comfortable for passen-
gers, and it saves the firemen from the pandemonium of our
steamship." * If these had been the days of forced draught
with fire-rooms at 180°, this comparison would have been still
stronger. Comfort, as well as safety, was involved in Erics-
son's grand scheme for substituting hot air for steam at sea.
A week after her trial trip, on February 11, 1853, " the
representatives of the Press " and others were invited to take a
trip on the Ericsson^ and the papers of the day following con-
tained glowing accounts of her success and most confident pre-
dictions of a coming revolution in locomotion. During the trip
the gentlemen present appointed a committee to draft appro*
* Scientific American, New York, January 22, 1863, p. 149.
THE EBIOSSON HOT-AIB SHIP. 191
priate resolutions, and these were adopted with enthusiasm.
The members of the Committee were Bichard Grant White,
Professor James J. Mapes, and Freeman Hunt, all gentlemen
then and since well-known in New York. One of these resolu-
tions declared, '^ that the peculiar adaptability to sea vessels of
the new motor presented to the world bj Captain Ericsson, is
now fully established and it is likely to prove superior to steam
for such purposes."
In a speech on this occasion Professor Mapes said : ^' I con-
sider there were but two epochs of science — the one marked by
Newton, the other by Ericsson." "The inventor to whom
this unwholesome flattery was paid," says his critic of the
Scientific American, "rebuked the speaker with manly modes-
ty." Some years later (July 20, 1875) Ericsson wrote to this
paper saying :
After having completed the general design of the motive engines of
the caloric ship, and finding that in proportion to the i>ower exerted by
the 72-inch trial engine, a speed of five miles an hoar caUed for cylin-
ders of 168 inches diameter, 6 feet stroke, I hesitated in undertaking the
constmction. But for the enconragement received from some of onr
leading commercial men who were consnlted on the subject, the caloric
ship wonld not have been bnilt. Let me add, that all united in the
opinion that if a speed of seven miles could be produced, the work
ought to proceed. Francis B. Gutting, the eminent patent lawyer, who
took a greater interest in the scheme than probably anyone else, stated
emphaticallj during a conversation at the tJnion Club, that if I felt
sure of being able to produce a rate of Jive miles anhoxur, I ought not to
hesitate, reminding me of Fulton and his first attempt.
I have never before communicated the above facts to anyone, except-
ing a few intimate friends ; nothing short of my integrity having been
assailed in your columns would have induced me to make a statement
which I had reserved as an accoihpaniment to my account of the world^s
first and last big air-engine.
I abstained, in my letter of Saturday, from adverting to your edito-
rial reference to "the Ericsson hot-air stock-jobbers/' confident that
you had inadvertently made the damaging remark.
Replying in the same month (July 7, 1875), to a compli-
mentary letter from his associate in the caloric ship enterprise,
Mr. J. B. Kitching, Ericsson said : " Tour remark about the
caloric ship gratifies me more than I can express. There was
192 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
more engineering in that ship than in ten Monitars. I regard
the hot-air ship as by far my best work, it was simply a me-
chanical marvel. The foor 168-inch working cylinders and
four air-compressing cylinders of 137-inch diameter, sink the
Oreat Eastern machinery into insignificance."
The Scientifbo American seems to have stnick the only jar-
ring note in the general chorus of approval and prophecy, and
to this Ericsson made no objection, but the suggestion that he
was a party to a stock-jobbing operation, or that the gentlemen
associated with him could have any other motive for investing
so much money in a new venture than the obvious one, could
not pass without notice. It is, of course, impossible to prove a
negative, but such a charge was not only opposed to the facts
and probabilities of the case, but it is contradicted by the whole
course and tenor of a life as absolutely free in its way from any
suggestion of the kind as that of Simon Stylites ; for Ericsson,
if he did not dwell on a pillar apart, was equally removed from
the ordinary currents of sordid calculation by his devotion to
ideas.
'' The age of steam is closed,'' declared one of the admirers
of the caloric ship the next day, "the age of caloric opens.
Fulton and Watt belong to the past. Ericsson is the great me-
chanical genius of the present and the future." Somewhat too
enthusiastic as to the ship, but not so far wrong as to her de-
signer.
The BaUic and the Paoifioj two vessels of the Collins line
at that time offering themselves for comparison, each used fifty-
eight tons of coal in twenty-four hours ; the four furnaces of
the Ericsson consamed six tons in the same time. With this
amount eight pounds pressure per square inch was obtained^
and a regular speed of seven miles per hour, with a possible
eight. Critics declared that the difference in the coal consump-
tion was due to the difference of speed. Ericsson replied that
the consumption of coal was nearly all due to radiation, that
increased power and speed would not result in corresponding
increase in coal consumption, and that on a large scale, much
of this radiation would be prevented. The question was never
tested. Difficulties innumerable assailed an engine working at
a temperature of 444° and constantly subject in all of its parts
TKB EBIOSdON HOT-AIB SHIP. 193
to the destructive influence of dry heat, burning out its lubri-
cants, loosening its joints, and rapidly destroying its working
members by oxidation.
After being thrown open to curious visitors for a day or two
the Eno9Bon started on a trip to Washington, Febniary 16,
1853, arriving there in safety after a stormy passage, and with-
out injury to her machinery, which was so utterly unlike any-
thing before seen on board ship as to invite the distrust of all
properly constituted sailors. Her four huge working cylinders
were arranged in pairs along the centre of the vessel, two for-
ward and two aft of the midship section, and each 14 feet, or
168 inches in diameter. Instead of resting in the usual man-
ner on the keelsons these cylinders, each of 924 feet, or 691
gallons cubical contents, were suspended, like enormous camp-
kettles, over the furnace fires. Above the working cylinders
were an equal number of supply cylinders or single acting
pumps, 11^^ feet, 137 inches, in diameter. Eight piston-rods,
each 14 feet long, connected the mammoth pistons of each set
of cylinders, and these pistons had a total area of 43 cubic f eet-
Though the pistons, with their connecting-rods, weighed up*
ward of fifty tons, so perfect was tlie frame- work supporting
this weight and that of the cylinders that Captain Sands of
the navy, who, with Ericsson, accompanied the ship to Wash-
ington, was able to report to the Secretary of the Navy that
not the slightest movement was observed in any part, even
when the vessel was passing through a gale and rolling very
heavily. Ericsson expected to attain a pressure of twelve
pounds with his engine, and calculated that this would give a
speed of ten or even twelve miles an hour, but it was found
impossible to exceed eight miles. StiU, this was all that had
been promised, and the failure in speed alone would not have
secured the condemnation of the vessel if there had been suf-
ficient prospect of increasing it.
Oonsideriug the time, no bolder feat of marine engineering
has ever been accomplished ; so that it was truly said that the
caloric ship was at the same time a commercial failure and
one of the greatest mechanical triumphs of the day. An effort
was made to secure an appropriation from Congress for build-
ing such a vessel, but it met with no success.
18
194 LnrB of johk ebiosson.
Soon after his arrival in Washington with the vessel, Erics-
son issued this invitation :
GaiiORIg Ship Bbicsson,
Off Albxandbia, March 4, 1868.
Oaptain Ericsson requests the pleasure of the Company of the mem-
beis of the Virginia Legislatore on board the new caloric ship Ericsson
for the purpose of inspecting the improvements made by this new mode
of propelling vessels, which will afford facilities to commerce by reduc-
ing the rates of running ships with motive-power even to that of sailing
vessels.
For the purpose of enabling the members of the Legislature to visit
the vessel with least possible loss of time, Captain Ericsson will cause
her to be at Acquia Creek either on Monday or Tuesday morning as may
be most convenient to them, and he will therefore be obliged by answer
in time to enable him to move the ship from Alexandria to Acquia
Greek.
J. Cook, Clerk.
The Virginia legislators were entertained by a speech from
the inventor, for he could be eloquent on occasion with the elo-
quence of earnest conviction and assured mastery of the partic-
ular subject he discussed. He was not a man of varied knowl-
edge, or of culture in that sense, but what he did know he
knew thoroughly, and as the stream of a given volume gains
additional power by running in a narrow channel, so did the
concentration of his thought give added force to Ericsson's vig-
orous personality. He was accustomed to great intensity of
expression, he had exceedingly clear and positive conceptions
concerning matters he understood, and was indifferent to every-
thing else.
In return for the courtesy shown them, the Virginia Legis-
lators invited Ericsson to dine with them, but he had left
Washington before the invitation reached him. He did dine,
however, at the capital with Washington Irving, who was then
engaged in researches connected with his work upon the life of
Washington.
i
CHAPTER Xn.
APPLICATIONS OP THE HOT-AIE PHINOIPLB.
Sinldng of the Ericsson in New Tork Harbor. — ^It is Raised and Takes
the Seventh New York Begiment to Richmond. — Its Use during
the Civil War. — Attempts to Apply Hot Air on a Large Scale Aban-
doned.— Its Application to Small Motors. — Speculations as to the
Moral Results to Follow their Adoption. — Prince Krapotkin's Opin-
ion.— Large Demand for the Oalorio Engine. — ^Its Advantages and
Profits.
AFTER the caloric ship returned to New York from Wash-
ington, it was decided to make changes in her engines to
increase their eflSiciency and correct defects revealing themselves
in actual practice. £rics6on seems to have counted too confi-
dently on his regenerator, and the heating power was insuf-
ficient Blowers were therefore added to force the draft and
make good the deficiency in the area of grate surface. The
Eric88on was finally made ready for another trial, and took a
trip down New York Bay on March 15, 1854. A second trip
followed on April 27th, and the next day Ericsson wrote to
Mr. Sargent, concerning the results as follows :
At the very moment of snccess — of brilliant success — fate has dealt
me th(B severest blow I ever received. We yesterday went out on a private
preparatory trial of the caloric ship, during which all our anticipations
were realized. We attained a speed of from twelve to thirteen turns of
our paddle-wheels, equal to full eleven miles an hour, without putting
forth anything like our maximum power. All went on magnificently
until within a mile or two of the city (on our return from Sandy Hook),
wl^n our beautiful ship was struck by a terrific tornado on our larboard
quiDrter, careening the hull so far as to put completely under water the
lower starboard ports, which unfortunately the men on the freight deck
had opened to clear out some rubbish, the day being veiy fine. The
men, so far as we can learn, became terrified and ran on deck without
olosiog the ports, and the hold filled so ragidly as to sink the ship in a
196 LIFB OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
few minnies. I need not (ell jon what m j feelings were as I watched
the destraotiye element entering the fireplaces of the engines, and as
the noble fabric, yielding nnder my feet, disappeared inch by inch. A
more sndden transition from gladness and exnltation to disappointment
and regret is scarcely on record. Two years of anxious labor had been
brought to a successful dose, the finest and strongest ship perhaps ever
built was gliding on the placid surface of the finest harbor in the world
and within a few cable lengths of her anchorage ; yet, with such solid
grounds for exultation, and with such perfect security from danger, a
freak of the elements effected utter annihilation in the space of a few
minutes.
As it was impossible under these circamstances to demon-
strata the capacity of the vessel, a certificate of her performance
on the trip that ended thus disastrously was prepared and
signed by five persons who witnessed it They united in saying
that the engines of the vessel were worked up to ^^ twelve turns
per minute against quite a smart breeze." An average pressure
of seventeen and one-half pounds was carried in both furnaces,
and a mean pressure at the time of closing the cut-off valve of
twelve and one-half pounds per square inch. This gave eleven
miles an hour through the water, the wheels being thirty-two
feet in diameter. The excursion being merely preparatory to
a regular trial trip, the consumption of fuel was not ascertained.
These witnesses estimated it at a little less than nine tons for
twenty-four hours.
In response to Sargent's letter of condolence, Ericsson said •
*^ You are quite right in thinking that it takes something more
to kill me than the sinking of a ship, though it carried down
the results of twenty years of labor. I am in abundant pin-
money, having brought out some small inventions kept back
by the absorbing caloric."
The same day. May 1st, he wrote : ^^ The ship is up, much
to the sorrow of numerous wise men who predicted tl^at the
thing could not be done. Fray present my warm thanks to
Commodore Smith for the prompt manner in which he ordered
his officers to put the ship on the Government Dock. Gentle-
men are so confoundedly scarce in these diggings that it is quite
refreshing to me to come in contact with the officers of the
Kavy now and then." This was Commodore Joseph E. Smith,
Chi^ of the ITaval Bureau of Yards and Docks from 1846 to
AFPUOATION8 OF THE HOT-AIB PBIKOIFLS. 197
1669. Of him we shall hear more in comioction with EricsBon's
work.
After examining the caloric ship, EricssoD . reported on the
19th of lii&y that twelve thonBaad dollars woold be repaired to
pat her machinery in order. It was finally decided to take oat
her caloric engines and convert her into a steamer. Though the
economy of fuel in hot-air engines was very coneiderable, it was
accompanied by too great a sacrifice of space, and too great an
outlay of machinery, to permit competition with the steam-
engine at its best estate. Each of the four " regenerators "
of the engines on the caloric ship contained fifty disks of one-
TlH Cilortc Ship CrioMii.
BLzteenth inch wire netting, each disk measnring six by four
or twenty-foar square feet As the open Bpaces in each
disk measured one-half this, or twelve square feet, there was
no appreciable resistance to the passage of the air to and from
the cylinders, Ericsson tells ns. Bat the expansion of the
sir in the snpply-cylioders, resnlting from the great volume
of the vessels containing the wires throngh which the air
passed, serionely diminished the effect from the working
cylinders.
After her transformation into a steamer, the Ericsson was
chartered, in 1858, to carry the Seventh New York Begiment
to Kichmond, Ta., on the occasion of transferring to Hollywood
198 LIFE OP JOHN EBIOSSON.
Cemetery the remains of James Monroe, Ex-President of the
United States. She was subsequently used during the Civil
'War as a Government transport, and with her four small smoke-
stacks was conspicuous in the picturesque group of vessels as-
sembled at the capture of Port Eoyal, S. C, by Commodore S.
F. Du Pont. After serving as a transport for a time she was
fitted up with a battery of small guns and sent cruising after a
Confederate vessel. She was finally converted into a sailer and
employed by the British Government in carrying coal to one
of their stations in the Pacific.
In his Centennial volume (p. 438) Ericsson says of this
vessel : " The average speed at sea proving insufficient for
commercial purposes, the owners, with regret, acceded to my
proposition to remove the costly machinery, although it had
proved perfect as a mechanical combination. The resources of
modem engineering having been exhausted in producing the
motors of the caloric ship, the important question has forever
been set at rest : Can heated air as a motor compete on a large
scale with steam t The commercial world is indebted to Amer-
ican enterprise — to New York enterprise, for having settled a
question of such vital importance. The marine engineer has
thus been encouraged to renew his efforts to perfect the steam-
engine, without fear of rivalry from a motor depending on
the dilatation of atmospheric air by heat."
Though Ericsson was able in after years to speak so philoso-
phically concerning his defeat in the matter of the caloric ship,
we may be sure that the experience at the time was most
bitter and humiliating. Nothing better illustrates his energy
and force of character, and his unfailing confidence in his own
mechanical conceptions, than the fact that he still continued
his labors upon his caloric engine. The triumphant assertion
of his friends that ^^ the age of steam had closed ; that of ca-
loric had opened,'* was falsified. He was compelled to submit
to the gibes of his enemies and the laughter of a world that
takes no account of efforts whose results are for the future :
but he was not discouraged. When told that the name of his
friend and associate in the caloric enterprise, Mr. John B.
Kitching, stood very low in Lombard Street in consequence of
his connection with this invention, Ericsson indignantly replied
APPLICATIONS OF THE HOT-AIR PRINCIPLE. 199
that the caloric was *^ a boon to humanity, and was another step
in the progress of man ordained by God."
On April 23, 1853, in a letter to the London Builder^ he
had said:
The caloric engine is destined ere long, its opponents notwithstand-
ing, to be the great motor for mantifacttiring and domestic purposes, be-
cause of its entire freedom from danger alone. It is destined assuredly
to effect much in dispensing with physical toil with the laborer. The
artisan of moderate means may place it in his room, where it will serve
as a stove while turning his lathe, at the same time purifying the at-
mosphere by pumping out the impure air and passing it off into the
chimney. In fine, it will heat, toil, ventilate, and always remain harm-
less. All this will soon be exhibited in practice and save critics from
racking their brains to discover theoretical mistakes and practical im-
perfections.
The caloric engine was finally made available for many com-,
mercial purposes, but its inventor was obliged to postpone fur- ,
ther attempts to supersede steam. The radical vice of all air-i
engines employing a cylinder and piston, is the necessity for
using very large engines and very high heat in order to se-
cnre the necessary difference of temperature between the two
sides of the piston. This speedily bums out the machine, as
iron becomes red hot at 650^ C. Lubricants are decomposed,
packing destroyed, and, by the expansion of the metal, joints are
loosened and the whole structure weakened. But partial suc-
cess came only at the end of efforts and struggles on the part
of Ericsson such as would have discouraged anyone but an in-
ventor. What he endured is told in this letter addressed by
him to his associates in the caloric enterprise, Messrs. Stough-
ton, Tyler, and Bloodgood, January 16, 1855.
You will not be surprised to learn that for want of means I have, after
prolonged struggles, at last been compelled to abandon the prosecution
of the invention which formed the subject of our several agreements
four years ago. Whilst I refrain from dwelling on the painful disap-
pointment I experience in being thus forced to abandon the grand idea
of the wire system which, together with that peculiarly simple arrange-
ment of inverted cylinders, formed the principle of the improved caloric
engine which you joined me in prosecuting, I feel bound emphatically
to state my conviction that this extraordinary system of obtaining mo-
tive power will some day be perfected.
200 IiIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
I repeat now what I stated to jon at oar first interview, that on the
principle of the improved caloric engine nnder consideration more
motive power may be obtained from a mess of metallic wires of two
feet cnbe than from a whole mountain of coal, as applied in the present
steam-engine. Every experimental trial made has more than realised
mj anticipations as regards the rapidity and certainty of depositing
and retnming the caloric on this remarkable system. The practical
adaptation alone has presented diffionlties. In justice to myself, allow
me here to remind yon that I have had no funds at my disposal for
making experiments. The large test engine intended for the London
Exhibition was bnilt in all essential features like my original thirty-inch
cylinder engine, that being deemed complete, the difference being main-
ly the application of two pairs of cylinders. The engine of the caloric
[diip, again, was a perfect copy of the large test-engine, differing only
in size and in having four instead of two pairs of cylinders. The mag-
nitude of the ship and the consequent heavy responsibility forbade the
slightest deviation from the engine which had been found to work satis-
factorily. Accordingly, and most unfortunately, not a single point was
gained by these undertakings, not a step was made in advance. The
small engine built at Springfield indeed established an important fact.
It corroborated my opinion that the inverted single-acting cylinders
were indispensable to practical success. It has naturally been supposed
by the public that I have had ample — enormous — funds at my disposal
for making escperimenis, and hence that the resources of the very prin-
ciple of the new motor have been exhausted. How utterly at variance
with fact are these suppositions ! Except as stated in the small Spring-
field engine, no funds have been expended eaperimerUaUy, and therefore
the improved caloric engine, with its inverted cylinders and wire regen-
erator, this day stands where it did when you first witnessed the opera-
tion four years ago. But though unavailable for practical purposes it
yet rests on immutable physical laws which by money, labor, and pa-
tience will assuredly secure a great boon to mankind. There can be
little doubt that $50,000, about ten per cent, of the cost of the caloric
ship, expended in experiments would teach the proper practical appli-
cation of the wire system to obtain that available force which so fax has
not been properly realized.
Truth and candor compel me now to notice that during the four
years in which I have labored unceasingly in a common cause, for a joint
benefit, I have been left wholly unsupported by those holding the largest
interest in the patent. I have during that period defrayed expenses
and incurred liabilities exceeding $30,000 in the prosecution of the
patents in which I hold very little more than one-fourth interest. I de-
sire to be distinctly understood not to abandon the invention in which
we are mutually interested. I only stop for want of funds — ^without
money I can do nothing, and my only capital is my intelleot and my
timer Tzy what you can do. I am ready to work with all my energies.
APPLICATIONS OF THE HOT-AIR PRINCIPLE. 201
Only f omiBh funds, and we will show practically that bnndles of wires
are capable of exerting more force than ship-loads of coal.
In the mean time I find myself on the verge of miu. I must do
something to obtain bread and vindicate to some extent my assumed posi-
tion as the opponent of steam. Accordingly I have determined to return
to my original caloric engine. The plan is less brilliant — less startling
— ^but as it proved to yield power practically twenty years ago, so it will
again. At any rate, it cannot fail to be sufficiently useful to save its
author from starving. I am sanguine, you know, and I therefore expect
confidently to succeed on my old field. If so, I may yet take up the
invention in which you have an interest, on the principle which compels
metallic threads to yield more force than mountains of coal. Thus I
may once more devote individual means and exertions to a common in-
terest.
Thus, with many beartbnniings, Ericsson, through force of
sheer necessity, abandoned his efforts to farther develop his
caloric system as a universal motor to supersede steam. The
spirit of prophecy was upon him, but he prophesied to deaf
ears. He believed then, as be bad believed for a quarter of a
century at least, what is now generally accepted, that the dis-
placement of the steam-engine is essential to future industrial
progress. To the British Association for the Advancement of
Science, Sir Frederick Bramwell declared, in 1888, that those
who should attend the centenary of the Association in 1931
^^ would see the present steam-engines in museums, treated as
things to be respected and of antiquarian interest, by the en-
gineers of tbose days, sucb as were the open-topped steam
cylinders of ITewcomen and of Smeaton to ourselves, and that
the beat engine of the future will probably be one independent
of tb&Tapor of water."
^ricsson had not lost the confidence of bis friends, not even
of those wliose money bad been spent in bis caloric ventures thus
f^r, and in the end those who continued to assist him bad no
^ason to regret their confidence. With their help be built
.four little engines with 15-incb cylinders, costing $500 or $600
'apiece, and intended for lecture-room models; an engine of 16-
/ inch cylinder, sent to France, and one of thirty inches intended
for the Crystal Palace Exhibition in New York. Eight other
models and test engines were built at a cost altogether of $18,-
400, and patents for improvements were issued dated July 31,
i
202 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
1855, and December 14, 1858. The engines of the steamer
were covered by a patent issued in 1851.
Within three years of his announcement to his associates, in
January, 1855, of his determination to make the caloric engine
a source of profit, Ericsson's manufacturers were able to report
that the ^' caloric engine is no longer a subject of experiment,
but exists as a perfect, practical machine, daily at work in
manufactures and diversified uses." By the end of 1857 the
work of introducing the perfected engine had begun with do-
mestic motors of 6 and 8-inch cylinders, and seven large estab-
lishments were at work upon their construction.
Next came the 12-inch engine. This was an excellent
pumper and could do light rotary work. It was succeeded by
the 18-inch cylinder engine with power sufficient to drive two
or three printing presses. This was followed by the 24-inch
cylinder, capable of doing most hoisting work and exhibiting
an increase of power in excess of the increased consumption of
fuel. Finally, before the end of 1858, an engine with a
cylinder of thirty-two inches in diameter was built and set up
in one of the Government warehouses in New York for hoist-
ing work.
Five years before (1853) Ericsson had agreed to build a
caloric engine of sixty horse-power for the Washington Navy
Yard, but he does not appear to have been called upon to do
so. Still earlier than this, in 1848, Mr. Sargent had suggested
that he should build a fifty horse-power engine for exhibition
in Washington. To this suggestion he replied : " I must ob-
serve in regard to the caloric that if I had any confidence in
justice at Washington I would not hesitate to build the fifty
horse-power engine, but I well know that I am as likely to be
cheated as patronized there — ^you know that too."
A thousand caloric engines were sold within two years, and
soon more than three thousand were engaged in working printing
presses, and hoisting-gear for warehouses, docks, and ships ; in
mines and mills ; for pumping, irrigating land, and supplying
villages with water ; in various operations on farms and plan-
tations, and in numerous other mechanical employments. If
it was found inadequate to move a great ocean steamer with
sufficient speed, it was satisfactorily tested in the propulsion
AFPLICATIOirS OF THX HOT-AIB PBINCIPLB. 908
of boats and pleasure yachts ; in short, wherever a limited,
economical, safe, independent, and self-managed motiye-power
was required, Ericsson's caloric engine was in demand.
The Fitchbnrg Bailroad of Massachusetts reported that a
caloric engine belonging to them had pnmped in one year
1,600,000 gallons of water at an expense of $25 for fuel and
oil, and $25 for the time of an engineer. The New York Cen-
tral Railroad, which had forty-eight of the engines in use, report-
ed that they performed an ^^ incredible amount" of labor for
the ^^ small quantity of fuel consumed." One engine, at an ex-
pense of eleven cents a day, was doing the work of five men
who received $125 a month, or $5 a day. An attempt was
made to substitute the caloric engine for the horses then used
in drawing their cars through the city of New York. The
New York Evening Past^ the Hartford Timesj the Dutch Re-
form Mes^enger^ and forty newspapers altogether, employed
this motor and sounded its praises the country over. Stimu-
lated by the interest in caloric, a little paper called TThs Ericsson j
and having for its motto ^^ Improve on Improvements," was
started in 1853, in Fond du Lac, Wis., then a place of two or
three thousand inhabitants.
Caloric engines were also in extensive use on the sugar plan-
tations in Cuba and in the Southern United States ; they were
at work abroad in England and Ireland, and especially in Swe-
den, several establishments in this last country having engaged
engines under license, the inventor with characteristic generos-
ity making over the proceeds of his royalties in Sweden to his
sister living there.
At the agricultural fair of Ostergothland, the most impor-
tant province of Sweden, the first prize was awarded, in Janu-
ary, 1859, to an Ericsson caloric engine. The Swedish jomnals
particularly noticed that this engine, in its present efficient form,
differed altogether from that of the ^^ caloric ship," and that it
resembled in essential features the engines elaborated and built
by Captain Ericsson in London, between the years 1827 and
1833. A working model of one of these engines was carried
from London to Stockholm in the spring of 1833, by Colonel
Nils Ericsson, brother of the inventor. It was pointed out as a
remarkable instance of the correctness of first conceptions that
204 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
Captain Ericsson, after spending thirty years of intense labor,
should find himself just where he started. The striking feat-
ure of the new engine, aside from the novel principle involved,
was the mode by which the supply-air was introduced into the
machine, and in this it was identical with the model engine al-
luded to. The singular achievement, recognized by engineers,
of effecting the very dissimilar requisite movements of supply
and working pistons by one crank-pin dates back to 1833, and
the idea of placing the fire within the cylinder was practically
exemplified by Captain Ericsson in London, as long ago as
1827.
The distinguishing merits of the engine were its economy,
portability, simplicity, and non-liability to explosion. Added
to this, is the superior advantage, in certain localities, of requir-
ing no water. In Texas and California it was used for pur-
poses of irrigation ; in Louisiana for the operation of cotton-
gins, on account of the diminished risk of fire and freedom
from explosion. One caloric engine is reported to have ex-
ploded in Cuba, but the exact cause of the explosion was never
ascertained.
The hot air engine was found of special value in lighthouses.
It required no water, and water is liable to freeze in exposed
situations and to fail altogether in others. Its freedom from
the danger of eicplosion, the ease with which it could be man-
aged by the ordinary light-keeper, and the service it rendered
in heating his quaiiiers also commended it to favor, though it
was more bulky than the steam-engine, and cost fifty per cent,
more. Ericsson examined carefully into the question of apply-
ing it to canal boats, but decided that it had too little power in
proportion to its bulk and weight.
For similar reasons his plans for using it as a motor for
horse-cars were not carried out. Its most ingenious application
was to the work of compressing air so that it could be conveyed
from a reservoir wherever it was needed. It was applied in
this way by an establishment in New York employing five or
six hundred hands with sewing-machines. Ericsson was very
much amused by his experience with a handsome factory girl
who invited him to a competition. • She ran her sewing ma-
chine with her foot, against the caloric engine, and " me,''
APPLIOATIONS OF THE HOT-AIB PRINOIPLB. 205
said he, in telling the story, ^^if she didn't beat me to fits."
£nt as his engine conld rnn all day and all night her defeat was
certain in the end.
I find no evidence that Ericsson ever gave attention to the
study of electricity, though he did invent, in 1859, an ^^ improve-
ment in actuating and regulating the speed of telegraphic in-
struments " by compressed air, conveyed to the telegraphic in-
struments in different rooms of a building, from a central
motor. ^^ Allow me to remind you," said Ericsson, in a letter
to one of his Swedish friends, ^^that I am an engineer and
designer rather than an inventor. Is the capacity for con-
struction gained during the experience of a lifetime, an in-
vention { Edison, in his ignorance, discovers or invents ; Erics-
son, acquainted with physical laws, constructs." This was
not said in any spirit of disparagement toward Edison, for
whose talents and accomplishments Ericsson had the highest
respect.
CHAPTER Xm.
THE BBGENERATIVE PBrndPLB.
Beoeiptfl for Patent Fees. — Report on the Hot-air Engine hj Dr. F.
A. P. Barnard. — Application of the Regenerative Principle by Sir
William Siemens. — Faraday's Continued Faith in It. — Its Applica-
tion to the Steam-engine. — Professor E. N. Horsford's Investigation
of the Oaloric Engine. — Its Progress During Thirty Years.— Erics-
son Receives the Rumf ord Prize.
ASIDE from marine motors, Ericsson expended altogether
about $60,000 upon twenty-five test machines while per-
fecting the caloric engine. His accounts show that more than
one-half of this sum was returned in patent fees in a single
year, after the invention was on the full tide of success. He
had parted with interests in it from time to time until at length
he retained only one-half, but his books record the receipt of
$16,555.21 from this half in 1860, after deducting payments
for the cost of collecting. This shows a total receipt of $35,-
000 for patent fees during the year, and the price received pre-
vious to this for partial interests indicates that the patent-right
as a whole was valued at $100,000. In a letter to Mrs.
Stoughton, dated October 31, 1870, Ericsson said : " Edwin
[Mr. Stoughton], during conversation when he last called at
36, did me the great injustice of hinting that I ^ never com-
plete anything.' The fact is that I never leave an invention
while anything can be done to it within my power (or within
the power of man ?). Since he admaed me to abandon the ca-
loric engine I have perfected fifty-six inventions, all carried
into practice. Upward of three thousand caloric engines have
been built in the meantime, the patent having yielded more
than $100,000. Do me the favor to impress all this on the
mind of mj unjust friend."
The attempt to apply the hot-air engine to the purpose of
THE BEGENSBATIYE PBINOIPLS. 907
navigation was economicallj a failure, but as a means of edu-
cation to Ericsson it was worth far more than it cost, as the
sequel will show. Even after this failure was recorded, Bobert
Hunt, F.B.8., in his ^^ Supplement to Ure's Dictionary of Arts,
Manufactures, and Mines,'' declared that ^^ we may, notwith-
standing this result, safely predict, from the investigations of
Messrs. Thomson & Joule, that the expansion of air by heat
will eventually, in some conditions, take the place of steam as a
motive power,'*
Sir William Siemens told the British Association in Au-
gust, 1882, that " the gas or caloric engine combines the condi-
tions most favorable to the attainment of maximum results, and
it may reasonably be supposed that the difficulties still in the
way of their application on a large scale will gradually be re-
moved." ^^ Before many years have elapsed," he said further,
**we may find in our factories and on board our ships engines
with a fuel consumption not exceeding one pound of coal per
effective horse-power per hour, in which tlie gas-producer ti^es
the place of the somewhat complex and dangerous steam-boiler.
The advent of such an engine, and of the dynamo machine,
must mark a new era of material progress at least equal to that
produced by the introduction of steam-power in the early pai*t
of our century."
Sir William spoke from experience, for he had spent many
years of his life in seeking to apply the regenerative principle
which so fascinated Ericsson, and was a firm believer in its ef-
fectiveness. Commencing his studies into the application of
heat fifteen years after Ericsson, he had the advantage of the
sounder theories concerning its nature established by the in-
vestigations of Joule in England and Mayer in Germany,
during the years from 1842 to 1849. Siemens contended that
Ericsson's partial failure with his respirator or "regenerator"
was due to a mistake in its application, resulting from an accept-
ance of the mistaken theory of the nature of heat, current at
that time, and a consequent neglect to provide sufficient heating
apparatus. This is also the explanation of Dr. Frederick A.
P. Barnard, LL.D., late president of Columbia College, New
York. Speaking of Ericsson's early engine, with the ^^ regene-
rator," Dr. Barnard says :
208 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSOK.
'^ The engine, it will be seen, was remarkably simple in con*
strnction. It also performed very well in practice, so far as its
performance was merely a question of mechanics. But it
failed because the heating arrangements were inadequate to the
demand made upon them. Mr. Ericsson did not expect to be
dependent on his furnaces for the supply of more than a mod-
erate fraction of the heat which each successive charge of air
was to receive. It was his anticipation that the regenerators
would serve to transfer so large a quantity from each charge to
the next that it would be necessary to provide for a little more
than the always inevitable loss by mere radiation. This antici-
pation was not realized and in fact could not be, since no ac-
count was taken of the large amount of heat necessarily trans-
ferred into work." *
At the time of his invention of the hot-air engine Ericsson
held the opinion that equal increments of heat produced equal
increments of power, whatever the medium used, and that the
resulting force suffers no diminution ; so that the effects may be
reproduced indefinitely by transfer from one medium to another,
or from one portion of the same medium to another portion.
Whatever the loss of heat in an engine from radiation and con-
duction there was, according to this theory, no loss from the ex-
ertion of power. Rumford's experiment in boiling water with
heat generated by friction dates back to 1798, but the doctrine
of the mutual convertibility of heat and mechanical action, or
of heat as a mode of motion, was only gradually establishing
itself while Ericsson's thoughts were occupied with his inven-
tions, and it was not until 1862 that Professor Tyndall com-
menced the series of lectures that did so much to make the
theory generally known.
In a paper read before the London Institution of Civil En-
gineers, session of 1883-84, on " Heat and its Mechanical Appli-
cation," Professor Fleeming Jenkin, F.R.S., said of Sir William
Siemens : ^' The fact that such a man spent so many years of
his life in endeavoring to adapt the regenerator to the internal
combustion engine served to show, what I believe to be certain-
* Paris Universal Ezposition, 1867, Machinery and Processei of the Indns-
trial Arts and Apparatus of the Exact Sciences. Bj Frederick A. P. Barnard,
I1L.D., U. S. Commissioner.
THE BEGENERATIYE PRINCIPLE. 209
ly the trnthy that in that idea lies the future of internal com-
bustion in general ; that bj the application of the regenerator
we shall be able to so much lower the temperature of rejec-
tion as in a marked manner to increase the efficiency of the
engines."
The fact that such a man as Ericsson gave so many years
of his life to the study of this expedient, and that he believed
in it to the end, has equal significance.
Sir William Siemens applied the regenerative principle to
the steam engine, taking out his first patent for his improve-
ments in this line December 22, 1847. His biographer tells us
that he did not claim the regenerative principle as an original
discovery, but ^ it was looked upon by engineers as unsound in
principle, and its application had very little beneficial result.
Mr. Siemens saw not only its theoretical correctness, but its
great practical value, and the wide success it afterward at-
tained fully justified his views. The regenerative principle
was undoubtedly sound, and he had devoted ten or twelve of
the best years of his life to its application. During this time
he had the support of many eminent engineers, the practical
aid of two of the best mani^acturing firms in the country, and
the funds of a powerful commercial association. Neither theo-
retical knowledge, nor practical experience, nor ingenuity, nor
skill, nor money, nor perseverance, nor infiuence was wanting.
But in spite of their promised advantages, the regenerative
steam-engine would not supplant the simple machine of Watt" *
The final result was the application of the Siemens regener-
ative furnace to mechanical operations, for which a high tem-
perature is required, such as smelting and glass and pottery
manufacture.
During the years of experimental research devoted to this
improved engine, Siemens met with the difficulties that had
assailed Ericsson in the way of '^ leaks, destruction of working
parts, undue consumption of fuel, imperfect action and so on."
In the Siemens' regenerator the exhaust steam deposits its heat,
to be taken up by the cold water on its way from the condenser
to the ^^ hot well." It was found that the gases escaping from
the furnace at a temperature of 4,000^ F. could be cooled
* Life of Sir Wmiun Siemens. B7 William Pole. Vol L, p. 79.
14
210 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON.
down in a regenerator to between 200^ and 400°. Siemens
provides for the passage of heated vapor, or vapor and steam,
and atmospheric air throogh regenerators of fire brick laid
with open spaces. Of his furnace Dr. Siemens said : " The
greatest heat that can be produced by direct combustion of
coke and air is about 4,000° F. But with my regenerative fur-
nace I should have no difficulty in going up to 10,000°, in fact,
to any degree the material composing the furnace can be made
to stand."
The most intense terrestrial combustion that we can com-
mand. Professor Tyndall tells us, is that of oxygen and hydro-
gen, and the temperature of the pure oxy-hydrogen flame is
8,061° C.= 14,542° F. The sun Siemens considered to be a gi-
gantic specimen of one of his own regenerative gas furnaces.
He likened its action to that of a centrifugal blowing fan,
revolving with enormous velocity and drawing in upon its polar
surfaces the gaseous matters circulating in a highly attenuated
state in space ; subjecting them to enormous friction and ex*
pelling tliem at the solar equator at a temperature estimated by
Ericsson at 4.035.584° F., to commence anew the cycle of
change.
The entrance of Siemens upon a line of investigation fol-
lowed by Ericsson fifteen years before him is interesting testi-
mony to the fascinations of the regenerative theory. Michael
Faraday seems never to have lost faith in it, for the last lecture
he ever delivered was on the Siemens regenerative furnace.
This was June 20, 1862, or nearly thirty years after his at-
tention had first been directed to the principle involved in it by
Ericsson's invention of 1833. As early as 1838 Ericsson had
conducted a series of experiments with a view to adapting the
regenerative principle to the steam-engine, as Siemens did later
on. Though the result hoped for was not accomplished, it was
found that most valuable use could be made of the heat then
wasted in condensing the steam, and the surface condenser
was the result. The latest patent for this was taken out in the
United States in 1849, and it is described in Ericsson's " Con-
tributions to the Centennial Exhibition," chapter xxix.
The extent to which the efficiency of the marine engine has
been increased by this device is illustrated by an example
r
THE BEGBNEBATIYE PBINGIPLB. 211
quoted by Mr. W. T. Harvey, before the Engineering Section
of the Bristol, England, Katoralists' Society, lowing that a
vessel, the Jkmo^ saved nine and a half tons of coal per voyage,
or nine per cent, by a change from a jet condenser to the sur-
face condenser, the engines working at the same pressure, thirty
pounds, indicating the same horse-power, 1605, and making the
same speed, 14.1 knots.
In 1887 the German Bureau of Statistics estimated the
power of steam-engines then at work as the equivalent of forty-
six million horses or a thousand million men, double the work-
ing population of the earth. Four-fifths of this power has
been brought into action during the last quarter of a century,
or since Ericsson terminated his labors upon the caloric engine.
In his ^^ Contributions " (p. 443) Ericsson tells us that ^' steam
engineers, finding by the extraordinary demand for caloric
engines that very moderate power was a great desideratum,
have perfected the steam-motor until it almost rivals the ca-
loric engine in safety and adaptability ; consequently, the
demand for caloric engines has been greatly diminished of late.
Yet this motor can never be superseded by the steam-en-
gine, since it requires no water, besides being absolutely safe
from explosion. There are innumerable localities in whic^ an
adequate quantity of water cannot be obtained, but where the
necessities of civilized life call for mechanical motors; hence
the caloric engine may be regarded as an institution insepar-
able from civilization."
In a letter written to Professor E. "N, Horsf ord, then Rum-
ford Professor in Harvard University, Ericsson said :
Nbw Yobk, January 19, 1861. \
Sib : Your letter to Mr. Sargent, which indicates that you are in-
vestigating the origin and development of the caloric engine, induces
me to present to you the enclosed table relating to the compression of
atmospheric air. The relations of volume, temperature, and pressure
expressed in this table you will find somewhat different from the result
of Begnault's and Joule's inyestigations on the subject — ^I will not
question the theoretical accuracy of their deductions but I claim thfti
my table, as it records what actually takes place during compression on
a large scale, is of more value to practical engineering. It is proper to
add that the leading facts exhibited in this table were established by
the writer long before the commencement of the investigation of the
212 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
distingiiished sayants alluded to. The trial of the caloric engine of
1833 dearly proved that a oompreBsion of ten pounds to the square
inch above the atmospheric pressure caused an elevation of temperature
of more than 80**. At that time, you will remember, Dalton's theory
prevailed, which admitted only 60° increase of temperature for reducing
atmospheric air to half volume. It is proper further to observe that
the inclosed table, which I request that you will do me the honor to ac-
cept, is founded on actual results produced by long-continued compres-
sion with cylinders varying from thirty to one hundred and thirty-eight
inches diameter.
I annex a very brief explanation, as you will comprehend the nat-
ure of the table at a glance.
I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,
J. Ebjosbon.
P&07B8S0B HOBSFOBD.
Tracing the progress of the caloric engine during a period
of thirty years, from its first suggestion to the final completion
of the work upon it in 1858, we find that it originated in the
flame engine, described in the paper sent to the Institution of
Civil Engineers, London, in the year 1827. This had two cylinders
with a piston in each cylinder. In 1837 a fly-wheel and re-
generators were added, and in 1839 two pistons were put into
one cylinder, one a supply piston and the other a working
piston, and a device was added for compressing the air at the
instant of its passage from the supply cylinder to be heated.
Kext, through a series of experimental engines, the grand thirty-
inch engines of the caloric ship were evolved. In 1855 the
supply piston was changed so as to work in eqwUibrio at the
time when the working piston was nearly stationary, and
in 1856 was added the quickened motion at the conclusion of
the inward stroke of the supply piston. Finally, in 1858,
came a device to keep the lubricated surface of the cylinder
at a temperature below that at which the oil suffers injury'^ by
turning upon it an alternating blast of cold air. Thus was ,an-
swered the objection that the hot-air engine could never Vbe
made successful because of the impossibility of securing tJie
lubricants from destruction. The ingenious combination of
movements in this engine so excited the admiration of Pro-
fessor Horsford as to lead him to say : " It is difficult to coik-
oeive of a higher theoretical and mechanical triumph." \
THE BEGEKESATIYE FBINGIFLE. 218
The engine conBisted of a single horizontal cylinder. To
one end of this fire was applied, and at the other end were two
pistons alternately approaching and receding from each other,
in snch a manner as to produce internal pi*esBure daring the
ontward stroke of the outer piston. Both pistons were con-
nected to the same crank-pin, and the peculiar and contrary
motions of the two pistons were produced by lever movements.
The solution of the problem of imparting motion to the two
pistons required compliance with nine distinct conditions, and
the result was one of the most remarkable mechanical concep-
tions of our time. ^^ It is as impossible," said Professor Horsf ord,
^' to go into detail with each of Captain Ericsson's air engines
as it would be to review the discussions of the caloric engine in
which Ericsson, Rankine, Joule, Napier, Begnault, Barnard, Nor-
ton and a crowd of other writers, French, German, English, and
American, have taken part. No one who comprehends the
action of Stirling's earlier engine, or of Ericsson's of 1833
or 1837 — which, with the regenerator attached, would do an
amount of duty to which it was utterly inadequate with the
regenerator detached ; or of the action of the caloric engine of
1868, or of Wilcox's, which with the escape and supply ports
closed, and the air of the working cylinder returned alternately
to and received from the supply cylinder, will run for a long
time after the fire has been withdrawn — can now doubt, that
upon the main point, the function of the regenerator, the claim
of Ericsson had been sustained."
"Wilcox's engine was a reproduction, in 1859-60, with some
modification in details, of Ericsson's engine of 1837 with fly-
wheel and regenerator. The earlier caloric engine of 1833 was
the first of a series on the different plan of alternately heating
and cooling a body of compressed air without the use of a re-
generator. " In comparing the earlier with the later engines,"
said Professor Horsford, '^ there is a marked development of
the capabilities of the principle, and corresponding progress in
invention." *
* These quotations are from the address aooompanjing the presentation by
the American Academjr of Arts and Sciences of the Bnmford premium of a
gold and silver medal *' awarded to John Ericsson for his improvement in the
management of heat, particularly as shown in his caloric engine of 1858."
214 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
If Ericsson's caloric engine did not realize all his sanguine
expectations, it certainly accomplished a great work, and its in-
ventor had the satisfaction of knowing that he alone had met
with any considerable success in the attempt, so frequently
made during the previous half century, to substitute another
motor for the steam-engine. Canada, by a special act of Par-
liament, granted Ericsson the privilege of a patent for his ca-
loric engine, '^ as if the said John Ericsson had been a subject of
Her Majesty, and resident of this province." In announcing
the result in a letter from Toronto, May 21, 1861, a friend
said : '^ In the passing of this bill nothing gave me more pleas-
ure than the just tribute paid to your talents and energy. The
Legislature generally is opposed to special legislation, and have
made an exception in your case. I do not hesitate to say that
no other man would have obtained it but yourself, and the
ground of it was your untiring zeal in the cause of science,
and the great benefit the whole world derive from the exer-
cise of your talent and energy. For once, at any rate, merit
has carried the day."
In his address in 1888, before the British Association, al-
ready referred to. Sir Frederick Bramwell said :
The working of heat engines without the intenrention of water, by
the combustion of gases arising from coal and water, is now not merely
an established fact, but a recognized and undoubted commercially eco-
nomical means of obtaining motive power. Such engines, developing
from one to forty horse-power, and worked by ordinary gas supplied by
gas-mains, are in most extensive use in printing-works, hotels, clubs,
theatres, and even in large private houses, for the working of dynamos
to supply electric light. But, looking at the wonderful petroleum indus-
try, and at the multifarious products which are obtained from the crude
materials, is it too much to say that there is a future for motor-engines
worked by the vapor of some of the more highly volatile of these pro-
ducts— true vapor— -not a gas, but a condensable body capable of being
worked over and over again? Numbers of such engines, some of aa
much as four horse-power, are now running, and are apparently giving
good results — certainly excellent results as regards the compaotoess and
lightness of the machinery.
Ericsson was a pioneer in this field, and his caloric engine
opened the way for the coming revolution, not only by its direct
agency, but still more effectively in the way that most useful in-
THE BBGBKSBATIYB PBINGIPLE. 215
ventions accomplish their object, by stimnlatiDg further inven-
tion and Buggesting improvement in the line of the original
investigation. In spite of the wonders accomplished by modem
machinery, serions and well-founded objections are urged against
it on ethical grounds, for its tendency is to destroy the individ-
ual initiative and to lessen independence of character. For
thousands of little work-shops, each the centre of moral in-
fluences out of which have developed our best types of citizen-
ship, we have substituted a single great manufactory where the
principle of the interchangeability of parts is applied to the
artisan as well as to his products. Each workman is one of a
thousand, so shaped to pattern that any one may be substituted
for any other. The factor of individuality, so essential to man-
ly development, is thus, so far as possible, eliminated.
No man understood this tendency of modem mechanical
development better than Ericsson. ''The close observer of
labor-saving machines," he said,* '' is well aware that of late
years the legitimate bounds have been passed, and that we are
rapidly encountering the dangers of intellect-saving machines,
by introducing mechanical devices for effecting everything
which hitherto has been the result of the healthful combination
of intellect and muscular effort. At this moment hundreds of
thousands of human beings are employed in working a treadle
or turning a crank, vacant spectators of what their muscles ef-
fect ; not the least tax on their intellect. Unfortunately, the
number of persons thus occupied is being augmented with a
rapidity only known to those who study the records of mechan-
ical invention. It is needless to speculate on the effect upon
our race which this dispensing with intellect, and the substitu-
tion of monotonous muscular labor, will produce in course of
time. The evil is manifest.
" It will be asked, ' is there no remedy ? ' A motor of such
properties that it can follow the thousand mechanic denizens
into their comers would obviously meet the difficulty. It is
claimed that the caloric engine possesses these properties. It
works as well when made to exert the power of one man as
that of twenty. It is actuated by the air of the surrounding
atmosphere and requires no engineer ; it can be managed by
* Letter to the editor of the London Times, May 28, 1860.
(
216 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
any person of common intelligence ; is wholly free from dan-
ger ; the cost of fuel which it consumes amounts to less than
five per cent, of the manual labor employed to exert equal
force." Again he says: "The steam-engine requires water,
which prevents its use in millions of instances in which we want
motors to relieve human drudgery. We cannot trust that dan-
gerous agent to tlie care of our wives and children, but the ca-
loric engine we safely may. We can tm-n the key to the room
which contains it, and the humble artisan may, without appre-
hension, ply his tool while this harmless servant turns the
crank and cooks his food."
Five years later, when his triumphs in other fields had
made his name universally known, Ericsson said (November,
1865) : " The satisfaction with which I place my head on the
pillow at night, conscious of having through my little caloric
engine conferred a great boon on mankind — though the full
importance of that boon will not be understood until the lapse
of perhaps another century — is far greater than any satisfaction
the production of an engine of war can give."
" The division and subdivision of functions," says Prince
Krapotkin, one of the most conspicuous representatives of the
modem socialistic element, " have been pushed so far as to
divide humanity into castes almost as firmly established as
those of old India. First the broad division into producers
and consumers; little-consuming producers on the one hand,
little-producing consumers on the other hand. Then amid
the former, a series of subdivisions, the manual worker and
the intellectual worker, sharply separated; and agricultural
laborers and workers in manufactures. Amid little-producing
consumers are numberless minute subdivisions, the modem
ideal of a workman being a man or a woman, a boy or a girl,
without the knowledge of any handicraft, having no conception
whatever of the industry in which he or she is employed, and
only capable of making all day long and for a whole life, the
same infinitesimal part of something; from the age of thirteen
to that of sixty pushing the coal cart at a given spot of the
mine, or making the spring of a penknife, or the eighteenth
part of a pin. The working classes have become mere ser-
vants to some machine of a given description ; mere flesh-and*
THB BEGSNERATITX PBIlfOIPLB. 317
boDe part8 to fiome immense machinery ; having no idea about
how or why the machinery is perfonning its rhythmical move-
ments. Skilled artisanship is swept away as a survival of the
past which is condemned to disappear. For the artist who for-
merly found ffisthetic enjoyment in the work of his hands, is
substituted the human slave of an iron slave."
It was against this tendency, constituting so great a danger
to modem society, that Ericsson struggled, and with intelligent
purpose, as the letter I have quoted shows. He had a profound
sense of the dignity of labor ; his early years had been spent
among working people, and those of the very best class ; and
though he found but little leisure for the polite interchanges of
'^ society " and had as little taste for them, his heart and his
hand were always open to ^^ plain people.''
One hundred years ago when Benjamin Thompson was
made a Count of the ^^ Holy Soman Empire" he chose for his ti*
tie the name of the place, Bumf ord (now Concord), N. H., from
which he fled sixteen years before to escape the coat of tar and
feathers in preparation for him, because of his supposed hostil-
ity to the local sentiment of opposition to the rule of England.
Among the numerous proofs he gave of magnanimous forget-
f ulness of this episode in his history is to be numbered the
gift of $6,000 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
to found a prize, bearing his name, for the most important dis*
coveries in light and heat.
Though the prize was founded in 1796, it was not until forty-
three years after that the Academy, in 1839, found anyone who
was in its judgment worthy of tixe award. Then the gold
and silver Eumford medals were bestowed upon Robert Hare,
of Philadelphia, whose subsequent wanderings in the unscien-
tific ways of spiritualism have not diminished his earlier credit
as a chemist and philosopher. To Hare, the prize was granted
in recognition of his invention of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe,
and his improvement in galvanic apparatus Another interval of
twenty-three years elapsed before it was proposed to bestow the
prize a second time, though the fund had meantime increased
to nearly thirty thousand dollars, and a still larger sum, the pro-
ceeds of its investment, had been expended, under authority of
the State Court, in ways not contemplated in the original gift
218 UFE OF JOHK SBIOSSON.
In 1860 the subject of bestowing the Bomford prize upon
John Ericsson was brought to the attention of the Acad-
emy. The qaestion as to his title to it was referred to the
standing committee of the Academy having this matter in
charge. At the five hundred and sixth meeting of the Acad-
emy, held two years later, April 6, 1862, Joseph Levering,
Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at
Harvard College, from a majority of the Bumford Commit*
tee presented the following report :
The Bumford Committee, having examined the subject of hot-air en*
gines, and the reoent improvement in their construction made in Amer-
ica, ask leave to report as follows :
The Bumford Committee does not recommend that the Academy
should award the Bumford premium for the aUeged recent improve-
ments of Mr. Ericsson in the hot-air engine, nor for his engine as at
present constructed.
MoBBiiiii Wyman, Joseph LovxRmo, Joseph WraiiOGK.
GAMBBmoE, April 8, 1862.
On behalf of himself and Daniel Treadwell, a former Bum-
ford Professor, E. N. Horsford, presented the following :
The minority of the Bumford report :
That they dissent from the opinion of the majority, in that they be-
lieve the improvements in the caloric engine of Mr. Ericsson which he
brought out in 1868 are such as to entitle him to the Bumford MedaL
They see the evidence of high inventive talent, of patient thought
and prolonged and persevering experimental research, in the practical
solution on a large scale of the various problems underlying the hot-
air engine, especially in the compact arrangement of the supply and
working pistons, the telesoopio tube, the fire-pot and the regenerator in
a single cylinder, thereby economizing heat and space ; in the device
for protecting the lubricating material of the packing of the working
piston, by exposing it at each stroke to the current of entering cold air;
and in the system of cranks, rock-shafts, bars and their connecting rods
by which the varied, complicated, but necessary motions of the supply
and working pistons are regpilated and connected with each other and
the fly-wheel.
The minority recommend that the Bumford Medal be awarded to
Mr. Ericsson for his improvements in the management of heat, particu-
larly as shown in his air engine of 1858.
E. N. HoBSFOBD, Daiobl Tbbadwsll.
Oahbbidob, April 8, 1862. ^
THE REGENBBATiyS PBINOIPLE. 210
Thus were two professors of mathematics^ one of Harvard
and the other of the Naval Academy, and one physician, ar-
rayed in judgment against two Rnmford Professors, both cele-
brated for inventive capacity and experience. Who should
decide ? The two reports were received and the question of
choosing between them was discussed by their authors, the
merits of the hot-air engine being the subject of controversy.
The discussion was continued at an adjourned meeting on April
22, 1862, and again at a meeting held May 13th, when Professor
Louis Agassiz, Drs. Jacob Bigelow and Charles Pickering of
Boston, Benjamin Peirce, Professor of Astronomy and Mathe-
matics at Harvard, and Messrs. Washburn and Guy joined in
the discussion. This controversy between practical invention
and theoretical criticism was so earnest and determined that
it was decided to refer the question to the annual meeting
for settlement. Finally, at an adjourned annual meeting, held (
on June 1, 1862, on motion of Professor Horsford, seconded ;
by Professor TreadweU, this resolution was finally adopted :
Beeolved that the Bnmford premium be awarded to John B.* *
Erioflson for his improvements in the management of heat, particularly i
as shown in his caloric engine of 1858.
The account here given of the award of the Rumf ord Medal
to John Ericsson in 1862 somewhat anticipates this event in
the order of chronology, yet it belongs naturally to a period
occupied with studies destined to be laid aside for a time, and
only for a time, in deference to the demands of the most im-
perative public obligations.
* The resolution is thus recorded In the pablished minntes of the Aoad-
emy/
CHAPTER XIV.
PEBSOKAL HISTORY.
ErioBflon's Associates and Friends. — ^His Interest in European PoUtios.—
He Meets with an Aocident — Submits to a Surgical Operation. —
His Physical Condition. — ^His Acquaintance with Professor J. J.
lllfapes. — ^His Fayorite Authors. — ^His Mathematical and Linguis-
tio Acquirements. — ^His Belations with Mr. Delamater. — Personal
Anecdotes. — ^His Physical Vigor. — ^Hopes to Lire a Century.
WHEN we pass beyond the limits of Ericsson's workshop,
we find very little to record concerning his movements
daring the twenty years succeeding his removal to New York,
in November, 1839. For a portion of this time his associate,
Mr. John O. Sargent, was residing in Washington, and inter-
course with him was maintained by a correspondence devoted
chiefly to the dry details of business. Succeeding Mr. Sargent
as Ericsson's legal adviser came Mr. Edwin Wallace Stoughton,
whose connection with the important patent cases of Goodyear
and others, soon after his admission to the bar in 1840, had
brought him into prominence in this line of practice. The ac-
quaintance with Mr. Stoughton, begun in 1850, continued until
his death in 1882. Ericsson's accounts show that Mr. Stough-
ton not only invested to a moderate extent in his caloric ven-
tures but helped him to tide over some of his pecuniary diffi-
culties while at work on his hot-air engine in 1855-56. Their
relations, originally those of attorney and client, extended
to personal friendship and social intercourse. Mr. Stoughton
was fond of his joke, and though Ericsson was less given to
jesting himself, he enjoyed humor in others, and when they
were together a jolly laugh would upon occasion well up from
the depths of the capacious lungs that filled his expansive
chest. He would occasionally drop in upon Mr. and Mrs.
Stoughton for an evening's chat. European politics were
among the topics of discussion during the Crimean war, and he
gave vigorous expression to the sympathy he felt, in common
PSBSONAL HISTOBT. S21
with his countrymen, in the efforts of the allies to weaken the
power of Bussia. As Ericsson was a Knight of the Order of
Vasa he was familiarly spoken of by the Stonghtons as " Sir
John," and among his letters are f onnd numerous notes from
Mr. Stoughton thus addressed. That he occasionally respond-
ed in the same vein is shown by this letter :
** Sir John Ericsson ** presents hia compliments to Lord OonnseUor
Stonghton, and regrets inexpressibly that previous engagement will
preyent bis having the honor of meeting the Judges of the Court of Ap-
peal, Tuesday next.
If anything could add poignancy to the regret which Sir John feels
at being prevented from putting his feet under the mahogany — more
properly the ooA:— of the Lord Counsellor, it is the fact that such a rare
selection of the Leamed's feet will be under the same on this momen-
tous occasion.
Hash Squabb, April 6, 1867.
LOED COTTNSBLLOB SlOUOHXON.
Sometimes Ericsson would take a Thanksgiving dinner
with his friends, the Stonghtons, and this New England festi-
val appears to have been the only one that received his hom-
age. It was on Thanksgiving day in 1854 that he lost the
second finger of his right hand while superintending some work
at the Delamaters', and he had, ever af ter, a snperstition con-
cerning the observance of the day. If, as sometimes happened,
he lost sight of the calendar it was only necessary for his sec-
retary to hold up an admonitory finger with ^' Hemember,
Captain ! " and the answer came promptly, " True, I forgot ; no
work on Thanksgiving." On the day he found such occasion to
remember, Ericsson was overseeing some work at Delamater's.
Noticing one of the men reaching forth to steady a vibrating con-
necting-rod, he shonted, ^' Be careful 1 yon will lose your hand I '^
Involuntarily his own hand went out, and his finger dropped
upon the floor. Picking it up, the. owner turned to his friend,
Delamater, who stood by, exclaiming, ^' See, Harry, what I have
done 1 ^ Dropping the severed finger into his pocket, and ty-
ing a piece of tape around the stump to stop the hemorrhage,
he got into a carriage, drove home, and sent for a surgeon.
When the doctor came a further amputation was found necessary.
Sefnsing to take ether, the wounded man held out his maimed
hand, and calmly looked on while the surgeon operated.
322 LIFE OF JOKN EBIOSSON.
That evening, a friend, Professor Mapes, called, alarmed by
the reports he had received of the accident He found Erics-
son busied at his drawing-board with the pencil in his left
hand. Answering the anxious inquiries concerning his condi-
tion, he said, quietly, ^^ I expect to be obliged to use my left
hand hereafter, and thought it best to commence practising
with it."
This anticipation was, fortunately, not realized, for the
hand did its owner good service for thirty-five years longer.
About this time Ericsson was greatly disturbed by the ap-
pearance of an angry swelling on the right-hand side of his jaw.
This proved to be a malignant pustule. The physicians con-
sulted agreed in the opinion that an operation was necessary,
but to this Ericsson objected because of the disfigurement that
would result, declaring that he would much rather die than be
so scarred. Finally, a young doctor was found who was confi-
dent of his ability to cure without the knife. This was Dr.
Thomas M. Markoe, then an assistant of Dr. Delafield, of New
York, and since one of the best-known practitioners in Kew
York. Dr. Markoe's treatment resulted so satisfactorily that
his patient soon recovered, and he naturally conceived a warm
regard for the young physician.
The partner of Mr. Stoughton was Mr. William Dodge, the
son-in-law of Ericsson's old friend, Professor James J. Mapes,
and tlie husband of Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, the editor of the
St. Nicholas Magaziney New York. Professor Mapes was an
inventor, as well as chemist of reputation, and a civil engineer
holding high rank as an expert in patent cases. The acquain-
tance with him began soon after Ericsson's removal from Eng-
land, and their relations were cordial and intimate.
The professor's house was one of the very few where the
busy engineer was accustomed to visit, and he was a favorite in
the household, the children running to meet him when his well-
known ring was heard at the door. By the family of Professor
Mapes Ericsson is remembered as a most genial and kindly
man, who had an exceptional faculty for interesting himself in
what interested others. Professor Mapes was accustomed to
propound to him his chemical theories, especially one he held
concerning the ^^ progression of the primaries," and for this at
PEBSOKAL HISTORY. 223
least he always fonnd a sympathetic listener in Ericsson, and
one whose quick apprehension and intelligent comment were of
service in clarifying his own ideas. Ericsson being a foreigner
by birth, his thorough command of English, and his exact nse
of words and terms was a subject of remark. It could hardly
be otherwise, however, with a man so precise in all things, after
a daOy experience for over twenty-five years with a language
he had learned in his youth.
When Professor Mapes changed his residence to Newark,
N. J., Ericsson extended his visits to that place, a rare instance
upon his part of enterprise in the line of social accomplish-
ment. His calls were usually made on Sunday afternoon, and
he was fond of discussing philosophy with Professor Mapes,
who was accustomed to say that Ericsson was the only man of
whose intellectual ability he stood in awe. The professor con-
sidered himself an adept in mathematics, but acknowledged his
master in Ericsson, who was one of the few in New York at
that day familiar with the ^* M^caniqne Celeste" of La Place.
Two copies of La Place's great work were to be found in Erics-
son's library ; one a five- volume edition in the original French,
published " An VII " (1797), when the author was a plain citi-
zen of the Bepublic, the other Bowditch's translation, pub-
lished in 1829, and bearing the name of ^^ Marquis de La
Place" on the title-page. The last was Ericsson's working
copy, and it shows the marks of study, it being his custom to
underscore what he wished to recall, with a red or black lead-
pencil and mark a reference to it on the fly-leaf.
Ericsson also kept among his favorite authors Bishop Hors-
ley's edition of Sir Isaac Newton's complete works, the first
two volumes printed in 1779. The treatise " Philosophise Nat-
uralis Principia Mathematica " in the third volume was one of
his favorite studies, and he always found delight in reading it.
In the fourth volume he has marked some of Newton's obser-
vations on the nature of light, and his declaration of the ab-
surdity of the theory of innate gravity, and more especially the
discourse on light and color. In this Newton declares that
though he has argued the corporeity of light, it was ^^ without
any absolute positiveness." Under this statement Ericsson has
drawn a line in red pencil and appended to his reference to
234 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
several pages he has marked along the margin the words ^^ veiy
interesting." Kewton's remarks concerning the propagation of
light by vibrations in the ether attracted his particular atten-
tion, for the reason that he had some theories of his own con-
cerning the ethers, holding that there were several. On this
sabject he used to engage in lively discussions with Professor
Mapes. Ericsson was a most entertaining talker upon any sub-
ject that occupied his attention, and he was unusually fluent
in speech, few men exceeding him in rapidity of utterance.
He read French but could not speak it. He knew something
of Spanish and Greek and could get along in these languages
with the help of a dictionary. That he had some knowl-
edge of German is indicated by this extract from a letter to
Mr. Epes Sargent concerning a translation by his brother,
Ericsson's special friend :
Mt Dbab Sabgent: The great poet having kindly forwarded his
''Last Knight " I am going to disoharge the pleasing duty of thanking
and oomplimenting him. The knowledge of the German displayed in
his translation amasies me. I have ''Der letzte Bitter" before me and
find with admiration that in description your brother actnaUy excels the
original ; but as German sentiment cannot be rendered into English,
the spiritual part falls a little short, though not much. John has im-
mortalized himself.
Ericsson's library was limited to a few hundred volumes^
nearly all on scientific and professional subjects ; the three or
four novels appearing among them had evidently strayed out
of place or belonged to some assistant, hungering for a bit of
fiction to relieve so much grim reality. His reading was al-
most entirely confined to works connected with his special
studies, the leading engineering and scientific periodicals, and
two or three Swedish papers. Speaking once of the journals
he received from Sweden, he said: ^^It is a perfect enjoyment
to read, in my. leisure moments, these papers. I always feel
then as if I were in my dear Sweden. You don't know, per-
haps, that I never read Swedish books."
Oaptain Ericsson disliked to be called a mathematician,
though he was proud of the title of geometrician. He was ac-
customed to say that the ordinary mathematician had no rea-
soning power, or he would not disguise his processes in symbols
. PBBSONAL HISTOBY. 326
that nobody bat one of his own class conld understand. It was
his theory that articles upon mechanical subjects should be so
written that a school-boy could understand them. The symbols
are only required in the process of the higher mathematics,
such as those of astronomy. A letter addressed to one of his
clients by Ericsson shows at once his methods of calculation
and his opinion upon the subject of confusing ideas with sym-
bols. He said :
New Yobk, September 12, 1864.
Mt Dbab Sib : The proper thiokness of a square cast iron plate will
be obtained by the following :
Multiply the side in feet (or decimals of a foot) by i of the preesore
in pounds, and diyide by 850 times the side in inohea. The quotient is
the square of the thioknefls in inches.
_60^^
8,600Dx801b,=| 108,000 _ gy (^
5 X 27,000 = i?5i^ = 2.64 V'SM = 1.62"
51,000
thickness of a square plate
60 X 60'' with 80 lb. press-
ure.
5 feet.
860 X 60 = 51,000
For circular plate.
Multiply H of the diameter in feet by i of the pressure on the plate
in pounds. DiTide by 850 times H of the diameter in inches.
6x 11 = 8.92 X 21,202 = 83,111 = 2.02 V 2.02 =
U 850 X 47.1 = 41,085
1.42" thiokness of 60" disk and
80 lb. pressure.
area 2,827 x 80 lb. = 84,810 =s 21,202
diameter
4
60 X 11 = 47,1"
14
Yours very truly,
J. Seiobson.
A great mathematician would cover half a dozen sheets with figures
to solve the above problem.
15
326 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
With Mr. Cornelias H. Delamater, the engine manofac-
tnrer and proprietor of the Phoenix Foundry, New York,
Ericsson continued in intimate relation for a longer time than
with any other man. Mr. Delamater was a derk in this foun-
dry when it began work on the engines of the Princeton, in
January, 1842, and his acquaintance with Ericsson grew out of
the latter's relations to this establishment. He had the great-
est confidence in Ericsson's ability, and the highest admiration
for his character^ and when fortune favored him was always
ready to assist in carrying on his enterprises. Their friendship
was founded upon mutual respect and mutual advantage, and
though their relations became at times somewhat strained,
owing to Ericsson's hasty temper, there was a solid foundation
of good will to settle down upon after the tempest had blown
over.
Mr. Delamater's interest in the success of their joint under-
takings, as well as good will toward his associate, would at
times tempt him upon the dangerous ground of criticism.
Ericsson was a severe censor of his own work, and as he had
exhausted criticism before his work reached the machine shop,
he was not accustomed to invite any favors in that line. It
was not absolutely impossible to convince him that he was
wrong, but the successful attempt came as near as possible to
a solution of the lyceum problem as to the result of an encoun-
ter between an immovable obstacle and an irresistible force.
Doubts and suggestions already disposed of in his own mind so
often returned to him through the fears of others, that he be-
came accustomed to treat criticism with indifference.
On one occasion when Ericsson was finally convinced that a
piece of mechanism he had spent much time upon was defect-
ive, he sent it flying across the room and against the mantel-
piece, to the serious disturbance of its offending internal econo-
my. This was the only announcement he made as to his con-
clusion concerning it. He demanded the most rigid observance
of every detail in the drawings provided for the guidance of
his workmen, and they were hugely delighted when they found
in one case where they had been furnished with designs for a
piece of mechanism requiring the introduction of gas, that ^^ the
old man " had omitted to include the vent-hole in his otherwise
PERSONAL HIBTOBY. 237
complete drawing. Such instances of oversight were so rare as
to be a subject of comment forever after. Generally Ericsson
was quite safe in saying, as he was accudftomed to do when sug-
gestions were offered to him, " Have you my drawing ? "
" Then follow that." Mr. "Watson, the editor of the Engineer j
New York, tells this story of him :
Oharles Nelson, at one time draughtsman in the Old Novelty
Works in this city, had charge of the engines of the Columbia, designed
by CSaptain Eriosson, and when the engines were done it was customary
in those days to get the length of the piston-rod from the engine itself,
BO that there wonld be no mistake in cutting the keyway on the piston-
rod. Nelson was down in the Columbicts cylinder with a baton about
fourteen feet long, getting clearances, etc., when Captain Ericsson came
on board by chance and stood right over him. He roared out : '* What
are you doing there, sir ? ''
** Getting the length of the piston-iod, Captain Ericsson.'*
" Is it not on the drawing, sir ? "
"Yes, sir."
«Then why do you come here with sticks, sir? €k> and get the
length from the drawing, sir. I do not want you to bring sticks when
the drawing gives the size.**
Charles Bernard, an old New York engineer, recently told us of
another similar instance of Ericsson's accuracy. John Mars was putting
in the engines of the old Quinnebaugj and one of the details was a small
connection as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Mars tried to get it in its
place for a long time, but failed, and finally went to Ericsson and told
him the rod could not be got in. Ericsson said :
" Is it right by the drawing ?**
** Yes, sir,*' said Mars.
" Then it will go in,'' said Ericsson ; imd when Mars tried it again it
did go in.
Mr. Wateon further says of Captain Ericsson :
An incident as to his leniency and consideration for others may be
related here. The foundry foreman of a certain marine engine works in
this city said he once made a large casting for a surface condenser for
Captain Ericsson, and it was so peculiar in some respects that the pro«
prietors of the work and the foreman of the foundry would not guaran-
tee it. They feared it would crack by shrinkage strains across the oor-^
ners. Ericsson said he would guarantee it, but when it was cast and
had thoroughly cooled, it was found to be cracked just where it was ex*
pected to. Ericsson was notified, and came down to look at it.
'* Can you make another one with what you know now ?" said Erics
SOD. The foreman said he thought he could.
228 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
'^Mttke me another one^" said Eriosson, and that was all there was
about it.
Inoidents like these, vaaTUig only in kind, could be related end-
lessly, for in his long life of constant professional activity he was al-
ways coming in contact with workmen and others, and was always the
principal actor.
Ericsson was unquestionably the foremost man of his time in his
profession, and while he was careful of his reputation and jealous of
his standing as an engineer, he was not jealous of individuals or others
in the profession, unless, indeed, they went out of their way to stir him
up ; then he was relentless. We have heard CSaptain Ericsson mention
many well-known American engineers and their work ; he always gave
credit where it was due.
EricBBon was thoroughly familiar with the practical details
of machine work, but it was his custom to give the most exact
directions for carrying out his plans and leave their execution
to others. When on rare occasions he did interfere, it so dis-
turbed the routine of the work-shop that he lost more than he
gained. He was not a ^^ mechanic," as Stockton called him, but
an engineer; that is "one devoted to the science and the art of
utilizing the forces and materials of nature," and directing those
who handle machinery or the tools of some craft The only ma-
chines he employed himself were those of the scientific investi*
gator ; the only tools, those of the designer and draughtsman.
Like most men of aggressive convictions, Ericsson was more
fond, when talking upon subjects he understood, of presenting
his own ideas than of listening to what was said in reply, for
every man, as Enripides says, " occupies himself with that in
which he finds himself superior." He was never given to gos-
sip of any sort, although sufficiently vigorous at times in his
denunciation of those who angered him. To the ordinary top-
ics of conversation he was indifferent. The policies of GK>v-
emment, especially as related to questions of armament, occu-
pied his thoughts, but with politics in the lesser sense he never
concerned himself, and it is doubtful if he ever voted during
the forty years of his American citizenship. He prided him-
self upon his physical vigor, as he had good reason to do. It
displeased him to note the signs of advancing age, and when
gray hairs announced the unwelcome advent of his declining
half century, he invoked the aid of art to deceive time. He
PEB80KAL HISTOBY. 3^9
made no concealment of the fact, howeyer, explaining to his
friends that he did not dye for their benefit bnt to gratify his
own esthetic taste. He disliked, he said, to see his gray locks
reflected from his mirror.
The barber, who came once a week, on one occasion so over-
emphasized his art that Ericsson, while entertaining a visitor
soon after, fomid himself the object of nnnsnally critical obser-
vation. When the visitor had bidden him good-by he ques-
tioned his assistant as to tlie cause and was told that the barber
had transformed what nature intended to be a Scandinavian
brown into an oriental black, making a most comical alteration
in the appearance of the great engineer, and doing violence to
the scriptural declaration that we cannot make one hair black
or white. So the barber was sent for and kept at work until
Ericsson was restored to himself.
He would occasionally visit the theatre and that he was not
indifferent to the charms of hietrionic art is shown by a
little circumstance. When Fanny Kemble was giving her
readings in this country in 1858, she applied through a friend
to Ericsson asking him to design for her a reading-desk to
meet certain requirements. When it came to the question of
paying for it, the gallant Captain wrote a polite letter to the in-
termediary, asking Mrs. Kemble to accept the service, as. an
expression of his high appreciation of her contributions to the
art of dramatic interpretation.
To this Mrs. Kemble replied saying : ^^ I wish you would
present my compliments to Captain Ericsson and tell him I am
very grateful to him for his great courtesy and kindness. His
letter will be treasured among my collection of valued auto-
graphs and my table preserved and honored among my goods
and chattels as the most magnificent piece of furniture could
never deserve to be."
Delving in a dusty heap of engineering designs and calcula-
tions, I came upon a paper which seems to shine out from the
mass like a diamond from its kindred carbon of the coal-heap.
It was a list of forty Swedish songs in Ericsson's delicate hand-
writing, which was as dainty as a woman's when he wrote care-
fully. There were two copies of the list. One contained the
titles in Swedish ; the other the Swedish names with a transla-
230 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON.
tion in English. Among the titles were snch as these : ^^ And
Woman's Destiny is Certain," ** Resolve and Act are One with
Woman," " Who are You, My Girl ? " " It is so Sweet in
Spring," " Young Lady, in Your Springtime," " I Possess Such
a Handsome Wife," " Give Me while yet My Wife," " And
Sunset Parts," " O Robert, Cruel is Our Parting,'' " Bacchus
Calls His Lamb."
^^ E'en in our ashes bum the wonted fires." Here was the
busy engineer who had governed his life, as nearly as possible
to idl appearances, by the exact calculations of machine work,
turning aside, as he neared the end of his third score, to revive
his recollections of the songs he had no doubt sung in the days
when he indited sonnets to the Northern Lights from under the
shadows of the Jemtland forests. It would be a great mistake
to infer from this sober narration of engineering achievement
and scientific study that John Ericsson had any sympathy with
the chemist, who refused to marry because his analysis of wom-
an detected in her composition nothing beyond a combination
of sundry salts with water. His reasons for living solitary, in-
stead of following the admonition to " dwell together in fami-
lies," were sufficient, but they by no means implied indifference
to woman. That he had a high appreciation of the obligations
of marriage is shown by this letter addressed to a young bride-
groom:
New Tobk, July 20, 1860.
Mt Dbab Sib: Your noiice was too short to admit of mj being
present at the very interesting ceremony at Ohrist Ohnrch last Wednes-
day. A reluctant absentee on the solemn occasion, allow me now to
offer my cordial congratulations. Not simply do I hope that you may
enjoy all happiness, which married life under favorable circumstances is
so well calculated to bestow. I am delighted to find that all commend
your choice, yet I cannot refrain from giving you as a friend advice not
to expect too much of your wife. Bemember well that you will yourself
fail to meet the just expectations of her whose destiny is now entwined
with your own, and whose happiness in life is now so completely at your
mercy. Pardon this phrase, which I select with a friend's anxious desire
that you should duly contemplate your high responsibility at the very
outset of your, so to speak, new experience.
Yours truly,
John Ebiobson.
PEKSONAL HISTORY. 281
Ericsson had a hope that he might prolong his days well on
to the completion of a century, but as to that he had no anxiety.
EUs only wish was to retain to the end his capacity for work,
since with him idleness was misery. He had no resources out-
side of his absorbing devotion to work, and as is the case with
all men whose lives are prolonged, those in whom his deepest
affections centred nearly all passed away before him. Domes-
tic relations he could hardly have been said to have had at all.
In his way an admirer of women, he was never willing to meet
them on their own terms, for he regarded them rather in the
light of a diversion for his leisure than as companions in the
serious matters of life. The experiences of his early manhood
are hidden in obscurity, for he remorselessly destroyed nearly
all the letters and documents relating to his career previous to
the year 1861, when his success was established. Here and
there comes a flash of light to reveal his characteristics, but
nowhere do I find any indication of a purely sentimental or in-
tellectual relation to the opposite sex. He was kindly, he was
generous, he was considerate, and in his relations to his kin
most affectionate, as his letters show, but the attempt to accom-
modate himself to feminine sensibilities assumed with him a
place among the less important duties of life.
As some of Ericsson's most intimate friends were lawyers,
it is evident that he had no prejudice against the members of
the legal profession. Yet his experience with courts had not
predisposed him in favor of professional methods and the end-
less worry and expense attending the defence of his rights
against infringement had given him a dread of litigation. On
one occasion when a steamship company refused to pay his
modest bill of five hundred dollars, for showing them how to
remedy a defect in one of their engines which was beyond the
skill of their own engineers, he was persuaded to bring suit.
All went well until he received the necessary summons to ap-
pear as a witness. To this he refused to respond, and let his
case go by default rather than submit himself to the badgering
of the lawyers. Had the rule of ancient Greece prevailed, and
suitors been required to plead their own causes, he would have
won almost any case, for he was a master of persuasive dis-
course upon any subject that he understood. He was more than
232 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
once the yictim of the ignorance concerning mechanical qnee-
tions prevailing, especially in former years when courts and
jories were more easily misled in technical matters by resem-
blances that did not indicate perfect similarity. When Ericsson
came to New York Professor Mapes was almost, if not qnite,
the only consulting engineer in the city, and professional
knowledge had hardly passed beyond the period when a phys-
ician was considered competent, after a week's study in a li-
brary, to design the capitol at Washington, and when it was
easy for a man who knew a little more than his neighbors to
persuade them that he knew everything.
CHAPTER XV.
INCEPTION OF THE MONITOB.
Eriosaon's Preparation for His Great Work. — His Straggles with Frofes«
sional Jealousy. — ^Dealings with the Navy Department Prerions to
1861.— Presents Two Sab-aquatic Systems of Attaok to the Emperor
of the French. — History of Armored Vessels. — Outbreak of the Qivil
War. — ^Prompt Action of the Confederate Authorities.— Ericsson
Offers His Services to President Lincoln. — ^Is Called to Washing-
ton.— ^Dramatic Interview with the Board on Armor-Clads. — ^The
Monitor Ordered.
^^ TT^ ACH thing, both in small and in great, f alfilleth the task
J^ which destiny has set down," and it is only when we
discard the theory of chance or accident, that the history of sach
a man as Ericsson becomes clear to us. Then, through all the
seemingly tangled web of circumstance, we are able to trace the
evidences of over-ruling purpose, and to see how incidents, ap-
parently without connection, stand in orderly relations one to
another as essential parts of an intelligent design. Ericsson's
early training on the Gota Canal ; his studies of artillery and
of military engineering in the camps of Jemtland ; his obser-
vation of the behavior of raft-like structures in the storms
sweeping over the Swedish lakes; his experience in the difiBcult
and but little understood work of marine construction, in the
handling of men and choice of material ; his unceasing studies
into the possibilities of applying old principles in new ways,
and his constant effort to emancipate himself from the slavery
of routine — all these were to have a part in the great work
involving the interests of a nation, the hopes of humanity.
All the strength and experience gathered by the exercise of
his great powers for nearly half a century were needed now, to
meet the strain of a demand to which no other living man was
adequate, for whatever part others may have borne in the
234 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON.
eveDts succeeding the election of Abraham Lincoln, in 1860,
the contribution of John Ericsson to the cause of National
Unity was as unique as it was important.
When the storm which had been gathering through so many
years of political commotion burst over Fort Sumter, in the
spring of 1861, Ericsson was in the fifty -eighth year of hi^ age.
He had the constitution and the vital force of a man o| forty ;
an experience in actual accomplishment such as few acquire
even in the longest lifetime, and this experience was of a nat-
ure to make his services of the greatest value to his adopted
country. Yet no place could be found for him at a time when
the public security demanded the services of every man capable
of assisting it. High commissions in the military service
were obtained by men whose lives had been spent in making
speeches or manipulating politics, and they were bestowed on
foreigners of every degree of military experience or inexperi-
ence. Search lights were turned in all directions to discover
men who might aid the Government ; but not a ray of light
fell upon John Ericsson.
The difficulty was not that he was unknown, but that he
was too well known — at least at Washington, and in those bu-
reaus of the Kavy Department with which his abilities and his
experience would naturally associate him. Since his work in
1842^3 upon the Princetoriy he had been engaged more or less
with Government matters ; but with the bureaus he was no
favorite. From their point of view he was a failure. They
preferred the safe waters of precedent, while it was his mission
to sail the high seas of discovery. Without judging between
them, it is sufficient to say that Ericsson and the Government
officers, to whom he looked for approval, were seldom in ac-
cord.
Writing to Sir John Burgoyne during the Crimean War,
Brunei, the great engineer, said : ^' You are the first profes-
sional man of high official rank I have met with ready to assume
the possibility of a man who is neither E.E. nor E.K. [Eoyal
Engineer or Royal Navy] having an idea worth attending to."
Brunei had taken to the Lords of the Admiralty a sugges-
tion, prompted by his anxiety to assist his adopted country in
the contest wherein it was allied with his native France. This
INOBPTION OF THE MONITOB. 286
suggestion was rejected without a hearing, as the suggestions
of Ericsson and so many others have been rejected from time
to time by these Lords Paramount of official stolidity. From
boards Brunei turned to brains and made his appeal to
Palmerston, who referred his proposition for report to Sir
John Burgoyne, inspector of fortifications, lieutenant-general
and second in command of the British forces in the Crimea.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, enclosing a favorable report,
Burgoyne suggested that in dealing with the eminent engineer
'^ there was need of the exercise of tact, arising from his
thorough independence, which rather requires that he should
be courted than merely given permission to work out his plans,
and his great dislike to negotiate with the authorities of the
Admiralty."
!N'o man knew better than Sir John how the interests of the
GK>vemment are sacrificed to the conceit of office ; to the dis-
position of small men in large places to make arrogance supply
the place of ability. In a letter to Brunei, General Burgoyne,
speaking from large experience, thus explained the secret of
the antagonism so often arising between public officers and men
of ability in private station who seek to serve the Government :
First, there is our own jealouflj, pride, and conceit, of which you all
complain, and with much reason, originating in a false idea that we
should be admitting a culpable want of knowledge in our own business
by obtaining assistance from others ; then another false conception,
that because in all these things there are certain military considera-
tions involved, of which civilians must be comparatively ignorant, there-
fore it is that only a military man can devise them ; whereas it is
generally much more easy for us to make you masters of the military
conditions, than to obtain from you what is necessary for the rest.
At the same time there is usually great fault on the side of the ci-
vilian projectors ; they put us down for a set of ignoramuses and do not
admit that there can be any military considerations that can be of the
least consequence, or that they do not know by intuition. Hence the
most outrageous propositions, which the projectors, however, cling to
with i>ertinacity, and call us bigots, narrow-minded, and fools because
we will not adopt them.*
Here is an explanation of some of Ericsson's difficulties.
As a civilian, seeking to influence naval administration, he
* Life and (Correspondence of Sir John Burgoyne, pp. 865-60«
386 LIFE OF JOHN EBIGSSOIT.
realized the disadvantages of what is known to military men
as fighting on exterior lines. He was often thwarted by inter-
ference with his plans, as in one instance whereof he bitterly
exclaims, in a private letter : '^ In the name of God is not
my position cruel? The scoundrels have prevented my fur-
nishing plans or giving directions ; and now that they have
failed, they attribute this failure to having worked to my
plans ! " This was no uncommon experience with him.
^^In the name of common sense," he says in another letter,
^^ should an engineer's eoeperiments militate against his works
intended for practical purposes ? If so, experiment should be
conducted by those only who are incapable of constructing any-
thing. Am I not the originator and founder and perfector of
war steamers, under-water machinery and entire system ? Did
any of my screw-engines ever fail ? Expebikents with con-
densers, fresh-water apparatus, boilers, etc., etc., are matters
apart that must not be confounded with engines huiU torjprac-
tical purposes. I say damned is the injustice of calling him
' wild ' who has originated with his wildness and perfected war
propulsion ! " This is vigorous language, but no more vigorous
than Ericsson's experience justified.
" You have heard me say," he writes again, " that no man
can tell by any process of reasoning how a new form of boiler
may answer. I have always contended that the subject is not
snsceptihle of premouB determination. Not so with the new
farm of engine to be worked by steam already generated I I
profess to be able to determine that point on mechanical data.
In that respect I never was mistaken, for out of some fifty dis-
tinctly different forms of steam-engines I never yet failed in a
single instance ; with steam at command I have always pro-
duced a perfect working engine. All the world predicted fail-
ure in the case of that most novel form of engine of the Prince-
ton. But all the world proved wrong, but mark, I had the
steam furnished by boilers of known and approved form."
These letters were written seven years before the outbreak
of the American Civil War had directed universal attention
to Ericsson's signal ability. From them, and from other let- .
ters, it appears that he was striving to impress his views
upon the Navy Department at Washington and was met by a
rsrOEPTION OF THE MONITOR. 237
spirit of hostility and distrust which paralyzed his efiPorts to
serve the country. Even his sober statement as to what experi-
ence had made possible to him was ganged by the capabilities
of feebler men ; the giant was accused of extravagance because
he would not limit his powers of performance to those of the
dwarfs. It was supposed that two years would be required to
build a war steamer, and Ericsson's offer to do the same work
in eight months subjected him to suspicion. Concerning this
he wrote to Mr. Sargent, saying :
New Yobk, April 20, 1854.
Mt dbab Sabqbnt : I have yonr letter of the 17th, relative to jonr in-
teresting interview with the Secretary of the Navy. I feel a little net-
tled at the Hon. Secretary's doubting my statement as to the time of
building the Ericsson. Please present to him the enclosed docoment
on the subject.
I note that the Secretary thinks my assertion that a screw steamer
may be built in eigJU months a " wild " one. After he has perused the
document alluded to, he will think otherwise. Did I promise to build
such a vessel in five months he would be justified in thinking me wild,
though he could by no means prove his position. Should I, however,
promise to do the work in six months it would be quite possible for me
to redeem such promise. The steamship Mcusachitsetts, without extraor-
dinary exertion, was built, hull, engines, and all, and under steam in
six months.
The machinery of a screw steamer Contrasted to the gigantic eight-
cylinder engine of the caloric ship, is absolutely insignificant. Indeed,
had I the entire control of building, I should feel impatient at spending
more than five months in building a screw engine.
One word as to my promise to build a vessel that would blow half a
dozen English or French screw ships out of the water. Dobbin will
scarcely find it so difficult to repress his merriment at the suggestion as
did Mr. Lord, of the British Admiralty, on my proposing to them the
application of the propeller to their men of war exactly as the thing is now
done. Pray put me in the right with the Hon. Secretary. I do not pro-
pose to build the destructive vessel, I only say that in eight months
such a vessel could easily be constructed.
Yours very truly,
J. Ebzobson.
JOHK O. Sabgent, Washington.
He was at this time perfecting his system of ^^ sub-aquatic
attack,'^ and his ill-success at Washington no doubt had its in-
240 UPS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
flaence in prompting him to turn his attention elfiewhere, as it
will be seen that he did.
In a confidential letter written to John Bourne, Ericsson
said : ^^ The great importance of what I call the snb-aquatic sys-
tem of naval warfare strongly presented itself to my mind in
1826. Yet I have not during this long interval communicated
my ideas to a single person, excepting Emperor Napoleon III.
What I knew twelve years ago, he knows with regard to the
general result of my labors, but the details remain a secret
with me. The monitor of 1854 was the visible part of my sys-
tem, and its grand features were excluded from its published
drawings and description." ^' The plan I sent to the Emperor,"
he says, in another letter, ^^ was the result of my study from
youth. An impregnable and partially submerged instrument
for destroying ships of war has been one of the hobbies of my
life. I had the plan matured long before I left England. As
for protecting war engines for naval purposes with iron, the
idea is as old as my recollection."
The ^^ grand features," excluded from the published draw-
ings of the monitor offered to Kapoleon, were appai*ently those
pertaining to Ericsson's system of under- water attack. After
his death I found among his papers two autographic drawings,
shown here in fac-simile. In his '^ Contributions," Captain
Ericsson speaks of them as "unfortunately lost," alluding,
perhaps, to more finished drawings. Those given here show
clearly ilie ideas developed on the Destroyer of 1878. The
emergency of our Civil War did not call them forth, and
they were no doubt reserved for an occasion that did not
arise until declining years warned their author that there
was danger that they might die with him. They would
have been developed promptly enough in the event of an
attack by a naval power upon either Sweden or the United
States.
The original inspiration to Ericsson's studies in naval de-
fence was the protection of his native Sweden against foreign
aggression, and especially against the encroachments of Russia,
whose hostility to Sweden was among the vivid recollections of
his early youth. His letter was sent to Napoleon, September
26, 1854, through the Swedish Consul at New York, and the
^
IKCBPTION OF THE MONITOB. 241
SwediBh Minister in Paris. Concerning his purpose in laying
the matter before the Emperor, he says : '' My object was to
cause the destrnction of the fleets of the hereditaiy enemy of
my native land. Strange to say, no sooner did my communica-
tion reach its destination, than news came that the fleet at 6e-
bastopol had been voluntarily consigned to those subaqueous
regions which I had had in view. Deeply regretting what had
occurred, I ceased to labor in the matter until our civil war
broke out, when I took it up with great enthusiasm and finally
elaborated some points of detail ; cautiously waiting, however,
to move until England and France should, by overt act, es-
pouse the cause of our enemies — ^a cause which involved the
perpetuation of the bondage and a firmer riveting of the
shackles,' for another century, of four million of persons whose
only crime was their color, the inevitable consequence being
that at the end of that century this fair portion of our planet
would have contained some forty millions of bondsmen. But
the echo of the guns at Hampton Beads had its efiFect. It
was deemed imprudent to send fleets of wooden vessels among
enemies so fertile in mechanical expedients and so enterprising
as the Americans."
*^ I imagined," he said further, in a letter to Assistant-Secre-
tary Fox, of the Navy Department, '^ that I had a very valu-
able idea and kept it secure accordingly."
The Emperor of tlie French does not appear to have been
su£Sciently impressed with this idea to make use of it, and the
receipt of the plans was simply acknowledged with the usual
formal reply of courteous thanks as follows :
Monsoedb: The Empeior has himself examined with the greatest
care the new system of naval attack which you have submitted to him.
His Majesty directs me to have the honor of informing yon that he has
found your ideas very ingenious and worthy of the celebrated name of
their author ; but the Emperor thinks that the result to be obtained
wotdd not be proportionate to the expenses or to the small number of
gons which could be brought into use. Although not disposed to make
nse of your inventions the Emperor appreciates all their merit, and di-
rects me to thank you for this interesting communication.
The plans and description sent to the Emperor were accord-
ingly put aside, and the dust of nearly seven years had accumu-
242 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
lated npon them before another motive appealed to EricBSon
with safficient strength to indace him to make them available
for the pnrpoBes of warfare. ^' This motive," as he explains,
^* was that of serving the Union cause by constructing vessels
capable of defeating the Merrimac and other Confederate iron-
clad vessels."
In July, 1861, Mr. Delamater, who had been Ericsson's as*
sociate in so many of his engineering enterprises, wrote to him
from Washington, saying : ^' I am treated well : have had two
evening interviews with Mr. Secretary Welles, one of them
alone in my own room, yet I have no expectation of any con-
tract or immediate good to result to me or to us from my pres-
ent stay. I am remaining to finish o£E Mr. Isherwood if possi-
ble, which I think I owe it to my country to do. Mr. Welles
seems to have taken a fancy to me and I have avoided pressing
any special purpose, and altogether my position appears to be
strangely disinterested. Am to see Mr. Welles this evening at
his request. I have given Isherwood an Irish hoist, and if I
only knew who in the navy to aid, might almost finish the
job."
As Ericsson and Delamater had various interests together it
does not follow that this visit had any relation to the proposed
iron-clads. Indeed, the allusion to Ericsson's old antagonist,
Mr. Isherwood, chief of the Kaval Bureau of Steam Engineer-
ing, would indicate that it was to the work of his department
that Mr. Delamater's efforts were directed.
The subject of iron-clad vessels had at that time just begun
to attract the attention of Congress, and no appropriation for
building such vessels was yet available. In his report dated
July 4, 1861, the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Gideon Welles,
called attention to the efforts of foreign governments, and par-
ticularly France and England, to provide themselves with
" floating batteries or iron-clad steamers " adding : ** I would
recommend the appointment of a proper and competent board
to inquire into and report in regard to a measure so important,
and it is for Congress to decide whether, on favorable report,
they will order one or more iron-clad steamers, or floating bat-
teries."
The submission of Ericsson's plans to the Emperor Napo-
IKOEPTION OF THE MONITOB. 343
leon had been followed the next year, 1855, by the appearance
in the attack npon Kinburn, during the Crimean War, of three
French floating batteries clad with 4^-inch plates, the Lame^
the jDevagtatioriy and the Tonnante. Three years later, in 1858,
Napoleon ordered the construction of four armor-plated steam
frigates, Za Glairej L^Irwindble^ La Narmandie, and La Goth
tonne. These were all the armored vessels France had in com-
mission at the beginning of 1861. Two others, the Solfervno
and Magenta^ had been launched, and twelve more were on the
stocks. England had at sea her Wa/rrior^ Black Prince^ D^
fence^ Resistance^ and Royal Oaky with five other armor-dads
launched and eleven more under way. This refers to sea-go-
ing vessels only. None of these ships had any resemblance to
the vessel suggested by Ericsson to Napoleon in 1854, except
in their significant departure from the precedent of wooden
walls, upon which so much reliance had hitherto been placed.
The conditions calling for armor plating had actually ex-
isted for forty years, or ever since the introduction, in 1819, by
one of the soldiers of the First Napoleon, General Henri Jo-
seph Paixhans of the system of firing explosive shell directly
at an object, instead of from mortars on an ascending and de-
scending curve through the air, as before.*
The attention of the British Admiralty was called in 1834-
35 to the advisability of adopting iron for ships of war. Iron
* In response to a letter from Bear- Admiral S. B. Lnoe, n.S.N., claiming
this invention for General George Bomford, U.S.A., whose **colnmbiad"
was known at an earlier date, Ericsson wrote this letter :
Nbw York, December 10, 1885.
Dbab Admiral : ShorUj after my arrival in this country, 1889, 1 became
intimately acquainted with Colonel Bomford and Commodore Perry. The
latter had just returned from England and France, where he had studied
naval ordnance under instructions from the Navy Department. The result
of his journey was considered very important at the time, as he brought a full
report of the success of the then recent labors of General Paizhan ; he also
brought complete drawings of Paixhan's perfected shell gun, which was at
once adopted by the Navy Department at Washington for the two large pad-
dle-wheel steam frigates, Mistimppi and Musourtj then being constructed.
I had frequent interviews with the two United States officers mentioned,
as I brought plans of a screw steamshipof -war, for which Congress at once
granted an appropriation. Of course General Paixhan's brilliant invention
and its important bearing on naval warfare was frequently adverted to dor*
244 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
targets were ordered to be prepared at Woolwich for experiment
with a 32-poaDder smooth-bore gun at a range of only thirty
yards. Iron was condemned as a result of these experiments,
and the Admiralty fell back upon the old wooden walls, as the
only vessels calculated for the purposes of war. This decision
against a change retarded everything in the shape of progress
until the adoption of iron-dads in the French Navy compelled
England to follow the lead of Napoleon in 1855.*
As early as 1845 an American, engineer, Mr. B. L. Stevens,
had undertaken to experiment with armor, and in the year that
Ericsson sent the model of his monitor to France had begun, as
has been already stated, the construction of an iron-plated ship.
The results of shell-firing upon naval warfare were not
made apparent until the Crimean War. Then Napoleon IIL,
who prided himself upon his knowledge of artillery, was greatly
chagrined to find how much the French navy was at a disad-
vantage in the contest with the Russian forts in the Black Sea.
If he did not take Ericsson's plans, he certainly adopted the
suggestion of armor defence and built five armor-clads, England
following in humble imitation with an equal number on the
same general plan. The guns at this time had so much the
advantage that the Kussians were able to steam into Sinope and
in a single morning destroy the Turkish fleet, to shut out Sir
Charles Napier from Cronstadt, and to defy the allied fleets at
Sebastopol. Of the British experience in the Black Sea Lord
Dundonald, one of the bravest sailors that ever trod a quarter-
ing the said interriews, yet Colonel Bomf ord in mj presence never claimed
the new gun as his invention.
In connection with cocut defanee the ** colnmbiad " was often spoken of, a
gun particularly described in the enclosed extract from Colonel Benton's
Ordnance and Gunnery, published at New York, 1867. I also enclose a
brief extract from Appleton's Cyclopedia of 1864, vol. xii., page 146.
With reference to the *' bomb cannon " for firing hollow shot charged
with i>owder, I beg to observe that during my early studies «of artillery, pre-
vious to 1820, such a gun was not even then regarded as a novelty.
I have deemed the foregoing explanation necessary in answer to your as-
sumption that I have, in my Century article, inadvertently deprived General
Bomford of the credit of being the originator of a system known in Borope
before his time. I am, Admiral, yours truly,
J. EaicssoH.
* Fairbaim on Iron Ship Building.
INCEPTION OP THE MONITOB. 246
decky asserted that the Enssian shells made it impossible to
continae the vessels under fire, and it was considered no dis-
grace to declare, after three shells had exploded in one ship, it
was not possible to find men ^^ fools enough to stand to the
gans." ^^ The man who goes into action in a wooden vessel is
a fool," said Sir John Hay, '^ and the man who sends him there
is a villain."
The Confederate Secretary of the Navy in 1860 was Mr.
Stephen B. Mallory, of Florida, who had served for several
years in Congress as Chairman of the Naval Committee. He
had been, as we have seen, a champion of Ericsson, and in a
speech in Congress, made in May, 1858, had shown intelligent
appreciation of the revolution in naval warfare accomplished by
the Princeton. Mr. Mallory was much better informed in nau-
tical matters than Mr. Welles, Secretary of the Navy in the
Cabinet of Mr. Lincoln, and more prompt to recognize the
changes in naval warfare. Two months before the Federal
Secretary of the Navy had made his halting suggestion to Con-
gress on the subject of armored vessels the head of the Con-
federate naval service had spoken on the same subject in these
distinct terms, in a letter to the Chairman of the Confederate
Naval Committee dated May 8, 1861 :
I regard the possession of an iron-armored ship as a matter of the
first necessity. Suoh a vessel at this time oonld traverse the entire
ooast of the United States, prevent all blockade, and encoxmter, with a
fair prospect of success, their entire navy. If, to cope with them upon
the sea, we follow their example, and build wooden ships, we shall have
to construct several at one time, for one or two ships would fall an easy
prey to their comparatively numerous steam frigates. But inequality of
numbers may be compensated by invulnerability, and thus not only
does economy, but naval success, dictate the wisdom and expediency of
fighting with iron against wood without regard to first cost.
Naval engagements between wooden frigates, as they are now built
and armed, will prove to be the forlorn hox>es of the sea, simply contests
in which the question, not of victory, but of who shall go to the bottom
first, is to be solved. Should the committee deem it exx>edient to
begin at once the construction of such a ship, not a moment should be
lost
Mr. Mallory's action was as decided as his words. Without
waiting for an appropriation, on July 11, 1861, he approved
246 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
plans submitted to hiin by Chief Engineer Wilb'am P. William-
son, Lieutenant John M. Brooke, an ex-officer of the United
States Navy, and Naval Constructor John L. Porter. These
plans provided for raising and altering into an iron-clad, the
U. S. frigate MerrvmaCy of 3,500 tons and 40 guns. This had
been burnt and sunk at the Norfolk Navy Yard when it was
abandoned in April, 1861. With but one establishment in the
South capable of furnishing her armor, the Tredegar foundry,
the work upon the Virginia^ as she was rechristened, was slow,
and in this delay Ericsson found his opportunity.
On August 3, 1861, President Lincoln approved an act of
Congress, authorizing the appointment of a Board asked for by
Mr. Welles. An advertisement inviting proposals for iron-
clad steam vessels was issued from the Navy Department, and
August 8th Commodores Joseph Smith and Hiram Paulding
and Commander Charles H. Davis were appointed a board to
examine plans. Twenty-six days later Ericsson prepared the
letter to President Lincoln which follows, as appears from a
copy of it in his handwriting found among his papers :
Nbw Tobk, Angnst 29, 1861.
Sib : The writer, having introduced the present syBtem of naval pro-
pulsion and constraoted the first screw ship of war, now ofTers to con-
stniot a vessel for the destmction of the rebel fleet at Norfolk and for
soonring the Southern rivers and inlets of all craft protected by rebel
batteries. Having thus briefly noticed the object of my addressing you,
it will be proper for me most respectfully to state that in making this
offer I seek no private advantage or emolument of any kind. Fortu-
nately I have already upward of one thousand of my caloric engines in
successful operation, with affluence in prospect. Attachment to the
Union alone impels me to o£fer my services at this fearful crisis — ^my
life if need be — in the great cause which Providence has called you to
defend. Please look carefully at the enclosed plans and you will find
that the means I propose to employ aro very simple— so simple, in-
deed, that within ten weeks after commencing the structure 1 would en-
gage to be ready to take up position under the robel guns at Norfolk,
and so efficient too, I trust, that within a few hours the stolen ships
would be sunk and the harbor purged of traitors. Apart from the fact
that the proposed vessel is very simple in construction, due weight, I re-
spectfully submit, should be given to the circumstance that its projector
possesses practical and constructive skill shared by no engineer now
living. I have planned upward of one hundrod marine engines and I
INCEPTION OF THE MONITOR. 247
foniiBh daily, workmg-plana made with my own hands of mechanical
and naval stmctures of yarions kinds, and I have done so for thirty
years. Besides this I have received a military education and feel at
home in the science of artillery. Yon will not, sir, attribute these
statements to any other cause than my anxiety to prove that you may
safely entrust me with the work I propose. If you cannot do so then
the countiy must lose the benefit of my proffered services. If, on the
other hand, you decide to act, please telegraph and I will at once wait
upon you in Washington. I respectfully submit that in the former case
you return the plans, honored with your signature, to testify that I have
discharged the duty of laying this important matter before yon.
I cannot conclude without respectfully calling your attention to the
now well-established fact that steel-clad vessels cannot be arrested in
their course by land batteries, and that hence our great city is quite at
the mercy of such intruders, and may at any moment be laid in ruins,
unless we possess means which, in defiance of Armstrong guns, can
crush the sides of such dangerous visitors.
I am, sir, with profound respect, your obedient servant,
J. EmosBON.
To His Excellency Ahraham Linooln, President of the United States.
It is not for me, sir, to remind you of the immense moral effect that
will result from your discomfiting the rebels at Norfolk and showing
that batteries can no longer protect vessels robbed from the nation, nor
need I allude to the effect in Europe if you demonstrate that you can
effectively keep hostile fleets away from our shores. At the moment of
putting this communication under envelope it occurs to me finaUy that
it is unsafe to trust the plans to the mails. I therefore resx>ectfully
suggest that you reflect on my proposition. Should you decide to put
the work in hand, if my plan meets your own approbation, please tele-
graph and within forty-eight hours the writer will report himself at the
White House.
It was f ortanate for Ericsson that the naval board on iron-
clads were so ignorant as they were of the subject committed
to their decision. Beyond a general distrnst of and prejudice
against armored vessels they had no opinion concerning them,
and DO predilections in favor of any special system. Embarked
upon unfamiliar waters, they were ready to listen to anyone
who offered to pilot them safely into harbor. In their report
to the Secretary of the Navy, dated September 16, 1861, they
frankly said : '^ Distrnstf nl of our ability to discharge this
duty, we approach the subject with diffidence, having no ex-
perience and but scant knowledge in this branch of naval archi-
248 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSON.
lecture.'' Their dispofiition was to favor Tessels for coast and
harbor defence, as undoabtedly formidable adjuncts to fortifica*
tions on land. ^' For river and harbor service/' they declared,
^' we consider iron-clad vessels of light draught or floating bat-
teries, thus shielded, as very important." Their final condosion
was to meet the immediate demand by calling for ^^ vessels in-
vulnerable to shot, of light draught of water, before going into
a more perfect system of large iron-clad sea-going vessels of
war." So far, then, their disposition was in favor of such a
vessel as Ericsson proposed.
The three vessels the Board recommended for adoption
were the Ericsson floating battery ; a broadside vessel of 3,296
tons, afterward known as the Ironsides, and the Galena. The
plans for this last vessel were presented by Mr. 0. S. Bushnell,
of New Haven, Conn., who was subsequently associated with
Ericsson in building the Monitor, Telling the story of his ex-
perience with the Board Mr. Bushnell said, in a letter written
some years ago to Secretary Welles:
The Board examined hundreds of plans, good and bad, and among
others that of a plated go^boat called the GkdencL^ oontriyed by S. H.
Pook, now a constmotor in the navy. The partial proteotion of iron bars
proposed for her, seemed so burdensome that many naval officers warned
me against the possibility that she might not be able to carry the weight
of her armament.
I met Mr. 0. H. Delamater on the steps of Willard's Hotel in Wash-
ington just after I had secured the contract for the GrcUena. When I
told him that several naval men doubted whether the vessel would be
able to carry the stipulated amount of iron, he advised me to consult
the engineer CSaptain John Ericsson, of New York, as one whose opinion
would settle the matter definitely and with accuracy. Acting upon the
advice of Mr. Delamater, I went to New York on the following day and
laid the plans of the Oalena before Captain Ericsson, asking whether
the vessel would be able to carry the specified armor. I gave him the
data necessary for his calculations and he told me to call the next day
for his reply. This I did and received the answer. '' She will easily
carry the load you propose and stand a six-inch shot at a respectable
distance."
At the close of this interview Captain Ericsson asked me if I had
time just then to examine the plan of a fioating battery, absolutely im-
pregnable to the heaviest shot or sheU. I replied that this problem had
been occupying me for the last three months, and that oonsideiing the
INOBPnON OF THE MONITOR 249
time required for oonstmotiony the Qakna wm the best result I had
been able to obtain.
He then produced a small, dnst-oovered box, and plaoed before me
the model and plan of the Monitor^ explaining how quickly and power-
fully she could be built, and exhibiting with oharacteristio pride a
medal and letter of thanks receiyed seven years previously from Napo-
leon m. For it appears that Ericsson had invented this battery dur-
ing the Franco-Bussian War, and out of hostility to Bussia had pre-
sented it to France, hoping thus to aid in the defeat of Sweden's
hereditary foe. The invention, however, came too late to be of service
and was preserved for another issue,
I was perfectly overjoyed when, at the close of the interview, Cap-
tain Ericsson entrusted the box with its precious contents to my care.
You doubtless will remember my delight with the plan of the Monitor, as
I followed you to Hartford, where you were spending a few days, and as-
tounded you by saying that the country was safe because I had found a
battery which would make us masters of the situation, so far as the
ocean was concerned. I left New York that night and went to Hart-
ford direct, without stopping at my home in New Haven, so eager was
I to save time in bringing this great discovery to the knowledge of the
Navy Department.
You were much pleased and urged me to lose no time in presenting
the plan to the Naval Board at Washington. I at once secured the co-
operation of wise and able associates, in the persons of the late Hon.
John A. Griswold, and John F. Winslow, of Troy, both friends of Gov-
ernor Seward (Secretary of State) and large manufacturers of iron
plates, etc. Governor Seward furnished us with a strong letter of in-
troduction to President Lincoln, who was at once greatly pleased with
the simplicity of the plan, and agreed to accompany us to the Navy De-
partment at 11 A.H. the following day, and aid us as best he could.
He was on hand promptly at 11 o'clock — ^the day before your return from
Hartford. CSaptain Fox (Assistant Secretary of the Navy) together with
a part of the Naval Board were present.* All were surprised with the
novelty of the plan. Some advised trying it ; others ridiculed it. The
conference was finally closed for that day by Mr. Lincoln's remarking :
"All I have to say is what the girl said when she stuck her foot into
the stocking, It strikes me there's something in it I " f
The following day Admiral Smith convened the full board, and I
presented as best I could the plan and its merits, carefully noting the
remark of each member of the board. I then went to my hotel quite
sanguine of success, but only to be disappointed the following day.
* Several naval officers were also present unofficially.
f Mr. Bnshnell was given a pasteboard model of the J^onitor, admirably
illustrating the easy method of training the guns by rotating the turret. It
was this that struck Lincoln, and which he held in his hand when he re-
marked about the girl and her stocking.
250 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
For during the honts following the last session I found that the air had
been thick with oroakings that the department was about to father an-
other Ericsson failure.
Never was I more aotiye than in proving that Ericsson had never
made a failure ; that on the oontraiy he had built for our Qovemment
the first steam war propeller ever made ; that the bursting of the gun
was no fault of his, but of the shell, which was not made strong enough
to prevent its flattening up with the pressure of the explosion behind it,
mining the bursting of the gun unavoidable ; * that his caloric principle
was a triumphant success, but that no metal had yet been found to util-
ize it on a large scale. I succeeded at length in getting Admirals
Smith and Paulding to promise to sign a report advising the building
of one trial hMerj provided Captain Davis would join with them. On
going to him I was informed that I might ''take the little thing home
and worship it, as it would not be idolatry, because it was in the image
of nothing in the heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
under the earth.**
One thing only yet remained to be dope. This was to get Ericsson
to come to Washington and plead the case himself. This I was sure
would win the case, and so informed you, for Ericsson is a full electric
battery in himself. You at once promised to have a meeting at your
own room if I could succeed in inducing him to come. This was ex-
ceedingly doubtful ; for so badly had he been treated, and so unmera-
fuUy maligned in regard to the Princeton, that he had repeatedly de-
clared that he would never set foot in Washington again.
Nevertheless, I appeared at his house next morning precisely at nine
o'clock, and heard his sharp greeting :
" Well, how is it ? "
"Glorious," said L
'' Go on I go on,** said he with impatience. ** What did they say ? "
"Admiral Smith says it is worthy of the genius of an Ericsson."
The pride fairly gleamed in his eye.
" But Paulding— what did he say of it ? »'
** He said it was just the thing to clear the rebels out of Oharles-
ton with."
"How about Davis?" he inquired, as I appeared to delay a mo*
ment.
" Captain Davis," said I, " wants two or three explanations in detail
that I couldn't give him, and Secretary Welles wishes you to come right
on and make them before the entire board in his room at the Depart-
ment."
" WeU, m go, rU go to-night."
* Mr. Bushnell might have said further that It was not Erio88on*s gun
that burst, but the one Stockton had copied from it, and which had, in some
way, been so injured In the forging that the crystals were of abnormal sise.
Nor was it reinforced as ErioBSon's gun was.
INCEPTION OF THE HONITOB. 361
ft
From that moment I knew that the snocess of the affidr was assured.
Ton remember how he thrilled every person present in yonr room with
his vivid description of what the little boat wonld be, and what she
oonld do, and that in ninety days time she oonld be bnilt, although the
rebels had already been four months at work on the Merrimao with all
the appliances of the Norfolk Navy Yard to help them. You asked him
how much it would cost to complete her. Two hundred and seventy-
five thousand dollars he said.
Then you promptly turned to the members of the Board, and one by
one asked them if they would recommend that a contract be entered into
for her construction with Oaptain Ericsson and his associates. Each
one said, '^ Yes, by all means." And then you told Oaptain Ericsson to
start her immediately ; and the next day in New York a large portion of
every article used in her construction was ordered, and a contract im-
mediately entered into between Captain Ericsson and his associates and
T. F. Bowland at Qreenpoint, for the most expeditious construction of
the most formidable vessel ever made.
It was arranged that after a few days I should procure a formal
documentary contract from the Naval Board, to be signed and executed
by the Secretary of the Navy, Oaptain Ericsson, and associates.
I regpret that this part of the matter has been misunderstood and
mii^udged, as though you had made terms heavier or the risk greater
than you ought. The simple fact was that after we had entered upon
the work of construction, and before the formal contract had been
awarded, a great clamor arose, much of it due to interested parties, to
the effect that the battery would prove a failure and disgrace the mem-
bers of the Board for their action in recommending it.
For their own protection, therefore, and out of their superabundant
caution, they insisted on inserting in the contract a clause requiring
us to guarantee the complete success of the battery, so that in case
she proved a failure Qovemment might be refunded the amounts ad-
vanced to us from time to time during her construction. To Oaptain
Ericsson and myself this was never an embarrassment. But to Mr.
Winslow, as indeed to Mr. Griswold also, it seemed that the Board had
asked too much. But I know that the noble old Admiral Smith never
intended that we should suffer. And among the many fortunate things
that the nation had occasion to be grateful for — like the providential
selection as President in those dark days of the immortal Lincoln, who
knew how to select a man for the head of the navy who united* diplo-
matic skill and judgment with absolute promptness, with a private
Secretary [Mr. W. Faxon], who never left his desk at night with a thing
undone that could be done to assure success that day — ^was the appoint-
ment of Admiral Smith to the charge of the Navy Yards, who always
seemed to sleep with one eye open, so constant was his watchfulness
and so eager his desire that the entire navy should be always in readi-
ness to do its part in the overthrow of the Bebellion.
262 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
I am oonfldent that no natiye-bom child of this oountry will ever
forget the proud son of Sweden, who could sit in his own honse and
contrive the three thousand different parts that go to make up the com-
plete hull of the steam batterj Dictator, so that when the mechanics
came to put the parts together not a single alteration in any particular
was required to be made. "What the little first monitor and the subse-
quent larger ones achieyed is a part of histoiy.
One of my associates — as noble and generous a man as it is the lot
of one ever to meet on earth — John A. Griswold, has gone to his rest,
and fast shall we each and all follow, but it may be a pleasure to those
who should love our memory to find with your preserved records of those
tzying times this memorandum of the unrecorded private negotiations
that resulted in the opportune meeting of the "cheese-box" on a raft
with the ponderous Merrimac at Hampton Beads March 9, 1862.*
Ericsson proceeded to Washington on the night of Septem-
ber 13, 1861, arriving there the next morning after the tedious
jodmey in ill- ventilated and over-crowded cars, which was the
penalty of a summons to the capital in those days. With
him joameyed the usual crowd of soldiers hastening to join
their regiments ; office-seekers, loaded down with testimonials as
to their "claims ; " civilians of every grade — eager to enlighten
the Oovemment with their wisdom, to assist it with offers of
service, or to worry it with crude suggestions as to the conduct
of the war. To the authorities of Washington the great en-
gineer was only one of the motley gathering of patriots, to
whose suggestions, to whose entreaties, and to whose reproaches
even they had grown accustomed and indifferent. He proceed-
ed at an early hour upon his arrival in the capital to the Kavy
Department. Describing his reception there, in a private letter
he says :
Nbw Yobk, November 16, 1877.
Mt "Drajbl Bib : I enclose extract of Mr. Bushnell's letter to Ex-Sec-
retaiy^Welles concerning the Monitor. As Mr. B. only relates his own
personal experience, I have to add that on g^ing to Washington and
entering the room occupied by the Board over which Commodore
Smith presided I was veiy coldly received, and learned to my surprise
that said Board had actually rejected my Monitor plan, presented by Mr.
Bushnell. Indigpiant, my first resolve was to withdraw, but a second
thought prompted me to ask why the plan was rejected. Commodore
* This is printed from a HS. copy found among Ericsson's papers.
INCBPTION OF THE MONITOB, 253
Smiih at onoe made an explanation showing that the vessel lacked sta-
bility. This wanned me np, inducing me to enter on an elaborate dem-
onstration proving that the vessel had great stabUity. My blood being
well np, I finished my demonstrations by thns addressing the Board :
'' Gentlemen, aft^ what I have said, I deem it yoor duty to the
country to give me an order to build the vessel before I leave the
room."
The three commodores then entered into some conversation among
themselves which I did not take note of, at the conclusion of which I
was asked to call again at 1 p.m. On making my appearance Commodore
Paulding called me into his room and in a veiy cordial manner asked
me to repeat my explanation about the stability of the vessel. I com-
plied, having in the meantime drawn a diagram presenting the question
in a veiy simple form. My explanation lasted about twenty minutes, at
the end of which the frank and generous sailor said :
'' Sir, I have learned more about the stability of a vessel from what
you have said than I ever knew before."
Commodore Smith then desired me to call again later in the day.
On making my second appearance I was asked to step into Secretary
Welles's room, who briefly told me that the. commodores had reported
favorably and that accordingly he would have the contract drawn np
and sent after me to New York, desiring me in the meantime to proceed
with the work. I returned at once, and before the contract was com-
pleted the keel-plate of the intended vessel had already passed through
the rollers of the mill. Little did I dream that the contract would con-
tain a clause compelling my associates to guarantee the success of the
vessel, and in case of the stipulations about invulnerability, etc., etc., not
being fulfilled, to refund the money advanced by the Department dur-
ing the progress of the work. Had Secretary Welles on calling me
into his room told me that such a guarantee would be demanded, the
Monitor would not have been built.
One word more. The Monitor was brought under the enemy's guns
at Hampton Beads before the last instalment of the contract had been
paid I
The foregoing will enable you to form your own judgment as to the
merit due to the Navy Department in the Monitor matter. Let me ob-
serve, however, that in building other vessels I was warmly and cordially
supported by the Assistant Secretary, Mr. G. V. Fox*
Yours very truly,
J. Ebigsson.
P.S.— I have had neither time nor inclination to make a feax copy of
the foregoing communication in my own hand.
Captain E. P. Dobb, BufEalo.
CHAPTER XVI
BUILDINa THE FIRST MONITOR.
Partnership with Messrs. Boshnell, Winslow, and Griswold. — Interview
with Thomas F. Rowland. — Laying the Keel of the Monitor. —
Building and Launching of the Vessel. — Mishaps by the Way. —
Herculean Labors. — Doubts and Criticisms of Commodore Smith.
— Payments for the Vessel Delayed. — Cost and Profit.
IN a letter written April 25, 1862, Ericsson said : '^ A more
prompt and spirited action is probably not on record in
a similar case than that of the Navy Department, as regards
the Monitor. The committee of naval commanders appointed
by the Secretary to decide on the plans of gunboats laid before
the Department occupied me less than two hoars in explaining
my new system. In about two hoars more the committee had
come to a decision. After their favorable report had been made
to the Secretary I was called into his office, where I was detained
less than five minutes. In order not to lose any time the Sec-
retary ordered me to ^ go ahead at once I ' Consequently,
while the clerks of the Department were engaged in drawing up
the formal contract the iron which now forms the keel-plate of
the Monitor* was drawn through the rolling mill." This was
said at a time when the country was all aglow with the success
of Ericsson's opportune little vessel, and it does not conflict
with the fuller statement of a later date in the last chapter.
The keel was laid October 25, 1861, steam was applied to
the engines December 30th, the Monitor * was launched Jan-
* The origin of the name is explained by this letter to Gustavna Y. Fez,
Aasistant Secretary of the Navj :
New York, Jannarj 20, 1862.
Sm : In accordance with your requesf , I now submit for your approbation
a name for the floating battery at Greeupoint. The impregnable and aggres-
sive character of this structure will admonish the leaders of the Southern Re-
bellion that the batteries on the banks of their rivers will no longer present
BUILDIKG THS FIBST MONITOB. 265
oary 30, 1862, and practically completed February 15, 1862.
She went on her first trial trip and was turned over to the
Government February 19, 1862. She was put into commission
under the command of Lieutenant John L. Worden, n.S.K.,
February 25, 1862. Her steering gear was adjusted on a
second trial ; on her third, March 4th, she tried her guns, and
a board of naval officers who conducted the trial reported fa-
vorably upon her performance. Professor MacCord, who was
Ericsson's assistant at the time he built the Monitor^ has given
some interesting particulars of the circumstances attending its
construction.
Ericsson followed it with keen and critioal eye imtil the launch, and
then his visits to the ship-yard became infrequent. As the ^^Mofdtor
type " of engine had already been fully tested in the JvdUh^ the Day^
HgMt and in other vessels, he contented himself with the report of
the Government engineers on the one in the new batteiy. When the
trial trip came, neither engine nor steering gear worked properly, and
one of the daily papers made it the text of a '' crashing " article under
the heading of " Ericsson's Folly." ^ Her designer was called an incapa-
ble schemer, and sternly rebuked for the sin of wasting the resources of
the countiy.
The motive engines were not in proper adjustment, the steering
gear would not work freely, and between the two the vessel proved un-
manageabla
The events of that dismal day must have vexed Ericsson's very soul,
but the manner in which he bore them was strikingly oharacteristio.
Had they been trifling things he would have been exasperated, as his
custom was, and exasperating, too, when small affidrs went wrong ; but
under heavy burdens his broad shoulders never bent, and he looked al-
ways squarely in the face of grave misfortunes with calm and resolute
eyes. It is true that on his return to Franklin Street, where he then
resided, there was a somewhat portentous cloud upon his face, and no
wonder ; but it was not the forerunner of a storm.
barriera to the entrance of the Union forces. The iron-clad intruder wUl
thus prove a severe monitor to those leaders. Bat there are other leaders who
will also be startled and admonished by the booming of the guns from the im-
pregnable iron turret. *' Downing Street" will hardly view with indifference
this last *' Yankee notion," this monitor. To the Lords of the Admiralty the
new craft will be a monitor, suggesting doubts as to the propriety of complet-
ing those four steel clad ships at three and a half million apiece. On these
and many similar groxmds, I propose to name the new battery Monitor,
Your obedient servant,
J. Ebicsson.
256 LIFE OF JOHN EBIGSSON.
The drawings, for whose accuracy the draughtsman was
sponsible, were found to be correct and the error was traced to
a superintendent of the engine works, whom Captain Ericsson
had once described as '^ too stupid to make a blunder." His er-
ror was so quickly rectified that it alone would not have delayed
the vessel. The rudder was found to be somewhat over-bal-
anced, the weight forward of the rudder-post being too great.
It was not the time nor was £ricsson the man to indulge in
idle speculations as to the cause of this error, but, says Pro-
fessor MacCord, ^^ had he adopted the remedy suggested to him
it is morally certain that the battle between the giant and the
pygmy would not have occurred when and where it did. This
remedy was neither more nor less than the replacing of the
balanced rudder by one of different form. I do not know
where the idea originated, nor do I say that any formal pro-
posal was made, but in some way the Captain became aware of
an intention of the naval authorities to have the vessel put in the
dry-dock and fitted with a new rudder. The hot Scandinavian
blood flushed his cheek, his eyes gleamed, his brow darkened ;
and this time the storm broke in all its fury. With the full
volume of his tremendous voice, and with a mighty oath, he
thundered : ^ The Monitor is mine, and I say it shall not be
done.' Presently he added, in a tone of supreme contempt :
* Put in a new rudder ! They would waste a month in doing
that ; I will make her steer just as easily in three days.' My
recollection is that it was done in less time. Ko change in the
rudder was even thought of, and the change in the steering,
gear was the simplest possible. . . . Considering how pre-
cious were the moments then, the suggestion of a new rudder
might well excite his indignation and disgust But the Captain's
wrath was chiefly roused by the idea of any official interference
with the vessel, as yet unpaid for and wholly in his own hands ;
which was perfectly natural in view of his treatment by the
Government in this and other matters."
To add to the chapter of blunders, Engineer Stimers on the
trial trip temporarily disabled both gun-carriages by turning
the compressor wheels the wrong way. Far the most impor-
tant of these mishaps, that fixed the hour of the MonUor^s ap-
pearance at the very crisis of fate, '' was the trouble with the
BinLBING THE PIEfiT MONITOR. 267
Bteering-gear, though from the simplicity of the remedy it might
appear the most insignificant ; and it was this that brought
into the boldest relief the prominent traits of the Captain's
character. His keen mechanical instinct, quick decision, firm-
ness of resolve, his fiery spirit, his energy in action, were all
conspicuous ; but all these were dominated by self-reliance and
his pride in originality.
" He loved to do his own work in his own way, and his
fertility of expedient was something marvellous ; to quote
his own words on another occasion, ^If I ever do get into
a scrape, I know exactly how to get out of it ; ' and men un-
like him, as most men are, were more likely than he to follow
the lines laid down by others. He had said, ^ The Monitor
is mine,' and his she was, in another and to him a far dearer
sense ; from turret to keel-plate, from rudder-shoe to anchor-
well, every distinctive feature was the creation of his brain,
every detail was stamped with the evidence of his handi-
work."*
Under the hand of the master the work upon the battery
was pushed to a speedy completion, in spite of miscarriages that
would have been fatal to less able management. ^^ They are
amazed at Washington," wrote Mr. Griswold on January 8th,
^^that within the hundred days the battery will be com-
pleted."
Ericsson was officially notified, by letter dated September
21, 1861, that his proposition for an iron-clad gunboat had been
favorably reported upon, and the actual contract for the con-
struction of the battery was agreed upon October 4, 1861. On
September 27, 1861, by formal contract with Messrs. Bushnell,
Griswold & Winslow, he stipulated that all net profits or losses
were to be divided equally anifong the four, the three associates
agreeing to advance all money needed for the construction of
the vessel. It was also agreed that in the event of the further
construction of similar batteries the same division of loss or
profits was to be made.
There was at this time at Greenpoint on the East River,
* Eriosson and His Monitors, by Professor Charles W. MaoGord (f orxnerlj
Chief Draughtsman for Captain John Ericsson), North American Beview^
October, 1880.
268 LIFE OF JOHN XBIOSSOlf.
opposite New York, a young man named Thomas F. Rowland,
who had just commenced business as a ship-builder. He was
full of energy and enterprise, anxious to identify himself with
Gh>yemment work, and had visited Washington with the model
of a vessel he proposed to build, having a turret mounted on a
railroad turntable. Though he carried with him an influen-
tial letter of introduction, he was not able to get near enough
to the Secretary of the Navy to present his plan until he met
Mr. Welles one evening at Willard's Hotel ; then he • had the
satisfaction of securing a prompt hearing, and an ^equally
prompt rejection of his proposals. On his return to New^Jork,
Mr. Rowland was invited by Captain Ericsson to call upoir^ini
at his office in Franklin Street. There he was shown the m<K^l
sent to Napoleon in 1854, and satisfied that he could claim n(
priority for his idea of a turret. He was next informed of the
order received from the Government for an iron-clad battery, 'i^
Then turning to him, Ericsson said, " You want money ; I want
fame. You can do the mechanical work on this vessel in your
ship-yard, but it is my conception, and it must be understood
that it was built here in my parlor." After some discussion it
was agreed that 7i cents a pound should be paid for the work
upon the hull, and on October 25th an agreement to that efiPect
was entered into between John Ericsson and his associates, and
Thomas F. Rowland, Continental Iron Works, Greenpoint,
New York.
Another account states that on the day preceding this in-
terview three strangers had appeared at Mr. Rowland's works
and sounded him upon the subject of the price he would
charge for building the hull of an iron vessel, suggesting 4^
cents per pound. When he called upon Ericsson the next
day he found the great engineer with head and body bent
over his drawing-table absorbed in his work upon the Monitor
plans. Glancing from his work for an instant, Ericsson said
abruptly :
" Tom, my boy, what are you going to charge me to build
my iron vessel ? " Thinking of his previgus interview with his
interrogators, who proved to be Messrs. Winslow, Griswold &
Bushnell, Rowland answered at a venture: "Nine cents a
pound." "Tut, tut, Tom ! " cried Ericsson, without lifting his
7
f
BUILDING THE FIRST MONITOB. 269
eyee from his work, " it must be done for 7^ cents ; " and this
was the price agreed upon.
The contract with Mr. Rowland stipulated that the work
was to be done to the satisfaction of Captain Ericsson, who re-
served the right to determine what number of men should be
employed, and the number of hours they must work to com-
plete the contract in the s]|)ortest possible time, this being ^^in
consideration of the liberal price paid."
"Work was commenced on the day the contract was signed,
October 25, 1861. The vessel was launched at Mr. Eowland's
risk, and to prevent it from plunging under water when it slid
from the ways, he constructed large wooden tanks to buoy up
the stern as it entered the water. The turret was entrusted to
the Novelty Iron Works, and all the machinery to Delamater
& Co. By this division of labor work was hastened, still fur-
ther time being gained by pushing the men night and day.
The vessel in all of its parts was designed by Ericsson. Hull,
turret, steam machinery, anchor-hoister, gun-carriages, etc., all
were built from working drawings made by his own hands, fur-
nishing tlie rare example of such a structure in all its details
emanating from a single man. '' The allegation that I received
aid in designing the Monitory and other work during the war,"
said Ericsson, in a letter of May 28, 1877, to General George
B. McClellan, " is absolutely false. The entire labor of pre-
paring the original working plans was performed by myself
every line being drawn by my own hand.''
The details were sufficiently numerous. Besides keeping
the several establishments at work, the terms of the agreements
with Mr. Rowland and the Novelty Works required that they
should be provided with the material which they were to put
into shape for the hull and the turret-plates, bars, rivets, etc.
Everything had been so carefully arranged by the able engi-
neer that no trouble or delay was experienced in carrying out
his part of the undertaking. Within one hundred working f
days from laying the keel-plates of the hull, the vessel was com- \
pleted and the engines put in motion under steam. No greater '
despatch is recorded in the annals of mechanical engineering. '
The battery would have been iinished even sooner than it was
had the Government been more prompt in its payments under
260 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSOlf.
the contract, and enabled the contractors to keep a larger part
of their force busied nights as well as days.*
Though the work was done in haste it was not done care-
lessly or incompletely. Time was saved, not by neglect of
necessary finish but by simplifying the design of the vessel in
every way to meet the required conditions. Thus the hull was
merely an iron tank, with the sides, sloping, instead of being
rounded, so as to admit of employing ordinary mechanics un-
der proper supervision. Good workmen were scarce, for the
dominant military spirit had called to the field of battle the
best men in every calling. While the work progressed at
Greenpoint, L. I., Ericsson was there every day superintending
it, and nearly all day. In the early morning, befoi'e going to
^e ship-yard, and far into the night after his return, he was
occupied at his desk, drawing plans, preparing specifications,
and conducting a constant correspondence with the !Navy De-
partment and others. A story is told in this connection illus-
trating his extraordinary physical strength. During one of his
visits of inspection he tripped over a heavy bar of iron. Turn-
ing to two workmen, he asked them to remove it ; but they
said it was too heavy. Kettled at this refusal, and as if in con-
tempt for the excuse, he made no reply, but stooping he picked
up the bar with his own hands, carried it without assistance
across the shop, and threw it on a scrap-heap. Amazed at this
display of energy on the part of a sexagenarian the men pro-
cured assistance at noon time and weighed the bar, finding that
it showed upon the scale nearly six hundred pounds.
From Ericsson's desk the drawings, numbering at least one
hundred, went directly to the workshop, without waiting to be
traced. Yet the plans were none of them mere copies from
* A similar feat bad previously been performed in England, according to
Sir Tbomas Brassey, wben in 1855-56, during tbe Crimean war, tbree iron-
clad floating batteries of 2,000 tons burden and 300 borse-power, tbe Thunder^
hciUy ErebuSy and Terror, were built by private sbip-yards in tbree montbs.
Wbat be includes in tbe term buiU be does not explain bowever. The
MbnUor was a vessel of 776 tons. Her extreme lengtb was 172 feet;
bread tb, 41 i feet; depth of bold, 11| feet; draught of water, lOi feet;
inside diameter of turret, 20 feet ; height of turret, 9 feet ; Uilckness of
turret, 8 inches ; side armor, 5 inches ; deck plating, 1 inch ; diameter of
propellers (2), 9 feet; diameter of steam cylinders, 86 inches; lengtb of
stroke, 26 inches.
BUHiDUra THE FIBST MONITOB. 261
existiag models. Ever^tbing bad to be contrived anew, to meet
the wholly Dovel conditions of life in a sabmerged etractoie.
Even the waste of the ship'e crew was gotten rid of by an in-
genions contrivance, with an air-pniap attached. B; this
means the natural law of hydrostatics was so far overcome as
to admit of openings in the hull below the water-line. Waste
matter was dropped into a pipe closed at the lower end. The
upper end of the pipe was then shut, the lower end opened in
its torn and the force-pump tnrned on, driving out the water
in the pipe with its contents. A ship's surgeon who omitted
an essential part of this ceremonial found himself suddenly pro-
jected into tJie air at the end of a column of water ntshing ap
from the dep^is of the ocean and ponring into the ship.
It was estimated by Isaac Kewton, the first engineer of the
Monitor, that she contained at least forty patentable contriv-
ances. Ericsson was urged by Mr. Kewton to secure patents
for these, but he declined to do so. He was strangely n^lect-
fnl all through life of this means of protecting his property
rights. Numerous as were his patents, they by no means rep-
resented the fall measure of his ingenuity, and many of them
were taken out to secure for himself, as well as for others, the
right to use his own inventions.
Ericsson's inventions were not the result of waking dreams,
but of the studious application of the resources of a mind well
stored with engineering and mechanical lore to the solution of
new problems. He did not disregard precedent or experience,
but he compelled them to his service instead of following them
with blind obedience. It was bis habit to wait until he was
262 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
readj to present hie engineering conceptions in practical form
before announcing them. Thus they had opportunity to ripen
in his mind and to gain in clearness and completeness with
growing experience. The conception of a Monitor^ as part of
his mental history, was nearly half a century old when it was
put into execution to meet the exigencies of war.
" You assume correctly," he wrote to Mr. G. V. Fox, on Oc-
tober 5, 1875, " that the plan of the Monitor was based on the
observations of the behavior of timber in our gi*eat Swedish
lakes. I found that while the raftsman in his elevated cab-
in experienced very little motion, the seas breaking over his
nearly submerged craft, these seas at the same time worked
the sailing vessels nearly on their beam ends."
Working as he did, from first to last, upon plans already
matured in his own mind, if they were not committed to paper,
Ericsson always resented the imputation that his Monitor must
be an imperfect vessel because it was built in haste. "No im
[provement," he said in 1867, "has been made in the original
I Monitor, On the contrary, that vessel was both theoretically
I and practically a more perfect vessel for defence than any of
jtlie numerous monitors afterward built by me, excepting only
I the pilot-house." This was said in a letter widtten by his sec-
retary at his dictation, and concluding as follows :
"Respecting this structure, Captain Ericsson particularly
directs me to say, in reply to your impertinent insinuation that
the present pilot-house of the monitor vessels is not his inven-
tion, that it originated with him and was perfected by him, and
that whoever insinuates that this structure in its conception,
theory, and every part of its detail, is not the invention of Cap-
tain Ericsson, utters a gross falsehood."
An entry in Ericsson's diary showed that in August, 1861,
previous to the acceptance of his plans by the Navy Depart-
ment, he spent a day in planning a stationary pilot-house to be
placed on the top of the revolving turret* Time did not admit
of the introduction of this feature into the original Monitor^
and it was reserved for use in those of later construction. The
complications involved in adapting it to its intended position,
* A copy of this entry was published by Captain Ericsson in the Army and
Nary JoumaL
BUILDING THE FIRST MONITOR. 363
as well as the lightness of the original turret, made it necessary
to adopt the necessary expedient which was justly subjected to
the criticism of those who had to fight the Monitor. It is not
true, however, that the plan of putting the pilot-house on top
of the turret was first suggested by the engineer of the Monitor^
after the vessel had gone into action.
Necessary changes were made in the plans of the vessel as
the work progressed, to meet the emergencies of the time, and
when she was completed slight defects were discovered, but
these were easily remedied. The constructor was favored with
numerous suggestions for change and supposed improvement,
none of which were heeded.
Ericsson's work during that three months was herculean.
Nerves and sinews needed to be of steel. The least halting,
even trifling delay, confusion of mind, or weakness of body, and
the story of Hampton Boads might not have been written. It
was well for the United States that the question how to bnild
an impregnable fighting vessel was entrusted to an engineer
of such versatility, thorough experience, and freedom from
prejudice in favor ot existing forms. The entire resources of
modern engineering knowledge were thus brought to bear upon
the solution of the problem of an impregnable battery, armed
with guns of the heaviest calibre then known, hull shot-proof
from stem to stem, rudder and propeller protected against the
enemy's fire, and above all having the advantage of light
draught.
It was proposed to build a vessel that could navigate the
shallow Southern rivers, and the draught was limited to eleven
feet. This absolutely compelled the adoption of the plan
of a sunken hull. It was manifestly impossible to carry the
weight required to protect a high-sided vessel. The adoption
of a covered cylindrical turret followed logically, from the
necessity for protecting guns and gunners. The plan of revolv-
ing this turret on a vertical axis, was adopted to secure an all-
around fire while the vessel remained stationary, as it was
clearly impracticable to manoeuvre the battery in narrow
rivers. The slight draught of the vessel brought the propeller
and rudder near the surface; to protect these the deck was
extended over the hull at the stern and also at the bow, wherq
364 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
]the anchor, hanging in a cylindrical well, conid be lowered and
'lifted by machinery within the hall without exposing the
'Crew.
The steam machinery, as well as the quarters of the crew,
were located below the water-line to protect them against shot,
I and they were further protected by extending the armored part
of the vessel some distance over the sides. With this overhang,
shot could not reach the vulnerable hull. Thus, as J. Scott
Bussell in his work on ^^ Naval Architecture" declares, the
Monitor is " a creation altogether original, peculiarly American ;
admirably adapted to the special purpose which gave it birth.
Like most American inventions, use had been allowed to dic-
tate terms of construction, and purpose, not prejudice, has
been allowed to rule invention." The monitors are, Mr.
Russell further says, ^^ successful by the rigidity and precis-
ion with which they fit the end and fulfil the purpose which
was their aim. By thus frankly accepting the conditions he
could not control, the American did his work and built his
fleet."
The Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, who rep-
resented the Navy Department in the construction of the
Monitor^ was Commodore Joseph Smith, a noble sailor who
had grown old in the service which he entered as a midship-
man in the year 1809. He had been an officer for more than
half a century, was thoroughly in sympathy with the traditions
and prejadices of his profession, and though the earnest elo-
quence and able demonstration of Ericsson had for the moment
convinced his judgment, there was an under-current of doubt,
and this kept him constantly uneasy and distrustful. ^^ The
old Commodore is fidgety at times," wrote one of Ericsson's
friends from Washington, " and may provoke you by his own
anxieties, but he has confidence in you, and he has no confi-
dence in anybody else. So give the old man his tether, and
let him fret a little when he feels like it."
This encouragement to forbearance seems to have been
needed, for the suggestions, doubts, and forebodings showered
upon Ericsson from Washington, must have been trying to a
man so overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a venture-
some undertaking, in the success of which was involved not
BUILDIKG THE FIEST MONITOB. 366
only his own repatation but the interests of a nation. Septem-
ber 25, 1861, Commodore Smith wrote :
I am in great trouble from what I have recently learned^ that the
oonotiflsion in the tnrret will be so great that men cannot remain in it
and work the gnns after a few fires with shot. I presume you under-
stand the subject better than I do.
It would have been well if he could have rested content
with this conclusion, but his own conversion was recent, if
hopeful, and his convictions were too feeble to enable him to
resist the doubting suggestions of others. Ericsson's judgment
upon this point was not founded on theory ; it was the result
of personal experience in firing heavy guns from little huts
wh^e he was an officer in the Swedish army. Yet he had the
greatest difficulty in dispelling this obvious fallacy, as to the
effect of firing gnns in a turret with muzzle protruding, and it
is not strange that Commodore Smith should have been affected
by it. A few days later, October 11th, he wrote :
I xmderstand that computations have been made by expert naval
arohiteots of the displacement of your vessel, and the result arrived
at is that she will not float with the load you propose to put upon
her, and if she would she could not stand upright for want of stability,
nor attain a speed of four knots. Belying upon your calculations, I
had no computation of displacement made. I have had some mis-
giving as to her stability as well as sea-worthiness on account of the
abrupt termination of iron to the wooden vessel ; I have thought the
angle should have been filled up with wood thus,
to ease the motion of the vessel in roUing. I be-
lieve when you look into cause and effect you will
come to the same conclusion. But if the whole
thing is to be a failure this will be of little conse-
quence. I am extremely anxious about the success of this battery.
The Qovemment wants some dozen of them if they prove successful.
I want to go to New York, but I am now so afl3ioted with rheumatism
I can but barely walk.
This was a personal letter, and in an official communication
dated the same day Ericsson was reminded that, " You are re-
sponsible for the successful working of your vessel in all its
parts." Three days later it was suggested that the vessel would
prove a failure," as the anxious Commodore had calculated her
a
266 LIFB OF JOHN BKIOSSON.
displacement and found that she would not float. His estimate
of her displaeement was thirteen Iiundred tons ; the actual dis-
placement of the vessel, when launched and in fighting trim,
with her stores, guns, and ammunition on board, was one thou-
sand tons with 321 square feet of immersed midship section.
The Commodore suggested such a change in the vessel as
might in his opinion ^^ save her from the possibility of fail-
ure ; " but which would, in the judgment of her better informed
designer, have sacrificed one of the essential features of his
system.
^^I shall be subjected to extreme mortification," wrote Com-
modore Smith in this letter, ^^ if the vessel does not come up
to the contract in all respects ; having taken for granted as
correct your statement of the power and capacity of the battery,
without going into the calculations of weight and displacement,
and relying on the validity of the contract, I assumed a great
responsibility in recommending in haste (to meet the demands
of the service) your plan. Your specifications state the engine
to have a power of four hundred horse. I am advised that
that power will not give the speed you guarantee. I am awai'e
of your known reputation for scientific and practical skill as an
engineer, hence the reliance I placed upon you."
It does not appear to have occurred to the worthy Commo-
dore that '^ extreme mortification," trying as that must be,
would be one of the least of Ericsson's sufferings if he should
fail in his great undertaking. And more than this, that he
had a claim to honor, and confidence, and consideration beyond
any that mere official position could give him. With an enor-
mous burden upon him, and every minute intensely occupied,
Ericsson was obliged to deprive himself of necessary rest and
sleep that he might act as schoolmaster for the naval veteran,
and guide his timid steps along the path he was himself tread-
ing with the assurance of ripened experience. On October
11th, he sent to Commodore Smith this essay on stability, which
he found frequent occasion to repeat in his after-experience
with naval experts.
I have the honoT of laying before yon the enclosed transverse section
of my battery for the purpose of proving its stability. In order to do this
BUILDING THE FIBST MONITOB. 307
in the simplest xnanneT, the yessel is represented as being heeled over one
foot at the extreme beam. Bf reference to the plan you will find that
at this extent of heeling over, the centre of gravity of the turret with
contents is 8 inches out of perpendicular, while the centre of gravity of
the vessel and machinery, deviates from the perpendicular line If inch
in the opposite direction. The weight of turret being less than one-
third of that of the vessel and machinery, it follows that the latter over-
balances the former, the effect of which is to put the vessel on even
beam. The force required to heel the vessel over as represented on the
plan, you will thus perceive, receives no aid from the leaning of the
turret.
The exact amount of stability we can ascertain by calculating how
much more water is displaced on the low than on the high side of the
vesseL At the heeling over assumed, one foot, that quantity will be half
the area of the vessel at water-line, or ^¥^ = 2,913 cubic feet, which
divided by 85 (cubic feet per ton) gives 88 tons of water displaced on
one side more than on the other. Now, the centre of gravity of the water
thus displaced is Hi feet from the centre line, and hence at that point
it would require a weight of 83 tons to heel the vessel as shown. Were
the weight applied at the extreme beam, 46 tons only would be required
— 16 tons is the weight of 690 men (at 15 men to the ton, the usual aver-
age)— and hence to heel my battery over a single foot, 690 men must
stand at the very extreme of the deck. It will be safe to assert that
there is not now in the service of the United States any vessel of equal
size that can compare in stability to the vessel under consideration.
Commodore Smith's reliance upon Ericsson's ability was not
sufficient, however, to dispel his fears. ^' Excuse me for being
so troublesome," he wrote October 15th, " but my great anxiety
must plead my excuse. I have been nrging the Ordnance De-
partment to famish the guns for your vessel, but the knowing
ones say that the guns will never be used on her." ^^ In a
heavy sea," he wrote again, October 17th, "one side of the bat-
tery will rise out of the water or the sea recede from it, and
the wooden vessel underneath will strike the water with such
force when it comes down or rolls back, as to knock the people
on board ofE their feet." Unconvinced by Ericsson's demonstra-
tions, the Commodore ended the discussion of this branch of
the question by a letter dated October 19, 1861, in which he
said oracularly : " We shall see, I have nothing more to say on
the subject but that the Government will fall back on the con-
tract in case of failure."
But even this comfortable assurance was not sufficient to
268 LIFE OF JOHN BBIOSSOK.
stay his criticism. Returning to the subject October 21st he
said : " Tlie more I reflect upon your battery, the more I am
fearful of her eflSciency." The " overhang " especially was full
of gloomy suggestions, and he was confident that the iron plating
of the battery would settle the sides of the wooden vessel be-
neath ^'so that her deck would after a time become much
curved and finally break."
The prospect of asphyxia for the dwellers on the battery also
disquieted the Bureau Chief. ^' Your plan of ventilation ap-
pears plausible," he wrote, " but sailors do not fancy living under
water without breathing in sunshine occasionally. I propose
a temporary house be constructed on deck which will not in-
crease the weight of the vessel more than eight or ten tons."
In answer to similar complaints of neglect of ventilation the
answer was made that '^ more attention was paid to the ventila-
tion of the first Monitor than to its fighting qualities." Commo-
dore Smith's letters are quoted, not to reflect upon their author,
but to show the encouragement under which Ericsson labored
during this crisis of his life. !Not a single word of good cheer
appears in the series of letters sent to him from Washington,
but he was kept constantly in mind that his fortune and his
reputation would be the forfeit if he failed to fulfil the utmost
letter of his contract. December 5, 1861, came a letter from
the anxious Commodore saying :
" I saw Mr. Everett to-day, who says your turret will not be
ready to leave his shop short of ihhiy days, I beg of you to
push up the work. I shall demand heavy forfeiture for delay
over the stipulated time of completion. Ton have only thirty-
nine days left^'*
The time stipulated in the contract was exceeded a few
days, for Ericsson was not able to telegraph until January
23d that the vessel was ready for launching. Meanwhile
came a letter, dated January 14, 1862, saying, ^' the time
for the completion of the shot-proof battery, according to
the stipulations of your contract, expired on the 12th in-
stant."
If the completion of the Monitor was delayed a few days
beyond the date stipulated in the contract this fact would
seem to be sufficiently accounted for by this communication
BUILDlJ^G THE FIRST MOKITOB. 269
addressed to Commodore Smith by Ericsson Jannary 4, 1862 :
*^ I beg most respectfully to observe that while the principal
outlay has now been incurred in building the battery, only $37,-
500 have as yet been paid by the navy agent, and that amount
was not obtained until five weeks after the presentation of your
order. In view of the large amount of funds thus called for
from private sources, my contemplated organization and opera-
tion by what is called night gangs has been to some extent
frustrated."
The total contract price for the vessel was $275,000, and
this was to be paid in five instalments of $50,000 each and one
of $25,000, twenty-five per cent, being reserved from each pay-
ment as security for the completion of the vessel. The war-
rants for the first of these payments of $37,500 ($50,000
less twenty-five per cent.) was drawn by the Navy Department
l!^ovember 25, 1861, and the others followed one another on
the following dates, viz. : second payment, December 3d ; third,
December 17th ; fourth, January 3, 1862 ; fifth, February 6th.
Finally, March 3d, six days before the %ht at Hampton Boads,
a warrant for the sixth and last payment of $25,000 was drawn.
But the dates drawing the warrants and of the actual receipt
of the money were so widely separated that the fourth pay-
ment was due before the money for the first had actually been
received. This necessitated advances which Mr. Winslow, one
of the associates, was able to make through his official connec-
tion with a bank in Troy.
An estimate in Ericsson's handwriting, dated December 26,
1861, shows that on that date, and thus before the actual re-
ceipt of the first money on Government account, $158,043.42
had been expended on the battery. A portion of this was
represented by bills not yet paid. This amount had increased
on February 11, to $180,168, and there was owing, according to
estimate, $14,832, making the total cost, as estimated at that
date, $195,000. The actual figures were $195,142.60, leaving a
net profit .of $79,857.40. Of this Ericsson received as his one-
fourth $19,964.35, besides $1,000 for engineering services.
This result was due to the fact that he was not only a skilful
engineer but an experienced constioictor and contractor. With
the price of everything changing with the fluctuations of gold.
270 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
and Gk>vemmeDt credit in doubt, it was a hazardons business to
estimate upon Government work.
The Bureau of Yards and Docks showed so strong a dispo-
sition to hold the associates in the building of the Monitor to
the strictest letter of their contract that Mr. Griswold, who was
the banker of the concei-n, naturally became uneasy, and on
February 1, 1862, wrote to Ericsson from Troy, as follows :
I think we should take decided gronud with the Navy Department
that before we place our batteiy ih. their hands (before it passes from
our possession) we must have the amount due us less the twenty-five
per cent, reservation. Unless we do this there is no predicting when
we shall get our pay. They want the battery at once, and if they take
it the least they can do is to pay what is our due. On all considerations
this should certainly he done.
On February 8th the ever-vigilant Commodore Smith wrote
from Washington an official letter, saying :
I shall submit to the Secretary of the Navy whether or not further
payments shall be approved and drawn for before a test of the vessel
shall have been made, as the contract in regard to time has been for-
feited. I trust the test will soon warrant the payment in full, but the
Secretary must decide. I am aware that you have used your best exer-
tions to forward the completion of the vessel
Fortunately the Secretary was liberal in his view of the
case, and on March 5th, four days before the contest in Hamp-
ton Roads, Commodore Smith wrote: "I enclose your bill
for the sixth and last instalment approved for $18,750 ($25,-
000 less twenty-five per cent.), and have this day drawn in favor
of the navy agent at New York for that amount.
The amount reserved was $68,750, and this was not paid,
even by warrant, until March 14, 1862, or nearly a week after
the Monitor had proved her quality in one of the most striking
naval engagements the world has ever known, and the fame of
Ericsson was sounded the world over.
On October 26, 1861, Commodore Smith had written :
You are the last man I desire to contest engineering questions with.
1 am fully aware of your scientific knowledge, skill, and experienoe. In
the matter of the success of the iron-clad vessels, my anxiety is vezy
BUILDING THB FIBST MONITOB. 271
grdai I make suggestions, offer objections wbicli are only intended for
jonr consideration, but in nowise to control jonr action. The respon-
sibility rests with yon, and I wonld not change it if I conld. Excuse
my interference thns far, if I have annoyed yon, and I will be silent in
fntnre.
The anxiety here expressed was shared by the entire Gov-
ernment, and at Washington every stage in the progress of the
vessel toward completion was watched with the keenest inter-
est. The story of the progress of the Confederate ram 72r-
ginia had come through the lines, and if faith in the Moni-
tor was not abounding she was all the country had to depend
upon in the coming contest with the Southern iron-clad. It
was with a sigh of relief no doubt that Ericsson's censor wrote
from the Bureau of Yards and Docks on January 29th, just as
the Monitor was completed :
The Merrimac is out of dock and ready for her trial trip. I think
the wronght-iron shot of the Ericsson battery will smash in her 2^inch
plates, provided she can get near enough to her, while the 9-inch shot
and shells of the Merrimac will not upset your turret. Let us have the
test as soon as possible, for that ship will be a troublesome customer to
our vessels in Hampton Beads.
The criticisms of Commodore Smith, though always well
meant, were sufficiently annoying. In spite of them the high-
est praise is to be given to this gallant sailor for the measure
of faith he had in the Monito7\ and his name will be associated
with Ericsson's as that of one who helped him to his opportun-
ity. The character of the man is illustrated by a story told of
him in the account given by Gideon Welles of his experience
as Secretary of the Navy.
On Sunday March 9, 1862, after the despatch had been
received at Washington to the effect that the Merrimac had
come out of Norfolk and destroyed the Oumlerlcmd and the
Congress lying off Fort Monroe, Secretary Welles returned
from the Department to his home, and stopping at St. John's
Church, in front of the White House, called out Commodore
Smith who was attending service there. He briefly related
what had taken place and finally said that the Congress^ com-
manded by Smith's son, Joseph, had surrendered. ^^ What 1 "
272 LIFE OF JOHN BBIOSSOK.
exclaimed the veteran/^ the Congress surrendered ; then Joe is
dead." The Secretary tried to calm his deep emotion, and told
him that perhaps his son was saved. '^ Oh, no," he exclaimed,
'^ yon don't know Joe as I do — ^he never would surrender his
ship." And he did not. He was killed early in the action and
his flag was struck by other hands. To such a father of such
a son much more might well be forgiven.
CHAPTER XVn.
BATTLE BETWBEN THE HONITOB AND MEBBIMAO.
Professional Ig^ioranoe on the Subject of Armored Vessels. — ^ESriosson's
Mastery of the Subject. — The Monitor Intended for Farragut's Fleet
before New Orleans. — Ordered to Washington. — Stopx)ed en route
at Fort Monroe. — Timely Arrival and Encounter with the Merri-
titoc.— Turns the Tide of Battle.
WHILE the Confederate Government at Bichmond was
paying from its lean treasury the expense of complet-
ing an armor-clad, designed to break the blockade and secure
the much-needed recognition of foreign governments, the
Kavy Department at Washington was trying to save a portion
of its appropriation of a million and a half by throwing
upon an association of private gentlemen the responsibility for
the success or failure of the attempt which it had expressly
sanctioned to meet the impending danger. Our beneficent
Oovemment assumed toward the man who had already ren-
dered the country such essential service the attitude of the
Oriental despot, who sends his soldiers to the field with the
headsman following after as an admonition to zealous service.
It is all very well for Ericsson to commend the promptness
with which the l!^avy Department acted in accepting his ser-
vices. It took good care, through its faithful servant Commo-
dore Smith, to constantly remind him that the risk was his,
and not the Nation's. ^' The Government requires ninety days in
which to test the vessel," wrote the Commodore, September 30,
1861. " So soon as the vessel is ready for service the Govern-
ment will send her on the coast and put her before the enemy's
batteries in the service for which you intend her. No other test
can be made to prove the vessel and her appointments than
that to which both parties agreed to expose her ; in fact, it is
the gist of the intentions of the contracting parties. The plan
274 LIFE Q¥ JOHN ERICSSON.
is novel, and because it is so, the Government requires the de-
signer to warrant its success. Placing the vessel before an
enemy's battery will test its capacity to resist shot and shell —
that is the least of the difficulties I apprehend in the success
of the vessel, but it is one of the properties of the vessel which
you set forth as of great merit. The Government cannot con-
sent to receive the vessel until she shall have been tested in
the manner proposed."
In their report, dated September 16, 1861, the Boai*d pre-
sided over by Commodore Smith had made frank avowal of
ignorance of the subject they were selected to consider, a con-
fession only creditable to them because of its perfect ingenu-
ousness. No such ignorance prevailed in the Confederate
Navy Department, and if the facts were not known at Wash-
ington it was only because our officials there refused to be en-
lightened. In a letter to Commodore Smith's Board, dated
September 3, 1861, Ericsson, speaking from his large experi-
ence, had said :
In laying before you the accompanying plans and specifioations of
an impregnable batteiy for naval purposes I feel called upon to make
the following remarks :
The wrought-iron ordnance of twelve inches caUbre, planned by the
writer already in 1840, practically established the fact that iron plates of
four and one-half inches thickness could not resist projectiles from such
heavy guns. Previous to the experiments at Sandy Hook, which you will
remember were made in 1841 with the ordnance alluded to, I had deter-
mined theoretically that six inches thickness would be required to pro-
tect ships against the same, and that iron-plates without wooden support,
unless made even thicker, could not withstand continued ^ring. Accord-
ingly, the revolving turret of my proposed battery is made eight inches
thick, in addition to which the outward curvature of the turret will on
dynamic considerations materially assist the resisting capability of the
iron. Apart from the great strength of the turret, it should be borne in
mind that but few balls will strike so accurately in the centre of the tur-
ret as not to glance o£f by angular contact. The United States may justly
claim to have been far ahead of the naval powers of Europe, who have
just found out what we demonstrated twenty years ago.
'*In respect to the impregnable nature of the batteiy proposed I.
will not enter on a demonstration before one so experienced as yourself.
It will be all-sufficient merely to ask you to look carefully at the plan.
It will, however, be proper for me to advert to the fact that the iron-clad,
vessels of France and England are utterly unable to resist elongated
BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MEBBIKAO. 275
shot fired from the 12-iiioh guns of the battery. The 4i-inch plates of
La Qloire or the Warrior wonld cmmble like brown paper under the
force of snch projectiles, and at close quarters every shot wonld crash
in the enemy's sides at the water-line. The opposing broadsides wonld
be nothing more than the rattling of x)ebbles on onr cylindrical iron tnr-
ret» which, by the way, we can make twelve inches thick, as we have
some three hnndred tons baoyancy to spare. A small nnmber of these
batteries will make our great Atlantic cities absolutely safe against at-
tack from steel-clad friends on the other side. As for the rebel fleet,
protected by the stolen guns at Norfolk, we can split it into matches in
half an hour ; and as for the rebels at New Orleans, we can go and take
a look at their cotton-bags whenever we please if they had a thousand
gons mounted on the shore of their great river.
So far as concerns the statements relating to the respective
powers of armor and of guns, this was not speculation bat the
sober rehearsal of facts, and of facts which should have been
understood at Washington. The Emperor Napoleon had al-
ready made his experiments, and the results of the trials of
armor and guns at Yincennes, and of those to which Ericsson
called attention, were part of the naval record. The destruc-
tive effect of shell firing against wooden ships had been demon-
strated at Sinope in 1853, and even a quarter of a century
earlier than this by the Kussians during the Greek war of in-
dependence. The naval attack upon Sebastopol had failed^
and the proposed attack upon Cronstadt had been abandoned,
because of the inability of unarmored vessels to stand fire ; while
even the imperfect batteries employed by the French at Ean^
bum, October 17, 1855, had given a foretaste of the quality of
iron-clads.
The necessity for adopting some new form of meeting the '
changed conditions of naval warfare was obvious to every in-
structed observer ; and yet a proposition, coming from an en-
gineer of approved ability in naval construction, and demon-
strated by the strictest application of mathematical formulas,
was objected to because it was ^^ novel." There should have
been ability somewhere in our Naval Administration to deter-
mine the prospective value of Ericsson's plans, and they should
have been either accepted or rejected ; and if accepted, the in-
ventor should have been held but to one condition, which was
the fulfilment of the stipulations of his contract as to the char-
276 LIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
acter of the veBsel he was to present for acceptance. The
of the result was for the Government to undertake, and espe-
cially at such a crisis.
It is marvellous that Ericsson should have accepted such
conditions after the experience he had had of Washington
methods. l!^othing but the spirit to put ^Mife itself" at the
disposal of the Oovemment could have prompted the venture.
Commodore Smith proposed that he should turn his vessel over
to men prejudiced in advance against it, and anxious, not to
demonstrate its value, but to exaggerate to its discredit the ac-
cidents and miscarriages attending the trial of a new and novel
piece of machinery.
It was Providence that decreed the success of the MonUoVj
and not the navy. During the period of peace preceding the
war, our navy ^^ was always grasping at the shadow and leaving
the substance. The commodore of the period was an august
personage who went to sea in a great flag-ship, surrounded by a
conventional grandeur which was calculated to inspire a be-
coming respect and awe. As the years of peace rolled on, this
figure became more and more august, more and more conven-
tional. The fatal defects of the system were not noticed until
1861, when the crisis came, and the Service was unprepared to
meet it ; and to this cause was largely due the feebleness of
naval operations during the first year of the war. There seems
to have been a total want of information at the central office of
administration in reference to the existing demands of naval
war, and the measures necessary to put the machine into ef-
ficient operation." *
What a stiri'ing up of dry bones there would have been
could £ricsson have been given absolute control of naval ad-
ministration I But it was not to be. In spite of all the draw-
backs, perhaps his services were quite as efficient in the sphere
to which he was confined. Thanks to the success attending
him in Hampton Roads, on March 9, 1862, he was able to se-
cure for the United States the unpi*ecedented experience of
producing an entire fieet of war vessels, built on a new system,
and successful for the purpose intended, without expending a
* Profeasor J. R. Solej, now Aflsistant-Seoretar/ of the Nary, in Battles
and Leaders of tlie Civil War, vol. i, p. 628.
BATTLE BETWEEN THE XONITOB AND HERBIHAO. 377
siDgle dollar on preliminary experiments. This, too, while
England and France were wasting millions in nnsnccessfnl ef-
forts to adapt their navy to modern conditions. From the
storehouse of his own fertile invention, his own prolific ex-
perience, Ericsson was able to produce, without hesitation or
delay, every requirement for modern naval warfare. This
record of his experiences has shown how complete was his
equipment for the work in hand — so far exceeding that of any
living man. His difficulties, as we shall see, were not so much
in himself as in the inability of others to understand and apply
his far-reaching conceptions.
Fortunately for the country, as well as for Ericsson, there
was in the Navy Department, as assistant secretary, a gentle-
man, Oustavus Yasa Fox, whose experience as a naval officer
on coast survey duty, in command of mail steamers, and in the
war with Mexico, had given him a knowledge of nautical mat-
ters, and whose five years of civil life had dissevered him from
the traditions and prejudices of the naval profession. It would
appear that Mr. Fox was at first indisposed to accept Ericsson's
ideas on the subject of armored vessels, or at least was more
favorably inclined to those originating in the Navy Depart-
ment
Beporting the results of a visit to Washington, on behalf of
Ericsson's battery, Mr. John F. Winslow wrote from Troy,
January 10, 1862 :
While I cannot say that I found Mr. F. unfriendly, still there was at
first a loftiness of maimer toward us, and a confidenoe ^l the bureau
plan, that was to me amusing ; yet^ finding him to be a really able man,
and of oontroUing influence in matters relating to his bureau, I was de-
termined he should either convert me to the bureau plan, or I would
him to our plan, and therefore devoted all the time I could get him to
appropriate to Uiis object, and after more than five hours' consecutive
discussion of all the points involved, I left him with an admission that
he was only familiar with scaling and defending a ship ; that, as to the
mechanics and architecture incident to a ship or steamer building, he
professed to know but little, and so far as the mechanical and other ar-
rangements of the Ericsson batteiy were concerned, he would concede to
me that it appeared to embody all the features of success, and if on
trial this was demonstrated, ours would be the plan to be adopted. This
was the substance and meaning of his parting assurances to me, and
278 , LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
though it oosc me hours of animated and earnest oolloqnial effort, jet I
made a convert of htm, as I think, and felt abundantly compensated.
This converBion appears to have been complete, for Mr.
Fox soon became Ericsson's earnest champion, and when the
success of his battery was demonstrated, he gave him his un-
varying support, until the termination of his connection with
the Department, in 1866.
Of Mr. Fox, a member of Lincoln's cabinet said :
Fox was really the able man of the administration. He planned the
capture of New Orleans, the opening of the Mississippi, and in general
the operations of the Navy. He had all the responsibility of removing
the superannuated and inefficient men he found in charge, had the
honor of selecting Farragut, and was often consulted by Qeneral Qrant.
He performed all his duties with an eye only to the requirements of the
hour, and with no view to the advancement of any interest of his own.
Mr, entered the service a poor man, and retired with a fort-
une ; Mr. Fox abandoned a profitable position to assist the Government,
and retired from office without a dollar in the world he could call his
own.
It seems to have been the intention at first to send the
Monitor when completed to join the expedition against I^ew
Orleans. For this expedition Farragut received his orders on
January 20, 1862, ten days' before the launching of the MorvUor^
arriving off the month of the Mississippi in his flag-ship Hart-
ford a month later, or after the completion of the battery,
February 6, 1862. Ten days before the battery was finished
Mr. Fox wrote to Ericsson a hasty note, asking :
" Can your Monitor sail (steam) for the Gulf of Mexico by
the 12th inst. ? "
The alarming news of the approaching completion of the
Virgmia at Norfolk soon changed this purpose, for on Wed-
nesday, February 13th, Mr. Winslow wrote from Washington :
" Mr. Fox told us to-day he should be at Fort Monroe on ar-
rival of the battery there, to witness her behavior in passing
the batteries along Elizabeth River and Craney Island on her
way up to Norfolk. He expects she will leave New York early
next week, and that a vessel will be chartered to convey her to
Hampton Boads." A week later, on February 21st, Mr. Fox tel-
BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOK AND MERRIMAO. 279
egraphed to Ericsson from Washington : '^ It is very important
that joa should say exactly the day the Monitor can be at
Hampton Koads. Consult with Commodore Paulding." Lieu-
tenant Worden had hardly left the harbor of New York when
orders came to change the destination of his vessel to Wash-
ington. It was too late ; Commodore Paulding was unable to
overtake him with the tug sent in hot pm'suit. Similar
orders were sent to the senior naval officer at Hampton
Koads, Captain John Marston, U.S.K., but he was wise
enough to disregard tliem, acting upon the military princi-
ple that it is justifiable to disobey an order when it is obvious
that it was given in such ignorance of the facts of the actual
situation, that to carry it out literally would defeat the object
intended.
The Monitor left New York Harbor on the afternoon of
March 6, 1862, in tow of a tug, and accompanied by two naval
steamers, the Ourrittick and Sachem. The wind was moderate
and the sea smooth, but twenty-four hours later both had so
increased that the waves swept the deck and forced the water
in considerable quantities into the vessel through the hawse-
pipes and under the turret, and broke over the smoke-pipe six.
feet high, and the blower pipe, rising here only four feet above
the low deck. This stopped the blowers, and the furnaces hav-
ing insufficient draught, the engine-rooms were filled with gas,
and the engineer, Mr. Isaac Newton, and his assistants were
so nearly suffocated that they were carried into the open air to
the top of the turret, apparently lifeless..
The machinery being temporarily disabled the hand-pumps
were set at work and the men occupied in bailing until a
smoother sea was reached, the blower-bands repaired, and the
machinery once more set in motion. These mishaps were the
result partly of defects in construction easily remedied, and
partly of want of experience in handling so novel a craft. The
only man on board who thoroughly understood the characteris-
tics of the vessel was Chief Engineer Alban C. Stimers, II.S.N.,
the naval inspector of iron-clads, who was on board as a pas-
senger only. The officers were : Lieutenants John L. Worden
and Samuel Dana Greene; Masters, Louis N. Stodder and John
J. N. Webber ; Assistant Surgeon, Daniel C. Logue ; Paymas-
380 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
ter, W. F. Eeeler ; First Assistant Engineer, Isaac Newton ;
Second Assistant Engineer, Albert B. Campbell ; Third Assist-
aut Engineers, B. W. Hands, M. T. Sanstrum. The crew of
forty-three men were volunteers.
The dramatic incidents attending the arrival of the Monitor
at Hampton Eoads, on the evening of March 8th, have been
fully described in contemporary annals. The story was told to
Ericsson in a letter from Mr. Stimers, as follows :
Iron-Olad Monitob,
Hampton Boadb, March 9, 1862.
Mt Dbab Sib : After a stormy passage which proved ns to be the
finest sea-boat I was ever in, we fought the Merrimac for more than
three hours this forenoon, and sent her back to Norfolk in a sinking
condition. Iron-clad against iron-clad, we manoeuvred about the bay
here, and went at each other with mutual fairness. I consider that both
ships were well fought. We were struck twenty-two times, pilot-house
twice, turret nine times, deck three times, sides eight times. The only
vulnerable point was the pilot-house. One of your great logs (nine by
twelve inches thick) is broken in two. The shot struck just outside of
where the captain had his eye, and disabled him by deshroying his left
eye and temporarily blinding the other. The log is not quite in two,
' but is broken and pressed inward one and a half inch. She tried to
run us down and sink us as she did the OumfterfaTUif yesterday, but
she got the worst of it. Her horn passed over our deck, and our sharp,
upper-edged rail cut through the light-iron shoe upon her stem and
well into her oak. She will not try that again. She gave us a tre-
mendous thump, but did not injure us in the least, we were just able
to find the point of contact. The turret is a splendid structure ; I
don't think much of the shield, but the pendulums are fine things,
though I cannot tell you how they would stand the shot, as they were
not hit.
You were vety correct in your estimate of the effect of shot upon
the man on the inside of the turret when it was struck near him. Three
men were knocked down, of whom I was one. The other two had to
be carried below, but I was not disabled at all, and the others recovered
before the battle was over. Oaptain Worden stationed himself at the
pilot-house, Greene fired the guns, and I turned the turret until the
Oaptain was disabled and was relieved by Greene, when I managed the
turret myself, Master Stoddard having been one of the two stunned
men.
Oaptain Ericsson, I congratulate you upon your great success ; thou*
sands here this day bless you. I have heard whole crews cheer you ;
evexy man feels that you have saved this place to the nation by furnish-
BATTLB BETWEEN THE MOKITOB AND MEBBIMAO. 281
ing vs with the means to whip an iron-olad frigate that was, until our
aniTal» having it all her own way with our most powerful yessels,
I am with mnoh esteem,
Very truly yours,
O^nAiN J. EmoBSOK, Albah C. Sumbbs.
95 Franklin Street, New Tork.
In another account Mr. Stimers states that, during part of
the voyage the sea was so high that the gunboats acting as
convoys rolled so much that when they careened in one direc-
tion he could see under the bilge, and when the deck was tow-
ard him he could look down the main hold. ^^ The motion
of the Monitor was so easy and quiet that a glass inkstand
stood upon a polished mahogany case on the table in the
Captain's cabin, during the entire voyage, without slipping.
At the same time the sea washed over the deck in the most
terrific manner. All hands were at one time driven to the
top of the turret by the escaping gas from the furnace fires.
During the night the wire tiller ropes came off the wheel,
and all hands were occupied during most of the night in
hauling on the ropes by hand and readjusting them on the
wheel."
The " Greene '' referred to in Mr. Stimers' letter was Lieu-
tenant S. Dana Greene, a young officer of the Navy then in his
twenty-third year. He had volunteered to go in the Monitor,
notwithstanding the many gloomy predictions concerning her,
and had been ordered to ^cr as executive officer at the request
of Lieutenant Worden. Li his account of the voyage of the
Monitor to Hampton Boads, Lieutenant Greene says :
We left Now Tork in tow of the tug-boat Beth Low at 11 a.ic on
Thursday, March 6th. On the following day, a moderate hreeze was en-
countered, and it was at once erident that the Monitor was unfit as a sea-
going craft. Nothing but the subsidence of the wind prevented her
from being shipwrecked before she reached Hampton Boads. The
berth-deck leaked in spite of all we could do, and the water came down
under the turret like a waterfall. It would strike the pilot-house and
go over the turret in beautiful curves, and come through the narrow eye-
holes of the pilot-house with snch force as to knock the helmsman com-
pletely round from the wheel • • . The water continued to pour
through the hawse-hole, and over and down the smoke-stacks and blower-
282 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
pipes in saoh quantities that there iras inuninent danger thai the ahip
wonld fonnder.*
It was evident that lieutenant Greene did not agree with
Engineer S timers' estimate of the Monitor as a fine sea-boat,
and in an official report to the Department, March 27, 1862,
he said : '^ I do not consider this steamer a sea-going vessel.
During her passage from New York her roll was very easy
and slow, not at all deep. 8he pitched very little and with no
strain whatever. 8he is buoyant, and not very lively. The
inconveniences we experience can be easily remedied. But
she has not the steam power to go against a head-wind or
sea. • . . For smooUi water operations, such as she was
engaged in on the 9th inst., I think her a most desirable ves-
sel.^'
In criticising a similar discrepancy of statement between
the engineer and the commander of a later Monitor, concern-
ing the injuries received by his vessel, Ericsson said : ^'I should
rather trust to the judgment of a skilfnl practical engineer as to
the real damage done, than to the opinion of the gallant com-
manders of these vessels, most of whom know nothing of
mechanical matters. It has often given me pain to think that
our fighting machines are entrusted to officers who know noth-
ing of mechanics, and therefore have no confidence in their
vessels."
In replying to Lieutenant Greene's criticisms upon the
Jfontior^ he explains that he intended the sight-holes in the
pilot-house to be five-eighths of an inch wide, affording a verti-
cal view eighty feet high at a distance of only two hundred
yards, and this his experiments had shown him was sufficient.
A subsequent alteration in the sight-holes, accounted for the
entrance of water, and for the injury done to the sight of the
commander of the MoniioTy by the explosion of a shell from
the muzzle of a gnn not ten yards distant.
Fortunately, the impression that the sight of one eye was
destroyed was incorrect, though Worden will carry the scars
of this fight with him to his grave. The turret of the Monitor
was not carried on revolving rollers, but pivoted on the centre
* Battles and Leaden of the GivU War, toL L, p. 721.
BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MEBBIKAO. 283
and slid on the smooth surface of a flat, broad ring of bronze,
let in on the deck. Before the vessel left New York, some '^ ex-
pert " at the Brooklyn Navy Yard inserted a plaited hemp rope
between the base of the turret and the bronze ring, to shut out
the small amount of water entering there. It was expected
that water would work its way through, as it was impossible
to make a water-tight joint under a revolving turret, and
pumps were provided to remove what little water entered. It
was necessary to widen the space between the turret and its
base in order to make room for the rope packing, and as this
washed out the result was the leak around the whole circum-
ference of the turret, sixty-three feet, referred to by Mr. Greene,
through which ^^ the water came down under the turret like a
waterfall." The entrance of water through the hawse-pipe was
not due to faulty construction ; it resulted, Ericsson declared,
^^ from gross oversight on the part of the executive officer —
namely, in going to sea without stopping the openings around
the chain cable at the point where it passes through the side
of the anchor- well." * During the passage from New York, the
working gear of the turret was permitted to rust for want of
proper cleaning and oiling, and it worked with so much diffi-
culty during the engagement with the Merrimao that, but for
the energy and determination of Engineer Stimers, it might
not have revolved at all.
These are Ericsson's explanations, and such were some of
the difficulties with which he contended in proving the value
of his invention at the outset. Again, the timid ordnance of-
ficers at Washington insisted on limiting to fifteen pounds the
charge with the eleven-inch guns which was subsequently in-
creased to fifty pounds. The wrought-iron shot intended for
the vessel were not used. But for these departures fi'om the
design of Ericsson, Worden could have accomplished the ex-
pected result of splitting ^' the rebel fleet into matches in half
an hour."
The veteran officer in command of the Merrimac^ Admiral
Buchanan, C.S.N., had been badly wounded by a rifle ball
from the shore, during the fight of the day before with the
* 866 Ericsson's article- on '*The Building of the MonUor^^ in Battles and
Leaders of the GivU War, vol. L, p. 780.
284 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
wooden yeseels in Hampton Boads. His snccessor in command,
Lieutenant Catesby Ap B. Jones, says of the Monitor : ^^ She
and her turret appeared to be under perfect controL Her
light draught enabled her to move about us at pleasure. She
once took a position for a short time where we could not bring
a gun to bear upon her. Another of her movements caused us
great anxiety ; she made for our rudder and propeller, both of
which could have been easily disabled. We could only see her
guns when discharged; immediately afterward the turret re-
volved rapidly, and the guns were not again seen until they
were fired. We wondered how proper aim could be taken in
the very short time the guns were in sight. It did not appear
that our shell had any effect on the Monitor, Musketry was
fired at the look-out holes. She fired forty-one shots.'* * No
serious damage was done to his vessel, he reports.
^^ A Confederate soldier, who from a safe position saw the
fight," describing his experience, says :
And now we are at Newport News. The frigate Cumberland is struck
below the starboard forechains ; she reels, rolls, and goes down. And
the flag of the Congress comes down by the ran ; soon she will make a
brilliant bonfire to iUnminate the Beads. And now for the Minnesota.
But just here the pilots insist upon bringing to anchor while jet the
daylight lasts. Our anchor is down under Sewell's Point, our ship un-
scratched by a pin. The fire of the Cumberland had killed two men and
wounded five, and had also carried away the muzzles of two guns, but
we never ceased firing them and the damage was wholly immaterial.
In the early morning, Jones gets under way to finish the Minnesota.
We soon desoiy a strange-looking iron tower, sliding over the waters
toward us, and we dash at it. It is the Monitor^ which during the pre-
yious night had come in from sea, and which by the light of the bum-
ing Congress had been seen and reported by one of our pilots.
Nearly two hours have passed, and many a shot and shell have been
exchanged at close quarters With no perceptible damage to either. The
Virginia is diBCouragingly cumbrous and unwieldy. . To wind her for
each broadside fire, fifteen minutes are lost ; while during all this time,
the Monitor is whirling around and about like a top, and by the easy
working of her turret, and her precise and rapid movement, elicits the
wondering admiration of all. She is evidently invulnerable to our
shell.
Our next movement is to run her down. We ram her with all our
* Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. zi., p. 91.
BATTLE BETWEEN THE MONITOB AND MEBBIMAO. 286
force. But she is so flat and broad that she merely slides away from
under onr stem, as a floating door would slip away from under the oni-
water of a barge ; all that we could do was toptuh her. Jones now de-
termines to board her ; to choke her turret in some way and lash her to
the Virginia, The blood is rushing through our yeins while the shrill
pipes and hoarse roar of the boatswains call " Boarders away 1 " But lo I
our enemy has hauled o£F into shoal water, where she is as safe from our
ship as if she were on the topmost peak of the Blue Bidge. Ten feet
of water against twenty-two. The smoke from our g^un was yet floating
lazily away when Catesby Jones remarked to the writer : ** The destruc-
tion of those wooden vessels was a matter of course, but in not captur-
ing that iron-clad, I feel as if we had done nothing ; " and yet, he added,
" give me that vessel and I would sink this one in twenty minutes."
Every watch officer in our squadron would engage, under the forfeiture
of his head, with a monitor to sink a Virginia every thirty minutes from
dawn to dewy eve. And this is said in no spirit of boasting. A Nelson
or a GoUingwood, finding the enemy's upper works invulnerable, might
have tried the lower ones ; they certainly would have done something
with the divine inspiration of genius to make the best ship win. But
then. Nelsons and GoUingwoods only apx)ear every century or two.
The Monitor was fought with plenty of spirit. She was also fought
with a plentiful lack of judgment and common-sense, and ordnance-
sense. The great radical blunder was in failing to concentrate her fire.
In two instances a second shot, striking near the first, weakened our
shield and caused the backing to bulge inward, and made it very manifest
that a third or fourth shot would have gone through. In these cases the
shot were delivered upon the strongest part of our roof ; and if they had
struck her at water-line, where there was no protection whatever for the
hull (for be it remembered that she had no knuckle), they would have
gone through her as if she had been of paper. A fighting, wide-awake
seaman makes the enemy's water-line his first target, and that proving
invulnerable, the guns and the guns' crew the second. Now, the enor-
mous weight of her shield and battery kept the Virginia all the time
just hovering between floating and sinking ; a very few tons of water
through the hole made by two, or even one, well-aimed shot from the
splendid eleven-inch gun of the Monitor, and the Virginia would have
gone to the bottoqi in five minutes.
With such a gun, and at such short range, it would be no great feat
for an intelligent side-boy to plant his shot every time in the space cov-
ered by an ordinary straw hai The Virginia was so large a mark that
almost every shot struck her somewhere ; but they were scattered over
the whole shield on both sides, and were therefore harmless. To point
her gun in our direction and fire on the instant, without aim or motive,
ax>peared to be the object. The turret revolving rapidly, the gun dis-
appears only to repeat in five or six minutes the same hurried and
necessarily aimless, unmeaning fire. She could assume and keep what-
386 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
ever position she pleased, for with her short keel and fine engines she
oould play around us like a rabbit around a sloth. Onoe during the
fight she took such a position that we oould not bring a single g^un to
bear on her. Why did she not with common-sense keep it, and with
perfect security, deliberately plant her shot where she pleased, almost
to an inch ?
She fired, all told, during the fight forty-one shots (taking her time,
about one fire in six minutes), and any three of them properly aimed
would have sunk us, and yet the nearest shot to the water-line was over
four feet. Our rudder and propeller were wholly unprotected, and a
slight blow from her stem would have disabled both and ended the
fight. Every time the Virginia went to cruise in the Beads under Tat-
nall we bade her an affectionate good-by, we never expected to see her
again. In short, considering that at noon on March 8, 1862, the Mani*
tor was by ilnmense odds the most formidable vessel of war on this
planet, and that our ship was comparatively a ship of glass, and that,
doing us no harm and wholly unharmed herself after four mortal hours
of battie, she runs away and gives us the fight, it is impossible to oon«
ceive in what manner she could have been more inefficiently fought.*
^^If that splendid invention, as we freely admit she was for
smooth water, had been fought as she ought to have been," this
writer concludes, ^^ it might have saved tliem 50,000 men. En-
gaging our handful with a few brigades, McOlellan might have
walked past ns to Kichmond with the rest of his army almost
any morning before breakfast."
In justice to the officers commanding the Monitor^ First
Lieutenant Worden and then Lieutenant Greene, it should be
remembered that they were forced into a fight immediately
upon their arrival in Hampton Koads, after a fatiguing sea voy-
age, under singularly trying circumstances, and with a vessel
whose peculiarities they had no time to investigate. * All the
men," wrote Isaac Newton, the engineer of the vessel, " were
nearly exhausted. I, for one, was sick on my back, with but
little hopes of being up in a week, but a short time before the
action." " The Merrimcu)^^ he further says, " was entirely in
our power when she hauled off, but orders were imperative to
act on the defensive." The commander of the Merrimac^
Catesby Jones, testified before a naval court that the Monitor
ought to have sunk his vessel in fifteen minutes. Mr. Alban
*Wm. Norris in Southern Magazine, Baltimore, November, 1874, pp.
181, 182.
BATTLB BETWEEN THE MONITOR AKD MEBBIMAO. 287
C. Stimers, speaks of meeting Mr. Jones many times after the
war, and talking over the engagement. On the last occasion,
said Mr. Stimers (1872), he remarked : ^^ The war has been
over a good while now, and I think there can be no harm in
my saying to you that, if you had hit us twice more as well as
you did the last two shots you fired, you would have sunk
us.''*
John 8. Porter, naval constructor of the Confederate States,
reported that after the engagements of March 8 and 9, 1862,
he put the Virginia on the dry dock, and found she had ninety-
seven indentations on her armor from shot, twenty of which
were from the 11-inch guns of the Monitor. Six of her top
layers of plates were broken by the Monitor^s shot, and none
by those of the wooden vessels. None of the lower layer of
plates were injured.
Mr. Newton's statement concerning the defensive rdle of
the Monitor is fully confirmed by Assistant Secretary Fox.
In a letter to Captain Ericsson, he says : '^ I wrote the order
forbidding the Monitor going into the upper roads to meet the
Merrimao. Why? Because I had pledged McClellan that
the Merrinuu) should not disturb his milltaiy manoeuvres, and
to that obligation all naval operations were subordinate. We
fulfilled our duty, and kept her in until she committed ' hari
kari.' " President Lincoln had also given orders that the Mon-
itor should take no risks that could be avoided.
While the contest in Hampton Beads served to direct the
attention of all the world to the necessity for making a com-
plete change in naval armaments, it did not fully illustrate the
possibilities of the monitor system. When his vessel had
passed from the hands of Ericsson, it was beyond his control,
lie had done his part in furnishing an impregnable floating
battery, carrying guns that were equal to the task of destroy-
ing the enemy's vessel ; he could do no more. The wave of
rejoicing which swept over the North was due not so much to
the achievement of the Monitor^ fought as she was, as to the
sense of relief at the discovery that the Government had under
its control at least one vessel that could not be destroyed by
* Letter of Alban G. Stamen to Isaac Newton, dated New York, Decern'
ber 15, 1876.
388 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
the Merrmuic. The timid counsels prevailing at Washington,
prevented the contest from being bronght to the issue which
Ericsson intended. Though the necessities of the times may
have required this, the result was not less disappointing to
him.
^y The Monitor only appears upon the scene/' says the Con-
federate writer here quoted, ^^ after we have been on the ram-
page for a whole day; have cleared out everything in the
Boads — men-of-war, transports, traders, and have done the
enemy all possible injury, material and moraL Stocks fall
ten per cent, in an hour, gold rises faster, and such a panic pre-
vails as was never known before or since."
Secretary Welles, describing a cabinet meeting called by Mr.
Lincoln on receipt of the news of the first day's disaster, says :
^^ Mr. Stanton said : * ^ The Merrimac will change the whole
character of the war ; she will destroy, seriatim^ every naval
vessel ; she will lay all the cities on the seaboard under contri*
bution. I shall immediately recall Bumside ; Port Royal must
be abandoned. I will notify the governors and municipal au-
thorities in the North to take instant measures to protect their
harbors. I have no doubt that the monster is at this minute
on her way to Washington, and ' — looking out of the window
which commanded a view of the Potomac for many miles —
* not unlikely we shall have a shell or a cannon-ball from one of
her guns in the White House before we leave the room I ' Mr*
Seward, usually buoyant and self-reliant, overwhelmed with
the intelligence, listened in responsive sympathy to Stanton, and
was greatly depressed, as indeed were all die members."
It is true that the Confederate writer claims the victory for
the Virginia in this battle: a battle described by him as
^^ revolutionizing in an instant the whole science of naval war-
fare ; more memorable than any sea-fight of histoiy, more
pregnant of consequences," and one to be '^ remembered to the
latest posterity as the prominent naval event of our times."
This is not worth disputing over. The prestige of victory was
with the ifonitor^ and it is that vessel, and not the Merrimac^
that revolutionized naval ideas and influenced naval construc-
tion. The one was a rude machine hastily improvised to
^ Well68*B Linooln and Seward.
• • • »
•••
• •••
• * • a
BATTLE BBTWESN THE IfONITOB AND HEBBIMAO. 289
meet an emergency ; the other the expression of the carefully
matured plans of the ablest and most experienced worker in
the field of naval construction. The Virginiciy* a few weeks
later, and without doing further damage, sank beneath the
waters of Chesapeake Bay, to be thenceforth remembered only
as the antagonist of the Monitor ; Ericsson's Battery estab-
lished a type whose influence upon naval construction has not
yet passed away.
^^ The MonUary^ said Admiral Luce, in a paper read before
the Naval Institute, April 20, 1876, ^^ was the crystallization of
forty centuries of thought on attack and defence, and exhibited
in a singular manner the old Norse element of the American
Navy ; Ericsson (Swedish, son of Eric) built her ; Dahlgren
(Swedish, hranch of a vaUey) armed her ; and Worden (Swe-
dish, wordig^ worthy) fought her. How the ancient skalds
would have struck their wild harps in hearing such names in
heroic verse 1 How they would have written them in ^ im-
mortal runes 1 ' ^
** So of the Monitor^ Minotaur old Mr. Quincy said to me
it should have been, in its appearance in part of the great meg-
alosaums or deinotherium, which came out in scaly armor that
no one could pierce, breathing fire and smoke from its nostrils ;
is it not the age of fable and of heroes and demigods over
again ? " f
* This Teflsel is indifferently known as the Merrimac or VirgMa, She
was the U.S. screw steamer Merrimae of 8,200 tons, 40 guns, built in 1866,
and captured with Norfolk, Va., 1861. When she was rs^y^d and converted
into an armored vessel, she was reohristened VirginitL
f See Letter of Oliyer Wendell Holmes^ in The Gorrespondenoe of John
Lothrop Motle/.
CHAPTER XVm.
THB SUCX:SSS OF THB MONIIOB.
OongiBinlationB and Applause Following the Snooess of the Monitar.'-^
Delight of the Swedes. — Letter from Mrs. Ericsson. — Ericsson's
only Speech. — His Chagrin at the Drawn Battle between the Moni-
tor and the Merrimac — ^Exaggerated Hopes and Fears on both
Sides.
F>LLOWING the succeBs of the Monitory there swept in
upon Ericsson a great tide of congratulation and applause.
All of the " lojal ^ papers were filled with praises of him and
glorification of his Monitor^ and of her officers and crew.
^^ The joyous news was flashed through the ^orth^ and now
from Congress and State Legislatures, now from Chambers of
Oommerce and Boards of Trade, now from public meetings
and societies convened for the purpose, thanks and laudations
were poured upon the Monitor — ^Ericsson, her inventor, Wor-
den, her commander, Greene, her executive officer, Kewton,
her chief engineer, Stimers, the engineer detailed to accompany
and report upon her, and who worked the turret. All the
officers, in short, and the crew shared the honors. The Presi-
dent, members of his cabinet, many of the diplomatic corps,
officers of both services, and ladies too, crowded to see the new
engine of warfare and to view with their own eyes the place of
the conflict of Hampton Boads."
Stimers wrote from on board the Monitor in ELampton
Beads, Mai'ch 13, 1862 : ^^ You can form no idea of how very
grateful the thousands of people here are to you for having
produced this vessel. General Wool " (then commanding the
Department of Virginia, with headquarters at Fort Monroe)
^' told me he considered you the greatest man living. General
Mansfield said to me that our battle was of more importance
than if the whole army of the Potomac had moved success-
I'HE SUGGBSS OF THE HONITOB. 291
fally against the enemy. We are remarkably popular on shore
here, and I confess it made me very proud when such men as
General Wool and General Mansfield grasped me by the hand
with both their own, and told me they were very proud to make
my acquaintance."
Ericsson's personal friends were naturally delighted at find-
ing all the world joining with them in proclaiming his masterly
ability, already shown in so many ways but so imperfectly
recognized. " God bless you, Captain," wrote Professor Mapes,
on the day after the fight ; ^^ you have long deserved the grati-
tude of mankind, and now you have been able to appeal to the
keenest nerve of human susceptibility and they can no longer
withhold the full measure of praise so long and so justly due
to your genius and assiduity."
From Home, John O. Sargent wrote, March 31, 1862 :
Private letters reoeived here state that both Washington and New
York were in a state of great consternation when it was known that the
Cumberland and Congress had been sunk, and that the relief when the
achievement of the Monitor was known was indescribable. Your tri-
xmiph has been complete. The opinion is generally entertained here
that yon were on board. I hope not. It is an awfnl pill for John Bull.
The Times is sneaking about it as usual, and gives the world to under-
stand that the Merrimac was only disabled by " another iron-clad frigate "
— ^not wishing it to appear that this little gunboat would handle the
Warrior or La Qloire as well as the Merrimac. Epes wrote me on March
11th, that the one name on everybody's lips for the last two days has been
Ericsson's. Ericsson is hailed as the great deliverer. The old fogies who
have opposed him are humbled and silenced. Hurrah I The salvation
of fleets was never carried in so small a compass before. What would not
the Merrimac have done but for the timely appearance of the Monitor ?
Two years later Mr. Sargent wrote from Paris that no
other event of the war had created more excitement and inter-
est in Europe.
From Ericsson's native land came numerous congratulations,
and these he valued most highly. The Consul of the United
States at Stockholm wrote to the Department of State at
Washington, saying:
I have the honor to inform you that the delight of the Swedes in re-
gard to the success of the Monitor in her combftt with the Merrimac is
202 LIFE OF JOHN EBI08S0N.
manifesting itself to-day on 'Change, by the muring of a subscription
for a large and splendid gold medal which is intended to be transmitted
to America and presented to Mr. Ericsson, the constructor of the Monu
tor. The Swedish Qovemment has had for some time the intention of
enlarging her navy, and for this purjKMe has had in existence a com-
mittee of scientific gentlemen, whose duty it was to examine and report
upon the best and most practical character of ships for construction ; but
the result of the action between the Monitor and the Merrimac has sud-
denly brought the labors of the committee to a stand, and they have
determined to make no report until the result of further trials with
Ericsson's invention are made known. The contest above alluded to has
proved most fortunate for Sweden, as it has undoubtedly saved her an
immense outlay in a comparatively useless direction ; hence the Swedes
and the Swedish (Government have good reason to be truly thankful to
Mr. Ericsson and the American (Government, for having inaugurated a
principle which will in the end save them so much money.
Among Ericsson's English friends was Sir Charles Fox, to
whom he had given his first employment as a civil engineer,
who was subseqnently knighted for his work in connection with
the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, 1851, and whose name is
connected with many extensive railroads and other engineering
works. From London Sir Charles sent his greetings to his
old friend. Baying :
Spbino Gabdbk, London, June 6, 1869.
Mt Dbab Sib : I have been wishing to write to you for some time
past, to offer you my congratulations on the success of the JIfonttor,
which I assure you afforded me much satisfaction, as in fact anything
would do which tended to advance the welfare of one whose friendship
I shall always look back upon with much satisfaction as having been
manifested at a period when it was of the greatest value to me and in so
disinterested a manner. Not long since I went to post a letter at Char-
ing (3ross, when at the same moment a lady also dropped a letter into the
box. We accidentally looked at each other, when I saw that I was recog-
nized, and upon looking more closely I found myself face to face with
Mrs. Ericsson, whom I had not seen for many years. I at once received
the kindest invitation to call upon her at her residence at Kensington, of
which I was not long in availing myself, and was pleased to find your wife
in a small, but very comfortable and nicely furnished cottaga We spoke
much of you, and I was not a little pleased with the kind expressions with
regard to you which I listened to as they fell from her lips. Mrs. Erics-
son iif delighted at your success and reads every account of the Jfont-
ior with the deepest interest, and is still venturing to hope that you
THE SUOCESS OF THE IfONITOB. 29o
will one day return to England, and afford her the opportunity of again
proving the affection which she haa ever cherished for yon.
If you can, without trouble, occasionally forward me a paper contain-
ing anything of interest respecting yourself, by doing so you will confer
a faror on Your faithful friend,
Qhabub Foz.
Mrs, Ericsson sent her own congratulations as f oUows :
No. 9, OAinsnjxQ Plaob, Glouob»tsb Boad,
Kensington Gatb, April 2, 1862.
I duly reoeived the illustrated paper announcing the most surpris-
ing intelligence of the result of your genius, which I think has startled
all Europe. Your triumph has at length arrived, at a crisis which must
make your heart palpitate with a pride and joy almost too exquisite to
endure. You are now on an eminence from which you can survey with
$com those in Euroi>e who never gave you a fair field for your talents.
The Tifnes* leading article is fraught with the subject of your success,
and it has come like a thunderbolt upon all nations and I think has
truly verified what you stated in your last letter, '* that England would
shortly tremble ** at the revolution which would take place in waif^ure.
Probably you doubt my assurance when I tell you that my gratifica-
tion at your triumph over all the world makes my nights sleepless with
excitement, and though in reality I am not tangibly identified with it, I
am in heart and soul made happy. The word of praise from me would
f aU listlessly on your ear when all are proclaiming your achievements, so
good taste dictates I should be silent ; yet, notwithstanding, my sympa-
thies are fully enlisted. My prayer for your success has been granted by
Providence for this proud climax of your reputation, and I feel sure
soon in the midst of the tumultuous roar of praise and idolatry by which
you are surrounded a stray thought of yours will waft its way to my
home.
You are by this time in possession of mine of March 19th« to which
I trust soon to have an answer. With earnest wishes that your health
may be preserved and that every happiness may attend you, I am as
ever, Amrtja.
P. S. — ^A thousand thanks for your kindness in sending me the
paper.
This letter is interesting, not only as a part of Ericsson's
history at this period but because of the light it throws npon
his relations to his wife. The correspondence between them
had reference chiefly to his remittances for her support, but it
was constant, and occasionally illuminated by flashes of the old
affection which seems never to have died out from the heart of
294 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
either. All the letters from Mrs. Ericsson found among her
hasband's files are endorsed in his handwriting ** Duck," the
familiar name by which she was known to him and to her fam-
ily. She was a woman of great kindness of heart but wayward
in disposition. They parted with mntnal consent, and as she
would not come to the United States, and he could not return to
England, they never met again.
March 28, 1862, the 37th Congress, during its second ses-
sion, passed this joint resolution :
Resolved by the Senate and House of Bepresentatives of the United States cf
America in Congress assembled^
That it is fit and proper that a public acknowledgment be made to
Captaio John Ericsson, for his enterprise, skill, enei^, and forecast, dis-
played by him in the construction of his iron-olad boat the Monitor,
which, under gallant and able management, came so opportunely to the
rescue of our fleet in Hampton Boads, and perchance, of all our coast
defences near, and arrested the work of destruction then being success-
fully prosecuted by the enemy with their iron-clad steamers, seemingly
irresistible by any other power at our command — and that the thanks of
Congress are hereby presented to him for the great serrice which he
has thus rendered to the country.
The Legislature of New York also passed resolntions thank-
ing Ericsson for his great services to the country. These were
handsomely engrossed on parchment, set in a fine gilt frame
on which were depicted the Monitor and its construction, and
presented by a committee of six members of the Legislature.
They ever after hung in a place of honor in Ericsson's honse.
Some of the leading engineering establishments and shipbuild-
ing firms also presented a magnificent model of the Monitor
made of gold, weighing upward of fourteen pounds and costing
$7,000. The entire detail of the turret, the machinery, eta,
was represented in this model. It proved a white elephant,
however, as its presentation established a ^^ claim " upon the
part of the artist, and after expending $4,000 in answering
these demands, and in keeping this valuable piece of plate in-
sured. Captain Ericsson finally sent it to the goldsmith's to be
melted up. It yielded $600 for its metal and the proceeds
were devoted to charity.
THB SUOOESS OF THE MONITOR. 296
Immediately npon the receipt of the news from Hampton
Beads a special meeting of the Chamber of Oommerce of the
City of New York was called for March 12, 1862. Ericsson
was invited to attend, and he received the warmest possible
greeting when he entered the Chamber under the escort of one
of the members, Mr. Prosper W. Wetmore, on whose motion
he was nnanimoaslj chosen an honorary member. The Cham-
ber then adopted with great enthusiasm these resolutions offered
by Mr. Charles Gould :
Besohedf That the Chamber of Oommeroe of the State of New York
gratefully recognize, and desire to place on record, their profound senae
of the obligations under which Captain Ericsson has placed the people
of the United States. To his genius and activity is due their salvation
from a national disgrace, and disasters for which otherwise there could
have been no remedy.
Eesohedt That the floating battery Monitor deserves to, and will be
forever mentioned with gratitude and admiration.
Resolved^ That the Chamber of Commerce expect that the (Jovem-
ment of the United States will make to Captain Ericsson such suitable
return for his inestimable services as will evince the gratitude of a great
nation.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, duly certified, be for-
warded to Captain Ericsson and to the President of the United States.
Captain Ericsson was called npon and delivered a speech —
the only one by him found upon record. A report of this is
entered in the Minutes of the Chamber of Commerce as fol-
lows :
Captain Ericsson, during his remarks, aUuding to the vojage of the
Monitor to Fortress Monroe, said :
I cannot permit this opportunity to pass without saying that I look
upon the success of that as being entirely owing to the presence of a
master-mind [Mr. Stimers]. The men were new; their passage had
been veiy rough, and the master had to put lus vessel right under the
heaviest guns that were ever worked on shipboard. It is evident that
but for the presence of a master-mind on board of that vessel, that suc-
cess could not have been achieved. Captain Worden, no doubt, ac-
quitted himself in the most masterly manner. But eveiything was
quite new. He felt quite nervous before he went on board. The fact
that the bulwark of the vessel was but one foot above the water-line
was enough to make him so. When I was before the Naval Committee
the grand objection was that in sea-way the vessel would not work. I
296 LIFB OF JOHN BBICS80N.
g»Te it as my opinion that it wonld prove the most easy- working in
way, and it is an excellent sea boat. The men are supplied with fresh
air, thongh there is no opening except through the turret, by means of
blowers worked by the engines, and they are perfectly comfortable.
They can remain in the top of the turret in the sea-way ; it is sixty feet
in circumference — quite a promenade. Hiough the deck is but a foot
above the water-line, the top of the turret is nine feet above ; and here
is the important point, that this vessel is in the seii-way perhaps the
safest vessel ever built. It takes six hundred and seventy thousand
pounds to bring her down. There can be no danger of her swamping.
It is very much like a bottle with a cork in it.
In relation to the point whether the MonUor is capable of taking care
of the Merrimac, let me say that she would have sunk the Merrimac but
for the fact of her having fired too high. If they had kept off at a dis-
tance of two hundred yards, and held the gun exactly level, the shot
would have gone clear through. But Mr. Stimers had the g^uns ele-
vated a little, and the roof of the Merrimac is so strong that the balls
rebounded* Next time they encounter the Merrimac they will have the
guns level, and they won't mind if the ball strikes the water, because
the ricochet will take it where they want it. The next time they go
out I predict the third round will sink the Merrimac
There is another great point. They had fifty wronght-iron shot
which were not used. Captain Dahlgren issued i>eremptory orders that
they should not be used, and they obeyed those orders. Now, a wrought-
iron shot is one thing, and a cast-iron shot is another. A wronght-iron
shot cannot break. The side-armor of the Merrimac is insufficient to
resist it. Hie channel is very narrow, and the Merrimac must follow
it. But the Monitor can go anywhere and take the very best position.
The mercliants of Kew York might well do honor to the
constructor of the Monitory for through his instrnmeDtalitj
their anxious dreams of the destruction of their wealth had
been set at rest, and tlieir hope of final yietory over the rebel-
lious States revived. The news of the repnlse of the Merrir-
moo had followed hard upon a despatch of Greneral Wool to
the authorities at Washington, annonncing that probably both
the Minnesota and Si. LoAJorence would be captured, and say-
ing : ^' It was thought that the Merrimac and Ja/mestovm and
Yorktown would pass the fort to-night [Sunday, March 8th].
It was also admitted that if the Merrimac prepared to attack
the fort it would be only a question of a few days when it must
be abandoned." As the Comte de Paris says in his history of
our war ;
THE 8U00ESS OF THS HOKITOB. 297
*^ All the preyisions of the Federals, founded upon the supe-
rioritj of their magnificent fleet of wooden vessels, would have
disappeared with the Otcmberland and the Congress. The war
would have changed front, and the Confederate flag, opening a
new era in marine warfare, would easily have raised the block-
ade which prevented the Slave States from f reelj procuring
supplies in Europe."
A member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, famil-
iar with the circumstances of that time, afterward wrote to
Ericsson, saying :
I recall the situation in which this city was placed in the opening
weeks of the war growing out of the Rebellion, and when on several
occasions the Mayor of New York (Mr. George Opdyke) called together
in oonnoil some of its trusted citizens, eminent in various callings, to
devise means for defending its approaches. The best plan that could
be suggested was to form '* rafts " or ^ floats " of timber which should oc-
cupy the channels and be held in place by anchorage and chains. For
this purpose and to this end considerable sums of money were unof-
ficially expended. It was not then made known to them that you were
engaged on your first monitor — and even had it come to their knowl-
edge, it is doubtful whether, with their lack of scientific information,
their fears would have been allayed.
When the final hour of trial came, and the best efforts of the navy
had been uselessly expended against the Merrimac (the source of all our
anxiety), then it was that the Monitor, almost unknown, with its magic
presence appeared to give victory to our arms and forever make secnre
our harbors from a foreign attack. The controlling power of other ves-
sels, soon after constructed on ihe Monitor plan, redeemed our navy
from the inefficiency and contempt with which it was regarded by our
enemies, as well as the naval powers of the world.
" Great was the joy in the North,^' says another chronicle
of the times, ^^ when news came that the Monitor had turned
the current of affairs, but greater yet was it in Washington
where boats were la^en with stone to be sunk in the channel,
in case the Merrvmao destroyed her adversaries.''
Lieutenant (afterward Admiral) Worden, who commanded
the Monitor, was much disturbed by Ericsson's speech at the
Chamber of Commerce. Two years after the fight, Ericsson's
associate, John A. Griswold, said, in a letter dated from the
national House of Representatives : ^^ I have just had a call from
298 UFB OF JOHN XRIOSSON.
Captain Worden. He thinkB yoa did him injuBtioe in your
Chamber of Commerce remarks for the sake of oomplimenting
Stimers, and says the ^ master spirit ' had nothing at all to do
with the affair of the Merrimao^ was not oonsolted, and was in
no special way tributary to the result of that tM>mbat."
With this opinion Ericsson did not agree. In the only offi-
cial report concerning the action of the Monitor on the 9th
of March, which was in the shape of a telegram from the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, of that date, to the Depart-
ment, Mr. Fox says : " Lieutenant Worden, who commanded
the Monitor J handled her with great skill, and was assisted by
Chief Engineer Stimers."
Mr. S timers won npon Ericsson by his absolate faith in the
Monitor^ which went much beyond that displayed by those in
control of her. March 24, 1862, he wrote :
I told the Flag (Flag-Offioer Ooldsborongb) my idea of what shonld
be done as follows : We get under way between two and thiee o'olook in
the moming, and at five, as daylight commenceB to break, we would be
alongside of the Merrimac in Notf olk» throwing in our heary shot. After
demolishing her we would oome back, and if they placed any obstmo-
tions in onr way we would tell them to remove them or ^e would rasee
their town with shells. The old gentleman and his Fleet Oaptain looked
at each other in mutual astonishment and pleasure ; they appeared to
think that it was almost too much of a madcap scheme to be practicable,
but I do not despair of being permitted to put it into practice just as soon
as the embargo upon us is let up, which will be the case as soon as the
one hundred and thirty thousand troops, now arriving, oaa oome and go
again in safety.
Oonfederate acconnts indicate that this plan would have
succeeded, if carried out with energy and skill. The ^ Commit-
tee on the Conduct of the War," in their report (vol. i., p. 62)
say : " Had Norfolk been captured during the winter of 1861-
62, and the Merrimac taken possession of or destroyed, the
way to Richmond would have been opened and the fatal delays
of the Peninsula avoided." The failure to accomplish all that
was expected and intended was one of the bitter disappoint-
ments of Ericsson's life. When he first heard of the engage-
ment he exclaimed : ^^ The Monitor ought to have sunk her in
fifteen minutes."
THE SUCCESS OF THE MOIVITOB. 399
The Chief Engineer of the Monitor ^ First Assistant Engineer
Kewton, questioned afterwards by the War Committee of Con-
gress why the battle was not more promptly decided against
the Virgmia or MerrimaOj answered : ^^ It was due to the fact
that the power and endurance of the 11-inch Dahlgren guns,
with which the Monitor was armed, were not known at the
time of the battle ; hence the commander would scarcely have
been justified in increasing the charge of powder above that
authorized in the ^ Ordnance Manual.' Subsequent experiments
developed the important fact that these guns could be fired
with thirty pounds of cannon powder, with solid shot. If this
had been known at the time of the action, I am clearly of
opinion that, from the close quarters at which Lieutenant Wor-
den fought his vessel, the enemy would have been forced to
surrender. • . • But for the injury received by Lieutenant
Worden, that vigorous officer would very likely have badgered
the Merrimao to a surrender."
This want of faith in the 11-incli Dahlgrens was not shared
by Ericsson, and at that period his opinion on a question of
guns was worth more than that of anyone else, and it was justi-
fied by the event. His experience had been large and his
studies exhaustive. Commencing with his training as an ar-
tillerist in the Swedish army, they extended through the period
of his labors in connection with the Princeton and so down
to the date of the completion of the Monitor, His mastery of
this subject was shown a little later on in his complete victory
over united ordnance opinion in England, in a controversy which
he conducted through the columns of the New York Army
and Ncmf Journal.
But the Virgvnia had created at Washington, and through-
out the North, an exaggerated fear of her prowess. Hence the
peremptory orders to take no risks, and in war all is risk. So
the help McClellan counted on receiving from the navy on the
opening of his campaign against Bichmond, by way of the
Yorktown peninsula, was denied to him, that the Merrimao
might be watched, instead of destroyed.
As to operating in the James, the Confederate authority
before quoted says : ^^ Possibly we might have taken the Vir-
ginia as far as Harrison's Bar, but such action would have
800 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
been absurd from every point of view. As the enemy occupied
both sides of the river above, we could neither coal nor provision
her, and would have been compelled to destroy her in a few
days, if she remained so long uncaptured.'^ He says further:
^^ The truth was that the ship was not weatherly enough to move
in Hampton Boads at all times with safety, and she never could
liave been moved more than three hours' sail from a machine
shop. A shell or two amidships, between wind and water (she
had no knuckle) and her career was closed. She drew twenty-
two feet of water, was in every respect ill-proportioned and
top-heavy ; and what with her immense length and wretched
engines (than which a more ill-contrived, spindling, and unreli-
able pair were never made ; failing on one occasion while the
ship was under fire) she was little more navigable than a tim-
ber-raft. Her quarters for the crew were close, damp, ill-venti-
lated, and unhealthy ; one-third of the men were always on the
sick list and were most always transferred to the hospital,
where they would convalesce immediately. She steered very
badly and both her rudder and screw were wholly unprotected.
Every man and officer well understood the utter feebleness of
the ship, and the terrible efficiency of the enemy's magnificent
fleet. Most of the men had taken, as they supposed, a last
farewell of wives, children, friends, and had set in order their
worldly affairs. AH the lieutenants (Catesby Jones excepted)
had several weeks previously partaken publicly of the holy sac-
rament."
Yet throughout the South expectation as to the perform-
ance of the Confederate vessel ran high, and they were as con-
fident as were the Philistines when '^ they were gathered to-
gether at Shochoh " and sent forth their champion, Goliath of
Gath, " armed with a coat of mail." In correspondence with
these hopes were the exaggerated alarms that spread through-
out the North, having Washington for their centre. In the
imagination of the excitable Stanton hot shot were already set-
ting fire to the White House. The Merrimac was first to take
the Capitol, following the British precedent of 1812. Next
she was to levy tribute on New Fork, and, after raising the
blockade of the Southern ports, she was to rival the splendid
career of the Alahama, She was to secure the possession of
THE SUCCESS OF THE MONITOR. 301
Hampton Boads, which would have made McOlellan's penin-
snla campaign impossible, and all other campaigns requiring
the control of the York, the James, and the Appomattox.
Fort Monroe was to be captured and the way opened for for*
eign vessels to the verj gates of Bichmond. The foreign
friends of the Confederacy were to have their hands so strength-
ened that thej could secure the great prize of recognition.
What might have followed had the destruction of the Vir-
ginia coincided more nearly with McClellan's advent on the
Peninsula is suggested by what Pollard in his ^^ Secret History
of the Confederacy " (p. 224) tells us of the efEect of her self-
destruction when, a few months later, on May 10, 1862, she was
blown up by her commander " within sight of the Oumherla/ncPs
top-gallant-masts all awash." According to Pollard this catastro-
phe nearly resulted in the surrender of Bichmond and created
a public grief so wild and bitter that at one time it was feared
the building in which were collected the departments of the
Confederate Government might be stormed by a mob. The
vessel had been fondly named the ^^ iron diadem of the South,"
and it was counted the equivalent of an army of fifty thousand
men in defence of the Confederate capital.
These expectations and fears may seem exaggerated in the
light of to-day, but, in the Spring of 1862, they were very real
to those who were watching with hope or with dread the career
of the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac. They contributed
their part to the estimation in which the services of Ericsson
were held, and to the confidence in him which placed the build-
ing of an iron-clad navy for the United States at his disposal,
securing for him the control in the important concerns of a
great nation such as has rarely been accorded to a private citi-
zen, however eminent his ability. ^^ The immediate results of
the conflict between the Monitor and the MerrimaCy^ says
Swinton in his " Twelve Decisive Battles," " was obviously the
overthrow of the great projects conceived by the latter vessel,
the salvation of the Union squadron, and the preservation of
the blockade and of Fort Monroe. Its wider result was to fur-
nish to the Union a new engine of warfare, which, rapidly and
cheaply constructed, proved impregnable in defence and irre-
sistible in attack.
303 LIFE OF JOHN SRI08S0N.
^^Tbe 15-inch gun in the impregnable Moniior turret,
mutters with its deep voice, ^ Hands off ! ' to whatever transat-
lantic nation might before have meditated an interference in
the American war. Before the rapidity of the achievement
was comprehended a squadron of monitors patrolled the At-
lantic seaboard, capable of destroying any fleet that might
challenge entrance to its harbors. The lesson was not lost
upon foreign ministers, who inclined to think twice before en-
countering this new and terrible engine of defence.
" The story of the battle of Hampton Beads created the
profoundest sensation in the court of every maritime nation.
For months, not only the scientific, but the popular journals
were filled with the discussion of its merits and its meaning ;
the professional naval world was profoundly agitated ; ad-
miralty boards and ministers of marine conned its details ; in
fine, Russia and Sweden promptly accepted the Monitor as the
solution of the naval problem of the age, and followed the lead
of America in reconstructing their navies on that system.
France and England had, unfortunately for themselves, been
committed to the broadside iron-clad before the introduction of
the Monitor^ and the enormous sums already laid out — enough
to build many squadrons of monitors — ^joined to some national
pride, and, in the case of England at least, reinforced by a
wondrous obstinacy of depreciation only to be understood when
one reads such histories as that of the screw-propeller — these
causes prevented the renunciation in France and England of
their iron-clad navies already built, and the substitution of the
turreted Monitor.
^^ However, in both countries the combat of March 9th was
received with the profoundest study, and was regarded as the
death-stroke to wooden war vessels. In England, on hearing
the news of the battle, the House of Commons, in obedience to
general sentiment, stopped at once the great military project
of building forts at Spithead for the defence of Portland.
The Defence Commission, too, was hastily reassembled for the
special purpose of considering the effect of the ' recent engage-
ment that has taken place in the Chesapeake between the naval
forces of the United States and the Confederates' on the erec-
tion of these forts. The Boyal Commission found ^ the expres*
THS 8U00S8S OF THB HOKITOB. 808
sion of opinion which followed the action of the Merrimao
and Monitor j^ and the donbts that took poesefision of the pnb-
lic mind ^ thereapon to' be not unreasonable.' But when, not-
withstanding these doubtSy the Commission had the hardihood
to recommend the construction of the forts, the Government,
again menaced by the House of Commons, was forced to
abandon this position, and the proposed Spithead forts were
given up, reliance being had for defence, in the future, upon
ironclad vessels."
The world had begun to accept the judgment pronounced
upon the Monitor and her creator by the o£Bcer commanding
her antagonist in the Hampton Boads, Catesbj Jones, when
he said : ^^ I am one of the admirers of the Monitor and of
Ericsson. He is a great genius."
•2
• •
LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
CHAPTER XIX.
BESULTS FOLLOWma THE SUOGESS OF THB HONTTOB.
Confidence of the Gk>yemment in Ericsson and His Flans. — Other Moni-
tors Ordered. — ^Nantical Doubts. — ^Tielding to Professional ** 01am-
or." — Opinion of Admiral Bodgers. — Double and Single Turrets. —
Bureau Opposition. — Imperative Demand for Armor-dada — Com-
modore Smith still Criticises.— Misconceptions Concerning Moni-
tors.— Captain Fox converted. — Ericsson's Beport to the Depart-
ment of State, — ^The Dictator and the Furitan.
EVEN before the success of the Monitor was finally assured,
and public approval bad concentrated upon Ericsson, he
was able to inspire the authorities at Washington with sufficient
confidence in his plans, and in his ability to carry them into ex-
ecution, to induce them to wait upon him before giving a hear-
ing to others, and while the Monitor was still on the stocks it
was decided that armored must supersede wooden vessels.
^^ I wish we had your vessel now," Commodore Smith wrote,
November 11, 1861. "The Government must create a fieet of
plated gun-boats. They will cost much less and be more effec-
tive than the army. I think the Department contemplates
augmenting this description of force. I am good at making ob-
jections and finding faults that may not exist, nevertheless, my
zeal and great anxiety for the success of those Jirst aUempU
does not abate."
January 6, 1862, Mr. Winslow reported that the Navy De-
partment would not authorize more than one or two boats on
the Bureau plan until one of the Ericsson batteries was put to
proof. Mr. Winslow had it "from the very highest source*'
that if that proof was satisfactory, contracts would be given
Vol. n.— 1
3 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
for as many of the twenty additional armored Teasels projected
as he and his associates could build.
" You cannot imagine," wrote Mr. Winslow, January 10,
1862, " the intense and almost agonizing anxiety of all the
heads, from the President down, to have one boat to use^ and
when I told them that she would be afloat and ready for use
within 071^ hundred worhmg days of date of contract, they
raised their hands in amazement and gratitude. I assure you
the energy and despatch exhibited in the construction of this
battery is unequalled (or unheard of) by any contracts made by
the GhDvernment in any of its departments, and will give us a
position and influence with the Goveiiiment in any future con-
tracts that will be almost controlling, and if the battery comes
up to what we have promised, I tell you in all sincerity that
other plans and other contractors vnU he nowhere. Our ^ pres-
tige ' will be hard for others to overcome."
The chiefs of the Bureaux of Construction and Steam Engi-
neering were not disposed to permit all the honors to accrue to a
man outside of the charmed circle of official life, and they made
strenuous efforts to secure the adoption of projects of their own,
and steadily antagonized those of Ericsson. They could do no
more than to embarrass the Assistant Secretary, and the Chief
of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, in carrying out their plans
concerning Ericsson, by stirring up the doubts which not unnatur-
ally arose as to his ability to accomplish all he had undertaken.
The bill appropriating ten millions of dollars for armored
vessels became a law. By it the question of determining the
choice of plans was left to the decision of the Secretary of the
Kavy. This meant practically Assistant-Secretary Fox, upon
whose judgment and patriotism Secretary Welles justly placed
the greatest reliance. That noble old sea-dog. Commodore
Smith, in spite of his sailor disposition to grumble and criticise,
had firm faith in Ericsson personally, and in his vessel more
than in any other iron-clad. He does not appear to have had
unlimited faith in armored vessels at the best, but he seemed
convinced, at least, that — to quote a phrase from Abraham
Lincoln — ^^ for those who liked that sort of thing," Ericsson's
Monitor was ^^ jnst the sort of thing they would like."
<< Commodore Smith is much pleased thus far and favors
FOLLOWING THE BTJ00E8S OF THE MONITOB. 3
yon/' wrote one of Ericsson'B Washington correspondents, Feb-
ruary 8, 1862. Two months before this, on December 12th,
the Commodore had himself said : ^' I am overwhelmed with
a rash of proposals for iron-clad vessels and rams of different
sorts." To none of these was any heed given, for Mr. Boshnell
wrote again, February 26th: ^^I found on inquiry that no
plans, drawings, or anything of the kind have been made yet for
the proposed twenty iron-clad vessels^n fact, I have it from the
highest authority that everything depends upon the test of your
battery, and that until after her trial nothing will be done."
The demand for armor-clads had now become imperative,
and upon Ericsson's broad shoulders was to rest the main bur-
den of carrying the Government through the crisis precipi-
tated by the advent of the Merrimao, By the 16th of March,
1862, or within one week from the encounter in Hampton
Boads, he had received and accepted a proposition to construct
six gun-boats on the plan of the Monitor. Four were to be com-
pleted on or before the 81st of July following, that is, within
a little over four months, the two others within another month, or
on or before the Slst of August. Commodore Smith still ad-
hered to his opinion that he knew better than her builder what
a monitor should be and insisted on various modifications in
the original plan. It was evident to his mind, among other
things, that tiie Monitor^a deck was ^^ too near water to weath-
er the coast or even fight successfully in the Chesapeake Bay."
To persuade a sailor that he could with safety go to sea in a
Tessel with a deck so low that the water, even in ordinary weath-
er, made a clear breach over it, was like an attempt to induce
a Catholic to accept the Westminster Catechism, or a Presbyter-
ian to declare his belief in Papal infallibility. When one of
the monitors was in subsequent years sent abroad, Mr. Fox tells
us that ^Hhe English pilot who accompanied her from the
Thames was somewhat suspicious of the strange craft, and had
his doubts of her ability to stand a heavy sea. He afterward
said that the first gale that he encountered, when he saw a green
sea, eighteen feet deep of solid water, roll over her bow, he gave
himself up for lost, believing that the vessel was going down
head foremost But, the tops of the turret keeping clear of the
terrific waves, he gathered courage to look around, and, seeing
4 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSON.
an American sailor quietly sewing a patch npon liis tronserSy
apparently nnconscious of the coming on board of the water,
which all his experience had taught him was fatal to a ship, he
regained his equanimity."
This misconception has by no means disappeared even now,
and it was universal with sailors at the time Ericsson's first ves-
sel was put into commission. The very idea of such a misbe-
gotten craft violently shocked nautical preconceptions, and no
doubt if the rest of the Chief of the Naval Bureau of Con-
struction was ever disturbed, his nightmare assumed the form
of a voyage in a monitor with Mephistopheles, in the guise of
Ericsson, figuring as skipper.
Fortunately, Assistant-Secretary Fox was by this time a com-
plete convert to the monitor system. In a letter dated March
18, 1862, he said :
When I spoke to yon last stmuner of a vessel of extraordinaiy speed
sad one twenty-inch gun, invulnerable so far as the tower was concerned,
as a fit match for the Warrior^ I did not think that you wonld take the
Monitor as a type. But my visit to Old Point, and the conversations I
have held with those on board during the passage from New York, as
well as the reflections which have impressed themselves upon my mind
from witnessing her contest with the MerrimaCf lead me to concur
fully in the plans which you showed me in New York Saturday. I shall
venture to offer some suggestions of detail, and you will receive them in
the kind spirit which prompts them. Ever since my connection with the
Department, I have used every proper opportunity to awaken an inter-
est in iron-clad vessels, and very many associated with me, and most es-
pecially the Secretary, have felt an awakening, but the public slept
Most fortunately, we have met with a disaster — this is the Almighty's
teaching always — success never gives a lesson. , . .
We ought to have a dozen monitors at least instead of six. How
many can be made in the country, including your fast boat ?
Ericsson's new monitors of the ^^ Passaic class," as they were
called, were soon fairly under way. With his usual energy he
had commenced upon his working drawings as soon as the ves-
sels were verbally agreed upon. His mind was a storehouse
of principles and precedents from which he drew the material
for new adjustments and applications of the mechanical pow-
ers. There was in his case, therefore, no need to delay for the
FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THE MOKITOB. 6
laborions reference to authoritieB. When he had an important
piece of work on hand he would be found occupied for aeveral
days with his own thoughts, and seemingly idling away his time.
Then he would call for drawing-paper, and plans would fly from
under his hands with such rapidity that the swiftest draughts-
man could not follow him, and with such completeness of detail
that he did not find it necessary to examine his work after it
had left the shop. The drawing representing the part of the
machine requiring the most work appeared first and the others
followed in their order. One went to this shop, or this depart-
ment, and another to that, and no one knew what the completed
structure was like until the several parts were assembled, each
fitting in the others like hand to glove. Well might Ericsson
say that he was able to despatch work as other men could not,
because his metliods of work were unlike those of other men.
A month after Commodore Smith had written officially,
stating that a verbal agreement had been made with Ericsson's
representatives for six more vessels, we find him saying, under
date of April 14, 1862 : ^^ So much importance has been at-
tached to verbal agreements and conversations that I feel it in-
cumbent upon me to say that no contract is binding but that
which shall be reduced to writing. In all this the Depart-
ment does not doubt your fidelity and ability, and has every
confidence that you will sustain the high professional reputa-
tion you now enjoy."
This was well enough, but Ericsson might have retorted
that if he had waited for the completion of a written con-
tract, before beginning work upon the Monitory she would not
have been at Hampton Roads on the morning of March 9th
to stay the devastating progress of the Merrimac. The writ-
ten contract was finally filed in the archives of the Navy De-
partment, and so prompt had been Ericsson's action that he
was able, on April 23, 1862, to write to the Secretary of State,
Mr. Seward, saying :
New York, April 23, 1863.
Sib : The state of the naval defence of the country being bo intimately
connected with its international relations, I deem it my duty to report
to you that, under orders from the Secretary of the Navy, keels for six
vessels of the Monitor class of increased size and speed have already
6 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON*
been laid, I have contracted to deliver these TOBBela in (onr months
from the present time, and feel confident of being able to fulfil the
agreement. The amount of mechanical force now concentrated on the
work is quite unprecedented.
The speech of the Duke of Somerset in the House of Lordsy on the
4th inst., and the news from England to-daj in relation to the expedi-
ents now adopted bj the Admiralty to avert the dangers suggested bj
the recent developments in naval warfare, tend to prove that this coun-
tiy now occupies the vantage ground. The six vessels above alluded
to will be absolutely impregnable against even the last ** 14-ton gun "
of Armstrong, in consequence of their sides being only eighteen inches
above water, a circumstance which converts their decks into bulwarks
supporting the armor plate with resistless force. Our turrets, too, are
absolutely impregnable, as we now make the same llf inches thick —
all iron. Our guns of 15-inch calibre will throw 46(y-pound shot. To
this enormous projectile, the Warrior, Black Prince, and the nuseed
line-of -battle ships will present only a five-inch iron plating. This thin
armor may be said to o£fer no resistance to our 460-pound shot Under
its terrific impact, the sides will be actually crushed in. England is
now committing the serious blunder of attending to the protection of
her guns alone by the so-called cupolas. She overlooks the safety of
the vessel intended to carry her guns. The British Admiralty, it would
appear, can only see in the Monitor a revolving turret (erroneously sup-
posed to be of English origin), forgetting that without the peculiarly
constructed hull of the Monitor, her cupola ships will stand no chance
in a conflict with this country.
I am, Sir, respectfully.
Tour obedient servant,
J. Ebxobbon.
Hon. Wm. H. Sbwakd,
Secretary of State, Washington.
The vessels referred to were the PcMaiCj MontauJky Gais-
km, PaiapscOy Lehigh, a:nd Scmgamon, so named by the De-
partment, which happily saved the navy from the misfortune
of having them called, as was first proposed, the Irnpenetrablej
Penetratory PwradoXy Oauntlety PaUadiumy Agitator.
June 18, 1862, Mr. Fox wrote a private letter to Ericsson,
saying: ^'The Secretary has to-day decided to let you build
two vessels of the big class — one of one turret and one of two
turrets. I am sorry it is not four, but if no new plans are pre-
sented within a few months, it may be considered by him de-
sirable to build two more. The official letter will go to you at
once for two."
FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THE HONITOB. 7
To this most welcome communication this reply was sent :
Nbw York, June 10, 1862.
Dbab Sib : The receipt of yonr brief note of yesterday is an erent in
my life — I might say iha event — as it oonyeys the intelligence that yon
are going to open to me a full, fair field where I can concentrate in one
foons the resnlt of all the experience gained and knowledge acquired
dnring my long and ardnons mechanical career. I will not detaiQ yon
by complimentaiy expressions, but simply say aU my energies will be
exerted to merit, as far as possible, the extraordinary confidence yon
place in me relatiye to yonr war ships.
Tonrs tmly,
XEkobson.
HoNOBABZiB G. y. Fox,
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Washington.
The two vessels ^^of the big class" were the Dictator and
the Puritan^ referred to in the previous letter as the ^^ fast
boats." In reference to their names Ericsson wrote : ^^ I am
much gratified that the name Dictator for the first turret ship
has been approved of. I have given the shop name Protector
to the long vessel^ but I lack the courage of asking for appro-
bation^ having already, in such a handsome manner, had m j de*
sire twice gratified. You will much oblige me by naming the
ship at once. There is greater practical convenience in starts
img with the right name than you probably are aware of."
The name Puritan chosen for the second vessel was an im-
provement on that here suggested.
Specifications for these two vessels had been forwarded on
May 19, 1862, but they were delayed in the Bureaux at the
Navy Department; so that it was not until June SOth that
Ericsson was able to acknowledge the receipt of the amended
specifications for the first of the two vessels, the single-turreted
monitor Dictator. Without delay he wrote : " The specifica-
tions will be amended and returned at once. Some of my as-
sociates advise waiting to have the contract signed."
This advice was certainly sage, in view of the warning re-
ceived from Commodore Smith ; " but," continues Ericsson, " I
have put the ship-house in hand, and will order the keel-plate
to-morrow. Numerous other preparations are, and have been,
under full headway for several days." The contract was not
8
LIFE OF JOHN EBI08SON.
finallj completed until July 28, 1862, *^ for the confitrnction of
two iron-clad, shot-proof sea steamers of iron and wood com-
bined, amounting in the aggregate to $2,300,000." The noti-
fication that the tender for these had been accepted by the
'NsiYj Department was not received until August 8th. Mean-
while, that the country might not suffer from the delay, Erics-
son had proceeded with the work at his own risk.''^
The confidence Ericsson had inspired at the Department,
among those who were not influenced by professional prejudice,
is shown by a letter of June 9, 1862, from Mr. Stimers, who
said : '^ You will not be interfered with in your arrangements.
The Secretary and Mr. Fox have the greatest confidence in
your skill and uprightness, and you see by Mr. Fox's letter of
this date, that your plans are not criticised. I consider that
they take as much responsibility as could be expected from
* The formidable oharaoter of the work Ericflson had nndertaken in making
himself responsible for these eight armor-dads, is shown bj a comparison of
their dimensions with those of the original Monitar:
Contract prioe each.
Extreme length, feet
Extreme breadth, feet
Depth of hold, feet
Draught of water, feet
Inside diameter of turret, feet
Thickness of armor, inches
Diameter of propellora (2), feet
Diameter of steam cylinders, inches. . •
Length of stroke, inches
Side armor, inches
Weight of guns, pounds •]
Goal, in tons (2,240 lbs.)
Total displacementp pounds <
Ifidship section, square feet
Monitor.
PaaiAio, dftSB
(fl).
DiotetorandPari*
tan.
$275,000
$400,000
$1,150,000
172
200
812 and 840
41*
46
60
13
21f
ioi
20
20
21
24
8
m
15
9
12
21*
36
40
100
24
22
48
4*
6
6
44,000
84,000
84,000
220,000
100
150
800 and 1,000
2,210,000
2,090,000
9,942,000
11,002,000
821
892
777
A portion of the length of these ressels was represented hj the orerhang,
that is, the part of the deck extended oyer the immersed hull — ^in the case
of the Diciator 18 feet forward and 81 feet aft, and over the sides 8 feet 4
inches, leaying the dimensions of the under vessel 270 feet length and 41 feet
8 inches beam.
FOLLOWING THB ST700E88 OF THE MONITOB. 9
them when they decide in favor of yoor plans in direct oppari-
Hon to the views of the Bnrean officers." It was, certainly,
very exceptional for the civilian head of a department to act in
defiance of professional advice. This result was due not alone
to the success of the Monitor ^ it was the fruit of that confi-
dence in his integrity, his zeal, and fidelity, as well as in his
ability, which John Ericsson always inspired in the men who
knew him. He was honest, and upright, and faithful, because
it was part of his inborn nature to be so, and no temptation
could make him otherwise.
Though honest men may not always have the disc^nment
to detect the rogues, they have an instinctive perception and
appreciation of the characteristics of men of their own sort
This was the secret of the friendship that sprang up between
Oustavus Y. Fox and Ericsson, and continued until the death
of Mr. Fox. Innumerable letters exchanged between them
show how complete was their confidence in each other.
It is to the credit of Mr. Welles and Mr. Fox that they
were able to step aside from the path of routine to make avail-
able for the public service the genius of a man like Ericsson.
They estimated at its proper worth the experience and ability
enabling him to conceive in all their details the plans of a
great fighting machine like the Dictator, and prepare them at
his drawing-table with such skill and accuracy that, when the
three thousand different parts that made up the whole were
brought together by the mechanics, not a single alteration in
any particular was required.
In contracting for the Dictator, the Department conferred
upon Ericsson the extraordinary privilege of constructing the
ship and her machinery after his own plans. When he had
undertaken the work under the contract, he was repeatedly
urged to introduce any improvement suggesting itself to his
mind, so fertile in mechanical expedients. The changes made
were partly the result of the experiences at sea and in battle,
which the smaller monitors were undergoing while the Dic-
tator was building, and were so numerous that the ^^ supple-
mentary specifications " for the vessel were nearly as long as
the list of specifications under the original contract. '^ A more
thorough development of the new system, together with the ex-
10 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
perience gained in actual warfare, since the original contract
was entered into, has," it was stated, ^^ called for the folloW'*
ing additional work."
It was, of course, impossible to calculate in advance the
cost of such improvements, or to make them the subject of
exact specifications and contracts ; so Ericsson was obliged to
proceed under a general promise from the proper authorities
that he should be compensated for his extra work. Among
other changes, a water-tight inner skin was added and a water-
tight deck of iron forward — to prevent leaks from the concus-
sion of ramming — and a wooden deck between the deck beams
and underneath the main deck, to keep out any water working
through from above. Access to the turret chamber was made
more available, the sight-holes improved, and a better method
of inserting the bolts adopted, as injury had resulted to occu-
pants of the turrets bj boltheads flying off during an engage-
ment.
^^ In obedience to the universal clamor of naval ofBcers,"
Ericsson very reluctantly discarded the foi*ward overhang, de-
signed for the protection of the anchor. This hung in a well
underneath it and could be dropped and lifted under fire with-
out injury. From this anchor-well, as Lieutenant Greene, exe-
cutive officer of the original Monitor^ complained, came a sound
resembling the death groans of twenty men, the most dismal,
awful sound ever heard. It was certainly not music to the ears
of men just going into battle, but the explanation of it was
very simple. The " hawse-pipe," or aperture for paying out
the chain cable, was underneath the overhang, and so near the
water-line that every time the vessel pitched forward the water
rushed into the pipe, driving the air. before it, and creating the
ghostly sound described by Lieutenant Greene. Water also got
into the vessel through the hawse-pipe, when, as was some-
times the case, there was a failure to stop up the opening
around the chain cable.
This forward overhang Ericsson parted with very unwill-
ingly, for it had proved a perfect protection to the anchor
under severe and protracted fire from the enemy's batteries ;
whereas the anchor of the Merrimcic was shot away in her first
day's engagement with the Congress and the Cu/mherUmcL
FOLLOWING THB SUOOBSS OF THB MONITOB. 11
Disearding the overhang, compelled the adoption of some effi-
cient mechanism for handling the anchor. This was devised
after much study, bat the problem was a very difficult one.
When the Dictator went into service, her commander, Ad-
miral John Bodgers, one of the naval officers who always
showed an intelligent interest in the new style of vessel, wrote
to complain of the absence of the forward overhang. In reply
Ericsson said, with some bitterness, that criticism had com-
pelled him to yield this feature of the original Monitor^ as it
had been vehemently condemned by a majority of the monitor
commanders. In a letter sent to the Secretary of the Navy,
in replying to the criticisms of the commander of one of
his vessels, he also said: ^^I trust that neither he nor the
other officers of the turret vessels, all of whom are admitted to
be as skilful in their profession as they are brave, will take
offence at my remarks. I have only the single object in view
— the triumph of the service which their skill and valor have
raised so high in public estimation. I beg earnestly, however,
to call their attention to the fact that they have entered on a
new era, and that they are handling not ships, but floating
fighting machines, and that, however eminent their seamanship,
they cannot afford to disregard the advice of the engineer."
The importance of protecting the steering gear was shown
during the naval engagements of our civil war, and has been
shown since in the few instances where ships have been tested
in actual battle. In the engagement of July 20, 1866, between
the Italians and Austrians at Lissa, nearly every one of the
forty and more vessels engaged made one or more attempts to
sink an adversary by ramming. The only vessel sunk was the
lie cPItaliaj whose steering gear had previously been injured
by gun fire. The only effective ramming in the Paraguayan
war was against a vessel already disabled. The Chilian J&-
meraldOj in the battle of Iqniqui, May 21, 1879, was sunk by
the Peruvian Huasca/r^ only because she was unable to move.
From a study of such examples W. Laird Clowes concludes
that ^^ a ship, so long as she can keep way on her, and so long
as she can steer, need not fear an enemy's ram, provided, of
course, that she be properly handled. The immediate cause of
the loss of the Independencia and JSkmercUda^ the lie cPItaUOf
12 UFS OF JOHN EBICSSOir.
and many oiher vessels, was the sadden disabling and tardj /&
pairing of the steering arrangements.*
Ericsson opposed the Department's idea of two propdwri
and two turrets, but he was compelled to introduce them iuto
one of his two large vessels, the PttriUbn. The changes from
his plans were the fruit of English example. He wrote Mr.
Fox, August 5, 1868, saying : n
With us it is different. I built upward of forty double-fxropeller yes-
aels for coast and lake navigation in this oountxy nearly twenty yean aga
Not one of the parties for whom those Teasels were built would now em-
ploy more than one propeller I The advantage of being able to tunx the
▼easel around on the oentre has charmed the nayal men of Engumd.
Now, this may be done as effectually with one screw in Tessels havuig a
stem overhang. While you consider this proposition, you will render the
country an inestimable service by making up jour mind to render the
Puriian impregnable by putting three-inch plating on her deck, anddis*
pense with the after-turret. Mark my word, the day is not far distant
when two turrets on a vessel will be admitted to have the same aflvan-
tages as two heads on the human body, or two suns in the heavens. %bere
are advantages in either case, but the disadvantages are innxunerable. I
propose to resume this subject on another occasion, after it shall liave
been proved practically that any amount of force may be concentraied in
one gun. It is ships built to meet the enemy on the ocean, or beyond
the ocean, that I contend should have single turrets. The proposiilon is
incontroTcrtible that when all the resources of mechanic art have been
employed on either side, the nation that puts a fleet of double-turret
ships to sea will do so to be utterly annihilated by the nation that em-
ploys the single-turret ship with its greater speed, greater impregnabil-
ity, and heavier ordnance. Some time may possibly elapse before the
experience and advice of brave admiralH in f^vor of broadsides will be
disregarded, before the fact wiU be admitted that the single shot in
which the entire weight and impact of a whole broadside is concen-
trated, can destroy that which a hundred broadsides cannot harm. But
the time toiU come— truth is mighty and will prevail
This reasoning prevailed at that time, and two years later, on
November 14, 1865, Ericsson was able to write to John Bourne,
in England : ^^ The after-turret of the PurUa/n^ mate of the
DicCatoTj but 21^ feet longer, will be dispensed with, and her
single turret will have two 20-inch guns, each weighing 96,000
pounds, with spherical solid shot of 1,000 pounds weight.
* Naval Warfare, 1860-1889, and Some of Its Lessons, in Joomal of the
Boyal United Servloe Institution, 1890, No. 198.
FOLLOWING THB 8U0CX8S OF THE MOKITOB. 13
ThiB change is qaite a triomph for the writer, who insiflte upon
it that a perfect fighting eliip should only have one turret
sweeping the entire horizon with the weight of the two or
three turrets, and their guns concentrated in one turret and one
pair of guns. This concentration gives a thickness to the tur-
ret insuring absolute impregnability and guns of such calibre
as to crush an adversary at a single blow." This was a correct
statement of the purpose of the Navy Department at that
time, but it was not carried out, as the Puritan was never
completed. The armor-clad vessel of that name now in the
United States Kavy is the same only in name.
Though the intention in the banning was to allow Erics-
son entire freedom in carrying out his plans with reference to
the Dictator^ it would appear that the pressure upon the civilian
chiefs of the Kavy Department who had such confidence in him
was too powerful to be resisted. Explaining, in a confidential
letter, dated January 7, 1868, why he deviated from his orig-
inal design by tapering off the side armor plating, he said :
The whole blame rests with the Beoretary of the Navy for allowing
himsftlf to be hambugged by the Steam Bureau Ghief , oompelling me to
put some eOOyOOO pounds additional and useless weight into the vessel
after the plans had been approved and the priee fixed. But I cannot, on
personal and political grounds, at this moment expose the gross blun-
der of the Department. The fftot is, Liherwood, in conjunction with
others, was determined that I should not build the Didaior and Ptaritan^
and thexef ore, in a veiy adroit manner, imposed conditions which he
thought could not be filled without the vessels sinking. On the other
hand, I was determined to build the vessels, and accordingly accepted
the apparently impossible conditions; of course my destmction was
predicted by the opposition. It would be too long a story to tell how
I saved the 600,000 pounds, and what labor it cost. Suffice it to say
that the tapering off the side armor plating was one of the expedients
resorted to.
Having adjusted his plans to the new conditions, Ericsson
was able to report on July 2, 1864, that the last of the two
heavy iron-clads, the PurUan and the Dictator j had been suc-
cessfully launched that morning, before 9 o'clock. " In proof,"
he says, ^* of the accuracy with which my plans have been car-
ried out, and the great exactness on the part of all who have
14 LIFE OF JOHN EBI0S8ON.
famished iron for the ship, I have to report that the draught
of the ship at the midship section, through centre of forward
turret, proved to be 11 feet lOf inches, while the launching
plan called for eleven feet eleven inches— difference one-
fourth inch less draught than calculated. As the Dictator
proved equally accurate, it cannot be said that our success is
the result of chance. The extreme point of stem overhang is
2f inches higher out of water than indicated on mj plan — ^an
advantage not owing, however, to inaccuracy, but in accord-
ance with my instructions to the builder, while setting out the
work, to ^ keep the after-end of the overhang well up.'
^^ I have deemed it proper to advert to these facts in refuta-
tion of the prevalent notion that the draught of iron-clads can-
not be accurately predicted."
Just previous to launching the DictcOary October 22, 1863,
Ericsson addressed this gallant invitation to Mrs. Fox through
her husband :
Can yon induce Mrs. Fox to perform the oeremonj of naming the
Dictator at the launch? With snch a strong incentiye as her consent to
graoe the occasion with her presence, we can readily overcome any num-
ber of impossibilities that may present themselves in deepening the river
and strengthening the dock between this and November 2d. Before
deciding nnfavorably, I trust Mrs. Fox will give due weight to the fact
that not only this continent but all Europe take a deep interest in the
proceeding. Victoria, Napoleon, Alexander, and even the Qrand Turk
watch with anxiety the advent of the great ship, the iron deck of which
may be said to possess power to crush the foundation on which thrones
are supported.
Some difficulty was experienced in getting the Dictator
into the water, owing to a disregard of the precautions consid-
ered necessary by Ericsson. To Admiral Paulding he said :
The launching-ways of the ship were not laid under my direction.
The builder of the hull delivers the vessel to me at the wharf at his own
risk. The inclination of the ways did not meet my approbation, but
as the ship-builder employed by Mr. Delamater to launch the vessel,
insisted that it was sufficient, I could only express my doubts. After
the completion of the ways I had the same accurately levelled and as-
certained by calculation that the ship could not move unless other force
than gravitation were applied. Accordingly, I provided six steam tugs,
much to the amusement of those whose '' practical ** knowledge entitled
FOLLOWING THB SUOOBSS OF THE HONITOB. 16
them to aasert positiyely that the launch would be raooefisfnl without
applying steam-power. The enormous f oroe employed yesterday with-
out sucoesB has now, I am most happy to inform you, conyinced those
concerned that greater inclination must be given to the ways. Accord-
ingly) the ship is now being put on the blocks, the ways will be rebuilt
and the bulkhead out down three feet in order to obtain the required
inclination.
It was not, however, until December, 1864, that the Dicta-
tar went into commission, under command of Commodore John
Bodgers, and was made ready for sea, sailing from New Fork
on the afternoon of December 15th, and arriving at Fort Mon-
roe on the 17th. Her completion had been eagerly awaited,
and as early as March 23, 1863, previous, Mr. Fox wrote,
saying : " Whether the Government, now using every honora-
ble exertion, will succeed in stopping the sailing of the Con-
federate iron-clads from England I know not, but I beg of you
to use every exertion to get the Dictator and Puritan ready
for sea. They will be oar main dependence."
One most important problem which it fell to the lot of the
Navy Department to solve at the beginning of the war was to
neutralize the aggressive power of the iron-clads belonging to
foreign powers, whose attitude of armed neutrality might at
any moment change to one of hostility. By the adoption of
one of two methods only could this have been accomplished.
First, by copying the English and French craft ; types of iron-
clads so erroneous in principle that even their great advocate,
Scott Rassell, admitted that they must have from 12,060 to
20,000 tons displacement to attain impregnability, with the
other essential qualities. To this course these strong objections
presented themselves ; the cost of the Warriory Bellerophonj
etc., was about two million dollars in gold for each vessel, and
such vessels would have cost the United States at that time
from five to six millions each, or much more than the price of
the whole fleet of monitors of the Passaic class, and it would
have taken at least two or three years to build them. If ves-
sels of this description had been decided upon, it would have
been almost impossible, in the first place, to have had them
built, and they would have been valueless when done, as their
draught of water would have precluded their use for blockading
16 LIFE OF JOHN SBIOSSOK.
or operating against the Confederate ports in any way. In
fact, if the Britons had presented us with their whole fleet of
colossal iron-clads they would have been useless for service
along oar coast. They could scarcely approach within sight of
it from Cape Henry down, and if kept in commission would
have taken a whole army of sailors to man them, to say nothing
of their other expenses. The only thing which could have been
done with them, provided we had possessed a navy yard of suf-
ficient depth of water, would have been to have placed them
^* in ordinary " against the contingency of a foreign war.
The second method open to the Department was to adopt
the system of Ericsson, as the only one upon which iron-clads
of small size, light draught of water, impregnability, and the
power to use the heaviest ordinance (as well as quickness of
construction) could be built. These vessels could be used
against the Confederates, as well as to protect our large harbors
from foreign iron-clads, should that emergency arise.
The principle on which the monitors were built is one good
for all time ; the character of the particular vessels for which
Ericsson was responsible is to be judged by the standards of
that day. From this point of view the Dictator must be re-
garded a most formidable vessel ; superior as a fighting machine
to anything afioat at the time she was completed. Though
Ericsson was over-sanguine as to the speed she could attain,
even in that respect she compared favorably with the best of
the foreign armor-clads. She was intended to have a speed of
sixteen knots, but he was compelled to adopt a form of boiler
be did not approve and the upper tier of furnaces could not
be used and she fell somewhat short of twelve knots. The
British Warrior had only attained 14.4 knots and the Black
Prince 1S.6 on the measured mile in smooth water, with boil-
ers new and free from scale, bottom of vessel clean, using
picked coal and employing trained stokers. These conditions
do not prevail in ordinary service, and least of all did they pre-
vail during our civil war, when everything bad to be impro-
vised, naval engineers and stokers included. Under like con-
ditions the speed of the Dictator would not have been far
from that of the best of her transatlantic rivals. It certainly
equalled that of British vessels nearer her own size, such as the
4
FOLLOWING THS SUOOBSS OF THE MONITOB. 17
HesistancSi Defefnce^ and Royal Oak^ taking size to mean
length and breadth and not displacement, her draught of water
being but twenty feet, while theirs was nearly twenty-five feet.
In steering and handling qualities, the Dictator was vast-
ly superior to her rivals. Her pilot reported that it took
but two men at the wheel, and that she was easier to handle
than other vessels of half her tonnage, making turning in a cir-
cle of only 700 feet diameter. The English iron-clad AchUleSj
with the same engine power, required fourteen men at the
wheel with half boiler power and twenty-one men with full
boiler power, and required a circle of 3,000 feet diameter in
which to turn, and ten minutes for the operation. These are
important differences in fighting vessels.
*^ All our officers are delighted with the Dictator ^^^ wrote one
of them to Ericsson on her first trip, " as she is without excep-
tion the most comfortable and finest ship in the United States
Navy." "The vessel steers beautifully," wrote Commodore
Bodgers from off Ellis Island, on his way out of Kew York
harbor on the initial trip, Kovember 15, 1863. " The steerage of
all the monitors is peculiar, and it requires some little practice
to become expert, but afterward it is extremely Batiafactoiy.
I think I can congratulate you already upon the success of the
Dictator. As a whole she is a grand triumph, for she gives
dear indications that when tested she will be thoroughly satis-
factory."
The opportunity for the supreme test never came, for tlie
war was so far advanced before the Dictator entered the ser-
vice that she was never subjected to the gauge of battle. The
Ptiritan was incomplete when the war closed, and there being
no immediate demand for her services, work upon her was sus-
pended for ten years, and until the threat of war with Spain,
under the administration of General Grant, led our !Navy De-
partment to make active preparations for an emergency.
With reference to the Dictator^ Ericsson wrote to President
Linooln, December 9, 1864 :
This ship is now attracting great attention on the part of European
governments. Naval officers of all the leading powers have closely
watched her oonstmction. With regard to impregnability and power
of armament, all have admitted that Europe has nothing iiiat can cope
Vol. H.— a
18 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
with the DictcOor; bat her perfect " habitability" had not been admit*
ted nntil now that the arrangements for promoting ventilation, light,
and oomfort have been completed. It most be gratifying to the Secre-
tary of the Navy that the condition which he has rigidly enforced in
the oonstraction of the iron-clads, to protect the crew as well as the
armament, has recently been accepted by the Eoropean naval powers as
an indispensable condition. Yon will contemplate with pride, sir, that
while your entire iron-clad fleet has, through the sagacity of the Navy
Department, been built on a correct principle, England is now engaged
in reconstructing those costly but onlj partially mailed ships which but
yesterday she deemed perfect and invincible.
Possessing peculiar facilities for becoming acquainted with the
views of the naval authorities of Europe, I deem it my duty to say that
the extraordinary progress and success of your navy during the war is
fully appreciated. The attention of your maritime rivals appears equal-
ly directed to the magnitude of the material resources developed and to
the unparalleled energy of your naval administration.
To the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, Ericsson wrote,
February 5, 1864, that the Dictator bad been examined by of-
ficers sent for that purpose by the Emperor of the French, who
were about to return to France with information concerning
our iron-clad fleet not agreeable to the gentleman who was
seeking to strengthen the foundations of his throne by an alli-
ance with the House of Austria against the peace of Mexico
and in defiance of the Monroe doctrine. ^^ These officers,"
wrote Ericsson, " admit that they came here thoroughly op-
posed, but return converted, to the monitor system. They
do not attempt to disprove the proposition that the broadside
vessel with her numeroas small guns cannot resist the crushing
effect of the heavy turret gims."
In February, 1874, ten years after the Dictator was com*
pleted, Ericsson wrote to a friend in Sweden.
The DickUor is now at Key West in flne condition. As usual, a vessel
has been ordered to accompany the monitor during the voyage ; but in
a gale off Savannah this vessel made port while the Dictator, with her
fine sea-going qualities and plenty of coal in the bunkers, proceeded
without her companion. This circumstance gave rise to rumors that the
Dictator had been lost after having, as the stupid papers relate, '' parted
the hawser by which she was being towed." The Dictator towed/ why,
this ship exerts a direct pull of fully 80,000 pounds, and is capable of
towing any ship of war in existence at the rate of seven miles.
CHAPTER XX.
DISASTBOUS INTEBFEBENOE WITH EBXCSSOITS PLAN&
'b Disinterested Patriotism. — ^Peonniiuy Embarrassments Re-
sulting from it — Call for Lighi-dranght Monitors. — The Prompt
Besponse.— Unfortunate Result of Interference with Ericsson's
Plans. — ^Twenty Millions Wasted. — His Efforts to Prevent Disaster.
— ^His Magnanimity. — His Military Foresight. — ^Recommends a Re-
peating Rifle. — ^A Plan for Flying ArtiUery.
IN addition to the six monitors of the Passaic class and the
Dictator and Puritan^ built by Ericsson and his associates,
the inveutor of the Monitor was called npon to famish plans
for four other monitor vessels building at the same time.
These were the NaJumty ITantucket^ Weehawkeny and Co-
manchej all built on the model of the Passaic, Ericsson's asso-
ciates, on being informed that he had agreed to furnish dupli-
cate plans to the contractors for these vessels, reminded him
that this would bring him into competition with others who
had the great advantage of getting for little or nothing what
had cost them much money. His reply was that he felt in duty
bound to assist the Government to the extent of his power to
meet the emergency of war.
They yielded to the argument of patriotism but the result
feared soon followed. Competition led to an active demand
for labor and material, and those who worked from Erics-
son's matured plans, made castings from his patterns, and dupli-
cated his wrought-iron work, had every advantage over him.
Everything entering into the construction and outfit of the ves-
sels for which he had contracted advanced rapidly in price,
while the amount he was to receive was fixed and unchangeable.
The Government, in accordance with its usual custom, reserved
one quarter of his contract price to secure the fulfilment of its
stipulations, and at the same time insisted that the vessels
20 LIFE OF JOHN SBIGSSOX.
should be pnt into service without waiting for this final pay-
ment The machinery, jast from the workshop, was subject to
the severest of all tests, and entrusted to the care, to a large
extent, of young and inexperienced engineers, who, following
the rule of poor workmen quarrelling with their tools, were
ready to throw upon the contractors the responsibility for their
own blunders.
Before the work on the six monitors was completed, Erics-
son found himself embarrassed for the want of the money re-
served from his contract price on the vessels, amounting alto-
gether to $600,000. On February 5, 1863, he requested the
payment of the reservation upon the four vessels already de-
livered, calling attention at the same time to the fact that it
was wholly unprecedented to expose the work of contractors to
the chances of war before paying for it ; adding, " the vessels
for which we now solicit the full payment of $400,000 each can-
not this day be purchased for less than half a million dollars."
As the war progressed, assumed greater proportions, and
the Union armies penetrated into the interior of the Southern
territory, the navy occupied and patrolled the great rivers and
the numerous estuaries. The class of vessels upon which they
depended for protecting the army communications were wooden
boats of light draught, purchased from the merchant service.
Their machinery, boilers, and magazines were above the water-
line, and they were too frail to carry anything but light iron bul-
warks to protect their crews against sharpshooters hiding behind
trees on the river bank. The enemy found many high points
upon their inland waters where they could plant batteries of ar-
tillery, looking down upon the gun-boats and out of reach of their
heavy guns. Gallant attempts to attack such batteries, to pass
them, and to keep open the army lines of communication, result-
ed in fatal disasters and serious loss of prestige. From every
squadron and flotilla the Department was called upon for a light-
draught iron-clad vessel, able to resist the ordnance used by the
Confederates. The urgency of the demand, and the painful
accidents and disasters constantly occurring, could not be treated
with indifference. An invulnerable vessel of light draught had
not only never been attempted, but an extended inquiry gave
no encouragement that one could be designed.
INTEBFEBENOE WITH EBIOSSON'S PLANS. ?1
In this emergency the Navj Department applied again to
Ericsson. On Angnst 4, 1862, Mr. Fox wrote to him saying :
^^ I wish somebody of brains conid give us a six foot' draught
boat of great velocity and high pressure for the "Western waters,
impregnable like your boats. We have plenty of three-inch
plating, but the rebels seem to beat us in their Arkanmu.
They have also got an iron-dad nearly ready at Richmond and
Savannah and two nearly ready at Charleston, and we are no-
where. The Confederates are setting an example of persever-
ance and faith in the iron-clads."
Casemated vessels run aground on the inland waters were
helpless, whereas a turreted vessel discharged her guns toward
every point of the compass, whether aground or afloat. This was
exemplified when the Osagej a light-draught tnrreted steamer,
got aground in the Bed River in April, 1864. She was attacked
while in this position by a large force under the Confederate
Gleneral Oreene. His command was cut to pieces, and he was
killed in the attempt to capture a monitor, vain even when it
was hard and fast aground.
Of the iron-clads in the United States service, none were
found of any value except the monitors. ^^ I feel that we should
have more of your vessels," wrote Mr. Fox, August 5, 1862,
after the Monitor was in service and the ten vessels of the
Paemio class, and the DiotcUar and Pimtan were under con-
tract:
Nothing that has been piesented approaches them in value. The
Galena and Ironsides are the work of the blacksmith; the McniUor a
piece of delicate, perfect mechanism. Your associates have nearly five
millions worth of work, and the public whom we serve expect other
work to be scattered. For yourself, with your patriotic impulses, the
establishment of yonr system most be yomr greatest reward. People
inoapable of making one of your ships are begging, beseeching, and de-
manding one. We propose to advertise, say for a class of vessels like
the big monitor, Quintard's vessels, and the new monitors, to be built
on the Atlantic or Western waters. Will you help us by furnishing
drawings, etc., with the present royalty for the small ones, and say
$10,000 each for the big Tessels ? I am most anxious to see monitors
on the Mississippi ; but there we mnst have double the boilers and
two inches on the deck. Yon can do this and let us drive the rebels
out of the river. Shall we advertise and rely upon you? This seems
22 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOIT.
the only way, since we cannot have the entire use of your
ezolosively. I have thought over the matter deeply, and have come to
the condnsion that yonr boats only can give ns the MississippL If we
say double boiler, two-inch deck, eight-inch tnrret, and five-inch side,
can yon give it to us in ten feet draught ? If you say yes, we will go
ahead at once, and the credit belongs entirely to you. Is there any pos-
sibility of night or Sunday work being thrown upon the monitors ?
To this Ericsson promptly responded the next day, August
6th : " If you can allow ten feet of water draught it will be
play to drive the rebels from the Mississippi. I have reference
to iron vessels. Advertise as soon as yon deem proper for more
vessels and count on my assistance, pay or no pay." ^* We are
taking as much night work out of our men as they can bear
during this warm season/' he added, in answer to the other
question. " Unfortunately we cannot now, as formerly, resort
to double gangs of men. Such is the pressure produced by the
Oovemment work that we cannot fill up our day gangs, much
less the double system." This shows the difficulties under
which he was himself laboring while undertaking to further
assist the Oovemment.
On August 8th, Fox replied : " Tour answer is a loyal one,
and such as I counted upon." He added yarious suggestions
as to the character of the boats needed, concluding, ^^ I rely
upon your skill in all this matter, and leave you to turn over a
six-foot gun-boat in yonr mind for all kind of shore and river
work." The day this was received, August 9th, Ericsson was
ready with his reply : " By Monday's mail [this was written
Saturday] I will send you a general plan of a swift and pow-
erful monitor ram for the Mississippi, of ten feet draught
Also a general specification that will enable you to advertise.
While I am no advocate of surface condensation for fighting
vessels running in salt water, I deem the distilling process in-
dispensable for vessels navigating muddy rivers. I have long
contended that the Mississippi will never be navigated safely
and economically until surface condensation is resorted to."
Was it strange that the Navy Department should be dis-
posed to repose entire confidence in a man of such ability and
experience, and who could act with such promptness? The
specifications for the boats required were indeed ready before
INTBBFERENOB WITH EBIOSSON'S PLANS. 28
Ericsson's last letter was written, for thej were dated October
8th, and were doubtless held a day or two for more careful con-
sideration and the completion of the necessary calculations. The
specifications provided for vessels of only six feet draught, 221
by 41 feet over all, with a flat-bottom iron hull 168 by 31 feet,
encased in solid timber, shaped to the outlines of an ordinary
vessel, with easy lines and extending 20 feet beyond the hull
forward, and 82 feet aft. They were to carry three inches of
armor, and were to have two propellers, with an engine for
each, but with the shafts so coupled as to work together.
The turret, pilot-house, etc., were to follow the model of the
Passaic. These specifications were sent without charge or
stipulation as to remuneration. How many men are there who
can f arnish detailed specifications sufficient to constitute the
basis of a contract of a fleet of gun-boats on a novel plan at
twenty-four hours' notice ?
The story of the ^Hight-draught monitors," as they are
called, is one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of
our naval administration. Twenty of them were built at a cost
to the nation of $14,000,000. Had Ericsson's ideas concerning
them been carried out, they would have swarmed up every
Southern river and into every inlet and sound where six feet
of water could be found, and would have exerted a most im-
portant influence upon tlie fortunes of the war. As it was, the
money spent upon them was worse than wasted, for it led the
Navy Department to trust to a scheme which proved abortive.
Through mistakes and miscalculations by the Government of-
ficials in carrying out Ericsson's suggestions, the vessels were
built with so little floative power that they could not be used
for the purpose intended. As an attempt was made at the
time to fix the responsibility for this enormous blunder upon
Ericsson, it is due to his memory that the facts should be pre-
sented here.
We have already seen how promptly Ericsson responded to
the request coming from the Navy Department, that he should
furnish designs for the light-draught vessels it had determined
to build. This was early in August, 1862. On February 21,
1863, Mr. Fox wrote, saying :
^^ The bids for the light-draughts are to be opened the 24th
24 LIFE OF JOHN BBIOSSON.
inst. When I suggested these boats to joa, I did not expect
that yon woald be able to give time for the details, bnt I pre-
sumed joa were to furnish the plans, leaving Stimers to work
out jour ideas. Before we contract I ought to know that this
is so. From the beginning I have advocated the product of
jour brain and staked the reputation of the Kavj on the re-
sult Before launching ofiP into the construction of these light-
draughts jou will tell me if thej are all right, as we take them
presuming them to be jours."
Ericsson at once telegraphed to Secretarj Welles, February
24, 1863, ^' I have before me general plan of light-draught moni-
tors. Permit me to saj that the leading principle has been
frittered awaj bj changes." In this telegram he indicated
some of the mistaken changes, and in a letter dated the same
daj he described these more in detail, and presented his rea-
sons for objecting to tlie several alterations from his plan
most dearlj and f orciblj. ^^ I have not time," he concluded,
^^ to enter further into detail, and much regret that I have
onlj had a few hours to investigate a subject of great national
importance. It will be well for Mr. Stimers to explain whj
he has not submitted to me his plans. Finding that this gen-
tleman avoided to laj his drawings before me, and confined
himself to some half-dozen questions during the whole period
of preparing the plans, I arrived at the irresistible conclusion
that he acted under instructions. This supposition I thought
fullj confirmed on learning that he had sent the final plan for
the bidders to Washington, without afiPording me a chance of
even looking at it. It was this persistent withholding of the
plans from mj sight which has forced me to adopt a course
of extreme delicacj in relation to Mr. Stimers. These circum-
stances will explain the anomalous fact that I have not until
this daj seen the plan of the light-draught monitors which
you have put into the hands of jour contractors."
Burdened and harassed as he was, Ericsson resolved to
leave nothing undone to save the Government from the dis-
aster he saw impending, and which might still be averted, for
the vessels were not jet under contract. Accordingl j, on March
3, 1863, he telegraphed to the Secretarj : "In connection with
mj associate? in the Dictator and Puritan contract, I offer to
INTERFEBENOB WITH EBIOSSON'S PLANS. 25
bnild six light-draught gunboats, according to plans and speci-
fications now in jour possession, dated October 8th of last
year, for three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, each
vessel. To be completed in four months, and to be two feet
longer and two feet wider than stipulated in said specifications.
Please state by telegram if yon accept this ofPer. If you can-
not do so, we respectfully withdraw our offer."
He proposed to deal directly with the Secretary or not at
all. Ko time was to be lost, and he could not afford to sub-
mit to the usual experience of having his plans pottered over for
weeks or months by Kaval Bureaux, and then returned to him
mangled out of shape and comeliness. This offer was not ac-
cepted, and I find no evidence that it was considered or an-
swered. Kor was his urgent advice as to the character of the
light-draughts heeded.
After waiting six weeks longer, on April 10th he wrote
again to the Secretary of the Navy, saying : " "Will you forgive
me if I now, in a kindly spirit, point to a remarkable inconsis-
tency on your part ? You say you cannot confidently permit
your contractors to put in the vacuum engines unless the work
is done under my direction, and yet you are building a whole
fleet of light-draught monitors, not only without my aid, but in
opposition to my emphatic remonstrance. I tell you that your
22-inch cylinders are utterly incompetent to propel your boats,
that your boilers prevent you from bracing the hulls, and that
they will roast your engineers ; and I predict that your vessels
will break in two in a seaway for want of longitudinal strength ;
yet you have sufficient confidence in your contractors' assertion
that they can make your vessels successful, while you cannot
trust them to build the vacuum engines imless directed by the
person whose judgment you practically ignore."
These protests against the completion of the light-draught
monitors on a defective plan were unheeded. Doubtless they
went through the usual routine of endorsement and transmittal
from bureau to bureau, without reaching anyone who was suf-
ficiently well informed to be impressed with their importance.
Two influences were constant forces operating against Erics-
son : one was the ignorant conceit of office ; the other the po-
litical necessity of gratifying the incessant clamor for a distri-
26 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
bntion of contracts over as wide a voting area as possible. . As
Ericsson, in his anxiety to have the work well done, had ofEered
to bnild the boats himself, no doubt his criticisms were, accord-
ing to the usual standard of interpretation, held to indicate a
desire to secure a monopoly of the work for his associates and
himself.
Whatever the reason, his letters and his telegcBms to the
Department were without effect. Contracts for twenty little
monitors were prepared and distributed impartially over the
country. Six went to Boston ; three to Oreenpoint, where was
built the original Monitor^ but to a different yard ; two to Cin-
cinnati, and two to St. Louis ; Chester, Pa., Philadelphia, Pitts-
burg, Baltimore, and Camden, N. J., and Portland, Me., each
had one. Thus the demand for the distribution of Government
work to various sections was in a measure satisfied. The con-
tracts were made generally in the spring of 1863, the last in
June, and the vessels were to have been finished in the fall of
that year. They were delayed, and as they approached com-
pletion in the following spring, Ericsson could no longer remain
easy. Most emphatically he wrote to the Navy Department,
and to Hear- Admiral Gregory, who had always shown the
most friendly disposition toward him, and who was in com-
mand of the Brooklyn Navy Taixi. There was now a pros-
pect that the various evils he had predicted might be escaped ;
if in no other way, at least by the inability of the vessels to
carry the weight to be put upon them, and that the outraged
ocean would swallow up these bastard productions before they
left their wharves.
'^As Mr. Stimers is prosecuting the completion of his
vessel," wrote Ericsson to the Admiral, May 16, 1864, " the
Navy Department will very shortly be exposed to the deep
disgrace before the country of one of its ironclads sinking at
the wharf — a whole fleet of similar vessels being nearly ready I
Stimers must be crazy not to see that his vessel will be under
water at the stem even before stores are put on board. A
person who applies a boiler weighing 140,000 pounds to operate
two 22-inch cylinders, while boilers of less than A^^^that weight
give sufficient steam to supply a pair of 48-inch cylinders — wit-
ness many of our swift propeller vessels — I say, a person who
UTTEBPEBENOB WITH EBICSSOK'S PLANS. 37
knows 80 little of his profession may be expected to blander,
but not to be actually blind, as appears to be the case with
your Inspector."
Finding that the contractors for these vessels were being in-
formed that he had been consulted in preparing the working
plans, and determined that the Kavy Department should not
be again deceived, on March 30, 1864, Ericsson wrote to Sec-
retary "Welles, calling his attention to the letter of February
24, 1863, quoted above, and saying :
I have now respeotfully to add, that I have not been consulted
since, and that I had no precise knowledge of the nature of the mecha-
nism and internal arrangement nntil aboat two weeks ago, when I ob-
tained a copy of the engraved general plan which has been distributed
among the contractors. I add with deep regret, that the inspection of
that engraying forced the conviction on my mind that these vessels can-
not succeed. The extraordinary complication of machinery and want of
proportion of the stmctnre in every part, is, I am compelled to say, a
reproach to the profession. The liberality of the Department had placed
at the service of Mr. Stimers an efficient staff, far more numerous than
any I have ever known in similar undertakings. The working plans
emanating from the Inspector's office have been executed in a style of
finish I believe never equalled. Displacement and weight of parts have
been calculated and recalculated at the Inspector's office, but alas, the
vessels cannot carry the complex and cumbrous machinery put in, and
if thej could the motive power is insufficient to produce a speed suffi-
cient for any practical purpose whatever. Had I not, in my letter of
February 24, 1863, so emphatically expressed my disapprobation of the
plan adopted, I should have felt it my duty ere this to have addressed
the Department. It would ill become me to complain because my ad-
vice was disregarded, but I am forced to resist the attempt of the In-
sx>ector to fasten the responsibility on my shoulders for work executed
from plans which I have not approved of and never seen.
It was speedily discovered that Ericsson was right. The
Chvmo^ built at Boston under the immediate direction of Mr.
Stimers himself, was finished. Instead of being out of water
fifteen inches amidships, as was intended, she was only three
inches above the water-line on an average — a miscalculation of
twelve inches. This would not have been so serious in a ves-
sel of the old style with high free-board, but in a monitor it
was fatal. The Department immediately removed Mr. Stimers
from the position of general superintendent, and placed the
28 LIFE OF JOHN SBI0S80K.
qaestion as to what shonld be done to remedy the difficulty oc-
casioned by his error in the hands of Bear- Admiral Gregory
and Chief-Engineer Wood, of the Navy. On hearing of tfieir
appointment, Captain Ericsson wrote, ^^ I will cheerfully give
Admiral Gregory any assistance he may desire in relation to
the light-draught vessels. The handsome manner in whidb the
Department has been pleased to recognize my services is a
powerful incentive to renewed exertions in the great cause."
As conflicting instructions came from the Secretary of the
Kavy and his assistant, Mr. Fox, Ericsson wrote to Admiral
Gregory : ^^ I feel greatly honored by the confidence which the
Secretary appears to place in my judgment, but I should, not
venture to give any directions excepting in accordance with
positive instructions. Should the Department order* you to
lighten certain vessels, I will point out to Mr. Wood what I
deem the best mode of doing it" Finally, the most complete
authority was given to Ericsson to follow his own judgment
in the matter, and Secretary Welles wrote, June 20, 1864:
^^The Department is not inclined to fix any conditions in
regard to the alterations, but rather to leave the matter to your
skill and experience. Economy of money and time are im-
portant elements of which you will probably feel the impor-
tance."
Admiral Dahlgren, who was in command of the South At-
lantic station, and Acting Bear-Admiral S. F. Lee, command-
ing North Atlantic squadron, had asked that several monitors
should be fitted out with toi'pedo arrangements and without
turrets. It was accordingly decided that the five light-draughts
most advanced toward completion should be fitted for this ser-
vice, and that the sides of the others should be built up fifteen
inches higher, as the roof of a house is raised when an addi-
tional half-story is added to it. Of course this would not bring
them within the original requirements, but with eight feet
draught they would have more capacity. The cost was in-
creased about in proportion to this increase of space. Mean-
while, Ericsson most emphatically advised Admiral Gregory not
to permit the vessels to leave the dock, as they would instantly
sink if exposed to any undulating motion. The water-line be-
ing already six indies above the iron hull, there was a stream of
I
UITEBFSBSKOB WITH BBIOSSON'S PLAK8. 20
water poaring continuonslj into the vesflel, and constant pump-
ing was requii*ed to keep it down.
Mr. Stimers proposed to remove the overhang. As Ericsson
had always insisted with such tenacity upon retaining this, the
proposition excited his indignation and he wrote most emphat-
ically to Admiral Gregory, calling attention to the fact that
this would only put the vessel one inch more out of the water,
and that the change would subject the rudders and the propel-
lers, which were three feet out of water, to destruction by a
twelve-pound shot, even at long range. ^ Would such a vessel,"
he pertinently asked, ^^ be fit to explore rivers lined with rebel
batteries f " ^^ Fray, pardon my candor," he concluded, ^^ but I
can no longer remain silent on a subject that involves the inter-
ests of the nation and the reputation of the naval service."
With one-half her complement of ooal on board, the TunanSy
another of these vessels, was only one and one-half inch out
of water amidships, and the matter of discharging torpedoes
from the deck of the vessel suggested grave difficulties. Nor
was this the worst. On July 25th Ericsson wrote to Mr.
Fox : '* The mischief grows in magnitude with every day I re-
flect on the consequences. The mere raising the vessels is not
what troubles me, but the fear that when done they will not
possess the needed longitudinal strength actually deprives me
of sleep at night. I hardly dare hope that in a heavy sea the
structure will stand. I said to you in one of my letters that
these vessels will ^ break in two in a sea-way.' The only thing
that has improved our chances since is that we now deepen the
vessel's sides twenty-two inches, and I hope that will save us."
His letters not unnaturally contained some strong expressions
concerning Stimers's capacity. *^ I forgot at the moment of
writing you yesterday," he said to Mr. Fox, July 26, 1864,
*^ that the man I stigmatized as a charlatan engineer is one of
your subordinates, and that, therefore, yon are his official pro*
tector. Nothing but excitement could make a military man
for a moment forget so important a fact."
Surely it was an excitement over which even the angels
might weep in sympathy, for, as Ericsson said in another letter :
*^ That every blunder of Stimers falls upon me is of small ac-
count. It is our great cause which I have intently at heart,
30 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
which forces me to speak candidly to one who ha$ it in
power to correct all."
The demand for the vessels, thus unfortunately misbuilt, was
imperative, and on July 28, 1864, Mr. Fox wrote inquiring
whether ^Hhe ingenuity and genius which have created the
monitors could not remedy the blunders which are now
known." The call became more and more urgent, and it was
suggested that one of them, the Tunxis^ might possibly be put
in shape to do duty in the sounds of North Carolina.
Said Mr. Fox :
A short history of the light-draught monitors is this : Ton furnished
the original idea and sent it to the Department. Admiral Smith pro-
posed the hollow chamber, and other suggestions were made, princi-
pally by Stimers ; and as your hands and head were full, it was
agreed to let Stimers prepare detailed plans, consulting with you so as
not to get off the track. It was not known that Stimers was going
off on his own responsibility, and through lack of information and his
gross blunders, the Department has suffered in reputation, and the
country has lost the services of these vessels. The Department will
probably order Stimers on duty away from New York, and as a commit-
tee are to investigate the subject I would avoid a public controversy.
The want of a light-draught iron-clad has been so imperative that the De-
partment was justified in taking gpreat risks to obtain one. The ques-
tion now is not who is to blame, nor is it desirable to cuss or discuss.
The only question is, what shall be done ? It is an engineer's question
alone, and I rely confidently upon you to solve it."
The TunoBM^ was finally put into shape to go into commission
under Captain Henry Erben, U. S. Navy, and Mr. Stimers was
ordered to her as engineer officer. When he reported on board
he was confronted by an inscription on a plate set into the ves-
sel, which declared that she was built by Beaney Son & Archi-
bald, Chester, Pa., ^^from designs prepared by Alban C.
Stimers, Chief Engineer of the United States Navy." Mr.
Stimers was evidently not proud of this record, for he was dis- .
covered at work one day with a cold chisel cutting his name
out of the plate. Had the vessel succeeded it would have
stood.
Chief-Engineer Stimers had been associated with Ericsson
in the construction of the original Monitor.^ and took passage
in that vessel to Hampton Beads as a volunteer, at a tim9
INTERFEBSNOB WITH BBIOSSO^'S PLANS. 31
when many of our engineers and conBtmctors predicted that
she would never be heard of again. It was owing to his zeal
and skill, and his faith in Ericsson's conception, that all the
engines of that vessel performed their functions daring that
memorable contest with the MerrimaCy and from that field he
was transferred to New York as general superintendent of iron-
clads under construction. He had proved a most useful assist-
ant, so long as he permitted himself to be guided by the in-
struction of the man who was so unquestionably his master in
the art of naval construction. Ericsson had a well-defined and
complete plan, and from this he was not to be moved by ad-
verse criticism or well-meant advice. He could stand the
united assaults of bureau disbelief and nautical complaint;
Stimers could not, and he fell a victim to his zeal to improve
upon Ericsson by piecing out what in his wisdom he regarded
as an imperfect scheme, with the shreds and patches of nauti-
cal lore, such as the elder and the better constructor had re-
jected as inapplicable to his revolutionary design.
Though forced to condemn his work, Ericsson had no hostil-1
ity to the man. He fully recognized the service he had done,
and when Stimers died he exerted himself to procure from
Oongress for the benefit of his family the pension to which he
believed him entitled. He educated his daughter, and most
liberally responded to the call upon his good-will resulting from
Mr. Stimers's early death. His letters to the Department were
emphatic, as it was necessary they should be, but he refrained
from public condemnation in spite of the fact that his friends
urged that public exposure was necessary to his own vindica-
tion, and the circumstances were such as to provoke speech.
In a private letter to Mr. Fox, December 31, 1864, explain-
ing the testimony he was called upon to give before a commit-
tee of Congress appointed to inquire into the matter, he said :
Senator Wade and Mr. Odell called upon me last Tuesday, requesting
me to give testimony with reference to the light-draught monitors.
Aooozdingly, I met those gentlemen the following day at Astor House,
and made a very full statement on all points which I deemed important.
As I rendered only volunteer service without compensation, with no au-
thority but an unofficial verbal request from the Assistant Secretary of
the Navy— the xeoeipt of my plans not even having been acknowledged
32 LIFE OF JOHN BSIOSSON.
by the Department — ^I oonfined the testimonj to what took |Jaoe be
tween myself and Mr. Stimers. The important deviations from my
plan, introdnced by him, were minutely pointed ont and condemned ;
bnt full credit was given him on account of the fact that Mr. Isherwood
had reduced the size of the steam cylinders and changed the form
of boilers, full weight also being given to the circumstance that the
water- box arrangement was deemed a great improvement and highly
approved of by some of the ablest officers in the Navy. I also had occa-
sion more than once to advert to the fact that the Department was led
to believe that Mr. Stimers consulted with me and acted under my ad-
vice.
With his offer to build the vessels, Ericsson did send a
working plan, constructed after a careful estimate of weights
and displacements, and intended as a basis for the proposed
contract. To this working plan no attention appears to have
been paid.
Here are the facts, and certainly no chapter in the history
of John Ericsson presents him in a better light He might well
have refused to take any part in helping the Government out
of the serious difficulty into which it had been led by following
other advice than his. He was heavily overweighted already,
and a lesser man would have been occupied rather with the
thought of his own triumph over those who had deliberately
sought to deprive him of the honor due him, and to transfer
his laurels to their own brows. But Ericsson had but one
desire, and that was for the triumph of the cause with which
his sympathies were enlisted; but one purpose — ^to assist to
the utmost of his ability in extricating the Government from a
difficult situation. So careful was he not to weigh his own
reputation in the scale against it, that in a letter written to
the press at the time, in response to current criticisms upon
the monitors, his only allusion to the light-draughts was in
this sentence : ^' The twenty light-draught turret vessels " [he
would not call them monitors] ^^ now in course of construction
may cost, vrith improvementdf and alterations under the present
enhanced price of labor and material, $500,000 apiece."
" You certainly must have had very good reoBon^^ wrote an
anxious friend concerning this letter, ^^ to speak of the light-
draughts otherwise than to condemn and deny any connection
with their construction. Why, an editorial has already ap-
INTBRFEKENOX WITH BBIOSSON'S PLANS. 88
peared in the Tribime assuming that yon are their father I
Sooner or later, the tmtli in relation to these monninents of
stnpiditj must be given to the public. It may not be advisable
for you to give any explanation at present, but you cannot carry
the odium of publicly mentioning them without, at the same
time, repudiating any connection with them."
No one understood the real facts better than the author of
this letter, but he did not know how strong was the obligation
upon Ericsson to refrain from complaint, not only to save the
Government from criticism, but to spare Stimers, even at his
own expense. He felt with Mr. Fox, who wrote : ^^ I cannot
be hard upon Stimers, who helped us in the first Mimiiar with
so much zeal and courage. He has, however, given us a great
set-back to what would otherwise have been success in every-
thing."
How complete this disaster was is shown by this extract
from the testimony given before the Naval Committee of the
House of Bepresentatives by one of Mr. Stimers's own oorp%
Alexander Henderson, Chief Engineer, IJ.S.K.
QuetHon. Were those veoaels known as "the light-draught monitors'*
ever used at all ?
Antvoer. Some of them, I believe, attempted an existenoe, but it was
a very brief one.
Quea, Were they not all f ailuresi so that thej oould not oany their
guns?
Ans, Totally and entirely, without an exception, so far as I know.
Quss, Were any of them of any valne as naval ships in the navy ?
An9, Not of the slightest ; and hardly valuable as old material. It
would cost more to cut them up than they were worth. There was an
attempt, I believe, to make use of them as torpedo boats, but they were
so deficient in^peed as to be hardly able to get out of their own way.
I remember of one that came there, on the James Biver, without any
turret, and she had a gun up ; and the idea of an unprotected gun on
the deck of a monitor was a new one to me at the time, and it made a
forcible impression on me.
Change of occupation was Ericsson's play, and in spite of the
enormous load upon him when he was devoting from twelve to
fourteen hours a day to Government work, he found time to
torn aside to commend to the President of the United States
YoL.IL— ^
84 LIFB OF JOHN EBI08S0K.
, the adoption of a repeating rifle. Had his advice concerning
this been acted upon, not only would the Government have
had an addition to the aggressive power during the war equiva-
lent to a reinforcement of hundreds of thousands of men, but
it would have been twenty years in advance of other nations
in adopting this weapon, now in use in every modem army
except that of the United States. Ericsson's letter is a most
significant illustration of his quick apprehension of the military
necessities of the time on sea and land which amounted to
genius. ^^ To His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States," he wrote, August 2, 1862 :
Sm : I most respectfully call your attention to Mr. Rafael's repeat-
ing rifle. I have examined this formidable war instrument, and fiod it
free from those imperfeotions which invariably defeat the usefulness of
such oontrivances. My long practical experience, together with my
knowledge of military matters, enable me to judge with sufficient accu-
racy of the utility of this weapon. By its adoption the detached bodies
of men necessary to retain possession of the places captured from the
rebels, will at once be able to hold out against and defeat the concen-
trated force which the cunning enemy will, from time to time, hurl
upon your small and necessarily isolated detachments.
The time has come, Mr. President, when our cause will have to
be sustained not by numbers, but by superior weapons. By a proper
application of mechanical devices alone will you be able with absolute
certainty to destroy the enemies of the Union. Such is the inferiority
of the Southern States in a mechanical point of view, that it is suscep-
tible of demonstration that, if you apply our mechanical resources to the
fullest extent, you can destroy the enemy without enlisting another man.
As a beginning you will do well to put into the hands of your ex-
posed Western detachments the little war engine to which I have called
your attention. One regiment of intelligent men provided with a hun-
dred of these effective weapons, can most assuredly defeat and destroy a
four-fold number of enemies. *
Ericsson also found time to suggest to the Government a plan
of flying artillery. Of this Fox wrote September 27, 1862,
saying: " Blair* likes it much, and I have mentioned it to the
Army Ordnance and the Assistant Secretary of "War. It is
pretty hard work to get anything started here, and I doubt if
anything can be done unless it is proved. Blair thinks you
* General Frank P. Blair, brother-in-law of Mr. Fox.
INTBRFBRBNOE WITH BBIOSSON's PLANS. 86
•
had better make a set and prove how easily it can be accom*
pliahed, and I am inclined to press yon upon the subject which
I call monitors on shore ; bat you mast recollect one thing —
yonr brain is mortgaged to us to a certain extent. Think of tlie
iron-dad, the six-footers, the Puritan and the Dictator. You
are already carrying a terrible load, and I beg of you not to
overtask it. I feel we are incomplete without the six-footers ;
the enemy will draw himself into his shell after the ten-footers
have hammered him, and we can't get him out. I beg of you
to look at this— 20 feet for foreign nations ; 10 feet for coast
defence and harbor work ; 6 feet for rivers. The series seem
incomplete without them ; I rely upon you and there are several
ahops ready to go into them."
t
CHAPTER XXL
BATTLB EEOORD OF THE MONITOBS.
Evils of the Kavy Bureau System. — ^Two Large Monitors Ordered.— The
DickUor and the Puritan, — ^Poyertj of the Goyemment. — ^Peenniaij
Embarrassments. — ^Application to Congress for Belief. — Interfer-
ence with Ericsson's Work. — Handsome Acknowledgments of his
Services. — ^The Monitors nnder Fire. — Attempts to Capture Charles-
ton.— ^Dramatic Episodes of War.
AT the time of our great civil war the Kavy suffered, as it
suffered before, and as it still suffers in lesser measure,
from what is known as the ^^ Bureau System." It is an in-
genious device for giving to incapacity, indifference, and stupid-
ity the solemn sanction of official utterance ; for reducing the
pace of the swiftest to that of the slowest — the zeal, intelligence,
and energy of the ablest to the capacity of the most sluggish
in comprehension and the most inert in action. The building,
equipping, and manning of naval vessels is entrusted to half
a dozen independent bureau chiefs, a single incompetent or
sluggish officer may thwart the most zealous efforts of his as-
sociates, and the plan of naval selection by survival, without
regard to fitness, influences the choice of bureau officers,
their appointment being usually limited to those who have
grown old in the service, but not necessarily wise. The pres-
ence in the Kavy Department of Mr. Fox, who had broken
away from the influence of routine and tradition, served in a
measure to correct the evils of a vicious system, but only in a
measure. If he proposed, be must of necessity leave others to
execute, and the result was delay and inaction where the cir-
cumstances imperatively demanded the utmost energy in per*
formance.
It was on June 18, 1862, as we have seen, that Ericsson was
informed by Mr. Fox that the Department had resolved to build
two large monitors; it was not until August 8th that he finally
BATTLE BEOOBD OF THE HONITOBS. S7
reodved authority to proceed with the work upon them« As his
spedflcations for these vesselB had been submitted to the De-
partment on May 19, 1862, nearly three months had been oc-
cupied by the Naval Bureaus in moving the ponderous ma-
chinery of official cogitation to the point of action — a period
only a little less than that in which Ericsson had planned a Tea-
sel of original and revolutionary type, executing the work in all
its details, and sent it into action to startle the world with its
achievement.
The Dictator was under way, indeed, nearly six weeks be*
fore her designer had proper authority for commencing her,
and from this time on the history of his dealings with the De*
partment concerning this vessel and her sister ship, the Puri-
tofij is one weary record of delay and annoyance. At the time
the original contract for these vessels was made, no practical
knowledge had been obtained respecting turreted vessels, ex'
cepting from the brief experience of the original Monitor.
Accordingly, the specifications of the contract rested mainly on
the peculiar mechanism of that vessel. The Passaic class of ar^
mor-clads were tested in actual service some eight months aftel
the date of the contract. Then, various defects were reported
by the commanders of these vessels. These Ericsson was re-
quested by the Department to correct, if possible. He was at
the same time informed that all changes and improvements
would be paid for, the Assistant Secretary sending word to the
€h>vemment Inspector to ^^ tell Ericsson we want all his im-
provements, and that we will pay liberally for the same."
This was sufficient for the zealous engineer, whose delight
was in the perfection of his work rather than in the pay he re-
ceived for it It was not sufficient for his shrewd business as-
sociates. The suggestions for change multiplied so rapidly that
they urged Ericsson to embody them in specifications to be sub-
mitted for formal approval by the Navy Department. A sup-
plementary specification was prepared, and the amount of the
additional outlay stipulated. This document, occupying sixty
pages of foolscap, was presented to the Department, and not a
single modification or improvement suggested ; but when it came
to payment, the prices were objected to and some items, '^ con-
trary U fact, justice, and common sense," as Ericsson justly
88 LIFB OF JOHK EBIOSSOK.
tontended, were ruled out as forming part of the original con
tract No allowance was made for the circumstance that prioa
were constantly changing at this war period, and that large ad*
vances in the cost of improvements occurred between the time
of submitting the specifications for them and the actual ordering
of the work.
Time was important, and under the continued expectation
that the Department would formally approve what they had
informally agreed to and ordered, Ericsson and his associates
expended $650,000 on the vessels up to May 9, 1864, in excess
of the payments by the Government. He could not go further
with work not legally authorized, and which, as his experience
with the Princeton showed, might never be paid for. He
was compelled accordingly to notify the Department to that
effect, c^ling their attention at the same time to the great in-
crease in prices during the ten months occupied by the Depart*
ment in cogitating upon his supplementary specifications before
they were ready to act upon them. To Mr. Fox he wrote, July
27, 1864, saying : " Finishing the Dictator under the present
enhanced prices is costly beyond my worst anticipations. We
pay for many articles four times as much as they would have
cost about the time we made the contract. I derive consolation
from the reflection that when done the ship will be an honor to
the country."
Kot only was the expenditure in excess of the payments on
account but a nominal payment by the Gk>vemment in those
days meant actually the issue of a Treasury warrant, and this
must be sold at a discount to secure the means of meeting the
daily demands for work and material. *'The Government is
so remiss in its payments," wrote one of the gentlemen whose
business it was to discount such paper in July, 1864, ^^ that almost
everyone is losing confidence in its paper, and it is impossible
to raise money on bills at any price ; checks on the Sub-Treasury
have of late been endorsed as ^good' on presentation, and the
holders obliged to wait for an indefinite time. Contractors have
offered three per cent, on their bills and have been refused.
Unless there is a very marked improvement in our national anc
financial matters, we must decline taking any more GoYemment
Sills from any party."
BATTLE RBOOBD OF THE MONITOBS. 89
For a year Ericsson was kept in this state of sospense and
perplexity by the inaction of the Department. For this, no
doiibt| adequate explanation was to be found in the embarrass-
ments of the time. As early as July, 1863, he had been obliged
to notify the contractors to stop work because of the ^^ alarming
position in which he was placed from the fact that the Chief of
the Bureau of Construction " had not sanctioned changes or-
dered. One hundred thousand dollars had then been expended
upon work not technically authorized, and disbursements were
continuing at the rate of $5,000 each day.
Kine months later Ericsson reported to his friend Fox, that
the work then done and for which he had received $1,634,865,
could not be reproduced for $3,500,000. "I have done all that
tact and perseverance can do to carry the work almost to com-
pletion, but now feel compelled to say that the immediate pay*
ment of eight and one-third per cent, of the reservation on the
Dictator is indispensable." This payment was allowed and the
reservation reduced from one-quarter to one-sixth of the amount
of the contract The reservation had been originally fixed by
the Department at twenty per cent., and increased by Ericsson
for some reason to twenty-five per cent, making a difference
against himself by this change of $230,000 on the two ships,
which in the end proved to be a serious matter.
This was a temporary relief, but not sufficient. By June
1, 1864, Ericsson and his associates were forced to notify the
Department that they could go no farther with the Dictator,
and that they must insist upon a new contract for the Puri-
tan at increased prices, the old contract having been vacated
by the changes and delays due to the action of the Depart-
ment. This applied equally to the case of the Dictator, but
as the work had already been done upon that vessel it was
too late to insist upon this point. Up to that date, twenty-two
months iiad been occupied in building the two vessels, and the
outlay upon them in excess of receipts was $730,857, and $717,«
926 more was required to complete them. Deducting the
amount still due from the Government, there would be a defi-
ciency of $581,437, to be ultimately made good by Ericsson and
his associates, while meantime they were required to advance
$1,447,883 before receiving payment from the Goyemment of
40 LIFE OF JOHir ERIOSSOK.
any part of this large fium. Had they been Buffered to carry cni
the contract as originally agreed to, without alteration or sag
gestion of improvement or change, the vessels wonld have long
before been completed, and at a profit to the associates.
A conference was arranged in Washington between Erics-
son's three associates, Messrs. Winslow, Griswold and Bushnelli
and the Secretary, Assistant Secretary, and the Chief of the
Bureau of Construction, Mr. Lenthall. ^^At our intimation
that we should not deliver the Dictator or go on with the
Puritan^ they did not seem startled," reported Mr. Winslow,
'^ but rather received the announcement as natural and proper;
and while emphasizing the utter inability of the Department
to make any increased allowance upon the contract or to make
a new and amended contract for the want of authority, yet
they conceded we ought to have all we asked, and if we would
apply to Congress for it, the Department would aid us by
direct recommendation in its favor."
Application was accordingly made to Mr. Hale, Chairman of
the Senate Naval Committee. Mr. Winslow confessed to hav-
ing exerted considerable diplomacy in convincing him, as he was
^'averse to doing anything which he suspected might not be in
harmony with the wishes of the Department." The merits of
the case were apparent, and Senator Hale took prompt action.
A resolution was prepared that evening, presented to Mr. Hale
the next day, and favorably acted upon by the Senate on the
following day, and a month later had finally passed the two
houses of Congress. This resolution required the completion
of the Dictator under the existing contract, but authorized the
payment for the less advanced Puritan at its ^^ present value
as far as completed," and the value of the material on hand
^' deemed actnidly necessary to her construction." This valu^*
was to be determined by a Board and the vessel was to be com-
pleted by the Government. •
In a letter addressed to Senator Hale, in support of the
memorial of Ericsson, Secretary Welles described the monitors
as having rendered invaluable service to the country through
" their great strength, wonderful capability of endurance, power
of resistance, and efficiency," all of which have been ^^abun-
dantly proven." They were described as vessels ^^ that could
BATTLE BEOOBD OF THE M0NIT0B8. 41
and would in conflict overcome the most formidable armored
ahips afloat." So far as the work on the Dictator and Purir
tan was completed, Mr. Welles said :
It is. but justice to say that it is in all respects creditable to the
memorialist and satisfaotory to the Department. That the memorialist
and his associates or snb-contraotors are liable and likely to sustain loss
on the vast expenditure that has been made nnder the origi];ial contract
is not questioned. The Department, knowing the embarrassments at-
tending this great outlay, has extended its farorable consideration to
this case. The work was norel, tmanticipated delays intervened, ^reat
changes have taken place in our monetazy concerns, affecting prices and
every business interest, for none of which, however, was this Depart-
ment responsible, and could therefore afford no relief. The case is one
that presents itself to Oongress for fair and liberal consideration. The
memorialist has been a public benefactor, and in the fulness of his pa-
triotic zeal has freely given to his country the productions of his genius
and the labors of a remarkable mind. In doing this, and in undertaking
to furnish the Government with vessels that would give it maritime su-
premacy, he does not appear to have been influenced by pecuniary mo-
tives. His work has been well done, and is worthy of the Government
and country. Machinery to execute his contract has to some extent
had to be made by the memorialist in order to construct his vessels,
which are themselves novel in naval architecture. These and other
causes, partly at least governmental, contribute to make his case an
unusual one.
This was the sentiment of the Secretary and of his Assist-
ant Handsome as was this acknowledgment of the ser-
vices of Ericsson, it did not relieve him from the consequences
of the illiberality of the Bnreans in passing upon his contract.
*^ Notwithstanding the positive recommendation of Admiral
Gregory to pay the whole amount claimed," he wrote to Sena-
tor Hale, '^ and notwithstanding the awai*d in my favor of two
separate boards of naval officers and engineers, more than one-
third of the work enumerated in my supplemental specification
for extra work has been ruled out by the Department under
the assumption (most erroneous in my humble opinion) that it
formed part of the contract. Kor is this all, for the prices in
my supplemental specification were fixed a year ago, since
which an increase of thirty per cent, on labor and material has
taken place."
Thns it wonld appear that Ericsson's difficnlties with the
43 LIFE OF JOHK BBIOSSOlf.
Dictator and Pvritan were the reralt partly of hig proCeenonal
anxiety to make his work complete, which led him to too con^
fident a reliance upon unofficial promises of reimbursement for
his increased outlay ; partly to the peculiar conditions of the
times ; but chiefly to the difBcolty of accomplishing anything
through the cumbersome machinery of Boards and Bureaus.
Govemment used plans it never paid him for to build vessels
in competition with him in the same ship-yards, and to com*
pete with him for labor and material in markets depleted in a
measure of supplies by the enormous demands of war, and of
labor by the temptations offered for enlistment.
Even the draft ordered in 1863, to fill the thinned ranks of
the Army, came in to threaten him and others with the fur^
ther deprivation of workmen compelled to respond to an en-
forced demand for military service. This obliged him to ap-
peal to the Government to exempt the men engaged upon
Government work from the obligations of the conscription.
In support of his appeal he urged that exemption from mili-
tary service for men employed on the national vessels would
infuse new life into the building yards, attracting to them
skilful and good workmen in great numbers. ^^ A man draft-
ed to pursue rebels or dig trenches, does not," he contended,
^^ contribute more effectually to the defence of the nation than
the toiling laborer who heats and clenches the rivets of the ar-
mor intended to resist hostile shot."
A million and a half of men had by this time been called
into the military service of the United States, and, making all
allowance for re-enlistments, much over one million had been
actually taken from the industries of the Korth, besides the
army of those engaged in the vast system of industries imme-
diately connected with the supply and transportation of troops.
Finances were disordered, and prices of material subjected to
the most rapid fluctuations, as the sensitive pulses of traffic beat
responsive to the good or evil fortune of capricious war. More
than a thousand engagements of greater or lesser moment were
already on the record, and still we had not reached the skir-
mish known as that of the " Devil's Back Bone,'' which stands
midway between engagement No. 1, the ^^ Assault on Fort Sum-
ter," on April 12, 1861, and engagement No. 2,261, the '^ Sur*
BATTLE BBOORD OV THB H0NIT0B8. 43
rclnder Of Kirby Smith/' a little more than four yean later,
which is officially declared to have ended the war. It was thus
at the very high tide of military contention and business dis*
turbance that Ericsson was called upon to do his heaviest work
for the Government
When the " big vesaelsi^ as they were called, were first pro-
jected, the Department considered the advisability of building
three or four. Mr. Fox thought there should be four, and wrote
to ask whether this number could not be built for a million of
dollars each ; Ericsson replied most emphatically that it was im-
possible to build them for less than the price named. This was
$1,160,000 for each. He added that to build them for this
price it was necessary that detailed working plans should be fur.
nished at once for every part of the vessel and machinery, to en-
able manufacturers to estimate the cost with perfect accuracy
and to start the work right away. Everyone can understand
the embarrassment a contractor was subjected to who was ex-
posed to constant delays and changes under the conditions of a
rising market. Good work Ericsson would have at any price.
To one of his sub-contractors he wrote : ^^ If the enforcement of
good, honest, accurate work is likely to produce what you know
as ' a row ' under your present foreman, you will do well at once
to make a change."
When we recall the shameful waste of money, and the mel-
ancholy loss of life, resulting during our great war from the
ignorant or dishonest neglect of the obligations of public duty,
the record of John Ericsson as a contractor shines out like a star
from the gloom of night. In a circular dated '^ Navy Depart-
ment, December 24, 1864," Secretary Gideon Welles said : "The
lives of our brave men and the honor of the flag are bound up
in a rigid inspection of all our iron contracts, and yet there is
not a single instance known where a superintending engineer
has held a contractor through every step of his work to an exact
compliance with every specification of his contract." "An
engineer of approved int^rity and rigid and critical ability,"
Chief Engineer J. W. King, U.S.N., was accordingly appointed
to examine all contract iron work in progress. The next year
he reported on thirty different establishments, especially com-
mending the work of two contractors. These two were the
44 LIFE OF JOHK BTUOSSON.
Oorliee Engine Co., and John Ericsson. Of the work of the
engines and boilers of the Madawaskay built at the Allaire works
under the direction of Ericsson, Mr. King said, ^^ The workman-
ship throughout on all the boilers is first class and the material
sound, so far as can be seen. The iron was not tested, because
no pieces could be found from which the shells were made.''
Altogether, Mr. King examined 245 marine boilers in different
parts of the country.
During the civil war, $61,781,684 were spent on the hulls and
engines of 121 vessels which had to be condemned and broken
up within a short time, all of them having disappeared from
the naval list within the next twelve or thirteen years, leaving
as their relics only a half a dozen sets of machinery stored at
Navy Yards. Thirty of these vessels never did a day's service.
Nine of them, besides the wretched light-draught monitors,
were condemned on the stocks, or before they went into com-
mission. Altogether, nearly eighteen millions of dollars were
expended upon vessels utterly worthless from the beginning.
In addition, four and a half million of dollars were wasted in
building engines for nine ships which were never built nor even
started. These vessels, be it remembered, were not ordered
merely for war purposes, but for durability and to furnish a
permanent increase to the Navy. Some of them rotted on the
stocks before they were launched.*
Following its encounter with the M&rrimaOy the original
Monitor was sent up the James River, with the iron-clad Oale-
na and several wooden vessels, to make a demonstration against
Richmond. This, says Professor Soley, was '^ one of the boldest
and best conducted operations of the war, and one of which
very little notice has been taken. Had Commander Rodgers
been supported by a few brigades, landed at City Point or above
on the south side, Richmond would have been evacuated. The
Virginians crew alone barred his way to Richmond ; otherwise
the obstructions would not have prevented his steaming up
to the city, which would have been as much at his mercy as
was New Orleans before the fleet of Farragut*' ('^Battles and
Leaders of the Civil War," p. 761).
It was the first time that the Monitor had been subjected
* See TeBtlmon/ before Committee on Naval Affain^ 1879.
BATTLE RECORD OF THE MONITORS. 46
to the fire of forts, and Rodgers reported that she ^^ could not
have done better." Thirteen shot and shell perforated the side
of the Oalena^ killing thirteen men and woanding eleven with
fragments of her own iron. There were no casualties on the
Monitor and she was struck but three times, no damage
being done. Being asked his opinion as to the danger of pierc-
ing the decks bj tlie plunging fire from the forts, Ericsson re-
plied that there was no danger. ^^ Much is feared," he said,
<^ from plunging fire by those who onl j look up to the top of a
hill without estimating the relative proportions of base and al-
titude. It very seldom happens that batteries are high enough
to give an effective plunging fire. In the Crimea there were a
few instances of effective plunging shot."
Still, Ericsson was the victim of no delusions concerning his
vessels, and as we have seen, he did not share the enthusiastic
belief of some of his admirers that they could be effectually used
in an open attack against forts.^ As early as September 30,
1862, he wrote to Mr. Fox : " I strongly urged Mr. Stimers
yesterday to impress you with the fact that the number of fif-
teen-inch guns, rather than the number of vessels, will decide
your success against the stone forts."
The Southern city of Charleston was at this time occupying
the attention of the Kavy Department, and on April 10, 1863,
he wrote with reference to the use of the monitors in the naval
attack, saying :
I candidly confess that I cannot share in jonr confidence relative to
the capture of Charleston. I am so much in the habit of estimating
force and resistance that I cannot feel sanguine of success. If you do
succeed, it will not be a mechanical consequence of your ''marvel-
lous " vessels, but because you are marvellously fortunate. The most /
dare hope is, that the contest will end without the loss of that prestige
which your iron-clads have conferred on the nation abroad. If armed
with proper guns, I believe your seven turret- vessels, now before Charles-
ton, would destroy the whole present fleet of England. A single shot
* Ten years after the war Ericsson wrote, saying : " In reply to yoor land
letter asking for a copy of ' acknowledgments received complimentary to
what you are pleased to oaU my ' great work,' I beg to state that nothing
ooald iudaoe me to lay before the world the approving opinions of the monitor
system without also presenting the adverse criticisms of my work which learned
as weU as skilful, practical men have written in great numbers.'*
46 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
win sink a ship, while a hundred ronndB cannot silence a fort, as joq
have proyed on the Ogeechee. The immutable laws of force and resist-
ance do not faror your enterprise. Chance therefore can only saye yon.
I am much pleased to learn that yon intend to yisit New York, bnt
hope you will not wait until the " CHiarleston matter is settled."
C!ould anything be clearer than this ? Could any judgment be
freer from the bias of prejudice in favor of one's own creations
than Ericsson showed his to be in this particular instance ? If
he did not believe the monitors could subdue forts, attacking
them by day, he did believe that they would have great ad-
vantages in an attack by night. As he also believed that they
could with impunity run by fortifications, however heavily
armed, if they had an unobstructed channel, his efforts were
directed to devising some means of clearing the way for them
into Charleston harbor. To Fox he wrote (October 24, 1862).*
Mr. Stimers has mentioned to me the subject of the removal of the
obstruction in the harbor of a certain Southern city. As the problem is
an old one in militazy science, I am not quite unprepared to advise in
the matter. The removal of piles by the process of explosion is a very
tedious one, and nearly impracticable under the enemy's guns. The
explosion of powder under water is quite local, its effect being remark-
ably limited, owing to the incompressible nature and great specific
gravity of water. Should you be correct in your supposition that piles
form the chief obstruction, we can make short work of it by ploughing
a channel through it by means of a deep iron-bound raft pushed by one
of our monitors, the process being a continuous butting and backing-
This operation can be carried on quite well during the darkness of night
by mooring two vessels in line with the desired channel. The butting
vessel by taking back sight can, in this way, operate accurately in any
given line. I shall be very happy to contrive the butting raft of such a
form as to suit the bow of our vessels without straining the same during
the heavy butting operation.
Ericsson's belief in the possibilities of a night attack upon
Charleston is confirmed by that of P. G. T. Beauregard, the
best Confederate authority on this subject. Writing to the
Philadelphia Weekly IHmee in October, 1877, General Bean-
regard said :
It is pertinent for me, professionally, to remark that, had the Fed-
eral naval attack on Fort Sumter of April 6, 1863, been made at nigh^
BATTLS BBCOBD OF THB HOKITOBS« 47
wliile the fleet oould easily have approached near enoagh to aee the
fort — a large, loftj object, coyering several acres — ^the monitors, which
were relatiyelj so small and low on the water, oonld not have been seen
from the fort. It would have been impossible, therefore, for the latter
to have retnmed, with any accoracj, the fire of the fleet, and this plan
of attack oonld hare been repeated every night until the walls of the
fort should have crumbled under the enormous missiles which made
holes two and a half feet deep in the walls, and shattered the latter in
an alarming manner. I could not then have repaired during the day
the damages of the night, and I am confldent now, as I was then, that
Fort Sumter, if thus attacked, must hare been disabled and silenced in
a few days. Such a result, at that time, would hare been necessarily
followed by the evacuation of Morris and Sullivan Islands, and soon
after of Oharleston itself, for I had not yet had time to complete and
arm the system of works, including James Island and the inner harbor,
which enabled us, six months later, to bid defiance to Admiral Dahl-
gren's powerful fleet and Gillmore's strong land forces.
In a letter enclosing this to Ericsson, Captain Fox said :
^' This oonfirms all yon said at the time, and justifies the De-
partment in its course then pursued, though we were obliged to
differ with one of our great admirals " (Da Pont). In his ac-
count of the military operations of Oeneral Beauregard, his
aid-de-camp, Alfred Boman, repeats this statement more in de-
tail, saying :
^^ What General Beauregard apprehended most was a night
attack by the Federal monitors and iron-dads. Daring a dark
night nothing could prevent them taking a position snfficiently
near Fort Sumter, and there opening fire upon it with almost
certain impunity. By repeating the manoeuvre several nights
in succession, they might eventually batter down the walls of
the fort and dismount most of its guns, or blow up its maga-
zines. It was evident tliat Sumter, being a large object, could
be seen well enough to be fired at with approximate precision,
even at night ; while the monitors, being small, and lying low
in the water, would hardly be discernible from the fort, and,
if made to change their positions after each discharge, might
render impossible any accuracy of aim on the part of our gun-
ners, who would be left with nothing else to guide them but
the fiash of the enemy's pieces. And General Beauregard was
of the opinion that, by establishing floating lights of different
48 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
colors at the entrance of the various channels leading into tb«
inner harbor, and by frequent soundings, rendered easy by
most excellent coast-survey maps in the possession of the Fed-
eral commanders, the plan of attack just described could have
been carried out with no serious difficulty, and to the advantage
of the enemy, especially if undertaken while the tides were
stationary, or nearly so. Fortunately, however, Admiral Du
Pont, and the other naval commanders having charge of the
hostile fleet, did not attempt this simple mode of attack, against
which the guns of Sumter and of the works around the har-
bor would have been almost powerless." *
The rafts suggested by Ericsson were prepared and sent to
Charleston, where one of them was attached to the monitor Wee-
hawhen — ^leading the advance in the attack of April 7, 1863.
The commander of the Weehawken reported saying : " No vessel
could carry it except in smooth water. Its motions did not cor-
respond to the movements of the WeehauikeTi, Sometimes
when she rose to the sea the raft fell, and the reverse. Thus
we were threatened with having it on our decks under the over-
hang. !N^o prudent man would carry the torpedo attached to
the raft in a fleet ; an accidental collision would blow up his
own friend, and he would be more dreaded than an enemy.''
Ericsson, who did not accept this conclusion, wrote to Mr.
Fox : ^^ Our naval operations at Charleston are conducted in a
manner calculated to work great mischief. It is truly unfortu-
nate that your original plan of breaking up the obstructions
and running past the forts has not been carried out. It is now
evident that, unless you order the rafts to be employed at once,
the prestige of the monitor system will receive a fatal blow.
Any broadside vessel covered with four-inch plating and armed
with eleven-inch shell guns will beat the whole monitor fleet
out of siglit at shelling forts. Yet a monitor, with her fifteen-
inch solid shot could sink such broadside vessel to the bottom
in ten minutes. I trust, sir, that you will interpose your
strong arm and at once order the monitors to be pushed straight
up against the rebel obstructions, armed with the rafts and
bottom scrapers. The reluctance to employ the rafts amazes
* Military Operations of Gen. Beauregard, bj Alfred Boman, voL iL|
p. 62.
BATTLE BEOORD OF THE MONITOBS. 49
me, as the perfect safety against the enemy's torpedoes insured
by the bottom scrapers is self-evident."
Again, a month later, he wrote :
" That your rafts with their thirty-feet shells — if an adequate
number be exploded — will remove the obstructions, there can
be no doubt ; but I foresee certain destruction to the monitors,
with tlieir unprotected propeUerSy when the vessels reach the
inney harbor. I need not remind you of what you have so
often pointed out, viz., that the most insignificant obstructions
may entangle the propeller and thereby render the vessel help-
less." The shells referred to were thirty feet long, weighed
over six thousand pounds, and carried a charge of seven hun-
dred pounds of powder. In preliminary experiments with them
it was found that they subjected the raft to no danger, as the
explosive force acted forward.
The Obstruction Remover, or "boot-jack," as the sailors
called it, was designed to clear the channel of all obstacles in-
terfering with the passage of a vessel, including torpedoes,
fixed or fioating, and electric torpedoes at anchor. It was a
raft, fastened in front of an advancing vessel, and carrying tor-
pedoes so arranged as to be fired upon contact with an obstruc-
tion, the force of the explosion being thrown forward by plac-
ing air-chambers in front of the torpedoes, so that the resistance
was less in that direction than any other. The diagrams on
pages 50 and 56 show the nature of this contrivance.
To the son of the Admiral who succeeded Du Pont in com-
mand, Dahlgren, Ericsson wrote, January 18, 1864:
I note particnlarlj what you say of the ability of a dozen monitoTS
to take Charleston. I cannot agree with yon. My opinion is that if
the Admiral should rashly bring his dozen torret-vessels into the fire
of the batteries of the inner harbor, amoUg the numerous entangling
obstructions, he will be compelled to leave half the number behind,
and come out without having taken Charleston. Has it not been fully
established that you cannot silence a single small fort ? Why, then, im-
agine that you can destroy a series of fortifications ; ingenious construc-
tions to a£ford perfect protection to their defenders, your destroyers ?
Admiral Dahlgren has already achieved his greatest triumph at Charles-
ton by shutting up the port. He has earned the lasting gratitude of
the nation by this act and damaged the rebellion to an incalculable ex-
tent His merit will be acknowledged in due season, and the good use
Vol. H.— 4
I* ObMnieUsn Rfmow. Plwi u
T. T. T. SzpkMtve ^ipnttu formed of two aatrbaa iImIIk Hch IIM tsN looK br U
tnebM In dlcmmr. chwvgd with UO ponndi ot No. T powder, tba two being nnlted In Ir b]
nwMuatawiln-Clglit iotoL A, A, A, A, Ctniper >ir4lumbcn Ottad lo ttetrant ot tba tv
pedo In order to direct ths tone Of tbeflipWoDtafwacd. B, B, Sqiuie ttmbars to wUch Om
torpadoes and Uw ■h>cb*mb«n are luCcoed. C, C, IXno-biMnl placed panllel to Ibe bean
B.B, aod attached to It bj the radio, a. wblcbHtniMD Ibe nrcDidonfnaeawheD Ibe IrlEger
aa ao obatanle. D. D. Triggara connectliig witb tba parcnaaioii fnaea In tba torpa
BATTLB KBOOBB OF THE MONITOBS. SI
he has made of the Monitor has already paid the cost manj times oyer.
It will greatly add to your father's repntation that a grand naval hero,
his predeoessor, declared the Monitor inadequate to the service which,
under your father's skilful direction, has been so successfully per^
formed.
Admiral Dahlgren himself was more sanguine, for he wrote
seven months later than this, from off Charleston (August 4,
1864):
The positive evidence here in favor of the monitors is very plain —
what has not been done with them amounts to nothing against them. I
do not object to fight forts with them — nor even forts, iron-clads, and
obstructions combined, as here — ^but should like enough monitors to
make sure of a useful result, and not hazard interests more important
than even Charleston, which a disaster to the only iron-clad fleet of the
Union would have insured.
The monitor Tecumaehj lost in Admiral Farragat's attack
upon Mobile, August 5, 1864, was the victim neither of forts
nor iron-clads, but of a torpedo which she ran against owing to
the neglect of her commanding officer. Captain T. A. Craven,
to keep to the channel he was ordered to follow. Describing
this occurrence, a distinguished officer of the U. S. Navy, Cap-
tain Foxhall A. Parker, in his " Battle of Mobile Bay," pp, 13
and 26, said :
The morale of the Union fleet then was what the French would call
superb ; all, from the highest to the lowest, placing implicit faith in Far-
ragut, and all prepared to take any risks when led by him. Thus, while
the Oaptain of the Winnebago was coolly walking back and forth on the
bridge of his vessel, giving orders first to the gunners of one turret,
then to those of the other, how to direct their fire, a negro seaman, prob-
ably stationed at the life-buoy, was as coolly promenading the poop-
deck of the Qalena, Seemingly unconscious of all that was i)a8sing
around him, this man, with his hands uplifted to heaven, was loudly
singing a negro hymn. God knows what thoughts were passing through
his mind on this his day of jubilee I
At this moment, when the eyes of all were riveted on the iron-
clads, expecting to see them hotly engaged as soon as the Tecumaek
should have passed the lines of torpedoes intervening between them,
the Brooklyn and the Hartford poured a broadside into Fort Morgan,
62 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
driving the enemy helter-skelter from their barbette and water-bat-
teries.
The sight was an inspiriting one, and, in the enthusiasm of the mo-
ment, the gallant Graven, who thirsted for the honor of engaging the
ram singly, gave the fatal order, Hard a-starboard I and dashed straight
at her, his course taking him to the westward of the large red bnoy.
The bow gnn of the Tennessee, loaded with a steel bolt weighing 140
pounds, was kept steadily trained upon the monitor as she advanced.
"Do not fire, Mr. Wharton,*' cried Captain Johnston, of the TenneS'
seSf ** until the vessels are in actual contact."
"Aye, aye, sir," was the cool response of Wharton, as he stepped to
the breech of the bow gun, in expectation of a deadly fight at close
quarters.
Scarce were the words uttered when the Tecumseh, reeling to port as
from an earthquake shock, foundered, head foremost, with almost every
soul on board, destroyed by a torpedo. A few of her crew were ob-
served to leap wildly from her turret ; for an instant her screw was seen
revolving in air — and then there was nothing left to show that the Te-
cumseh had ever formed one of that proud Union fleet, but a small boat
washed from her deck, and a number of half -drowned men struggling
fiercely for life in the seething waters which had closed over their vessel
forever.
Such was the fate of the Tecumseh !
Short shrift had they who went down with her I Yet, short as the
time of her foundering was, it has furnished us with one of those mag-
nificent episodes of war which make famous the annals of nations.
Craven and Mr. John Collins, the pilot of the Tecumseh^ met, as
their vessel was sinking beneath them, at the foot of the ladder leading
to the top of the turret.
Great and good men often err ; but they differ from ordinary mortals
in this, that they are willing to atone for their errors even with their
lives, if necessary. It may be, then, that Craven, in the nobility of his
soul, for all know he was one of nature's noblemen ; it may be, I say,
that in the nobility of his soul, the thought flashed across him that it
was through no fault of his pilot that the Tecumseh was in this peril ;
he drew back. " After you, pilot," said he grandly.
« There was nothing after me," relates Mr. Collins, who fortunately
lived to tell this tale of heroism ; " when I reached the utmost round of
the ladder, the vessel seemed to drop from under me."
Yet Craven's words, carried to heaven by approving angels as evi-
dence of man's humanity to man, wiU live forever in the book of life,
with no tear on the page to efiSftce the record. Therefore, the navy
points with exultation — not regret — ^to the buoy off Fort Morgan, which
watches over his iron tomb.
When the Tecumseh went down, the crew of the Hartford sprang
upon her starboard hammock rail, and gave three loud, defiant cheers.
BATTLE BEOORD OF THE MONITORS. 08
This cheering wbb mistaken by the orew of the vessels following the
Hartford, as an indication of some advantage gained over the enemy,
and taken np by them in snccession,
^^Admiral Farragat now admits," said Ericsson, referring to
this engagement, ^^ that a single monitor can sink a whole fleet
of wooden vessels. He was convinced after seeing his own
gnn-deck covered with blood and mangled bodies by the fire
from the ram, while on board the turret-vessels not so much
blood was shed aA a mosquito could draw."
CHAPTER XXH
THE MONITOR VERSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP.
The Ck>ntroyeny over the Monitor. — Its Inflnenoe upon Naynl Oonstmo-
tion.— The Tests of Battle.— The Port-Stopper and Balanced Bud*
der.— Ericsson's Ability as a Writer. — Sailor Characteristics. — Op*
position of Admiral Da Pont, Captain Percival Drayton, and others.
^-Monitors as Sea-boats.— Engineering Ignorances-Ericsson's Sea»
lead.
THE controversy started by the advent of the monitor has
not yet fought itself out, bat many of the arguments and
some of the prejudices arrayed against Ericsson in the begin-
ning have been eliminated from it. He was required, first to
establish the superiority of the armored to the unarmored
vessel for the purposes of war, and next to defend a peculiar
and, from the nautical point of view, most obnoxious system
of armored construction, against assaults, prompted not only
by objections to the system itself, but by crudities in its
early examples which gave just occasion for offence. The de-
ficiencies in motive power, in guns, in armor plate and other
material, gathered in haste and put together by inferior work-
men unfamiliar with their tasks — all these counted against him
in the public, as well as in the professional, estimate of tlie
value of his system. The ignorance of the engineers and fire-
men, to whom the management of these novel structures was
assigned, and the inability of naval officers, trained in a differ-
ent school, to at once adapt themselves to new conditions — all
were urged as effective arguments for the adoption of some
other form of armored battle-ship ; precisely what form no one
knew then, no one knows now, so far as agreement of profes-
sional opinion is to be accepted as a guide to knowledge.
The tendency of naval sentiment is, as it always must be, to
the combination in a single vessel of incompatible conditionflt
THE MOIOTOB YEBSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP* 66
For speed we mast have engine-room and coal capacity ; for of-
fence, enormous guns ; for defence, heavy armor ; for the com-
fort of officers and crew, ample space for wardroom, steerage
quarters and berth decks. To combine these in a single vessel,
and to add the necessary ^ top hamper " to admit of carrying
sail in the event of a temporary loss of engine power, calls for
such a craft as never yet sailed the sea. There must be compro-
mise somewhere, and the warring factions are still disputing
as to what is to be insisted upon as most essential. If in times
of peace the claims of comfort, of dignity, and display have the
first place in naval regard, in war the factors of offence and de-
fence become the dominating ones. Naval officers have much
the same objection to living in a monitor that a knight of old
may be supposed to have had to eating and sleeping in his.
armor. It is for the fight only.
Ericsson dealt with the question from the point of view of
the engineer, and he always insisted that his monitors were not
meant to be vessels in the strictly nautical sense, but fioating
batteries. He strove to combine the maximum of offence and
defence by reducing the area of the fioating surface he was re-
quired to cover and the number of guns he was expected to
protect ; concentrating a given weight of metal in a few large
pieces, and adding to their aggressive force by enlarging the
area of their fire from an arc of a few degrees to the complete
circle of three hundred and sixty degrees.
The extent to which these ideas have infiuenced modem
naval construction can be seen by examining the armor-clads of
any naval power. Ericsson further added complete protection
for his anchor, rudder, and propeller by his contrivance of an
overhang, discarding, as we have seen, the forward overhang in
his later vessels in deference to naval demands. It will be time
enough to say how far the features considered by him as essen-
tial to his system can be modified or dispensed with, when ves-
sels of later construction are subjected to such a test of battle
as his monitors endured.
The protection given by the rear overhang to the propeller
was so complete that not one of the 1,030 hits received by the
PoMaio class of monitors injured this part of the vessel. The
forward overhang gave equal protection to the anchor, an.d
fiiB UFK OV JOHN ERICSSON.
thiB conld be raised and lowered without the enemy knowing
whether or not the vesael wag swinging at her anchor. The
overhang, do donbt, interfered with the speed of the Tease],
hnt it was in no danger of being torn away by the upward
action of the water nndemeath it, as the monitor rose and
fell with the waves. Tliis effect was less upon the eubmei^ed
overhang than upon the over-hanging paddle-boxes of au ocean
steamer. The central idea of the monitor was impr^na-
B[ end nlatau-ttw ■PP'i*-
H, llkrae Acnlar OMi^
- mda of ths boodu F, F.
Ki Rsit wUb the rau- eat oat to as to lit U» end of a monitor. H, Bow ind orarhuig at Oa
nasel. N. AiiclHiT.wel] of Lbe mcnltoc. O, O, fOiu" for faabEOfnc tlw ntt and boWbg In *
ai«d posllion. P, ADCbor^rel]. TbB deacrtptlOT oCUie olhei dla^un also wplloi to (tab ons.
bility. " I promised the Government in 1861," said Erics-
BOD, " to keep oat Confederate shots and kept my promise.
In no case was the eide-armor or turret pierced." The port-
holes of the turrets were cIoBcd by a heavy mass of iron, jointed
above and below, so that it conld be turned half around to
clear the port and back again to close it. Ooucerning this
"port-stopper," as it was called, Ericseou said: "I contem-
plate tliis simple device with more satisfaction than almost any
^-~ that tolerably exteusive catalogue of inventions which pro-
Si
THE MONITOB VEBSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 67
tracted labor has produced. The desigDing of an efficient port-
stopper, not liable to derangement, has long been considered bj
artillerists and military engineers as an idle dream of schemers
who know nothing about the force of projectiles. The value
of the turret system with its few guns is not only enhanced,
but doubled, by the absolute protection which this mechanical
device gives to the armament and crew. As the guns are
pointed without looking through the ports, the port-stopper is
only opened when the gun is to be discharged, and again closes
the instant the gun recoils."
In a communication to the Army and JfTavy Journal^ Ko«
vember 7, 1867, Ericsson said :
\ The fact that the projectiles of our opponents during the late oon«
% flict did not, in a single instance, strike the port-stoppers of the turrets,
furnishes the best argument in favor of the plan insisted upon by the
constructor. It is singular that, while our gallant sailors during the
war frequently appeared on the deoks of the monitors within range of
the enemy's fire, they never seemed satisfied, when inside, unless they
were hermetically sealed up.
Another feature of the monitors was the balanced rudder,
and this was introduced by Sir E. Eeed, Chief Constructor of
the British Navy, on H. M. S. BeUerophon in 1863. Mr. Reed
having been accused of copying it without credit, said in reply,
in a letter addressed to John Bourne :
"So far have I been from copying the balanced rudder un-
acknowledged, that the fact of its having been largely used by
^ Mr. Ericsson in his monitors, with success, was my strongest
j»J reason for pressing for permission to apply it to the BeUer"
i^ cphon and has throughout been my strongest justification for
using it. I have always said, and always wish it to be said,
^; that the general adoption of the balanced rudder by Mr. Erics-
^^ son was a very scientific and bold affair, and that I doubt
t^- if my own boldness in the matter (in applying it for the first
* .^ time in our navy to a ship of more than 4,000 tons) would
T.'^ have been approved or allowed to take effect, if I had not had
^ Mr. Ericsson's confident and successful example to appeal to."
*7^ In response to a statement by an officer of the British
!J^ Kavy in 1865, that it was an old English invention, Ericsson
i
68 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOBSOK.
said : ^^ I myself made it old by applying the balanced rudder
to steamers in England for the first time in 1834 — ^thirty-one
years ago." When he found that it was to be appropriated in
England without credit, he applied for a patent for it there.
^^ There is no question about the balance rudder acting as a
drag/' he said, '^ yet such are its advantages in point of steer-
ing steamships with single propellers that its employment is
proper/'
The relative efficiency of monitors and other armored vessels
was fully tested during our war. Whenever the trial came the
monitor type most signally vindicated itself ; and some of the
most striking and dramatic episodes of the war are connected
with its history. Summing up the record, Ericsson said :
^^ Captain Worden, commanding &LeM(mUnAk{P(i8saic class),
discovered, February 28, 1863, the Confederate corsair NaahwIU
in the Ogeechee Biver, Oeorgia, near Fort McAllister, watching
an opportunity to slip out to sea past the Union fleet. The
Confederate vessel was hidden by thick woods, excepting from
a point opposite tlie fort and within easy range of its guns.
Here Worden dropped his anchor and attacked the NashmUle^
while the fort opened fire upon him. A few minutes after the
commencement of the action, an 8-inch shot struck the pilot-
house within a few inches of the Commander's head ; yet no
notice was taken of the fire from the fort. At the fifth dis«
charge the Mordauk put a 15-inch shell into the body of the
enemy's vessel, the terrible explosion being distinctly heard
within the turret. Several other shells also hit the desired
mark, but the first had done the work efiPectually, and shortly
the smoke and fiames which enveloped the IfaahviUe was the
intelligence for the MordauKs gunners to cease firing. By un-
seen means, as usual, the anchor was then raised under the blast
from McAllister, and Worden retired in triumph after having
destroyed the enemy's vessel under his own fort ; thus demon-
strating that fortifications offer no protection to wooden vessels
against monitors with their impregnable turrets and their nearly
submerged, impenetrable hulls. The achievement marks an
epoch in naval history.
" In Admiral Porter's attack on Fort Fisher, during each en-
gagement (December 24, 1864, and January 15, 1865) the moni-^
THB MOOTTOB VEBSTTS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 69
ton were stationed in a direct line between the wooden fleet
and the fort. The monitor guns, it was evident, were not nu-
merous enough to make a serious impression on the extensive
lines of Fort Fisher, and yet their fifteen-inch shot and shells
werb indispensable to destroy bomb-proofs and magazines, etc
The sagacity of Porter proved equal to the emergency. He
found, by his computations of distance and elevation, that the
guns of his ships would send their projectiles just high enough
to pass over the monitors, if placed about half-way between the
fort and the fleet. The turret -vessels were accordingly as-
signed this dangerous position — dangerous to vessels less shot-
and bomb-proof than monitors — as shot from the fleet falling
short and shells prematurely exploding could not be avoided
/"K^ther a spirited and prolonged action. Here was presented
^'Tnm^ important novelty in naval tactics resulting from the
introduction of the new system."
These extracts from one of Ericsson's printed letters give
proof not only of the qualities of the monitors, but of Ericsson's
ability as a writer. Who could have better described these epi-
sodes of war in so brief a compass ?
On January 31, 1863, two Confederate iron-dad rams, Chi-
oora and Palmetto StatCy so disabled and dispersed the vessels
of the squadron off Charleston that a proclamation was formally
issued by the Confederate authorities declaring that the block-
ade was raised. Within a month the squadron was strengtli-
ened by the addition of four monitors, but Admiral Du Pont, who
commanded, had no faith in these new vessels and wrote (June
3, 1863) to the Department, announcing that he could not depend
upon them for protection against the sea-going iron-clads fitting
out in Southern ports.
The Confederates evidently shared this opinion, for a fort-
night later they sent out from Charleston their iron-clad At-
lantay accompanied by two excursion steamers filled with in-
tended spectators of Yankee discomfiture. She found the
monitor WeehawJcen^ in command of sturdy John Rodgers,
ready for her, and within fifteen minutes from the time that
vessel opened fire the AUcmta had surrendered. Yet this Con-
federate vessel was the one that Dn Pont chiefiy dreaded, and he
described her as the best that the enemy had.
60 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Still unconvinced by this brilliant stroke, Admiral Da Pont
reported that the monitors could not keep the sea, nor could
thej in his opinion blockade Charleston nearer than the harbor
of Koith Edisto, twenty-five miles distant. This want of faith
in tlie vessels under his control discouraged the Government,
and Admiral Du Pont was relieved from duty, greatly to his
mortification and the dissatisfaction of his friends. He was
sncceeded in command by Admiral Dahlgren on July 3, 1863,
and on the 10th of that month the monitors returned to the
blockade of Charleston, where they remained until the war
closed on that coast, in the middle of February, 1865.
During this service under the fire of the Charleston bat-
teries, the Patajpaco was in twenty-eight engagements without
suffering serious injury or the slightest derangement to her
turret. The Montauh was struck two hundred and fourteen
times, and the Weeha/wken one hundred and eightynseven times
by heavy shot.
In the attack at Mobile Bay it was left for the monitor
ManJuxUan to give the finishing stroke, with its fifteen-inch
gun, to the Confederate iron-clad ram Tennessee^ after Farragut
had engaged her at the closest quarters with all of his wooden
vessels, and three of them had rammed her with more injury
to themselves than to their adversary. The Tennessee is de-
scribed as '^ the most formidable vessel of her class that ever
carried the Confederate fiag," and it was a '^ subject of wonder
and admiration that Southern builders and seamen, crippled
in every department of construction and outfit, could have
wrought their little available material to so good a purpose."
Yet she was helpless under the guns of a monitor. Describing
the effect of their attack on the Ma/nhatta/n^ an officer of the
Tenneeaeey Lieutenant Wharton, says :
A hideoas-looking xnonBter came creeping up on our port side,
whose slowly revolving turret revealed the cavernous depths of a mam-
moth gan*
« Stand clear of the port side I *' I shouted.
A moment after a thunderous report shook us all, while a blast of
dense, sulphurous smoke covered our port-holes, and four hundred and
forty pounds of iron, impelled hy sixty pounds of powder, admitted day-
light through our side, where before it struck us there had been over
THE MONITOB VERSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 61
two feet of solid wood oorered with five inches of solid iron. The
TennesMe oonld drive shot after shot, and shell after shell, through
the sides of the wooden ships, bat the solid projectiles from her eight-
inch rifles were impotent against the iron-clads, whose gunners, from
their place of safety and advantage in the shot-proof turrets, could aim
and fire with all the coolness and security of participants in an artillery
target match.*
Some of the monitors daring the war were hit more than ;
five hundred times. At Fort Fisher they laid three days
under fire, and from the first monitor fight to the last but
three persons were killed on board of them, Captain G. W.
Bodgers and Paymaster Woodbury in the Catskilly and one
man on the Nahant The death of the first two resulted from
a shot striking the top of the pilot-bouse, and with reference to
it Ericsson wrote to the Secretary of the Navy (August 29,
1863) : " The injudicious objections raised by many experienced
officers and engineers to the projection of the turrets above
their roofs, I regret to say infiuenced me, or I would never have
placed the top of the pilot-house flush with the shell. The de-
plorable accident on board of the CatahiU imperatively calls
for an amendment and resort to the orginal idea of putting the
top some distance below the shell."
How many naval constructors are there who would feel
called upon to apologize because two men had been killed upon
one of their vessels subjected to a heavy bombardment from
forts ? The first shot from the fifteen-inch gun of the monitor
Weeha/wJcen prostrated forty men on the Atlcmta^ and the
third shot carried off the roof of her pilot-house altogether,
wounding the two pilots, and stunning the men at the wheel.
As Captain Kodgers, who commanded the Weehawheiij re-
marked concerning his adversaries : " The first shot took away
their disposition to fight, and the third their ability to get
away.'' In the attack on Algiers by Lord Exmouth, in 1816,
one vessel, Impregnable only in name, had 150 killed and
wounded, and the total loss of the fieet was 141 killed and 741
wounded. At Navarino, in 1827, out of a fieet of 81 vessels
only 1 frigate and IS small vessels were in a state ever again
to put to sea. The Allies lost 177 killed, 480 wounded, and
* Scharf 8 Confederate Stotes Net/, p. 568.
62 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
the Torks lost 6,000 killed. At Sinope iu 1858, the TnrkiBh
fleet was blotted ont of existence and the Russian vessels were
seriously crippled.
The Atlanta was the first vessel of war to hoist the flag
adopted by the Confederate States, and the intention was to
christen it and signalize the anniversary of the battle of Bunker
Hill, on which the engagement was fought, by a glorious victory.
The victory was a signal one, but not after the expectation of
the good people of Savannah, who had crowded the wharves to
bid the Atlanta God -speed when she left their port.
Wherever Confederate vessels appeared they fell a prey to
the enemy — the Merrimac to the Monitory the Atlanta to the
WeeAawkeny the Tennessee to Bear-Admiral Farragut's fleet.
The Louisiana and Mississippi with six or seven semi-iron-
clads, disappeared from the list when Farragut captured New
Orleans ; one was destroyed on the Yazoo, and two on the Red
River, to prevent capture by Admiral Porter. The Arkansas
was destroyed by the Essex, several half-iron-clads by the
flotilla of Acting Rear-Admiral Davis at Memphis. The
ChaUahoochie was blown up on the Appalachicola River and
the Albemarle was sunk by Lieutenant Cushing with a spar
topedo. All of these vessels were on the same general plan
and of the type to which the Monitor was opposed. If they
had been of the monitor type there would unquestionably have
been a different story to tell.
The OaLenay one of the two iron-dads submitted in compe-
tition with the MonitOTy and accepted by the Government at the
same time, was pierced through and through by ordinary shot,
driving fragments of the iron armor within the vessel, dealing
^^ death and damnation round." The other, the Keohuky was
speedily penetrated and sunk by the enemy's fire. In the at-
tack upon Charleston, April 7, 1863, as her commander, A. C.
Rhind, IJ.S.N., reported, she was under fire thirty minutes and
was struck ninety times, nineteen shots pierced her through, at,
and below the water-line. Her turrets were pierced in many
places. She was, in short, completely riddled and sank the
next morning when the sea grew a little rough.
" Navy officers in our service," wrote Mr. Fox in 1869, " and
the English will advocate a broadside system — such was the
THE MOWITOR VBESU8 THE BATTLE-SHIP. 63
English report— or at least connecting the turrets by casemates,
and such would have been a report of our own had we put the
monitor system into their hands. It arises from education in
broadside ships and the instinctive appreciation that their own
position will be shaken if fighting ships are reduced to ma-
chines, the product of engineering skill. Porter is desirous of
having the satisfaction of building up a navy founded upon his
own ideas and English precedents. lie will not follow in the
wake of those who preceded him, but throwing all experience
overboard, even his own indorsements, he assigns to the Moni-
tor shore duty and tonnage of eight hundred tons and to his in-
vulnerable sea steamer only three thousand three hundred tons.
He will learn that invulnerability cannot be reached in the latter
tonnage by any other type than the monitor. England, through
her last ships, draws toward the monitor precedent, a fighting
machine without masts and low freeboards, while we propose
to take up with the earlier cast-off British broadside types. To
what end will unstinted vanity lead us while the near past with
its rich lessons is so fresh in our minds. I look to see a mcUh.
erruUical demonstration of the unsoundness of the proposed navy.
In a monarchy, a navy is part of the show that imposes upon
the people. In a republic, it should be tolerated solely for its
Jiffhtinff potoerSy and to that end science and genius should bend
their efforts. Beyond that it is useless. We are about to swing
off into a sea of expenditures for flag-ships and other pleasant
homes, forgetting the type that came to us in the darkest hour of
our history like Minerva fully armed from the brain of Jupiter.''
" Sailors, you know," said Mr. Fox in another letter, " are
conservative and impatient, slow to change old ideas and rest-
less under efforts necessary to reach perfection, but when the
hour of trial comes they will not disappoint the just expecta-
tions of the country."
Harvey said that he could make no converts to his theory
of the circulation of the blood among men past middle life, and
a distinguished Harvard professor, of great scientific attainments,
reported to Ericsson in 1863 that he encountered at Washing-
ton '^ the most unaccountable absence of practical trust in great
physical principles which had not been ingrained by the estab*
lished modes of old naval warfare."
64 LIFE OP JOHN EBIOSSON.
^' In order to please the several officers of the gan-boats,"
said Captain Ericsson, '^ I have invented and applied various
contrivances, but in no instance have I succeeded in calling forth
expressions of approbation. Nothing I have contrived has so
far given satisfaction to the commanding officers. Such hercu-
lean labor as I have performed in relation to the monitor fleet
is not on record in the history of engineering."
Criticisms and complaints he had in abundance. Some of
these pointed out deficiencies, to the correction of which his ex-
haustless ingenuity was successfully applied ; some were the
result of the propensity to grumble, chronic in the navy ;
others were the offspring of ignorant comparison between the
monitors and vessels wholly unlike them in type, and some can
only be explained on the theory of a deliberate determination
to get rid altogether of the monitors and their creator.
After the failure of his attack upon Fort Sumter, Admiral
Dn Pont, as Ericsson explained in a letter to John Bourne,
March 9, 1866, ^^ to sustain his reputation induced certain moni-
tor captains to write long reports of imaginary defects of the
monitor system ; for which he was dismissed from active service
and prevented from further participation in the war.'' " Du
Pont neither understands nor appreciates the monitors which
have performed so marvellously," wrote Fox (February 27,
1864). ^' He is of a wooden age, eminent in that, but in an
engineering age behind the time. You were always opposed to
attacking forts, but Du Pont despised the vessels and the brain
that conceived them."
Du Pont was the grandson of the Du Pont de Nemours
who, on behalf of France, negotiated the treaty of 1783, by
which England formally recognized the independence of the
United States, and who was instrumental also in promoting the
later treaty that added the immense Louisiana territory to our
possessions. De Nemours was a royalist whose neck was barely
saved from the guillotine by the death of Robespierre. His
grandson, born in the same year with Ericsson, was a legiti-
mate inheritor of the spirit actuating the Frenchmen in the days
when ^^AprSs vousj messieurs ! " was supposed to be the polite
formula preceding the commencement of a battle. There was
no more accomplished officer in our naval service than Admiral
THE MONITOR VERSUS THB BATTLE-SHIP. 66
Da Pont, no man of nobler personality, but he was the ^ery
incarnation of naval exclnsivenesa and prejudice against inno-
vation, and the introduction of monitors into our navy gave
a shock to his sensibilities from which they never recovered.
It may be that he was expected to accomplish with them more
than was possible in his attack upon Charleston, but he was
disposed to exaggerate their deficiencies and to criticise them
in a spirit of unfriendliness thar arrayed against him the active
hostility of their champions.
After the first attack of the naval forces under Admiral Dn
Pont upon the Confederate batteries defending the harbor of
Charleston, S. C, a most elaborate report upon the defects of
the monitors was prepared by the Admiral. In spite of this,
the chief engineer of the monitor fleet reported that they were
ready for action at nine o'clock upon the morning following
their experience of an exposure for nearly an hour to the con-
centrated fire of more than one hundred heavy guns, some of
the vessels being struck more than fifty times. Most of the
deficiencies pointed out by the five captains whose reports were
transmitted by Du Pont were such as a man of Ericsson's in*
gennity could devise means to correct ; the others he answered
with argument and sarcasm. To the complaint of want of ven-
tilation he replied that the introduction of a cold-air pipe could
soon correct this, adding ^^ the writer's experience in drilling
men in gymnastic exercises in cramped quarters justifies him
in asserting that with ample ventilation and proper treatment,
the berth-deck of a monitor may be rendered the nursery of
strong and healthy men."
In support of this statement the Surgeon-General of the
Navy, in his annual report of 1864, stated that an examination
of the sick reports, covering a period of over thirty months,
showed that, so far from being unhealthy, there was less sick-
ness on board the monitor vessels than on the same number of
wooden ships with an equal number of men, and in similarly ex-
posed positions. From the facts contained in the report, the
Secretary of the Navy drew the conclusion that " no wooden
vessels in any squadron throughout the world could show an
equal immunity from disease."
There is something oppressive to the imagination, unques-
You IL— 0
66 LIFE OP JOHN ERICSSON.
tionably, in an under-water residence, but it is not necessarily
more unhealthy than on the exposed deck of an ordinary sea-
going vessel. In the larger monitors, too, a promenade was
provided on top of the turret, one hundred feet in circumfer-
ence, and a hurricane deck, affording room for exercbe and
recreation. The first monitor was unquestionably a most un-
desirable place for permanent residence; in the smaller Pas-
saic class, where some improvement was made, and of the
Dictator there was no complaint. It would certainly compare
most favorably with modem iron-clads, where insufficient ven-
tilation is a great cause of complaint, and the utmost effort is
required to keep the stokers up to their work in a fire-room
having a temperature of 168**.
Lack of sea-going qualities was another of the criticisms of
the five monitor captains. As Captain (afterward Admiral)
Rodgers was one of these critics, Ericsson said in reply: "Cap-
tain John Rodgers not long ago expressed the opinion of the
monitors as follows: 'During the heaviest of the gale I stood
upon the turret and admired the behavior of the vessel. She
rose and fell to the waves, and I concluded then that the mon-
itor form had great sea-going qualities. If leaks were prevented
no hurricane could injure her.' Such was the opinion of the
cool, intrepid sailor at a moment when, tossed on the turbulent
sea, he had all the facts before him. Why his opinion should
be changed by his experience on the placid waters of the Eklisto
I will not inquire."
In the report concerning the behavior of the Weehawken in
a gale, from which Ericsson quoted, John Rodgers stated that
he had cut loose from the vessel towing him to save her, and
that the performance of the monitor in a sea "was admi-
rable." The sea "was about thirty feet high," he said, but
"the behavior of the vessel was easy, buoyant, and indicative
of thorough safety. Her movements filled me with admira-
tion. I saw in them everything to admire, nothing to improve.
The waves rolled furiously across the deck. Instead of spend-
ing their force against the side, as in an ordinary vessel, they
swept harmlessly by. A plate of fiat iron two inches thick and
weighing some three thousand three hundred pounds was
broken from its lashings upon the deck, and transported about
THE MONITOR VERSUS THE BATTLE-SfflP. 67
forty feet to some side stanchions, which arrested its course
overboard, and to which it was secured."
Could testimony be more complete than this ? Does it not
prove all that Ericsson claimed as to the peculiar seaworthiness
of the monitors, so long as the openings into the hull were
kept closed, as he intended they should be? Speaking of the
terrible gale in which the brave Rodgers refused to make a
harbor with his monitor, Mr. Fox said: ''I frankly confess
that I did not believe an iron-clad could live through it
Thanks to Rodgers, the country breathes freer and you are
sustamed. I have nothing to add to the pleasure that must
fill your heart"
Ericsson estimated that the Dictator could carry five hun-
dred tons of water, or other additional weight to that amount,
before she would sink. As less than two hundred tons of wa^
ter, entering the ordinary screw steamers, of the size of the
DictaioTf would flood the furnaces and, by putting out the fires,
cause fatal disaster, he argued that the supposed great risk of
the monitors is in reality shared by all sea-going steamers.
Again, the safety of an ocean steamer might be seriously en-
dangered by shipping heavy seas, as their deck arrangements
are ill prepared to encounter the risk; the monitor deck, on
the contrary, is designed to be washed by the waves, and is
tight and strong as the vessel's bottom.
"The monitors have not only proved sea boats," wrote
Ericsson (letter to Bourne, November 3, 1863), "but they are
life-boats on a large scale which cannot perish in any hurricane
or raging sea, provided there is water under their bottoms and
their deck openings are properly closed. The sinking of the
original Monitor was caused by an inexperienced commander
raising her turret before going to sea, and then putting oakum
under its base. The turret on being let down rested on a few
thick lumps, the sea washing out the rest and producing a leak
of some fifty feet in extent, admitting more water than the
pumps could take away. But the vessel did not go down in an
instant, as reported, for it took full four hours before the stream
of water under the turret overpowered the pumps. The moni-
tor Weehawken went down at anchor in Charleston harbor
during a gale, the forward deck-hatch having been left open
68 LIFE OF JOHN EBI0880N.
and remaining so for fifteen minates, while the sea made a dean
breach over the vessel." "We have now positive evidence,"
he saidy '^ in a letter written Jannarj 14, 1865, that both seams
and rivets of that vessel remained as sonnd as in the Pasmic?^
" Ordinary vessels," he said again, " roll because the wave
on the weather side, impeded by the hull, rises to a greater
altitude than on the opposite side. In the case of the Monitor
the wave can only rise sixteen inches, after which it mounts
the deck, and by force of gravity bears down the hull and
checks the tendency to roll. The projecting side armor, from
obvious reasons, also assists powerfully in preventing rolling.
The pitching, from the same cause, is less in the monitors than
in other vessels."
" As to ventilation," said Ericsson, " old sailors who have
been in these vessels night and day for two years have assured
me that no other vessels of war can compare with them. It
must be so, since the air before entering the boiler-room sweeps
through the quartera. To assume that the means of ventila-
tion fail, is to assert that the vessels have ceased to move, there
being no sails and no air for the boiler furnaces excepting what
is drawn in by centrifugal blowers through the turret, or
through impregnable air-trunks on deck. Ladies who have
made short passages in the large class of sea-going monitors
have observed that the air, unlike that of any other class of
vessels, is perfectly pure, without the slightest odor such as the
best passenger ships are never free from.
" Excepting when the vessel is prepared for action, hatches
over the berth-deck are covered with brass plates perforated
with several hundred holes in which glass globes are inserted,
throwing a strong light. The officers and men therefore can
read and write with facility during the daytime. . • •
Those who have been present during the dancing and music on
the Dictator's berth-deck at sea, and witnessed the comfort and
delight of the men, cannot read without indignation the false-
hoods propagated by the London limes respecting the monitor
iron-clads.
" I will not detain you by a lengthened argument showing
why houses could not be erected on the decks of the monitors.
They are made only to fight, and their guns must sweep the
THE MONITOB VEBSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 69
entire horizon. The PassaiCj for instance, engaged the enemy's
batteries twenty-eight times, and after each contest had to mn
into open water, frequently daring bitter cold weather and
heavy sea. What would become of the crew, had their quarters
on such occasions been knocked away ? To prevent blockade
running at Charleston, a monitor had in tnrn to do picket duty
every night at a point that was within easy range oifive forts I
Houses on deck would not long have been left standing by our
enemy, while, owing to the impregnable nature of the turrets
and the narrow line of the almost submerged hulls, the Confed-
erates deemed it waste of powder and shot to fire. Again, a
house built on deck flush with the sides, would produce heavy
rolling, as the rising sea on the weather side would tilt the hull.
With a clear and almost submerged deck, the effect of the ris-
ing sea is to overflow it, and thus bear down and steady the
hull. Bottles and inkstands on board of the monitors are left
without support in all weathers."
Ericsson was especially severe upon Captain Percival Dray-
ton, who, as he said in a letter to Secretary Welles, ^^ seemed
bent on prejudicing everybody against the vessel under his
command. I will try to believe," he added, ^^ that it is me-
chanical difKculties alone that appall him." Captain Drayton
had punctured Ericsson in a tender spot by declaring that he
was guilty of an error ^^ in calculation " in the trim of the Pas-
saic. In reference to this Ericsson said : '^ I used all my influ-
ence to have it corrected. Mr. Stimers, in reply to my earnest
representations on the subject, told me that Captain Drayton
preferred it and liked to have the bow high out of water. Much
useless weight was put into the PaasaiCy against my remon-
strance, to please the commander. Unfortunately, the various
useless fixtures have been copied into the rest of the vessels."
Captain Drayton had reported that the monitors were liable
to spring a leak because of their peculiar construction. To this
Ericsson replied :
Oaptain Drayton's several reports show how necessary it is to re-
ceive with caution the statements made and inferences drawn, even by
experienced and impartial seamen, in relation to our new system. Cap-
tain Drayton reported to yon January 1st, that "the sea was gradually
making large openings through^the forward armor projection, through
70 LIFE OF JOHN EBICS0ON.
which the water poured in a large stream." He added confidently ''that
a few hours of heavy sea would go far to tear the whole thing off."
Without having during the interval lifted a hammer or driven a rivet,
the same officer reported, January 22d, that although during two days and
one nighty "it blew so very hard that the Passaic could not make the
light-vessel/' yet "there was no difficulty in keeping her free with the
bilge-pump (only five inches in diameter) and one donkey-pump work-
ing two hours out of every four. Comment on the discrepancy of Cap-
tain Drayton's reports of January 1st and 22d is unnecessary. It is
important, however, to notice ithe reported expedient of removing the
ballast which he says "had most inconsiderately been placed inside of
the false bow/' Captain Drayton means the ballast placed on the forward
overhang. In a former report Captain Drayton described the fearful
action of the sea under this overhang, which tended to "tear it up/' The
weight which I have directed to be stowed in the overhang to counter-
act this upward force and prevent the projecting bow from being lifted
up, the report of January 22d informs you, was as a necessary measure
of "precaution" removed. . . .
Without intending any disrespect to the commander of the Pom^
8aic, I cannot abstain from calling your attention to his singular custom
of drawing on the imagination in order to show what might have hap-
pened under certain contingencies, and what dire consequences would
have resulted from occurrences which happily did not take place.
The result of the observations made by Captains Rodgers and
Worden are stated with much precision, but the opinion expressed by
these officers, that their vessels were subjected to severe strain, is un-
supported by practical evidence. So far, not a rivet has started nor a
seam opened. No working has been observed at any point within the
vessel. The absence of buoyancy in a heavy sea, supposed by Captain
Worden to be a defect, is in reality a favorable feature. It is in heavy
weather that ordinary ships suffer most from the excessive and violent
movements caused by the sudden rise and fall with the sea. Under
similar circumstances the monitor craft becomes partially immersed by
the waves which jxua over its decks, instead of violently tossing it up and
down during their oscillation. Without disparaging the judgment of
the two commanders last alluded to, I would suggest that their impres-
sions regarding great strain on the vessel has been produced by the
strong sound which accompanies the lashing of the sea against an iron
hull. An observer accustomed only to the light, dull sound of a wooden
vessel is startled by the sharp, harsh ring of the metallic hull, and
imagines serious strain where in fact nothing but a very natural and
harmless sound occurs. . . •
A still more conclusive answer to these criticisms followed
an examination of the Passaic, after she had been put on the
marine railway at Hunter's Point Not a single rivet had been
THE MONITOR VERSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 71
stiEirted, nor a single joint opened at any point where the side-
armor shelf or end projections join the hull. All was found
firm and solid. " It seldom happens/' wrote Ericsson triumph-
antly to Secretary Welles, "that erroneous statements, pro-
mulgated officially, receive such positive contradiction as the
actual state of the Pdssaic gives to Captain Drayton's report
The perfect state of the Passaic's hull furnishes the best evi-
dence in support of my theory that, owing to their almost entire
submersion, the strain on monitor vesseb, even during a gale, is
quite moderate. Nautical science teaches that submerged bod-
ies are but little affected by the violence of the waves. The
frail raft drifts unharmed with the sea, while the top-hamper,
the iron-bound masts of a first-class ship are torn to splinters.
The nautical student knows that the actual progress, the on-
ward movement of the sea during a gale, is but moderate, and
he knows also that at a small depth below the surface the
water is stationary, and that still lower down its motion is retro-
grade to the direction of the wind."
Other officers who could not conquer their preference for
** wooden vessels and shell guns" received some elementary in-
struction from Ericsson on the requirements of their profession.
This they naturally did not relish. Some of them were in-
formed that their elaborate criticisms of a vessel they did not
understand did not convey "a single new idea, nor develop a
single new fact," which, however true, was at least not palata-
ble. So there was a strong professional sentiment united in
opposition to this "Daniel come to judgment." One of the
fears expressed was that the pilotrhouse would be upset by
the impact of a shot. This was answered in a letter showing
the relation between the inertia to be overcome, and the blow
of a projectile which, on striking, would have its momentum
stopped in the 6000th part of a second.
The management of some of the engineers upon whose skill
the reputation of his monitors in a measure depended, was even
more disturbing to Ericsson's equanimity, and he recorded a
most vigorous protest in a private letter to hb friend Fox (De-
cember 3, 1862), saying:
I earnestly beg of you to instruct the Chief Engineer of the Navy to
Bend us men fit to run the engines of the iron-cIads» or the country will
72 LTPB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Boon witness disaster little antioipated . To intrust the national vessels to
SQoh shookinglj ignorant and incapable jonng men as the so-oaUed en-
gineers of the Passaic is criminal. Yon mnst not feel offended at mj
remarks, the occasion demands candor on mj part. The poor yonng
men exhibited such lamentable ignorance daring the constraction of
the engines as to excite the contempt of onr workmen. Two of our
foremen f ormallj called npon me with a respectful remonstrance against
the engines and boilers being put nnder the care of these yonng men,
asserting in the most positive terms that they would " blow up the
boilers before getting to Hampton Beads." I will merely add that^ but
for the enormous strength of the decks of the iron-clads to resist the
upward pressure of the tops of the boilers, there would be no Passaio
now, and no one to tell how it hapi>ened.
The engineer of the MorUauk was no better. '^ It wonld
hardly seem credible, yet the engineer has been observed to
blow off the boilers nnder a pressure of- thirty pounds, and at
once permit cold water from the sea to return, in order, it
would appear, to cool the boiler quickly. Again, he has been
observed to turn steam of full pressure from one boiler in op-
eration into the other not in operation, but filled with cold
water. In either case the resulting unequal temperature of top
and bottom of boiler is sufficient to strain the joints and crack
the plates, and cause utter destruction to the boiler."
Of the Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering at this
time, Ericsson wrote to Bourne (May 15, 1866) : ^' This person,
who is utterly devoid of constructive skill, not an engineer from
the start ; smart as a writer and compiler, and an unmitigated
. . • is and has been my persecutor for twenty years. But
I am happy to say lie has not been able to hurt me, and that
notwithstanding his high position he has not been able to pre-
vent my constructing the engines of the entire monitor fleet now
afloat, excepting the Miantonomoh and Tonawanda^ into which
he was ordered to put engines to compete with the Jfonadnock
class. He was beaten, although, contrary to instructions, he
put in twenty per cent, more power than I had applied. Hav-
ing flrst, let me observe, caused me to be restricted to smaller
engines than I had proposed."
In the case of the Monadnoch^ referred to here, Ericsson being
ordered to construct an engine in competition with the Bureau
engines, anxious for the best result, offered to increase its size
THE MOKITOB VERSUS THE BATTLE-SHIP. 73
at his own expense. He was refused permission^ on the plea
that his cylinders coold not be made larger than those of the
Barean engines, which, as he charged, were secretlj enlarged.
iNow that engines are nsing triple and even quadruple expan-
sion, it is well to remember that the Bureau chief, contrary
to the advanced practice even at that time, insisted, upon the
strength of a misleading experiment, in declining to use ex-
pansion. ^^ Wilfully shutting his eyes to the work of improve-
ment going on daily in England and France," as a leading
English authority declared (London Mechcmical MagaavMy
January, 1864), ^^ and with a temerity almost without a parallel,
staking the future of a great navy and an enormous sum of
money on the truthfulness of a simple obscure experiment,
bearing but a remote analogy in its conditions to those under
which steam should properly be employed. It is as though the
American engineering world had retrograded the third part of
a century."
^^ The idea of denying the value of expansion," said another
authority, the London Engineer^ ^^ in the face of proved facts
innumerable, is transcendently ridiculous. The fact that such
a belief should be supported by a great naval power is almost
incredible."
Licredible as it seemed then, and still more incredible as it
appears now, it was true, and Ericsson was compelled to submit
his engineering conceptions to the criticism of a man so per-
versely misleading the authorities of the Kavy Department, in
so important a matter as the motive power of the vessels upon
whose efficiency everything depended.
Fortunately for him, he was not obliged to approach the
heads of the Kavy Department through their bureau chiefs. He
had their full confidence, and was always admitted to direct ac-
cess, and his thorough mastery of the subjects he discussed, his
clear and forcible way of presenting his views, were very con-
vincing. He was a master of expression, and there is not a line
in all of his numerous letters on professional subjects that could
not be readily understood by anyone who has learned the four
primary rules of arithmetic. He had a contempt for displays of
learning which depended upon obscurity of statement, and the
unnecessary exhibition of mathematical formulas, though few
74 UFB OF JOHN BRICSSON.
had a more complete, knowledge of them than he. His own con-
ceptions were so exact that he had no difficulty in conveying
them to others, whether they were accepted or not; and having
a thorough control of English expression, his thought flowed as
clearly as a limpid mountain stream, even when he discussed
technical questions.
The necessity which arose during the war for keeping vessels
in motion while taking soundings, to lessen their exposure to
the fire of hostile batteries, directed attention to the sounding
instrument Ericsson and Ogden had invented in 1838. It was
claimed for this that it would take soundings ''irrespective of
the length of the lead line;" meaning, of course, that the
record was made upon the lead itself, and not by calculating the
amount of line paid out. A naval officer, to whom the instru-
. ment was entrusted for experiment, seems to have interpreted
the statement more literally, and reported that it was useless
because it would not register with a line so short that the lead
was merely towed behind the vessel without reaching bottom.
When this was reported to him, £ricsson responded with a
vigorous letter, declaring that "the illiberal manner in which
the trial had been conducted would place the name of the
present commander of the Passaic side by side with those
who denounced the loom, the steamer, th^ railroad, and the
telegraph." This was treatment usually awaiting new devices.
One who can neither build nor manage a locomotive can easily
throw it off the track, and men who are incapable of originat-
ing anything else often have a great capacity for originating
doubts.
CHAPTER XXm.
FOREIGN BECOGNITION.
Foreign Demand for Monitors. — ^The Mianionomoh Crosses the Atlantic*
— Her Behavior at Sea. — Correspondence with the British Admiral-
ty.— England's Fleets again Made Obsolete by Ericsson. — Ruskin's
Opinion of Ships of the Line. — England's Mistaken Policy toward
the United States.
AS soon as the news of the success of the Monitor had gone
abroad, applications came to Ericsson for his assistance
in building similar vessels for foreign powers. The month fol-
lowing the battle in Hampton Roads, a New York business
house asked terms for one or more monitors, ''to be delivered
in the Mediterranean." Another concern proposed to pay
f 10,000 for the plans of each vessel they might contract to
build for "any European power." The Secretary of State,
Mr. Seward, asked that the Danish Minister be provided with
drawings and specifications for two monitors, and these were
furnished, with an offer to build the vessels for $400,000 each,
the price charged for the Passaic class, of which they were to
be copies. But the Secretary of the Navy not unreasonably
objected, "for the reason that other governments had demanded
similar concessions, with which it was not considered conven-
ient to comply." So the specifications were not sent to Copen-
hagen.
On June 23, 1862, Ericsson offered to construct for the
Chilian Grovemment a monitor precisely like the five he was
then building for the United States, and for the same price,
viz., $400,000 in United States currency. The vessel was to be
ready in six months, and to make nine knots speed. A sim-
ilar offer was made to the Peruvian Grovemment, with an in-
crease of price to $450,000, the Grovemment having meantime
imposed a tax of three per cent, on all contracts. It was stipu<^
75
76 LIFB OF JOHK EBI0S80K.
lated that the monitora should be bnilt and then taken to pieces
for transportation in sailing vessels, and this was inadmissible.
The requirement was at first acceded to, and then, ^^ on mature
reflection," the order was declined.
The Swedes and Norwegians also wanted monitors, but it
was not until 1866 that the Swedes were able to test the first
of the fleet of vessels built after Ericsson's plans. On this the
name of John Mriossan was bestowed by King Charles XY.,
and she was armed with two fifteen-mch American guns, pre-
sented to Sweden by her absent son, at a cost to him of $14,-
200, guns of the same calibre being cast in Sweden for the rest
of the fleet. The first appearance of this aggressive nonde-
script at Stockholm ^^ delighted the patriotic Scandinavians al-
most to frenzy, as affording effective means of keeping away
hostile war ships carrying Russian intruders."
The first Norwegian and three Swedish monitors went upon
a cruise together. Upon their return an officer of the Norwe-
gian navy wrote to Ericsson, September 17, 1867, saying :
I feel it a pleasant dutj to inf onn yon, that this great invention of
yours has here also fought its way up to that position of acknowledged
pre-eminenoe which oan be attained only by inventionB based on troe
prinoiples. You have thus the satisfaction, denied to many great men,
of being justly appreciated by the world while you are yet in fall vigor
of life. Honor to him who has placed in the hands of the smaller
states a weapon with which they can successfully defend themselves
against the aggression of stronger nations I
It was not the smaller states alone that were to enjoy the
results of Ericsson's labors. Plans of the monitors were fur-
nished to Russia from Washington, and ten monitors were in-
cluded in the iron-clad fieet created in 1862-64 by Admiral
Crabbe, under the auspices of the Orand Duke Constantine.
These were built from copies of the drawings prepared for the
American monitors. With them the Orand Duke Constantine
paid a visit to the King of Sweden, to show him that Ericsson's
ideas had not affected the relative status of nations.
In April, 1866, universal attention was directed to Russia
by an attempt made upon the life of the Czar, Alexander II.,
by one of the iN'ihilist conspirators. Remembering the cordial
FOBEIGN BEOOGKITION. 77
good- will shown to the United States by Russia during the pe-
riod of national trial, when pablic sentiment was most sensitive
to sympathy or criticism, it was resolved that something more
was due to this friendly power than a tnere perfunctory expres-
sion of satisfaction at the failure of the conspiracy against her
peace. Congress passed a joint resolution expressing the re-
gret at the attempt made on the life of the Russian ruler, and
to give added significance to this token of good-will, it was
resolved to send the resolutions to Bussia by a special envoy
in a national vessel.
For this mission Congress selected Ericsson's friend, the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Gustavus Yasa Fox. Mr.
Fox determined to avail himself of this occasion to test the
qualities of the monitors, as he had still the most unlimited
faith in these '* marvellous vessels," as he was accustomed to
call them. With reference to his proposed visit, Mr. Fox wrote
to Ericsson (April 23, 1866), saying:
The conntry never can and never will do yon jnstioe peonniarilj for
the inventions which have been so nsef nl, and which have realized the
creations of imagination, and which are the results of genius in com«
parison with other systems which are bom of labor and art and long
study. Your reward cannot be counted in gold and silver, or income ; it
is immortality and jour own happiness at success. Nevertheless, you
will, I trust most sincerely, have all jou desire here in this life. I
think I have rendered the state some service in the last five years, with
great opposition to encounter and radical changes to make while a
great war was in progress. I commanded the oi>erations of the navy as
much as Halleck did the army, and always with success ; yet Congress
reduced my pay from 94,000 to (3,500 before the war closed, and I leave
next month with not money enough to get home to Portsmouth, N. H.
I do not complain ; I am perfectly happy, and I would not exchange the
victories we have won over an onr enemies for any wealth. What aid
and assistance yonr brain has been to us I have publicly declared upon
all occasions, and I will teach them yet, in Europe, what they fail gen-
erally to comprehend, the monitor. That done, I shall take leave of all
my studies and experiences for the purpose of making money before old
age comes. I shall resign before I go to Europe and go out as a Oom-
missioner of the Government to visit dock-yards, etc., so as to cover my
expenses. I need not assure you how confidently I believe that the
raft principle will prevail for iron-clads, and I should like to see it
tried for passenger steamers. The rictory has come to you at last
through the trials all must go through.
78 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
ti
Referring to this letter some years after, Ericsson said:
My memory recalls the emotion I experienced when you in-
formed me in a friendly note, at the close of the gigantic war in
which you had rendered the Republic such signal services, that
you had not money enough to take you back to your native
town. We read of such disinterestedness in romance, but do
not look for it in real life. How fortunate if the great Repub-
lic furnishes many such instances of patriotism and integrity I''
For the mission of Mr. Fox the monitor Mianiononu)h was
chosen. She was a Navy Yard built, two-turreted monitor,
carrying four 15-inch smooth-bore muzzle-loading guns, and
was commanded by Commodore J. C. Beaumont, U.S.N.
Two other naval vessels, the Augusta and the Ashueht, ac-
companied her as escort. A profound impression was created
among the sceptics, especially in England, by the actual ap-
pearance on the other side of the Atlantic of die strange vessel
they had so long persisted in declaring incapable of making a
sea voyage. To the guns of the Monitor they had nothing to
oppose in the way of defence, for the foreign guns of that day
were ineffective against a vessel carrying ten inches of armor
on the turret and seven inches on the sides. Not only were the
monitors superior to the broadside vessels of England for fight-
ing purposes, but abo as sea boats. As the result of his exper-
ience, Mr. Fox, in the published report of his mission, said:
The facts with regard to the behavior of this vessel in a moderate
gale of wind and heavy sea are as follows: Head to the sea, she takes
over about four feet of solid water, which is broken as it sweeps the sea
along the deck, and after reaching the turret it is too much spent to
prevent firing the 15-inch gun directly ahead. Broadside to the sea,
either moving along or stopped, her lee guns can always be worked
without difficulty, the water which passes across the deck from wind-
ward being divided by the turrets, and her extreme roll so moderate as
not to press her lee-guns near the water. Lying in the same position,
the 15-inch guns can be fired directly astern without interference from
water, and when stem to sea, the water which comes on board is broken
up in the same manner as when going head to it. In the trough of the
sea her ports will be liable to be flooded, if required to use her guns to
windward. This, therefore, would be the position selected by an an-
tagonist who designed to fight a monitor in a sea-way.
An ordinary vessel high out of water and lying in the trough of the
sea, broadside to, is attacked by a wave which climbs up the side, heels
FOBEIGN BECOQNITION. 79
her to leeward, and, passing underneath, assists in throwing her back to
windward, when another wave is met and the heavy lee lurch is repeat-
ed. A wave advancing upon a monitor in a similar position finds no
side above the water to act against; it therefore climbs abpard without
difficulty, heels the vessel a few degrees to windward, and passes quickly
to leeward underneath. The water which has got on board, having no
support to force it on, and an inclined deck to ascend, becomes broken
water, a small portion going across the deck and off to leeward, but the
largest part tumbling back to windward, overboard, without sending
against the turret anything like the quantity which first got on deck.
The turret-guns thus occupy a central position, where, notwithstanding
the lowness of the vessel's hull, they are more easily and safely handled
in a sea-way than guns of the same weight above the water in a broad-
side vessel.
The axis of the bore of the 15-inch gun of this vessel is 6} feet above
the water. The extreme lurch when lying broadside to a heavy sea and
moderate gale was 7 degrees to windward, and 4 degrees to leeward,
mean 5} degrees, while the average roll at the same time of the
Augusta — a remarkably steady ship — was 18 degrees, and the Ash^
uelot 25 degrees, both vessels being steadied by sail. A vessel which
attacks a monitor in a sea-way must approach very close to have any
chance of hitting such a low hull, and even then the monitor is half
the time covered by three or four feet of water, protecting herself and
disturbing her opponent's fire.
Lying in the trough of the sea with her engines stopped, on
purpose to ascertain her behavior under the most trying cir-
cumstances, the maximum roll of the MianUmoTnoh was but
seven degrees. Eighteen degrees was a common experience
with broadside British iron-clads, and there have been occa-
sions on which they actually rolled the shot out of their guns.
On board one of the largest of them the guns, when loaded and
cast loose, ran out with such violence, owing to the rolling of
the ship, that the carriages brought up against the ship's side
with a force sufficient to start the rifled shot and cause them to
fall from the guns into the green seas which washed their
muzzles. It was then attempted to fire the guns on the rise,
but the shot went heavenward, heaven knows whither, and
one gun at least was carried right off its slide by the force of
the recoil, combined with the inclination of the deck. The
Bellerophon and Lord Clyde in an Atlantic swell rolled through
an arc of 34 degrees.*
*The London Engineer, December 21, 1866.
80 LIFE OF JOHN BBICSSON.
Wlien the Miantonomoh arrived at QneenBtown, Mr. Fox
and his party waited upon the Admiral commanding the sta-
tion to pay their respects. His residence overlooked the roads
and they found him critically examining the monitor through
a glass, nothing but her turrets being visible from the bluff
where he stood. After exchanging salutations, the Admiral
asked Mr. Fox, somewhat abruptly :
^^ Did you cross the Atlantic in that thing?''
On Mr. Fox replying that he did, the Admiral said, with
much emphasis : ^' I doubt if I would."
Ericsson's friends in England had fought hard for his recog*
nition, but until this moment it had not been accorded, for na-
val sentiment and prejudice, and dock-yard interests were all
against him. In February, 1864, Mr. Bennett Woodcroft, of
the English Patent Office, who was thoroughly familiar with
Ericsson's mechanical labors, asked him to send some account
of his inventions for publication. In reply he was told : '^ At
present it is wholly out of my power to attend to so unimpor-
tant a matter as my own affairs. I have not a single moment
to spare. The fact is that my inventions have multiplied so
rapidly within the last fifteen years that it will be a very ardu-
ous undertaking to record the same."
Another earnest friend was John Bourne, C.E., author of
the standard treatise on the steam-engine and screw propeller,
and of other works dealing with mechanical inventions. Early
in 1863 he wrote to Ericsson, saying: " There is a very gen-
eral appreciation of your talents in this country among engi-
neers, and a regret that through the stupidity of our Admi-
ralty those talents were lost to this country.
" As in the case of the screw propeller, so in the case of the
monitors, we will have justice in England." It was certainly
well for England that she should recognize the abilities of the
man who had expended less in building a fleet of a dozen
formidable iron-clads than her ordnance officers had wasted in
the unsuccessful effort to produce a gun sufficiently powerful
to protect her against such craft.
February 28, 1865, Mr. Bourne wrote suggesting that Erics-
son should offer to construct vessels on his plans for the Ad-
miralty, and proposed to conduct negotiations to that end. ^^ I
FOBEIGK REOOGNITIOK. 81
quite concur in the opinion/' he said in other letters, '^ that
onr iron-clads are a mistake, that the constmction of our navy
must begin anew, and that it must be on the turret system.
There has been great misstatement as to the sea-going proper-
ties of the monitors, and I think two parties have been inter-
ested in running them down ; first, Coles's party, who hope thus
to conceal their piracies, and second, the Admiralty people who
have been against Coles, and who, to resist him, have been
willing to deal a thrust at the turret system." Mr. Bourne
further says : ^^ With all its weaknesses and faults there is, in
public opinion in England, a vast amount of honesty and a sin-
cere desira to do and believe what is right and true ; and where
such a disposition exists it can never be very difficult to set it
right on any topic engaging public attention. In technical
matters the difficulty is less than in general matters, as tlie au-
dience is smaller — is without prejudice — and is competent to
apprehend mechanical argument. And the general public, in
such matters, take their creed from those who are more in-
structed. The body we have to do with is the engmeersy and
once they are set right they will soon be able to set right all
the rest."
Finding in January, 1866, that the Admiralty had ^^ broken
with Coles," Mr. Bourne wrote to Mr. Eeed, Chief Constructor
of the British Navy, suggesting that, as public opinion in Eng-
land required that the turret system be fairly tested, and as
Ericsson was the author of that system, it would be well to
open negotiations with him. '^ I have the same sympathy with
Mr. Reed," wrote Bourne to Ericsson, ^^ that I have with yon,
for he is a man of practical ability who has been placed in, an
onerous position, heretofore occupied by amateurs or pretenders,
and he has the full diapason cry of that class against him. He
is fighting the battle of practical men against party intrigues,
family interest, and other such things imported so commonly
into public afiFairs."
With a subtle knowledge of Ericsson's chief weakness, Mr.
Bourne added : ^^ Do not let us have any fighting, which is a
slow and thankless process, and creates an amount of friction
that impairs or arrests the force even of great talents."
Again Mr. Bourne wrote: '^Mr. Heed has a very genuine
Vol. n.— 6
82 LIFB OF JOHN EBICSSON.
admiration of your talents, and is without one particle of jeal-
ousy or pettiness in his nature. I know the contempt and aver-
sion which you must naturally have for the common order of
officialism. But that weed only thrives among the inferior
order of minds, whereas Mr. Reed is a man of talent, who has
been brought in over the heads of hoc omne genus; he is natu-
rally distasteful to them and has no sympathy with them. His
sympathies are with men of talent and against officialism. The
Admiralty now is quite a different place from what it was when
the wiseacres there maintained that your screw boat would not
steer.''
Mr. Bourne was somewhat too sanguine in his conclusion
concerning my Lords of the Admiralty, as the following corre-
spondence will show:
Berkeley Villa, Regent's Park Road,
London, January 31, 1866.
The Secretary of the Admiralty.
My Lord: UnderstandiDg that it is the intention of my Lord Com-
missioners of the Admiralty to test more fully the qualities of turret
vessels in the British Navy, and concluding that their Lordships would
wish to take advantage of the valuable experience acquired with such
vessels in America both under fire and in heavy seas, I have the honor
to state that I am authorized by Mr. Ericsson, of New York, the inventor
of the turret system, to say that he will be happy to co-operate with
their Lordships in the production of one or more such vessels, which
co-operation might be by taking a contract for them, as in the case of
the engines of the Amphion — ^the first English screw vessel with the en-
gines below the water-line— or it might be in any other way that my
Lords may consider preferable.
Mr. Ericsson has considered that it would be more agreeable to my
Lords that the communication should come from someone in London
with whom the ofiicers of the Admiralty could, if necessary, confer, than
that it should form the subject of correspondence with himself in New
York.
I have the honor to be.
Your most obedient, humble servant,
John Bourns.
Admiralty, April 13, 1866.
Sir: With reference to your letter of 31st of January, I am com«
manded by my Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you
that they are not prepared to accept the proposal of Mr. Ericsson to af-
FOREIGN RECOGNITION. 83
ford their Lordships the advantages of his services in regard to the con-
struction of turret vessels.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
w. r. romaine.
John Bourne, Esq.
London, May 30, 1866.
The Secrbtart of the Admiraltt.
Sir: I have communicated to Captain Ericsson, in New York, the re-
ply with which you honored me on April 13th to my letter of January
31st, and in which you state that their Lordships are not prepared to
accept the proposal which I was authorized by Captain Ericsson to
make, that he would offer them the advantage of his services in regard
to the construction of turret vessels.
In now notifying you of Captain Ericsson's acquiescence in that deci-
sion, I may be permitted to express my regret that their Lordships have
not been able to render available for the public interests the talents and
experience of one of the most remarkable men of the present age, and
whose assent to my proposal that he should give the Admiralty the ben-
efit of his information I thought it a matter of some importance to have
obtained— especially as he was willing to have acted without emolument
or conditions — both his reputation and his wealth rendering him inde-
pendent of such considerations.
I have the honor to be your most obedient servant,
John Bourne.
P.S. — The monitor vessel, MiarUonomoh is about to leave the United
States for England, and may be expected in Portsmouth about June
20th with Mr. Fox, the Assistant Secretary of the American Navy, on
board. J. B.
It was at Mr. Bourne's suggestion and solicitation that Er-
icsson had authorized him to make the proposition he did to
the Admiralty. But again, "the vessel would not steer with
the power applied to the stern." Perish the British Empire
rather than suffer British officialism to be urged beyond its
wonted pace, or forced into new channels by the propulsion
coming from a foreign inventor!
The action of Mr. Bourne had placed Ericsson in a wrong
light, and upon receiving copies of this correspondence he wrote
(May 11, 1866), saying:
The tone of the reply you have received from the Admiralty annoys
me ^atly, and I request the favor of you to get me out of the false po-
sition in which I find myself. Please, therefore, inform my Lord Com-
84 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOir.
missionera in a positive manner, that I oflfered my semoes free of
charge, merely £rt>m a motive of being nsefol to England, without the
friendly aid of which, my native country will sooner or later l>ecome a
Bnssian province. It will do no harm if yon tell their Lordships that
apart from my motive being strictly patriotic, I am in a position to ren-^
der, and do habitoally render, professional services of such character
without pay.
The Micmtonomoh came as Bourne bad promised. At Ports-
mouth and in the Thames she was visited bj the Prince of
Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Lords of the Admiralty,
encased in their armor of official prejudice, naval officers with-
out number, as well as curious crowds who flocked bj the thou-
sand to see the latest Yankee wonder. The sensation she cre-
ated was indescribable. Eidicule had changed to wonder, and
doubt to alarm. Visitors saw, as the London Times declared
(July 17, 1866), '^ a portentous spectacle, a fabric something
between a ship and a diving-bell — the Bomans wonld have
called it a tortoise — almost invisible, but what there was of it
ugly, at once invulnerable and irresistible, that had crossed the
Atlantic safely. Bound this fearful invention were moored
scores of big ships, not all utter antiquities, but modem, and
there was not one of them that the foreigner could not have
sent to the bottom in five minutes, had his errand not been
peaceful. There was not one of these big ships that could
have avenged the loss of its companion, or saved itself from im-
mediately sharing its fate. In fact, the wolf was in the fold
and the whole flock was at its mercy."
The unhappy Times had been occupied for years in belit-
tling the monitors ; it now proceeded to consider the cost of the
735 ships of the Koyal Kavy suddenly become antiquated, fit
only to be laid up ^' and painted that dirty yellow which is uni-
yersally adopted to mark treachery, failure, and crime." Just
as the artillery of the Kormans was superseded by that of the
Flantagenets, so was the Navy of England rendered obsolete
by this nondescript vessel, hardly showing itself above the
water, and discharging with perfect steadiness and accuracy a
projectile against which even the best British armor-plate
was not proof. If the Yankee vessel was invincible to the best
and most modern of England's naval constructions, what hope
FOREIGN BEOOGNITION. 85
was there for the swarm of ancient curiosities encumbering
her anchorages ?
On the occasion of the JUio/rUonamoA^s visit, Sir E. J. Beed
declared that a turret vessel could be made more secure against
rams than any existing vessel ; that it was onlj by boldness and
energy equal to theirs that England could compete with the
bold, energetic nation that had sent the JUicmtonomoh across
the Atlantic ; that he admired immeasm*ably the daring gen-
ins of Ericsson in sending ships of the monitor type to sea ; and
finally, that it was necessary to develop the leading idea of that
class to secure the most formidable war vessels. Ko such bold-
ness was displayed : ^^ Frenchmen," said the Hevue des Detix
MandeSj November, 1866, '^ have the satisfaction of saying that
England, forced in spite of herself into a path for which she
lias no liking, inasmuch as to adopt it is to annihilate the co-
lossal wooden Navy of which she was so proud, is content to
follow in our wake. She seems deficient in the science of ar-
tillery and of war-ship building ; she spends money by millions
without producing anything that gives her satisfaction; she
hesitates between the monitor and the iron-clad frigate, and
seems afraid to settle definitely her course of naval action."
The Times was oppressed by the thought of the resistance
that would inevitably be aroused by any attempt to bring the
British Navy up to the mark of the day. Against this vis
inertias Ericsson had struggled all his life. Only once had he
succeeded in overcoming it, and that was when the exigencies
of war gave him control of the naval construction of a great
nation, and enabled him to silence, if not to convince, naval
prejudice. He had his way for a brief period, only because
the afFair at Hampton Beads satisfied our naval authorities,
for the time being, that they could not afFord any longer '^ to
pile sailors in tall ships, where they are as devoted to destruc-
tion as the captives said to be crammed into huge figures of
wicker-work by our British forefathers, and burned in honor of
their gods."
" It is hardly reasonable to expect," said the London Ti/mes^
^' that anybody that has had a share in the creation of one of
our magnificent three-deckers should ever consent to its de-
struction, or even to its disuse. The officers of her Majesty's
86 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Naval Service are a very gallant body of men, and they are
prepared to brave the foe and the fury of the elements; but
they will not easily be persuaded to live below the water-line,
and to be supplied with air by a steam-engine. We wait for
war to convert old sailors to such a novelty as this. It is the
public and not the Service that will lead the way.*' It is im-
possible to transfer to a monitor the sentiment connected with
a line-of-battle ship, of which Mr. Ruskin says in his '' Har-
bors of England:"
For one thing this century will, in after-ages, be considered to have
done in a superb manner, and one thing, I think only. ... It will
always be said of us, with unabated reverence, "They built ships of the
line." Take it all in all, a ship of the line is the most honorable thing
that man, as a gregarious animal, has ever produced. By himself, un-
helped, he can do better things than ships of the line; he can make
poems and pictures, and other such concentrations of what is best in him.
But as a being living in flocks, and hammering out, with alternate
strokes and mutual agreement, what is necessary for him in those flocks
to get or produce, the ship of the line is his first work. Into that he
has put as much of his human patience, common-sense, forethought,
experimental philosophy, self-control, habits of order and obedience,
thoroughly wrought handwork, defiance of brute elements, careless
courage, careful patriotism, and calm expectation of the judgment of
God, as can well be put into a space of 300 feet long by 80 broad. And
I am thankful to have lived in an age when I could see this thing so
done.
Ericsson did not share the hopeful anticipations of Bourne
as to Mr. Reed's open-mindedness, and the disposition in Eng-
land to deal fairly with invention when once the facts were
understood. Drawing upon his own rich store of practical ex-
perience, he sent a striking reply to his friend's various argu-
ments and suggestions to this effect (May 1, 1866):
Your reasoning about the futility of attempting to smother invention
is not new to me. Every point you make presented itself to my mind
long ago, but what I, in 1836, fully expected to see brought out by other
inventors within a year or two, has not come yet. England — ingenious,
mechanical England — like a certain animal deeming himself safe pro-
viding his head is protected, spends millions after millions, adding inch
after inch to the thickness of armor-plates, for the purpose of producing
FOREIGN RECX)GNITION. 87
towering, impregnable iron castles, placed upon, not "sand'' as the fable
relates, but upon a thin bladder that may be pricked in a thousand
ways. Let us not do the inventors of England the injustice to say that
tJiey have overlooked the matter.
Some ten years ago, you will remember, the mechanical journals de-
picted various contrivances for sinking an enemy's ship. The Admiralty,
however, remained indifferent, and will remain indifferent. Their Lord-
ships have unintentionally done the right thing, in my opinion; for al-
ready the introduction of iron-clads has, by throwing out of the count
England's mighty fleet of ships of the line, rendered her voice only half
as potent as it used to be. If now her sons set to work elaborating the
subaquatic system of warfare, build and carry into practice, so that her
enemies may learn — that they may be fully convinced that there is no
mistake about her iron-clads too being worthless — then, what little in-
fluence Albion yet possesses will be diminished in proportion to the
success of the proposed device.
I say again, leave the thing alone and let England retain what pres-
tige she has left. In twenty years there will be a mighty change, for
by that time the expense of the present armament will become insup-
portable, and nations will come to a better imderstanding. But for the
appearance of the imscrupulous and dynasty-mad Napoleon III. on the
world's stage, and but for the fatal course adopted by cunning, adroit
Palmerston, who lacked the power of looking into the future, England
would have no occasion at present to waste her energies on iron-clads
and torpedoes.
Could English statesmen have seen the folly of treating America as
a commercial rival, and the futility of attempting to arrest her onward
course by committing the crime of helping to perpetuate slavery, Eng-
land and America, the Anglo-Saxon race, would now rule the world.
Once more, do not be, in a hurry to do anything tending to disturb the
present balance by showing that there is no such thing as maritime
power. The truth will leak out some day, but I trust not until its pro-
mulgation will be harmless to that country to which mankind is mainly
indebted for the enjoyment of liberty.
What you say of Russia compels, me to observe that the unfriendly
course of England has driven America into the hateful embrace of the
executioner of Poland. We had no other friend during the late fearful
war. Deluded by English misrepresentations, all civilized Europe was
on the side of slavery. But pray do not for a moment suppose that the
liberty-loving citizens of the United States have any genuine sympathy
for the semi-barbarians east of the Baltic.
Respecting the Russian monitors, I say, the more the merrier. And
with regard to the American torpedo boats, I reluctantly observe that
our achievements, in a mechanical or scientific point of view, have been
contemptible. The plans proposed and carried out remind one of
catching wild birds by putting salt on their tails. To pull secretly
88 UFS OF JOHN XBIOSSON.
alongBide an enemy's vessel moored to a dock, in a dark night, and put-
ting a bag of powder nnder her bilge and setting fire to it, as was done
by Lieutenant Gushing, proves great daring, bnt nothing more. • • •
Written a quarter of a century ago, this letter is the dear-
est possible statement of the conditions and tendencies of naval
construction, as they have since revealed themselves, and as
they were present to Ericsson's prophetic vision even many
years earlier than this, when his ideas of monitor construction
and subaquatic attack had begun to take definite shape. The
end he had constantly in view was to make the ocean such an
uncomfortable place for the maritime bully, that a consensus
of opinion would finally compel its recognition as neutral terri-
tory. Just as the invention of fire-arms has put the weakest
saint upon an equality in physical contentions with the bullies
of the prize-ring, so the possibilities of subaquatic attack have
placed the weakest of maritime nations upon a par with the
strongest.
If, as Ericsson believed, it is in the power of science, by the
expenditure of thousands, to neutralize the vessels upon which
wealthy nations have expended their millions, and with the
labor of half a dozen men to counteract the less skilled efforts
of as many hundreds, of what profit is naval warfare ? Devot-
ing to the study of mechanical science the resources of a mind
especially created for such investigations, Ericsson compre-
hended, as few men do, the enormous changes in the relations
of men and of nations that must follow from the inventions
and discoveries of the present century. Now it is true, as
never before, that ^^ the stars in their courses fight against
Sisera." The powers of nature are arraying themselves against
those who would establish empire by any other than peaceful
means.
Wars will not cease until human nature is changed, but
they will be more and more confined to those mighty move-
ments which, in the order of Providence, seem to be essential at
times to national regeneration. The issues will be between
peoples and not between states, and in their origin and results
future contests will be national and not dynastic. To this end
no man has contributed more in his day than John Ericsson.
It is obvious that it was Ericsson's purpose to drive fighting
rOBBI0N BBOOGKinOir. 80
men from the ocean ; not to make them comfortable there ;
and there was an inevitable antagonism between his point of
view and that of the naval officer. For the mere dignities of
the qnarter-deck he had small respect, and he dealt with ad-
mirals and commodores as only so many parts of his fighting
machine. He sought to elevate engineering science above
nautical experience, and to give to "greasy mechanics" the
place of honor to which he believed them entitled in this age
of steam and iron. He simply fought out on new lines a contest
dating from the beginning of modem naval experience. War-
like training requires that the fighting instinct should have the
position of control, and this tends to place those who minister to
the mechanical forces, of which even warriors must avail them-
selves, in the position of the galley-slaves, chained to the oars,
who contributed to the glory of the warriors of old without being
sufiFered to share it. England's early naval heroes were soldiers
and not sailors, and they were wholly dependent upon the nau-
tical skill of their sailing-masters for their ability to fight upon
the ocean, instead of upon the land. Finally, the character of
the modem naval officer developed out of a substitution of
what may be called a chemical union of the soldier and the sailor
for mere mechanical association. Scarcely had this result been
accomplished when the substitution of steam as a motive power
resolved into their original elements these motive and militant
forces.
Once more the attempt to unite them is in progress, and its
success is for the future to determine. Ericsson's career be-
longs to their period of antagonism, and this in a measure ex-
plains the difficulties with which he contended through life ;
from the day when be prophesied to his friend Count von
Bosen, in Southampton Harbor, of his ability to destroy the
glory of Britain's walls of oak, to the hour when, as we shall
see later on, the Lords of the Admiralty sent their last message
of defiance in the announcement that they would have none of
his Destroyer^ and that the wisdom that rejected the propeller
and the monitor still survived at Somerset House. There, the
influence of naval predilections and opinions is supreme. * The
only argument able to gain access to the nautical mind is the
argument of experience, and not even that, if this experience is
90 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
not in the line of established sympathies. This argument is
impossible on behalf of new things. Hence it is that England
retains the reputation she has always had, and which she shares
with America, of being singularly unprepared, for a nation so
intelligent and wealthy, at the outbreak of war, when new de-
vices and new methods are certain to make their appearance.
CHAPTER XXIV.
e6le op the monitor.
Ericsson Declines to be Paid for Monitor Inventions. — Letters from the
Prince de Joinville and Admiral Spencer, R. N. — ^Threat of War
with Spain in 1878. — Monitors again in Demand.
THOUGH the Mixmtonomoh astonished the Englishmen by
crossing the Atlantic and knocking at their front door,
and the Monadnock made a successful journey of fourteen thou-
sand miles around Cape Horn to California, it was not Erics^
son's idea that the monitors should be employed for cruising.
These vessels he tersely described as rafts with an impregnable,
revolving, cylindrical iron fort above, and capacious, water-tight,
ship-shaped bags below. They had accomplished the purpose
intended, and it was expected that their r6le would be limited
to home defence. Their designer was satisfied with their per-
formance along our coasts, where they were engaged with forts
a greater number of times than any other vessels ever built, and
encountered weather of all sorts without danger.
The originator of the monitor system held from the begin-
ning that the use of canvas was incompatible with low free-
board, though he so far yielded to the wishes of the Navy De-
partment as to propose a scheme for carrying canvas in the
Dictator. In the diagram on page 95, two American moni-
tors, Dictator and Kalamazoo, are contrasted with two British
armored ships, built by Sir £. J. Reed, Chief Constructor of
the English Navy, under the influence of monitor ideas and
monitor experiences. "The year 1863," as Sir Thomas Bras-
aey tells us, "is remarkable in the annals of iron-clad construc-
tion for the laying down of the Bellerophon, which represented
in a more complete form the various ideas with which Sir E.
J. Heed had inoculated the Admiralty.* A section in outline
^Brassey's British Navy, vol. i., p. 80.
91
93. LIFE OF JOHir SBIOSSON.
of the armored portion of this vessel shows a single-tnrreted
monitor, with its sides rising so high ont of the water
(higher freeboard) as to compel a redaction in the thickness of
armor, to keep it within the limits of weight. The influence
of the monitor idea on foreign constmction is more distinctly
shown in the diagram on page 97. The Tkwnderer and /n-
flexible were English mastless turret-ships, of type entirely dif-
ferent from anything preceding them and confessedly sug-
gested by the Dictator. The DuiUio is an Italian citadel-ship,
launched in 1876, and completed in 1880. Thus, eighteen
years intervened between her appearance and that of the ori-
ginal Monitor. To meet the rapid advance in the power of
artillery greater thickness of armor was required, and this, it
will be observed, was obtained by concentrating the armor upon
a sort of monitor construction in the centre of the vessel, leav-
ing the rest of the ship exposed. The departure shown in the
foreign vessels from the simple monitor idea of a single-tur-
reted battery, designed for fighting purposes alone, was a nec-
essary concession to nautical ideas. A complete adherence to
the type, even in our own navy, was only possible so long as
Ericsson had oontroL*
While he insisted on the completeness of his system, he was
ready to accept suggestions as to the modification of its details,
made by those who had had actual experience with his vessels.
It was not always easy, however, to sift valuable suggestions
from the mass of crude conceit and prejudiced criticism so wor-
rying to one occupied with labors that were to the last degree
exhausting. During the first trial of the new vessels in Charles-
ton Harbor, the workings of the turrets were interfered with
by slight derangements, resulting from the rough handling of
battle, and requiring only minor modifications in the details of
construction to prevent them in future. Though many of
these were so slight that they were easily corrected by the use
of a hammer and chisel for a few hours, they were sufficient to
condemn the whole system in the eyes of eager critics, in spite
* It is a oariona fact that the latest type of French annored Teasel, the
Trehourt class now building (1890), with their 'Hurtle backs,** come much
nearer In appearance to Ericsson's original idea of 1864 than anything hero
shown.
BdLB OF THS XOKITOB. 98
of the fact that all the vessels reported for action the next
morning. These critics were finally silenced, if not convinced,
by the spectacle of monitors engaging the batteries again and
again without receiving serious injury, though they were hit
hundreds of times, every square foot on some of the turrets
exhibiting the effect of shot.
A letter addressed by Ericsson to the Secretary of the
Navy shows how he was accustomed to deal with the alarm-
ists in the Navy whose faculties found full play in criticising
to the minutest particular craft so opposed to ship-shape ideas :
The action of the sea under the extreme ends of our iron-clads, which
experienced admirals and gallant oaptains look upon as an insurmount-
able difficulty, dwindles down to something not at all beyond computa-
tion when subjected to the investigation of the experienced engineer.
Vague and extravagant notions of the force of the turbulent element
Boon lose their terrors when tested by the unerring standard furnished
by hydrostatio and dynamic laws. When told of the fearful beating of
the Pastcdds projecting bow against the sea, and the angry siurge that
follows, the reflecting engineer, so far from being disposed to join Gap-
tain Drayton in his advice to give up the principle, calmly sets to work
and estimates the actnal force expended and the amount of resistance
needed to meet it. Encouraged by the fact that a score of badly driven
rivets suffice to arrest the assumed irresistible power and prevent the
instant tearing away of the armored projection from the body of the ves-
sel, he times the descent of the bow and compares it with the trifling
altitude from which it decc-ended. Having completed his investigation
by noting the motion of the sea and measuring th? surface under the
bow, acted upon, he proceeds to calculate.
The comparative insignifloance of the upward strain ostabliahed by
his exact calculation, shows in a conclusive manner why the Passaic did
not cut the score of rivets, and part at the junction of the armor, imme-
diately after the very first reported violent descent of her bow. It is
hardly necessaiy to state, that by the application of a few tons of mate-
rials at the weak point of the junction of the overhang, an amount of
strength may be imparted tenfold greater than at present.
I beg that you will not deem it irrelevant if I call your attention to
the fact that, when I proposed to the British Admiralty, in 1838, to ap-
ply my screw propeller to ships of war, the most experienced men in
the Navy vehemently protested against the application, asserting that
the weight and action of the propeller would wreck the stem. We
now apply heavier propellers to vessels of two hundred tons burden
than I then proposed for frigates I Tet, sir, those professional gentle-
men who then opposed me, saying that the ship's stem could not sustain
94 LIFE OP JOfiN EKICSSON.
the weight of the propeller and the action of the sea upon it, were as
experienced as the distinguished officers who now advise you to discard
the new system because a mechanical difficulty has presented itself,
which was not ai all guarded against, and which our engineering re-
sources have not been drawn upon — much less exhausted — in overcoming.
I have the honor to observe in conclusion that, with the experience
gained, the resources of modern engineering will be applied without
stint to render the Puritan and the Dictaior perfect and as far superior
to the present European fighting ships as the screw frigate is superior
to the former sailing man-of-war.*^
During the excitation which attends the exercise of the
creative impulse, the imagination is active and the critical fac-
ulty is in suspense, and intelligent criticism is most useful to
the worker, enabling him to at once judge his performances,
as he will judge them when the state of absorption in his own
ideas has passed. But so much of the criticism to which Erics-
son was subjected through life was either prejudiced or igno-
rant, that he grew into the habit of disregarding professional
opinion as of little or no value to him. Again and again he
found his progress checked by officials who could only be
moved to activi^ by the stem command of immediate neces-
sity, and who had no wish to be disturbed in their comfortable
routine by seekers after improvement. Changes involve risks^
such as the dwellers in high places are not inclined to take, and
the necessity for a new education in professional matters. To
this the average army and navy officer is not disposed, and the
units in military bodies are controlled by the influence of the
mass. However enterprising the individual, the general senti-
ment of the class discourages exceptional activity and zeal for
improvement; the traditions of the service are opposed to any
departure from routine, and to the individual initiative; capa-
city counts for less than rank and position, and the ignorance
of chiefs is more influential than the knowledge of subalterns.
Before the first monitor was completed, Conunodore Smith
suggested that Ericsson's improvements on the turret principle
were subject to patent, and that if the Government used them in
other vessels he would have a claim for its use. Isaac Newton
wrote :t "To construct vessels on the Ericsson system is more
* Letter to the Honorable Gideon WeUes, Januaiy 10, 1863.
fI>eoember2, 1864.
b6le of the monitob. 05
than hewers of wood, and guessers at within two feet more
or less of their displacement, can stomach. Do not think
that the whole United States iion-clad n&vy is to be built on
Brttlih ind Amwlun Tumtod V>
the Ericsson system if they can help it, or cannot at least rob
you of the fame connected with it; hence my reason for asking
you to patent the whole concern from one end to the other, so
that 'hs who runs may read.' As for any justice bom th«
86 LIES OF JOHN ERIOSSOK.
Navy Department or Government, they would not tnm their
bands over to assiet you either in reputation or pocket."
Ericfison did not heed this well-meant advice, and he was
subsequently able to say, in answ.er to an inquiry, ^^ I have not
received any remuneration from the nation for the MonitoTj
nor did I patent the invention, as I intended it as a contribution
to the glorious cause of the Union."* His profit upon it came
to him as one of the contractors for building the vessel, and not
as an inventor.
When in 1882 Senator Piatt, of Connecticut, proposed to
secure from Congress some recognition of his services, he re-
plied: ^^ Nothing could induce me to accept any remunera^
tion from the United States for the monitor invention, once
presented by me as my contribution to the glorious Union
cause, the triumph of which freed four millions of bondsmen."
In a similar generous spirit Ericsson declared in 1869, in
writing to his London agents to secure for him a patent for
improvement in ordnance, that his sole object for applying for
tliis patent and for others connected with naval defence, was to
put the inventions on record as being the result of his labors
and research. '^ I do not seek emolument," he told Bourne in
1866 ; ^^ what I desire to see is the monitor system adopted by
that great power which my native land looks to for assistance
in a contest that will take place sooner or later." At the same
time he was naturally annoyed because a marine engineer was
paid $40,000 for the device of a hydraulic lift for the monitor
turret, when he received nothing for the turret itself or for
numerous other inventions used by the Government.
Ericsson always insisted that his vessels should be fought
end on in a naval engagement, so as to avoid the risk of being
run down ; to sink the adversary, if possible, by a sharp thrust
from the iron beak of the monitor, and in fighting foi-ts to pre-
sent the smallest possible surface to the accurate fire of the
stationary guns. In this way, too, the inaccuracy resulting
from rolling in a seaway could be escaped, the angle of inclina-
tion of the gun-carriages in the turrets under such circumstances
being less than seven degrees, 3^ degrees above and below the'
horizon ; not sufficient to overcome friction and move the garm
* Letter to the Bvening Herald, Sjrraoiue, Deoember 11, 1888.
b6le of the monitor.
97
out of position, as the angle of repose between iron and iron is
nearly eight degrees. When the ordinary ship roll^ its ports
under water, the commander of the Monitor craft, by simply
directing his battery over the bow, defied the disturbing influence
of the heaviest rolling.
In harbor defence the light draught of the monitors enables
llllllltilBIBl
I
III ■■
tntiTT
uvwrapnwRf or mv wmuww M9^
them to run into the shoal water at the sides of the main chan-
nel, as the original Monitor did when the Merrimac undertook
to ram her. From this coign of vantage such vessels could
bring their heavy guns to bear, and in defiance of superior size
and weight, sink the intruding iron-clad. The boast of the
advocates of the broadside ships, that they could run down the
98 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
monitors, was made in f oi'getf ulness of this fact, and of the fur-
ther fact that such raft-like structures are more difficult to
sink than liigh-sided vessels, while the overhanging sides pro
tect the hull from the beak of a ram.
Among others who have expressed their opinion of Erics-
son's system of naval construction is that distinguished naval
authority, the Prince de Joinville. He was a lieutenant in
the navy of France as early as 1836, a rear-admiral in 1840,
and his special study of American matters as a participant in
our Civil War gave him a familiarity with our war history that
few Europeans possess. Writing to Ericsson as late as January
10, 1876, he said :
I remember well our talk when I met yon coming back from the
fight at< Hampton Boads, and how I went down on my tender and re-
mained with Goldsboroagh on board of the Minnesota all the time the
landing of McGlellan's troops appeared a tempting bait, in the hope of
seeiDg the fight renewed. Your Monitor was a stroke of genius and an
immense stride in advance of everything at that time. For attack and
defence in shallow water it has not yet been surpassed.
I believe, too, that the turret and revolving gnn system wiU estab-
lish itself on board of any kind of ship of war, but I am among the un-
believers in the continuance of sea-going plated ships. The sea remains
the sea, and ships must be able to live in a storm. The unwieldy
monsters of the day are unable to do it. They may be destroyed by a
miserable torpedo carried by one man in a single boat. The smallest
blow from the smallest ram can send them to the bottom. And there
will always be a gun to pierce their armor. All this is absurdity ; it
cannot last All sailors, like the knights of yore, will throw away the
cumbersome cuirass that will embarrass and give no protection. Very
wise indeed was your Navy Department not to launch itself in all these
foolish and costly experiments about sea-going iron-clads. I always
take great interest in all that happens in your great country, seocmd
only to my own in my affection.
The doubts as to the heavy iron-clads have, not yet been
dispelled by further experiment and investigation. Ten years
after De Joinville, a distinguished British officer, Admiral
Spencer Bobinson, formerly Chief Constructor of the British
Navy, writing to Ericsson on the same topic, said :
•
It is, as I know, the merest commonplace to say that we wish that the
progress of science would take another direction, that the wonderful
BdLE OF THE HONITOB. 99
inganiiiij of man conld be exercised as sncoessfnlly in promoting the
happiness and well-being of humanity as it has been powerfully devel-
oped in the art of swift, sudden, and horrible destruction of the spe-
cies. But this is not the millennium. Violence, Bobbery, and Wrong
too often and too largely guide the so-called statesman of the world to
permit us to neglect any means which science and knowledge put before
us to use in self-defence, and enable us to make the just and righteous
cause prevail. Under these restrictions, I think nothing better adapted
for the geographical position of that mighty nation stretching from
ocean to ocean than the combined system of monitors and torpedoes.
In response to the attempt to show that the monitors were
mere ^^ clever makeshifts," Ericsson insisted that the resouroes
of science had been exhausted in the endeavor to supplant his
vessel by some one of another type. It was to be superseded,
as he believed, only as all sea-floating iron-clad structnres may
be said to be superseded, by his system of subaquatic attack by
little vessels fighting at close quarters. He was sustained in
his belief by the opinion, expressed by the judges on naval
structures at the conclusion of the Paris Exhibition of 1867,
^^ that a monitor with a single turret and unencumbered deck,
is the most perfect structure for naval defence."
The monitors in our service during the Civil War success-
fully weathered the fearful gales on the inhospitable shores of
North and South Carolina during two winters, each vessel hav-
ing been engaged on an average twenty-five times with bat-
teries mounted with the most formidable European ordnance
of that time, sometimes at a range under five hundred yards.
Monitors built a thousand miles away fought in the Gulf of
Mexico, cruised off Cuban ports in search of Confederate iron-
clads, and, as we have seen, whenever they encountered them
either captured them, as in the case of the AUanta / or de-
stroyed them, as in the case of the Tennessee and the NashviUe*
On more than one occasion Ericsson felt called upon to
turn aside from his work of constructing monitors to engage
in their defence against the assaults directed against them in the
press. Some of these had their origin in ignorance, some in
prejudice, and others in hostility to him or to the administra-
tion under whose orders he was acting. Once he so far de-
parted from his usual course of action as to send to the editor
of one of the leading New York dailies a transcript from his
100 UFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
cash account^ showing the various sums he had been called upon
to 'Mend" to the author of its articles on the Monitor, and
making it clear that his hostility was due to a refusal of fur-
ther loans. The offender was promptly dismissed, and trans-
ferred his scheme of operations to another sheet From this
he disappeared on receipt of another letter from Ericsson, to
renew his assaults in a third journal.
At one time there was a specially virulent attack, of which
Secretary Welles wrote to Ericsson (August 11, 1864):
This concerted attack upon the monitor, or turreted class of vessels,
by the New York press has an object beyond the Navy proper, though
availing itself of the prejudices of such naval officers as are inimical to
improvement or innovation. I trust, my dear sir, you do not permit
them to annoy you. They say the monitors are built especially to at-
tack batteries, whereas the primary object is defensive, and when a for-
eign war seemed imminent, and there were apprehensions from the
Alabama, Florida, etc., in New York, the authorities of that and other
cities, the Governors of the States, with Committees from the mer-
chants and others appealed to the Department and Government for
iron-clads to protect them. Such would be the case again were we
threatened with a war with a maritime power. My confidence in the
monitors has never been impaired from the beginning. Without allud-
ing to their other qualities, they will constitute the true and reliable
defence of this country in the future from maritime aggression.
Fourteen years after this letter was written, Mr. Welles's
prophecy that the monitors would again be in demand were a
foreign war again to threaten, was justified.
In 1875 war with Spain was imminent The insurrection
in Cuba had then lasted some seven years, and was accompa-
nied by a constant series of aggressions on the rights of person
and of property of citizens of the United States. The Unit-
ed States felt compelled to adopt a course of action which, in
the event of Spain's resenting it, made war almost inevitable.
In a letter written to George M. Robeson, Secretary of the
Navy, December 31, 1878, the Honorable Hamilton Fish, late
Secretary of State, said of the condition of things at the time
referred to:
Although Spain professed, and had on frequent occasions given evi-
dence of, a desire to repress these aggressions, and to redress them, the
ROLE OP THE MONITOR. 101
weakness of her government, with the Carlist insurrection on her hands
at home, and the Cuban insurrection in the colonies, with the frequent
disregard of her orders by the colonial authorities, together with her
own traditional habits of procrastination, prevented repression, and the
condition of her treasury prevented full redress; while designing men
were instituting acts of wrong against our Government and people,
with a view to irritate both Government and people, and to precipitate
them into war.*
TTiere was every expectation that our Grovemment would
be obliged to interfere and stop the war in Cuba at the time^
for official notice to this effect had been sent to Madrid, and
the Governments of England, France, Germany, and Russia
were asked to join in this intervention. Every available vessel
of the Navy was concentrated at Port Royal, including such
monitors as were in repair. The utmost haste was made to
put in condition the odiers. "I thought then," testified Sec-
retary Robeson before the Committee on Naval Affairs, ''and
I think now (January 16, 1879), that with those vessels prop-
erly repaired and put in efficient condition, we would have
had a sufficient iron-clad fleet for the protection of our shores
and harbors; not an iron-clad fleet that could go abroad, as an
aggressive force, but a fleet sufficient for the defensive purposes
of a peaceful nation like our own, living upon our own conti-
nent, isolated from the powerful governments of Europe/'
That there was such mounting in hot haste at the time that
war with Spain threatened, was due to the neglect of the pre-
cautions Ericsson had advised at an earlier date. The science
of naval gunnery made rapid progress after his vessels were
completed, and experience had made it clear that the armor of
thin plates interposed one upon another, which he was com-
pelled to use, was much inferior to the armor composed of
thicker plates such as the rolling-mills at a subsequent date
were able to furnish. Accordingly, he advised that the moni-
tors should be hauled out of water and thoroughly repaired,
solid armor being substituted for the laminated plating. The
monitor fleet was reported by Admiral Farragut to be in per-
fect working condition at the end of the war, and would have
* Testimony taken before the Committee on Naval Affairs, January 1^
1879.
102 LIFE OF JOHN FRIOSSOir«
continned so if the vessels had been taken out of the water and
their bottoms repainted, instead of being left snbject to the
corrosive influences which, even in fresh water, will in a short
time prove destructive.
^' Placed on land and properly taken care of," said Ericsson,
'^ the machinery put in motion, say once a year, vessels like the
monitors are good iov fifty years.'' Even the unfortunate
light-draughts, he contended, with their turrets strengthened by
solid plating, might be made useful for harbor-defence vessels,
^^ for, be it remembered," said he, ^^ such vessels need not have
great speed. The work to be done by them is that of attack-
ing the enemy's ships, not on the coast, but after the entrance
of the hostile vessels, while taking up a position in the interior
of the harbor." Continuing, he says : ^^ It is hardly necessaiy
to observe that at the present moment the English iron-clads,
in spite of our forts and 15-inch guns could steam up to the
Battery. Protected by iron netting, which the English have
lately devised for harbor attack, our proposed torpedo boats,
with their twenty feet long poles with a powder bag at the end,
would be laughed at by our assailants ; nor would stationary
torpedoes prove any protection against an enterprising enemy
employing mechanical means for destroying these contrivances
and clearing and buoying the passage as he advances. Per-
manent obstructions defended by forts or monitors can alone
offer effective resistance.
'^ No doubt a stationary torpedo, suspended in the channel
at a proper depth below the surface of the water, is a dangerous
obstruction, but we must not shut our eyes against the obvious
fact that these structures are of such a frail character that they
may be easily destroyed. Far different is the defence offered
by a monitor, with an impregnable turret protecting guns capa-
ble of firing heavy projectiles and explosive shells, against die
enemy's hulls below water-line. No other system of defence
can compare with the monitor, which cannot be run down by
sea-going iron-clads, as the light draught enables it to lay in
shoal water by the side of the channel, from whence, without
fear of molestation, the approaching ships may be attacked
while entering a harbor. Should this attack fail, the moni-
tor can leisurely follow the intruder and sink him while tak-
BdLE OF THE MONITOR. 103
ing up the last position and preparing to shell the assailed
point." *
At the close of the war the armor-clad fleet was laid np in
the waters of the Delaware, at Philadelphia, presenting a sin-
gular and imposing spectacle as the creation of two short
years, finding no parallel in military and naval annals ; exhib-
iting such a sum total of destructive energy as no one could
have imagined possible a few years earlier. Two years later
Ericsson informed a friend, who thought of visiting this place,
that he would then find ^^ a fleet of iron-clads subjected to the
most rapid decay. All that rotting and corrosion can do to de-
stroy the vessels of which the nation expects so much in case
of need, you will," he said, "find in active progress." In an-
swer to a request from the Kavy Department he had written,
in March, 1866, showing how the armor-clads might be floated
into an enclosed basin at League Island, when the water could
be pumped out until it was needed to float them again. " A
fleet laid up as I propose," he said, ^^ is good for half a century,
all excepting some repairs about the armor backing. Engines,
hulls, boilers, etc., may be kept in perfect order, and in twenty-
four hours fifty iron-clads may be transferred from their dry
resting-place on the surface of League Island to the Delaware
with stores and ammunition on board."
* Letter to WiUiam C. Churoh, dated Febnuiy 19, 1678.
CHAPTER XXV.
BIVALS AND IMITATOBS.
The Monitors of the British Admiralty. — Money Wasted on the British
Navy. — Tragic Results of Cowper Coles's Rivalry. — Letter from
Mrs. Ericsson. — Claimants for the Monitor. — Jonah the First Sub-
marine Navigator.
MR. JOHN BOURNE, who devoted himself to the propa-
gation of the monitor idea in England, was indefatigable,
and determined that his countrymen should have the advan-
tage of Ericsson's system and of Ericsson's services. ' Erics-
son was willing to assist, with the stipulation, as he informed
Mr. Bourne, that he was not to be put in the position of inter-
fering with any plans of his friend Fox, who also had an idea
of introducing the monitor to Europe, more especially to Prus-
sia. Ericsson was willing to assist Fox, as he proposed to as-
sbt Mr. Bourne, without considering the question of pecuniary
return for himself. No man was more indi£Perent to money
for its own sake. Assured that his own moderate wants were
to be supplied, he had no concern as to who might profit by
his brains and his industry.
Taking advantage of one of those changes of administration
so common in England, Mr. Bourne wrote (July 10 and 23, 1866)
to the successor of the "First Lord'* who had answered him
so cavalierly when he approached him on the subject of moni-
tors. He showed, by a reference to American experience, that
the thickness of armor it was intended to use in England was
entirely inadequate, and as the inevitable result of carrying out
the Admiralty plans the work would all have to be done over
again. He pointed out "that the use of laminated armor was
not essential to the monitor system," and that the "immense
disadvantages" of artificial ventilation were imaginary. "I
am," he said, "abeut to urge its adoption upon the Peninsular
^ BIYALS AND IMITATOBS. 105
and Oriental Company for their steamers in the East, where
^very expedient of nautical ventilation has long been tried with
very imperfect results/'
Mr. Bourne based his conclusions upon the fact that he had
^en more attention to the subject he discussed ''than any
other engineer in England." He informed Sir John Packing-
ton that John Penn, the eminent engine builder, who was
"well able to judge of Captain Ericsson's talents," was readj, if
invited to do so, " to construct engines after Ericsson's designs."
He lurged the importance of giving the monitor system a trial,
''with all the advantages consequent upon the co-operation of
its author, who is not only the very ablest engineer probably of
the present day, but who has been able to mature his system
by the aid of the lights afforded by experience in actual war."
Warned by Ericsson, Mr. Bourne added that his principal
"would not be disposed to make any official tender of his ser-
vices, as he does not wish to press them upon anyone, or to
subject himself to the slight of official repulse."
This letter was written before Sir John had entered upon his
official duties; so a little later (September, 1866) Mr. Bourne
made a formal request, in a letter addressed to the Secretary of
the Admiralty, that he might be allowed, in conjunction with
some approved English manufacturer, "to tender for monitors,"
believing "that the result would be to produce vessels that
were quite unrivalled in the world."
This was written at the suggestion of Mr. E. J. Reed, Chief
Constructor of the British Navy, who had shown a friendly dis-
position, expressing hb regret that he was absent when Mr.
Bourne's offer was sent to Whitehall, and saying: "I also
very much regret that the most liberal offer of Mr. Ericsson
has been declined. I certainly should have accepted it had the
matter rested with me." (Letter of June, 1866.) Calling upon
Mr. Reed September 2, 1866, Mr. Bourne was shown designs
for turreted vessels prepared by Mr. Reed himself. Conscious
that he was treading on delicate ground. Bourne yet ventured
to suggest that the matter of adoption of these designs was of
^reat importance to the reputation of Mr. Reed, as well as to
me interests of the country. Hence he urged they should be
kept out of sight until their author had an opportunity to sub-
106 LIFE OF JOHN SBIOSSOK*
mit them to Ericsson. ^' Mr. Beed, on this, expressed a desire
to go over to America to consult you." Bourne wrote. This
desire, as the result shows, was not acted upon. At the inter*
view he describes^ Mr. Bourne proposed to make a tender for
monitors, to be built from plans submitted to Ericsson for re-
vision. ^^This arrangement," as he reported, ^^Mr. Beed at
once jumped at and recommended to me to write a letter to
the Admiralty at once. A draft of such a letter was made, ap-
proved of by Mr. Beed, and sent to the Admiralty."
^^ Whatever the result," said Mr. Bourne, ^^ I shall always
feel it to have been a privilege to have been able to discern and
proclaim the superior qualities of the monitor system over any-
thing we have been able to produce in this country, and also to
have been placed in correspondence with one whom I cannot
but recognize as the leading spirit of the age in the engineer-
ing world."
In November, 1866, after the visit of the Mianionomoh
had had its full effect, Bourne reported that he found no one
in England who would ^^ venture to stand up against the moni-
tor system. In common," he said, ^^ with all innovations, it had
had its opponents ; but never was there any innovation so com-
pletely under the dominion of pure reason, or one the efficiency
and advantages of which could be so conclusively demonstra-
ted." In his subsequent arguments with Mr. Beed, Mr. Bourne
insisted upon the use of armor thicker than the 12-inch ; he in-
tended to adopt 18 inches and 24 inches.
The use of such heavy armor, as he very well knew, in-
volved all the other details of the monitor construction. The
result showed that, to escape this dilemma, the English and
others were willing to leave a portion of the surface of the ar-
mor-clads exposed to penetration ; sacrificing the protection
Ericsson insisted upon, rather than antagonize the ideas of
British sailors as to what comfort demanded. It is curious
how, in the cycle of change, this element of comfort, so essen-
tial to those whose life is on the sea, has again been sacrificed
to the imperative necessities of war. A son of the Prince of
Wales, in command of a modem torpedo boat, during the in-
spection or manoeuvres, in the summer of 1889, was obliged to
occupy with two others a cabin ten feet by twelve.
BITAL8 AND IKITATOBS« 107
Mr. Bourne was too confident : It was not until more than
a year later (March 7, 1868) that the London Times was heard
declaring that '^ the final blow had been given to the already
tottering theory of broadside iron-clads." " Why," it is then
said, ^^ do we obstinately refuse to build small iron-clads, single-
turreted vessels, with low freeboard and one or two guns of the
heaviest calibre. The American and Eussian officers who have
actually tried them, report with enthusiasm of their sea-going
properties. It seems to us that the Admiralty have in noth-
ing so neglected their duty as in failing to provide us with a
large supply of these formidable little vessels."
Mr. Bourne read before the Institution of Civil Engineers a
paper on Monitors, and was awarded therefor their Watt medal
and Telford premium. This paper started a discussion, and
during this Mr. Heed produced his plans for the Devastation
and ThundereTj both mastless, armored, sea-going turret-ships.
Of these British ships the Dictator and Puritan were confess-
edly ^^ the progenitors." In his elaborate work upon the Brit-
ish Navy, Sir Thomas Brassey says ^' the American monitors,
Dictator and Pisritatiy were certainly the progenitors of our
Devastation type." * This type was not adopted in England
until 1869, or seven years after the Dictator had been put in
hand. It was especially commended by the British ^^ Commit*
tee on Design," composed of the ablest naval officers and most
eminent engineers, and was then regarded ^^as the type to
which all first-class fighting ships would have to approximate
in future."
In 1864, two small monitors, the Scorpion and the Wyvem,
were constructed in England for the Confederates. These
were seized by the English authorities and subsequently pur-
chased by the British Government. Being the first monitors
built in England, they were inferior to the American ships, but
their trials gave fairly satisfactory results, and led to the con-
struction of two larger turret-ships, the Bcyal Sovereign and
the Prince Albert.'^ These vessels were inferior in every re-
spect to the Ericsson monitors. The Wyvem rolled twenty-two
degrees, so that she was unable to work her guns in a seaway,
* See The British Natj, by Sir Thomu Brsasej, voL L , p. 184
t Ibid., p. 1«.
108 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
The Royal Sovereign wa3 an old three-decker, originally pierced
for one hundred and twenty guns, and altered to test the Uieories
of Captain Cowper Coles, the officer of the British Navy who
sought to appropriate the honors due Captain Ericsson for the
IHonitor. The Prince Albert was a new vessel built after
Coles's plans. As has been seen, Mr. Reed, Chief Constructor,
had the good sense to oppose the adoption of the ideas of Cap-
tain Coles and to favor those of Ericsson. But in his Devastor
Hon and Thunderer he, too, sought to improve upon Ericsson,
departing in essential particulars from the monitor idea of sub-
stituting concentration for diffusion. The result was that, long
before these vessels were finished, guns appeared that could
pierce their inadequate armor through and through.
In 1877 Mr. Bourne said:
If Ericsson's aid had been obtained, our Navy would have been in a
viery different position at the present moment from what it is actually
in. Millions of money would have been saved to the state, and the na-
tion would have felt itself secure, instead of being oppressed by the
conviction that all we have hitherto done in the way of armored vessels
is futile and unavailing, and on the outbreak of war we should find our-
selves to be virtually defenceless. At present our Navy is a by-word.
Our sailors are, no doubt, as good as ever. The fault is in our ships,
and is traceable to the fact that in a great transition period we have had
no leading mind competent to direct the course of the transformation.
Lords of the Admiralty are, as a rule, incompetent to appreciate
such men as Ericsson, or even to discern the need of a great genius to
successfully work out great innovations. Left to themselves, they are
content with worn-out methods and with the counsels of stagnant medi-
ocrity, and are utterly powerless to devise a course of action when some
new difficulty has to be confronted. It is under such circumstances as
those which have prevailed since the introduction of armor-clads, that
the aid of such a man as Ericsson — confessedly the greatest engineering
genius of the age — becomes of incalculably value; and the stolidity
which neglected to avail itself of his aid while still accessible, must ever
be reprobated and lamented. ... At present this much at least is
clear, that, spite of so large an expenditure, we have no efficient shot-
proof navy, nor have we any military instrument yet matured and avail- .
able to act as a substitute. Our naval authorities are confessedly at sea.*
Naval authorities are quite as much at sea now as they
were then, and England continues to build at an enormous ex-
* The Past and Future of Ships of War, by John Bourne, C.E.
BIYALS AND IMITATOBS. 109
pense vessels which the first naval war will render obsolete;
for no other apparent reason than that other nations are doing
the same. She craves two ships to every one possessed hj
any other nation, and it is the theory of British naval authori-
ties that they must be prepared to resist a combined attack
from any two naval powers.
After much discussion Captain Coles had succeeded, in
1869, in persuading the Admiralty to build a vessel more ex-
actly representing his ideas than those previously constructed.
This was a vessel of 4,272 tons, completed at a cost of nearly
two millions of dollars. In this Coles undertook to combine a
great spread of canvas with low sides. By an error in his cal-
culations the vessel had two feet less freeboard than he in-
tended, her deck being only six feet above the water-line, in-
stead of eight, as proposed. She was completed in 1870, and
on the 7th of June in that year Mr. John Laird, who had built
her, said, in a letter to Ericsson: "I send you a paper to-day
with some report of the cruise of the Captain with the fleet.
All that is said in the paper is confirmed by letters from offi-
cers on board the vessel. One night they had a strong gale
and wind at force 10, and the ship lay under close-reefed
main-top sails and reefed foresail. She was pronounced by all
on board to be the most perfect sea-boat they were ever in.
She tacks, stays, wears, and works as well as any old line-of-
battle ship, and my correspondent adds that ' the way in which
this ship works and answers her helm is most striking. '*'
Mr. Laird's correspondent on board the Captain would ap-
pear to have been her enthusiastic designer, Cowper Coles him-
self. Toward the close of 1870 the Captain made one or two
successful cruises. "The excess in her draught of water was
not considered serious, and as she appeared to be a good sea-
boat no notice was taken of it. Her stability was never doubt-
ed by her designers; nor, indeed, was her critical state ever
properly realized by anyone; any doubt that may have existed
was smothered by the confidence of her advocates. The chorus
of praise which she elicited on all sides continued to increase,
and the question as to what the type of the British war-ship
for the future should be was supposed to be settled in her be^
yond dispute."
110 LIFE OF JOHK EBIOSSOK.
•
Then came the dreadf al news that she had gone down,
during the night between the 6th and 7th of September, 1870,
o£F Cape Finisterre. The wind had not been unnsnally violent ;
the Bea had not been exceptionally heavy ; there were no ex-
tenuating circa mstanoes ; she had not bravely battled with even
ordinary roagh weather ; she was proceeding confidently under
steam and sails when, in an ordinary squall, she displayed once
for all her subtle and treacherous character by slowly turning
over and becoming the coffin of nearly the whole of her crew,
some five hundred men, including a large number of accom-
plished officers. The people of England were almost panic-
stricken at this terrible news. How it could have occurred with
the comparatively wide-spread knowledge relating to the sub-
ject and the facts and figures of her special case before them,
it was difficult to conceive." * It was the disregainl of hydro-
static laws shown by Captain Coles in his attempt to combine
low freeboard with high sailing qualities that led to this dis-
aster. ^' Low freeboard," said Ericsson, ^^ unquestionably in-
sures a steady platform for the guns, but if made as low as
it should be to secure the great object in view, protection
against shot, it is incompatible with sailing qualities. In fine,
low freeboard is only applicable to the fighting machine, the
genuine monitor.''
Coles was ambitious to carry on his cupola vessel as much
sail as a first-rate three-decker, and his spread of canvas and
load of top-hamper were too much for a vessel having such
small stability as the Captain. When last seen she was carry-
ing royals, she was encumbered with a hurricane-deck twenty or
thirty feet above the sea-level, and upon this deck were stored
boats, anchors, and all the gear necessary to work the ship.
This top-weight, in addition to two massive turrets of twenty-
seven feet diameter and ponderous side-armor, was too much
for a vessel pushed over beyond the line of safety by the lever-
age of her masts and sails. In the Captain was witnessed the
application of the suggestions for supposed improvement of the
monitor system constantly thrust upon Ericsson by influential
advisers, and to which he opposed the strength of his sound
judgment and his inflexible will.
* The British Navy, by Sir Thomu BraaBey, K.C.B., vol. i., p. 846.
BIVALS AND IMITAX9BS. Ill
In the ^^ Life of Sir John Burgjoyne," father of the naval
officer who commanded the Ccy^Mn^ we are told that she was
looked upon as the acknowledged model of the war-ships of the
future, and that most of tb^ Government officials who had sons
in the Navj had asked |pr appointments in her, and among her
complement of offic^ts she carried sons of Lord Herbert, for-
merly Secretary of 0tate for War, Mr. Childers, the First Lord of
the Admiralty^ Lord Northbrook, the Under-secretary of State
for War, CoJonel Boxer, the head of the Laboratory Depart-
ment, and Captain Gordon, the principal Comptroller at the
Boyal Arsenal. One of her lieutenants was Lord Lewis Gordon,
a brother of the Marquis of Huntly, and as guests with her com-
mander were her inventor, Captain Cowper Coles and a son of
Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker, the former Comptroller of the
Admiralty. At the special request of her designer, Captain
Burgoyne had been selected to command her, and she had on
board a picked crew, many of whom had volunteered for her
owing to the popularity of her captain.
Over a tombstone in the parish church of Scole, Suffolk,
England, hangs a boat-flag which drifted ashore from the Cap-
tain on the Bay of Biscay. It marks the cenotaph of her un-
fortunate designer. His fate and the fate of his vessel, so un-
precedented in naval annals, are the best answer to the claims
he presented during his life. In connection with the less mel-
ancholy, but even more costly, experience of the light-draught
monitors, they emphasize, as no expenditure of rhetoric could,
the wonderful mastery Ericsson possessed of nautical problems.
The stupendous failures of others, who undertook the solution
of the same problems, present his great success in sharper out-
lines.
Contrasting this experience with that of Coles, ^^ the son
of an old naval officer " * said :
Snoh, then, are the respectiye achievements of Ck>le8 and Ericsson in
regard to the invention and constmotion of turret-vessels. But, apart
from all recapitulation of the facts such as I have given, the presump-
tion would certainly be, in any question touching the authorship of
such an elaborate improvement, that it is to Ericsson, and not to Ooles,
* Captain Colea and the Admiraltj. London : Longman, Green & Co.
112 UFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
that we are indebted for it. It is no disparagement of Captain Coles to
say that, until this turret controversy arose, his name had never beea
heard of out of his own domestic circle; and he makes no pretensions
to mechanical genius, such as distinguished the late Earl of Dundonald,
or even to any such commonplace acquaintance with mechanical re*
sources as ordinary engineers and ship-builders must necessarily pos-
sess. On the other hand, Ericsson is known to be distinguished, not
merely by remarkable inventive genius, but for the last forty years he
has been stamped as one of the most skilful engineers of the age,
and one who has all the qualifications necessary for working out his
conceptions to a practical and successful issue. While, therefore, a
perfect and efficient turret system would be too much to expect from
Coles, it would not be too much to expect from Ericsson; all his ante-
cedents and his known talents being such as to warrant us in expect-
ing from him the highest measure of improvement that the present age
can produce
Not only is Ericsson a proficient mechanic, but an able officer of the
Military Engineers; and in regard to the penetrating power of guns,
and to a correct estimate of the resisting power, he had attained pretty
near as much progress a quarter of a century ago (t. e,, in 1841) as we
have reached in the present day.
From such a man the production of a new and more powerful sys-
tem of armament and defence might reasonably be expected; whereas,
nothing short of a miracle could enable an amateur mechanic, of slow
imagination, and confessedly destitute of all practical resources, suo
cessfully to achieve such an important work.
The persistent writing and arguing and presenting of
"claims" by Cowper Coles and his friends, did much to bring
the monitor or turret system into discredit, at least in Eng-
land, where it was confused with Coles's "cupola" system, to
which it bore only a superficial resemblance. The idea of pro-
tecting guns by shields, as Captain Coles claimed, first occurred
to him in 1855, the year after Ericsson's letter to Napoleon;
but it is obvious that, whatever the idea was, Coles was unable
to present it in practical shape until the Monitor appeared*
Then he sought to graft his crude notions upon a system com-
plete and perfect in itself. His punishment was dramatic in
its promptness and severity.
Coles's misleading efforts to enlighten the public, with ref-
erence to the merits of a system he had confused with his
own, gave Ericsson great annoyance, and they began as soon as
the Monitor was heard from in Hampton Roads. A month
RIVALS AND IMITATORS* 113
after her appearance there Mrs. Ericsson wrote this letter to
her husband:
2 Canning Place, Kensington Gate, April 7th.
I send the Times in order that you may peruse the infamous attempt
of claiming your invention as England's production. The time will ap-
pear to me an age before you can repudiate this mean and paltry as-
sumption; but, of course, comparison of chimneys, etc., etc., which you
must submit to Europe, can stand the test no doubt of your undivided
claim. I think it is a pity you have no one here conversant with the in-
vention to represent your interests. Would it not be worth while to
have some agent here? It is disgraceful that others should stand up
and profess to be the origin of this great crisis in warfare. It will seem
an age to me ere you can possibly give refutation to Captain Coles's as-
sertion. Still, I feel England will be again startled by the proofs you
can undoubtedly bring to light of your legitimate claim.
With earnest desire that you may conquer your enemies here,
I am, as ever,
A. Ericsson.
As a matter of fact, every mechanical device connected with
the system, so triumphantly vindicated under the stress of war,
was the product of Ericsson's fertile brain. A fact the more
remarkable, since, as I have shown, the exigency of the times
did not admit of previous experiments, everything being de-
spatched directly from the foundry and workshop to the field
of battle. Contrast this with the mishaps and failures on the
other side of the Atlantic I The Captain is the chief but not
the only example. England wasted in experiment more than
the United States expended in creating its entire monitor fleet,
and in addition, at the end of our Civil War the mother-coun-
try had invested $250,000,000 in broadside vessels, and these,
by the confession of the London Times, were rendered anti-
quated by our experiences with the monitors under the actual
conditions of battle. Yes, wasted in experiment, for on this
side of the Atlantic we had already settled the questions still
in process of investigation by that body of gendemen whose
career has proved a cogent agreement, a posteriori, against the
once mooted scheme for establishing an Admiralty Board in
the United States.
While England, in spite of the protests of Bourne and
others, was building its vessels with inadequate protection, and
Vol. II.-
114 LIFS OF JOHK BBIOSSON.
oondnctiiig cobUj experiments to determine the resistance of
iron plates, the destmctive e£Eect of fifteen-inch solid shot with
sizty-poond charges had set at rest all speculation. Twelve
and fifteen inches of solid iron were adopted as the stand-
ard, and snch thickness of armor required the nse of the
monitor.
Cowper Coles was not alone in his assertion of priority, and
his claim, if not established, was certainly as well founded as
that of others on whose behalf the same claim has been pre-
sented. In considering these claimants in their order, it is
proper to give first place to Mr. Charles Dudley Warner, as
the representative of the Jewish prophet whose history fur-
nishes the first recorded case of strictly submarine naviga-
tion. ^^ Thanks to an enduring piece of literature," says
Mr. Warner, *^ the unheroic Jonah and his whale are better
known than St. Jerome and his lion. . . . He iu a man-
ner anticipated the use of the monitor and other submerged
sea- vessels." *
So " in a manner " did Mr. T. R. Timby, for whom the
monitor turret has been claimed, anticipate Ericsson, but no
more than Jonah did he furnish Ericsson with the idea of a
submerged vessel, with the turret as its visible and outward
sign. True, Ericsson's associates, who were shrewd men of
business, thought it worth while to invest a moderate sum in
securing control of Timby's ideas, at a time when controversy
was to be avoided. They sought afterward to make this pur-
chase available by building land turrets for the Government
on Timby's plan, but in this enterprise Ericsson refused to join
them.
Writing to a friend, Ericsson said :
A houBe, or turret, turning on a pivot for protecting apparatus in-
tended to throw warlike projectiles, is an ancient device ; I believe was
known among the Greeks. Thinking back, I cannot fix any period of
my life at which I did not know of its existence. A ship of war pro-
vided with a turret capable of turning toward any point of the compass,
as in the Monitor, is, however, original with me. Many attempts have
been made to deprive me of the credit of such a device, but they have
all failed.
^ In the Levant, by Charles Dudley Warner.
RIVALS A17D IMITATOBS. 116
Timby'a revohing turret is a totally diffeient invention, presenting
iM>me adyantages and many radical defecta. It is a cylindrical iron cita-
del for harbor defence, with many floors, each floor carrying a large
number of guns operated on fixed radial slides. Placed near the en*
trance of a harbor, it is kept continually revolying when the enemy is
near, each gun being fired in succession the instant it bears on an un-
lucky intruder. Should the rotation by any cause be stopped, the
whole structure with its numerous guns becomes useless, since each gun
points unalterably in a different direction. Obviously, the grand idea is
that of concentrated fire on an approaching ship, there being but a few
seconds between each shot if the turret is turned rapidly. Timby hav-
ing stated in his patent that the invention was intended " for land or
water " (meaning, of course, that like many other forts it might be built
in the water), claimed, as soon as the Monitor had proved a success, that
I had infringed. My generous partners in the Monitor enterprise, de-
sirous of securing an interest in the grand revolving turret, which they
supposed would be employed to protect every harbor in the country, at
once took Timby by the hand, and paid him a sum of money, partly taken
out of my pocket. Timby got his original patent reissued in sudi form
that my disinterested partners imagined that they held my patent. CSivil
enc^eers of the highest standing at once prepared drawings of my
friend's harbor defence turrets ; but practical Lincoln, well advised by
my friend Fox, could not see that the safety of the country demanded
the immediate erection of Timby's turrets.*
Floating batteries^ protected by heavy wooden bnlwarks, to
secnre impregnability, have been resorted to in the naval wars
of Europe for centuries. Ten such batteries were constracted
by the Spanish Chevalier D'Arcon for his attack upon Gibraltar,
September 18, 1782. Their wooden hulls were protected by
bars of iron, and an outer covering or belt of cork. But they
were not proof against fire, and with the aid of red-hot shot
they were destroyed, five blowing np and five burning to the
water's edge, only 487 out of 5,260 men being saved.
But none of the earlier protected batteries were monitors.
Ericsson's vessel was a distinct and novel conception, showing
a perfect unity of design, one part growing necessarily out of
another, and the whole presenting the most perfect possible so-
lution of the problem of securing the maximum amount of gun-
power with the minimum amount of exposure for vessel and
crew. The success of his system was dependent upon the f eat-
* Letter to R. B. Forbes, November 29, 1884.
116 JJFE OP JOHN ERICSSON.
ures in which it differed from, and not on those in which it
resembled, others. For himself Ericsson says:
The invention submitted to the Emperor of the French had en-
gaged my attention since 1826; in fact, it has been the hobby of my
life to destroy large ships of war by small, nearly submerged, and par-
tially impregnable vessels. The idea of employing iron for this purpose
dates back to the first conception. But the idea of casing large ships
with iron I do not claim. In truth I have always been opposed to it, as
a practical absurdity. Before the introduction of the modem levia-
thans I had fully demonstrated that ships could not be made shot-proof
and retain sufficient buoyancy for practical purposes; hence, when Mr.
R. L. Stevens proposed to protect his intended steam frigate with iron,
I asserted that the scheme was impracticable. Captain Stockton, of the
U. S. Navy, in 1841 asked my professional opinion on the subject, stat-*
ing that Mr. Stevens's calculations proved that his proposed steam frig*
ate could readily carry the weight of armor necessary.
To my query what thickness had been estimated. Captain Stockton
said that Mr. Stevens had fully established the fact that 4jf-inch thick*
ness would effectually resist shot, and that accordingly his estimates
were based on that thickness. I then informed Captain S. that on
d3mamic consideration a solid shot from a 12-inch gun, fired with a
30-pound charge of powder would, at short range, infallibly penetrate
4}-inch thick plating. A target was accordingly made of this thickness
and placed before a 12-inch wrought-iron gun, fired at short range
with the stated charge. The shot, weighing 224 pounds, pierced the
target as easily as an ordinary boiler-plate is perforated by a powerful
punch.
Mr. Stevens's calculations having thus been proven erroneous, the in-
tended construction of an invulnerable steam frigate by the United States
Government was postponed for many years, during which he made a
number of experiments to ascertain the resisting power of wrought-iron
plates of different thickness and placed at different angles to the line
of fire. The result of these experiments, never published, demonstrated
that the sides of steam frigates cannot, as supposed when the plan was
first laid before the Government, be covered with armor-plates of suffi-
cient thickness to resist heavy projectiles. At what period Mr. Stevens
adopted the plan of partial submersion — intended to be applied to the
vessel which he left half finished at his death — is not known. Nor does
it appear that he had quite determined the strength of the armor, or
the manner of applying it. Experienced engineers who have examined
the intended battery, as it is called, are unable to imderstand how Mr.
Stevens intended to support heavy armor on the exceedingly frail hull,
the side plates of which are only ^ inch in thickness.
With respect to priority of invention, I have to say that, as far as
BIYALS AND IMTTATOBS. 117
my knowledge extends, I believe that Mr. Robert L. Stevens was the
first person proposing to protect the sides of war steamers with, or to
build their sides of, plate iron sufficiently thick' to resist shot. For my
own part I disdain having ever suggested such a plan, because during
my earliest investigations I found that such were the conditions im-
posed by hydrostatic laws in connection with the strength and weight
of materials, that absolute security against shot could only be attained
by an almost entire submersion. The strange-looking craft which ir-
reparably damaged the Confederate cause at Hampton Roads was built
in accordance with those early views, which I have not, up to this time,
had reason to change, although a fleet of fifty iron-clads have, in the
meantime, been constructed in strict accordance with those views, and
ample experience gained during numerous engagements ¥rith a skilful
and well-armed adversary.*
A claim to the invention of the monitor, scarcely more
absurd than the others, was contained in two letters sent to
Ericsson, the year before his death, by a colored resident of
Philadelphia. With evident sincerity he stated that, when he
was a waiter at a New York restaurant in the first year of the
war, he had folded a napkin and put it on the table by the
side of a gentleman upon whom he was attending, and sug-
gested the building of a gunboat like the model thus indicated.
Subsequently learning that this gentleman was John Ericsson,
he had presented his case to the Secretary of the Navy, who
had advised him to write to Ericsson. "The late Hon. Robert
Toombs,^' concluded this claimant, "said that the colored race
had done nothing worthy of remembrance in the history of
this or any other country. I can say I done much when I
folded the model that prevented him and his party from de^
stroying this greatest nation in the world.''
True, emancipated brother, for if you have done nothing
else, you have at least helped to present in proper light the ab-
surdity of claims to Ericsson's invention, on behalf of men who
were no more capable of developing the monitor in its entirety
than were you with your folded napkin.
Antecedent to the war bringing the monitor to light, Erics-
son had made more improvements in war-ships than any othfer
man; improvements copied first by France and then by Eng-
land, wiAout acknowledgment. Whenever any emergency
* Letter to Bourne, January 16, 1866.
118 liIFE OF JOHN EBI0S8OK.
had appealed to him with sufficient power to direct his atten-
tion to the subject, he had devoted the resources of his great
engineering mind to the development of naval science, and
always with the most marked results. His claim to priority,
therefore, rests, not only upon his own testimony and the doc-
umentary evidence he has presented in support of his state-
ments, but on the strong presumption in favor of a man so ex-
ceptionally endowed as he undoubtedly was. As against Coles,
this presumption, independently of testimony, is that Erics-
son, of all men, was the one most likely to have invented the
improvements in controversy. He had already given proof of
the possession of the attainments required for such a task — one
demanding an amount of engineering talent not to be expected
in an ordinary naval captain.
Somewhat upon the principle that ^^ he who drives fat oxen
must himself be fat," many seem to reason that the men who
sail our ships must of necessity best know how to build them.
The theory has led to results as unsatisfactory as those which
would follow the adoption of a corresponding delusion that
architectural ability is developed by residence in fine houses.
Tlie best work on seamanship is credited to a dockyard clerk,
who had never been to sea, and it may require other qualities
than those found in our Paul Joneses and Farraguts success-
fully to develop that most complex of all mechanisms, the mod-
em battle-ship.
The action at Hampton Beads brought most prominently
into view engineering skill as one of the chief factors in mod-
ern naval success. Hence, when mechanical genius in some
measure had its own way, the practical head of our Navy De-
partment during the war. Captain Fox, was able to declare that
the machine thus created was perfect for the work she was in-
tended for, and was the only progressive creation of the war.
On the other side of the Atlantic, that eminent authority, Mr.
Scott Bussell, speaking of the remarkable success of the original
Monitor^ as ^^ a type of an entirely new class of war-ships," ob-
serves how differently the system was developed in America
and in England. " In the one case the sudden abandonment of
all the conventionalities of a ship, in the other the studious re-
tention of old forms and ways, admitting the innovation with
KITALS AND IMITATOBS. 119
the greatest possible amonnt of reluctance and aeeming aver-
sioD, and hating a aoveltj vhaterer be its merits."
Instead of following ont the lines laid down for tbem by
the genius of the man who has created modem naval war, the
Americans have, since released from the control of war neces-
sities, occupied themselves in the snpine contemplation of for-
eign creations, forgettiug how man; of the great progressive
changes, even in the art of war, have had their origin, if not
their development, on this side of the Atlantic.
SMtlMid Vtow of ■ MmNw thfeufh Tumt and PIM-Imum,
n
CHAPTER XXVI.
SERVICES TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN.
The Defence of Sweden. — Letter to Secretary Seward. — The Swede's
Lack of Ability as a Soldier. — His High Qualities. — Monitors and
Gunboats for Sweden. — Ericsson Opposed to Naval Attack on
Charleston, S. C. — A Cavalry Gun. — Insurrection on Cuba. — Erics-
son's Aid Invoked. — Builds Thirty Gunboats for Spain. — Interna-
tional Difficulties.
TO the defence of Sweden Ericsson contributed liberally in
money, inventive talent, large experience, and sound
judgment. "But for your patriotic generosity," wrote Cap-
tain Adlersparre, of the Swedish Navy, "our first monitor
would have had two 9-inch guns." Thanks to the generosity
of John Ericsson the monitor that bore his name carried the
most effective ordnance then afloat, the 15-inch Rodman gun.
'*If there is in heaven a special dwelling for patriots," wrote
the warm-hearted sailor, "your place will certainly be in the
state apartments."
Adlersparre described his solemn feelings when, during
a voyage on the first Swedish monitor, he examined "this
most perfect production of your creative genius which has had
such a decisive influence in settling one of the greatest social
questions, the abolition of slavery." He spoke of the anxiety
he felt when he realized that the poverty of Sweden prevented
the building of a sufficient number of these vessels, while their
enemies and neighbors, the Russians and Prussians," could
have so many more. "Situated as we are," he said, "between
these two engulfing powers, both alike dangerous and endea-
voring to extend their dominion, this is a very critical situa-
tion."
These apprehensions were shared by Ericsson. "More,"
he said^ "is known here, in certain quarters, than you are
44
SERVICES TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN. 121
aware of, respecting the dangers to Sweden which loom up in
the immediate future. The gigantic Northeastern Empire, it
is said — now that Prussia virtually commands the outlet of the
Baltic — cannot permit a weak neighbor to present a permanent
barrier to a direct communication with the ocean. A protract-
ed war between France and Germany, it is added, will infalli-
bly be taken advantage of, and Sweden be made a province of
the great empire. England is no longer counted, and, to neu-
tralize her waning power, desperate efforts are being made to
secure America. Witness the overstrained attentions paid to a
score of subordinates on a recent occasion."
Ericsson had no very high opinion of the Swede's ability as
a soldier. "The young Swedes," he said, ''require a longer
training to become good soldiers than any people I know.
The stuff is there, but it requires an inconveniently long time
to bring it out. It was my business for years to train
*rekryter,* hence I know what I am talking about. An Am-
erican lad will become a better soldier in a month than
* bondpoiken' in two years. The subject has engaged my mind
intimately for nearly ten years, the result of all speculations
and considerations being a settled conviction that Sweden, with
her small population, cannot be defended against Russia or
Germany, excepting by mechanical means. This idea would
be laughed to scorn if put forth, hence I will remain silent,
hoping that my dear native land will not be attacked until
the necessity of invoking mechanical aid is appreciated by
my countrymen. I know full well that, should a determined
attack be made before the truth I have enunciated shall be
acknowledged and acted upon, Sweden will be blotted out from
the map of Europe, as an independent nation."
Again he wrote, saying: ''The Swedish nation has still
many great achievements before it. I admire my countrymen
and think most highly of the 'uncivilized Swede,' who has
gained from every comparison I have made during my stay
among other nations. I believe I understand the subject thor-
oughly, for as a niveleur on the Gota Canal I came in per-
sonal contact with a great number of the working class, and
when a surveyor in the forests of Jemtland, my associations
during several summers were exclusively with the sons of the
129 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
peasantry who were my asslBtants. It is with true satisf action.
I now call to memory the time when I associated and exchanged
thoughts with the energetic and hardy yonth of the Korrland
forests. Without disparaging other nations, I must say that
the perseverance, sense of right, and clear heads of these yonths
place them far beyond the yonng men of the working class in
the other countries I know. I estimate the Swedish vigor and
innate good sense as beyond that of other nations."
As soon as he was released from his work upon the moni-
tors for the American Navy, Ericsson turned his chief at-
tention to the problem of defending his native land. ^ I love
Sweden," he wrote to Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, ^^ and
would willingly sacrifice my life for her honor." " So exclu-
sively have I devoted myself to the Swedish national defence,"
he said in August, 1867, " that I have not been out of New
York for a single hour this summer." This shows how his
mind was absorbed with patriotic work, though the experi-
ence, so far as confinement to his office was concerned, was no
unusual one, for he never went from New York further than
the opposite bank of the Hudson. He invented a special form
of monitor for the defence of the Swedish coasts. This was a
little vessel of 140 tons, so designed as to carry out the idea of
fighting bows on, the turrets being stationary and oval in shape,
thus presenting the least possible surface to the impact of shot.
The pilot-houses were put aft, out of the line of fire. The ma-
chinery for the first one was presented by Ericsson to his native
land as a pattern to be strictly followed. As Sweden was de-
pendent upon imported coal, and her supplies would be cut off
in the event of a blockade, it was so arranged that it could be
detached from the propeller when required, and hand-power
applied to turn the screw. A crew of twenty-four men could
produce 7} horse-power at the maximum, and could maintain
5^ horse-power for several hours. The Swedish sailors ob-
jected to tliis hand-work because of its resemblance to that
of galley slaves, but as the emergency for which these vessels
were intended happily never came, neither their patriotism nor
their muscle was put to the test
This idea of boats carrying a single gun, placed parallel with
the keel and trained by the vessel, is an old one in Sweden, hav-
SSBVI0E8 TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN. 123
ing been adopted daring the last centnry. Indeed, Swedish
coast defence has, ever since naval ordnance was introduced,
depended mainly upon gunboats propelled by oars. Ericsson
substituted the propeller for the oars, placed the crew below
the water-line, protected the gun against the enemy's fire, ap-
plied a small auxiliary steam-engine, and introduced a wheel
at the bow for turning the vessel on her centre. His little
craft were slow, but it was not intended that they should ever
come within reach of an enemy. Creeping along the coast
from inlet to inlet, and always in shallow water, they could
not be run down, and could make their single heavy gua
most effective in convincing an enemy that the Swedish coast
was not a comfortable place for hostile cruising. They were
described by their designer ^^ as a combination of steam-power
and hand-power," each independent of the other. When the
coal gave out the ^^blue jackets" were to lay hold; thus the
Swedes would be able to lurk for any length of time along the
coast, watching their opportunity to have a pop at the hated
Muscovite.
Had the Confederates been armed with such vessels at the
outbreak of the American war, they would have found them of
far greater value than their heavy iron-clads. The money
spent on the larger vessels was wasted, as they were built only
to be destroyed one after another. With these little monitors
they could have effectually defended the Mississippi and its
tributaries ; perhaps prevented Farragut from capturing New
Orleans, and sunk or burned the vessels of his fleet one after
another; the story of the capture of Port Boyal would not
have been told ; Grant's operations at Yicksburg would have
been made impossible, and the blockade could not have been so
e£Sciently maintained. The fate of the Jfaahville shows how
effectively 15-inch shell could be used.
For Sweden, Ericsson subsequently recommended gunboats
in place of more monitors. ^^ The subject of naval defence,"
he said, ^^has engaged my attention for thirty years, during
which time I have had unequalled opportunities of arriving at
a correct conclusion in the matter. That conclusion is that a
weak nation can defend herself only by gunboats." Four
dozen 16-inch gunboats could, he thought, accomplish more
124 LIFE OP JOHN ERICSSON.
' than four monitors, and they were less expensive. He gave the
sam^ advice to the Greek Charge d'Affaires at Washington when
he applied for advice as to the proper armament for Greece.
For the machinery of the first of the Swedish gunboats
Ericsson expended some $6,000, and in a letter dated Septem-
ber 3, 1867, he mentions the fact that he had, up to that time,
expended over 100,000 crowns on the defence of Sweden.
" Nobody now living has given such proof of patriotism," wrote
Adlersparre, ''and no one of our ancestors has done more.
You may be sure that the Swedish nation loves you and men-
tions your name with pride and enthusiasm; excepting only a
few case-hardened generals and counts in the aristocratic first
chamber, who cannot bear that anybody should be so esteemed
as to eclipse their stupid self-conceit."
This was in answer to complaints from Ericsson that his
disinterested purpose was not understood in Sweden, and was in
danger of miscarrying because of the distrust and jealousy of
the Swedish authorities. " With an adequate number of gun-
boats carrying 15-inch guns, we can," he said, ''destroy an en-
emy's vessels, and infallibly defend our shores. Without the
same an invasion could not be prevented, notwithstanding the
expenditure of millions of riks dollars for cunning devices and
traps; and notwithstanding millions of pounds of powder be-
ing hidden under water — to be removed or avoided by a skilful
enemy."
In another letter, dated March 6, 1868, he warned Adler-
sparre against wasting money on fixed torpedo defences or tor-
pedoes sunk in the harbor to be fired by contact or from the
shore. Concerning them he made this interesting statement:
"The assertion that torpedoes prevented the Union forces dur-
ing the late war from capturing any desirable place, is simply
untrue. Mechanical, positive obstruction and rope defences, sus-
pended under water for entangling our propellers, we deemed
formidable barriers. As to Charleston, our commanding gen-
eral never desired its capture, as he had no means k> hold it if
taken — 60,000 men would not have suflBced for that purpose.
The whole scheme of capturing Charleston originated with
Fox, but it was laughed at by most military men. I did all I
could (probably all that was needed) to prevent the silly scheme
SERVICES TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN, 126
from being carried out. Had General Grant said to the fleet,
'Go in and bombard the city, / want it and can hold it/ the
thing would have been done. I had, in expectation that such
orders would come, contrived iron baskets, several of which
were completed, for protecting the propellers from the sunken
rope-snares. As to torpedoes^ Admiral Dahlgren never for a
moment hesitated to pay the city a visit on account of their
existence. It was the piles and die rope entanglements which
alone restrained him.
'^ Respecting Sweden, let me ask if the sinking of 10,000
torpedoes would prevent Russia from landing at some desirable
point? The removing and destroying torpedoes is a mechani-
cal problem of easy solution. Two or three iron-clads fitted
for this purpose would make short work with your delicate tor-
pedo gear (at the place selected for attack and landing) in a sin-
gle day. Pardon me if I say that I lack patience to argue the
point. Suppose you incur the expense of placing 10,000 tor-
pedoes. The enemy will attain his end by removing less than
five hundred. You cannot prevent this, you cannot protect
your tender gear unless you possess fortifications so extensive
that England's wealth would not suffice to erect the same.
While thus you are watching and guarding your useless 9,500
torpedoes, the enemy will land and throw his whole concentra-
ted force on the spot selected. Your army then must meet
him, and if you have not a gunboat fleet, powerful enough to
destroy his fleet of transports, he will pour in his overwhelming
force and capture the country. Is not this a plain proposition 7
Abstain, then, from wasting your means on anything else until
you have a fleet of at least fifty gunboats carrying 15-inch
guns. This fleet equipped and ready to meet the enemy, then
by all means resort to all possible auxiliary defences that your
resources admit of, but not until the army has been provided
with proper firearms^'*
Elricsson was so intensely absorbed in his study of the
means best adapted for the defence of Sweden'iS threatened
nationality, that he could not comprehend the indifference with
yrhich.his opinions were received in some quarters. "I con-
sider it an insult," he wrote, " that the principal papers at the
capital do not all of them publish my report^ for the editors
136 LIFS OF JOHN SBICSSON.
9xe DOt blockheads and must therefore know that they cannot
present to their readers anjthmg more mteresting just at prea-
ent, when the defence of the country upon the sea attracts the
attention of the entire nation. I expected encouragement from
my f atherhmd, as it is for its welfare I am now working and
spending large sums. I cannot deny that the neglectful silence
of the Swedish press at this time has affected and, in a meas-
ure, checked the unbounded enthusiasm with which I have so
long labored for the naval defence of my fatherland, convinced
that if it is not strong our fight against Russia and Germany
will be vain."
Speaking of his intention to reply to ^^ lying allegations "
fonceming his work appearing in a Swedish paper, Ericsson
said : ^^ Not that I care on personal grounds, but because these
allegations will, if uncontradicted, to some extent, impair my
standing in Sweden, and thereby affect my ability to be useful
to my countrymen." His reply assumed the shape of an ad-
dress ^^ To my Countrymen." It was a vigorous defence of
his gunboat scheme against the assaults of an anonymous news-
paper correspondent.
This letter was a contribution to an active controversy in
Sweden, the old time professional prejudices being arrayed
against Ericsson there as well as elsewhere. " May this con-
troversy cease," exclaimed Ericsson, in the peroration to his ad-
dress, ^^ but not until with ^ our weapons ' for cases of necessity,
our energy, and onr high intelligence we have shown the world
that we have power not only to resist but to defeat the enemy
who threatens our independence." The appearance of this let-
ter did not altogether please Ericsson's cooler-headed brother.
He argued, very sensibly, that it could lead to no result, except
to flatter the critics, and the paper inviting their contributions,
by the attention shown them, and thus provoke them to new
efforts of hostility. ** You gain nothing," wrote Nils, '^ by thus
descending to the level of these champions of the old style
man-of-war. They cannot be convinced, and to silence them
is impossible." But when was an enthusiastic inventor ever
silenced by such reasoning ? And, no doubt, controversy had
its charm for one who wrote with such facility, and was tUe to
express his thoughts with such clearness and f oroe»
SSBYIOBS TO SWEDEN AKD SPAIK. 1S7
Eric80on designed a light steel gnn to be carried between
two cavalry horses, and used by a force acting independently.
He intended such guns primarily for the defence of Sweden,
ind intended to send some of them at his own expense ; they
would, he wrote Noyember 6, 1868, ^Mong ere this haye
been on Swedish soil if his Majesty had not wholly mistaken
their object. As an auxiliary to infantry, this weapon is worth-
less ; but arm a r^ment or two with it to act independently,
and you could crush any invading force whatever, cavalry, in-
fantry, or artillery." One of these guns was sent to West
Point for experiment. It was especially designed for such ser*
vice as that performed by cayalry troops during the Civil
War, when they so successfully combined the functions of cay-
alry and infantry, and enlarged the rdle of the horseman in war.
In September, 1868, the authority of Queen Isabella 11. was
overthrown, and Spain was for a series of years distracted with
civil strife. The discontented Cubans seized this opportunity
to rebel, and the Provincial Government, representing Spanish
authority, occupied as it was with contentions at home, found
great difficulty in dealing with this new element of disorder.
In January, 1869, 1,500 troops were sent from Spain to rein-
force the Cuban garrison. A thousand more followed in Feb-
ruaiy, and 2,200 in March, and before the war was over the
number approached 100,000. The Spaniards, aided by the local
yolnnteers, were found unequal to the task of controlling the
island. Sympathy with the insurgents was universal through-
out South America, and there was a strong public opinion in
the United States favoring the overthrow of Spanish authority
in the Antilles. This found expression in expeditions sent out
from the United States, carrying men and supplies to Cuba.
A decree was issued threatening with penalties of piracy ves-
sels conveying aid to the insurgents and carrying an unrecog-
nized flag. But it was Jyrvitum fulmen^ as Spain possessed no
adequate means of protecting herself at sea.
In this extremity a sum of money was placed at the dis-
posal of the Cuban authorities to procure additional men-of-
war. Captain Raphael de Aragon, of the Spanish Navy, was
sent by Admiral Malcampo, Naval Commander in Cuba, to the
tlnited States early in 1869, to secure the vessels needed. Ya*
128 LIFE OP JOHN ERICSSON.
rious suggestions were made to him. One ship-builder proposed
to expend the entire amount at his disposal upon a single craft;
another proposed two, but neither presented a satisfactory plan.
Messrs. Delamater & Co. were called upon. They consulted
with Ericsson. As he had just dealt with a similar problem
in studying the defence of Sweden, he was able at once to sug-
gest a definite and intelligent scheme. He agreed to furnish
the working plans for thirty gunboats on two conditions: first,
that these plans were not to be called for until the work was
ready to be put in hand; and next, that the contract should be
given to his friend Delamater. When the Spanish authorities
demurred to this first condition, it was explained that Captain
Ericsson had never presented to the American Government any
detailed plans of the numerous vessels he had constructed, the
Navy Department having in every instance trusted to his great
experience and skill in constructing war vessels. General di-
mensions of hull and machinery, with a brief specification set-
ting forth other principal features of the structures, formed the
basis of contracts with the United States.
With so distinguished a precedent to guide them, the Span-
iards wisely decided to leave the matter to the individual judg*
ment of the man who of all men best understood it. They
contented themselves with stating the object they had in view.
Ericsson's plan was to form around Cuba a cordon of light ves-
sels, each armed with a 100-pound gun, with engines of IfiO
horse-power, giving ten knots maximum speed in smooth water,
carrying coal for six days' moderate steaming, and having a
storage capacity for water and provisions for thirty days. It
was expected to secure this in a vessel of 22 feet beam 100
feet in length, and with 8 feet depth of hold. It was found
necessary to increase the length to 107 feet on the water-line
and 22^ feet beam. To keep within the requirement of a
draught not exceeding 59 inches (1^ metre) the keel was omit-
ted. Two propellers were provided, of unusual size in propor-
tion to the hull, and the vessel was schooner-rigged wifli a
moderate amount of sail-power. Ericsson's favorite idea of
fighting bows on was illustrated here, and the lOft-pound im-
proved Parrott gun was trained to fire over the bow and in a
line with the keeL The bulwarks forward were set on hinges
SEBVIOES TO SWEDEN AIO) SPAIN. 129
80 that they could be lowered, and the gun fired en barbette
with a range of 120 degrees on each side of the bow, or 240
degrees in all.
Captain Ericsson's purpose was to show how a gunboat for
coast defence might be rednced in size by good planning, and
the steam machinery gives another illustration of his ingenuity
in devising expedients to meet novel conditions. His surface
condensers were made to do double duty, not only returning
the steam to the boiler in the shape of fresh water, but serving
also as a support for the engines, thus dispensing entirely
with the usual frame-work. This made it possible to meet
the objection that twin screws, with their duplication of work-
ing parts, produced too much complication and weight for
small vessels. These double screws were as compact as ordi-
nary single-screw engines of equal power. The bearings were
made self-adjusting by peculiarities of construction. The
reversing gear was so arranged as to give the officer on the
deck complete control of his vessel, enabling him to start,
back, or stop either propeller without the assistance of the en-
gineer.
The price for eacii vessel was $42,500, and this whole fleet
of gunboats cost but little more than a million and a quar-
ter of dollars, or no more than a single cruiser of moderate size.
The contract was signed by the Delamater Iron Works, New
York, May 3, 1869 ; the first keel was laid May 19th, and the
first vessel launched June 23d, thirty-four working days after
laying the keel. In three months and sixteen days from this
time the last vessel of the thirty was launched, and fifteen of
the fieet had engines and boilers on board.
When the fieet was ready for sea, and the saucy-looking craft
lay ten abreast off the Delamater Works in the Hudson Biver,
a United States marshal appeared with orders to seize them
for violating the neutrality laws. It was alleged that they
were fitting out for an assault upon Peru, Spain having recently
been at war with that' country, and having still an unsettled
account with her. Affidavits presented by the designer and
the builders of the thirty gunboats made it clear that they were
intended only for home defence, and could not be used for ag-
gression, as unless they could touch land at short intervals to
Vol. IL— 9
130 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
secoi'e Biipplies, their offensive as well as their defensive power
would cease.
Before this difficulty was settled, another arose. The Act of
March 3, 1817, ^^ more effectually to preserve the neutral re-
lations of the United States," forbade the ^^ fitting out or arm-
ing of any ship or vessel, with intent that such ship or vessel
shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince or state,
or of any colony, district, or people, to cruise or commit hostil-
ities against the subjects, citizens, or property of any foreign
prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom
the United States are at peace," etc. The counsel for the
Cuban Junta in New York, Mr. Orosvenor P. Lowrey, pre-
sented to the United States District Attorney an argument to
show that the Cuban insurgents were such a ^' colony, district,
or people," and asked that the gunboats be libelled. He also
proceeded to Washington, accompanied by Mr. Wm. M. Evarts
as associate counsel, and there renewed his argument before the
Attomey-Oeneral and before President Grant, whose sympa-
thies, and still more those of the Secretary of War, General
Rawlins, were with the Cubans. A debate on this question
also arose in Congress, Senator Matthew H. Carpenter, of Wis-
consin, presenting the argument of the Cubans, and Senator
Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, contending that Cuba had no legal exis-
tence, her belligerency not being an accomplished fact and the
contest merely one with guerilla bands.
It was finally decided that Spain was not making war on an
independent people, but simply maintaining authority within
her own borders. This decision was a great relief to Ericsson
as well as to Delamater, as the law not only provided for the
seizure of the vessels, but for the punishment by fine and
imprisonment of all guUty of the ^^ high misdemeanor " of par-
ticipating in fitting out an illegal expedition.
The first vessel on her trial fell four one-hundredths of a knot
short of her contract speed, but Ericsson showed that the extra
speed might have been obtained by '^improper expedients"
enstomary in such cases, such as carrying the smoke-stack to
the usual height, instead of shortening it fifteen feet, as he had
done to keep it out of the way of the sails. ^^ I cannot," he
SEKVIO£S TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN. 131
said to Mr. Delamater, ^^ disnuBS the subject without reminding
you of the strong objections I urged from the beginning, against
high speed, as not compatible with that class of vessels beet
suited for coast defence, viz., a small, light-draught, handy, and
economical gunboat which can, on extraordinary occasions, for
a short time, run at the rate of eleven English miles an hour.
Let me add, anyt^iing above that speed calls for sacrifices fatal
to practical utility ; and after all, if provided with dispropor-
tionate engine-power, such a craft cannot carry fuel for any dis-
tance, and hence will spend its time at the coaling stations, in
place of watching and defending the coast. Having exhausted
all mechanical resources, and brought to bear on the construction
of the Spanish gunboats the experience of *a long professional
career, I cannot allow myself to think that the result of my
labors will not be cheerfully accepted by Admiral Malcampo
and his Government"
The vessels were accepted, and they proved so satisfactory
to the Spanish Qovernment that they found no reason to re-
gret the unusual confidence leading them to entrust the build-
ing of a fleet to an uncommissioned civilian, without under-
taking in any way to direct his work. Captain -General de
Bodas was able to issue another proclamation to the insurgent
Cubans on March 24, 1870, reminding them that in view of
the thirty war vessels appearing like magic on their coasts, they
could no longer depend upon support from abroad. " From
day to day," he said, " there will be no place or hour secure
for you; the gunboats are on the coast to which you turn
your gaze."
Thus for a second time did rebellion on the western shores
of the Atlantic receive a staggering blow from the hand of
John Ericsson, though many Americans may regret that be
had not stayed his hand in this instance. There can be little
doubt that if he had withheld assistance from the Spanish au-
thorities, the Cubans would have achieved their independence.
Eeceiving at this time a letter from John Laird, M.P., the
eminent ship-builder of Birkenhead, England, concerning the
performance of the unfortunate Captain under sail, Ericsson
in reply expressed his surprise at the result reported. Speak-
ing of his experience with twin screws, he said to Mr. Laird :
132 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
^^I recently planned a fleet of thirty twin-screw gnnboatB
for Spain, in which case, apart from adopting the most fay*
orable lines in the run, I introduced every possible refine-
ment, snch as extremely thin blades (bronze), a perfectly trae
screw, spherical exterior to the shaft, bearings to keep the
same fair with the shafts, self-adjusting thmst-bearings, etc.;
yet these vessels do not work under canvas as they ought.
Fortunately, the Spaniards think otherwise, and are so well
pleased that they have sent me a commander's cross of the
Order of Isabel la Catolica.'*
Admiral Jos^ Malcampo, in the letter dated Havana, April
7, 1870, accompanying the decoration, said : ^' I deem it my
duty to say to you most earnestly that, although I am aware that
the decoration does not by any means rewai-d the eminent ser-
vices rendered by you to my country, nor your kind intentions,
or the skill displayed as regards the difficult problem of con-
structing the gunboats, and the mounting for the artillery pro-
cured in the United States ; yet I have great pleasure in con-
gratulating you personally on the distinction you have received,
and in tendering yon at the same time the testimony of my sin-
cere regard."
In reply Ericsson said : ^^ I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letters of April 4th and 7th ; the former
presented to me by Captain Eafael de Aragon,
^^ I beg to assure you that I duly appreciate the very kind
manner in which yon have been pleased to express your satis-
faction with my labors relating to the Spanish gunboats. I
will preserve your flattering letters with greater care than any
treasure I possess.
^^ With reference to the distinguished honor which, through
your recommendation, your Government has bestowed upon
me, I only fear that I have not done enough to merit such a
mark of approbation from the great Spanish nation. I can
only hope that some other opportunity will present itself which
will enable me to furnish some substantial proof of my grati-
tude for so great an honor as that of wearing the commander's-
cross of the ancient and high order of Isabel la Catolica.
^^ I avail myself of the present opportnnity to express to
you my admiration of the distinguished representative of the.
SERVICES TO SWEDEN AND SPAIN. 138
Spanish Kavj, Captain Baf ael de Aragon, to whose energy and
skill you are mainly indebted for having, in the unprecedentedly
short time of eight months, procured a fleet of thirty vessels of
war. I can say with perfect sincerity that, daring my forty
years of intimate acquaintance with naval officers of the lead-
ing maritime nations of onr time, I have not met anyone who
so thoroughly understands his profession as my friend — I feel
proud to regard him so— Captain Rafael de Aragon. The
Spanish Navy is to be congratulated for possessing such an of «
ficer, while the Spanish nation is fortunate in having placed its
Cuban Navy in the hands of a commander whose accurate ap-
preciation of the abilities of his subordinate officers enabled
him to select tlie proper man for tlie important trust of super-
intending the construction of the thirty gunboats." *
In 1886 Ericsson presented to King Alfonso, through Cap-
tain del Arboe, Chief of a Spanish Kaval Commission, finished
drawings in detail of the DesCroyer system, and his submarine
artillery. The King gave orders to notify Ericsson at once by
telegraph that his system would receive the royal support A
diploma conferring upon him the Grand Cross of the Boyal
Spanish Order of Naval Merit was also sent through the Span-
ish Minister at Washington.
* Of the ihirtj gunboats built for Spain in 1869, eleven were in 1889 still
on the Spanish naval list of *' Ganonnidres & H6Uce de 4me olasse," vis.,
Altmendares^ Cauto, Contramaestre, CrioUo, Detcubrid&r, Eriatony Flecha,
Oaedok^ Onardidn, IndiOf and Tdegrama, The gun-oarriages applied to
these Yessels were so satisfactory that the Spaniards ordered similar ones for
other YesseU One of these was on the Spanish gunboat TomadOf when, in
1873, she nearly invelYed the United States in a war with Spain bj running
down and capturing the VirginiuBf having on board men and material for
'^Onban patriots.**
CHAPTER XXVn.
BUILDINa AND MOUNTING HBAYT GUNa
Lnprovements in HesTj Guns. — ^The Oregon and the Honefall Guns. —
Advanced Ideas on the Subject of Heavy Ordnance. — ^Bemonatranoa
against the Guns of the Monitor. — Contract to Bnilda 13-inch Ghin.
— Its Trial bj the Goyemment. — ^Ericsson Prophesies Failure of
England's Armstrong Gun. — Gun-carriages. — ^Victor Hugo's Story
of the Oorvette Claymore, — Ericsson's Compression Ghm-caniage.
IN oonnection with his labors upon yeasels of war, Ericsson
devoted no little ingenuity to the improvement of heavy
guns, his efforts in this field being directed by a most exhaustive
study into the strength of materials, the operation of explosive
forces, and the laws governing the flight of projectiles. After
his investigations began, steel took the place of iron, great im-
provements were made in powders, and the study of high ex-
plosives, in their application to war, was vigorously prosecuted.
Yet none of these changes carried him beyond the principles
established for his guidance as early as the year 1842, when he
bound the cracked Princeton gun with hoops. In a private
letter he says :
The first of the Princeton guns, the *' Oregon " 12-inch boie, oraoked
under a charge of fifty-six poxmds of powder, from the simple reason
that it was not permitted to recoil during the proof, its breech being
firmly imbedded in the slope of a sand-hill. The crack extended nearly
from the trunnion to the chamber, notwithstanding which I at once ap-
plied hoops of a peculiar construction, and succeeded in makiog the
gun strong and reliable. Experimental firing was carried on with this
piece for some time at Sandy Hook, and ultimately, at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard, it was subjected to a test of 150 rounds with battery charge
without giving way. These extraordinary facts attach an interest and
importance to the " Oregon " greater probably than to any piece of ord-
nance ever made. Yet reports concerning this gun simply state that
the " Oregon cracked," leaving the impression that the gun was ren-
BUILDING AKD MOUNTING HEAVY GUNS. 186
dered useless. ... I would observe that the gun whioh burst on
board the Princeton under a oharge of onlj twenty-five ponnds, had
been previonalj destroyed by a hollow shot too large for the bore, and
forced home with great effort. This hollow shot, whioh had stuck dur-
ing the discharge, came out in small fragments. By this unfortunate
occurrence the gun was fatally ruptured.*
In a letter to the ITaval Chief of Ordnance at Washington,
November 23, 1864, be further said : ^^ Guns made on the plan
of the great Horsefall gim, welding voussoir (V-shaped) bars
upon a case made of a fagot of squaro bars, are very unreliable.
It is impossible to insure a sound weld through all the radial
joints of a pile laid upon that system. Each blow of the ham-
mer, especially after the pile has become reduced in tempera-
ture below welding-heat, tends to separate the bars, those un-
der the hammer acting like wedges. The second Stockton gun
was made in nearly the same manner as the Horsefall gun. It
will be remembered that it split through the centre under a
very moderate charge, on board the United States steamer
The Horsefall gun was a smooth-bore wrought-iron gun with
a calibre of 13.014 inches, built in 1856 by the Mersey Steel
and Iron Company, England, and tested with a maximum
charge of 80 pounds of powder and a 282-pound shot It
showed an initial velocity of 1,631 feet with a 74.4 pound
charge.
When, in 1887, the son of Rear-admiral Dahlgren asked
approval of a statement he had prepared, showing that his
father's gun had revolutionized the navies of the world, Erics-
son called his attention to the fact that his own gun had, in
1842, penetrated four and one-half inches of iron and passed
through a sand-bank behind it eight feet thick. ^^ How far,"
he said, ^^ this result, in connection with the perfect success of
my new wronght-iron carriage tested on board United States
* In a letter to the author of this biography, dated September 19, 1800,
Commodore William M. Folger, Chief of the Naral Bureau of Ordnance
sajB : '* The records of the guns iu this office show that the gun which re-
placed the 12-inch which burst on the Princeton^ is now at the Kew York
Kavj Yard and that the 12-inch gun called the 'Oregon,' is now at the
Naval Academy, having been sent there In July, 1807. They are both
among the relics and are preserved for their history."
136 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
fihip P^nnoeion, 1843, dispensing as it did with breeching, reyol*
ntioiiized naval artillery, the records in the archives of the
maritime countries of Europe furnish decisive information."
The first guns used on the introduction of artillery were made
of longitudinal bars of wrought iron, arranged in a circle and
surrounded by lioops. Small guns were used or large guns
with moderate charges. As the demands upon ordnance in-
creased, cast iron was substituted, as the ease of handling was
supposed to compensate for its inferior tenacity. It is an un-
certain material, but the Dahlgren 11-inch guns, and the 68-
pounders used in the Crimea, have a record of over 2,000
rounds, and several of the siege guns — 24-pounders — used at St.
Sebastian in 1813, arc stated to have fired 6,000 rounds.**^ The
superiority of American cast iron was so great as to equalize in
a large measure, in stnooth-bore guns, the advantages claimed
for the wrought-iron guns manufactured abroad, until steel was
nniversally adopted for heavy guns.
A French officer named Thierry, in 1834 and 1840, made
guns of cast iron hooped with wrought iron, and an English patent
for this device was granted in 1848 to one Frith. Ericsson, who
never believed in cast iron, sought to accomplish the same pur-
pose in a wrought-iron gun by surrounding the core with wash-
ers, or perforated disks of thin plate-iron, set in close contact.
In welding so large a mass as the body of a gun, the tenc^ency
is to destroy its fibrous character, and the intermittent strains
of explosive shot subject it to alteration of texture. As the
fibrous character of the iron was retained in the rings, their ten-
sile strength was estimated to be double that of the body of the
gun, and rings could be applied of sufficient width to prevent the
gun from splitting, if filled with powder from end to end. Such
fibrous metal will bear a vibration from explosive charges, far
in excess of that required to break a bar of crystalline iron of
much greater apparent tensile strength.
A proposition to furnish a gun built upon Ericsson's plan was
made at the time the original Monitor was built. ^' Dahlgren,"
Ericsson says, " opposed my proposition to employ very heavy
ordnance, and protested over and over again during the manu-
facture of tlie 15-inch guns, that he had ^ nothing to do with
* HoUejr : Ordnance and Armor, p. 812.
BUILDING AND MOUNTING HBAVT GUNS. 137
the project,' and that he ^simply carried out instmctions.'
Dahlgren & Go. opposed my 12-inch gnn of 1841, as be-
ing too large for practical utility, but afterward assisted in
producing the Ip-inch gun for firing solid shot ; and many years
after he ventured on the 11-inch shell gun which was put into
the Monitor turret to throw solid shot, under strict orders not
to exceed fifteen-pound charges.
^^ I protested against so light a charge when I took the con-
tract to build the Monitor^ and offered myself to supply 12-inch
guns capable of bearing heavy charges ; but my offer was not
accepted, and my remonstrance against the light 11-inch gun
was in vain. Practice soon proved that heavy guns were indis-
pensable ; but the claims of the person who had first urged heavy
ordnance, and who had built already in 1841 the 12-inch gun
for solid shot, were forgotten ; while the constructor of the 11-
inch shell gun and opponent of heavier ordnance figured alone
as the creator of a new system, after the practical success of the
15-inch gun."
In 1854 the 11-inch gnn was considered too heavy to be
allowed in the Navy, and was not admitted into use until just be-
fore the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861. Then the Ordnance
officers were so afraid of it that they would allow bot fifteen
pounds of powder in a gun equal to the strain of fifty pounds.
Ericsson's knowledge of the strength of material showed him
its capabilities, but he could convince no one else. The 11-inch
gun weighed sixteen thousand pounds ; the 15-inch gun that
followed it, forty-two thousand pounds. Kow, guns weighing
one hundred and ten and one hundred and eleven tons, or five
times as much as the American 15-inch gun, are in the service
of foreign navies. No 15-inch gun burst in our naval service
during the war, though the charges recommended by Ericsson
at the outset were finally adopted. A trial gun, tested with
charges varying from thirty-five to seventy-five pounds of pow-
der, burst at the eight hundred and sixty-eighth round, and three
guns had their muzzles broken off by the premature explosion
of shells, one at Charleston and two at Fort Fisher.
The 15-inch cast-iron gun was tested with charges up to one
hundred pounds of powder withput showing any enlai^ment
of the bore, and an attempt made to burst it in England, on
138 UFB OP JOHK EBI0S80N/
the Shoebaryness proving-gronnd, bj firing it at the trying ele-
vation of forty-five d^rees with this maximam charge, resulted
in the discomfitare of the British artillerists, whose purpose
was to discredit American ordnance.
On April 24, 1863, the IN'avy Department accepted an offer
from Ericsson to build 134nch wrought-iron guns at sixty-four
cents a pound, or about $30,000 each. One of these was to be
furnished by him and his associates for trial, and orders for
others were to follow if the trial gun stood the test. As the first
gim cost them over one dollar a pound, a loss of nearly $20,000
was the result. The gun was tested in November, 1864^ with
charges ranging from thirty to sixty pounds, the elevation
gradually rising, as the charge increased, from fifteen to twenty-
seven degrees. At the nineteenth shot the trunnion band burst
and remained separated about two inches. A number of
cracks had also opened, the largest being two feet long and
wide enough to admit the point of a knife from one-quarter to
one inch deep.*
The gun was too short, the centre-block was not a good forg-
ing, and the quality of the material, although the best in the
country, was not favorable to welding. Still, Ericsson believed
that the trial was an unfair one. As high elevations were not
required for naval guns, he had designed his for a maximum
elevation of nine degrees. Describing the trial of this 13-inch
gun in a letter to his familiar friend, Captain Adlersparre, Feb-
ruary 8, 1865, he said :
The elevation was carried np to thirtj^five degrees, and " qtd(^ bum^
ing " cannon powder, such as Bodman would not venture to put into
his 20-inch gun, was used. To show my confidence in the strength of
the gn^n I directed the shot to be wrapped with cloth, stopping the
windage entirely. The great elevation, however, was agreed to under
protest. I informed the Ordnance Bureau that, as the piece was made
exclusively for the moderate elevations peculiar to the turret, the trun-
nion band was not strong enough to sustain it at thirty-five degrees ele-
vation for continued firing. The trial, however, was successfully con-
cluded, and the unexpected result obtained produced a profound sensa-
tion among the Ordnance officers. No one else knew anything about
the matter, as the trials were all conducted in secret. It was found, on
* Report of Gnert GanseYort, Inspector of Ordnanoe, to Chief of Bnrean of
Ordnance, November 80, 1864.
BUILDING AND MOUNTING HEAVY GUNS. 139
T€f7hdng the meaanrements, that the range was nearly six milee. A solid
ISnshot being hurled such a diertanoe, all admitted to be an achievement
without a precedent.
But I need hardly say the powerful oast-iron interest became greatly
excited. Oertain imperfections in the bore, common to all wrought
guns, were pointed oat» and a second test was demanded to which I
readily acceded, haying no fears excepting that the strain on the tnm-
nion band, with snch great elevations, might prove injurious. On the
nineteenth roimd of this second trial the trunnion band parted onder
the gun, at a point where we had from the beginning observed signs of
an imperfect weld. Having removed the fractured band, we put the
gun into the lathe, and to my delight foimd that it turned as true on its
centres as if it never had been fired. The external form has not changed
as much as the thickness of a hair in any direction I A new trun-
nion band is now being applied. In the meantime, those who know
most on the subject claim that this is, beyond all comparison, the most
powerful and reliable gun in the world.
The injury to the trunnion band was not a aerions matter,
as a new band could be applied, and this was done. Kor were
the cracks in the bore more serious in Ericsson's opinion. He
showed how this defect conld be remedied by inserting a steel
lining, bnt the Barean insisted that this should be done at his
expense. As this would increase the loss he had already in-
curred, he protested against " the assumption that an experi-
ment intimately connected with the efficiency of the iron-clad
navy ought to be made at the expense of an individual." In a
private letter to Captain Fox, December 29, 1865, he said :
Tou have a 13-inch gun now at the Brooklyn Navy Tard that may be
safely fired with one himdred pounds; but unfortunately your Ordnance
officers do not understand the value of what they have got It is diffi-
cult for me to restrain my feelings whenever I allude to this subject,
and I hardly venture to call to mind the decision of the Bureau, that a
steel lining ought to have been put in at my expense. Had the new
process of making steel in large masses been introduced into this coun-
try, as we expected, a gun, similar to the neglected 13-inch plate one,
but with a steel core, would have been made long ago.
On this subject I will only further observe that, if the Treasury could
only raise one million of dollars, that million ought to be spent on naval
ordnance capable of burning from one hundred and twenty to one hun-
dred and sixty pound charges. Such guns, if made of steel and hooped
precisely as the gun now in the Navy Yard, would weigh only one-half
140 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
of theBodsum, and fire fire hundred pound solid spherioal ahoi, ipiiieh
with the stated charges wonld beat Armstrong two to one.
Knowing that joar Ordnanoe officers do not understand the hooped
gan« I have thought jour plan of putting the 20-inoh guns into the PurUan
turret most excellent, and the onlj one that could at present be adopted*
^e daj will come, however, when your Ordnanoe officers will be more
aeverelj criticised for refusing my hooped gun than the British admir-
als who refused mj propeller. Far more may be said in excuse of the
latter than the former. I feel strong enough to fight another twenty
years, and therefore quite sure to gain as signal a triumph over your
present Ordnance men as over the English admirals a quarter of a cen-
tury ago.
Ericsson's gun was an experiniental one, and he was oonscioua
of its imperfections, yet, as he said in a letter to Captain Wise,
the Naval Chief of Ordnance, " this gun, with its imperfections
and its hoops, is safer probably than any cast-iron gon ever
made. I have stated before, and I now repeat, that these im>
perfections were not looked for and they are decidedly objec-
tionable ; bnt I cannot admit that the mode adopted by the
Bridgewater Works in forging the gnn is improper. It may
be shown that the plan of welding together slabs will give the
greatest strength to the general mass, though small imperfec-
tions in the centre of the block cannot be prevented ; but these,
as I have before stated, may be rendered harmless if the bore
be lined with plate iron or soft steel plate."
As it required upward of fifteen tons pressure to force each
of bis two hundred hoops or washers over his gnn, Ericsson esti-
mated that ^^ these hoops, in yirtne of their inertia and the recoil
of the core, opposed to any disturbing force in the longitudinal
direction a resistance twenty times as great as that force." The
opinion he entertained from the beginning, that the Arm-
strong plan was certain to fail, was due to his knowledge of
the fact that the heat required for this system of gun construc-
tion utterly destroyed the fibrous nature of the metal, and that,
aside from this, it was impossible to insure a sound weld in
every part. The welds were perpendicular to the bore, and, as
an imperfect welding weakened a gun in the direction of its
length, the hoops designed to strengthen it in this direction of
its circumference were useless.
After spending many millions in experimenting with this
BUILDING AND MOUNTING HEAVY GUNS. 141
ganj the EngliBh artilleristB finallj learued the lesson Ericsson
would have taught them as the result of his experience long
before. In spite of his warning, thej insisted on depleting the
public purse with tai^t exhibitions, chiefly remarkable because
the guns used came directly from the rolling-mill, and after a
few rounds were consigned to the scrap-heap, because of flaws
and imperfections inseparable from the system. Using the
Army amd Namy Journal as his medium of expression, Erics-
son continued to unsparingly ridicule British neglect of Amer-
ican precedents, and warn others of the certain result; but
Ephraim was ^' joined to his idols," and neither argument nor
sarcasm was availing.
^^The Government of the United States," said Ericsson, in a
letter written in 1866, ^^ seriously entertains the idea of casting
25-inch guns to throw shot of a ton weight for the Navy. It
can and will be done. Guns of 20-inch calibre of wrought iron
the writer will some day make, and here tlie increasing the
size of guns will be ended, as increasing the size of ships ended
with the Oreat EastemP At an earlier date, May 19, 1862, he
had said : ^^ Whatever the size may be, there let us stop, and
then go for the greatest possible initial velocity. The pro-
posed 16-inch shot will in my opinion be found very near the
true size for producing maximum effect."
A few 20-inch guns were made by the United States, but with
them effort in that direction ceased. Steel has taken the place
of iron for gun construction ; loading at the breech has been sub-
stituted for the clumsy muzzle loading ; guns have been length-
ened ; much study has been successfully devoted to the improve-
ment of powder and projectiles, and muzzle velocities of over
2,000 feet per second have succeeded to those of 1,600 feet.
The early argument against heavy navy guns was the sup-
posed impossibility of handling them on board a ship. The
question of their success or failure in naval warfare was, there-
fore, involved in the question of gun-carriages. Even the small
guns used on board of men-of-war gave great trouble when the
only means of controlling them was by use of rope shackled to
tlie ship's ribs, and passed through a hole in the knob-like pro-
jection on the breech of the gun called the ^^ cascabel."
A chapter in Victor Hugo's story of " Ninety-three " is de-
143 LIFE OF JOHN EBIC8SON.
voted to the performances of a 24-pound carronade that breaks
its mooring on the rojalist corvette Claymore^ and ^^ becomes
suddenly some supernatural beast ; a monstrous mechanism for
wrecking a ship ; cracking the masts ; multiplying breaches in
the sides until the vessel begins to take water ; disabling the
other guns of the battery ; crushing four men at a blow, and
cutting a fifth in two. You can make a mastiff hear reason,
astound a bull, fascinate a boa, frighten a tiger, soften a lion ;
but there is no resource with that monster, a cannon let loose.
You cannot kill it, it is dead ; at the same time it lives. It
lives with a sinister life bestowed upon it by Infinity. It is
moved by the ship, which is moved by the sea, which is moved
by the wind ; hence its frightful vitality. How to assail this
fury of complication ? How to fetter this monstrous mechan-
ism for wrecking a ship?" This, the question Hugo asks,
Ericsson set himself to answer more than a quarter of a cen-
tury before the great Frenchman revived his reminiscence of
an earlier time to furnish material for one of the most dra-
matic descriptions in all his writings.
We have seen how Ericsson dealt with this problem in
handling his 12-inch gun upon the Princeton. The princi-
ple of control once established, he found no difficulty in extend-
ing its application to the much heavier 15-inch guns mounted
in the turrets of the monitors.
The army gun-carriage in ordinary use was one developed
by a gradual process of evolution, from the timber block or
frame, to which the first cannon was secured by straps or bolts.
The carriages used for mounting the guns of a naval vessel in
broadside, when Ericsson brought his ordnance novelties with
him to the United States in 1839, were modifications of the
army carriages used in the casemates of forts. They were
mounted upon wheeled trucks and controlled by tackles, hooked
to tlie side of the ship on the right and left of the gun. These
tackles were used to move the gun from side to side, and there
was besides a ^^ train tackle " hooked to a ring bolt behind the
carriage. The recoil was controlled by the breeching. For
this clumsy and most unsafe contrivance, as Victor Hugo's de-
scription shows it to be, Ericsson substituted the carriage illus-
trated here.
2. StLttn Showing C^iMIn Ssott^ Pliglulm,
m Armitranff'l PUglarltflw
144 LIFE OF JOHN EBIGSSON,
The friction-gear for controlling the recoil is also shown,
with two examples of plagiarism. This use of his ideas with-
out credit greatly annoyed Ericsson, as it put him in the posi-
tion of being himself the copyist. In a letter to Bourne, dated
May 11, 1866, he said, in replying to someone's claim of priority
for his invention :
The motiye-power at hand being small, and the work to be per-
formed being large, a proportionate lapse of time seemed ineyitable.
At last I examined the condition of suocessy a method by which I have
often triumphed over seeming mechanical impossibilities. That condi-
tion in this case was a compressor or friction apparatus remaining al^
ways underpressure, capable of being attached to, or detached from, the
gon-carriage by some catch or lock. From obvious reasons, the ordmaiy
sliding compressor cannot, by any mechanical expedient whatever, be
kept under ooniinuous pressure. The idea therefore suggested itself of
midLing a rotary compressor. On reflection, the adoption of rotary friO'
iion is not incompatible with the condition of noi being relaxed while the
gun is being rolled out, since the instrument by which it is produced may
be alternately attached to the carriage or detached from it. With this
brief introduction I now refer you to the enclosed drawing and descrip-
tion.
Fortunately, the invention was perfected in time to be applied and
tested on board of the Dictator^ by the talented Commodore John Bodg*
ers, who has reported to the Navy Department that the success is com-
plete, and that not a second is lost in applying or relaxing the necessary
friction. As soon as the gun has been loaded the gunner lifts the check
lever, and the instant the gun has been rolled out he drops it. • • •
The most remarkable feature of the trials is the very slight tension ap-
plied to the set screws by which the friction disks are brought in con-
tact. It has been found that for 55-pound charges of powder a force of
ten pounds, applied at the end of a wrench twenty inches long, is suffi-
cient to tighten the set nuts. As a consequence of this light pressure,
no heat is produced and no abrasion takes place between the friction
disks.
It may be asserted that this apparently trifling invention renders the
IHcUUor the most formidable flghting ship in existence, since it enables
her guns to be worked with perfect safety in any weather. It has been
observed by many that the rotary compressor is a mechanical paradox,
since in effect neither time nor force is required to produce or relieve
friction of the greatest possible intensity. ... By means of this
training-gear, a 15-inch giln may be as safely handled in broadside as
in a turret. The question is simply one of proportion and strength of
parts, which every well-informed engineer can determine.
As the British iron-clad navy is composed solely of broadside ves**
BUIIDING AND MOUNTING HEAVY GUNS. 145
mIb, thin gnn-aarriAga is of snoli paramonut imporbtnoe, and «o inti-
mAbelfooDneoted with tbe system, that I could not withhold the model.
In tho Princeton gun-carria{;e the iron plates were preaeed
^aioBt the timbere b; a cam. Id the Monitor carriage a screw
was snbstituted for tlie transverse axle and its cam, bat, as the
operation of the screw was slow compared with the almost in-
stantaneous action of the cam, Ericsson subsequently returned
to his original idea. He gives a full account of his invention
Muul* Vlaw lit 11-Inch Pr)nc*tsn Gun, Showing FrlcUon-gw of Cwrl^K
in another characteristic letter to Bourne. Speaking of the
slow fire of the MbnUcr gnus, and explaining that it was due
to the time occupied in tightening and loosening the com-
pressor designed to check the recoil, he bb;s:
It was John Ericsson who first dispensed with breeching for check-
ing the recoil of naval ordnance. In 18i2 he introdnced wronght-iron
carriages composed of plate iron, preoisely like the Monitor carriages,
' tor the 12-inoh guns of tbe Prinoeton, vith longitudinal timbers at-
tached to tbe slides nnder the carriage, which timbers were pinched
between iron plates for the purpose of checking the recoil of the piece.
So completely did the plan answer that the recoil of the 12-inch gnn
fired with thirty-pound charges was checked in a distaoos of sixteen
Voi. IL— 10.
146 LIFE OF JOHN BEICSSOTT.
inohea. No trouble whateTor was experienced with the oompreoson
thoB introdnoed. The inrentitm proved a perfect Bnoceas from the
start. It will be seen, therefore, that Mr. Mallet must go further back
than 1S66 to establiah hie claim to be the original inventor of ooinpre»-
sors for preventing the recoil of guns.
AccompanyiDg this letter was a model of which the iDven-
tor said : " It is intended as a present to the Emperor of the
French, who has acted ungenerously toward the writer, and
thereby engendered a desire to shame hie Majesty."
Rotuy Gun.«(nl(g« 4ihI Tnntit PlMfonn Applltd to Via Spmiih GunbaM Tamkdo, tSTX
On December 19, 1866, Captain Fox wrote to Ericsson,
stating that the naval gun-carriage could not be need in a sea*
way, was very clainay, defective mechanically, and altogether
nnsatisfactoiy. He asked Ericsson to provide an iron pivot-
carriage. This was furnished, and nearly five years later, Jane
11, 1870, Commander Edward Simpson, U. S. Navy, reported
that he had tried the Ericsson carriage, and found it capable of
enduring the most severe tests under fire. The compressor gear
— coDsisting of a cam moved by a lever as on the Prineeton — ■
was found fully competent to stop the movement of the gna
at any point when it was in motion, its action being complete
and instantaneous, and quit« as effective as that of the carriage
BUILDING AND MOUNTING HEAVY GUNS, 147
requiring a slow-moving screw to tighten the compressor. The
cut on the opposite page shows a pivot-carriage of this descrip-
tion placed on the Spanish gunboat Tornado in 1873.
May 1, 1876, Commodore William N. Jeffers, Chief of the
Bureau of Ordnance, made a request similar to that of Captain
Fox, saying ^' that he liad devised a carriage which did not al-
together please him, and he did not like the hydraulic buffer
system, and preferred Ericsson's method of using friction.
November 22d following he wrote, saying :
" When I returned from New York I informed the officers
at the Washington Navy Yard that I was so well satisfied with
your carriage that I should make no more of the regulation one,
and that, if they could not devise one as good or better than
yours, their occupation was gone. This stirred them up, and
they now have a design which I propose building for the third
carriage, mounting yours side by side, and theirs aft"
CHAPTER XXVm.
THE ABT OF WAB IN ITS INPANOT.
Neratealization of the Ocean Proposed. — Beneficial Eesnlts of the Pn>-
fessional Stndj of War. — Snbaqnatic Attack. — The Bdle of the
HeaTj Armored Veosel Ended.— LocomotiYe Torpedoes. — The
Amphibic Projectile.
IN 1810, Robert Fulton, " Fellow of the American Philoso-
phical Society, and of the United States Military and
Philosophical Society," as he styled himself, published at New
York a pamphlet on ^^ Torpedo War and Submarine Explo-
sions." The title-page bore this significant motto :
«
The liberty of the seas will be the happiness of the earth.''
What is here indefinitely suggested by Fulton we find de-
clared by Ericsson in distinct terms. In explaining a propo-
sition he made in 1870 to demonstrate the efficiency of his
method of under-water attack by sinking, with his submarine
projectiles, a vessel while it was being towed by at any practi-
cal rate of speed, he said : " My only object is that of seeing
the sea declared by all nations as sacred neutral ground. It
is the highway of mankind." * Again he said : " The art of
war, as I have always contended, is positively in its infancy.
When perfected, man will be forced to live in peace with man.
This glorious result, which has been the cherished dream of my
life, will unquestionably bo attained before the close of the pres-
ent century." f
Only ten years of the century remain, and no doubt this
forecast as to the neutralization of the ocean will prove to have
been too sanguine ; yet, certainly no one familiar with the sub-
• Letter to G. V. Pox, May 12, 1870.
f Letter to John Bourne, December 21, 1806.
THE ABT OF WAR IK ITS INFANCY. 149
ject can f ftil to be etrock with this prophecy as to the fatare de*
velopment of the art of war. It is a quarter of a century since
it was recorded^ and within that period what enormous changes
have taken place I Powders have been improved, and the use
of high explosives has added another element of horror to war-
fare. New factors have been introduced, and the power of the
old enormously extended. War vessels have increased their
thickness of armor four- and iSve-f old, in the vain hope of ex-
cluding projectiles fired from guns whose power has been de-
veloped in still greater ratio ; while enemies hidden beneath the
sea assail the cumbersome armor-clads where they are without
defence.
Concerning the improvements since Ericsson sent, in 1854,
to Napoleon III., a proposition for a monitor vessel, Captain
Noble said, in an address before the British Association,
August, 1890 : '^ Since that date — whether we have regard to
our vessels of war, the guns with which they and our fortresses
are armed, the carriages upon which those guns are mounted,
or the ammunition they employ — we shall find that changes so
great and so important have been made that they amount to a
complete revolution. I believe it would be more correct to say
several complete revolutions. It is at least certain that the
changes which were made within the period of ten years fol-
lowing 1854, were far more important and wide-spreading in
their character than were all the improvements made during
the whole of the great wars of the last and the commencement
of the present century."
Kelson^s Victory had, at Trafalgar, 102 guns ; the Victoria^
of the present British Navy, has 44, including machine and
torpedo guns. The heaviest gun of the Victory was three
tons ; the Victoria has guns weighing 110 tons. The Victory
threw a broadside of 1,150 pounds with 350 pounds of powder ;
the Victoria throws one of 4,750 pounds with 3,120 pounds of
powder ; and its dynamic force is ten times that of Nelson's
ship. The charge has been increased from 10 pounds to 1,000
pounds, and the weight of the shot from 68 pounds to 1,800
pounds.
Ericsson was not alone in his opinion as to the results to
follow improvement in the art of waging war. It would not
160 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
be difficult to show that we are more indebted to the profes-
sional soldier than to the peace advocate, for onr advance be-
yond the original condition of barbarism, when every man was
on his defence against his neighbor, and peaceful industry was
unknown. There is as little reason to hold the profession of
arms responsible for war as there is to ascribe disease to the doc-
tors, or sin to the clergy. Eqaally with them, the soldier rega-
lates, controls, or limits disorders he has no part in creating.
As the experience of war is happily intermittent, the delu-
sions concerning the social disorders finding their cure through
this species of phlebotomy are common. Misjudgments con-
cerning those who practise it are equally common, and the real
value to the commubity of those whose business it is to increase
the efficiency of military establishments is not understood.
When Ericsson was asked how a man of his philanthropic dispo-
sition could devote his talents to improving the weapons of war,
he answered that the surest way to discredit war was to direct all
the resources of mechanical ingenuity to making it a pastime at
which not even kings could afford to play. He believed too in
the possibility of equalizing the conditions between the stronger
and weaker nations; just as engineering and inventive skill have
in a measure equalized the conditions between rich and poor, by
placing within reach of the humblest, luxuries and enjoyments
unknown to the most favored half a century ago.
Improvement in warlike appliances, and the professional
study of war, tend to destroy the demoralizing sentiment of per-
sonal hostility toward a public enemy, encountered in battle.
There is nothing to produce this sentiment in the breast of a
man absorbed in scientific manipulation of warlike machinery, or
in solving problems of logistics, strategy, and tactics at such a
distance from an enemy that the loss of life, to which he con-
tributes, figures in personal consciousness only as one item in the
statistics of a great contest, or among the sounding phrases of
a war bulletin. Thus emancipation from some of the worst evils
of war is through men who, whether so intending or not, have
accomplished a distinctively philanthropic purpose in devoting
mechanical genius to the science of destruction.
Fulton, who introduced us to the steamboat, and Ericsson,
who did so much to improve it, were, both of them, equally at
THE ABT OF WAR IN ITS INFANCY. 161
home in the art of destruction. Three-quarters of a century
ago, Fulton, in his experiments with the Dorotheay gave a
striking illustration of the destructive effect of a charge fired
from beneath a vessel. The Dorothea was a Danish brig of
200 tons burden and solid construction, drawing twelve feet
of water. She was anchored in the roadstead of Wermland,
near Deal, England. Two boats, each carrying a torpedo
loaded with two hundred pounds of powder, rowed on opposite
sides of the vessel and dropped their burdens overboard. The
two torpedoes were united by a cord, and as the current carried
this foul of the ship's keel, one or both of them was thrown
against the ship's bottom and discharged at a given moment
by a clock-work attachment.
The experiment in tliis instance worked perfectly. The
doomed Dorothea rose six feet, broke in two amidships, and in
twenty seconds sank out of sight, leaving nothing but a float-
ing mass of debris to show where she had been anchored.
The experiment was tried in the presence of Colonel Congreve,
of rocket fame, Admiral Holloway, Sir Sidney Smith, and most
of the officers of the British fleet under command of Lord
Keith. The complete success of this Yankee infernal machine
produced due astonishment, but was without other result. Pitt
and Lord Melville were at first disposed to encourage Fulton, but
Count St. Vincent said, with great force : " Pitt is the greatest
fool that ever lived to encourage a kind of warfare useless to
those who are masters of the sea, and which, if successful,
would deprive them of their supremacy."
Numerous attempts have been made since then to develop
this form of attack, until now torpedoes, and vessels especially
designed for their use, are part of the recognized machinery of
naval warfare. Bushnell's ^'battle of the kegs," during our
war of the Bevolution ; Nix's attack on H. M. S. PlarUagenet
in 1812 ; the use of torpedoes at Sebastopol and Cronstadt in
the Crimean war ; the destruction effected by them during the
Danish war of 1864 ; in the Austro -Italian and Paraguayan wars
of 1866 ; in the Anglo-Peruvian confiict of 1877 ; in the Turco*
Bussian war of 1877-78 ; and their more decided success as
used by the Confederates during our Civil War in blowing up
sixteen Federal vessels, all mark so many steps in the progress
162 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON,
toward their final adoption. Against them professional senti-
ment has protested in vain. The coortlj usages of war are no
longer recognized on sea or land, and the resources of modem
science are exhausted in the effort to render naval combats es-
pecially, short and sharp, if not decisive. The result has un-
doubtedly been to make the maritime nations hesitate, more
than ever before, to provoke a naval contest, as it is wholly
impossible to estimate the relative valae of the new factors en-
tering into the determination of such a contest. As an ojScer
of the U. S. Kavy, Lieutenant Bradley A. Fiske, has said in a
recent magazine article, *' the only thing that can determine
the real conditions of modern naval warfare is a modem naval
war."
The tendency of military reasoning is to limit the science
of destruction within certain well-defined bounds. Engineering
invention seeks to develop it to the utmost, without regard to
ethical considerations. Thus, Fulton's efforts to introduce his
system of submarine attack into France were thwarted by the
prejudices of the Minister of Marine against a system of war-
fare which he considered only fitted for Barbary corsairs.
What will become of navies, exclaimed another French au-
thority, St. Aubin, and where will sailors be found to man our
ships-of-war, when it is a physical certainty that they may at
any moment be blown into the air by means of diving-boats,
against which no human foresight can guard them ?
The struggle between gun and armor has continued until, if
not actually determined in favor of the gun, it is certainly lim-
iting the role of the armored vessel. It seems to be destined
to a transformation, similar to that ascribed by the paleontolo-
gist to the free-roaming sea monster which gradually accumu-
lated defensive scales, until its freedom of motion was destroyed,
and it became the sluggish and amphibious crocodile. It is the
man of genius like Ericsson who forecasts sach possibilities and
adapts his plans to them in the beginning, while others must
travel to his conclusion by the laborious and costly methods of
experience.
Acute observers are questioning whether England, and the
naval powers who follow her lead, are not again wasting their
hundreds of millions on vessels that, in their hour of trial, will
THB ART OF WAR IN ITS INFANCY. 163
prove of as little value as were the thousand unarmored ships,
swelling the British naval lists when the contest in Hampton
Beads awakened England from her dream of security.
No man was more competent to form a judgment on this
question than John Ericsson, and he was most emphatically of
the opinion that the day for the sea-going armor-clad had
passed. Not that vessels bearing armor were necessarily use-
less, but that no vessel could be built to carry on the open sea
the armor needed for her perfect protection, even against the
guns ; while for defence against submarine attack armor was
worse than useless, decreasing flotation without offering se-
curity.
^' I look upon the enormous thickness of armor now being
introduced in England, and the new monster guns building,"
he said in 1874, ^' as the expiring efforts of the Island Queen
to retain her supremacy on the sea. The movahle torpedo will
inevitably render these efforts unavajUing."
United Italy, accepting the opinion of the first Napoleon,
that she could never maintain her integrity until she had be-
come a great naval power, resolved to build vessels more for-
midable than any afloat, and put upon the sea the Duilio and
the DandolOj mastless turret-ships then of unusual size, 10,570
tons, partially protected with armor 14 to 22 inches thick, and
carrying 100-ton guns. These were followed by the Italia
and Lep(vnJU)^ of 13,851 tons, carrying armor 16 and 33f inches
thick, and each costing in round figures $4,000,000. Writing
of the earlier vessels, Ericsson said : ^
^^ In a naval point of view, I regard the construction of the
Duilio and the Dandolo as the greatest folly of our time, while
I consider the present contest, so much talked about, between
guns and armor, as a waste of time and means. What is the
use of mounting 100-ton guns and putting 24-inch thick ar-
mor on a frail raft which may be attacked by a small craft capa-
ble of approaching, in defiance of the fire of the monster
guns, and capable of piercing the said raft, in spite of the 24
inches of armor ? England committed a fatal blunder in fol-
lowing Napoleon's lead, by building sea-going iron-clads. Had
you drawn on your mechanical resources and produced small
* Letten to John Bourne, Jannaiy 24, 1879, and Maroh 7, 1879.
154 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
crafty capable of sinking the cuirassed ships, other nations
would never have followed the example of the man of whom
history can say, that he never did the right thing. Take my
advice; construct Destroyers to sink the iron-clads of designing
neighbors, but let England cease to build the useless iron cita-
dels whose bursting guns now threaten to destroy the morale
of the British sailor. Do this, and your prowess and over-
whelming numbers will again enable Britannia to rule the
waves.*'
In a letter to his brother !Nils, Ericsson said : ^^ I am so
concerned in the welfare of my native country that I cannot
refrain from asking you to do all you can to correct tbe mis-
take of the Government in building large iron-clads. We now
call such vessels ^ torpedo food.' The larger, the better targets
they will be for the torpedo." * These opinions were the re-
sult of Ericsson's confidence in snbaquatic attack. This he be-
lieved would make it possible to sink the heaviest of armor-clads
by blowing a hole in her hull far under water. Early in his career
he had planned several movable torpedoes, and from the time
that he introduced the present system of screw propulsion for
ships-of-war in the United States, his attention was specially
directed to the subject of " snbaquatic " attack. The propeller
was a great step in advance in this direction, as it enabled the
motive power to be applied at any depth. The difficulty re-
maining was that of storing a sufficient amount of enei^
within the submarine torpedo. In a letter dated July 31,
1878, he said, speaking of the Whitehead torpedo :
'^ The most important part of the whole contrivance is my
instrument for driving the fish ahead. You are aware that
since Mr. Davidson, of Woolwich Dock-yard, copied my double
torpedo propeller. Whitehead has also adopted the plan of em-
ploying two propellers revolving in opposite directions round a
common centre, one behind the other. As to actuating the
propeller by compressed air^ I proposed that motor for subma-
rine attack more than forty years ago ; and before Whitehead
had constructed a compressed-air engine I had built scores of
such motors. As to the horizontal rudder, acted upon by the
various hydrostatic pressures at different depths, all schemers
* Letter to Baron Nils Ericson, AprU 10, 1875.
THB ABT OF WAE IN ITS INFANCY. 166
in submarine torpedoes who preceded Whitehead, myself in*
eluded, resorted to that obvious device."
Twelve years before this, in a letter to John Bourne,
February 22, 1866, he had said : ^^ The plan of firing under
water has been proposed to the United States Government dur*
ing the war by more than a score of inventors. Wealthy par-
ties in Boston entered into a contract with the !Navy Depart-
ment to build vessels on this plan, but found, by experimentally
firing guns of heavy calibre under water, that it was impossible
to produce the destructive effect promised ; consequently they
abandoned the contract, after having spent a large sum. Several
inventors, some from Sweden, have sent me plans of under-
water artillery. The subject has engaged my attention for
thirty years. It is not promising." Again he wrote, saying:
^^More than thirty years ago I devised the method of employ-
ing a ^movable and adjustable base' from which submarine
torpedoes could be despatched toward any desired point. I
forwarded, in the month of September, 1854, plans and descrip-
tions of this method to Emperor Napoleon III., the documents
being presented by the Swedish Ambassador at Paris. The
modification of employing a tubular cable attached to a reel
applied on board of some small iron-clad vessel, was perfected
before the conclusion of the late war."
These statements carry back Ericsson's first suggestion of
the device described beyond the time when Samuel Colt made
his experiments with torpedoes in Kew York Harbor. It was
on the 4th of July, 1842, that Colt blew up the Boxer off Cas-
tle Garden, and in October following the Fbi!^ in the Potomac,
in the presence of the President, members of the Cabinet, Gen-
eral Scott, and thousands of spectators. This was followed, April
13, 1843, by the blowing up of a brig of five hundred tons from
Alexandria, Ya., at a distance of five miles from the point where
she was passing under sail. The next year Congress voted to
purchase Colt's invention, the secret of which is said to have
died with him in 1862.
The scheme of naval warfare submitted to Napoleon HI. in
September, 1854, was not revealed by Ericsson until it became
necessary to defend himself against the claims of priority of in-
vention raised by Captain Coles. Nor was the full scheme
166 UFB OF JOHN BRI0880N.
even then made public. It indaded a plan for enbmarine as-
Banlt and this was reserved for fntnre contingencies. From
'the illustrations supposed to represent the drawing submitted
to the Emperor of the French, this was omitted, and is here for
the first time presented on pages 288 and 239 of volume i.
At that early date Ericsson clearly apprehended the con-
ditions which, in practical experience, have always controlled
naval warfare, and must continue to control it to the end. How-
ever we may extend the range of artillery, naval engagements
must be settled at close quarters. The ram, on which so much
reliance is placed, requires actual contact, as do fixed torpedoes,
while the auto-mobile torpedoes can only be operated effectively
from the near distance. Ericsson's studies, as early as 1845, had
shown that the law of parabolic progress, controlling projectiles
flying through the air, does not apply to bodies propelled
through water, and having the same specific gravity as the
water. These proceed in a straight line until their motive
force is exhausted. Applying this principle, he proposed to
adopt the most obvious method of submarine attack, that of
piercing a ship's hull by an explosive projectile expelled from
a tube lying near the bottom of the attacking vessel, and
communicating with valves at each end. One of these valves
was to be closed behind the projectile, to shut out the water from
the tube, and the other opened in front of it to admit of its
passage on its submarine journey.
The limited range of such missiles, and the difficulty found
in controlling their course, induced Ericsson to first attempt
some other method of accomplishing his purpose. Accordingly,
he published, in the spring of 1870, a description of a torpedo
to be moved and directed by compressed air, communicated
through a flexible tube, payed out from a reel on board the
torpedo or from one on shore. Four years before this date, in
November, 1866, he had communicated the details of this sys-
tem to the King of Sweden and ilTorway, and to his friends,
Count B. Von Platen, Swedish Minister of Marine, and Com-
modore A. Adlersparre, Assistant Minister of Marine.
Believing that by means of his invention aggression might
be effectually resisted, he published to the whole world a de-
scription of his apparatus, so minute and exact that any intelli-
THE ART OP WAR IN ITS INFANCY. • 167
gent mechanic could construct it His sympathies were always
against the powers disposed to infringe upon the liberties of
others, and his brains always at the service of those whose atti-
tude was that of defence against them. He sent his descriptions
and drawings to professional papers here and in England, and
forwarded copies to Vice-Admiral Porter (April 13, 1870), to
the Chief of the Kaval Bureau of Ordnance, and to the Kaval
Committees of the Senate and the House of Kepresentatives.
He also entered upon a controversy to establish the superiority
of his system over that of other locomotive torpedoes. The
scope of this device, as he took pains to explain, was limited.
Yet he said : ^' Had the Italians possessed it, the result at lissa
would have been different. They could have turned the tables
on the Austrians who made such havoc with their rams. No
harbor can be entered which is protected by it; nor would
any amount of vigilance save vessels from destruction on an
enemy's coast defended by it. . • . My object in giving an
account of my labors connected with submarine warfare is sim-
ply that of demonstrating the futility of encasing ships of war
with huge masses of iron, and showing the absurdity of wast-
ing millions of tons of coal in propelling weight which does
not protect." *
In connection with his description of this new locomotive
torpedo, Ericsson made pnblic the details of his plan of attack
by guns mounted behind armor, and firing elongated projectiles
designed to enter the water at such an angle as to pierce a ves-
sel's unarmored hull. Lest he should be accused of plagiarism
in his method of loading his guns by depressing their muz-
zles below the water-line, and inserting the projectile from the
hold, he said : ^^ I feel called upon to state, that loading guns
below deck, as here shown, was planned by me, and drawings
representing this method exhibited in Kew York several years
before it was claimed by certain American engineers as their
invention."
He had such confidence in his plan of attack, that he pro-
posed, as already stated, to furnish at his own cost and risk, a
swift screw-vessel, provided with a pair of 15-inch smooth bore
guns, and the necessary apparatus for sinking by submarine ex*
* Letter to London Bngineering, dated Haroh 11| 18901
168^ LIPB or JOHN ERICSSON.
plosion a veesel of the average draught of the iroD-clad fleet of
England, while she was heing towed at the greatest epeed pos-
sible, or performing whatever evolutions her owner might
prefer, with the distinct uiiderstandiiig that the attack was to
be made at a less distance than 500 feet. " If," he said, " a
first-class swift iron-clad ship, say the Devastation, unassisted
b; other craft, will meet in open water a vessel conatntcted
agreeably to the new system, it is cootended that the latter
Toqudt Actuated by CompnaHd Alt Tnnnnltltd thnufh ■ Tubiriu Cibl*.
wilt sink the breast-work monitor in spite of her guns, and
notwithstanding evolutions designed to avoid the submarine
missiles.'*
The Navy Department were in receipt of varions comma-
nications f rom Ericsson at this time on the subject of his sys-
tem of naval attack, but, perplexed by innumerable projects
recommended to them for defending our harbors, they were
unable to come to any determination. Ericsson was confident
that professional sentiment would come aronnd to him in time.
THE ABT OF WAB IK ITS IKFANOY. 169
and he wrote to Commodore Adlersparre :* ^^ It is well I
have not been hasty in carrying ont the amphibic projectile, since
naval tactics have in the meantime been qnite revolutionized in
consequence of the adoption of the Harvey torpedo and the
boom torpedo, both of which call for fighting at close quarters.
Had I, four years ago, proposed to fight at a distance of 600
feet (the best range for the amphibic weapon), my opponents
in the American Kavy wonld have proved Quch a short range
to be an insuperable objection. But now those opponents are
daily exercising their crews in the art of destroying their ene*
mies by exploding powder bags at the end of booms only twen-
ty feet long ! '^
For several years the controversy which Ericsson had inan«
gurated continued, and if he did not succeed in establishing pro-
fessional confidence in his own schemes of submarine attack, he
did succeed, by his powerful logic and his convincing array of
facts, in demonstrating the futility of other schemes. A Naval
Board reported favorably on a torpedo actuated by the genera-
tion of carbonic acid gas, and controlled by electricity trans-
mitted from the shore through an insulated wire. In a series
of vigorous articles, Ericsson demonstrated tlie weakness of
this form of attack. He proved by a mathematical demonstra-
tion, from which there was no escape, that three-quarters or
four-fifths of the explosive force of the five hundred pounds of
nitro-glycerine proposed as a charge for this torpedo, would be
wasted, so that the actual force would be the equivalent of
only one hundred pounds of explosive distributed over six
square feet of armor-plate. He pointed out very clearly the
di£ScuIty, if not the impossibility, of getting the torpedo in
question into a position to exert even this amount of force,
with a vigilant enemy on the defence against it.
The result was a challenge from the proprietor of the tor-
pedo in question, Mr. Lay, to a competitive trial, with a forfeit
of $10,000 by the defeated party. This challenge was accept-
ed under certain conditions, but these were not found accepta-
ble. The two torpedoes were, indeed, so unlike that it was
impossible to agree upon a common ground of comparison. As
nieither of them was a success this is immaterial. In the case of
* Letter to Commodore A. Adlersparre^ January 38, 1874.
160 LIF£ OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Ericsson's, it was found that the drag of the hollow cable car-
rying the air from the compressor to the torpedo, so interfered
with the steering that the torpedo was nearly unmanageable.
The controversy between the two inventors served, however, to
clear the way for something better than either of their devices,
by convincing Ericsson that he had not yet accomplished the 16'-
sult he was after.
The controver§y here referred to was carried on by Ericsson
through the columns of the Army a/nd Nwcy Jownai. To
the editor of tliat paper finally wrote Commodore William N.
Jeffers, Chief of the Kaval Bureau of Ordnance, one of the
most intelligent and capable Bureau officers the Navy has
ever known.
There is no doubt but that at present we are completely at sea on
the torpedo question, and on taking charge of this Bureau my very
first efforts were devoted to obtaining some praotioal results. The pole
torpedo has been fully developed, but we now want something more.
, The Lay machine requires too many favorable conditions. The White-
head, onoe launched, is like a blind man striking out with a club, as
likely to hit friends as enemies. Torpedo warfare is not yet developed,
and cannot be studied or taught as a system. Experiment is the only
course to adopt, and I intend to carry on a full course. I intend g^ing
over to New York as soon as the weather becomes settled, and I wish to
have a talk with Ericsson about his torpedo, and arrange for experi-
ments with it ; I hope also to have some amicable understanding with
the armj, and that we will not devote our talents to demonstrating how
very little either of us know on the subject.*
This was followed by a visit to Ericsson in the company
of the recipient of this letter, who seems to have been in-
vited by Commodore JefFers to accompany him somewhat in
the character of a body-guard, the Commodore having the mis-
taken impression that the great engineer was not an agreeable
man to meet ; an impression resulting wholly from Ericsson's
determination to protect himself against miscellaneous and use-
less visits. The visit of the accomplished naval officer resulted
in an agreeable acquaintance, having its foundation in mutual
confidence and respect. Commodore Jeffers was a man of
* Letter of March 7, 1874, to WUliam 0. Ghnxoh, Editor Armj and Navy
Journal, New York.
THE ABT OF WAB IN ITS INFANCY. 161
sufBicient ability to be willing to meet Ericsson on his own
ground. Having confidence in himself, he did not feel com-
pelled to resort to the arts by which lesser men seek to hide
their insignificance behind the curtain of official reserve, and
to swell their own piping tones by sounding them through
the trumpet of high station. He was not one of those who
imagine that the height of the pedestal determines the size of
the man.
Of Commodore JefiFers's visit, Ericsson wrote to Adlers^
parre : *
Notwithstanding mj attack on the Navy Department, the Secretaiy
has been forced to make the first move in effecting a reconciliation, and
accordingly ordered the Ohief of the Bureau of Ordnance, Oommodore
Jeffers, to call on me last Saturday. The meeting was of a most friend-
ly nature, and resulted in mj offering the tubular cable torpedo for
trial, if the Oovemment would provide a good vessel and paj the cost
of a powerful air-compressing machine, the one I employed last year
having in the meantime been disposed of. The Commodore at once an*
thorized me to build such a machine to suit mj own views, and did not
even ask to see mj plans. Accordingly, I am now at work constructing
a perfect machine for supplying air and operating the reel. In the
meantime, a fine new vessel, built by the Government at Boston, is
being fitted up for trial, and will be ready within two months. Tour
humble servant is certainly one of the most fortunate individuals that
ever lived. Without having made any application, a great naval power
thus asks my assistance to help it out of the defenceless condition in
which it finds itself, owing to the want of sufficient iron-clads. The
intended imposing naval display at Key West has suddenly disclosed the
unpleasant fact that the nation possesses no ships capable of meeting
an enemy, and that our great Atlantic cities may be destroyed at any
moment by foreign iron-clads, unless we can meet them with movable
torpedoes. G(rant and Robeson now at last comprehend the matter,
hence their willingness to give me a hearing.
July 1, 1874, a few months after the interview he had
held with Ericsson at the latteFs house, in Beach Street, New
York, the Commodore wrote officially, saying :
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of July 1st, enclosing
diagrams and explanations of a system of tactics of a movable torpedo
(Tubular Gable System), which I have carefully examined, and the
« April 10, 1874.
Vol* IL— 11
163 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
moTementfl desoribed are perfectly feasible. I f nllj agree with jon tliai
there ib very little hope of snccessfol results in making the attack from
long distances, and therefore it is unnecessary to make any provision
for such an attack. All experience shows that to obtain decisive re-
sults against such resisting objects as ships, it is necessary to seek
dose quarters, and particularly with this new weapon, as yet untried in
actual warfare.
February 17 and March 12, 1875, Commodore Jeffers re-
ported that a model of Ericsson's torpedo which he had re-
ceived, ^^ worked regularly without the slightest trouble, and
to the admiration and surprise of everyone to whom I have
shown it. I have exhibited it to other chiefs of the several
Bureaus and other naval officers, who were free in their ex-
pressions of wonder and satisfaction at the successful manner
in which it operated."
Commodore Jeff res placed at the disposal of Ericsson a
smooth-bore 15-inch naval gun with its carriage, mounted on a
Navy Yard scow. With this, a series of experiments were
conducted at Sandy Hook, and these established practically the
fact that an elongated 15-incli shell forming a torpedo projec-
tile ten feet in length, designed to carry dynamite or other
high explosive, could be fired in any desired direction, from
an ordinary smooth-bore gun, using a small charge of gun-
powder as the motive force. The plan embraced a revolving
turret for protecting and directing the guns.
This turret Ericsson regarded as absolutely indispensable,
but it did not meet with the approbation of Commodore
Jeffers, who believed that a suitable carriage mounted on a
ship's deck would answer the purpose. ^^ This modification of
my system," said Ericsson, " involved so much imperfection
that I respectfully declined to adopt the same. A change of
Administration occurring at the time, the experiments at Sandy
Hook were discontinued. This abrupt termination induced me
at once to elaborate the more effective and less expensive plan
of blowing up iron-clad ships by means of submarine guns and
projectiles, the immediate result of my labors being the build-
ing of the DestToyerP *
To secure his title to originality in the use of powder, in*
* Letter to Hon. W. G. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, October 8, 1887.
THX ART OF WAB IN ITS INFANCY. 183
Btead of compressed air, for propelliog high exploBives, Ericsson
published some accoant of his experiments; bat, as he felt
called upon to explain in a letter to an ofScer of the Kavy
some years later, 'Uie refrained from particulars as to the
flight of the projectile through the air, and its behavior on en-
tering the water. This was in deference to the "Navj Depart-
ment and the opinion of the Chief of the fiureau of Ordnance,
who had to some extent committed himself in favor of expel-
ling torpedoes from decks of vessels." The results were not
.farorable to further experiment.
The project of building the Destroyer followed as the direct
;:'e6ult of the encouragement received from Commodore JefFers,
who was a full conveil to Ericsson's views except in matters of
detail.
With the approval of the Chief of the Bureau of Ord-
nance, Ericsson made a series of experiments on the Hudson^
the result of which he reported to Jeffers, sajing:
I beg to inform you that I have concluded the torpedo experiments
on the Hudson, the result having fnllj realized my expectations. Be-
eent developments in submarine attack, especially the various means
suggested and partially adopted by the English Admiralty, in order to
protect their large iron-clad ships against torpedo attack, have con-
vinced me of the correctness of the principles involved in the plan sub-
mitted to Emperor Napoleon in., 1854, viz., that of employing swift
impregnabie screw-propelled vessels, provided with means of projecting
torpedoes under water at moderate distances. The extraordinary speed
attained by first-rate English armored ships, and the apparent impos-
sibility of building smaU vessels of equal or superior speed, capable
of resisting modem rifled ordnance, have deterred me from prosecute
ing my original plan. But having recently planned a vessel on a
peculiar cellular system (near and above water-line), in which all vital
parts are deeply submerged — thereby dispensing with other armor than
that requisite — ^to overtake first-claoB armored ships no longer presents
an obstacle. The favorable result of the trial of the wooden torpedo,
together with the positive determination regarding farm, induced me,
immediately after the conclusion of the experiments, to construct a
machine for projecting a large torpedo under water. The work was
pushed with such vigor that all was ready for trial by the end of last
week, the trials being now ended.
A patent for this invention has just been granted by the United
States Patent Office ; but, as I have applied for a patent in England, the
164 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Amerioftn patent will not be iBBued until after the pnblioation of the
English grant.
80 far, the problem of destroying armored ships maj be con-
sidered as practicallj solved. The possibility of constructing an im-
pregnable vessel /cuter than the British iron-clads, and capable of with-
standing their flie, remains to be established. This I am prepared to do,
no financial diffionlty standing in the way ; but it would be veiy desirable
to know if the Navy Department could purchase such a vessel at actual
cost, or for a certain specific amount, when finished and tested. Please
give me your views on this point.*
On December 17, 1877, and again on April 1, 1878, Erics-
son wrote to Commodore Jeffers, reporting progress with this
vesBel, named by him the Destroyer. In the second letter he
said :
The English appear to be at their wit's end with reference to torpedo
warfare. Notwithstanding Lord Beresford's assertion, in the House
of Oommons, that the Whitehead torpedo is perfection, leaving nothing
further to be desired, the Admiralty have been experimenting with all
sorts of torpedoes and submerged rockets. The Lahoratory Torpedo
(devoid, it appears, of the intricate motive mechanism of Lord Beres-
ford's pet weapon) the English people now imagine will protect their
fleets in future, since it is capable of running great distances at fabu-
lous rates. But no way has yet been found out by the Admiralty of
making the wonderful Laboratory Torpedo hit a vessel whose com-
mander is disinclined to remain stationary while the missile is approach-
ing ; nor has it been found out how to induce a current, running across
the path of the torpedo, not to interfere with its course. Oonseqnently
the Lords of the Admiralty have now decided to build torpedo conduc-
tors of two thousand five hundred tons burthen, to carry their wonderful
chemical torpedo up to the point intended to be struck ; truly a sensi-
ble plan. In the meantime let us show that we possess very simple
means for destroying both the intended huge torpedo-carriages and the
latest iron-clads supposed to be invincible.
In reply to this letter Commodore Jeffers wrote oflScially,
saying : " I have had the pleasure of receiving your two letters
with sketches of your new torpedo system, and have delayed a
reply while submitting them to several officers of judgment.
The remarkable simplicity of the arrangement commends it to
every practical man as compared with the Whitehead or Lab*
* Letter of December 7, 1877.
THE ART OF WAR IN IT8 INPANOT. 185
oratory, whidi I take to be a reprodnctioD of Sir William Con-
grere'a water rocket." *
Again the Commodore wrote, " I think the days of hea^
iron-clads and monster guns are nnmbered, all of which is to
onr advantage, aa we possess none of either. The simplicity
and efficiency of your torpedo, as compared with the White-
head, gives as the power of nsing a charge snfficient to inaare
the deatrnction of an opponent, no matter where he is Btrnck ;
and the sea-going qnalities and speed of the Det^royer will en>
able ns to break np any attempt at a blockade." f
In his letter of April 7th, Commodore Jeffers had snggested
a dry tnbe for firing the torpedo from directly ahead to abeam.
In reply Ericsson showed the impossibility of this with a tor-
pedo thirty feet long and a vessel with beam "forward of the
* Letter at April 6, 1878.
t Letter of Saptember 28, 1678.
166 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK*
transverse armor plate,'' averaging seven feet. Continuing, he
said : " Permit me to state that my sole object of bnilding the
torpedo vessel has been that of demonstrating, practically, that
iron-clad ships of all classes may be destroyed in spite of the
power of their ordnance and thickness of armor. I therefore
trust that you will approve of my course in excluding from
the Destroyer all contrivances which are not needed to carry
out the scheme of blowing up vessels by means of a projectile
torpedo (xypahle of cvUing through Umj>oraa*y jprotectionSj and
discharged in a direction parallel vnth the Jced at so short a
distance that it cannot miss the iody attacked^
In November, 1878, Ericsson's friend, G. V. Fox, wrote from
Washington : ^^ I have had a long talk with Jeffers, I am happy
to say that he is very much impressed with the idea that you
have adopted to attack the present system of iron-clads, and
that he shares my confidence in its complete success. I am
sure that your invention will become as national as the monitor."
" I have always been of the opinion," said Commodore Jef-
fers, speaking for himself, ^^ that this system offers greater
promise than any other plan of offensive torpedo warfare, from
its simplicity ; and when all the details have been worked out,
have no doubt of its adoption to improve torpedo vessels. I
shall be glad to assist in any way in my power." *
Discouraged by later experiences at Washington, Ericsson
wrote to Commodore JefiFers, July 20, 1880 : " The apparent
indifference on the part of the Government relative to the
Destroyer^ indisputably the most powerful means yet devised
for defending our harbors, has induced me to adopt a course
enabling me to prosecute the great scheme by private means."
Continuing his experiments, he exnltingly announced to his
friends, the Delamater Company, eighteen days later: ^^Iron-
clads are doomed. Our torpedo, with the propelling piston
bolted to its aft end, went yesterday 275 feet in a direct course
under water and then floated to the surface. The torpedo yes-
terday was not fully loaded, hence did not go as far as it might.
Enough was accomplished, howe^r, to show that we can sink
an enemy without ram steam-launch or spar-torpedo of our
navy. All these devices are now gone to the dogs."
* Letter of Maj 29, 1879.
CHAPTER XXIX.
SRICSSON'S PLANS FOB HABBOB DEFENGB.
Naval ApproTal of the System of Snbaqaatic Attack. — Opposition of the
Bureau of Ordnance. — Ericsson's Persistence. — ^President Qarfleld
and General Miles. — No Coast Defences Needed. — How to Defend
Our Harbors. — England's Oritical Position. — ^Unreliability of Tor^
pedo-boats.— The Admiralty and the Destroyer. — ^Tuireta for Land
Defence.
COMMODORE JEFFERS was relieved from the Naval
Bureau of Ordnance July 1, 1881, and his successor in of-
fice was not favorably impressed with the Destroyer, Contra-
ry to the opinion of his predecessor, he held that the projectile
of the submarine gun should have more range, ignoring the
fact that the range of a missile fired under water is very limit-
ed, and that, aside from this, for longer range greater velocity
is essential, and that tlie necessary light projectile would be
shattered by heavy charges.
A naval board, having Commodore Selfridge as its chair-
man, reported that the Ericsson submarine torpedo ^^ is a pro-
jectile of the most formidable character within a limited range,
and within that range, whatever further experiments may
prove such to be, it is superior to any known form of torpedo."
Admiral Porter, the head of the Navy, held the torpedo in
similar high esteem, and recommended that one be discharged
from a distance of 200 feet, as at that distance the projectile
could not miss nor the enemy escape. He interested himself
in securing from Congress an appropriation for the purchase
of the Destroyer, and urged* that Ericsson keep his invention a
secret from foreigners. In one of his annual reports, he recom-
mended that twenty steel vessels be built on the Ericsson plan,
with quadruple expansion engines to secore a speed of thirty
168 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON,
miles an honr, which would make them the perfection of toiw
pedo-boats.
Bat the new Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance was not sat*
isfied with these opinions, and he insisted on conditions Erics*
son found it impossible to comply with. The Destroyer must
not onlj be more thoroughly tested, but the test must be made at
the inventor's expense, and at sea, in spite of the fact that the
vessel was not built for sea service. Her guns must also be tried
with high explosives. In vain Ericsson showed that this would
subject him, in the event of any accident, to the penalties of
manslaughter, or at least to heavy damages, as his vessel did not
hold a Government commission. He had long been in the very
awkward position of navigating in the crowded waters of New
* York Harbor a vessel having no legal status, and had had to
pay one heavy bill for damages resulting from a collision. It
was in vain, too, that he showed the unfairness of requiring him
to add twenty thousand dollars for these experiments to the
hundred thousand dollars already expended in solving a prob-
lem of national defence, of chief interest to the Government
and to every citizen equally with the inventor.
" My object," he said, " in building the Destroyer has been
simply that of demonstrating the practicability of submarine
artillery, unquestionably the most efPective, as well as the
cheapest, device for protecting the seaports of the Union
against iron-clad ships. I do not seek emoluments, as I am
financially independent ; but I am anxious to benefit the great
and liberal country which has enabled me to carry out impor-
tant works which I could not have carried out on a monarchical
soil. I am also anxious to silence my opponents abroad, who
assert that the worthlessness of the Destroyer is proved by its
being rejected by the United States Government" •
Mr. C. H. Delamater had through his firm furnished one-
half of the money to build the Destroyer^ and he was thor-
oughly tired of the long delays in securing its adoption. His
interest in Ericsson also prompted him to protest against his
devoting to such thankless public service any more of a life
now fast drawing to a close, for Ericsson was an octogenarian.
* L«ttera to Hon. W. E. Ghandler, Secretary of the Nftvj, September 29 and
80, 1884.
ebiossok's plans fob habbob defenob. 169
^'My old and dear friendship/' he wrote, ^^ prompts me to
follow what I have said with hnmble advice to abandon the
whole snbject — to let the Dest/royer lie as she is, in the Navj
Yard and unnoticed, and to devote yonr energies to genial and
pleasant themes and experiments. As jonr friend — to whom
your past has been a most interesting volume, and to whom
your future is as dear — I would gladly see you devote all your
fortune, principal and interest, and combining it with your
life, spread it over twenty years to be gone at the end of it —
excepting only something in moderate degree for those only
who have devoted their lives to yours, and ignoring all others
whose claims would be only those of sentiment without ser-
vice." *
But Ericsson was not to be persuaded, and continued to the
end of his life to interest himself in the Destroyer j though he had
very little faith in his ability to secure an appropriation for it
from a Congress which had not been able, in forty years, to find
time to cancel the debt incurred in connection with his work
upon the Princeton^ in 1842. He twice submitted an offer to
the Navy Department to build an improved Destroyer^ with a
guarantee of success, relieving the Department of all responsi-
bility, but these offers were declined.
The patriotic General Kelson A. Miles, of the army, who
was deeply solicitous on the subject of the inadequacy of our
coast defences, warmly interested himself to secure the adop-
tion of the Destroyer by the Government. Writing to Erics-
son, June 9, 1883, he said : " The week preceding the tragedy
which resulted in the death of President Garfield, I had a con-
versation with him on the subject, by the sea-side at Long
Branch. He took a deep interest in the matter, and said that
he intended to give it pei'sonal attention, and endeavor to
bring the Navy up to its proper standard. Of course, his
death prevented the realization of his desire, but I still hope
our Government will appreciate the importance of your life
work and most valuable inventions, and that you may be duly
rewarded for the eminent and valuable services which you have
rendered the nation."
At the second session of the Forty-ninth Congress, a bill
* Letter of Noyeinber d2, 1882.
170 UFB OF JOHV maossoK.
was introdaoed to apptopriate $2,000,000 for the DettrcyeTy
and ten enlarged ateel vessels of the same type, bat it did not
become a law. " The snccess of the Destroyer ^^ wrote Erics-
son,* " woald destroy the prospects of the powerful fortifica-
tion and gun interest, which looks forward to an expenditure
of one hundred millions within a few years. Then we are op-
posed by the iron*clad ship building and armor-plate combina-
tions; not to mention torpedo-boat builders, submarine boat
projectors, and dynamite gun manufacturers, all against us, as
their plans will be worthless if foreign iron-clads can be shat-
tered and our harbor defended without guns and fortifications,
by the employment of the simple and cheap submarine artil-
lery system.*'
In other letters f Ericsson had previous to this expressed
the decided opinion *^ that this country requires no coast de-
fences. Small states, surrounded by powerful neighbors, bent
on landing armies on their coasts, need such defences, but the
United States needs only harbor defences to prevent an enemy
from destroying the great seaboard cities. Well-informed
men now admit that no fortification could prevent the Infieoy
Utile from entering our harbor and burning New Torf " For
that purpose," he added, '^ nothing has yet been devised that
can compare with the Destroyer system — submarine artillery."
After a thorough study of the subject, Lieutenant William H.
Jaques, one of the intelligent and well informed officers of
the Navy, said : ^^ In some countries where the torpedo-boat
has entered as a permanent element of defence, the great value
of submarine gunnery is conceded. In this connection it can
be said without doubt, that the Destroyer represents the most
advanced experiment."
Ericsson believed that with his submarine guns of large
calibre swung at their sides, the monitors could be made ser-
viceable for harbor defence, their lack of speed not preventing
their use in this capacity. In a letter of April 9, 1880, to Com-
modore Edward Simpson, TJ.S.N., he said :
A monitor, however powerfully armed, is no longer capable of de<
fending the harbor of New York against an Inflescible or DandolOf sinoe
* L«tter to Honorable A. H. Oragln, September 22, 188S.
t Letters to R. B. Forbes, June 9 and November 29, 1884.
Ericsson's plans fob habbob defbnos. 171
the 2»000-poiind projeotiles would utterly destioy both tunet and pilot*
house. The stationaiy torpedo, with its deHoate gear, may be eaaity de-
stroyed, while ships of the class referred to can pass the forts with
perfect impunity. How then are we to protect the wealthy dty, it will
be asked. Admiral Ammen will answer : '' Employ that infallible repre*
sentative of ' naval economy/ the Marine Bam,** * ' But," says the praoti*
cal engineer, "the marine ram by which you propose to assail the side
armor of the InfleaeibJe near the water-line, will incTitably be destroyed
on encountering the resistance of her great mass, while no serious injury
will be inflicted, since the convex form of the bow-lines of the marine ram
will cause its entire forward part to bulge outward on striking the mas-
sire iron-clad. The constructor of the steam ram will then probably say :
" I can make those lines perfectly stnrighi and prevent bulging outward.**
The practical man will then object that if the motion of the ram, run-
ning at full speed, be instantly arrested, the entire steam machineiy,
boilers and all, will be displaced, the steam connections broken, and the
ships company scalded to death by the escaping steam. It may be de-
monstrated that no engineering exi>edient can avert such a catastrophe.
Again, if the form of the proposed puny steam ram be modified so
that it can strike below the armor, only a single one of the numerous
water-tight compartments of the Inflexible would be pierced. The
steam ram, if constructed as shown in the work referred to, would, of
course, on striking go to the bottom, with its displaced machinery and
broken steam connections. It may be asserted, therefore, that the
scheme of sinking Infleoeibles and Dandoloa by " economical *' steam rams,
will prove futile.
The Destroyer system on the other hand, based on the plan of run-
ning within a few hundred feet of the assailant and then projecting a
torpedo containing an explosive charge capable of blowing up the hull
of the intruder, will probably prove an infallible mode of protecting
our Atlantic cities against the supposed invincible European iron-dads.
^^ One hundred yessels like my original Monitor could not
now," he said in a letter to Hon. S. S. Cox, M.C., in 1855,
^^ prevent the destmction of Kew York by a small squadron of
first-dasB iron-dad ships."
The cost of one turreted vessel like the InfiexMej with its
armament, is $3,250,000. For this sum a fleet of Destroyers
could be built, and one-half the three hundred and fifty men
composing the crew of an Inflexible would be sufficient to
man them all. To the four heavy guns of the lai^r vessel
they would oppose thirty submarine cannon, each having the
huge bulk of the armor-clad as a target for its five hundred
po:nnds of some high explosive. Was it not better, Ericsson
ITS UFB OF JOHN EBICSSON,
argaed, to distribute the risks of war among thirty yessels than
to coDceutrate them in a single huge craft ? and could there be
any doubt that the advantage would rest with the power thus
securing the superior weight of metal — or in this case, of ex-
plosive t
On June 23, 1875| £ricsson had written to Commodore
JefferSy saying : " After thorough consideration, I have aban-
doned the idea of taking out a patent for the torpedo, trusting
to the liberality of the Government to pay for the invention in
case its success should warrant its adoption. I cannot over-
come my reluctance to teach the whole world what I deem it
my paramount duty to give only to the American Republic,
and to my native land. Persons looking at my torpedo think
they know all about it. Such, however, is by no means the
case ; we ha/oe secrets to keep."
This referred to his cable torpedo. His experience with
the Destroyer later on convinced him that his only hope of se-
curing a trial of the invention to which he had devoted so
much labor and thought, and in which over one hundred thou-
sand dollars had been invested, was by going abroad. He re-
fused, however, to negotiate with Eussia, replying to an inquiry
from the Russian Minister that he had not authorized anyone
to oflFer the Destroyer for sale.* The information of this re-
fusal was at once telegraphed to King Oscar H., of Sweden.
In a memorandum furnished to a representative of the Pe-
ruvian Ooveiiiment, November 20, 1879, when Peru and Chili
were at war, Ericsson said :
1. Oaptain Elricsson^s strong desire to have the Detiroyer tested in
actual war indtioed hiju to o£fer the vessel to Fern. Finding, on inqtiiiy,
that the United States Government will not permit this engine of war,
ra it is termed, to leave the country for the purpose he intended, he
now withdraws his offer. It will be proper to mention that Captain
Ericsson has received a bona fide offer of £10,000 for the Destroyer^ by a
certain Eniopean government, provided he will gnarantee a speed of
tixleen nautical miles an hoar.
Peru adopted the Ericsson plan of applying the submarine
guns to ordinary ships in 1879, but, owing to the blockade, a
* Telegram to the Bussian Mhiister, Febmary 7, 1879.
BEICSBON'S PLAH8 FOB HARBOR DEFENCE. 173
specitneQ gun eent to a Peravian port bad to be carried over a
roundabout road acroBB the mountains. It vas not received
nntil Admiral Grau was dead, tbe Huascar taken, and tbe Pe-
ruvian voBsels it was intended to defend against the Chilians had
been destroyed, with one exception, by those energetic people.
The gun was experimented with on land and threw a projectile
of solid yellow pine, 19 feet 11 inches long and weighing 1,040
pounds, with a nine-pound chaise of Peruvian powder, on a
straight course, 450 metres, or nearly 1,400 feet. A second shot
went 800 metres, and a third 900 metres, or over half a mile.
Wtthod of Firing thi Sub-mvina Gun fnrn ui Ord'rniy VhmI.
Negotiations for the sale of the Destroyer were also carried
on by the Cbinese authorities, but they did not lead to any re-
sult. Finally, Ericsson resolved to offer the vessel to England.
In a letter to a family connection, Mr. S. B. Browning, he
wrote:
England's oritioal position becomes more seriona with ever; da7.
The fact that joVl Ofmnot carry on the ptinj war in Egjpt wiUtont de-
priving the conntry of its only trained protectors, the Ouartb, shows a
weaJuess which the friends ol the great nation notice with dismay.
Tet the Admiralty does not comprehend that the safety of the conntij
depends wholly on the power of the navy to protect tbe seaports against
the impending ooalition of maritimo nations. Nothing, absolutely ooth-
174 LIFE OF JOHN EBIG880N.
ing, is now being done to defeat snob a coalition by adequate naval pro*
teotion. Admiral Hobart's contempt for tbe locomotive torpedo is a
grave mistake. No iron-dad ship in existence is safe if surrounded bj
a fleet of these puny assailants, unless provided with torpedo guard that
can be dropped down in an instant and raised again, after the destruc-
tion or departure of the despised emit*
Such a torpedo guard Ericsson devised. It was intended
for war equipment only and, having been previously fitted)
a few days sufficed for its application. It was submitted to
the Admiralty, but did not meet witli favor. ^' England,"
Ericsson said, " in case of war with Sussia will, as a matter of
course, send her ships to blockade the Sussian ports in the
Baltic Considering the overwhelming number and excellent
condition of the torpedo-vessels in the Gulf of Finland, han-
dled by plucky officers and well-trained crews, I regard the de*
struction of the English blockading ships as inevitable, unless
efficient means be resorted to for protecting their hulls against
Russian Whitehead torpedoes."
Brennan's torpedo, adopted by the British Government,
he described as " a mere mechanical toy, in some respects in-
ferior to Lay's kindred, frail, and complicated device." ^^ Ho-
bart Pasha's favorable opinion of stationary torpedoes, based on
his experience acquired on an inland sea without tides, merits
no consideration," he said, ^' in a country on whose shores there
is a change of sea-level exceeding forty feet every six hours.
It would be a fatal blunder to act upon the assumption that
English seaports can be defended by stationary torpedoes, in
the face of the established fact that such frail protection can
be destroyed or removed wherever the enemy desires to enter."
Warning England against reliance upon torpedo-boats, he
further said : " A single modem fast cruiser, provided with
numerous breech-loaders of great range, could sink a whole
fleet of torpedo-boats at a distance which would render the
locomotive torpedo of no use as a means of defence against the
cruisers bent on laying a seaport under contribution."
Even the forts and guns of New York Harbor, though in-
capable of destroying iron-dads, could "send all the tor-
pedo-boats of Europe to the bottom in a few hours." Seaports
* Letters of Febmary 20 and June 12, 1885.
briosson's plans fob hasbob dbfenoe. 176
without f ortB could be protected against torpedo-boats by tem-
poraiy earthworks, mounted with ai'tillery of almost any kind.
Such works could be constructed in a few days, and at small
cost, as was demonstrated during the late American war. To
the argument that the torpedo-boat could be accompanied by a
cruiser carrying heavy ordnance, he replied that such a cruiser
would be met by other cruisers with equally heavy guns, or by
a vessel such as the Deetrayery with ordnance which could send
the cruiser to the bottom by a single shot below the water-line.
The contest then would be between these vessels, with the tor-
pedo-boat serving as a mere spectator, if indeed it had not
already been sunk by the hostile cruiser at long ranged The
torpedo-boat can never carry heavy ordnance, and will ^^ never
Longitudinal Soction of Otttroytr, Showing Gun and Projtctilo.
be employed against seaports of any importance. Moreoyer,
when doing constant duty during war, the boasted speed of
the fast torpedo-boats would soon fall below the speed of mod-
ern cruisers. The engines of the cruisers moving compara-
tively slowly, while their boilers are capacious and numerous,
their speed can be maintained, as is that of the Atlantic steam-
ers, which keep up their extraordinary speed all the year
round.
A British officer. Lieutenant Gladstone, R.N., sent to this
country, made so favorable a report upon the Destroyer that
one of her submarine guns and four projectiles were purchased
by the Admiralty. These were tried, but in such shallow
water that they struck the bottom, ricochetted, and went to one
side, instead of going straight ahead, as heretofore during
176 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
trials with a snbmarine gan Buspended under a scow in twenty
feet of water. Two projectiles were tried under these disad-
vantages. A third was next discharged, loaded with three hun-
dred and twenty-one pounds of gun-cotton,* but a Woolwich
detonator had been substituted for the percussion lock fur-
nished with it and the charge prematurely ignited, shattering
the powder chamber of the projectile and the extension of the
chase of the gun. The gun being the property of the Admi-
ralty, Ericsson had no control over it. He immediately offered
to furnish a new gun at his own cost, but the offer was not ac-
cepted, and no further trials took place, a change having oc-
curred in the Admiralty meanwhile.
The inventor was able to console himself for his disappoint-
ment at the result of the trial of his submarine gun in England
by the reflection that " the Admiralty lords will in good time
adopt the new system of destroying an adversary, just as they
adopted the screw propeller after having utterly condemned
the same, in spite of my successful demonstration in the
Thames on the memorable occasion when, by means of the
submerged system of propulsion, I towed the gorgeous Admi-
ralty barge, with its precious freight of nautical wisdom, from
Somerset House to Blackwall and back, at the rate of ten knots,
everything working to a charm.'' f
The idea of projecting torpedoes through horizontal tubes
by means of compressed air, included in the scheme laid be-
fore the Emperor Kapoleon in 1854, has been generally
adopted. As early as 1874 it was in use by the Austrians in
the gun-boats Oemse and Seehtmdj by the British in the Oheron^
by the French in the Catenai^ by the Italians in the Tripoli^
and by the Germans in the Basilisk. His original scheme
of naval warfare, as presented to Napoleon in 1854, shows
how clearly Ericsson comprehended the conditions that were to
control the future of naval warfare. He insisted upon short
range, and though the development of naval artillery, including
quick-firing guns, has destroyed the force of some of his argu-
ments in favor of " close quarters," the necessity for it still re-
mains. His labors at that time, as he stated in his communis
* On the beaoh, at Pembroke, England, September 80, 1886.
t Letter to S. B. Browning, November 10, 1886.
Ericsson's plans fob habbor defenoe. 177
cation to the Emperor, were directed to the Bolntion of tlie fol-
lowing prohieme :
"LA aalf'inoTiDg Bhot-proof Teesel." This wae developed
in the Mbniior.
"11. An inetrament capable of projecting very large ehellB
at Blow Telocitiea, but very accurately, in accordance with de-
termined rates." This took shape in the sabmarine gun, as
Bobsequentl; applied to the J}estroyer.
" in. A shell adapted to snch a gnn." This, described as the
Matin Enf<nt of th« D*Mniyir.
1,000 tiidk»tedhon»^gws. Bwa, S (tat aqncni, Ual batCU, 4 teet B btdiM.
Wtitaaibj Jtiba btcMm. 1BI8.]
"hydrostatic javelin "in the commnnication to the Emperor,
was the torpedo projectile finally adopted for the De^royer.
It reqnired the pressnre of war to overcome naval inertia
Bufficiently to secure the adoption of the Monitor, and it will no
doubt require a eimilar experience to develop Ericsson's ideas
of Bubaqnatic attack. It was in his mind during onr Civil
War, bat necessity did not call for its production, and be re-
served it for a greater need. Hie declared purpose was '* to
protect the weak by killing the Btrong aggressor."
Vol. n.-U
178 LIFE OF JOHir XnCBBOK.
The snbject of adapting the monitor turret to land de*
fences was considered by Ericsson daring the closing day
of the American Civil War. On March 11, 1865, Brevet
Major-Gleneral J. O. Barnard, "Chief Engineer Annies in
Virginia/' wrote to him, saying, " I have long had it in mind
to oonsnlt you concerning the practicability of mounting 15-
inch guns for land batteries in turrets." Oeneral Barnard then
unfolded his plan for building casements of masonry with iron
turrets mounted upon them, and asked Ericsson for an opinion
concerning these. In reply he said : " Your plan of employing
wrought-iron turrets mounting 15-iuch guns, for land batteries,
is unquestionably superior to any defensive system yet devised.
. • • I shall be happy to take the blacksmith's part in carry-
ing out your desirable plan whenever you command me."
A discussion followed as to the comparative merits of the
turret system and the arrangement of shields with embrasures
adopted in Sussia, General Barnard, in asking Ericsson's opin-
ion, saying : " Your great experience in these matters would
be almost indispensable in arranging details and machinery."
Ericsson furnished a demonstration of the fact that the energy
of a 20-inch solid shot was more than sufficient to knock over
the Bussian superstructure, and that of the 15-inch shell to de-
stroy it if planted in the right place. " Its imperfections in
principle and detail," he said, " as compared with the turret
system, are palpable and almost innumerable."
The judgment of Ericsson and General Barnard in this mat-
ter has been fully approved by the subsequent adoption of the
system of steel turrets for land defence. Ericsson furnished a
design for land turrets for the defence of Sweden. These were
very complete, and he found use for them a little later on, when
in August, 1871, he was called upon to furnish a scheme for
defending the Dardanelles with rotating turrets. The plans
submitted to the Turks included every detail of specifications for
" a first-class coast-defence turret on Ericsson's system, arranged
for guns firing projectiles weighing one thousand pounds." The
turrets were to cost, complete, ready for shipment, so that they
could be set up and the plating put in place in Turkey, $225,-
000 each, including two gun-carriages, two port-stoppers, and
a pair of steam-engines.
XBIOSSON's plans FOU RAJUM>fi BEFEKOE. 179
Ericsson was twice called upon to give bis opinion of the
best means of defending the harbor of Kew York. In March,
1863, the Harbor Defence Commission, presided over bj
Mayor Opdjke, asked his advice. There was no time for
preparation, as a foreign attack seemed to threaten, and it needed
no demonstration at that time, as Ericsson said, ^' to prove that,
however perfectly oar forts might be raonnted and manned, the
hostile fleet of armor-clads would approach the city unscathed.
As the East and North Rivers divide the island into two easy
ranges, the enemy's shells might convert the magnificent me-
tropolis of the western world into a heap of smoking ruins in
a single day."
In default of a sufficient number of monitors to defend the
city, he proposed to seal np the harbor by means of an impassa-
ble, impregnable barrier. He estimated that five thousand tons
of wrought iron, and one million cubic feet of timber, would
suffice to dose the Narrows. Such a barrier conld provide for
a free passage of vessels, the operation of closing it occupying
only a few hours, and it could be blown up by the military en-
gineers if taken possession of. ^' Fort Lafayette," he said, '^ is
fortunately situated to prevent, by its powerful guns, such an
attempt, and the obstructions would compel them to remain
under fire. These obstructions could be completed within four
months, and there was no time to be lost. For, unless the
English Government promptly puts a stop to the completion
of the numerous piratical vessels now being built in the' sev-
eral ports of the United Kingdom, the ship-owners of the
United States, to save their property from entire destruction,
must withdraw their vessels from every sea — ^a humiliation
which the Union cannot submit to."
Nearly a quarter of a century later, Ericsson returned to
the subject in a letter addressed to the President and members
of the New York Chamber of Commerce.* With this he sent
a chart of the Bay of New York, prepared for the purpose of
showing what is needed for its defence. With reference to
this, he said : '^ The blue li/nesy drawn from Forts Tompkins,
Hamilton, and the forts at Sandy Hook to the centre of the
enemy's fleet, near Coney Island^ show that unless the guns of
Letter of January 18, 1887.
180 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON.
said forts are capable of destroying twenty-inch thick armor at
ranges varying from six to seven miles, the attacking ships can
accomplish at their leisnre the destruction of your great city.^
Monitor turrets mounted on land, with Destroyers floating
on the water, would, as Ericsson believed, furnish the cheapest
as well as the most complete system of defence possible. For
two millions of dollars, he offered to build ten Destroyers with-
in twelve months, armed with submarine guns of sizteen-inch
calibre, and protected by inclined breast-armor of steel plates,
capable of resisting the projectiles fired from one hundred-ton
guns. To attempt to defend every point at which an enemy
might glide along a long coast line, if not practically impossible,
at least involved a heavy expenditure. This he believed might
be saved by the adoption of such a system of movable defence
as he had long before proposed, and had advocated from the time
when the floating turret made its d^but in Hampton Boads.
" The important feature," he wrote, " of the monitor turret,
that it offers absolute protection to guns and gunners, at the
same time subjecting an approaching enemy to the annoyance
of being at every instant in the line of flre, is all-sufficient to
recommend the turret system in preference to all others involv-
ing embrasures and a combination of iron and masonry. Let
us bear in mind that a monitor turret, which requires only a
raft for foundation, may be erected in any locality, at small
cost."
Ericsson was always a disbeliever in large vessels for home
defence. His attention was first directed to the subject prac-
tically in 1838, and five years later he proposed to defend the
American coasts by gunboats small enough to be put on cars and
transported wherever needed. " How different the American
conflict would have been from the start," he said in a letter writ-
ten soon after its close,^ '^ if the Kepublic had possessed the fifty
gunboats which I proposed twenty-five years ago. A thousand
millions of money could have been saved and lives numbered
by tens of thousands. But, as a cool head observed at the
time, the idea of putting on a railway fifty gunboats demand-
ing almost no outlay to keep in repair, ready to be sent into
the water at the first sound of the war trumpet, is too simple
* Letter to Ck)mmodore Adlenparre, November 6, 1868.
ebiosson's plans fob habbob dbfekgb. 181
and common-sense sort of an idea to be adopted by Congress.
Many similar observations," he adds, ^^ were made at the time
by my friends."
On April 27, 1887, Ericsson wrote to the Secretary of the
Kavy, Mr. Whitney, stating that he had just completed the
plan of a harbor defence vessel of the Destroyer type, 24 feet
beam, 13 feet deep, carrying a protecting belt of steel armor
3 inches thick and 30 inches deep, extending around the outer
hull. This armor, backed by oak planking 3^ inches thick,
was sufficient protection against the fire of machine-guns, and
the vessel, when trimmed for conflict, would be nearly sub-
merged. The portion of the cabin projecting 3^ feet above the
main deck was similarly protected. Tlie breast armor for pro-
tection against heavy guns in fighting bows on, consisted of in-
clined solid compound steel plates 30 inches thick, backed by
6 feet of oak timber. This statement was accompanied by an
offer to build such a vessel for the sum of $275,000.
The steel cruisers, built by the Navy Department during
Mr. Whitney's administration, Ericsson unsparingly condemned.
The Secretary having expressed a wish to converse with him
on the subject of the Navy, he wrote, November 4, 1886, show-
ing that these vessels were useless for war purposes as their
boilers were wholly unprotected. They should have been
placed below the water-line and out of reach of the enemy's
fire. He sent a diagram to show how shot, penetrating the thin
hull and the frail 1^ inch " protecting " deck, would destroy
the high-pressure boilers, allowing the steam to instantly fill
the boiler-room and scald the firemen to death. Low boilers
of the torpedo type, besides being out of reach of an enemy's
fire, would give more room for coal and secure protection for
the boilers by a mass of coal sixteen feet thick on each side of
the boat.
CHAPTER XXX.
OONTBIBUTIONS TO STBAM ENGINEEBING.
Improvements in Steam Maohineiy. — Changes in Methods. — Eriosscm
and his Gritios. — ^His Advanced Ideas. — ^Difficulties with which he
Contended. — Competitive Trials between Engines. — ^The Mada'
waska and Wampcmoag Controversy. — ^The Expansion Engine.
ERICSSON'S failure to accomplish his purpose of substi-
tuting hot air for steam, may perhaps explam the fact
that he has received less credit than was his due for his constant
contributions to the improvement of steam machinery. Of
the inventions, or engineering devices, included in his list of
over one hundred prepared in 1867, nearly one-half are im-
provements in the application of steam-power. Kor does this
by any means show all that he accomplished, for, up to the end
of 1883, he Iiad planned and constructed more than one thou-
sand different models and machines.
The changes in steam machinery, during the period of
Ericsson's active labors, were so rapid, that again and again was
it found necessary to sell nearly new vessels at less than one-
half of their original cost, and to replace them with others fitted
with more perfect machinery. The number of hands employed
for each one thousand tons capacity of British steam vessels was
reduced forty per cent, by economical changes adopted during
the fifteen years succeeding 1870. The expenditures of coal
had been so lessened meanwhile, that it was possible to carry
2,200 tons of freight with 800 tons of coal, where it was before
only possible to carry 800 tons of freight with 2,200 tons of
coal. Sir Lyon Playfair estimated that at the end of this
period '^ a small cake of coal, which would pass through a ring
the size of a shilling, when burned in the compound engine of
a modern steamboat, would drive a ton of food and its pro-
portion of the ship two miles on its way from a foreign port''
CONTRIBUTIONS TO STEAM ENGINEERING. 188
So many have contributed to this result that it is impossible
distiuctlj to define the services of any one man. The advance
has certainly been along the line of Ericsson's studies^ and his
labors had an important influence upon this progress. In the
employment of artificial draught, of the surface condenser, the
hydraulic reversing gear ; in his devices for heating the feed-
water and superheating steam, and in his use of the com-
pound principle and twin screws, he made at a very early date
an intelligent application of the ideas involved in the improve-
ment of steam navigation. It is only within recent years that
those who travel upon the waters have reaped the full benefit
of these early labors of Ericsson and others. So late as 1868,
Vice Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, K.C.B., in an address be-
fore the Institute of Naval Architects, asserted that at that date
there had been no increase of speed over that attained at the
opening of the centnry with masts and sails.
The progress of improvement in government vessels has
been much less rapid than in the mercantile marine, and that
it has not lagged still farther behind is due in large measure to
John Ericsson. His labors in connection with screw propul-
sion ; for the simplification of marine machinery, and for se-
curing its protection by placing it below the water-line and
surrounding it with coal, unquestionably revolutionized war-
fare, and made the use of steam possible.
If it be contended that Ericsson might have accomplished
more had he been less aggressive, it should be remembered
that conciliation means compromise, and that radical changes
do not admit of compromise. As it was, he truthfully de-
scribed himself, in a letter to an intimate friend written thir-
teen years before his death, as ^^ the person who has done more
to promote marine engineering, mechanical motors, imple-
ments of naval warfare, etc., than any other ten persons to-
gether during the last third of the lifetime of the American
Republic." Opposition is the inevitable accompaniment of pro-
gress. Ericsson labored in departments of mechanical change
where this was most sure to assail him. Inventive progress, dur-
ing the three-quarters of a century covered by his career as an
engineer, was continually opposed by ideas originating in meth-
ods continuing substantially unchanged since Adam delved and
184 LIFB 07 JOHN EBIG880N.
Eve span, and down to the commencement of the preeent brief
era of mechanical achievement. Ericsson not only had this
opposition to overcome, but he contended against ingrained
professional prejadices, formulated in '^ customs of the service,''
and established in the traditions ota class the most thorooghlj
oi^nized for resistance to innovation. What engineering and
mechanical science have done for the art of war, has been done
at the cost of abdication bj purely military men of something of
their high prerogative of command. Thus Ericsson represented
to them the idea of substituting engineering talent for fighting
ability ; the transfer to others of some of the functions of war
heretofore monopolized by the admirals, the field-marshals, and
the major-generals. It is not in human nature for the van-
quished to crown the victor with laurels, and the class who
really owe the most to the man who has conquered them on the
field of prejudice were naturally slow to accord him honor.
The chief of lessons to be learned by our land forces during
our great Civil War, preliminary to victory, was the lesson of
self-sacrifice and disregard of personal comfort. The ragged
battalions of Stonewall Jackson, living upon the handfuls of
com plucked by the wayside, were alike the terror of, and an
example for, the pampered soldiers from the North who, in the
early days of the war, sought to carry the comforts of civiliza-
tion into the field. If in the end they learned their lesson
thoroughly, they learned it most unwillingly, and only at the
cost of great sacrifices in pride, in blood and treasure. It was
Ericsson's mission to teach this lesson of simplicity in personal
equipment to our marine forces, and the result upon his per-
sonal popularity among them was inevitable. It was only
under the strain and stress of war that the value and signifi-
cance of his labors were appreciated.
Ericsson defied the experts, matured his plans, applied them
as opportunity offered, and after a prolonged contest compelled
their general acceptance. The struggle was an exhausting one,
and he bore the scars of it to his grave. ^^ The bitter and un-
just remarks of the editor of Tke Engi/neery^ he once said, ^^ is
only a repetition of what I have experienced through life, simply
from the fact that in my profession I know more than most
other people. Kot one in a hundred of those critics who have
OONTBIBUTIONS TO STEAM ENGTNEEBIKO. 185
assailed me, and by their injastice rendered a life otherwise
fortunate, often verj unpleasant, would have done so had their
experience and knowledge not been inferior to mine. It is my
consolation, however, to feel that those only who do not know
me accuse me of ignorance in my profession, and that those
who know me best have least to say against me." *
It was by studying simplicity and compactness of construe*
tion that Ericsson was able to make the most effective applica-
tion of the steam-engine to naval vessels. His engines, from
those applied to the little tug Stockton^ 1839, to those designed
twenty-three years later to furnish 4,500 horse-power to the
large Dictator^ " had one feature in common " — bringing the
power of two engines to bear at right angles upon a common
crank-pin. Watt suggested the idea of a piston vibrating within
a semi-cylinder ; Ericsson developed it most successfully in the
Princeton, and applied it in a modified form to his steamers,
Edith and Maascbchvsetts. When, in 1859, the United States
Navy Department sought for the best screw propeller engine,
Ericsson presented a modification of his semi-cylinder engine,
in the form of a single cylinder divided midway by a steam-
tight partition, so as to form two cylinders, in each of which
moved a piston, the two pistons working in opposite directions,
but connected with the same crank on the propeller shaft by
levers, rock shafts, and connecting rods.
In 1866 (April 20th), the London Engineer said of this
engine : ^^ It has been almost universally applied to the late
vessels of war in the States, and also in the mercantile navy of
that country. There is not a single American monitor with-
out an engine of this kind, and all the Swedish monitors are
engined on the same plan.'' In the engines of the Dictator the
cylinders were placed vertically side by side.
Their designer has left on record, in his volume " Con-
tributions to the Centennial Exhibition," a technical descrip-
tion of these engines, as well as a defence of them against ad-
verse criticism. " From the Monitor to the Monachiock,^^ said
Ericsson, in a letter to Bennett Woodcroft, May 15, 1866, "not
in a single instance have these engines heated or been out of
repair during the war. In fact, their success has been unprece-
* The London Engineer, March 21, 1890» p. 281
186 LIFE OF JOHN ESI08S0K*
dented. The DictaU/i^B engines, which have vfprighi cylinders,
troubled us for some time, but were finally made to work per-
fectly cool.''
These engines are to be judged by their time. They were
not intended to attain the high economy possible with super-
heated steam, high expansion, and surface condensation, but
only to work with certainty with the ordinary jet condensers,
ordinary steam, and ordinary expansion.
A most favorable report was made of the Ericsson engines
upon the Penguin^ a gunboat purchased by the Navy Depart-
ment at the outbreak of the civil war, early in 1861. At the
end of eleven months Mr. Delamater reported that she had
been under steam every day of that time, seven days excepted,
and had not been stopped once on account of derangement,
nor had she had a hot journal, and was in complete condition
at the end of the eleven months, although the engines had
been in use over three years.
^^ I have never failed,'' Ericsson said, in 1854, ^^ to carry en-
gineers with me when we have been confronted. Nor is there,
to my knowledge, an adverse engineering report printed or
written against me — I mean, of a formal character. Some few
private letters and sundry stabs in the dark are all I know of.
What was the result of my bold start with Collins, when I ad-
vised and he agreed to use the oscillating engine ? ^ May I sub-
mit your plans to practical engineers? ' was the query. ^ Cer-
tainly,' said I, ^ provided I have the privilege of making my own
representations.' Now, Morgan and Secor happened to be my
worst opponents at the time, and they had a man of the name
of Gorga, the great genius of their establishment, who it was
supposed would knock me into pie. Well, the meeting was
arranged ; cold and incredulous faces surrounded my draw-
ing-table. The explanation commenced ; the cold faces soon
warmed, and at the conclusion of my lecture, Mr. Gorga not
only agreed to my several propositions, but he saw a number
of advantages I had omitted to state. But so it has always
been. I never yet failed to carry my point Give me only the
chance of a reply, and I will carry any of my plans with any
board of engineers. Truth is mighty, and will prevail." *
* Letter to John O. Sargent, May 6, 1864.
OOKTRIBUTIONS TO STSAH BK6WEEBIN0. 187
In 1864, Mr. Delamater wrote: ^^I am most anxious to
awaken your attention to the fact, that in Europe mnch atten-
tion is now directed to the subject of superheating, and much
progress has been made. I have been satisfied, bj what I have
seen and by what I have heard from you, that you, for years,
have been fully aware of what may be done and how to do it,
and I trust to see you before the world as you are before me —
always in the van."
Mr. Isherwood improved the occasion of the issue of a vol-
ume on ^^ Experimental Besearches on Steam Engineering," to
subject Ericsson's engines to sharp criticism, and the Navy De-
partment resolved to give Ericsson and Isherwood the oppor-
tunity to build rival engines ; these engines to be tf^ed in com-
petition on vessels otherwise precisely alike. In spite of the
fact that he was greatly at a disadvantage in competing with a
head of the Bureau controlling the contest, Ericsson accepted
the challenge.
A contract for building the engines of the vessel assigned
to him, the Mada/waskaj was signed by Ericsson on Decem-
ber 17, 1863. The rival ship was the Wam^rk^xig. The
Madawaskaj subsequently known as the Termeaseej was not
launched until July 8, 1865. Ericsson, with his usual energy,
pushed his work ahead so fast that the MadawasJca was ready
long before the Wa/^rypa/rwdgy and he lost the opportunity he
coveted of testing them together. The contract price for his
engines was $700,000, and they cost him and his associates
$940,000. As one-sixth of the price was to be reserved until
after their trial and acceptance, a further burden of over
$100,000 was added to his load. To Mr. John A. Oriswold
he wrote, September 6, 1866, saying:
^^In the meantime the duns are at my door and must
be got rid of. Strange to say, although I have constructed
hundreds of engines and other machinery of novel and ex-
perimental character for thirty years, I now for the JmtH time
find myself a dunned individual. As I cannot stand it any
longer, I have raised $35,000 by selling stock. This amount
I am ready to give checks for, provided you will yourself
furnish $15,000, and Mr. "Winslow an equal amount. This
being paid to our creditors, will leave a moderate balance
188 LIFE OF JOHN EBI0S80K.
which the parties must agree to wait for until Congress grants
relief."
He estimated that $150,000 had been lost on this contract,
by pushing work with gold at 250 when other contractors did
nothing, and he complained bitterly of the unjust conditions
to which he was subjected by the Bureau of Steam Engineering,
lie was called upon to run his engines for 144 hours at top
speed without being allowed the opportunity to test them by a
preliminary run at sea, to give opportunity for adjusting the
various parts of the machinery one to another, and to ascertain
that everything was in working order. He was to be allowed
^^ a reasonable time " to work the engines at the wharf. Then
the trial at^sea was to begin, and ^^ last six days and six nights
under maximum boiler pressure, the steam-blast in the chim-
neys to be in full operation during the whole time."
Of this Ericsson said : ^^An engine may work well at the
dock and yet heat up the moment the engines are under full
speed and the ship begins to work in a seaway. No one un-
derstands this better than Isherwood; nay, more, he knows
that it is simply impossible to work an engine of such enor-
mous power — ^a direct-acting 100-inch — without several weeks'
previous work at sea. If any proofs were needed to show
the real intention of this contractor's trial trip, we have it in
the order contained in the instructions to Admiral Gregory, to
force the draught in the smoke-pipes during the whole trial,
and at the same time put on the steam -blast I The writer
has never been in a large steamship with steam-blast applied
in the smoke-pipes. The idea of resorting to such draught
for six days and six nights is worthy of a madman, not to
say villain. . . . The Madawaska will rot at the dock before
I furnish engineers for a trial trip, or incur the responsibility
of working Islierwood's dangerous steam traps any more."
So the vessel was sent on a trial trip against Ericsson's
emphatic protest and with no one on board to represent him,
and the orders were given to deduct the price of eighteen tons
of coal, and the engine stores consumed in the trial, from the
$100,000 reserved from the contract price. In contrast with
this treatment, Ericsson pointed to British precedent, saying:
^'In England contractors are treated with every possible
CONTRIBUTIONS TO STEAM ENGINEERINO. 180
consideration. The desire of tlie Admiralty is to obtain good
machinery, but not to embarrass and oppress the builder.
Accordingly, the ship is pnt in commission and rnn for the
benefit of the contractor, and not until he reports that the
machinery is in good working condition, is the ship taken and
ran the ^ measured mile.' The official trial consists in running
the vessel six times in succession over the measured mile. If
all works well the ship is accepted ; if not, every facility of
docking is afforded and the contractor allowed another private
trial — contractor's trial — before going again to the ^ measured
mile.' "
Ericsson's forebodings were happily not realized, and on a
final trial trip the Madawaska established her claim to be the
fastest naval vessel then afloat. February 15, 1867, Ericsson
wrote to Adlersparre :
^^ It gives me much pleasure to inform you that my great
opponent, Isherwood, has stated to members of the Naval
Committee of the House of Representatives, ^ that the Mada-
ijoaska is the fastest ship of war in the world, that her rate is
sixteen knots, and that she could make seventeen knots over
the English measured mile.' The truth is, the success of the
new engine has been so complete as to overwhelm the Bureau
Chief — his policy, therefore, is to go with and not against the
current, in this instance."
Eighteen days before this an officer of the Navy had writ-
ten to the Assistant Secretary to say : '^ The Madawaska is
the fastest ship of war in the world ; no one but possibly the
Bureau Chief questions the fact. As you took the responsi-
bility of ordering the vibrating lever engines to be applied to
this ship, you will, no doubt, be glad to hear what I have
stated."
February 1, 1867, Ericsson wrote to John Bourne, contra-
dicting unfavorable statements concerning his engine, and say-
ing:
The fact is that daring five consecatiye hours the rate was 15i knots ;
dnring two hours the rate was 15 1 knots, and during short intervals
even higher, with less than one-fourth throttle open ! No attempt was
made to ascertain the speed with full throttle, as Isherwood's boilers
did not adn^t 6f such a test. The engineers of the vessel Bay they can
190 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
readilj mike and hold 16 knots. Orer your ** meaBued mile,** saoh a
rate would be play. TbiB is siriotly for your own information. I hare
some trouble in settling with the Navy Department on account of Ish-
erwood's opposition, and therefore must keep silent for the time being.
You may judge of the importance of the matter when I state that I
hare expended 9940,000 in building the steam machinery of this ex-
tvaordinaiy ship— extraordinary in many respects, as you mayleank some
day.
To B. B. Forbes he sent, August 28, 1888, this statement
of the ultimate fate of the Madanjoasha :
The Madawcuka was laid up because a Board of Experts had re-
moved from the vessel one-half of her original boiler-power, the remain-
ing half being utterly insufficient to supply steam for the two 100-inch
cylinder engines without running at so slow a rate that the centres
could not be passed. I have neither the time nor inclination to futnish
the histoxy of this remarkable ship.
In 1881 Captain Ericsson bnilt a single cylinder, non-oon-
densing steam-engine, capable — ^according to a calculation he
has left on record — of making more than two thousand turns
in a minute. On the second trial be reported that it developed
12.8 horse-power with a speed of 1,230 revolutions in a min-
ute. The steam pressure admitted to the valve-chest was 65
pounds per square inch, working with half-expansion. The
single vertical cylinder was 5 inches in diameter and 8 inches
stroke. The weight of this little engine, independent of the
friction pulley, 15 inches in diameter, was 858 pounds. Dur-
ing a continuous run of eleven hours and twen^-five minutes,
this engine made 782,840 revolutions, an average of 1,069.1
revolutions per minute. After the first quarter of an hour
there was no perceptible variation in speed during the run.
The steam pressure in the chest stood very nnif ormly at 25
pounds. The boiler pressure varied between 55 pounds and
85 pounds. Steam expands so quickly that it will follow up
without loss of pressure a piston moving at the rate of 1,000
feet in a minute.
Ericsson informed his friends at this time that, before he
discontinued his labors, he should present to the world a steam*
engine which would practically develop the entire dynamic en*
OONTBIBUTIONS TO 8TBAM BI^GINEEBINO. 191
ergy of tlie steam, " thus putting an end to further improve-
ments and speculation as regards steam consumed and power
produced." He hoped to ^^ materially benefit civilization,
by checking the rapid exhaustion of the coal fields which
threatens to put a stop to human progress in the not distant fu-
ture." This purpose he believed to be realized in an engine
patented in the United States, December 6, 1887, and intend-
ed to convert steam into work, alt(^ether independent of the
method of its generation. It performed, he reported, ^^the
astounding mechanical feat of developing a perfectly unifonn
power by expanding steam thirty-six times. The engine was
constructed with two cylinders only, their pistons being con-
nected with the same piston-rod, and receiving the pressure and
expansive force of steam on one side only. Thus each cylinder
and piston was single-acting ; the high-pressure piston during
the entire stroke produced by the direct action of the steam
upon it, working against a vacuum, the low-pressure piston
being the same time in equilibrio." To this engine, patented
in the United States, June 17, 1887, he gave the name of
" Ericsson's Expansion Engine."
Mr. Egbei*t P. Watson, in the article already quoted from,
says: "Ericsson was a scornful disbeliever in multi-cylinder
engines. He asserted that these were only devices of English
engine builders to increase the cost, and he denied that multi-
cylinder engines were necessary to economy, or to high ratios
of expansion. He asserted that a two-cylinder engine could be
made to show as high economy as any other, all things being
equal, and he constructed one of sixty horse-power, and ran it
at the Delamater Works for a year or so. This engine pro-
duced a horse-power for fourteen pounds of water, and showed
high efficiency."
While recognizing its advantages for actuating screw pro-
pellers, Ericsson regarded the triple expansion engine as very
defective in principle, for a motor intended to develop the full
energy of steam, besides being complicated. His expansion
engine was intended for electrical purposes, and such an engine
should, he contended, be non-condensing, as water for conden-
sation cannot be obtained in large cities. It was accordingly
a4&pted to working without condensing the steam, or in other
199 I'IFS OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
words, converted into a high-presBore engine — a type of engine
performing nine-tenths of the service which mankind derives
from steam. This engine expanded the steam sixteen-fold ; as
compared with the thirtj-six-fold expansion of the condensing
expansion engine. For this engine the claim was made that it
developed a greater amount of power, with a given quantity of
coal, than any other steam-engine thus far presented to the
public. Ericsson believed that it would ere long revolutionize
engine construction. To it he devoted the last labors of his
life, and he was engaged upon it at the time of his fatal illness.
Less than five weeks before his death he wrote a long letter
concerning it to Mr. S. B. Browning, his wife's nephew, upon
whom he had bestowed the patent rights for Kew Zealand and
Australia.
In this letter he said: "The Non-condensing Expansion
Engine has been completed some time. It is the most econom-
ical high-pressure engine in existence, design and workmanship
never having been excelled. . . . The power of our engine
cannot be superseded by future inventions, as it develops all
the dynamic energy which a given weight of steam contains."
On March 2, 1888, Ericsson wrote to Mr. Browning, saying :
'' The actual power of the expansion engine, with and without
condensation, has proved an unexpected success. Indeed, it is
regarded as a revolution in hydraulic engineering, since it ad-
mits of running the pumps at one hundred and fifty strokes
per minute without occasioning any concussion whatever in the
delivery pipes which convey the water to distant points. Some
of my friends say that the hydraulic machine is as important to
our rapidly increasing towns as the motor which actuates the
same. You must, therefore, not be surprised if you find my
name again among applicants for English patents." This hy-
draulic machine combined an air-pump with a foroe-pump, in
such a way as to relieve the piston or plunger of the weight of
the column of water set in motion at each stroke. This made
it possible to work the pump at a high velocity.
The condensing expansion engine was one of the last enter^
prises in which Ericsson was engaged with his friend of half a
century, Mr. Delamater. When finished, it was set at work
running machinery of the Delamater Iron Works, aod a hy-
OONTBIBUTIONS TO STEAM ENOINEEBING. 19k
draalic machine raising three hundred thousand gallons of
water one hundred feet high in twenty-four hours.
Mr. Delamater^s letters show that he had his doubts as to
the commercial value of an engine carrying two hundred and
twenty-five pounds pressure, when the public had been educated
not to expect over one hundred pounds in stationary engines ;
locomotives and steamships using one hundred and sixty pounds.
Other engines of the non-condensing compound type claimed
equal advantages of simplicity, economy, little clearance, high
speed, automatic lubrication, compactness, and neat design. He
warned his friend, in short, that the world was moving faster
than he supposed ; that many Golumbuses were learning to set
ihe e^ on end.
Vol. n.— 18
CHAPTER XXXL
HONORS CONFBBBBD UPON EBIOSSON.
lUae Reports of Ericsson's Death. — Invitation from the Crown Prince
of Sweden. — ^Api)ointed Commissioner to the Paris Exhibition. —
Beoeives the Thanks of the Swedish Biksdag.— Honorary Degrees
Conferred. — His Belation to His Profession.— Monument Erected
at His Birth-place. — ^Ericsson's Opinion of the American Congress.
FROM a Swedish paper Ericsson learned, in 1879, that a
mmor was adoat in his native conntry that he was to be
appointed to the Cabinet of President Hayes as Secretary of
the Navy. He telegraphed contradictiDg the report, and say-
ing : ^' I do not desire to occnpy a position the duties of which
no one but a sailor can properly discharge.'' The probability
of such an appointment may be judged from the fact that
General Nelson A. Miles, U.S.A., states that when he spoke to
President Hayes of Ericsson he replied that he supposed he
was dead.
M. Pierre Larousse, in his " Grand Dictionnaire Universel
dn XlXme. Si^le," edition of 1870, had announced that John
Ericsson '^ mart en 1869 d RicJdcmd {Mat deN. Y.)des suites de
la marsure cPtm chien enraged Drake's " Dictionary of Ameri-
can Biography," published in 1872, made the same statement,
fixing the date of death as March 5, 1869, and omitting the
explanation that it was due to the bite of a mad dog. The
" Catalogue of Wesleyan University " changed the date to 1870,
and the locality to Stockholm, Sweden. As a proof of the
statement to appear in the catalogue was sent to Ericsson, he
was able to demonstrate that he was still alive by returning it
with a correction.
In 1866 a great industrial exhibition was held at Stockholm,
and to this Ericsson was invited in a letter addressed to him
by the President of the Commission, the Crown Prince, after-
HONOBS OOKFBBBED UPON ERICSSON. 196
ward Oscar U. A translation of his letter with Ericsson's re-
ply is here given :
Stockholm, May 4, 1866.
To TBB Oaftain, OoiocAHDBB, BIO., KTO., JoHN Ebicsbson : When a
private individual giTes fdtes he seeks to sarronnd himself with a circle
of near relatives and friends, and to bring together the most distin-
gnished among his acquaintance.
So also at public fdtes is a nation desirous, and very properly, to
have as guests those men who hold high place in its regard and pride,
and who through their genius and distinguished personal services have
benefited their country and excited admiration throughout the world.
Sweden, your native land, is soon to give a great and significant ffite.
Here, in her beautiful capital on the shores of Lake Mftlaren, opens, June
15th, a grand industrial and art exhibition common to the entire North,
viz., the three Scandinavian peoples and Finland.
The arrival here of John Ericsson would be greeted with rejoicing
by every Swede, and the fatherland would receive a fresh proof that her
memory is cherished and beloved by her energetic and distinguished
son, resident in a distant land.
As I have the happiness to be at the head of the coming Industrial
Exhibition, the honor belongs to me to express the wish that our nation-
al festivity may be heightened by your presence. And I feel confident
that this wish is participated in, not only by the Central Oommittee,
but also by every thinking man in Sweden.
With distinguished regard and true feelings of affection,
OSOAB.
Nbw Tokk, May 29, 1866.
To HiB BoTAii HioHNns, tbb Dvkb of Ostebootland : Your Boyal
Highness's gracious and encouraging communication of May 4th I beg
most humbly to answer by the statement that work of such importance
has been entrusted to me as to render my absence from America, at
present, impossible. I lack words to express my gratitude for your
Boyal Highness's condescending goodness in sending me an invitation to
visit the fatherland during the coming significant national fdte. Sig-
nificant in many respects, but most because directed by a prince uniting
with the highest attainments and the soundest judgment, in all that con-
cerns our practical age, a profound knowledge and the wannest feeling
for the liberal arts.
The spirit of our times is somewhat too utilitarian. How fortunate,
therefore, that the grand Scandinavian Industrial and Art Exhibition is
under your Boyal Highness' guidance I
The works of the mechanic, the tasteful creations of the architect,
the faithful coloring of the painter, the sculptor's successful copy of the
sublime perfection which pervades animate nature— all these will now
196 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
meet equal jnstioe, sinoe the eye of the judge is keen enough to view
the entire field I
The occasion commands me to mention that jonr Boyal Highnesses
poetical works have afforded the Swedes on this side of the Atlantic the
greatest enjoyment. The many hidden beauties of onr powerful and
sentimental language, which your Boyal Highness' genius caUs forth*
charm with their clear sound the Swedish ear, perhaps more here than
in the fatherland. We hear so seldom the strains from our native land
that when your Boyal Highness tunes the lyre we listen more attentiye-
Ij, and enjoy more than our brethren at home.
Your Boyal Highness' faithful servant*
J. FiBTCWHCWf.
In Augast, 1866, Captain EricsBon was ofiPered by the De-
partment of State at Washington the appointment as Commis-
sioner to the Universal Exhibition at Paris. After delaying
for some time to see whether he could not arrange to accept
this compliment, he was compelled to reply that he could not
secure his release from existing engagements. In return he
received a polite expression of regret that he was obliged to
decline. His pre-occnpation with the work of defending
Sweden by sea and land was his excuse. That he appreciated
the honor is shown by the fact that he wrote to his brother,
saying that it was the greatest honor that had been conferred
upon him, as he was, strictly speaking, ineligible, being himself
known as an inventor.
Concerning the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia,
Ericsson wrote : ^^ I cannot imagine what we have, excepting
the multitudinous mechanical Yankee notions, to show persons
who have visited the grand European exhibitions. It is hardly
worth crossing the Atlantic to see ship-loads of quartz, iron
ores, and other minerals displayed by mining speculators, trunks
of trees twenty-five feet in diameter, California apples thirty
inches in circumference, nor even Washington's sword and
breeches."
In 1865 Ericsson received a resolution of thanks from the
Swedish Biksdag, or Parliament, conveyed by King Carl XY.,
under the royal seal and signature. This was the first time that
the Swedish Diet had bestowed ench an honor. As the motion
to pass such a vote originated in the lower chamber, there was
at first some objection to it in the aristocratic upper house^
HONOBS OONFEBBED UPON EBIC880N. 197
but it was finally adopted without farther opposition. Previons
to 1862, Ericsson, besides his decoration as Knight of the
Order of Yasa, had been chosen a corresponding member of
the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa., an honorary member
of the Royal Military Academy of Science of Stockholm, and
an honorary member of the Boyal Military Academy of Swe-
den. In 1862 he received the Joint Resolution of thanks from
the United States Congress, and a resolution of thanks from
the legislature of the State of New York, the Rnmford gold
and silver medals, and a gold medal from the Society of Iron
Masters, Sweden ; 1863 brought to him the diploma of LL.D.
from Wesleyan University, and he was chosen an honorary
member of the Society of Man-of-Wars Men, Sweden; a
Knight Commander with the Grand Cross of the Order of
the North Star, and a Commander of the Order of Saint Olof .
In acknowledging the honor conferred upon him by Wes-
leyan University, Ericsson said :
It may not be inappropriate under the oircnmstances to state that,
while I am not veiy familiar with Homer and Virgil, in the exact
seienoes I am quite at home — nothing within the range of mechanical
philosophy is strange to me. Pray do not misoonstme the object of this
statement, made solely for the satisfaction of the academical authori-
ties, who have probably transgressed strict rules to give a marked ex-
pression of approbation in my behalf.
I thank you cordially for the very kind manner in which you have
conveyed to me the pleasing information that I now hold the honorable
degree of Doctor of Laws of the Wesleyan University.
I am, sir, veiy respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. £2BiaB80N«
To Joseph GuioaNGS, President of Wesleyan University.
In 1868 came the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the
Royal University of Lund, and honorary membership in the So-
ciety of Workmen, Sweden ; honorary membership in the Roy-
al Scientific Society of Upsala followed in 1869, and in 1870
honorary membership in the Physiological Society of Lund,
the Spanish Order of Isabel la Catolica, already alluded to,
and the decoration of Knight Commander, first class, Danish
Order of Danneborg. The Society of Practical Engineering
and the Society of Sciences, Goteborg, Sweden, and the Ameri-
198 LIFE OF JOHN ERXOSSOK.
can PhiloBophical Society elected Ericsson honorary member
in 1873. The American Society of Civil Engineers and the
U. S. Kaval Institute bestowed this honor in 1879, and the
Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1882. The next year
the last named society elected him Vice-President, bnt he was
compelled to decline the honor. A gold medal was awarded
by the Emperor of Austria in 1877, and in 1886 King Alfonso
of Spain bestowed the Koyal Letters Patent of a Knight of
the Orand Cross of tlie Order of Naval Merit, with the White
Badge and Star."^
In 1868 Ericsson received and declined an invitation to
serve with Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution,
and Professor Ililgard, of the Coast Survey, on a committee
to select a meter for use in the collection of the tax on spirits.
To tlie American Society of Civil Engineers, Ericsson sent
a letter declining to accept the honor tendered him, for the
reason that it had been too tardily conferred. He briefly re-
viewed his engineering work, and said : ^^ Posterity will infer
that, since the Board of the American Society of Civil Engi-
neers could not possibly have been ignorant of what I accom-
plished, circumstances unknown to the public must have com-
pelled these men to withhold my name. In order, therefore^
that I may not be subjected to uncharitable innuendoes, now or
hereafter, I respectfully ask that you will not inscribe my name
on the list of Honorary members of the American Society of
Civil Engineers."
* The Order of Vasa was founded by OasUvoB III. , in 1776, to reward impor*
tant service to the nation. The Order of the Polar Star is conferred for leid in
the promotion of pablio good and useful institutions. The Order of St. Olaf
was founded in 1847, to commemorate the monarch who introduced Christian-
ftjr into Norway, 1015. It rewards patriotism and distinction In the arts and
icienoes. The Order of Isabella the Catholic was founded in 1816, to reward
loyalty to the royal house of Spain and the defence of the Spanish posses-
sions in America. It confers personal nobility, and the Grand Cross, bestowed
upon Ericsson, the title of ^^ Excellency." This title and the honors due to
a lieutenant-general go with the decoration of the first class of the Danne-
borg. It is only by special favor of the king that entrance to the highest
class of the Danneborg is allowed without promotion from a lower class. The
order commemorates the tradition that the Christian knights of Denmark were
inspired to overcome the heathen Esthonians by the appearance, in 1219, of a
flag in the heavens.
o
HONOBS OONFEBBED UPON XBIOSSON. 199
With reference to a similar honor bestowed by another eo-
cietj he wrote this characteristic letter to Mr. Forbes, Aagast
23,1880:
Nothing conld induce me to read anything that is said to emanate
from the pen of J. B. Eads. I was brought in close contact with that
'' eminent mechanical engineer " during the war, and I found him to be
a huge sham sustained by hired brains. The National Academy of Sci-
ences at Washington, some time ago, elected simultaneously two great
engineers, Eads and Ericsson, as members. On alphabeti(»d consider-
ations Eads name stood above mine on the list. Apart from this, the
Academy ought to have elected me some twenty years previously. Un-
der these circumstances I refused to accept the great favor, insisting
that my name should be erased from the roll of honor (already printed
and partially published). Of course this unprecedented refusal in-
creased the number of my enemies in certain scientific circles. The
number of qppanenta has remained stationary, as everybody was against
me already.
This certainly was not the way to stimulate professional re-
gard, bnt Ericsson had reasons of his own for feeling that he
owed small thanks to those who create professional opinion.
He thought he detected a disposition among them to ignore him
or to dwell upon his mistakes, while overlooking his contribu-
tions to professional knowledge. Mistakes he made, unquestion-
ably, but of his critics John Bourne has truthfully said, there
is not one of them who would not '^ have been a much more
distinguished engineer than he is if he had never done any-
thing in his life except to contrive the mistakes of Ericsson."
Prof. MacCord, who quotes this, fnrther says :
It is sometimes said now, as it was often said then, in a derogatory
sense, that Captain Ericsson made many mistakes, and that he persist-
ently refused to accept the suggestions of others. It cannot be denied
that both of these things are true, but the recoil of this weapon is its only
dangerous feature ; for due account must be taken of the new and orig-
inal work which he accomplished, thereby making himself a tremen-
dous factor in the material progress of the world during the present
century. He was versatile and prolific in ideas to an extent seldom ap-
proached, his work being no less remarkable for its variety than for its
intrinsic importance, while its amount was simply astounding ; so that
its execution, even with his unrivalled celerity, would have been impos-
sible without uninterrupted application. Plenty there were who were
200 LIFE OF JOHN SBIOSSON.
willing — ^many much more than ih&j were able — to giro advioe. Had he
taken time to listen to it all, the record of what he has done would
have been much shorter than it is.
Such utterances serve only to show the depths to which it ia posai*
ble for little minds to descend. For the very lowest standard by whioh
such works as his can be gauged is that of money value ; and leaving
out of the account the advances which he had already made in naval
warfare, and considering only the effects of his previous career upon
the peaceful arts, ui)on commercial enterprise, and general material
prosperity, it is easy to show that the gain directly traceable to hia
single-lumded exertions is great almost beyond computation. The peo-
ple were veiy largely indebted to him for the magnitude of the interests
at stake ; in a word, he had done more to develop this country than he
did even to defend it. Either was a more than sufficient foundation for
enduring fame, but with the latter his name will be always more closely
associated by every true American ; and simply as the builder of the
Monitor, it is safe to say that the memory of John Ericsson will be
green in the minds of men long after not only carping criticisms, but
the critics themselves, with their reoords, their achievements and all
shall have been sunk fathoms deep in the everlasting Umbo of things
forgotten.
Innumerable historical, literary, and religious organizations
bore the name of John Ericsson on their lists of life mem-
bers, and he received a variety of medals from agricultural
societies in America and Sweden for bis caloric engines applied
to agricultural and domestic purposes. On the occasion of the
Centennial Celebration, May 26, 1880, of the American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences, Ericsson was tlie chosen medium for
conveying the congratulations of the two Swedish scientific
societies recognizing him as a member. He received various
invitations to lecture, but nothing would persuade him to vio-
late his self-imposed seclnsion.
Of all the honors bestowed upon him, however, no one
gave him more sincere pleasure than that spoken of in this
correspondence :
FnjPSTAD, October 2, 1867.
The inhabitants of the mining district of Filipstad, your place of
birth, in gratitude for the love you have from the other side of the
Atlantic manifested toward this your early home, decided to establish a
monument in your honor at L&ngbanshyttan, on the spot where you were
bom.
A monument is now erected, and as members of the oommittee
HONOBS OONFEBBED UPON EBI0S80N. 201
eharged with the eoLeeatioii of the undertaking, it is our duty to infontf
70a of this.
Expressing our personal esteem and admiration for jon, we have
enclosed extracts from papers describing the festivities, as well as some
photographs taken before and after the f estiyal at yonr birth-place.
On behalf of the Gommittee :
A. F. Bj5bijn, Pastor.
P. G. VioiOB PaiiUN, Physician.
AnroN BjOobsn, Superintendent.'
T. NzBBBa, Inspector of
Nbw York, Oetoaer 20, 1867.
To MhBBBS. BjdOBBi, Bj6VUS, PaXXJH , ASD NlBBBO :
Mj best thanks for yonr letter of the 2d October, enclosing the
photographic views of the memorial stone which has been erected at
L&ngbanshyttan. That my conntrymen in my native province have thus
distmgnished my birth-place will encourage me to exert myself for the
benefit of my ooxmtry, which I shall never forget.
With greatest respect and affection,
J. Ebzgbson.
With sturdy independence the inhabitants of Filipstad had
resolved that they would call on no one to assist them in this
loving enterprise. Accordingly they hewed out of the granite
rock of a mountain nearly a mile away, a stately stone, 18 feet
in height and 8 feet in breadth at the base, and upon this they
inscribed this legend :
John Ebicsson
was bom here
on the 81st of July, 1808.
The intention had been to dedicate the monument on the
anniversary of the event it celebrated, but the undertaking
was a larger one than they had anticipated, and the stone was
not ready until the 3d of September, 1867.*
Then from all directions, gathered in holiday attire, this sim-
ple people, men and women, youths and maidens, to dedicate on
the spot John Ericsson loved best, and where centred their
own local pride, this testimonial of loving esteem. Flowers
and leaves from the Yermland forest decked birth-place and
monument, and the ceremonies proceeded amid calm and si«
* An Illustration of this monmn«nt will be f onnd on page 3, volume L
203 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
lenoe almost devout, snch as is common in this region, where
the deep solemnity of surrounding nature seems to impress it-
self upon the minds and manners of the people. The silence
was broken by the music of a hymn played by a band of the
Filipstad Yolunteers. Next Superintendent Sjogren appeared
upon a stage erected in front of the house, and thus spoke :
If it be the duty of the Fatherland as a whole to erect oostUer
memorials to her famous son, it behooyed us, with such simple expedi-
ents as we haTCy to out on the Swedish gianite the runes whioh will ze-
mind posterity of the day and the place of John Ericsson's birth. • • .
Especially in this mining district have we felt our hearts beat faster at
the intelligence of each new success, won by our great countiyman
baying his home in a foreign country. At each new Tictoiy he has
gained over difficulties, at every successful attempt to tame the wild
powers of nature for the use of humanity, we have been able to ex*
claim : " Here John Ericsson was bom I "
At these words the covering fell from the stone, the
monument shone forth in the clear light of a September sun,
and from the depths of the mines sounded forth the blasts
that served in place of salvos of artillery. The speaker con-
tinued with the history of Ericsson, and appropriate reflections
upon it, saying in conclusion that it was not alone for his great
works they honored him, but before all for the patriotism
glowing warmly as ever after an absence of forty years ; for
the confidence he had given to the Swedish nation in its ability
to defend itself, and for the example he had furnished of in-
dustry, perseverance, and self-denial.
Let us sound our praises not only for the renowned mechanician and
the great inventor, but also for the warm-hearted, unselfish, noble pa-
triot— ^the Swede, John Ericsson.
The shouts of the assembled people were followed by more
music from the band, and new volleys from the hidden depths
of the mines. Printed slips, containing verses by the author
of " Pre-historic Chronicles," Dean Afzeb'us, and from J. Bjdrk-
lund. Ph. D., of Goteborg, were then distributed. The party
next proceeded to the shores of Lake L&ngban, where dinner was
served beneath the trees. At a turn in the road they came upon
HOKOBS OONFEBBSD UPON ESICSSON. 303
snother momiment to the brothers Ericsson. It was a cast-
iron shaft) set upon a base of granite and bearing this inscrip-
tion:
In a bergsman's home at Lftngbanshyttan were bom the two broth*
era — ^Nils Eriosson, January SI, 1802, and John Ericsson, July 31, 1803^
both of whom haye served and honored their native land. .Their way
throagh work to knowledge and lasting fame is open to every Swedish
youth.
This monnment serves at the same time as a gnide-pos^
and on the obverse appear these words :
*^ The way to the school
honse of L&ngbanshyttan."
The procession respectfully uncovered their heads before
the monument^ the band played a national melody, and when
Doctor Pallin exclaimed ; ^' Long live the brothers Ericsson I "
the whole assembly joined with all their hearts.
In the crowd assembled at L&ngbanshyttan on that day
were two typical Swedish mountaineers. The coarse features
of the one, and his big leathern apron, with brass buckles, be-
tokened a miner of the lowest grade. The other was a tall and
powerfully built man, dressed in the long gray coat and broad-
brimmed hat of the bergsman. His bent figure bore testimony
to his life of laborious physical exertion, as well as to his years,
and on his regular features rested an expression of gentleness
and peace, giving proof of chastening experience and an hon«
est life. Upon these two special attention was bestowed, for
they could claim fellowship with the Ericssons in their youth,
and had shared in their boyish sports upon this very spot.
One was Jonas Olsson, foreman at the iron foundry, and
when John Ericsson recognized his name in the published ao-
count of the proceedings of the day, he sent this letter to Ad-
lersparre :
It is with great pleasure I find that at the dedication of the menu*
ment at L&ngbanshyttan, my former playfellow Jonas Olsson, now fore-
204 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
min at the iron foundry, was prMant This honorable man mnst have
a souTenir from me. Will you excnse me troubling jon again? I en-
oloee a check for Hve hundred crowns, and would jou please for that
sum buy a gold watch and have engraved on the inside, ' ' To Jonas Olsson
from his playmate, John Ericsson," and then have it delivered to the
honest workman. Could this be done through my friend Gustaf Ekman
and with a little ceremony, I would be pleased.
P. S. — ^A contradiction in the report of the festival at Lftngbanshyt-
tan I have just now discovered. They say in one place that Ekman
and Olsson were the only persons there who had known me personally,
and in another place they speak about '* the miner in the large leathern
apron with the brass buckle," as having been my old playfellow ; there-
fore, to prevent his being jealous of Jonas Olsson, I now send a check
for one hundred and fifty crowns, and I beg of you to have this little
sum sent to the miner, to buy himself a warm coat and some flour for
the winter. That such a monument is now erected in my native place
encourages me more than words can describe. Even the votes of thanks
from the Swedish Diet, and the American Congress, now seem insignifi-
cant compared to this infallible proof of my countrymen's approval. In
due time the mining district of Filipstad will receive solid proof of my
gratitude.
The same mail carried a letter to the Inspector of the mines
at L&ngbanshyttan, saying : ^' Through Captain Commander A.
Adlersparre, one thousand crowns will be delivered to yon. I
wish you would distribute this among the aged miners failing
in health, and to widows and children of miners who are in
need of help. I take it for granted that you will distribate the
money judiciously, also that the execution of my commission
will give yon the same satisfaction as it does me to be able to
help former neighbors."
Again he wrote, four days later, October 1, 1867 :
Mt Dbab Captain : What's done in haste is never done well ! Im-
mediately after I had mailed my last letter, I was very near sending a
telegram, correcting the postscript in said letter. So far as I can re-
member, I said that I vedued the monument at Ungbanshyttan more
than the thanks from the Swedish Diet. It is by no means the case,
but it is true that I prize it more than the vote of thanks from the
American Congress. And thus I expressed myself first in the letter,
but fearing that you might suppose I had forgotten the approval of the
Swedish representatives, I in some way entangled (how I cannot now
recollect) this valuable testimonial in the sentence. Please consider
HONOBS OOKFSBBED UPON EBIOSSON. 906
the thonghtleas addition as never having been made, and jon will blot
from my memory a very disagreeable reoollection.
Ever jonr affectionate and grateful friend,
w • Kiifflnnoii»
This is not flattering to the American Congress, bnt one of
the most bitter experiences of Ericsson's life was the refusal,
or neglect, of this august body to render to him his honest
dues for his work upon the Prmoetan. *^ Bich gifts wax poor
when givers prove unkind."
This refusal had been recently repeated at the time he
wrote this letter. In a petition to Congress, Ericsson had
called their attention to the fact that, the unsatisfied judgment
of the Court of Claims represented ^^ not only the services and
expenses of two entire years exclusively devoted to this work,
but all the pecuniary compensation that your petitioner has re-
ceived, or can receive, for the creation of the first war steamer
in any country of the class now universally adopted, not only in
the Navy of the United States, but in all other navies of the
world." This petition, for the payment of the award made by
the Court of Claims was never granted by Congress, and shortly
before his death Ericsson wrote that, " disgusted with the re-
peated injustice of Congress," he had requested his friend Sar-
gent, who had for many years urged this claim, " to abstain
from all further proceedings." He pursued his demand so long
as he did, only because he had in the beginning associated an-
other with bim in its collection, and was no longer free to con-
sider his own wishes and interests alone. In 1846 he had
written to his attorney : ^^ Could I only put my hand into my
pocket and pay for your time and prolonged services in the af-
fair, I would cheerfully dismiss the same forever from my
mind, with a solemn vow never to seek redress before the
American Congress again."
After the earlier chapters of this biography had been com-
pleted, the Committee on Naval Affairs of the United States
Senate presented a report, recommending that an appropriation
be made to pay to the heirs of Captain Ericsson the amount of
the award made to him by the Court of Claims for the Princetanj
viz., $13,930 ; but again Congress found more important busi-
206 LIFE OF JOHN EBI08SOK.
neBB to engage its attention, and adjoarned without acting upon
this recommendation. In this report the Committee says :
The PrinceUm proved a wonderful and oompleie snooess, largely dne
to the many new and important featores inyented and introduced hj
Captain Ericsson. It is not strange, however, that Oaptoin Stockton
wanted the greater part of the glory— such is human nature. Nine yean
after the completion of the Princeton he felt that injoatice had been
done Gaptain Ericsson in not allowing and paying his just claim. Being
an honorable man, he acknowledges the obligations of the Gbvemment
to the great eng^eer, and recommends to the Secretary of the Kavy
" that he be made a fair and reasonable compensation for his time and
expenses while engaged in snperintending the construction of the Prince
ion^s machinery, etc." The Secretary of the Navy was so impressed
with this recommendation of Captain Stockton, that he sent the letter to
the Finance Committee of the Senate ; but the session was near a close
and nothing came of it
The question may be asked why this claim has been allowed to sleep
so long. Simply because Congress is not Swift in hunting for buried
claims, and rarely acts, unless persistently urged to do so, even in the
most meritorious cases. Captain Ericsson, though one of the greatest
marine engineers that ever lived, if not the greatest, was a peculiar man,
proud, sensitive, and stubborn, and for a long time he refused to allow
his friends to push this claim before Congress. He felt that the Govern-
ment had wronged him, in that it had not paid his just claim, and he
was not willing to beg for what was justly his own. Honorable and
manly, he felt that a great Ck>vemment ought to do right without un-
seemly importunity.
It is well known that after he had invented the Monitor^ and his
genius foresaw its success, he refused to come to Washington to ex-
plain his invention to the Navy Department, because he felt that the
Government had wronged and neglected him in the Princeton matter.
Finally, an appeal was made to his pride, and he came to Washington
and explained his great invention to several of the leading naval officers,
some of whom had faith in it, and others none. At any rate he made
such an impression that an arrangement was made by which the Monitor
could be constructed by outside capital, to be repaid by the Government
if it proved a success. It was completed and manned just in time to
meet the iron-dad Merrimac, in Hampton Beads, after the Congress and
Cumberland had gone down to a watery grave by the powerful blows of
the monster. The coxmtry knows the history of the memorable battle
between the Monitor and Merrimac, In less than ten days after the
sinking of the wooden ships, had not the Monitor appeared, the Merri-
mac would have leisurely steamed to Washington, and the capital of a
struggling nation would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. If
HONOBS OONFBRBED UPON ERICSSON. 207
thai had happened, no man oan tell what the resnlt of the war wonld
hare been.
Captain Ericsson saved the nation, and his name and fame were
heralded the world over. The principle of his Monitor was adopted by
evexj naval power in the world. This ooontry owes him a debt it oan
never pay.*
^ See Senate Report No. 1768, Fifty-first Congress, First Session, September
19, 1890. The sUtement on page 1(M), vol. L , that $2,000 was allowed Eriosson
by the Navy Department for the use of the patented engines in the Princeton
oonveys the inoorreot impression that this amount was reoeived by him. The
recommendation that it be paid went from the appropriate bnrean to the
Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Bancroft, but before it could be acted upon he
went out of oJBce.
CHAPTER XXXn.
HBI08SON*S SON AND BBOTHBB.
^GtB Law of Heredity.— Nils Eriosson's Ability as an Engineer. — Cknv^
spondenoe between the Brothers.— John Invited to Betnm to Swe-
den.— Asked to Become Oonsnlting Engineer for the Soandinavian
Kingdoms. — His Financial Condition.— Opposition to His Brother's
Change of Name. — His Opinion of the United States.— John Erics-
son's Son, Hjalmar.— His First Letter to His Father.— His First
Visit to Him.— Wielding the Hammer of Thor.— Treatment of Med-
ical Experts.— Death of the Son.— Ericsson's English Wifa— His
Belations to Her Family.
THE traDBmission by Olof Ericsson of qualities that prodnced
two such engineers as Nils and John Ericsson, is an illnstrar
tion of the law of heredity, finding further examples, in the de-
partment of engineering, in the German brothers Siemens, the
French Brunels, Anthony Bessemer and his son Henry, the
English Stephensons, father and son, and in the American family
of Stev^ens. Nils, if less original, imaginative, and erratic than
his brother, was hardly less able as an engineer — within the
lines of precedent. He was a man of industry and energy, of
sterling integrity and public spirit, and an excellent organizer,
while his conservative and cautions temperament, and his skill
in bending others to his purposes, enabled him to make the most
of his opportunities. He retained his position upon the GK)ta
Oanal, when his brother left it in 1820, and gradually won his
way to fame and fortune. He rose to the head of the canal
corps, and after completing the work upon the water-ways
uniting the Baltic and the North Sea — the " blue ribbon of
Sweden " — ^he was called upon by the king to take charge of
the constmction of the system of government railways. This
great work completed, he finally retired in 1862 — the year in
which his brother reached the culmination of his fame — with
ERICSSON'S SON AND BROTHER. 209
the title of baron and a pension larger than any before bestowed .
upon a Swedish subject.
Nils ponght toyiersnAtfe .Tobn to follow his example in with-
drawing from active work, and urged liim to retnm to dwell
near him in the fatherland in the following letter :
To JndgA from joni last letter, joja work hns DOt only gireu
joa honor, tune, and ree^>eat, bnt now also fortune. I congratnlate
joa most heartily on thii, (or it ia none too soon at sixty years of agei
Bat I hope yon will oarry out yoor intention of coming home, if sot to
Vol. n.— H
210 LIFE OF JOHK ERICSSON.
fldtfcle, at least to stay for some tiine. Ton oonld not find the same
sphere of action here, bnt yon onght to see jonr fatherland before jon
are too old. Yon will stay with me part of next snmmer, we will Tiait
L&ngbanshyttan together and father's and mother's graves, and have a
monument erected thera Yon will see my works at TroUhattan, at
Btockholm, and the railways, etc.; yon will observe the great progress
the coxmtry has made since yon left in 1825. If yon have succeeded in
securing an amount of capital in excess of what is needed for some
profitable industrial enterprise, and can possess yourself of some beauti-
ful villa in the neighborhood of Stockholm or Gk>ttenborg, perhaps you
would like to remain here. Bnt enough, only come home next sum-
mer, breathe the air of your native land, and select a place for the re-
mainder of your life,*
A few weeks later, on August 5, 1863, Nils wrote, saying :
I mentioned in my last letter that the fatherland could not give you
occupation adequate to your great activity, and that our hopes of seeing
you settled here could scarcely be realized. But the political move-
ments here in the North, and in Europe in general, may possibly change
this. The three northern kingdoms, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
(not forgetting Finland) are coming nearer and nearer together in rela-
tion to the subject of a mutual defence. Three persons from each of
these countries are now to meet and to deliberate as to suitable vessels
for naval defence, and consider the subject of iron-clads and the moni-
tor system. The latest intelligence, as to the advantages the United
States has derived from the vessels you have constructed, will probably
increase the desire to use monitors for the naval defence of the North.
In view of these circumstances I have concluded to ask you if you
would not find it as interesting, as glorious, and satisfactory to appear
as consulting engineer and constructor for the navies of the three king-
doms ; for each of the countries, individually, according to their several
circumstances, and in general for all three in relation to a general
system of defence against a common enemy. Your large experience
during the war in America, and the experiments the United States have
conducted on so large a scale in the use of iron-clads, would of course
be of invaluable service to our States if you would devote your energy,
your abmty, and your experience to the promotion of Scandinavian-
ism, in reference to a conmion mutual naval defence. Let me know as
soon as possible how you view my proposal. I take it for granted that
the people, as well as the governments, of the different countries would
be glad to secure your person and your great abilities. The minor en-
gineers in the navy of the several countries aie the only ones who would
not wish to see you return to your native land and engage in the ser-
* Letter from Baron Nils Erioson to John Ericsson, July 11, 1808.
Ericsson's son and bbothbb. 311
vioe of ScandiokTu, u each of these is now, in his ^nj, an important
penon, and this importanoe would ^tntall^ be diminiabed were aoob a
man aa 70a h> take the lead. Bat we need a chief to reoonoile Tarjing
opinions.
There is one thing that I shonld deaire, and that is that joa were
flnanoiallj independent ; as in joor case this wonld add to jonr repnta-
tion and give a greater significance to jonr reoommendationa. I don't
mean bj this that jon shonld work for nothing. B7 no means ; 7on
ought to be paid well. As I am anxions to have yonr opinion on my
project, write as soon as yon can.
Ae to bis financial condition, John was able to satisfy his
brother, and he wrote
December 27, 1867,
saying : " I continae as
uaaal with new me-
chanical works and
new under takings,
withont involving mj
own means though —
rich men offer me read-
ily necessary means for
a shai-e in the undertak-
ing, witlioat my risking
anything myself. Per-
haps I am the only en- ^** «"" "" '*■• °'Cv::;J°'" ^- "^ *' '-'"'•
gineer whose word is [f,od ■ smdwi oriotiue, vomMij 10, mj.j
WIuddoronujiboDt Oit a
sufficient to make cap-
italists compete for the cout oettaee
t . I . . TBI LiTTLi Bon.— Woat do ; loo mnll ; . . .
advantage of ventunns; tooHe&Tvdniudit; ■ ■ ■ too itine sno* ; ... too
^v . ^ . i llshl draught ; . . , too Urge ; ... too onall
their money on nntried gum ; . . . woot do-tnu^ wbtt i u; ; . . .
.,— , and I ■]■>— becuK HlmtourtDtcntloii.
inventions. . . . When Johh.— Well, Uttle bojs, Uut 1« M lewt Nme nwco.
yon are questioned re-
garding my financial condition yon can say that your brother
is rich, as his income last year, conBistiiig almost entirely of
interest, amounted to 75,000 crowns [soinetiiing over |20,000],
according to the present rate of exchange, bnt in reality amount-
ing to 100,000. In a word, when I some day decide to go
home, my ba^^ge will consist, in addition to other things, of
fifty or sixty tunnor of gold."*
* Old Swedish waj of oonnttag money.
212 LIFE OF JOHN ERIC880K.
For other reasons, however, the proposition to transfer
John to Scandinavia was not favorably entertained, and h3 was
at the time in the midst of his arduous labors for furnishing
the United States with an iron-clad navj. He was wise, in
any event, not to accept such an invitation. Seven years later
Mr. Forbes said :
^^I have long thought you ought to be supreme dictator
and monitor over all of Uncle Sam's machinery ; but, if in a
moment of sanity you should, by something little short of a
miracle, get there, your independent, go-ahead character would
make so many enemies among the pigmies that they would
bind you down hand and foot, as the Lilliputians did Gulliver,
and worry you to death."
This would have been the inevitable result of appointing
Ericsson at any time to a position for which he was otherwise
beyond all men best fitted.
When Nils Ericsson received his title he altered the spell-
ing of his name and became Baron Ericson. This change gave
great ofFence to John, as is shown by an atrabilious letter such
as we find occasional examples of in his correspondence.
Nbw York, May dO, 1864
Mt Dbab BBormn : To judge from Oonnt Manderstran's remark, it
would appear that he forgets that those he describes as the special fa^
TOiites of fortune are united only in the sound of their names. It is
strange that this change of name, followed by disunion among the rela-
tives, should have created less sensation in Sweden than abroad. My
enemies here and in Sweden said, even before I knew anything of the
matter, that " the rich Swedish engineer " so disliked the relationship
that he called himself Ericson to avoid being taken for a kinsman. I
can never forget the unpleasantness caused me by this annulling of re-
lationship. Possibly your wife has had her share in it If so, she will
find some day that the blotted-out letter will cost her children half a
million. Of all the blunders and mistakes you have made in respect to
your brother, this alteration of the name is the most inexplicable and
Tain. I consider it a practical gain that you have become a member of
the Diet, but your heirs will have occasion to regret that you altered
your father's and brother's name.
Tell Carl that when I wrote to him to Paris, I had not received his
last letter informing me of his last misfortune in Mexico. Your plan of
sending him here you have not well considered. What would he do
here ? See unpolished luxury and bad morals, and possibly be initiated
EBIOSSOX'S SON AKD BBOTHEB. 213
in vice ? Nothing is to be learned here, and so far as I am oonoemed,
I oonld not give him an honr a month of my time. I live in mj work-
room, and mnst not be disturbed. I have still a whole fleet to construct
before I can take a rest.
Yonr affectionate brother,
J. £siaB80!ll.
For some years the brothers had not correeponded, and the
tone of the letters following a renewal of interrupted intercourse,
indicates that John felt that other reasons than excess of occu-
pation could in part account for his brother's seeming neglect
of him. The misunderstanding in families resulting from the
changes that fortune makes in the relation of those bom to
an equal estate, and from the foreign alliances of marriage, are
unfortunately too common to require explanation. Alienation
in this case did not go beyond a surface irritation, and John's
letter is to be taken only as an illustration of that habit of
thinking aloud in which relatives are privileged to indulge one
with another. He was morbidly sensitive on some points, and
it was not his habit to conceal his opinions. The conciliatory
letter Nils sent in reply was an illustration of his difference of
temperament.
Kils had shown his good-will by furnishing the means for
educating the son John left behind him when he departed
from Sweden in 1826. Now that John was independent in his
circumstances, his brother suggested that a repayment for his
advances would be of great service in helping him out of some
pecuniary difficulties, and a draft for the amount named, 10,-
000 crowns, was at once sent by John. In his letter asking for
the money. Nils said : ^^ Your son Hjalmar has left the corps of
engineers, and is now superintendent of the state railways, is a
knight of the orders of Yasa and Nordsjema [Polar Star], an
able and most intelligent man." In another letter acknowledg-
ing the receipt of the money sent, dated January 6, 1866, he
said further :
Yonr son Hjalmar is now on bis travels abroad for the pnrpose of
studying foreign railways and their equipment. I did not see him be-
fore he started, but suppose that the Administration of our extensive
railways want a chef for the materials and machinery, and have selected
Hjalmar for this important office. I enclose a letter from him to show
214 LIFE OF JOHK EBI0S80K.
jou that he now knows that it is to his fkther, and not to his undle, th«l
he is indebted for his education. I informed him of the fact after you
had paid jour debt to me.
Ericsson's son was known as Hjalmar Elworth, though he
had been accepted as a member of his father's family in Swe-
den. There was no direct intercourse between father and son
until Hjalmar was fortj-eight years old. Then he wrote this
letter to his father :
KoTember 22, ISTSL
Mt Bbab Fathbb : When I now, at the age of fortj-eight, for the
first time oall you father, it is with a grateful heart for all yon have
done for me. I have long before this wanted to write to you, and asked
Uncle Nils about it, but he did not think I ought to do it, so long as
you did not write to me. The reason why I write now is that I have re-
ceived an essay containing a convincing answer to Pater Secchi's doubts
as to the accuracy of the apparatus for measuring the sun heat, which
essay was sent from New York on October 26th, and arrived here on my
birthday, the 16th of this month. I do not think anybody but you
could have sent it, and I look upon it as a letter, though a few written
lines from you would naturally have made me happier.
Concerning my present position, I want to tell you that I am director-
general of the railways, at a salary of 6,000 crowns. Of this one-quar-
ter goes to a pension fund, life insurance, and taxes, so that about
4,500 remains. This is certainly not much, but my dear little wife man-
ages so well that it is enough for our wants, especially as we have no
children. I do not wish to be further promoted, as the chefs are not so
well paid as they ought to be, and consequently, nobody but a man who
has a private income can accept such a place.
I should like to know of a good construction of snow-ploughs for lo-
comotives. We often have, especially in January and Februaiy, heavy
snow-storms, and I have introduced a plough for removing the snow
after a model I saw during my stay in Austria, 1866. These are very
well for drifts of 5-6 feet, but when the snow masses become larger,
shovelling is needed, which causes a loss of time. It would be of great
interest to me to have some details of the sun motor.
If you would answer this letter and let me know something about
you, it would make me very happy,
This mingling of sentiment and business shows that Hjal-
mar was the son of his father. The answer to his letter is not
to be found. That it was satisfactory appears from the fact
that the correspondence thus opened was continued until
eeiosson's soir awd brother. 316
Hjalmar's detth, in 1887. In 1876 he was sent bj his Oovern-
meot as a Commissioner from Sweden to the Centennial Expo-
sition in Philadelphia. He visited his father and received from
him friendly attention, and letters of introduction, carrying him
wherever he wished to go. Yet the intercourse seems to have
been to some extent formal, for on June 6, 1876, the son wrote :
PHiLADBLFmA) June 6, 1870.
Mt Dbab Fatheb: Next Friday I intend visiting the Bohools in
Kew Torky and will, therefore, ask you to send Mr. Taylor to me to
Everett House, at 9 in the morning. If you would grant me half an
hour's interview before my departure in the evening, I should be very
thankful, and in that case would you let Mr. Taylor tell me the time
when you can receive me ?
Your affect. Son,
H7AUIAB.
The first letter I have been able to find, addressed by Erics-
son to his son, is this :
New Tore, July 2, 1876.
Mt Dbar HjaiiMAB : In case you would like to start for the West
at onoe, I enclose a letter of recommendation which undoubtedly will
give you an opportunity to see and examine all you want. My letters of
recommendation have always given the bearer entrance everywhere.
You know that I, through Taylor, have g^ven a copy of the '* Oen*
tennial " pamphlet to the correspondent of the Ifyar Daglijt AUehancku
Your proposed letter to that paper will thus be unnecessaiy.
With great affection,
J. Ebiobboh*
Upon Hjalmar's return to Sweden, his father wrote, Novem-
ber 2, 1877, saying: '^My fatherland and all concerning it
(allow me to remind you of it) interests me tenfold more than
what is going on in America."
Ericsson^s correspondence with his son was chiefly devoted
to the discussion of his projects for defending Sweden, and for
publishing a Swedish translation of his ^^ Contributions to the
Centennial Exhibition."
To Hjalmar's suggestion that his father shonld tone down
some of the energetic expressions in this work, Ericsson an-
swered that this proposition ^^ makes me the more content not
to have my work published in Sweden. Ton say qqq shOTtld
216 LIFE OF JOHK EBICS80N.
be ^ mild in words when strong in deeds.' To this I only
answer that the hammer is my weapon, and if I had not
understood how to handle it rightly, I should long ago have
been in the poor-house : " thus quoting the sentiment, if not
the words, of his favorite poet :
Mighty indeed is Thor, young man, when, girding tight
His Megingjard around his iron loina, he strikes.*
Several of Ericsson's letters to his son are devoted to an
expression of his discontent, because one of his relatives would
insist upon occupying himself with inventions for which he
had no proper training or capacity. Speaking of this young
man's infatuation with the idea that a worthless engine he had
planned was a great discovery, Ericsson said : " He seems to
have been bitten by a mad engine constructor." Of the de-
sign for a self-counting machine, sent to him by a young
Swedish engineer, he said : " This is a very ingenious inven-
tion ; too ingenious, I fear, to make a success. Why did he
not make a self-acting broom ? lie might then have been a
millionaire at the least." When another young inventor showed
him a novel plan for propelling a steamboat, he dryly remarked :
*^ It is possible that the wheels may make a few revolutions
with this machine, but the boat would certainly go better with*
out any machinery at all."
To his young kinsman, Ericsson absolutely forbade the
further introduction of the subject of that invention. As some
consolation for the loss of prospective fortune supposed to fol-
low his refusal to assist in developing it, he agreed to honor for
one year the young man's monthly draft for five hundred francs,
on the single condition that he should not be further called
upon to demonstrate the laws of dynamics to his unwilling
listener. This anecdote illustrates a characteristic of Ericsson
which often gave him an undeserved reputation for brusque-
ness and unkindness. The assertion of a false mechanical con-
clusion jarred upon his nerves as a false note upon the musical
ear of an expert, or an inharmonious blending of colors upon
the eye of an artist.
* Tegner'B Frithiof Saga. *' Megin^'ard/' Thor*8 belt of strength.
ebiosson's son and bbotheb. 317
In 1887 came the annonnoement that Hjalmar was suffer-
ing Berionsly from enlargement of the prostate gland, and
suffering still more, as his father believed, from mistaken
medical treatment. Ericsson himself suffered for a dozen
years with the same disorder, and in connection with it he
had studied the human body as he would study a piece of
machinery. He was able to describe the exact nature of his
son's difficulty, and explained to him how to deal with it. His
letter of advice is a condensed medical treatise on the subject,
presented in the clearest possible language. It was not heeded,
and he wrote again to say : '^ I could say much more on the
subject, but you are, unfortunately, so conceited that advice is
useless. You can also be rude to him who gives you advice,
for the contents of my letter of August 6th were, as it seems,
not important enough to be mentioned. I was not even
thanked for my kindness. All of this I complain of from my
heart, because the doctor's stupid treatment, which your wis-
dom approves of, has made a cure seem very distant, if possi-
ble at all. Your complaint was originally of a simple mechan-
ical nature, easy to conquer by simple mechanical means. If
you had sought my advice in time you would now have been as
well and strong as formerly."
This letter shows Ericsson's attitude toward those he
sought to aid. His experience, his knowledge, his ability were
at their service, and his purse as well, but his treatment of
them was imperious. He had unusual capacity for masteriug
any subject within the range of his observation ; he studied it
thoroughly ; he reached the most positive conclusions concern-
ing it, and he demanded submission to these conclusions as to
the authority of an autocrat. His speech was direct, his spirit
was kindly, and his disposition most generous, but his experi-
ence in matters of sentiment was limited, and he was not one
of those " who feels the hearts of all men in his breast, and
knows their strength or weakness through his own." To his
daughter-in-law he wrote, on hearing of her husband's death :
Mt Dbab Sofhob : The aooount, in your letter of May 25th, conoem-
ing Hjalmar's dreadfal state, was painful beyond description. I received,
therefore, the telegram that afterward came from Baron Ericson with
more satisfaction than grief, as death alone could ease your husband's
218 LIFB OF JOHN KBICSSON.
ptuDB. His oonstitntion was evidently oompletel; desttojed by phj-
•toiuia' ignontnoe and his own senselesBnesB. The fact is that jam
husband, who was an nnnsoally strong man, was simply mnidered by
ignoianoe.
Please girs my thanks to yonr sister for her clear aooonnt of tti*
hsmL Onad fwMnds are objectionable in my c^Hnion, but ta thia
flua it VBB UeadUup tbat arranged the nnneeeaaary pomp.
Tonr affectionate friend.
When Ericsson suffered from his eon's disorder tie eogiged »
physician to come io for half an honr each djir. ^r a rear, and
talk with him. In this var he learned how to take car« of
ebiossok's son and bbotheb. 319
himself. His method in dealing with medical men was to mas-
ter their knowledge of his particular conditions and then to de-
cide for himself what course of treatment he would follow. He
never yielded himself blindly to the guidance of professional
advice, as his son had done.
Hjalmar Elworth's death occurred on July 12, 1887. He
was a man of ability and solid acquirements, and one whose
character commanded confidence and respect. He followed in
the footsteps of his father and his uncle, first as a student and
then as a nivdeur on the new canal works at Trollhattan,
and finally as a superintendent of construction. In 1850
he was graduated from the Swedish Military Academy, and
after five years' further service upon the canal, he was trans-
ferred to the work of railway construction, rising finally to the
position of superintendent. In noticing his death, a Swedish
paper said: ''In the deceased the state railway traffic has
suffered a great loss ; the members of the administration are
deprived of an agreeable associate, and his subordinates of a
humane chief, and one who was warmly interested in their
welfare."
Ericsson had no children by his English wife, nee Amelia
Byam. In a letter to his brother I^ils, he said :
December 27, 1867.
As to my fiimily afiOurs, you can tell the inqnisitiTe that my wife
died in London last July. But only to yourself I will add . • •
But I have long since forgotten this, as well as many other nnpleasant
things. My future, and my snocess in the world, required that I should
not be troubled with children or with a wife who had a full right to live
with me. Fate, by means of this misalliance, made it possible for me to
devote twenty-fi7e years of undivided, undisturbed attention to my pro-
fession, and I am grateful to Proyidence, because if I had lived in what
is called a happy marriage, I should not have gone to America.
Ask those acquainted with the matter, why England and France
did not take part with the Southern States on April 1, 1862, as was
intended, and they will answer you : Because the Monitor saved the
American Navy from destruction the 9th of March. It was the cannon
in the rotary turret at Hampton Boads that tore the fetters from millions
of slaves, and afterward made the French abandon Napoleon^s project
in Mexico. Oonsequently, I ask, who can dispute that the designer of
the Monitor has overthrown Napoleon's great plans ?
A word about my health in answer to your inquiries. It sounds
320 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOX.
incredible, but I am able to work harder now than when I first came to
this conntiy. I sleep better, have a better digestion, a stronger arm,
and do not suffer from the least indisposition. I ascribe all this to my
way of living. I take a three miles' walk every evening before going to
bed, a cold bath and calisthenics every morning before breakfast, and
very seldom take wine or any kind of spirits. That I never nse tobacco
in any form I think is onnecessaiy to mention. Address yoor letters
to New York, United States. My old house in Franklin Street disap-
peared several years ago.
As a copy of this letter has been carefully preserved among
Ericsson's papers, the inference would seem to be that he in-
tended that the facta it records should at some time be revealed.
Consideration for the living prompts the present omission of a
portion of it. It is sufficient to say that it explains his peculiar
relations to his wife, and shows that it was no waywardness of
fancy that led him aside from the quiet paths of domestic life,
and into the ways of solitude — ^^ the nurse of enthusiasm, and
enthusiasm is the true parent of genius."
Nils responded with sympathy and affection to John's ex-
hibition of brotherly confidence. In a long letter sent in i*eply
to the letter here quoted, he said : ^^ Naturally the care for your
own would draw you early into the sphere of daily concerns.
As it is, you have been perfectly free, and able to devote your-
self exclusively to occupations producing results that astonish
the world ; not only because of the genius displayed, but even
more for the practical results accomplished. America was the
country best suited to your activities, but you probably would
never have gone there had your marriage been a happy one.
• • . Ko one in your own country fails to understand that
your Monitor at Hampton Koads not only turned the scale in
the American War, but determined the relations of the Euro-
pean powers to North America."
With the family of his English wife, Ericsson maintained
the pleasantest relations up to the time of his death, especially
with her niece, the wife of General Sir Trevor Chute, of the
British service, and with the brother of Lady Chute, Mr. S. B.
Browning, of Auckland, New Zealand.
Mrs. Ericsson's family were persons of character and refine-
ment, and her husband's feelings toward them were shown in a
Ericsson's son and brother. 221
letter written in 1870, in which he says : ^^ I cherish the re-
membrance of mj sisters with the warmest feelings of f riend-
sliip and affection. Indeed, they are the dearest friends I have
left in England." Speaking of the recent death of his wife's
half-sister, one of Mrs. Ericsson's relatives wrote, saying : ^* I
need scarcely remind you of the great regard — I may say affec-
tion— ^Miss Browning entertained toward yon. She was never
tired of talking about your talent and wonderful inventions."
One of Ericsson's letters to Lady Chute, dated March 16,
1877, shows that even at seventy-four he was not altogether re-
moved from the vanities of this world, and that he oonld be
most gallant on occasion. In this he said :
I am delighted to learn that you have been presented at oourt, and
note particalarlj that a sister of the Earl of Dudley introduoed yon to
the Queen. Ab probably Lady Dudley was present during the oeremony,
you had need of all your charms on the ocoasion, for a friend of mine,
who is well posted, tells me that she is considered the handsomest
womau Id England — ^now do not be offended— I ought to have said, was
so considered before the fair stranger from the southern hemisphere ap-
peared in the court galaxy. Pray send for a photographer before you
disrobe after haviug attended the drawing-room referred to in your letter.
Accept my warmest thanks for your invitation to visit Egmount BraoknelL
Within a few weeks I shall have the pleasure of forwarding a some-
what stylish book enclosing a record of my principal works carried out
on American soil. I trust that a mere glance at its illustrations will
convince you that my claim of haring carried into practice a greater
number of novel ideas than any other person, past or present, is well
founded.
His mind was so occupied with his work that he seldom
wrote a letter without some allusion to it. In a letter of sym-
pathy to Lady Chute for the loss of friends killed in India, he
encloses a cut of the Destroyer — as one might be supposed to
bestow a toy upon an afflicted child to still its cries. ^^ He
gave his best, could do no more." In another letter he sends a
picture of his sun motor, and acknowledges the receipt of the
portrait he had asked for with this delicate bit of compliment :
" I have also before me your portrait, a real treasure — a rare
combination of intelligence, power, and beauty. Were it a
dratoinffj I should be inclined to think it had been overdrawn,
but being a photograph it must reflect that which happily ezuts."
UHAPTEE XXXm
PUBUO AND PBIVATB BENEFAGTIONSk
A Tearly Income of 70,000 crowns. —How it was Expended.— The F^th*
Inl Steward. — An Affectionate Son. — ^The Swedish Relatives. — Cor-
respondence with Them. — Opposition to Early Marriages. — Gener-
osity Towan} His Kinsmen and Friends. — ^Pnblio Benefactions. —
Desires to be Bnried in Swedish Soil. — Jemtland Memories. — Con-
tributions for the Starving Swedes. — Sympathy with Distress and
Poyerty. — The Blessings of the Poor. — Attitnde toward Sturdy
Beggars. — Disconrages Swedish Emigration. — ^Romances of Youth.
— Nobody's Advice Accepted. — ^Recognition of Favors Received. —
Treatment of Penny-a-liners. — ^An Example and a Warning.
IN a letter to the Bon of Nils, written June 13, 1871, Erics-
son said :
My income is now limited to about 70,000 crowns [819,000] a year,
as I no longer engage in any mechanical speculations. I live on the in-
terest of my capital, and this amounts to about a million crowns [$270,-
000]. I own, besides some small property here of no great value, only
about 150,000 crowns, except portable property. As to my capital,
nothing can induce me to touch a cent of that, for I have a great dread
of being poor in my old age. At present I enjoy perfect health. My
investigations concerning the power of the sun, which now have aroused
the attention of the whole world, absorb a good deal of this interest on
my money, and my pensioners take the rest.**
In a letter written a year earlier, to a relative who made a
call upon his bounty, we have this information :
I am no longer doing any business, but am now living on the inter-
est of my capital. I have made use of the help of my fellow-men in
executing my large undertakings, and many of those who assisted me,
not having my strong constitution, are tottering with age, and not able
to provide for themselves and their families. If I were to consider
mere legal obligations, they have no claim upon me, but a just man
0hould be governed by a larger sense of right My note-book contaiiw
PUBLIC AND PfilVATB BEKEFACTIOKS. 223
not only a list of sach obligations, but a pension list of those befoie
whom gratitude bows its head. Oonsidered with these, how trifling is
jonr claim. But you must not conclude from this that I haye forgotten
you. On the contrary, I have arranged it so that at my death you will
all enjoy a moderate income. Allow me to remark that, as I, myself,
have worked from twelve to fourteen hours daily for fifty years, and
still continue working, I cannot imagine how anybody can feel happy
without full and useful occupation. It cannot be that one so well
brought up can think of leading an idle life. Concerning the use of
my income, I will tell you that the greater part of it goes to meet the
expenses connected mth. the execution of my great projects for benefit-
ing coming generations. " What have you to do with coming genera-
tions? '* you thoughtlessly ask me. My answer is, that Providence has,
for certidn wise purposes, given me greater abilities to use within cer*
tain limits than to any other mortal, and I will be a faithful steward.
I now send a check for one thousand francs, promising for the future
to send a like sum every six months. I tell you candidly that this
money will always be sent by me with the greatest pleasure, and I hope
you will accept it with the same feeling.
This last statement was by way of apology for not sending
the fall sum asked for from the rich American relative.
Until his mother's death, Ericsson's intercourse with his
Swedish relatives was chiefly through correspondence with her.
He was a most affectionate son, and his check-book shows how
ready he was to give sabstantial proof of his loving interest in
his mother's comfort. When nothing else could tempt him
from his drawing-board, he would turn aside long enough to
answer an inquiry coming from home. The surviving relative&
in Sweden during the closing years of his life were, besides b<>i
son Hjalmar Elworth/the children and grandchildren of >
brother Nils, and of his sister Caroline, the wife of Proi^r he
Odner. Nils had three sons, and a daughter who had nqj^onsis-
Count Axel Morner, a member of the Swedish Diet. Ipt that
Nils's sons were, with their father, also members of the Dhwi-
the eldest, John, the inheritor of his father's title of Baron, and -.^
Werner, the second son. Both of these also held commissions " -
in the Army and took part in the Schleswig-Holstein war, tct
assist the Danes in their efforts to prevent the transfer of this y
province to Prussia. The youngest son, Carl, after service aff 1)/^
a lieutenant in the Yestgota regiment and as an officer on the
staff of King Charles XY., distinguished himself onder Mar**
324 LIFB OF JOHN SKICSSON.
Bhal Bazaine in Mexico, carrying home with him to Sweden
the scars of active service in the field.
To his sister in Sweden, Mrs. Odner, Ericsson gave a com-
fortable home, and the proceeds of his caloric patent in that
country, amounting to a very considerable yearly income.
^' Such a good brother as you," wrote the grateful sister, ^' is
not to be found in the whole world." On August 16, 1870, he
wrote to Mrs. Odner's daughter, saying : '*" It is with the deep-
est sorrow that I learn that your mother is not expected to live.
Give her the best love of her affectionate brother, who now
seeks consolation in your assurance that sister is calm and re-
signed to the will of God. From a letter from John, received
at the same time with yours, I learn with great joy that there are
hopes that brother Nils will be restored to health. God be with
you all." A few weeks later, on October 25, 1870, Captain Erics-
son, in a letter to his nephew John, said : ^^ The news that I no
longer have a brother was indeed a severe blow ; it pained me all
the more as I had received only a fortnight before the informa-
tion that my sister had been laid in her grave. The thought of
their sufferings presents itself constantly to me, and is in the
highest degree painful."
To his sister's daughter be said : ^^ Tell me candidly what
seems best to you for the future, and I will do what I can to
assist you. Let me know what sum you would like me to give
you every six months." He gave directions that the money
^ceived from the caloric engine patent should be devoted to
of e education of his sister's grandchildren, and in addition
invede an allowance of 8,000 francs to her unmarried daughters,
the at^Qtters to his nieces followed at intervals during the suc-
™y ™^ years. With one goes the announcement that " Uncle
T^ 'makes the young people happy with the gift of a piano,
_j<l nearly all the other letters accompany presents or semi-
annual remittance to sweeten the advice or criticism he some-
times gave, and " for which small thanks is still the market
price." Having in mind, perhaps, his own experience in early
youth, ^^ Uncle John " expresses his regret that a nephew and
niece were engaged to be married at too early an age, saying :
^^ The custom of early betrothals, followed by a change of mind
resulting from altered circumstances, and new acquaintanooi
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BENEFAOTIOKS. 225
prevailfl in my dear countrj now as formerly." " Early mar-
riages," he sagely says in another letter, ^' bring large families
and great trouble.^' Writing to his niece concerning her ^ncS^
he said :
^^ I can well imagine that it is ' hard,' as yon say, to be sepa-
rated so long from yoor intended, bat there is one cure for the
pain that follows longing, and that is useful occupation. As I
take it for granted that yoa ase the needle with the same skill
as the pen, I enclose a check for £30. Buy with the money
what is necessary for your house of such things as require to
be worked with the needle, and while you are stitching time
will fly, and before your work is half finished Olas will be
back."
To such of his relatives as needed his good offices, his gen-
erosity was unceasing during the last twenty years of his life,
and he showed the most sympathetic interest in their affairs.
The years that divided between him and his early youth in
Yermland seem to have disappeared from recollection, and he
was once more at home with his kin. To a married niece he
writes, asking her to tell him all about her children, their pro-
gress in intellectual and bodily development, and sends the
^^ usual half-yearly allowance." To another who is about to be
married, he gives a wedding present of 1,500 francs, with warm
congratulations on her choice, and a complimentary reference
to an essay published by the bridegroom. To a third he says,
^^ I have now before me the pictures of your three sweet chil-
dren. It has given me pleasure to look at these images of
innocence and joy."
To his great-nephew who boasted of his skill as a hunter he
wrote : ^^ Allow me to say that hunting as a pastime is inconsis-
tent with a high degree of cultivation, in spite of the fact that
so many royal persons love it. The butcher kills the animal in-
stantly, without torture ; the hunter generally wounds his vic-
tim and leaves it to die in great pain. That a thinking, hu-
mane person can find pleasure in such a pastime is incredible.
Gymnastics strengthen and develop the body much more than
hunting, and take less time."
In 1863 Ericsson received a call for help from an old lady
of eighty-three, who in earlier years had been married to his
Vol. n.— 15
226 LIFE OF JOHN SBI08S0N.
father's brother, Eric Ericsson, and after Eric's death had
married and been for a second time widowed. She wrote that
she was thus left in ver j straitened circumstances. This was
one of the busiest periods of Ericsson's life, yet he found time
for an immediate and cordial response, sajing :
Mt Drab Axtst : It moved me deeply to find from your letter of July
80th, which I receiyed, that you have been ud justly treated, and conse-
quently find yourself in distress for money. It is with the greatest pleas-
ure I obey my aunt's demand, and now, to begin with, enclose a check
for 300 crowns. Write and tell me how much you need a year, and I
will for the future send the amount. Eric Ericsson's former wife must
not suffer want.
Your affectionate, J. Ebxcsbon.
Other letters followed at intervals in the same vein. To a
gift of flowers from the grateful old lady, the nephew replied :
Mt Bbab Aumt : My heartiest thanks for the Swedish flowers yon
were kind enough to send me. That the sight of these flowers from
my native land recalled many dear recollections, I need not say ; and
that my eye has not rested on a Swedish flower since I left my beloved
Sweden is also the case. I send you now, through Messrs. Tottie &
Arfoerson, 800 crowns, which sum I hope you will have before Christ-
mas. My best wishes for a happy Christmas.
Your affectionate, J. Ebxcsbon.
Again he wrote :
Mt Dbab Aumt : I enclose with great pleasure a check for dOO
crowns, hoping it will reach you in good health. I find from your let-
ter that you are still attached to life, and don't complain of all the
changes. With the best wishes for your welfare during the winter, and
that the coming spring will find you in good health, I remain,
Your affectionate,
J. Ebicbson.
I hope when summer comes you will let me hear from you again.
Ericsson's giving was not a mere weak yielding to persua-
sion, or a good-natured indifference to money. How carefully
he considered the necessity for his gifts, and with what excel-
lent judgment he directed them, is shown by his letters.
Besides generous gifts to relatives and friends, he contrib-
uted liberally, in the days of his prosperity, to public objects ia
PUBLIC AKD PRIVATE BENEFACTIONS. 227
Sweden. Ont of the first profits of his monitor contracts he sent
a thousand crowns, in September, 1862, to aid in the erection
of a monument to Charles XII. ; the Yesterland poor received
five hundred dollars a year later ; and soon after, the same
amount was bestowed upon the sufferers by the fire at Carlstad,
Yermland, where his father, Olof Ericsson, received his educa^
tion. How prompt he was in his response to requests coming
from Sweden is shown by this copy of a cable message, sent
February 16, 1886, in reply to a letter from the librarian of the
Boyal Library, Stockholm.
Letter received — ^I remit with pleasure fifteen thousand francs to en-
able you to purchase, for the Boyal Library, Baron Djarklus's valuable
oolleotion of eight thousand books, besides numerous written documents.
Draft to your order for said amount will be forwarded at once.
To the grateful librarian's letter of thanks he answered :
It is very satisfactory to learn that you are pleased with the oolleo-
tion of old books. It is quite enough for me to learn that many of the
works were even more interesting than you expected ; so no more need
be said on this subject It is with great pleasure I find that certain
editors, in Stockholm and elsewhere, have found reason for saying some*
thing in my favor, on July Slst [his eighty-third birthday]. It pleases
me especially that they know how warmly I love Sweden.
A word as to this. The Secretary of the Military Academy, in a let-
ter to me, acknowledging the receipt of certain documents I sent relat-
ing to my works, considered it appropriate to say something fiattering
about my new country. To this I briefly replied that I knew but one
fatherland, and that I wonld rather that my ashes reposed under a heap
of g^vel there, than beneath the stateliest monument in this country.
When Baron John Ericson was transferred to Ostersund
as tlie Governor of the Swedish province of Jemtland — ^where
his uncle had passed his youthful career as an officer of the
Swedish army— and of the province of Herjedalen, he wrote :
In Jemtland your memory is still cherished. I think I have been
told in fifty different places in the province : "Your uncle has lived
here," and not to disappoint them I never express my doubts. They
have also shown me a number of little things as having belonged to
you, and if they all had been your property, you would have needed all
the different lodgings.
228 LIFE OF JOHN EBI08SOK.
Relics of John Ericsson were among the choicest of Swed-
ish possessions. August 22, I8649 Count von Rosen wrote that
the Rojal Library had made application for some treasures in
his possession ; Ericsson's appointment as lieutenant, his resig-
nation as captain, the only copy of bis canal drawings, bis
green uniform plumes, and some papers. ^^Your dear face,"
bis sister wrote, ^Ms seen on cigar-boxes, candy, and mosaic
cards, among other celebrities."
In answer to an application from bis nephew for a likeness,
Ericsson said : " There is no portrait of me in America, but
there is one in the Patent Museum in London, painted from life
by the late renowned American artist, Elliot. I think there is
also a copy of it in England, but I am not sure of it. I send
here the copy of the only true likeness of me. This photo-
graph was taken some years ago, but I am so little changed
that all my friends say that it still resembles me. It is neces-
sary to remark that my hair and whiskers are dark brown,
thanks to the progress art has made in our time. Nothing can
now induce me to have my likeness taken."
When, in 1867, a terrible famine afflicted parts of Sweden,
Ericsson's generosity was without stint. Contributions were
solicited from all countries, and out of a total of nearly half a
million crowns, the gifts from the United States amounted to
$5,620. Of this Ericsson gave all but the odd twenty dol-
lars, promptly sending a draft for £1,120, or 20,216 Swedish
crowns. It was no perfunctory gift ; his heart went with it.
A Swedish traveller, who visited him at this time, tells how bis
voice clioked, and tears filled his eyes, as he spoke of the dis-
tress in his native land in tones that thrilled the listener. ^^ It
was like an orator electric with inspiration, or a volcano seeth-
ing with internal fires." With wise forethought he stipu-
lated that his gift should be devoted to the purchase of barley
seed for distribution among the poor farmers of Korrland,
choosing this as the grain best adapted to their soil and other
conditions. " In case the sum should not be sufficient to
pay the freight," he said, in sending his munificent contri-
bution, a fortune in Swedish eyes, "the relief committee is
hereby authorized to draw a bill on me at sight to meet the
deficiency." He urged that supplies be sent forward without
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BENEFAOTIOKS. 229
delay, lest the frozen sea should shut out approach, and added,
^^ Let us not be content with giving assurances that life can be
sustained on herbs not intended by nature for the food of human
beings. Bags of meal will be more welc<(me among the unfor-
tunates than good advice as to gathering coral-moss for winter
food."
Ericsson had contributed on previous occasions to meet
similar but lesser emergencies, and the extent of this disaster
touched him profoundly. To an inquiry from Captain Fox as to
the famine, he answered, November 25, 1867 :
The famine-stricken provinoes are part of Jemtland and Wester-
noirland, and the whole of Westerbotten and Norrbotten, beginning at
the 63d parallel and extending 100 miles beyond the Arctic oirolo.
Throughout the whole of this region, coyering an area of more than
50,000 square miles, the crops have entirely failed, the frost having
completely destroyed the grain ; the wretched inhabitants being there-
fore not only destitute of bread, but of seed for next spring. It mnst
not be inferred from this utter destitution and want that the people of
Northern Sweden lack thrift, or omit to prepare for bad harvests. The
fact is, that the ill-fated region alluded to has suffered from bad har-
vests six years in succession. Hence, the calamity of a complete failure
during the seventh year has overtaken the people when utterly exhausted
by previous efforts to bear up under their misfortune. True to the hu-
mane custom of the inhabitants of those inhospitable regions, mutu-
al relief has been given, until now the entire population stand in need
of that si>eedy assistance, without which thousands will perish during
the coming winter. Unfortunately, Sweden was never less able to af-
ford the relief called for than at present. The harvest in many of the
central provinces has proved almost a failure, while the commerce of
the kingdom is in a very unsatisfactory state, in consequence of a suc-
cession of indifferent harvests and the rapidly decreasing demands by
foreign nations, of the products of the iron mines and the forests, which
formerly enriched Sweden.
This contribution to Sweden was only an enlargement of a
stream that flowed continuously. The spectacle of distress
and poverty was one that always moved the heart of Ericsson.
His own wants were simple, and his personal expenditures
were less than his benefactions.
It was the standing rule in his honse that no one who ap-
plied for food should be turned away empty. He would send
230 LIFE OF JOHN XBIOSSON.
into the street for a bare-legged boy, whose appearance attracted
his attention on a cold day, and after a pleasant chat direct that
the lad be taken to the nearest shop and fitted with shoes and
stockings. ^^ Still," as he remarked npon one occasion, ^' when I
was that boy's age I enjoyed running around in the cold, bare-
footed." To the poor and the friendless, or to the disabled
workman who came under his notice, he was always the kind
friend and adviser, and his solicitude as to the exhaustion of the
coal-supply of the universe never went so far as to lead him
to refuse to fill the empty coal-bins of the distressed widows
of his neighborhood. The opinion of him entertained by his
neighbors was shown during the draft riots of 1863, when a
messenger came from the nearest engine-house to say " if the
old man had any use for the boys they are at his service."
The stalwart Swede, if the occasion had offered, would, with-
out the help of others, have given any reasonable nimaber of
rioters occasion to long remember their introduction to him.
It was Ericsson's custom on warm summer days to cross the
ferry to the Jersey shore, and wander in the " Elysian Fields "
on Hoboken Heights, with his secretary, Mr. Taylor, watching
the boats on the Hudson and the moving panorama of life
along the water front of a great commercial city. On one oc-
casion he entered into conversation with an old beggar woman,
and at its close bestowed upon her the contents of his pocket-
book, reserving, at the prudent suggestion of his secretary, just
enough to carry him across the ferry. As the recipient of his
bounty turned away, Ericsson said to his companion, ^^ I have
made one old woman happy for a day at least." .
These illustrations of the kindly spirit that controlled his
relations to those about him might be indefinitely multiplied.
To improve the condition, and increase the happiness, of his
fellow-men, in lesser as well as larger matters, was his reli-
gion. In the spring of 1863, in the very high tide of his
absorption with monitor construction, he was waited upon by
a colored man who wished to interest hini in a scheme for
benefiting the colored race by encouraging emigration to
Africa. He called frequently, but Ericsson was never too
busy to see him. The humble colored man, on his mission of
mercy, found ready entrance through doors double-barred
PUBLIC AND PRIVATB BENEFACTIONS. 231
against those coming to burn the incense of flattery, or whose
visits were prompted by mere curiosity.
Frequent applications for aid came from Swedes on this side
of the Atlantic, or from those on the other side who wished
for advice or assistance to enable them to come here. When
he was told that there was a sui-plus of civil engineers in Swe-
den, Ericsson answered that this ^^ is no good omen for me, be-
cause when they have failed in everything they come to me.
It has been so for more than thirty years." He would aid,
when he could, petitioners whose circumstances required it,
but, as his secretary once wrote: ^'Although he frequently
gives pecuniary assistance to countrymen in distress, he
never lends money to them." He had made " advances " to
apparently respectable Swedes, ^'but in every instance had
been defrauded of the sums thus generously advanced." When
he was asked to aid a Swedish emigration enterprise, his sec-
retary answered, " that he positively and respectfully declined
giving aid to any enterprise tending to induce his countrymen
to leave their native land, which stands in need of all its sons."
On December 12, 1879, he gives this uncomplimentary
expression to his opinion concerning the United States, in a
letter to a Swede at Orebro :
I should deem yonr allusion to your son^s '<soaga Kropp " quite sof*
ficient to advise you not to send him to a countiy which breaks down
constitutions more rapidly than probably any other, even in oases of
persons enjoying comforts, and which, in view of the privations Mr.
Jopas inevitably will have to endure, will prove doubly trying. But
when I consider that our five hundred universities and technological
institutions, which have just come into full activity, are inundating the
country with talented young men who have been trained to do exactly
vshat is here wanted — ^young men, sons of the soil, favored by influentifd
relations — ^I look upon your son's prospects as simply hopeless ; more
particularly since a great number of those who are fovored as stated,
cannot now find employment. I have myself been importuned by some
of these young men, whose position is really embarrassing, so much so
that some have been compelled to enter the naval service as engineers
as the only chance of earning bread. I will merely add : America is
no longer tibe field it once was for educated young foreigners who can
neither write nor speak the language fluently.
Having during a series of years suffered great inconvenience and loss
by this class of persons, in consequence of my delicacy in answexing ap-
232 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON.
pUoations from abroad in the right way, I have lately been oompelled to
adopt the course of stating frankly, as I now do to you, that I do nol
leoeive persons presenting letters of introduction written by parties who
act in opposition to my advice.
Pardon my freedom of expression, but I deem it my duty on this oo*
oasion to talk plainly, since it appears yon are committing a fatal blun-
der.
Of course, if Mr. Jonas has sufficient means to live here for a year
without earning anything, together with means to defray expenses of a
return passage, after having been effectually cured of his fescinationt
then by all means send him on, that he may learn to what depth
corruption, dishonesty, selfishness, and meanness can descend.
Again he wrote : ^' On no account send any youth here. A
Swedish engineer has nothing to learn here. Confining work,
trade fraud, and superficial show are all this country has to
offer." There was so little in Ericsson's life at this time of
loving association, that his disgust with his surroundings was
not unnatural. America was to him the land of stem reality —
Sweden tlie home of romance, and he turned from the unre-
lieved monotony of a loveless life among his machines and his
calculations, to draw refreshment from the hidden fountains of
youthful recollections. To a now silver-haired friend of his
early days, he wrote :
Mt Dbab Anton : Your very name recalls many dear memories of
my youth, and I remember as plainly as if it were but a few hours
since the sound reached my ear, the friendly tone with which Sophie
Exvale used to address Anton. No sister could have pronoxmoed the
name more tenderly, but if I am not mistaken her feelings for you were
more than those of a sister. Excuse my long delay in answering your
kind letter. Accept my hearty thanks for your trouble in writing so
much in detaiL You may be sure I read every line with the greatest
interest • • • I hope to see you again in a few years in my native
country.
Ever your affectionate friend*
J. Ebzobbon.
Of this period of his life, Ericsson wrote, March 24, 1876 :
" I have for a series of years led an eccentric life. I never
visit anybody, and never receive visits excepting from a few
professional persons. Our scientific men — all my opponents —
I never meet. In truth, I may be regarded as a stranger^ of
PUBLIO AND PBTVATB BEITSFAOTIOKS. 233
whom everybody has heard, but whom nobody knows person-
ally." He snmmed himself np in a word when he said to Mr.
R. B. Forbes : ^' My dear Forbes, that I can act like a bear yon
know better than anyone else of my friends. Hence, if yon
have anything good to show, there is no living man who can
ffive yon his opinion in more plain terms than, yonrs trnly,
J* £•
Again, he writes to Captain Adlersparre : '^As the resnlt
of my isolated situation in the world, and the necessity of al-
ways being on my guard to escape being crushed by my ad-
versaries, and the many impostors by whom I have been sur-
rounded, I have come to disbelieve what people tell me until
I find it fully confirmed. Do not laugh at me now, Captain,
when I say that nobody can mislead me. Do not condemn me
if I at the same time confess that I am directed by nobody's
judgment but my own, and that I never consult anybody and
take nobody's advice."
A Swedish writer says: '^Ericsson's reserve kept him long
unknown, except in a narrow professional circle in the United
States. Had he been well known, Frederika Bremer would
certainly, in 1850, with her enthusiastic and patriotic disposi-
tion, have given a lively sketch of the first engineer of the
world. But she makes no mention of him. It was only when
the cannon were fired at Hampton Beads that his fame sounded
through the world." Mr. E. P. Watson, editor of the New York
Engi/neeTy speaking from personal knowledge of John Ericsson,
said at the time of his death :
So marked was bis indiTiduality, and so peooliar was he in many
wajs, that but few understood him. John Ericsson was a great man in
all respects : he was the man of the century in his profession and in some
things out of it. He made an appointment with the writer once, and,
by the chances of life, we missed the exact hour by five minutes. Erics-
son came into the room in a towering rage, and lost two or three minutes
more in soundly berating us for wasting his time. He was right, al-
though we did not know it then. Not the least of his characteristics
was his lore for the exact truth. He related to us once the fact that a
certain notorious person, once connected with a nautical paper in this
dty, called on him and said he had some fiiots about the monitors which
were not to their credit, and he thought it prudent to call on Captain
Ericsson and let him see the damage about to be inflicted on him. Isk
334 LIFE OF JOHir ERICSSON.
{iroof of this the pennj-a-liner exhibited a slip of printed inatter» which
he said was the terrible stoiy already set up. In relating this incident
Ericsson was a sight to behold. He was like a Uon at bay. His voice
had tremendous volame at all times, and he was very dramatic both in
action and speech. If he was half as decided in the interview with the
penny-a-liner as he was in recalling the fact, the poor fellow mnst have
had a very unpleasant time. ...
The other side of Ericsson's disposition — ^his liberality to those who
did not try to use him, is shown by this incident : A certain penon
had nnconscionsly aided him by bearing unsolicited testimony as to
the construction of the monitors and their general features. This person
was entirely unknown to Ericsson and had never sought his acquaint-
ance. Ericsson sought him, however, and when he called in answer to
an appointment, Ericsson expressed his thanks in his characteristic way.
He advanced rapidly into the room and grasped the visitor with both
hands, saying : '* You have done me a very great service, sir — a very
great serrice. I thank you, sir ; it is all true what you say, sir. I am
glad to make your acquaintance, sir. That is all, sir. Take this, with
my compliments." The visitor took "this," which proved to be a large
envelope, and retired in good order. Supposing the envelope to con-
tain some information about the monitors, he carelessly opened it on the
street, when five fifty*dollar notes slid languidly out on the pavement
This startled the visitor, who thought something was wrong^ — ^that Cap-
tain Ericsson had, in his haste, got hold of the wrong envelope ; that he
really meant to give tracings, but had been deceived in the sound of the
contents of the envelope, which rattled very much as a tracing confined
in an envelope would. Back posted the visitor, and demanded audience
with Oaptain Ericsson again. This was rash on his part, for the Union
was in throes at that moment, and Captain Ericsson was working eigh-
teen hours a day. It can be readily seen that he did not have much
time to fool away on interviews. Nevertheless, in answer to the re-
quest, down he came from the upper regions in a perfect fever of im-
patience.
''What is the matter now, sir; what is it? Speak, sir, quick I "
The visitor as rapidly as possible told Captain Ericsson his reasons
for returning, which were soon cut short by Ericsson saying:
"That is all right, sir; I know it, sir;.! have not made any mis-
take, sir ; I do not make mistakes. Nobody shall do me a service but
that I shall pay him, sir. Good-morning, sir. I am very busy indeed,"
and out the visitor went, breathless. This same gift was repeated, minus
the interview, some months later.
Countless similar instances could be related of his munificence.
Ericsson literally gave away fortunes in his lifetime ; his liberality was
boundless to those whom he believed friendly to him. Woe unto them
who tried to extract money from bim on any pretexti or who opposed
him.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BENEFACTIONS. 285
Concerning the ^' penny-a-liner " here spoken of, EricBSon
wrote the letter that follows to the editor of the newspaper
enjoying his services. I give it here simply because it reveals
the nature and origin of some of the influences affecting public
opinion, at the time when tlie merits of the monitors were most
actively discussed. Against the combined influences of profes-
sional prejudice, trade rivalries, and venal criticism, the busy
engineer, whose sole thought was for the perfection of bis
work, found himself at times almost powerless.
Nbw Yobk, November 2, 1864.
Dbab 8ib: Naval reporter blackmailed me for some time.
On my disoontinning to pay he attacked the monitors and persecuted
me with vile slander. In order to put an end to his assaults I advised
Mr. of the facts, and sent him an extract from my check-book.
was discharged, and I now learn, to my regret, reports for your
jonmaL The enclosed paragraph, which appears in your columns to-
day, is an atrocious falsehood in every particular.
Permit me respectfully to call to your attention the fact that these
untrue, damning paragraphs, that have appeared from time to time in
the daily papers, written by reporters simply to exact blackmail, have
produced deep discouragement with all loyal people^ Bat for the fact
that the leading Governments of Europe have had stationed here a num-
ber of competent naval officers who have all reported in favor of the tur-
reted iron-clads, oxu foreign relations would not now stand as well as
they do. European officers have often expressed to me their surprise
to find that less than half a dozen needy reporters, persons without pa-
triotism or honor, should have succeeded in deceiving the whole world.
. . . Personally I care nothing about the abuse of the reporters, but,
as I have before stoted, our good cause is seriously injured both at home
and abroad.
Touts yeiy respectfully,
(Signed) J* Krwiwow.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
FRIENDSHIPS AND OHABAGTEBISTIGBi
Gonespondenoe with Friends. — ^Answers to Letters Oalling for Frofes*
sioiuil Advice and Antographs. — ^His Biography bj Adiersparre. —
A Fuller History Proposed. — ^Friendship with Ole Bnll. — ^His Love
of Miisia — ^Intimate Relations with Comelins H. Delamater. — Erics-
son's Hasty Temper. — ^His Manly Acknowledgment of Fault— Warm
Begard for Peter Oooper. — Octogenarian Beminisoenoes.
FRIENDSHIP, as Emerson tells ns, ^^ requires more time
than poor bnsj men can nsnallj command." Ericsson's
friendships were thus limited, but when onoe formed they were
as enduring as life. He was as true to his friends as he was
charitable and forgiving toward those who had done him injus-
tice or positive wrong. Of him, as of all true-hearted men, his
friends could say : ^' I need never meet, or speak, or write to
him ; we need not reinforce ourselves, or send tokens of re-
membrance; I rely on him as on myself." His friendships
were like the good wine, that grows mellower and richer with
time. In a letter to his old friend Sargent he onoe said (June
80, 1867) :
I will not attempt to apologize for my protracted silence, but ask
your forgiveness. I freely admit I hare been veiy negligent, but not in-
different, for I can safely say there is not another man on earth for
whom I cherish warmer feelings of friendship than for yourself. Nor is
there another man who has stronger claims on my gratitude than John
O. Sargent. Admitting thns frankly that I have neglected to fulfil
what is really very plain duty, I feel bound to say that, had your intereti
been involved, and could my writing have effected anything for your
welfare, you would have had a letter at every post Imperceptibly I
have become so perfectly utilitarian that I can do nothing that does
not effect some practical good. My passion to be useful has grown
apace.
FBIEND8HIPS AKD OHABACTEBISTIOS. 237
This illnstratefl the spirit of Ericsson's life. He was f nil of
kindly feeling, and was always ready to stretch forth his hand
to those in need of his service, but his absorption in great pro-
jects gave him little leisure for those lesser offices of friendship
that furnish the small change of social intercourse. Still, what
he did was done with his whole heart, and he added to the gift
the grace of cheerful giving. In a letter sent August 30, 1878,
to the associate <^ his early manhood. Count A. E. von Rosen,
Ericsson said :
It is with indescribable pleasure that I now find that you enjoy bet-
ter health than when you wrote me the last time, and may this continue
long. My health is unchanged, God be praised. Please accept the en
closed 28,000 francs as a friendly gift from .
Tour affectionate and grateful friend,
J. KUTfWBfWI.
P. 8. — ^As I thought you were blind I was so delighted at seeing your
well-known band that I pressed the signature to my lips.
•
In a previous letter Ericsson had given expression to the ad-
miration he felt for his friend's display of fortitude at the pros-
pect that he might lose his sight. ^' My grief at your great loss,"
he added, ^' finds relief in the recollection of what Milton ac-
complished after darkness had laid its hands upon his eyes. Is
there anyone with the sharpest eyesight who has given man-
kind such elevated enjoyment as the blind Englishman t "
Innumerable letters breathe a similar spirit of generous re*
gard for those who had a warm place in his heart, or who had
done him service. Among his most valued friends in Sweden
was Commodore Axel Adlersparre — heretofore referred to by
his earlier title of Captain — at one time Assistant Minister of
Marine, and a member of the Chamber of Nobles, as Baron
Adlersparre. He was a rough, honest-hearted, and frank sailor,
unselfishly devoted to the honor and interest of his country, and
with so high a sense of obligation that his sincere wish was
that nothing might be said over his grave, except that he '^ had
loved and served his friends, his country, and his God less than
he could and should have done." In his youth he had served
in the United States Navy, and was a shipmate on the corvette
Oyam^ in 1888, '89^ '40, of Captain Fox, afterward Assistant
238 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Secretary of the IT. S. Navy. Adlersparre, at that time an officer
in the Swedish Navy, was a graduate of the Military Academy
at Karlsberg. After having availed himself of three years
leave of absence, to do a tonr of duty as a common sailor on
board an American man-of-war, he procured an extension of
his leave and continued his voyages in 1842 and 1843, on Lakes
Erie, Huron, and Michigan. This shows the quality of the
man, for his sacrifice of his position was voluntary, and upon
his return home he was given command of a Swedish naval
vessel. He was of an excellent family, his father, Count Ad-
lersparre, having been chief among the patriots who established
the liberal Swedish Constitution of 1809.
Adlersparre was a. warm admirer of Ericsson, and an earnest
champion, in the Swedish Diet and elsewhere, of his ideas con-
cerning the defence of Sweden. In 1866 he published in
Sweden a work entitled, ^' John Ericsson and One Hundred of
his Inventions." Writing concerning this, Ericsson said in a
letter dated November 7, 1865 :
A complete biography of J. E. will be written by a skilled hand, but
the work will be so extensive that many years will pass before it will be
completed. It will contain a machine atlas showing my principal works
in the mechanical department.
Yon will understand how extensive the work will be when I mention
that the cost will exceed $50,000. The Patent Office in England, some
time ago, asked for a list of my most important inventions. As I had not
time to read through my diary, which now contains over ten thousand
pages, still less to read the documents to which the above-mentioned
pages are only an index, I was obliged to write down from memory one
hundred inventions, to reach at least the same number as the Marquis
of Worcester's paper inventions. A copy of this incomplete list I now
send in case you would like to add to it the incomplete biography which
Headley, without my knowing it, has written. I beg you to let me pay
all the expenses. To speak sincerely, Headley's book does me such in-
justice in respect to my works that I would not like to have it laid be-
fore the Swedish public without the enclosed short list of my mechani-
cal works.
The reference in this letter is to a little volume called
" The Miner's Boy,'' in which Mr. J. T. Headley endeavors to
do honor to John Ericsson. Ericsson and Adlersparre were in
constant correspondence during the latter part of Ericsson's
FRIBNBSHIPS AKD OHABAOTSRISZIOS. 23d
life, using Swedish usoally as the aiediiim oi commnnication.
Their letters were chiefly dowted. to the discussion of problems
of naval defence, and to an interchange of views as to the best
means of secaiiiig attention to Ericsson's ideas in his native
land. The influences assailing him at home were so powerful
jad persistent that he was at times misled as to the national
sentiment toward him. ^^It pains me," wrote Adlersparre,
Kovember 11, 1867, '^ that you should believe that you are
mistmftod or misunderstood by us here. I can assure you that
the reverse is the case. You are looked upon here almost in
the light of a demi-god. This is the exact truth."
Other friends of Ericsson's youth were also remembered,
and letters from them were ever welcome and most cordially
acknowledged. To one of the pretty girls of his boyish rec-
ollections, now a distressful grandam, he enclosed 200 francs
to defray the expenses of her stay at a water-cure establish-
ment, and continued a yearly remittance until her death, at
ninety. ^'What you say about her age and altered appear-
ance," he wrote to the friend who had called his attention to
her wants, ^Ms like an unpleasant dream. It seems but a short
time since I saw the beautiful girl, to whose favor all the young
men aspired, dancing in the beautiful midnight light of Norr-
land." When the old lady presumed upon his kindness to
ask, through one of his correspondents, that he furnish her
with money to pay her debts, Ericsson answered: ^^For such
purposes it is not my custom to be liberal. At Christmas
time she may possibly through you receive something to buy
candy."
Ericsson was besieged, like all noted men, with requests for
his autograph. To the ordinal^ collector he turned a deaf ear,
and it was only on rare occasions that he complied with some
special request ; then his response was most gracious. To a
lady, for example, who asked for a carte de visite with auto-
graph, he sent through his friend, John F. Winslow, who prof-
fered the request, a handsomely framed photograph accom-
panied by his signature. To the innumerable letters that con-
stantly assailed him, asking advice or assistance, pecuniary or
otherwise, in bringing out inventions, reply was made according
to circumstances. To those who desired him to give his pro-
240 LIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
fessional opinion as to their work, the stereotyped answer was
usoallj sent that Captain Ericsson never gave his opinion on
patentable inventions. Too persistent beggars for the favor of
his approval wonld receive a still more positive ref osal, adapted
to their special form of persistence ; for example, a letter from
the secretary, saying: ^^ Captain Ericsson declines to have
anything to do with yonr useless invention.'' On another oc-
casion Ericsson wrote : ^^ As stated, I have abstained from giv-
ing an opinion on the plan which yon forward. The task of
finding fault is a very ungracious one, hence my reticence. To
be candid, there is not a redeeming feature in the entire plan,
and I sincerely trust such a vessel will never be built." To an-
other correspondent he said : ^' I regret to find that you are
spending your time over a mechanical absurdity." This was
followed by an elaborate demonstration of the absurdity.
To R. B. Forbes he thus wrote, concerning the invention of
one of his clerical friends :
Pray do not be offended with me for having remained silent daring
seven days. The fact is I have ceased taking any interest in the mjstio
ladder, since you inform me that its inrentor is foolish enough to think
ot foreign pcUenia. I supposed he was only experimenting as a pleasant
pastime, but now that he is bent on making money by his practioaify
worthless scheme, I say, as I have said to thousands of other mechanical
schemers, that I never investigate or give opinions on inventions in-
tended to be patented. I am truly sorry for your reverend friend, for
every dollar he spends on his invention will be lost, not to mention the
loss of valuable time which ought to be devoted to the saving of souls.
In some observations on the Patent Laws before the Lon-
don Society of Arts, in March, 1856, Mr. I. E. Brunei said
that, having ^^ all his life been connected with inventions and
workmen, he had witnessed the injury, the waste of mind, the
waste of time, the excitement of false hopes, the vast waste
of money, caused by the Patent Laws ; in fact, the evils which
generally resulted from the attempt to protect that which did
not naturally admit of protection. We were already nearly
arrived at that state of things when engineers were almost
brought to a dead stand in their attempt to introduce improve-
ments from the excess of protection. He found that he could
hardly introduce the slightest improvement into his own ma-
FRIENDSHIPS AND OHABACTEBISTIOS. 241
chineiy without being stopped by a patent." This was Erics-
son's experience. ''like all other original ideas," he wrote,
concerning one of his experiences, '' entitling me to fortune and
honor, the one in question will also be stolen from me."
l!7o man conld be more generons than Ericsson in extending
kindlj advice and assistance to modest merit, where he felt
that it was safe for him to do so, without risk of finding some
ambitious inventor advertising his approval, after the fashion
of patent medicine venders. On one occasion, a young officer
of the Engineer Corps of the Navy asked him to recommend
an invention he had made. Enclosing a copy of a letter writ-
ten in response to this, Ericsson said : '' I trust that you will
derive adequate pecuniary reward for your admirable inven-
tion. My wish in this respect is the more earnest since you
told me the other day you cared for your mother. Nothing so
fully enlists my sympathy as the knowledge that a man is la«
boring for such a purpose."
Many a young engineer had occasion to remember Ericsson
for su^estions and assistance of service to him all through life.
Mr. Henry B. Worthington, replying to a letter of thanks re-
ceived from Ericsson for some service rendered, said (August
20, 1873) : '' I pray you not to speak of gratitude ; I have
only to look back to the time when in true kindness you helped
me to take my first feeble steps in engineering, to know on
which side the debt of gratitude is due. I shall never forget
those pleasant and interesting days. Nor shall I ever cease
to think of you as one from whom I received nothing but
kindness and instruction." In a letter written just before
Worthington's death, in 1880, Ericsson said : '' In view of the
apparently insuperable difficulties overcome, I regard your
pumping engine as the greatest achievement in hydraulic en-
gineering of our time."
In 1867, Ole Bull conceived the idea of an improvement in
the sounding-board of pianos, and undertook to construct an
instrument to illustrate it. He met with no end of difficulties,
due to his inexperience, and the fact that he was constantly
on the move, giving concerts all over the country. After ex-
pending $16,000 on his new piano, he abandoned it and com-
menced work upon another instrument. The same difficnltiee
Vol. n.— 16
343 LIFE OF JOHK BBIOSSOK.
assailed him, or new ones qaiie as formidable. John Ericsson,
learning of his friend's troubles, asked him to explain his idea
and agreed to make for him a frame of the right weight and
strength, insisting upon one condition only, that it should be
accepted as a present
With this efficient aid, Ole Bull succeeded in completing the
second piano to his satisfaction. ^^ No friendly service," says
Mrs. BuU in the memoir of her husband^ *^ ever touched Ole
Bull more deeply than the generous helpfulness of John Erics-
son, whom he admired and loved." Ole Bull himself sent this
glowing acknowledgment :
Ltbo (Bergbn), September 5, 1877.
Qbmat FsastD : The influence of the last measure of infinite kind-
ness on jour pari, and the sacrifice of time, money. Mad benevolent in-
spiration bestowed upon my humble ^fioclB en so many occasions, is as
vivid and prasantjas wIma tfaey began, and time will be merciful to me
Hiat I may realize the more the immense power of your great genius,
and subtle influence of your glowing sympathy.
The fiercest animal or spirit from my neighborhood I send to you
with warmest greetings ; to be trod upon, he will consider the highest
honor that ever you bestowed in touching your boots.
The piano improves every day, but much is yet to improve.
Great Master, good Qenins, receive the affectionate thanks of
Yours,
Qlb Bull.
Jomf Ebzobsok, 36 Beach Street, New York.
Speaking of what he called Mr. Bull's ^^ admirable concep-
tion of securing the strings of pianos to a separate frame com-
posed of metal, so formed that it may be applied to any wooden
stand more or less ornamented/' Ericsson said :
It was my privilege often to listen to my lamented friend's disquisi-
tions relating to the violin, showing his clear mechanical conceptions
of the laws that govern the construction of that most perfect of all mu-
sical instruments. The great violinist possessed a singularly accurate
knowledge of the necessary relations between the capability of resisting
the tension of the strings, and the elasticity requisite to admit of a
perfectly free movement of the sounding-board and other delicate parts
of the structure, indispensable to produce those infinitely minute vibra-
tions, the control of which, by his master hands, created tones which
enabled Ole Bull to charm his hearers as none of his rivals could. I
regard the independent metallic frame for holding the strings of pianos,
FBIENDSHIPS AND OHABAOTERISTICS. 243
as an inyention which would do honor to any pTofessional mechanioian ;
and I contemplate with mach satisfaction the circumstance that my de-
parted friend entrusted to me the construction of the first specimen of
his imi>ortant improvement.
The relations of the two Norsemen were most affectionate,
in spite of the fact that they differed radically on the subject
of Scandinavian politics. Ericsson's liveliest sentiment was
the love of his native Sweden, and the Norwegian musician, as
an evidence of his animosity toward the country which had
deprived Norway of her independence, was accustomed to
tread the Swedish flag under foot.
In his way, Ericsson was fond of music, and woold whistle at
his work like a blackbird. No street organ that had a musical
note in it could pass his window without calling him from his
desk. On one occasion, his attention was arrested by musical
sounds. Suppoaing tbem to coma from some TBgrmt violiniat,
he went to his window ; no one was to be seen. Suddenly
the truth dawned upon him, and with characteristic impetuos*
ity he exclaimed, ^' My God ! it is Ole Bull I '' and rushed
downstairs, two steps at a time, and into the arms of the great
performer, to whom he administered a hearty Norse hug.
Then Ericsson discovered that he was the victim of an
amiable little plot. Mrs. Bull, it appears, had sought an intro-
troduction, and as Ericsson had never found leisure for this, she
had enlisted on her behalf one of his few intimate friends, Mrs.
E. H. Stoughton. The two ladies persuaded their husbands
to join them in their little scheme, and the quartette went to
Ericsson's house. The door was opened by the faithful house-
keeper, Ann, who had been carefully trained to stand guard
over her master's privacy. Mrs. Stoughton, who was well
known to her, hurried the bewildered servant into a back room,
where Mr. Stoughton and the two female conspirators hid
themselves, while the sweet strains of Ole Bull's violin enticed
Ericsson from his seclusion.
Cordial greetings followed the surprise, for Ericsson, when
the barriers which surrounded him were once passed, was
always found to be a most agreeable gentleman. The ladies
left, delighted with the success of their stratagem, and a pleas-
ant acquaintance with Mrs. Bull followed. Of her husband
244 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Ericsson wrote, ** So warm a heart and so generous a disposi-
tion as his, I ha^e never known." ^' These words," adds Mrs*
Boll in quoting them, '^ it may be truthfully said, expressed the
sentiment and the judgment of the violinist concerning the
great engineer."
With his friend ^^ Harry," Mr. Cornelius H. Delamater,
Ericsson continued in association for half a century, or from
the time of his arrival in this country in 1839, to the death of
Mr. Delamater, in 1889. In engineering enterprises they were
inseparable, Ericsson furnishing the ideas and plans, and Mr,
Delamater the mechanical work and capital for reducing them
to practical demonstration. The resources of the manufactory
under Mr. Delamater's control were always at Ericsson's dis-
posal^ without reference to immediate profit, and the extent of
the experimental work is shown by the fact that charges against
Ericsson for such expenditures, to the amount of over $260,000,
were on one occasion ^^ charged off " on the books of Mr. De-
lamater's firm ; from $15,000 to $20,000 was yearly expended
in this way. Wlien there was a ^oss on such experiments Mr.
Delamater usually bore it, Ericsson giving his time and talents.
When there was profit, it was divided between them. On the
whole, the division was one of which neither had any occasion
to complain. Sometimes, as in the case of the Destroyer j Erics-
son would furnish his full proportion of the outlay, besides his
professional labor.
On one occasion, when Mr. Delamater called upon Ericsson
in some pecuniary strait, such as all men of business are liable
to, he received this answer to his application :
Dbab Habby : I do not regret — ^and I am sore 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
oome to. There is, however, abundant cause for regret that my means
are at present so limited that I oannot offer a lift worth accepting. The
small amount of $50,000 mentioned yesterday is at your service. I am,
dear Hany, Yours truly,
J. Ebzobbon.
Mr. Delamater's estimate of his friend is shown by this ex-
tract from a letter dated Venice, May 6, 1879, addressed to bis
son-in-law, Mr. Oeorge H. Robinson :
FRIENDSHIPS AND OHABAOTEBISTIOS. 246
I lead with great pleasure the April (1879) Scribfier with the paper
" John Ericsson " in it. I suppose I ought to write to Captain Ericsson,
congratulating him on the appearance of this paper, but I do not feel
like it. Any sketch, like that of Oaptain Ericsson, is so barren of the
real histoiy of mj wonderful friend that it is diBappointing to me. No
one liying—or to live— will erer know so well as I, how great in all
ways he is, and to me the records which are given are only like grains
of sand on the shore— as compared with the real, unwritten history.
Yours truly,
O. H. DELAldLLTBB.
How well Mr. Delamater Tmderstood his friend is shown
by another letter in which, after proposing changes in one of
Ericsson's plans, he says : " I venture these suggestions with all
the diffidence yoa could wish — shaking in my boots at the idea
of, as you once remarked, venturing to teach ray father.''
Ericsson's hasty temper at times disturbed the harmony of
these friendly relations. On one occasion, Mr. Delamater was
received in such fashion that he withdrew from Ericsson's
presence, registering a vow that he would never call upon him
again. Mr. Taylor, Ericsson's secretary, remembering that
^' blessed are the peace-makers," sought to smoothe over the
difficulty between the two, who were, as he knew, still none the
less attached to one another. He suggested to Ericsson that
possibly the termination of Mr. Delamater's customary visits
might be explained by the somewhat uncomplimentary nature
of his remarks upon the occasion of the last visit.
" WeU," was the answer, ^4f he wants to be such a fool as
to stay away on that account, he can."
Next Mr. Delamater was waited upon and asked why he
had not called. ''For the very good reason," he answered^
" that when I last saw Ericsson he said he did not want to see
my d — d old face inside his door again."
With diplomatic reserve, Mr. Taylor refrained from men-
tioning the exact nature of Ericsson's remark on this subject,
but he assured Mr. Delamater very truthfully, that his friend
was anxious to see him. He consented to call, and when his
familiar knock was heard on the door of Ericsson's room, a
hearty voice responded — " Come in, Harry ! " Next followed
a cordial handshake, and nothing was said on the subject of
difEerences.
246 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
On the occaBion of another difficulty between them, Erics-
Bon wrote, in response to a note received from his friend :
Let me call year attention to the fact that yon hare no tight to
abuse a man for being angiy, since anger is inyolantary ; bnt jou have a
right to hold him to striot aooonntabilitj for all he says, although
laboring under excitement, however great.
Nothing in mj vehement expression can be construed into an insult
to you. If permitted to follow mj inclination, this will be the last word
on this subject, bj writing or verbally. Your letter is all I desire, and
all the more satisfactory because it came so quickly after the occurrence
— ^what might have been expected from a man so generous as yoiurself .
Your letter is burning before me and, please Qod, the occurrence shall
be forgotten. Should it ever involuntarily present itself, it will be like
that hideous dream which has no reality.
Your truest friend,
J. £bIG880N.
It was thus that John Ericsson would wish to be judged : it
is right that he should be thus judged. There was no malice,
no unkindness in his heart, and he was always a true and gen-
erous friend. The vehemence of his disposition was beyond
his control — the necessary accompaniment of the ardent and
impulsive temperament which furnished motive power to his
rare intellectual ability. Explosive force is the expression of
power, and those who deal with imprisoned energies must
take their risks. Does not Philip Hone, in his '* Diary,'' tell us
of seeing from his front window, one morning, the gentle-
hearted poet, Bryant, attacking a fellow-editor and striking him
'* over the head with a cowskin ? " ^* Those who knew him only
in his later years," says Bryant's friend and biographer, Mr.
John Bigelow, " would scarcely believe that he had been en-
dowed by nature with a very quick and passionate temper. He
never entirely overcame it." Nor did Ericsson ; but Thomas
Fuller, the pious author of ^^ Holy and Perfect State," assures
us that ^^ anger is one of the sinews of the soul."
Whenever Ericsson felt that his impetuosity had carried him
too far, he was quick to offer his apologies, and sometimes
when the occasion did not require it. On January 4, 1886,
Greneral Nelson A. Miles, of the Army, called with Thomas
Nast, the artist. General Miles had exhibited an intelligent
FKIENDSHIP8 AKD CHARACTERISTICS. 347
and patriotic intereBt in Ericsson's schemes for national defence^
and the great engineer was thns tempted to talk more freely
than was his wont concerning the cavalier treatment his prop-
ositions had received at Washington. Neither of his visitors
was at all disturbed by what was said, but Ericsson felt that he
had been too outspoken and on the succeeding day each gentle-
man received a letter of apology. To General Miles Ericsson
wrote, saying:
I have jnst sent a note to Mr. Nast, thanking him for his friendly
visit yesterday, and apolo^zing for my rude, not to say profane, criti-
cism of certain high officifds in Washington ; my excuse being the smart-
ing under the infliction of gross injustice, by which I am frequently
thrown off m j balance. Fray accept yourself this excuse for my unpar-
donable rudeness.
To another gentleman, with whom he had engaged in a
somewhat animated discussion on an engineering question, he
wrote:
Pray pardon my rudeness during our argument. The fact is, I was
quite unwell, a circumstance which I ought to have adverted to at the
time. Praj also pardon my having caused you loss of valuable time
dmring an argument which I have no reason to be proud of.
Ericsson was at this time an octogenarian, but whatever the
excuses others might make for the infirmities of age, he claimed
no privileges for himself. He was sometimes tempted to speak
freely of persons who interfered with him, but would afterward
show his regret at thus giving way to feeling, and as a rule he
refrained from criticising individuals.
Peter Cooper, so long as he lived, was one of Ericsson's
most welcome visitors. He had the highest respect for Mr.
Cooper's personal character, and the warmest sympathy with
his work, as he had for all efiPorts of men to benefit their fel-
lows. There was a further bond of union in Mr. Cooper's in-
terest in mechanical inventions. The first locomotive ever
operated in this country was built by him in 1830, the year
after the locomotive trial at Kainhill. The inaccessible en-
gineer was never so busy that he could not find time to run
248 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON .
downstairs for a chat with the great philanthropist The two
octogenarians would exchange, in the later years of their in-
tercourse, recollections of the earlier period when they were
engaged in kindred studies, and Ericsson would express his
appreciation of the wisdom prompting Cooper to bestow his
largess during his lifetime.
CHAPTER XXXV.
BELIGIOUS BELIHFB.
Aooeptanoe of the Dootrine of a Greatiye InteUigenoe.— The Great
Mechanioian. — OmniBcience Accepted, bat not Omnipotence. — ^Ar-
g^ment as to a Fatnre Existence. — ^The Goal of Brahma. — ^Aversion
to Funerals. — The Sermon on the Monni — Hatred of Cant. — ^Disbe-
lief in Greeds. — Altroistic Principles. — ^Methods of Work.
TO Ericsson's religioas opiniona may be applied the aajing
of Horace :
"He heard the thunder and believed,*'
The perfection of the machinery that keeps the nniverse in
motion excited his wonder and admiration, and led him logically
to the acceptance of the doctrine of a creative intelligence. No-
where did he find proof that matter has any inherent power to
assume forms other than those imposed upon it by mind, and
he was satisfied that the universe is the handiwork of One
whom he was accustomed to describe as the ^^ Great Mechani-
cian." He not only believed in a Creator, but in one who is
omniscient and controlled by benevolent purpose. The doc-
trine of omnipotence, as it is defined by theology, he could not
accept. In the postscript of a letter to Adlersparre, he said :
P. S. — ^I trust you have not misconstrued the expressions contained in
my letter of February 4th. A more grateful being does not live, or one
who is more profoundly impressed with the wonders and perfections of
organic nature, than the humble scribe. But, while he fully appreci-
ates the beauty of creation, and admits that $tq)refne wUdom and infinite
benevolence are displayed in everything, he insists that it cannot be said
of matter ** there was a time when it was not," and he denies the exist-
ence of a power that can disturb laws in full force when the universe
was chaos. In other words, he denies the power to do impossibilities;
create matter out of nothing, or annihilate that which exists.
J. £.
March 6, 1868.
260 LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSOK.
God is the great constrnctor — the chief mathematician and
mechanic, and ure not those whose love of usefnl endeavor
leads them to study the laws of the universe he has created
better fitted to understand his nature and pui*poses than those
who occupy themselves in constructing artificial systems of
philosophy and religion t
The doctrine of immortality Ericsson found difficulty in
accepting. With him the body was a machine, and all experi-
ence with machinery taught him that when its force was ex-
hausted, or its working parts decayed beyond repair, it fell into
ruin and entered upon the process of disintegration, to pass
once more through the cyde of change. He did not concern
himself with the argument that it is as impossible to reduce
matter as spirit to the last analysis — to the final statement of
properties. If it be true that both stand upon a like footing,
as something cognizable only through phenomena, the phe-
nomena of one were his familiar, everyday acquaintance, while
to seek the other he must explore a region foreign to him,
and travel in ways over which the mists of speculation hung
heavily.
November 24, 1867, Adlersparre wrote, saying : ^^ I am much
obliged to you for the short, but too short, biography in your
last letter. It was very interesting to learn how you divide
your time. But much remains to learn ; for instance, about your
meals, gymnastics, if you take wine, sleep after dinner, etc.
The reply to these and many other questions would be of great-
est interest to posterity, and I hope you will answer them when
yon have time. I collect here in Sweden all possible materials
for a future account of your remarkable way through life. In
another world we shall have other rdles, and perhaps there you
will be a fine aristocrat who will not soil his fingers with India
ink, and whose highest degree of happiness will be to do noth-
ing. Who knows ? ^'
To this Ericsson answered as follows, this and many other
letters in these volumes being translated from the Swedish :
New Tobk, February 4, 186a
My Dbab Captain : Beplies to your questions : To go to bed at 10.
o'clock is too early for a person who has finished a snbstantial meal at 5^.
And that hour is not suitable either for a person who makes calls in the
BBLI0I0U8 BELIEFS. 261
evening, tnd afterward takes exeroise in the open air to be able to go to
bed with a clear head. Relating to the other world, jon oan judge of mj
opinion after having read and oonsidered the following :
The condition of matter is essential to existence and on this is
founded an important axiom, ** complete Toid reigns in a place when mat-
ter is absent," and conseqnentlj a life without matter is an inconsistency,
an imx>ossibilit J. To enclose a x>erson in such a waj that when he dies
(from suffocation) not a single atom csn evaporate is very easy. If he
be enclosed in gold, the shutting up will continue for thousands of cen-
turies. I suppose you will say, there is nothing impossible to Qod ; to
which I answer, that it is not within Gk>d's power to act against me-
chanical laws, most of which do not even admit a creator. For instance :
with all his power, God cannot make two straight parallel lines meet,
however far they are drawn ; neither can he make the square of the hy-
pothenc^ smaller or larger than the squares contained in the area of
the two sides surroimding the rectangle. I need not tell you that in-
numerable similar axioms existed before creation, and that the creative
power is insufficient to overcome laws that are based on such axioms or
rather ** urs(mningar '* (original truths), if I be allowed to coin such a
word, is indisputable. You can make the application yourself. The
desire for continued enjoyment is so strong, especially in those who are
selfish by nature, that the final extinction of existence with life, although
an indisputable proposition, is one very few have the courage to adopt
A few weeks later Ericsson wrote :
Kbw Tobk, April 17, 1888.
Mt Dbab Captaik : A word about eternity. Your belief that the
soul, which at the most is a mass of wiad lacking form and organization,
can here ** develop " for its great use in the next world amuses me in-
tensely. Is it really a fact that the mechanical mind alone oan under-
stand that without thinking machinery thinking is imx>os8ible, that re-
membrance is impossible without an apparatus that receives, keeps, and
is able to repeat the impressions, etc. ? It would be interesting to know
how you think that the poor soul, lacking all these and thousands of
other necessary requirements, will be able to get along in another world,
if such a one should exist, and if there be in the same some magic ap-
paratus that could carry the shapeless creation through spaca As soon
as I have time I will give your fine theory such a blow as it cannot re-
sist.
Again he wrote, four days later : ^^ Do not .^ndge too se-
verely my last seemingly frivolous letter. The fact is that I
sometimes lack patience to argue seriously against a thesis
263 LIFE OF JOHN BBI0880K.
which is not snpported by a single tnUhy bat is contradicted by
a thousand facta."
The promised blow was never delivered, for meanwhile
Captain Adlersparre lost his wife, and Ericsson, with character-
istic kindness, wrote, saying :
New Yobk, ICsj 80^ 186a
MtDbab Caftatv : It is with great sympathy I find that yon have
suffered an irreparable loss. Yonr belief in a life after this, with the
oomforting idea of the meeting on the other side of the grave, will
famish abundant compensation for the present grief and pain, and giye
yon a consolation which in such cases Ib denied to the professors of ma-
terialism. As I find from yonr last letter that yon really have a firm
belief, I will beg yonr paidon for my remarks about religion. I am
never accustomed to say anjrthing on this question when I communicate
with one who possesses a settled belief.
In 1879 Ericsson sent this communication to his life-long
and most intimate of friends, Cornelius H. Delamater:
Dbab Habb7 : life is the greatest of evils — annihilation the highest
bliss. To extinguish individuality in absorption, to close the circle of
metempsychosis, to be finally rid of being, is the goal of Brahma's be-
lieversi and of,
My dear Harry, Yours very truly,
X Sbiobboh.
The purpose of this letter can only be conjectured. That
it has more than ordinary significance is shown by the fact that
its destination was carefully concealed from those about Erics-
son. The body of the copy retained is in the handwriting of
his secretary ; the addrass, the signature and the inscription at
the end were written by Ericsson himself and he has appended
to the letter this memorandum :
" Forwarded September 16, 1879 — Letter put into the lamp-
post by Louis."
In 1866 Professor Mapes died and Ericsson felt called upon
to express to the widow his regret at this loss. How kind and
sympathetic i\e could be under such circumstances is shown by
the letter to Mrs. Mapes that follows. It is one of several sim*
ilar letters written on like occasions, all expressing the liveli-
BELIOIOUS BSLISFB. 368
68t appreciation of the loss suffered by the one to whom he
wrote:
Kew Yobk, January 12, 1866.
Ht Diab lisa Maw : I oannot refndn from condoling with jou on
the irreparable loss which yon have sustained. Judging by mj own
feelings of sadness, I can realize the depths of your sorrow. I always
regarded your departed husband as one of the kindest and most gener-
ous men I haye ever met. These amiable qualities, in connection with
his remarkable intellectual powers and accomplishments, impelled me
to seek his friendship more than a quarter of a century ago. I now re-
gard that friendship as one of the warmest I ever had the pleasure to
form. Never for lit moment did it flag. James J. Mapes was always to
me the same — true as steel — and I shall ever cherish his memory with
affection and esteem. Peace and honor to his ashes. I beg of you to
remember me kindly to your bereaved family and am, my dear Mrs.
Mape8»
Tours very truly,
J. FiBTfWHOH.
Tliongh Ericsson had been designated as one of Professor
Mapes's pall-bearers he did not even attend his funeral. For
some reason he had a profound distaste for such services and
was never present at a funeral after he left Sweden.
The Sermon on the Mount awakened in Ericsson the deepest
admiration, and he was accustomed to refer to it as the most
sublime of discourses. To a friend who had become involved
in a dispute with some relative he wrote, saying :
I have read your letter of the 28d very carefully, amazed at its bel-
ligerent spirit I say again : seek reconciliation. YbUf with your splen-
did record and your years, can afford to be magnanimous — ^not so with
your relative. The Founder of the sublime Christian code of morals
commands you to ignore the fact that you have been wronged when you
meet your adversary. I need say no more.
I regard your reference to "cow skins " as a mere slip of the pen ;
for I feel confident that reason, not resentment, guides in your dealings
with those who have offended you.
On one occasion a young naval officer who was threatened
with discipline by the Navy Department, because of some in-
discretion in which Ericsson's household was involved, appealed
364 LIFE OF JOHir EBI088ON.
tfaroagh his father to the sympathieB of Ericsson and elicited
from him this letter addressed to Secretary Welles :
Mr. — ^ has requested me in the most urgent manner to address
yon in fsTor of his son, who recently insulted some of the females of my
household. I cannot imagine how the yoimg man is to benefit by my
oompUanoe, and I haye so stated to Mr. , yet as he persists in hia
request I have most respectfully to say that as a Christian I oheexfully
and completely foigive the insult whidi young — — has indirectly sub-
Jeoted me to.
This was certainly a practical application of his own teach-
ing-
In a different vein is this letter, addressed to Mr. B. B.
Forbes, when the writer and recipient of the letter, as the date
shows, had both of them passed the age of three score and ten :
Nbw Tobk« Jolj 5, 1870.
My Dbab Snt : Tou haye entered forbidden ground. Were you not,
owing to your exceeding goodness, the sfMcial pet of heaven, your of-
fending hand would have become paralyzed while sketching the sec-
tional representation of a device intended to sux)er8ede the work of the
Great Mechanician. He devised the hollow cylinder as the only means
capable of insuring that lightness and strength indispensable to enable
his aerial navigators to perform the wondrous feats which we behold.
Know then, audacious improver t that a spar framed as you propose,
possesses only a fraction of the strength of a holbu> spar of equal weight
and external dimensions.
Concerning atonement for your temerity, I recommend, besides sin-
cere penitence, protracted fasting and prayer.
Tours very tnily«
X FiRroBflow.
Ericsson was occasionally made the Tictim of attempts to
bring him to an orthodox frame of mind. How he received
snch well-meant interference with his liberty of action and be*
lief is shown by this letter:
Nsw YoBX, August G, 1887.
HnB ; Oaptain Ericsson directs me to inform you that he has
worked three hundred and sixty-five days in the year for upward of
forty years. During that period he has devoted more time to the study
of the benevolent attributes and wonderful works of the Creator and
Buler of the universe than you have spent within the walls of leligioQS
BELT6I0US BELIEFS. 266
hoiuiea. Oaptain Eriosson aooepis your imperfect knowledge of the
snbjeot as an apology for your impertinence in writing to him ae yon
have done.
Very reepectf ally,
S. W. Tatu>b, Secretary.
Thongh Ericeson had a horror of everything that seemed to
him to savor of cant, he was always respectfnl to sincere belief,
as the extracts from his letters here given will show. In his
honse was set np an altar at which his Catholic servant wor-
shipped without molestation, and when the zealous ladies of a
Protestant Sunday-school in the neighborhood sought to entice
her daughter from her, the master interfered, insisting that
the child should follow her mother's faith until she was of an
age to judge for herself. The rector who called one Sunday
to urge the claims of the school found the great engineer
busied at his drawing-desk, and ventured upon some religious
admonitions appropriate to the occasion. He was answered by
very pointed inquiries as to his own abstinence from labor on
the day of rest, and an argument to show that the circum-
stances did not alter the cases. To the cradit of this divine,
be it said, that when later on the body of John Ericsson lay
awaiting its burial he hastened to place his church at the dis-
posal of the friends of the dead.
Ericsson must have been baptized into the Lutheran Church,
but his nearest approach to religious observances was in his
election to honorary membership in the Swedish Church of
Oustavus Adolphus, established in Kew York in 1865, and his
selection as one of the trustees of the church. In response to
an appeal for his assistance in purchasing the church building
in East Twenty-second Street he contributed a thousand dol-
lars, and wrote, ^November 1, 1865, to say : ^^ It will afiPord me
great pleasure to forward the interests of the Swedish Church
in Kew York. Please, therefore, use my name in the manner
you propose. I will also cheerfully contribute means to a rea-
sonable amount in furtherance of your important plan."
His relations to this church as a member do not appear,
however, to have gone beyond pleasant responses to occasional
applications from the good ladies of the congregation for help
in carrying on the yarious enterprises requiring the issue of
966 LIFB OF JOHN EBICSSON.
tickets, for which the brethren were expected to find sale.
Brother Ericsson was always to be depended npon in this way ,
and if, as a trustee, he was not very punctual in attendance at
board meetings, he was looked to with confidence for advice
and assistance when the occasion seemed to demand it When
in 1869 the church suffered the loss of $3,000 by the defalca-
tion of its treasurer, the facts were set before Ericsson as due
to him as trustee, ^' though not acting as such, and as so liberal
a contributor to the treasury of the church.'' A letter sent
by him to its pastor will show that Trustee Ericsson had pro-
nounced views on at least one subject of importance in adminis-
tering the affairs of the church. Through the medium of hifi
secretary, he said :
Gaptain Ericsson has received your honored commnnication of Sep*
tember 7th, and desires me to state in reply, that he cannot see the pro-
priety in asking American citizens to pay the debt incurred by the
Swedish congregation of Gnstaf Adolph's Church. You need not be
informed that it is the invariable role in the United States that con-
gregations who undertake to build, or purchase, churches must depend
on their own resources. Obviously, other denominations of different
creed cannot, under any circumstances whatever, be called upon to
defray your exx)enses in the manner you propose. Gaptain Ericsson,
under such circumstances, desires to express emphatically his disinclina-
tion to second the course you have decided to pursue in regard to the
debt incurred by the congregation of Gustaf Adolph's Ghuroh.
Evidently Captain Ericsson was better informed on engi-
neering matters than as to the custom of American congrega-
tions in seeking pecuniary aid beyond their own membership.
Whatever Ericsson did or did not believe found frank ex-
pression on necessary occasion, but he never sought to disturb
others with his doubts. He certainly did observe most thor-
oughly the doctrine of '^ laborare est orare,'' and he held with
Seneca that "the first petition we are to make to Almighty
Ood is for a good conscience, the next for health of mind,
and then of body." Disbelief in any life beyond what he saw
was with him the stimulus to increased exertion, that he might
benefit his race to the utmost of his great ability. Creeds that
would bind his benevolent purposes within the limitations of
stated methods might be of service to others ; they were n<A
BBLIGIOUS BELIEFS. 367
for him. He loved work, not for its own Bake solely, but be-
cause through its means he was able to serve his fellow men.
As his countryman, Swedenborg, would have said: He was
^ in the love of use for the sake of use."
I have failed of my purpose if I have not shown in this
narrative how faithful John Ericsson was to his altruistic be*
lief. It seems impossible that any one man could have ac-
complished within the compass of a single lifetime what he
accomplished ; identifying himself in so many ways with the
mechanical changes that have separated the Nineteenth Century
so widely from all that preceded it, and opened a new world of
thought, and interest, and sympathy, until ^^ a mystic band of
brotherhood makes all men one " to a degree that shames the
past, and stimulates the utmost hopes for the future.
Is it not to the workers rather than to the talkers that we owe
these hopeful changes ? True, human development is progres-
sive, and all that has been is involved in what is ; yet, so far as
appears, the mechanical accomplishment of a single century has
done more than the preaching of eighteen centuries to destroy
insular prejudice, and to bring men together in human sym-
pathy. The practical nature of Ericsson's mind made it im-
possible for him to accept shadowy impressions for positive
beliefs, about which he was free to dogmatize; yet who has
done more than he to realize the Christian ideal of a universal
brotherhood, to formulate Tennyson's conception of ^^the parlia-
ment of man, the federation of the world t " It is not state-
craft, nor even military genius, that has made the United
States, for example, a possibility ; it is engineering ability.
The bonds that hold us in indissoluble unity were forged in
the workshops of craftsmen. It is the railroads, the steam-
boats, and the telegraph that bind the Pacific States to those
on the Atlantic shore ; the cities on the Gulf to those that bor-
der our great lakes. It was the Pacific Bailroad that solved
the vexed Indian question, and erased from the map the '^ great
American desert," dividing the East from the West; just as
the Trans- Caucasian Bailroad of Bussia has transformed the
wastes of central Asia into cotton-fields, and the murderous
fanatics of Merv and Bokhara into peaceful subjects of the
White Czar.
Vol. n.— 17
258 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
£iic88on was in the habit of jotting down on odd bits of
paper the mechanical suggestions that dropped upon him by
the way, and among his manuscripts are numerous memoranda
of this sort, with the dates and the hour of the day when the
drawing was made, often far in the evening. This subordina-
tion to the conditions under which he worked, no doubt ex-
plains in a measure his impatience of suggestion, and his ab-
solute insistence upon strict adherence to his drawings. He
never seemed to have any curiosity to examine his work after
it had left his hands, and never cared to receive a report as to
the practical working of his machinery. He declined a request
coming from Captain Fox immediately after the MonUar and
Merrimac affair, that he should visit Hampton Boads and in-
spect his vessel ; and he never went aboard the Destroyer but
once, and then it was in search of his assistant, whose prolonged
absence disquieted him.
"Did you ever hear of Kapoleon's attending a. company
drill ? " he once answered, when asked why he was not present
at the trial of one of his novel pieces of machinery. It was his
office to conceive, to plan, to lay out the work ; others must
execute, and see to the accurate carrying out of his instructions.
Still he was quite capable of supervising when necessary, as his
attention to the details of work upon the Princeton, and the
original Monitor show.
Ericsson's portrait shows that " massive breadth across the
lower part of the forehead usually observed in men of eminent
constructive skiU." He had remarkable capacity for reasoning
a jpriori as to the conditions he had to meet in solving a given
problem, and providing for these conditions without waiting
for the slow processes of experiment to instruct him as to his
methods. ^^ The combination of that faculty of the imagina-
tion which we call invention, with the experience, the science,
and the caution which are the main qualifications of successful
engineers," says John Bourne, "is a combination at once rare
and precious ; and, like the talents of a great general, it may
become a power in the state that will influence its future des-
tinies. Henceforth wars will be determined, not so much by a
preponderance of muscle, as by a preponderance of brain ; and
the example of Ericsson shows how much may be done by one
BELIOIOUS BXLIEFS. 269
man to overtnrn existing ByBtems of naval warfare, and to com-
pel all nations to introduce others of greater efficacy."
Until the era of machinery man was dominated by natnre,
and all of his thoughts, all of his prejudices, all of his aspirations
were limited by the narrow range of his experience and by his
isolation from the rest of the world. If such men as Ericsson
could have taken advantage .of the conditions they created,
what could they not have accomplished ! It is they who have
opened the way for Edison and his work ; who have trained
commercial men and commercial ideas to comprehend the un-
limited possibilities of machinery. It is they who have stemmed
and turned the tide of the public sentiment that drove Fitch to
suicide, that overwhelmed Fulton with ridicule and saddened
his life, that discouraged and thwarted the efiPorts of Oliver
Evans. The language that assailed Fulton was, he tells us,
"uniformly that of scorn, or sneer, or ridicule. The loud
laugh often rose at my expense ; the dry jest, the wise calcula-
tion of losses and expenditures, the dull but endless repetition
of * Fulton's folly.' Never did a single encouraging remark, or
bright hope, or warm wish, cross my path."
Ericsson's experience was similar to this, and he was halted
midway in his progress toward success, and had the unde-
served stigma of failure put upon enterprises that needed only
the favoring breath of popular, or at least of professional, accept-
ance to secure for them universal approval. There was no
possibility of ideal perfection sufficient to secure currency for
some of his inventions at the time they were made. The in-
ventor of half a century or more ago — even more than now—
was not merely required to construct practicable machines ; he
was compelled to reorganize opinions, to combat prejudices, to
destroy vested interests, most tenacious of life, before he could
BO much aQ secure for himself a hearing. Particularly was this
the case with a man whose ideas ran counter to official predi-
lections, and who presented himself as a disturber of the sacred
rights of professional routine.
CHAPTER XXXVL
THE SX7N MOTOB.
Presentation of the Bomford Medals.— Ericsson Begins His Investiga-
tions into Solar Badiation. — His Theory as to«the Influence of
Biver Oorrents.— He Invents His Snn Motor.— Its Prospectiye In-
fluence in Changing the Seat of Empire. — Applies the Solar Engine
to Use with Gas.— Profits of this Invention Exceed the $100,000
Spent on Solar Investigation.
MOBE was involved in the contest in the American Acade-
my of Arts and Sciences, referred to in Chapter XIY.,
than the single question of bestowing the Ramford medals
upon John Ericsson. The argument was not only for a recog-
nition of his merits, but against an interpretation of the pur-
poses of the founder of the prize, so narrow, that in sixty-six
years only one person had, in the opinion of abstract science,
been found worthy of its receipt. Following the award to
Ericsson in 1862, it was granted in 1863 to Professor Tread-
well for his improvement in the manufacture of cannon ; to
Alvan Clark for his achromatic telescope ; in 1869 to George
H. Corliss for his steam-engine, and in 1871 to Joseph Harrison
for his steam-boilers. Since then it has been given to L. M.
Rutherford for improvements in astronomical photography,
and to John W. Draper, J. Willard Gibbs, H. A. Rowland,
and S. P. Langley, for their several researches in radiant ener-
gy, thermo-dynamics, light, and heat.
The storm aroused by the contest over Ericsson seems to
have been followed by a ground-swell of discontent, for there
was a noticeable departure in his case from the courteous cus-
tom attending the transfer of the gold and silver medals to the
custody of the recipient. It is usual to distinguish the occasion
with an address before the assembled members of the Acad-
emy, and to listen to a response. Possibly Ericsson's absorp*
THE SUN MOTOB. 261
tion in government work interfered with the nsnal order. It
was certainly made the excuse for a departure from it, and he
did not actually receive the prize until four years after he he-
came entitled to it. Finally, in 1866, his chief champion in
the Academy, Professor Horsford, took the medals to New
York, and a company of gentlemen gathered to witness the
ceremony of presentation. Their expectations of listening to a
response to Professor Horsford's excellent presentation address
were disappointed, however. To Mr. Charles Gould, of New
York, who was active in arranging for the meeting, the Bum-
ford presentee wrote, saying :
Nbw Tobe, May 12, 1866.
Dhab Sib : I have had the honor to receive yonr very kind invitation,
bat I regret intensely that yon are patting yonrself to trouble and in-
curring expenses on my aooount, and that a formal presentation of the
medals has been arranged, since such a ceremony is wholly repugnant to
my ideas and taste. I am practical and utilitarian. I have expressed
these sentiments most emphatically to my friend, Mr. Sargent, at whose
suggestion Professor Horsford so kindly, and at such an immense sacri-
fice of time and conyenience, procured the medals ; but my friend, it
now appears, has not presented the matter to the Professor as he told
me he would. Apart from my utter repugnance to the proposed cere-
mony, I yesterday had the misfortune to hurt my back so seriously as
to bring on an old complaint originating in lifting a heavy weight
Many weeks will as usual elapse before I can get out. Please therefore
countermand any invitations you may have sent out. My clerk, the bear-
er of this, will relieve you of all trouble if you only will give him your
instructions.
Accept my warmest thanks for your generous intention, and for your
kind invitation to the family which I have not.
I am, dear sir, with the highest esteem.
Yours gratefully and truly,
J. TlBTOnffON.
To Professor Horsford a copy of this letter was sent with
this note of explanation :
Nxw ToBK, May 19, 1866.
Mt Dbab Sm : I have your favor kindly inquiring about my health.
I am glad to say that I this time got over the efifects of my little mis-
hap without trouble — ^violent movements of the body being all I have
to guard against for a short time.
I deem it proper to send you a copy of my letter to Mr. Gould, on
the subject of the kindly intended ceremony of presentation.
262 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Ab Sargent has not performed his promise to explain folly that the
recipient of your distingnished favors is an eooentric person, whom noth-
ing can indnce to appear in pnblic, and who has not been ont of his
house in five years, I most now plead my own oanse, and beg of yon to
spare me the pain and embarrassment of a formal presentation of the
medals which cost you so much trouble and annoyance in obtaining for
Your most grateful and exceedingly obliged,
J, EjUOBBOIL
There were some extremely sensitive fibres in Ericsson's
organization, and one of them appears to have been touched in
this case. Spontaneous and cordial recognition of his work waa
always welcome ; that given grudgingly he did not value. To
Professors Horsford and Treadwell for their warm, and finally
successful, advocacy of his title to honor all praise was due, but
not to the Academy as a whole, for it had most unwillingly
recognized his merits. It would have been much more gratify-
ing to him if Prof. Horsford could have spoken for all of his
associates when he said : ^^ I beg to congratulate you upon the
honors you have won through a life of research and experi-
ment, devoted to the prosperity and well-being of mankind, in
the field contemplated by the illustrious founder of the Rum-
ford premium."
The award of the Bumford prize gave additional zest to
studies that had occupied Ericsson's attention more or less from
the commencement of his professional career. The develop-
ment of his " caloric engine " was naturally associated with in-
quiries as to the nature of solar energy, and the possibility of its
direct application to the purposes of human industry. The
distractions of a busy life had given little opportunity for inde-
pendent investigation, but his heart was in this work from the
first, and as soon as wealth and leisure were at his disposal he
determined upon a systematic inquiry as to the soundness of
the current theories concerning the temperature of the sun and
the characteristics of solar radiation. He resolved, as he said,
to measure for himself '^ the intensity of that big fire which is
hot enough to work engines at a distance of 90,000,000 miles."
He began his investigations as soon as the close of the
American War of Secession relieved him from his responsibil-
ity to Government. In 1868 he had made sufficient progreaa
THE SUN KOTOR. 368
to enable him to write Beveral letters to the Dean of the
Philosophical Facnltj of the Swedish Uaiversity of Land,
briefly Btating some of his conclusioas, and aanouncing that he
bad in preparation a work in which they would be more folly
Bet ioTth. Solar radiation, in its effect upon the evaporation
Dlifnm Showing thi Action of th* Rlnn In Ctnytng MMMr t
Sectkn of the «*rtA npnasnted u * pvrfcct nben. ]
Bcala, 1,800 ndlM^^ l btca.
of the waters of the sea had, ae he stated in these letters, been
with him a subject of investigation for many years.
Abandoning his youthful theories as to the principle of com-
pensation in nature, Ericsson in the end went so far in an op-
posite direction as to deny the accepted doctrine, that " every
imaginable action affecting the rotation of the globe is exactly
compensated by the effect of another motion in an opposite
direction." The son so affects the waters of the earth as to
264 LIFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
disturb this sdieme of compensation, and to an extent suffi-
cient to account for the observed retardation of twelve seconds
in a century in the earth's rotary velocity without the influ-
ence of the tidal wave, ^^ hitherto greatly overestimated." * It
lifts the waters from the seas and deposits them in the chan-
nels of great rivera flowing toward the equator. This move-
ment is not compensated for by the vapors traversing the
earth's atmosphere in an opposite direction, nor by the move-
ment of the waters in the channels opening toward the poles.
Hence there is a tendency to retard the rotation of the earth
by heaping up material upon its equatorial circumference ; just
as the motion of a pendulum is retarded by swinging it through
the arc of a larger circle.
Then there is the corresponding movement of the sediment
carried along by rivers flowing toward the equator. The Mis-
sissippi, with its numerous branches and its thousand lesser
tributaries, carries equatorward, to a mean distance of 1,500
miles, and on an average nearly 500 miles farther from the
centre of the earth's rotation, a mass of sediment sufficient by
its displacement to retard the rotation of the earth .00036 of a
second in a century. One hundred and thirty-six rivers flow-
ing toward the equator exert altogether a resisting influence of
72.445 horse-power in each second of time.
The influence of volcanic action in removing matter farther
from the centre of the earth was also calculated, and it was
shown that the sun rises later than it would do if men had not
been busied for so many generations in erecting on the surface
of the earth structures composed of materials taken from its
depths. Even the concussion of two railroad trains lessens the
earth's rotary power by radiating into space a portion of its
vis vwa. The calculated effect of these influences is so infini-
tesimal that it recalls the Hindoo estimate of the duration of
the torments of hell, as measurable by the time required to
wear away the rocky range of the Himalayas with a gauze veil
* EriosBon demoted macli time to the study of tidal action, hoping to nuke
it available for the production of mechanical power. Speaking of tiiis half a
century later, he said, ** I had to abandon my yarious schemee, not beinff
able to compete with the vast energy stored up in lumps of coal. But the
time wiU come when such lumps wiU be as soaroe as diamonds."
THS SUIf HOTOB. 265
brushed against it once in a hundred million years. Still, the
result is measurable.
Ericsson's demonstration of this theory is too elaborate and
technical to find place here. It resulted in the invention of an
apparatus to show that the retarding influence of waters mov-
ing in narrow channels from the poles toward the equator is not
counterbalanced by the movement in an opposite direction of
the same volume of water in the form of vapor.
These interesting speculations were briefly alluded to in
Ericsson's communication to the Lund Faculty. He was at
that time too busy to enter fully into the subject, and he re-
quested that his letters be considered private. lie wrote be-
cause he was anxious, as he explained, to show the Philosophi-
cal Faculty of the University that other subjects than machine
building had occupied his time during the long absence from
his native country.
The year in which his communications were sent to Lund
completed the second centennial of the opening of the univer-
sity in 1668. Appropriate ceremonies marked the occasion,
and Ericsson received a cordial invitation to attend. This he
was compelled to decline, but he sent a thesis on '^ the use of
solar heat as a mechanical motor-power," and received from
the university the honorary title of " Philosophise Doctor."
His thesis was published in a volume of four hundred pages,
containing the report of the centennial proceedings.
Ericsson's paper attracted great attention, as it announced
the invention of a solar motor intended to supplement the
energies of coal in furnishing mechanical power. ^' I cannot
omit," said he in this paper, ^^ adverting to the insigniflcance
of the dynamic energy which the entire exhaustion of our coal
flelds would produce, compared with the incalculable amount of
force at our command, if we avail ourselves of the concentrated
beat of the solar rays. Already Englishmen have estimated
the near approach of the time when the supply of coal will
end, although their mines, so to speak, have just been opened.
A couple of thousand years dropped in the ocean of time will
completely exhaust the coal fields of Europe, unless, in the
meantime, the heat of the sun be employed.
His experiments showed that by concentrating with his ap«
266 LIFE OF jomr eriossoit.
paratus the rajB of the Bon falling upon a snrfaoe ten feet
sqnare^ he could evaporate fonr hundred and eighty-nine cubic
inches of water in an hour. Of this result, he said : ^^ Its im-
portance cannot be overestimated when we reflect that such an
-amount of evaporation demonstrates the presence of suffident
heat to develop a force capable of lifting thirty-five thousand
pounds one foot high in a minute, thus exceeding one horse-
power. As an incontrovertible evidence of the capability of
the sun to develop a great amount of heat at high temperatures,
this result is probably of greater importance than any other
physical truth practically established.
^' It is true that the solar heat is often prevented from
reaching the earth. On the other hand, the skilful engineer
knows many ways of laying up a supply when the sky is clear
and the great store-house is open, where the fuel may be ob-
tained free of cost and transportation. At the same time a
gi«at portion of oar planet enjoys perpetual aunshine. The
field therefore awaiting the application of the solar engine is
almost beyond computation, while the source of its power is
boundless. Who can foresee what influence an ineidiaustible
motive power will exercise on civilization, and the capability of
the earth to supply the wants of our race t "
Ericsson had sought to lessen the enormous waste of coal
by his improvements in the steam-engine, and by his substitu-
tion of heated air for heated water as a means of converting
into motion the imprisoned energies of the coal deposits, fie
had pleased himself with the fancy that in the ^' regenerator"
of his hot-air engine he had successfully applied nature's sup-
posed principle of compensation ; but a new school of philoso-
phy had arisen, declaring with pitiless logic that even in the
workshop of the universe itself the expenditure of power was
accompanied by waste. This being so he set himself at work
to extend at least to eons the period otherwise measurable by
centuries, and to awaken to a new life the regions of the earth
now parched with solar heat, so that the desert might '^ blossom
abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing." The not
insignificant amount of one hundred millions of tons of coal
had been saved during the last century by using solar radiation
in making salt, and still greater economies would result from
THE SUN KOTOB. 96T
eren fhe partial use of solar heat In the end the world woold
be forced to depend npon this to supply the energies no longer
ftrailable from coal fields exhausted by improvident use.
On July 9, 1875, Ericsson wrote that he had up to that
time constmcted and started seven eun-motors. In the issue of
JVature tot January 3, 1884, he desciibed a snn>motor pnt into
operation the summer before, saying of it : " This mechanical
device for utilizing the sun's radiant heat is the result of ezperi-
Salv Enclna OpanMd bf th* InWmntlon of SMm. Built M N«* York, iSto.
menta conducted through a series of twenty years ; a succession
of experimental machines of similar general design, but vary-
ing in details, having been built during that period."
The first motor was constructed in New York in 1870, and
was intended as a present to the French Academy of Sciences.
As it was to serve also as a meter for registering the amount of
steam generated, friction was reduced to a minimum by mak-
ing the working parts of nnnsnal dimensions. In the machine
as finally perfected the sun's rays were concentrated upon a
268. LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Cylindrical heater, placed longitudinally above a trongliHshaped
teflector. An examination of the illustrations will show the
difference between the earlier and the later machine. In the
first, a surface condenser is concealed in the square pedestal.
Another engine of different construction was designed, and
two or three experimental engines were built in 1874. With
reference to the application of solar heat to this engine, Erics-
son wrote to Mr. Delamater thus enthusiastically :
New York, October 22, 1878, 10 p.m.
DiAB Habbt : The world moYes — I have this day seen a machine
actuated by solar heat applied directly to atmospheric air. In less than
two minntes after turning the reflector toward the sun the engine was
in operation, no adjustment whatever being called for. In five min-
utes maximum speed was attained, the number of turns being by far
too great to admit of being counted.
Having found, by long experience, that small caloric engines cannot
be made to work without fail, on account of the valves getting out of
order, the above solar engine is operated without valves, and is therefore
absolutely reliable. As a working model, I claim that it has never been
equalled ; while on account of its operating by a direct application of
the sun's rays it marks an era in the world's mechanical history. You
shall see it in good time.
The two-cylinder caloric engine, to be operated by iron whose mole-
cules have been put in violent motion, you will also be invito to see
very shortly. Yours truly,
J. Ebiosson.
The sun-motor required a large reflecting surface to gather
sufficient heat from the rays of the sun. To secure this at the
least possible expense and in the simplest way, a light frame
of wooden staves was made, iron ribs supporting the thin
wood. This frame was lined on the inside with flat panes of
silvered window glass, set on a curve and held down by the
heads of small screws tapped into the ribs of the fi*ame-work.
In France, M. Tellier had undertaken to obtain power by
the direct application of solar heat without using reflecting
mirrors, but Ericsson used mirrors giving 1,850,000 foot^
pounds per hour, with 100 square feet of surface, while Tellier
developed only 43,360 foot-pounds per hour, with an exposure
of 215 square feet of surface. The solar engine of another
French inventor, Mouchot, was condemned after investigation
THB BUN MOTOR. 969
by the Freach Goverament, because his ailver-lined cmrod
metallic reflectora were too expensive, conld not be made on
a scale sufficient to meet the demands of commerce, and be-
came tarnished and ineffective after exposure for a few hours.
Ericsson originally used thin metallic plates in his reflector;
be subsequently adopted silvered glass, as this was cheap and
dnrable, and it could be cleaned like any mirror with an ordi-
nary feather-brnsh. The radiator or reflector was set on a pivot
so that it could be revolved and inclined at any desired angle,
a pull of five pounds being snfficient to move it.
The practical estimate was ten sqnare feet of reflector for
one horse-power. Taking this for a basis, Ericsson said :
Those regions of the eartb whioh suffer from an ezceas of solar heat
will nltimatelj derive benefits reanlting from an unlimited command of
•*
270 LIFfi OF JOHN SBICSSON.
motive power, which will to a great extent compensate for disadyantagea
hitherto supposed not to be counterbalanced by any good.
There is a rainless region extending from the northwest coast of
Africa to Mongolia, nine thousand miles in length, and nearly one
thousand miles wide. Besides the North African deserts, this region in-
cludes the southern coast of the Mediterranean east of the Qxdf of
Oabes, Upper Egypt, the eastern and part of the western coast of the
Bed Sea, part of Syria, the eastern part of the countries watered by the
Euphrates and Tigris, Eastern Arabia, the greater part of Persia, the ex-
treme western part of China, Thibet, and, lastly, Mongolia. In the
western hemisphere. Lower California, the table-land of Mexico and
Guatemala, and the west coast of South America, for a distance of more
than two thousand miles, suffer from continuous intense radiant heat.
We learn that 22,800,000 solar engines, each of 100 horse-power,
could be kept in constant operation, nine hours a day, by utilizing only
that heat which is now wasted on the assumed small fraction of land ex-
tending along some of the water-fronts of the sunburnt regions of the
earth. Due consideration cannot fail to convince us that the rapid ex-
haustion of the European coal-fields will soon cause great changes with
reference to international relations, in favor of those countries which are
in possession of continuous sun-power. Upper Egypt, for instance, will,
in the course of a few centuries, derive signal advantage and attain a
high political position on a<3count of her perpetual sunshine, and the
consequent command of unlimited motive-power. The time will come
when Europe must stop her mills for want of coaL Upper Egypt, then,
with her never-ceasing sun-power, will invite the European manufact-
urer to remove his machinery and erect his mills on the firm ground
along the sides of the alluvial plain of the Nile, where an amount of
motive-power may be obtained many times more than that now employed
by all the manufactories of Europe.
Taken in connection with the international compacts of 1890,
following the opening of Africa, this statement is full of strik-
ing portent. Advancing westward from the ancient East^ civ-
ilization has conquered Europe; has possessed itself of the
American Iiemisphere, and next, under the lead of the Anglo*
American Stanley, is found pressing from all sides upon the
still uncontrolled savagery of Africa, perhaps to reveal still
grander possibilities of human progress in that undeveloped
continent where
The glorious sun
Stays in his course, and plays the alchemist.
Turning with splendor in his precious eye
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold.
THB SUK MOTOB. 371
Stimulated bj the labors of Monchot, Ericsfion, and othen,
William Adams, Deputy Begistrar, High Court, Bombay, India,
made a series of experiments in that tropical climate with flat
mirrors such as Ericsson used. His conclusion was that a com-
bination of such reflectors furnish the only possible means of
concentrating solar heat for practical purposes, and that silvered
glass is the best, if not the only, available reflecting material.
Archimedes is supposed to have used, in setting fire to the
Boman fleet off Syracuse, a combination of the flat steel mirrors
then in common use. Buffon, with such a combination of small
flat mirrors, set flre to a plank of wood at a distance of one
hundred and flf ty feet. Concave metallic mirrors, forty-seven
inches in diameter, made by YiUette, a French artist of Lyons,
melted iron ore in twenty-four seconds, cast iron in sixteen sec-
onds, a silver sixpence in seven and one-half seconds, and tin in
four seconds. An emerald was melted into a substance like
turquoise stone, and a diamond weighing four grains lost seven-
eighths of its weight. With a similar mirror Baron Tschim-
hausen caused water to boil immediately, and it was soon evapo-
rated. These citations from numerous similar experiments with
small reflectors, indicate the possibilities of solar concentration.
Mr. Adams gives an interesting account of his own experiments,
showing that '^ there is no limit whatever to the extent to
which solar heat can be concentrated by reflection from a com-
bination of flat mirrors." * In a letter to E. B. Forbes, writ-
ten September 21, 1878, Ericsson said :
Your scheme of produoiiig fresh water by evaporating sea-water by
means of concentrated solar heat is impracticable, on acooxint of the
great cost of the needed apparatus. Yon have probably read the state-
ment of Mr. Adams, of India, that solar heat may be employed as an
" auxiliary " in operating steam-engines. The fact is, however, that
although the heat ia obtained for nothing, so extensive, costly, and com-
plex is the concentration apparatus that solar iiecan is many times more
costly than steam produced by burning coal.
To an attempt to store up solar energy Ericsson devoted
nearly as much time as to the solar motor, but no satisfactory
* Solar Heat a Snbstitate for Fuel in Tropical Countries for Heating Steam
BoUers and other Purposes. By William Adams, Deputy Registrar, High Court,
Bombay. 1878.
272 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSON.
result is recorded. The old idea of iSlling large vessels with
compressed air was considered, but this was found wholly inade-
quate for use on a large scale. Under a clear sky his solar
engine performed its functions with perfect uniformity, at a
Telocity of two hundred and forty revolutions per minute.
This engine was moved by steam generated by the heat of the
sun.
An illustration in this volume gives a perspective view of
another solar engine actuated by heated air. The upper end
of the working cylinder is heated by the sun's rays concen-
trated upon it by a curved mirror. There is a working piston
and an exchange piston ; one connected with the working-
shaft by a beam and a connecting rod ; the other by a bell-
crank and a connecting rod. A space is left between the ex-
change piston and the cylinder in which it works. In the
passage of the piston downward the cold air from below rushes
around it to the upper end heated by the sun's rays. The
rapid change in the air thus circulating around the large sur-
face of the exchange piston and the inside of the cylinder,
keeps the working piston in motion ; the air in the upper end
of the cylinder being heated and expanded, and that below
cooled and contracted. Thus the exchange piston performs the
office of a regenerator. The engine, therefore, is capable of
operating for a considerable time by exposing the upper end
of the cylinder to the reflected solar heat during a few minutes
at starting.
By continuous exposure to the concentrated solar rays, the
engine performs fully four hundred turns per minute. Con-
centrated solar radiation supplies heat with such extraordinary
rapidity that the apparently insufficient amount of heating
surface presented by the cylinder proved adequate, notwith-
standing the great speed of the engine. The body consisted
of a radiator for carrying off the heat which was not taken
np by the circulating air during the motion of the exchange-
piston.
To Oscar II., King of Sweden and Norway, Ericsson sent,
on January 10, 1884, an account of his solar motor, with a
pamphlet containing a statement of his opinions as to the best
method of defending the harbors of the United States. To the
THE SUN M6T0B. 273
brief letter accompanTing these the Ring made answer as f61«
lows :
BoTAii Paulob of Stockholic, Janniuy 28, 1884.
Mt Dhab John Ebigsson : I have read with great interest your letter,
for which I thank jon most cordially. The description of the apparatus
for concentrating solar heat I am not competent to jndge of, my knowl-
edge of details being insufficient to form an opinion from the illostra-
tion accompanying the letter, but your renowned name is sufficient guar-
antee of its importance, especially to those countries which suffer from
superfluity of radiant heat. I have also perused with the greatest in-
terest the printed document accompanying your letter, which treats the
question of the most suitable harbor defence for the United States, and
have referred it to the Department of Naval Defenca
It is my heartiest wish that your experiments with the Destroyer,
the results of which are expected with so much eagerness, may be suc-
cessful, and that you may find your plans sufficiently matured to enable
me to send an officer to you to obtain under your skilled direction,
knowledge of all the details of this ingenious war machine.
Expecting further communications from you on this subject, I re-
main.
Yours most sincerely,
OSOAB.
To Mr. James A. Bobinson, Ericsson wrote, December 26,
1878, saying :
I omitted to state, when you called to-day, that the successful opera-
tion of some of my solar engines in which atmospheric air transmits the
energy of the solar heat, some time ago induced me to apply similar
mechanism to caloric engines. I accordingly applied the new move-
ment to a 24-inoh caloric engine cylinder and heater. The result was
greatly increased speed, but not any gain in actual power developed, as
ascertained by the friction-brake. I am not willing, however, to aban-
don my new scheme, although not longer quite sure of success.
Adapting another form of my solar engine to a small domestic motor,
promises better results. I am experimenting with a large model en-
gine which, up to a certain power, has done well. At any rate, it affords
me delightful occupation during the hours not devoted to solar obser-
vations, torpedoes, amphibic projectiles, monitors, air-compressors, tur*
reted gunboats, cavalry cannon, etc.
The small engine here referred to proved a great success.
Its inventor was averse to patenting it, as it formed part of
his solar apparatus ; and with reference to this he had said in a
Vol. IL— 18
374 UPB OF JOHIT BRIOSBON.
pnbliahed letter dated Kew York, September 23, 1870, " I shall
not apply for &uy patent rights, and it is my intention to de-
vote the balance of my professional life almost exclusively toita
completion. Hence my anxiety to gnard against legal obstrne-
tions being interposed before perfection of detail shall bare
been meaanrably attained." In deference to the reqnest of his
bnsiness associatee, the inventor relnctantly patented its appli-
cation to the use of hot air, and vitbout soUdtation gave the
Salt! Er«tM AdipM ta Hi* um «f Hot Ali. PiNnt*d u • Punvbiff En^n*. iMo.
patent right to his business associates of the firm of Delama-
ter & Co. Under their energetic management it was speedily
brought into extensive use. Many thoasands were sold within
a few years, and used for pumping water, and for other light
work. The inenfficiency of the snpply of water has broogbt
them into extensive use in New York City for forcing water
THE SUN MOTOR 275
to the tops of tall buildings. The little motor is non-explosive,
and so simple in its operation that any servant who can light
a lamp or a gas-jet can set it in motion. The profits upon this
chip from his workshop are already estimated at several times
the amount of the $100,000 expended by Ericsson upon the
solar investigations leading up to this invention. Its his-
tory furnishes another illustration of the practical nature of
John Ericsson's genius, his generosity, and his indifference to
money.
Writing to his son Hjalmar, August 13, 1880, Ericsson
said, concerning the engine patented: ''It is a true copy of the
sun-motor when steam is not used, the gas taking the place of
the concentrated solar heat. It has been so well received here,
that Delamater's large works are unable to build as fast as
orders are coming in."
With this engine the inventor had his usual experience.
An attempt was made to pirate it on the plea that the con-
struction of the experimental engines in 1874 constituted an
abandonment of the patent right. In a letter to Nature pub-
lished August 2, 1888, seven months before his death, he said:
It will be proper to mention that the successful trial of the sun-
motor attracted the special attention of landowners on the Pacific coast,
then in search of power for actuating the machinery needed for irrigat-
ing the sunburnt lands. But the mechanical details connected with the
concentration at a single point of the power developed by a series of
reflectors, was not perfected at that time; nor was the investigation
relating to atmospheric diathermancy sufficiently advanced to detei^
mine with precision the retardation of the radiant heat caused by
increased zenith distance. Consequently no contracts for building sun-
motors could then be entered into — a circumstance which greatly dis-
couraged the enterprising Califomian agriculturists, prepared to carry
out forthwith an extensive system of irrigation. In the meantime, a sim-
ple method of concentrating the power of many reflectors at a given
pdnt had been perfected, while retardation of solar energy caused by
increased zenith distanee had been accurately determined, and found
to be so inconsiderable that it does not interfere with the development
of constant solar power during the eight hours called for.
The new motor being thus perfected, and first-class manufacturing
establishments ready to manufacture such machines, owners of the sun-
burnt lands on the Pacific coast may now with propriety reconsider
their grand scheme of irrigation by means of sun-power.
276 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
In another letter he said: "You will probably be surprised
when I say that the sun-motor is nearer perfection than the
steam-engine; but until the coal mines are exhausted its value
will not be fully acknowledged. Nevertheless, they will even
now use, on the west coast of South America, the new power
whose fuel can be obtained without expense or charge for
transportation."
CHAPTER XXXVn.
SOIENTIFIG INVESTIQATIONS AND INVENTIONa
Experimental Apparatus for Solar Studies. — ^The Gentennial Yolnme. —
Measurement of Solar Energy. — (3ontroyer8j with Father Secohi. —
Uncomplimentary Opinion of Tyndall. — Oontributions to Scientific
Periodicals. — ^The Lnnar Temperaturc^Ericsson a Pioneer in Solar
Physios.
ERICSSON wrote, November 20, 1868, to two officers of the
Royal Society, London, Dr. W. Sharpey and Professor G.
G. Stokes, the latter a recipient of the Rumf ord medal bestowed
by the Rnmford trust in England. He enclosed an extract
from an essay on solar heat, gave some of his conclusions, and
said : '^ Having successfully constructed several experimental
engines actuated by the sun's radiant heat, and fully ascertained
that motive power, to any extent, can be produced by employ-
ing concentrated solar energy, I have determined to investigate
fully the subject of solar heat. For this purpose, and in order
to facilitate the investigations, I have erected a small observa-
tory over a substantial building some sixty feet above ground.
And in order to still further facilitate these investigations, the
little observatory is made to revolve round a pivot ; while the
table that supports the experimental apparatus is kept at a
proper inclination by suitable mechanism — hence always per-
pendicular to the sun during experiments." Professor Joseph
Henry, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Wash-
ington, was also written to on the same subject.
In an article appearing in Engmeermg^ November 27,
1868, Ericsson criticised the conclusion of other observers rela-
tive ^^ to the temperature and inconceivable power of the sun
to develop heat," as based wholly on the indications furnished
by insufficient investigation with imperfect apparatus. He an-
nounced the completion of several experimental engines to be
278 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
actuated by solar heat, and promised further details of his ex-
periments at a later date. April 7, 1870^ he wrote to Pro-
fessor Joseph Henry again, acknowledging the receipt of an
invitation to attend the session of the National Academy of
Sciences^ and stating that he was obliged to postpone until
another year his purpose of submitting a paper. He added:
You will be interested to learn that I have just completed an instru-
ment made to test solar attraction and the earth's density, the principal
part of which consists of a solid cast-iron ball eleven inches in diameter,
highly polished, floating in a cistern filled with mercury. The ball, which
weighs 1,272,060 grains, is readily pulled across the surface oi the fluid
metal with a force less than Ts-^imr P&i*t of the stated weight; the speed
during the transit across the cistern being quite perceptible to the eye.
Had Maskelyne and James possessed this instrument they would have
escaped the troublesome application of the plumb-line, besides obtain-
ing a result freed from the unavoidable errors of astronomical observa-
tion in determining the deviation of the line from the vertical.
This reference is to the experiments made nearly one hun-
dred years earlier by Nevil Maskelyne, astronomer royal at
Greenwich, to determine the mean density of the earth by
measuring the attraction upon the plumb-line of the Scottish
mountain of Schiehallion.
On July 15, 1870, Ericsson began the publication of a series
of articles appearing in the London periodicals Engineering and
Nature, between July 15, 1870, and February 6, 1873. They
averaged nearly one a month, and numbered twenty-nine in all.
Six other articles appeared in Nature for October 14 and De-
cember 9, 1875; January 3 and September 11, 1884; July 15,
1886, and August 2, 1888. These articles furiiished the ma-
terial for thirty-seven of the forty-five chapters of the volume
entitled '^Contributions to the Centennial Exhibition," pub-
lished in 1876. The first part of this work is in substance a
treatise on radiant heat, solar dynamics, and sun-motors. In
the preface the author said: "The conmiissioners of the Cen-
tennial Exhibition having omitted to invite me to exhibit the
results of my labors connected with mechanics and physics, a
gap in their record of material progress exceeding one-third of
a century has been occasioned. I have therefore deemed it
proper to publish a statement of my principal labors during
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 279
the last third of the century, the achievements of which the
promoters of the Centennial Exhibition have called upon the
civilized world to recognize."
In 1877, Ericsson wrote to the President of the Italian
Royal Academy of Sciences that he proposed to compete for
the prize founded by Dr. Bressa, but this purpose was aban-
doned, and in place of the intended essay two copies of his pub-
lished volume were sent. The concluding portion of this vol-
ume, about one-third in all, is devoted to a description of his
principal mechanical inventions during the period of his resi-
dence in America, from 1839 to 1876, the date of its publication.
The work is a quarto volume of six hundred and sixty-four
pages, printed on heavy plate paper, and illustrated by sixty-
seven sheets of the very finest specimens of mechanical drawing
and engravings. Its author justly prided himself not only
upon his skill as a draughtsman, but on his judgment as a critic
of mechanical engraving. Some three hundred copies of this
book were printed, at an expense of over thirty thousand dol-
lars, and these were distributed to public libraries, to men of
scientific reputation, and to a few personal friends. One was
sent to the judges of the International Exhibition, Group XXI.,
and a polite acknowledgment was returned signed by all of
the judges. Professor S. P. Langley wrote, September 14,
1877, saying:
I have, after admiring the book as a rarely complete illustration of
what the printer's and engraver's art can do in aiding the exposition of
scientific results, been impressed with the value of your work from the
purely scientific point of view. The most complete disproof of the
trustworthiness of Dulong and Petit's "law;" the vindication of the
earlier and discredited generalization of Newton's; the convincingly clear
statement, for the first time, of what seems to me surely the true means
to arrive at the heat received by the earth from the sun (means even
now but partly recognized) ; these, with the conclusions drawn from the
great body of most thoroughly considered and carefully executed ex*
periments, bearing on the great subject of radiant solar energy; all
form contributions to the sum of human knowledge, of a value which no
competent reader can fail to appreciate.
A Swedish edition of the work was projected, and as Erics*
son had never acquired facility in the use of scientific t^rmi-*
280 LIFE OF JOHN EBI08SON.
nology in his native language, he entrusted the work of trans-
lation to another. The result was not satisfactory, and after
the translation was rather more than one-half completed he
sent instructions to his son Hjalmar, under whose direction the
Swedish edition was preparing, to go no further with it
Three general theories as to tlie origin of solar heat have
been current. One ascribes it to chemical action or combns*
tion, but Professor Tjndall had shown that this involves the
speedy dissipation of the sun into space, and that a mass of
coal the size of the sun, which is a body having the specific
gravity of coal, would, if supplied with unlimited oxygen, be
entirely consumed in six thousand years in producing existing
solar energy.
A second theory is that solar heat is the result of friction
following the sudden arrest of the motion of showers of me-
teors, precipitated into the sun with the enormous velocity im-
parted by the constantly increased attraction. This theory of
meteoric showers is met by the calculation that a mass equiva«
lent to that of our moon, must have its motion arrested by the
sun and converted into heat to supply working force for a sin*
gleyear; that our earth, precipitated against the sun at the
enormous velocity the sun's attraction would create, would fur-
nish heat for less than one century ; and with Yenus, Mercury,
and Mars added, the solar fires of our system could be kept
aglow for less than a thousand years — a period counted in the
annals of creation ^'but as yesterday when it is passed, as a
watch in the night." Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter
might follow in their order, and still only the comparatively
insignificant period of 45,558 years would be covered by the
entire supply of heat our planetary system could thus furnish.
Rejecting, then, the chemical and meteoric theories, Ericsson
accepted, as the ground-work of his investigations, the hypoth-
esis that the sun's heat results from the contraction which was
begun when that planet was a nebulous mass of phosphores-
cent vapor, and is to be continued until Byron's dream of
darkness is realized, and the sun becomes " a lump of death,
a chaos of hard clay." He estimated that a yearly shrinkage of
124.65 feet is sufficient to account for the enormous energy
produced. The solar force expended yearly upon our earth ie
I
i
60ISNTIFI0 INVESTIOATIONS AND INVENTIONS. • 281
equivalent to the power of 217,000,000 thousand horse-power
engines, working day and night, but this is a mere drop in the
bucket compared with the enormous outpouring of energy.
With it all, the yearly reduction in the diameter of the suii is
only one ten- thousandth in eighteen hundred and five years,
and one-tenth in something over two n^illion years.
The heat emitted by each foot of solar surface will not les-
sen, Ericsson argued, but as the area of the sun decreases the
sum of its energy will diminish accordingly. Tropical inten-
sity on our globe, now estimated at 67.2 degrees, will be reduced
in two thousand centuries to 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit ; and two
million years ago the temperature produced by radiation from
the larger sun of that day was 81 degrees. A further demon-
stration shows ^' that, although the efficiency of the sun during
the past may be measured by hundreds of millions of years, its
future efficiency will be of comparatively brief duration," though
^^ the diminution of the temperature produced by solar radiation
has not exceeded .027, or ^ degree Fahrenheit since the erec-
tion of the Pyramids."
To Professor Langley, Ericsson wrote, January 21, 1877 :
^^ I notice that you are very guarded in asserting that the heat
transmitted to the earth is actually reduced by sun-spots. On
that point I have no doubt, since sun-spots are the result of
checked vertical circulation within the solar mass. Any such
check must inevitably diminish the heat transferred from the
central regions to her solar surface, hence reduced radiation
must follow." In a letter to another correspondent he de-
scribed radiant heat as '^ mechanical power rendered available
when the constant ponderable matter, not perfectly transpa-
rent, is presented to its action."
Ericsson's solar investigations, begun in 1864, were contin-
ued up to the time of his death. With his rare ingenuity,
practically unlimited control of money, and facilities for me-
chanical construction, he was able to procure whatever ap-
paratus he required. These included twenty-six different ma-
chines illustrated in his volume, and others not appearing
there; all so elaborate in design and workmanship as to entitle
them to the distinction of permanent inventions. These were
evolved from scores of ruder contrivances consigned to the
282 • LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
''scrap heap'' as soon as they had served their temporary pur-
pose. The perfect instruments were all most beautiful speci-
mens of mechanical art, showing an elaboration in design and
an exactitude of adjustment, possible only to a man who had a
genius for mechanics, as well as for investigation.
To establish a basis for the measurement of solar intensities
it was necessary to ascertain the laws of radiation, by determin-
ing what amount of heat was transmitted to a given distance
from bodies artificially heated. It was further necessary to in-
quire to what extent the heat generated by the sun was lessened
in its journey over the intervening space of ninety-two millions
of miles, and how much of it was absorbed in its passage through
our atmosphere. The various instrumentalities for measuring
heat were also to be tested, and more exact methods of com-
putation devised, if possible. The patient ingenuity devoted
to the construction of the apparatus used by Ericsson has no
record in the Patent Office, but it was sufficient to establish any
man's reputation as an inventor. On one occasion, two heavily
laden wagons carried to a dumping-ground in New Jersey,
what appeared to be the debris of a canning factory. These
were the shattered remains of the numerous devices out of
which had grown his elaborate equipment of solar appara-
tus, some of the instruments having passed through several
dozen transformations before assuming final shape.
Sir Isaac Newton, in estimating the temperature to which
the comet of 1680 was subjected when nearest the sun, assumed,
as the result of his practical observations, that the maximum
temperature produced by solar radiation, in the latitude of
London, was one-third that of boiling water, or 60° F. The
density of the sun's rays, at the distance of the comet, was
28,000 times greater than on earth, and the sun's heat was in-
creased there in like proportion, or to 1,680,000° F. — exacdy
2,000 times that of red-hot iron at a temperature of 840°.
A calculation by Ericsson showed that Newton's estimate
indicated a solar intensity of 2,986,000° F. His own estimates
varied somewhat, the highest being 4,036,000° F., or 1,373
times that of boiling iron. Estimates by other physicists lie
between the extremes of 2,600° and 18,000,000° F.; Vicaiie
giving the lowest, and Father Secchi the highest
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 283
Ericsson further concluded that the capacity of the sun for
emitting heat was relatively less than that of molten cast-iron;
''a fact which tends to prove that the sun's radiant heat em-
anates from burning gases." So Anaxagoras, the instructor of
Socrates, was not so far wrong when he affirmed, twenty-five
hundred years ago, that the sun was '^a cloud enfired/'
The solar gases were, as Ericsson's investigations led him to
believe, so attenuated that an atmosphere 100,000 miles high,
extended over a given area of the sun's surface, would not con-
tain more matter than the terrestrial atmosphere 42 miles high
over an equal area, the proportion being as 1 to 152,000. By
an elaborate calculation he showed ''that the depth of the
measurable portion of the solar envelope cannot be less than
255,000 miles, assuming the radius of the sun's body to be
426,000 miles."
Melloni, an Italian physicist who died in 1853, asserted
that the amount of heat received from a body transmitting it
was in the ratio of the distance, and this doctrine was further
elaborated by Professor Tyndall in his ''Heat as a Mode of
Motion." Tlie numerous experiments described by Ericsson
led to the conclusion that this doctrine was unsound, and that it
is relative areas, and not relative distances, that determine the
degree to which radiating bodies transmit heat The interven-
ing space, whether it be one mile or 1,000 miles, is to be ex-
cluded from the calculation. "The law which governs the
transmission of radiant heat through space is as absolute as the
law of gravitation, whatever be the distance." The ether offers
no resistance to the passage of the sun's rays, and solar heat is
diminished by distance only because the rays producing it are
dispersed over a greater area, as they proceed further and fur-
ther from their source.
Hence this conclusion: ^Uhe intensities are inversely as the
arecu aver which the rays are dispersed.^' Yet, it is true that
the temperature actually produced by the radiant heat of the
sun's rays "is inversely as the square of the distance from his
centre, the same law applying to all spheres having a uniform
temperature at the surface."
Another of Sir Isaac Newton's theories is that the loss of
heat by a body is in proportion to the excess of its temperature
284 LIFB OF JOHN ERICSSOK.
over that of the mediam surronnding it The experiments of
the Frenchmen, Dalong and Petit, were supposed to contradict
this conclusion. To test the question Ericsson constructed sev-
eral instruments designed to determine the rate at which heat
is transferred from or to a body inclosed in a vacuum, and
the power or dynamic energy developed by radiant heat. A
series of tabulated results are given to show that Kewton was
right, and that Dulong and Petit were wrong. Hence the
theory of an increase of radiant energies at high temperatures
was set aside. Twenty seconds were required to produce a
change of temperature supposed to occupy, according to the
Dulong formula, only the small portion of a single second.
The radiant energy, according to Dulong and Petit, was
1,321 times higher than that established by Ericsson's elabo-
rate practical investigations.
An instrument called the actmometery and various unnamed
instruments, were constructed to ascertain, by a new and exact
method, the amount of radiant heat absorbed by the atmos-
phere, and thus to determine the intensity of solar radiation at
the surface of the earth. John Frederick Daniell, who founded
the English Qtiarterly Journal of Science^ and so successfully
combined the study of physics with the business of sugar re-
fining that he received the unique reward of all three medals
in tlie gift of the Royal Society, had, in the latitude of London,
conducted investigations relative to the sun's heat. DanieU's
tables, so frequently referred to in works of meteorology, Erics-
son found full of errors, when tested by his actinometer, and
he furnishes an entirely different set of data. He discovered, in
using this instrument, that there is an appreciable difference in
the sun's energy for corresponding distances above the horizon
early in the morning and late in the afternoon. This he ac-
counted for by a demonstration showing that ^^ tlie orbital mo-
tion of the earth occasions a very considerable advance toward,
and retreat from, the solar wave early a.m. and late p.m."
Not only were the varying zenith distances considered in
these observations, but also the varying distances from the sun
at different seasons. It resulted from this that solar radiation
was less in summer than in winter, owing to the increased dis-
tance of the earth from the sun. Sir John Herschel assumed
80IENTIFI0 INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 286
that the temperature on the earth, if the snn did not exist, wonid
be 239^ below zero F., and that the maximum solar tempera-
ture is 100^ F. above zero. He estimated that the variation,
due to the change of distance between the sun and the earth,
was one-fifteenth of this difference of 339^, or 23^ F. John
Ericsson's investigations led to the conclusion that the dif-
ference was less than 5^ F.
But since the time of Herschel it has been ascertained that
we must deduct 460"^ from the zero of Fahrenheit to reach
the point where heat entirely disappears, and ^^ Night and Chaos,
ancestors of Nature, hold eternal anarchy." This would in-
crease to 37^ F. Herschel's estimate of the variation of one-fif-
teenth, due to the change in the distance between the earth and
the sun (100+460-f.l6=87+).
The temperature produced by solar radiation, then, instead
of being 560^ F., as estimated by Herschel, according to Erics-
son scarcely reaches 88° F. at a distance of 91,430,000 miles
from the solar centre. Recording this conclusion, Ericsson
says:
Oonoerning the radiant heat which reaches the distant planets of the
solar system, the stated discrepancy is of vital importance. Were it
true that the intensity of the sun's radiant heat is 560** F. at the distance
mentioned, the rays on reaching Jupiter's atmosphere would be capable
of developing a temi)erature of ^ j^ =20.7^ F. We can readily imagine
that the atmosphere of the giant planet might, by some system of ac-
cumulation, raieA this temperature to such a degree that organisms
like those of the earth might be sustained. But can the insignificant
temperature ot^ = 3.2"* F., transmitted to Jupiter's atmosphere, be suf-
ficiently elevated by the process of accumulation to sustain animate and
vegetable organizations resembling those of our planet ? The stated
low temperature need excite no surprise if we reflect on the fact that
the sun, as seen from the boundaiy of the atmosphere of Jupiter, is no
larger than an orange viewed at a distance of one hundred feet. As seen
from Saturn, the size of the sun is that of a musket-ball at a distance
of fifty feet from the observer's eye ; while the transmitted solar heat
scarcely develops a temperature of 1^ F. where it enters Saturn's at-
mosphere. Speculations regarding the habitability of the distant planets
are futile, in view of the insufficient radiant intensity of solar emission
established by the aotinometrio observations recorded in this woi^ and
by the adopted tests proving their reliability (p. 180),
286 LIFE OF JOH^ ERICSSON.
Following his determination of the amount of solar energy
lost by the passage of the sun's rays through our atmosphere,
Ericsson next sought to measure the energy actually developed
near the earth's surface. For this purpose he constructed two
solar calorimeters, one in 1870 and an improvement upon it in
1874. With the two factors of surface heat and atmospheric
absorption accurately determined, the amount of solar radiation
at the boundary of the terrestrial atmosphere was measured.
The energy developed by radiation from the sun, over one
square foot of the earth's surface for one minute, was found
to be 5.64 thermal units, and the atmosphere absorbed 0.207.
This gave a total of 7.11 thermal units on one foot of surface
as the measurement of solar radiation at the boundary of the
atmosphere. The investigator was so satisfied with his methods
and their results that he confidently said:
It is not probable that future laborers will change the result of our in-
vestigation. The continuous shrinking of the sun will produce a per-
ceptible diminution of the radiant energy transmitted to the earth in the
course of a few hundred centuries, but the emissive energy for a given
area of the sun will remain constant for millions of years, since the in-
tensity developed by the falling mass will increase inversely as the
square of its distance from the solar centre, thus balancing the diminu-
tion of energy consequent on the reduced fall of the mass (p. 104).
The Jesuit Father Secchi, after his recall to Rome from
Georgetown College, D. C, to take charge of the Observatory of
the Roman College, undertook a series of investigations into
solar physics. The publication of these challenged Ericsson's
attention, and he entered upon a lively controversy with Secchi
in the scientific periodicals. One point in the contention was
as to the amount subtracted from the heat radiated by the sun,
during its passage through the solar atmosphere. To determine
this, Ericsson constructed a machine of unusual dimension —
fifty-eight feet focal length, to measure the amount of heat
radiated from different parts of the solar disk. His conclusion
was that only 0.144 of the heat starting from the photosphere
was subtracted by the solar atmosphere. Father Secchi esti-
mated it at more than sixteen times this, or .88, leaving only
fA of the sun's heat to transverse space.
SCIENTIPIC IxfVESTIGATIONS AND INVBNTIONS. 287
The fVench mathematician and astronomer Auzout, and his
Dutch contemporary Huygens, had, during the latter part of
the seventeentli century, sought to measure the intensity of
solar light; and the investigations of the Frenchman Bouguer
(1698-1758), a few years later, were made use of by Laplace in
demonstrating his theory that the light of the sun is greater
at the boundary than at its centre, because it is viewed at a
lesser angle. Again, on this point, Ericsson took issue with the
highest authority and denied the resulting conclusion of Laplace,
that the removal of the sun's atmosphere would increase its
brilliancy twelve-fold. Absorption of heat meaning the crea-
tion of power, Ericsson asks the advocates of the theory of the
disappearance of one-half of the sun's heat in the solar atmos-
phere to account for the enormous energies thus taken up. He
adds, too, that the heat is diminished, instead of increased, by
being received under the lesser angle. He accepts, however,
the conclusion of Laplace, that the sun emits equal energy in
all directions, and that the decrease of energy is proportioned
to the depth penetrated by the rays.
An elaborate and most interesting demonstration is given to
show that a circulatory movement is maintained in the body of
the sun, by the gravitation downward of the particles cooled
upon the surface, and the upward rush of the more highly
heated and thus lighter particles underneath. The uniformity
of this interchange is subject to various influences interfering
with solar circulation. Of this Ericsson says:
The consequence of this precarious feature of the scheme is self-evi-
dent, if we consider that the present solar emission is dependent upon
a given rate of contraction of the solar mass. Should that contraction
be checked by interrupted circulation, the development of heat will
also be checked, and, consequently, the intensity of solar radiation be-
comes inadequate to sustain animal and vegetable life, as now organized,
on our planet. History informs us that the luminary has at certain
epochs partially failed to perform its functions. Herschel mentions, in
Us ** Outlines of Astronomy," that "in the annals of the year a.d. 536 the
sun is said to have suffered a great diminution of light, which continued
fourteen months. From October, a.i>. 626, to the following June, a de-
falcation of light to the extent of one-half is recorded; and in a.d«
1547, during three days, the sun is said to have been so darkened that
Stars were seen in the daytime." Again» the glacial periods, the ascer*
388 LIFE OF JOHN ERIOSSOTT.
taioed abrapt terminatioa and leonrrenoe of which pnezle the geologist*
point to periodical derangement of the solar mechanwa in past ages ^
162).
To show the possibility of accorately measuring the ener-
gies of the solar photosphere with his pyrometer, Ericsson cited
the experience of Cavendish and Bail;, who bad, by a series of
2,153 most delicate tests, determined the relation between the
attractive force, amounting to only ^^^^ of a grain, exerted
by a leaden ball one foot in diameter, and the weight of the
sun, 832,584 miles in diameter, the relative attractions of the
two spheres being as 1 to 2,367x 10.". As the radiant area
of his pyrometer was to that of the eon as 1 to 2,871 x 10."^
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 289
the two extremes of his equation were 824,500^000 times
nearer together than those of the Cavendish experiment.
Hence, as he argued, his problem was much the easier of solu-
tion*
If investigators differ so widely as to the actual temperature
of the sun, they are nearer together in their estimate of solar
energy. This is held to represent a dynamic force of about
300,000 thermal units per minute. Ericsson did not believe it
possible to develop such energy by radiation from a body having
a temperature less than that of boiling iron. He experimented
to ascertain the amount of heat transmitted by burning gases;
by flat surfaces of metal highly heated, and inclined at different
angles, and by globes of metal. Taking his measurements
from different points on their surface, and at different angles,
he satisfied himself that radiation does not proceed with equal
energy in all directions. Increase in the acuteness of the angles
correspondingly lessens the energy of the heat-rays, the varia-
tion between the extremes being as one to seven. Thus he an-
swered the argument of atmospheric absorption, used by La-
place and others to account for the differences of temperature
observed in different portions of the solar surface.
Ericsson intended originally to employ the thermo-electric
method, for ascertaining the difference of radiant energy trans-
mitted by the sun's rays from different portions of the solar
disk. Though he did not carry out this plan, he made some
experimental tests of the correctness of Melloni's assertions
concerning the calorific energies imparted to a thermopile,
and constructed a special apparatus for calibrating the gal-
vanometer; that is, to ascertain by special measurements, or
by comparison with a standard instrument, to what strengths
of current particular amounts of deflection correspond. Experi-
ments with this apparatus showed that when the needle of the
galvanometer " has moved through an arc of 13 degrees, the en-
eigy is greater than the deflection in the ratio of 15.28 to 13.00,
instead of being exactly balanced as stated by Melloni."
As Fhre Secchi in his investigations used an instrument of
his own contriving, called a thermoheliometer or sun-heat meter,
Ericsson procured one of these from Cellini, of London, sub-
jected it to careful tests, and condemned it as utterly unreliable.
Vol. U-1»
290 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
He entered apon an elaborate demonstration to show, too, that
no measnrements depending upon the bulb indications of a
mercarial thermometer were sufficiently accurate for his pur*
pose. The solar rays influencing the mercury in such a bnlb
are distributed over an area twice as great as their section^ thus
diminishing their mean intensity one-half. There is also seri-
ous loss of heat from the cold currents of air circulating around
the half of the bulb not under the sun's rays.
This discovery led him to devise his " barometric actinome-
ter," or instrument for measuring the energy of the sun's heat-
rays through changes in the pressure of the atmosphere, which
is, indeed, what the thermometer does in a less accurate way.
The bulb in this instrument had the general shape of a kettle-
drum, with a slightly convex crystal taking the place of the
parchment. This hemispherical cup of metal was charged with
dry atmospheric air, and placed at the bottom of a cylinder ex-
hausted of air and surrounded by a double casing, so as to
secure a uniform temperature within, by the circulation of
water around the exterior. A barometric tube waa so con-
nected with the dry air in the bulb as to furnish an exact indi-
cation of the degree of expansion resulting from the action of
the sun's rays transmitted through the glass to this imprisoned
air. The amount of heat absorbed by the glass was tested, and
other careful corrections of the measurements were made.
The area of the surface of the bulb in this instrument cor-
responded to that of the pencil of rays acting upon it, and it
had only one-half of the surface from which to radiate away
the heat it received. Mechanism was attached to enable the
operator to direct the tube accurately toward the sun, and to
ascertain its distance from the zenith by examining a graduated
quadrant. *^ Meteorologists," said Ericsson, ^^ will do well to
adopt such an instrument in all important observations, since
its simultaneous indication of solar intensity and zenith dia-
tance enables them to determine the relative amount of vapor
present in the atmosphere, with a degree of precision probably
unobtainable by any other means."
Tests were also made to determine the conductivity of mer-
cury, the conclusion arrived at being that it has so little capacity
for transmitting heat from particle to particle, that '^ thermom-
SOnCNTIFIO IKVE8TIGATION8 AND IKVENTI0N8. 291
eters and thermoheliometers with spherical bnlbs are worthless
as means of measuring mazimnm intensity of solar radia-
tion.'' Copper was found to have 29.06 times the conductivity
of mercury. Incidentally, the fact was established that a plate
of wrought copper two inches thick would conduct from one
aide to the other one hundred times as much mechanical eneigy
as it could radiate from its surface during the same time.
The ^^ diathermacy " of flames, or the extent to which they
permit the passage of heat, as transparent objects permit the
passage of light, was another subject engaging Ericsson's atten-
tion. To test this a special apparatus was constructed. It
consisted of a number of gas-jets so arranged in a row that
their heat passed to a thermometer through the flames of
other jets. Thus it was found that when one flame transmit-
ted 1.76 d^ree of heat a given distance, ten flames, owing to
the interference of those nearest the thermometer with the free
passage of heat from the others, transmitted only 7.90 degrees
instead of 17.6 degrees (1.76 x 10), as they should have done
theoretically.
As to the sufficiency of Ericsson's experiments, it is said that
they do not take account of what Professor Langley, one of the
highest authorities on solar physics, speaks of as ^ the hitherto
too little regarded quality of selective absorption in our atmos-
phere." The absorbent power of the atmosphere varies with
different heat-rays, and if the eye were sensitive to these rays
they would represent to our sight something analogous to the
colors of the prism. The cosmic dust, circulating in space, also
plays an important part, according to this authority, in the in-
terception of heat-rays. And Professor Tyndall says : ^* As
the air of a room accommodates itself to the requirements of
an orchestra, transmitting each vibration of every pipe and
string, so does the interstellar ether accommodate itself to the
requirements of light and heat. Its waves mingle in space
without disorder, each being endowed with an individuality as
indestructible as if it alone had disturbed the universal re-
pose."*
Ericsson had great respect for the opinions of Professor
Langley, if he did not accept them. The Professor of Natural
* John TjmdAll : Fragments of Science, p. 178.
292 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Philosophy in the Royal Institute was not an authority to
whose dicta he bowed. "Tyndall," he said in a private let-
ter, ''is a contemptible reasoner, although a splendid lecturer
on experimental physics. All his fine writing, if severely
scrutinized, wiU be found to betray a shaUow mind. His
promise and potency of inert matter b not only absurd, but
idiotic."
Whatever the final determination as to the correctness of
some of Ericsson's conclusions, it cannot be questioned that he
has made very important contributions to science. Among them,
is his original demonstration of the fact that ''an air thermome-
ter, placed in a concave spherical radiator composed of ice, and
surrounded by very cold substances, say 100 degrees below zero,
will furnish an indication by which the temperature of distant
incandescent bodies may be ascertained with as much certainty
as by employing a radiator heated to such a degree as to emit
luminous rays.'' From this it would appear to follow that
solar radiation adds a like increment of heat to all bodies,
whatever their previous temperatiu*e. A lump of ice below 32
degrees in temperature, and a mass of molten metal having a
temperature of 3,000^ F., each receive the same increase of heat
when exposed to the direct rays of the sun.
One experiment would seem conclusively to dispose of the
theory of extremely low temperature for the solar photosphere.
He constructed a small sun of his own, having a temperature
in excess of that ascribed to our central luminary by Pouillet
and others. This was a mass of 7,000 pounds of melted
cast-iron run into a vessel lined with fire-clay from a cupola
furnace, where it had been isuperheated to over 3,000® F.
On the surface of this glowing body of metal was floated
a calorimeter to measure the radiant energy. The temperature
was sufficiently high to produce an intense white light, lumi-
nous rays of great brilliancy were emitted during the experi-
ments, and the heated body was so large that the intensity of
radiation was sustained without appreciable diminution. As
increase of dimensions does not add to the radiant intensity
of a given area, " it may reasonably be asked," says Ericsson,
"why an area of one square foot of our experimental lumi-
nous radiator should not emit as much heat in a given time
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 293
as an equal area of the solar surface, if the temperature of the
latter be that assumed by Pouillet?''
Ericsson found in the operation of his sun-motor further!
proof of the correctness of Newton's theory, that the energy of /
solar radiation increases as the density of the rays. There \
could be no increase in the heat of the rays received by his re- |
fiector, yet, as the size of the reflector increased and a larger j
mass of rays was compressed within the area of the heater, its ^
temperature increased correspondingly. i
A calculation was made to prove that the temperature
imparted to the heater indicated a solar intensity of not less
than 1,303,640^ F., and this was not the maximum. Those
who refused to accept his conclusions admitted that he reasoned
logically, and that his experiments were ingenious and novel.
The dispute was as to the premises. Ericsson denied that the
activity of radiation increased out of proportion to the increase
of temperature; Professor Langley and others insisted that this
increased activity was so great that the city and county of New
York might be warmed by the heat radiated from a single stove
if its temperature was sufficiently high.
In September, 1884, Ericsson sent to Nature an account of
experiments he had just completed with a new apparatus for
establishing the relations between diffusion and the energy of
solar radiation. This was the ''polygonal reflector '' composed
of two circles. The diameter in the outer circle is eight feet»
and of the inner six feet, and the circles are one foot apart.
Between them are placed side by side ninety-six strips of thin
glass silvered on the outside, furnishing a reflecting surface of
3,130 square inches section. This instrument is turned toward
the sun and its rays concentrated on a heater of thin plate-iron
0.017 inch thick, fixed in the centre. Through the tube in the
head of this heater a thermometer is inserted to measure the
temperature. This instrument was more exact in its indica^
tions than the sun-motor, and the conclusion from it was that
the temperature of the solar surface could not be less than
3,060,727° F. Ericsson says:
This underrated computation must be accepted, unless it can be
shown that the temperature produced by radiant heat is not inversely
394 LIFE OF JOHN EBI0880K.
M the difftision of the rays. Ph jsioiflts who qaestion the ezisteiioe of
such high solar temperatnre should bear in mind that in oons6q[aeiioe
of the great attraction of the solar mass, hydrogen on the snn^s sorfaoa
raised to a temperature of 4,000^ Centigrade, will be nearly twioe as
heavy as hydrogen on the surface of the earth at ordinary aknospheiio
temperatures ; and that, owing to the immense depth of the solar at-
mosphere, its density would be so enormous at the stated low tempera-
ture that the observed rapid movements within the solar envelope oonld
not possibly take place. It scarcely needs demonstration to prove that
extreme tenuity is incompatible with low temperature, and the pressnie
produced by an atmospheric column probably exceeding 50,000 miles in
height, subjected to the sun*s powerful attraction, diminished only one*
fourth at the stated elevation. These facts warrant the conclusion that
the high temperature established by our investigation is requisite to
prevent undue density of the solar atmosphere.
It is not intended at present to discuss the necessity of tenuity with
reference to the functions of the sun as a radiator ; yet it will be proper
to observe that, on merely dynamical grounds, the enormous density of
the solar envelox)e which would result from low temperature, presents
an unanswerable objection to the assumption of Pouillet^ Yioaire^
Sainte-Glaire Deville, and other eminent savanUf that the temperature
of the solar surface does not reach 3,000 degrees 0.
To separate Ericsson's conclusions concerning solar temper-
atnre and solar radiation, from the demonstrations leading up to
them, is scarcely just. Fortnnatelj, bis reputation as a scien-
tific observer does not depend upon this brief biographical state-
ment. In bis Centennial volume be lias given a very full ac-
count of bis investigations, and the processes of reasoning es-
tablishing bis deductions are there shown. As this volume is
accessible to very few, it seems due to bis reputation that some
suggestion of the natnre and extent of bis scientific work should
be given here. A remaricable example of bis power of reason-
ing, and bis capacity for clear statement, is found in an article
published by Naiure^ July 16, 1886, when Ericsson was just
completing bis eigbty-tbird year. His study of beat bad led
bim to some novel conclusions concerning what be called ^^ that
shining lump of ice, the moon.^' In bis article in UTatu/rej this
vigorous octogenarian thus wrote :
A monograph by the writer, relating to the temperature of the lunar
surface, read before the American Academy of Science, September, 1869,
contained the following : " Are we not forced to dissent from Sir John
SCTENTIFIO IKVESTIOATIONS AND INVBNTIONS. 205
HcOMohel'fl opinion that the beat of the moon's surface, when presented
to the sun, mnch exceeds that of boiling water ? Baised to such a high
temperature, our satellite, with its feeble attraction, oonld not possibly
be without an envelope of gases of some kind. Indeed, nothing but the
assumption of extreme cold offers a satisfactory explanation of the ab-
sence of any gaseous envelope round a planetary body which, on ao>
count of its near proximity, cannot vaiy very much from the earth as re»
gards its composition. The supposition that this neighboring body is
devoid of water, dried up and sunburnt, will assuredly prove one of the
greatest mistakes ever committed by physicists."
. This assertion was based on demonstrations showing that the oiroular
walls of the great "ring mountains "on the lunar surface are not, aa
supposed, composed of *' mineral substances originally in a state of fu-
sion." The height and diameter of these walls being recorded in ** Der
Mond,"* computations based on the safe assumption that the areas of
their transverse sections cannot be less than the square of their height,
establishes the important fact that the contents of the wall of, for in-
stance, Tycho, the circumference of which is 160 miles, height 2.94
miles, amounts to 2.94 x 260 = 1,382 cubic miles. The supposed trans-
fer of this enormous mass, in a molten state, a distance of 25 miles from
the central vent imagined by Nasmyth, and its exact circular distribu-
tion at the stated distance, besides its elevation to a vertical height of
nearly three miles, involve, I need not point out, numerous physical im-
possibilities. Other materials and agencies than those supposed to have
produced the " ring mountains " must consequently be sought in expla-
nation of their formation. A rigid application of physical and mechani-
cal principles to the solution of the problem, proves conclusively that
water, subjected successively to the action of heat and cold, has produced
the circular walls of Tycho. The supposition that these stupendous
mounds consist of volcanic materials must accordingly be rejected, and
the assumption admitted that they are inert glaciers which have become
as permanent as granite mountains by the action of perpetual intense
cold.
Independently of the foregoing demonstration, the fallacy of the vol-
canic hypothesis will be comprehended by its advocates on learning that
tl^e quantity of lava requisite to form the circular walls of l^ycho would
cover the entire surface of England and Wales to a depth of 125 feetf
Next follows a mathematical demonstration to show that, aa
the temperature prodnced by the snn's radiant heat is only
81.11^ daring the summer solstice, this is the maximum of in*
crease on the lunar surface when presented to the snn while the
* Der Mond ; oder allgemeine vergleiohende Selenographie.
t Area of England and Wales, 58,320 square miles ; contents of the walls of
Tyoho, 1,882 oubio miles ; henoe ^^fft x 5,280 = 125.12 feet.
296 LIFE OF JOHN EBICSSON.
earth is farthest from the luminary. Attention is called to the
fact that the moderate heat produced by solar radiation is capa-
ble of increasing the temperature of bodies previously heated
to a high degree. An illustration and description is also given
of the pyro-heliometer, an instrument by which this great fact
was established. Returning to the subject of the lunar surface
and temperature the article continues dius:
Regarding the temperature prevailing during the lunar night» its ex-
act degree is not of vital importance in establishing the glacial hypothe*
sb, since the periodical increment of temperature produced by solar
radiation is only a fraction of the permanent loss attending the continu-
ous radiation against space resulting from the absence of a lunar atmos-
phere; besides, all physicists admit that it is extremely low. Sir John
Herschel says of the night temperature of the moon, that it is the keenest
severity of frost, far exceeding that of our Polar winters. Proctor says:
A cold far exceeding the intensest ever produced in terrestrial experi-
ments must exist over the whole of the unilluminated hemisphere. The
author of " Outlines of Astronomy " has also shown that the temperature of
space, against which the moon at all times radiates, is — 151^ C. ( — 239.8^
P.); Pouillet's estimate being —142° C. (—223.6** P.). Adopting the
latter degree, and allowing 81.11° for the sun's radiant heat, we estab-
lish the fact that the temperature of the lunar surface presented to the
sun will be 223.6° less 81.1°, or —142.5° P., when the earth is in aphe-
lion. It will be well to bear in mind that when the earth is in the said
position, the sun's rays acting on the moon subtend an angle of 31' 32^^,
hence the loss of heat by radiation against space will be diminished only
0.000021 during sunshine. Nor should Herschel 's investigation be lost
sight of, showing that stellar heat bears the same proportion to solar
heat as stellar light to solar light. Stellar heat being thus practically
inappreciable, the temperature produced by stellar radiation cannot be
far from absolute zero — an assumption in harmony with the views of
those who have studied the subject of stellar radiation, and consequently
regard Pouillet's and Herschel's estimate of the temperature of space as
being much too high.
Having disposed of the question of temperature, let us return to
the practical consideration of the glacial hypothesis. The formation of
annular glaciers by the joint agency of water and the internal heat of a
planetary body devoid of an atmosphere and subjected to extreme cold,
is readily explained on physical principles. Suppose a sheet of water,
or pond, on the moon's surface, covering the same area as the plateau of
Tycho, viz., 50 miles diameter and 1,960 square miles. Suppose, also,
that the internal heat of the moon is capable of maintaining a moderate
steam pressure, say 2 pounds to the square inch, at the surface of the
water in the pond. The attraction of the lunar mass being only one-sixth
SCIENTinc INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 297
of terrestrial attraction, while the moon's surface is freed from any atmos-
pheric pressure, it will be evident that under the foregoing conditions
a very powerful ebullition and rapid evaporation will take place, and
that a dense column of vapor will arise to a considerable height above
the boiling water.
It will also be evident that the expansive force within this column at
the surface of the water will be so powerful at the stated pressure, that
the vapor will be forced beyond the confines of the pond in all direc-
tions with great velocity. No vertical current, it should be understood,
will be produced, since the altitude of the column, after having adjusted
itself to the pressure corresponding with the surface temperature of the
water, remains stationary, excepting the movement consequent on con-
densation from above. The particles of vapor forced beyond the con-
fines of the pond, on being exposed to the surrounding cold caused by
obstructed radiation against space, will, of course, crystallize rapidly,
and in the form of snow fall in equal quantity round the pond, and
hereby build up an annular glacier. A^ the radius of the vaporous
column exceeds twenty-five miles, it will be perceived that, notwith-
standing the rapid outward movement before referred to, some of the
snow formed by the vapors rising from the boiling pond will fall into
the same, to be melted and re-evaporated.
In connection with the foregoing explanation of the formation of
annular glaciers, their exact circular form demands special considera-
tion. An examination of Rutherford's large photograph of the lunar
surface shows that, apart from the circular form of the walls, the bot-
toms of the depressions are in numerous cases smooth, rising slightly
toward the centre uniformly all round. The precision observable proves
clearly the action of formative power of great magnitude. Referring to
what has already been explained regarding the vaporous column of
twenty-five miles radius, calculation shows that a surface temperature
exerting the moderate pressure of two pounds to the square inch will
produce an amount of mechanical energy almost incalculable. Practical
engineers are aware that the steam rising from a surface of water ten
square feet, heated by a very slow fire, is capable of producing an en-
ergy of one horse-power; consequently a single square mile of the
boiling pond will develop 2,780,000 horse-power. This prodigious en-
ergy will obviously be exerted horizontally, as the weight of the super-
incumbent column of vapor balances its expannve force precisely as the
weight of our atmosphere balances its expansive force. But unlike
the earth's atmosphere, which is restrained from horizontal movement
by its continuance round the globe, the vapor of the column of fifty
miles diameter is free to move beyond the confines of the pond. A
very powerful horizontal motion, especially of the lower part of the va^
porous mass, will thus be promoted, acting in radial lines from the cen-
tre, the principal resistance encountered being the friction against the
water.
398 LIFE OF JOHN SBICSSOK.
Oonridering that the friction agaisBt the surfaoe of the ooeaa, oansed
by the gentle trade-wind, is snfficient to prodnoe the Gulf Stream, we
need no flgores to show the effect npon the water in the boiling pond
pirodooed by the yaporons mass propelled by an energy of two ponnda
to the square inch, in radial lines toward its confines. A drcolar tidal
wave of extraordinary power, together with a retnm nnder-^snrrent
toward the centre, will obTionsly be the result. Bnt agreeably to the
laws supposed to govern vortex motion, these currents cannot be main-
tained in a radial direction. A rotaiy motion, rapidly augmenting, will
take place, producing a vortex more powerful than any imagined by
Deecifftes. The radial currents of the vaporous column having as-
sumed a spiral course, will rapidly acquire a velocity exceeding that
of a cyclone. The practical effect of the powerful movement of the
vortex, it is reasonable to suppose, will resemble that of a gigantic
carving-tool, whose thorough efficiency in removing irregularities has
been proved by the exact circular outline presented by thousands of
lunar formations. The terraces within the " ring mountains '* indicated
cm Beer and MSdler's chart,* it may be shown, were produced by evapora-
Jion resulting from low temperature, and reduced energy after the for*
mation of the main glacier.
There is another feature in the lunar landscape scarcely less remark-
able than its circular walls and depressions. In the centre of nearly all
of the latter one or more conijal hills rise, in some cases several thou-
sand feet high. Has the rotaiy motion of the boiling vortex any con-
nection with these central cones ? A brief explanation will show that
the connection is quite intimate. . The under-rated estimate that ten
square feet of surface under the action of slow fire is capable of develop-
ing one horse-power, proves the presence of a dynamic energy exceeding
5,000,000,000 of horse-power at the base of the vaporous column resting
on the boiling water of a pond as large as that of Tycho. No part of
this power can be exerted vertically, as already explained, on the ground
that the weight of the vapor restrains such movement.
The great velocity of the vortex resulting from the expenditure of
the stated amount of dynamic energy vdll of course produce correspond-
ing centrifugal force ; hence a maelstrom will be formed capable of
draining the central part of the pond, leaving the same diy, unless the
water be veiy deep, in which case the appearance of a diy bottom wiU
be postponed until a certain quantity of water has been transferred to
the glacier. It should be observed that the central part of the bottom,
freed from water, will also be freed from the surrounding cold by the
protection afforded by the vaporous mass. The quantity of snow formed
above the centre, at great altitude, will be small, and of course diverged
during the fall. Evidently the dry central part, prevented, as shown,
from cooling, will soon acquire a high temperature, admitting the for-
^C^jurte der Oebiige des Mondei.
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 299
maiioix of a vent for the expidsion of lava» called for as the moon, whose
entire dry surface is radiating against space, shrinks rapidly nnder the
foroed. refrigeration attending glacier-formation. Lava cones similar to
those of terrestrial volcanoes, and central to the circular walls, may thus
be formed, the process being favored by the feebleness of the moon's
attraction. The eustence of warm springs on the protected central
plains is very probable ; hence the formation of cones of ice might take
place during the last stages of glacier- formation, when those plains no
longer receive adequate protection against cold.
In accordance with the views expressed in the monograph read be*
fore the American Academy of Science, continued research has con-
firmed my supposition that the water on the moon bears the same pro-
portion to its mass as the water of the ocean to the terrestrial mass. I
have consequently calculated the contents of the circular walls of the
** ring mountains " measured and delineated by Beer and MSdler, and
find that these walls contain 6d0,000 cubic miles. The opposite hemi-
sphere of the moon being subjected to similar vicissitudes of heat and
cold as the one presented to the earth, the contents of the circular walls
not seen cannot vary very much from those recorded in "Der Mond ; "
hence the total will amount to 1,260,000 cubic miles. Allowing for the
difference of specific gravity of ice, the stated amount represents 1,159,-
000 cubic miles of water. But " Der Mond " does not record any of the
minor circular walls which, as shown by the large photograph before
referred to, cover the entire surface of some parts of the moon. On
careful comparison, it will be found that the contents of the omitted cir-
cular formations is so great that an addition of fifty per cent, to the be-
fore-stated amount is called for. An addition of twenty-five per cent, for
the ice-fields, whose extent is indicated by cracks and optical phenomena,
is likewise proper. The sum total of water on the moon, therefore,
amounts to 2,028,600 cubic miles.
Adopting HerscheFs estimate of the moon's comparative mass, viz.,
0.011864, and assuming that the oceans of the earth cover 180,000,000
square miles, it will be seen that the estimated quantity of water on the
moon corresponds with a mean depth of 7,250 feet of the terrestrial
oceans.*
This depth agrees very nearly with the oceanic mean depth established
by the soundings for the original Atlantic cable, viz., 7,500 feet; but
the result of the Challenger Expedition points to a much greater depth.
This circumstance is by no means conclusive against the supposition
that the satellite and the primary are covered with water in relatively
equal quantities. The correctness of Sir John Herschers demonstration,
proving the tendency of the water on the lunar surface to flow to the
hemisphere furthest from the earth, must be disproved before we reject
* iii8iWW > >.Wu8* = 7,250 feet mean depth of terrestrial ooesns, oone-
sponding with water on the moon.
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND INVENTIONS. 301
the assumption that the quantity of water on the surface of the moon
bears the same proportion to its mass as the quantity of water on the
earth to the terrestrial mass. John Ericsson.
The illustration upon the opposite page is intended to rep-
resent the appearance of a section of the moon's surface, as seen
by earth light — the light of the sun reflected from our planet
during the lunar night. The appearance of the circular depres-
sionSy ordinarily supposed to indicate volcanic action, is equally
suggestive of the operation described by Ericsson.
Professor Frankland tells us that the idea of former aque-
ous agency in the moon has received almost universal accept-
ance; but if water has at one time existed on the surface of
the moon, whither has it disappeared? For lack of a better
theory this authority hides the lunar oceans in interior caverns,
left by the shrinkage of the moon in cooling; others would
have us believe that the waters have withdrawn to the side of
the selenic sphere never turned toward us; and still a third the-
ory is that a vagrant and greedy comet has sucked up the lunar
oceans and atmosphere, and carried them far beyond the reach
of replevin into the trackless wastes of cosmic space. Compare
Ericsson's well-reasoned conclusions with such wild guesses as
these.
As the present study of solar physics dates from 1860, and
Ericsson began his investigation four years later, he is one of
the pioneers in this field, so fruitful in its promise of great
revelations. Whatever the final conclusions, he is certain to
be remembered as one who did much to stimulate and direct
inquiry in this most important field of physical research.
Ericsson's labors in this field continued until his death; they
afforded him congenial occupation for his declining years,
and removed him in a measure from the atmosphere of con-
tention in which so large a part of his busy and aggressive ca-
reer had been spent. They brought to him, too, the pleasure
he esteemed chief of all — that of devoting twelve hours a day,
for three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, to useful
work without concern as to pecuniary reward.
CHAPTER XXXVm.
THE HOME IN BEACH STREET.
The Philosophy of Generous Living. — Bemoyal to St. John's Park.—
Love of Flowers. — ^Description of the Home at 36 Beach Street —
Changes in the Neighborhood. — The Park Destroyed. — Annoyances
and Bemedies. — Garlyle's Experience Bepeated. — ^A Qreat Engineer
as a Housekeeper. — Experience as a Bat-catcher. — ^Diaiy and Ao-
counts. — Growing Eccentricities. — ^Prejudice against Modem In-
vention.— Human Inconsistency. — Hermit Life. —Spartan Habits. —
Temperance Ideas. — ^Exact Methods of Living. — Celebrating Octo-
genarian Birthdays. — ^Becollections of Youthful Days.
SOME years after he had removed, in 1843, from the Astor
House to !No. 95 Franklin Street, and adopted the habit
of taking bis meals at the Union Club, Ericsson wrote to Mr.
Sargent, at whose instance this change was made, to say, ^^ Yon
have added ten years to my life in calling my mind to generous
living, by bringing me to the club. I can say with truth that I
am now capable of undergoing twice as much labor as when I
left the Astor House. The difference between living well and
ill in this climate is in fact quite incredible. Men, like en-
gines, require food to keep up steam." At Franklin Street he
continued for twenty-one years, or until 1864, when his friends
urged him to buy a house at No. 86 Beach Street, offered at
the price of $20,000. Mr. Delainater, who had prospered
through his connection with work upon the monitors, asked
that the property be purchased for him, in case his friend did
not desire to invest in it himself, generously adding, " If you
do buy on your own account, the whole of the purchase money
can be arranged for you with the aid of, yours truly, C. H.
Delamater." The house was bought in April, 1864, and Mr.
John A. Griswold, Ericsson's associate in the monitor con-
tracts, who was then a member of Congress, wrote to say: ^'If
I did not express my pleasure at hearing of your having se-
THE HOME IK BEACH STBEST. 803
.isnred a dwelling-place at once comfortable and respectable, I
certainly felt it. I know of no one more thoroughly entitled
to Buch provision. My wonder is that yon shoald so long have
denied yourself. I think if you could not afPord it yourself , I
know of friends who would consider themselves able, as they
certainly would be willing, to aid you, under the feeling that it
was the least of your deserts.'^
Happily, Ericsson could afPord it, and to the purchase
money of the house he added several thousand dollars for re-
pairing and furnishing, as appears from this statement of ac-
count:
Oost to pat 86 Beaoh Street in good rapair $1,749.26
For foimture for 36 Beaoh Street 2,646.86
Cost to get into Beach Street $4,896.11
The fact that this amount exceeded the estimated expendi-
ture by more than twenty per cent, shows that in matters of
household economy the skilled mathematician is as much at
fault as the youngest housekeeper.
Beach Street is a short street running toward the Hudson
Biver, on the west side of New York, a few blocks below
Canal Street. At this time, it was the southern boundary of
Saint John's Park, and the noble trees of this beautiful private
square were in full view from Ericsson's front windows.
The grounds of the park were kept in excellent order, and
the location was in every way desirable for one who was not
seeking a fashionable quarter. The busy engineer was accus-
tomed to stand, in the early spring, at his open windows and
watch with delight the bursting buds of the beeches and chest-
nuts, some of the finest on Manhattan Island. He loved the
green grass and sight of flowers, trying with indifPerent suc^
cess to establish flower-beds in his little back-yard, so that he
might occasionally see his favorite, tlie rose.
His house was one of a row of comfortable residences
standing on full city lots, and having an air of dignity and old-
time elegance recalling the days when the City Hall Park
was a centre of fashion. The marble steps, the carved door-
casings and fan-lights, the massive mahogany fittings of the
301 LIFE OF JOHN EBIC860N.
interior, all bespoke the state of earlier occupants. The forces
of steam and iron, which its new owner had spent his life in
developing, were fast transforming that quarter of the town,
but this little oasis of a park still remained as a memorial of
better days. Commerce now pressed in from all sides, and soon
the park grounds were in demand for a freight depot; railroad
cars and tracks displaced the stately trees; bare walls suc-
Eiltriar Vi«y of Ericuon'i Hcum, Ho. X BhcK Stnat, Nio Yoik, KM.
ceeded to pleasant verdure; the rattle of carts and the screech
of locomotives followed the singing of birds and the chatter
of squirrels. To oblige a friend, Ericsson joined in the trans-
fer of the park rights to the Hudson River Railroad Company;
but if he lost this bit of sentiment out of his life, he gratified
a deeper feeling by succoring starving Swedes with the money
he thus received. The neighborhood henceforth deteriorated
THE HOME IN BEACH STBEET* 305
rapidly in character^ and a tenement population displaced the
more quiet residents. The owner of number 36 talked of
moving, but he found it difficult to suit himself elsewhere, and
with years came a growing horror of change. Besides, he be-
gan to realize that he had found a good hiding-place, and, as
he grimly said, the ladies ceased to visit him in that unpromis-
ing locality. If they absented themselves, other enemies to
repose were constantly with him. The reflection from the
walls of the freight-house disturbed him as he sat at his desk,
just under the front windows, and he had an invincible prej-
udice against curtains or blinds. A medley of inharmonious
sounds interfered with his rest at night, and his work during
the day. The rattle of drays, carrying their heavy loads of rail-
road freight, made a constant racket, and the jfirring motion of
a stationary engine across the street disturbed his sleep, until
he adopted the expedient of inserting numerous thicknesses
of felting under his bed-posts. As he shared Thomas Carlyle's
antipathy to a crowing cock, he was obliged to follow Mrs.
Carlyle's plan of purchasing all the chickens in his neighbor-
hood to secure the privilege of wringing their necks. With
the owners of barking dogs, agreements of this sort were
entered into:
New York, August 16, 1877.
I herewith agree to remove the dog now on the premises 37 North
Moore Street, and further, not to keep any dog on said premises for the
term of one year from date, for the consideration of five dollars paid to
me by Captain John Ericsson.
Charles Herbert.
He obtained permission from a neighbor to enter his prem-
ises and pad the wall of his room with mattresses — covered to
correspond with the furniture — so as to shut out the sound of
a piano separated by only a thin party-wall from the desk at
which he worked.
By an offer of two handsome gold watches, he endeavored
to persuade two young ladies who practised their scales in
another house adjoining to postpone their exercises until his
morning sleep was over. With such ingenious and conciliatory
methods he tried to secure the quiet so essential to his work.
Vol. II.— 20
306 . LIFE OF JOHN EBI0S80N.
But there were some intruders upon bis peace who were proof
against his beguilements. When he took possession of his new
quarters he found his occupancy disputed bj a numerous horde
of rats, who considered themselves tenants at will, and stub-
bornly refused to yield possession. ^^ Bearding the situation as
a problem to be solved by mechanical means, with his own
hands he drew the plans for a vast and mighty trap. To the
leading idea (of a water-tank beneath a trap-door) he laid no
claim, but the details were wholly new, and upon an unhpard-
of scale. Tracings were made by an assistant draughtsman,
and went the rounds of the shop ; the pattern-maker, Uie brass-
founder, the finisher, the carpenter, the tinsmith, each had a
share in this novel work. At last it was completed and erected ;
it filled up half the basement, and was baited with half a
cheese. He had originally intended to use a whole one, but
though cost had been disregarded in making the trap, he sud-
denly became gravely economical in the matter of bait, and at
last decided that one moiety would suffice ; the other being
placed in an adjoining room, to guide the noble army of martyrs
in the road to ruin. But he had underestimated the cunning
of the rodents ; as a place for keeping cheese in safety, the pon-
derous engine answered admirably, but it did not even frighten
away the obnoxious animals ; and he was forced to admit that
^ these little beasts have brains altogether too big for their
heads.'
*^ Before this time, when some over-ambitions and unsuc-
cessful piece of mechanism came to his notice, he used to say,
like many another, ^ the man who contrived that couldn^t plan
a rat trap.' And the force of habit sometimes impelled him
even afterward to use the same familiar ejaculation ; but the
memory of this failure was ever present with him, and with a
merry twinkle in his clear blue eyes he invariably added, ^ and
I couldn't do that, either.' " *
Ericsson was assisted in his engineering work, during the
closing years of his life, by Mr. Y. F. Lassoe, a native of Den*
mark, and his private secretary for twenty-five years was Mr*
Samuel W. Taylor, a gentleman whose thorough acquaintance
with his peculiar ways made him indispensable. He grew so
* Prof MBor 0. W. MaoGord in the Soientiiio Amerioan.
THE HOHS IN BBAOH 8TBBBT. 307
aocustomed to Lis secretary's dear chirography that when, in his
later years, the type- writer favored him with a letter, he would
insist upon having it copied into script before he would read
it. Indeed, the hostility to invention in matters concerning
himself, shown by this doughty champion of pi*ogress against
prejudice, is a curious commentary upon the inconsistency of
human nature. He was accustomed to ascribe naval hostility
to innovation, to the confinement of naval officers within the
narrow limits of a man-of-war, forgetting that he was himself
confined within a still more contracted sphere, and that he was
quite as much the victim of conservative prejudices. Numer-
ous objections were urged against the copying-press when it
was first introduced, and those existing in Ericsson's mind were
never overcome. He would have nothing but manuscript
copies of his letters, sometimes sending the copy with his sig-
nature, and retaining the original.
As he was particular to keep copies of his letters, this in-
volved no small amount of unnecessary labor. In the matter
of keeping accounts he was even more peculiar, and it was
difficult to follow his financial transactions, as the memoranda
on his checks-books were his only record of money received or
coming due to him. Yet his receipts in one day counted a
single item of half a million dollars paid in ten $50,000 Treasury
certificates. The papers transferred to me for the preparation
of this biography numbered nearly twelve thousand, and includ-
ed very complete files of letters received and sent after 1860.
Most of the papers of an earlier date were destroyed in 1886.
The destruction of his diaries, containing daily memoranda in a
curious mixture of Swedish and English, was decreed about
the same time. The entries, extending over fifty years, were
contained in a series of little blank-books bound in red leather,
such as are used for keeping accounts. I discovered these
diaries standing in imposing array one day upon Ericsson's
shelves; when I next saw them nothing but the covers re-
mained. Their leaves, containing the story of Ericsson's life
for half a century, Iiad been put under a cutting machine,
sliced into fragments, and sent to the paper mill.
The indiscretion of Carlyle's biographer, in exposing some
of his unhappy experiences, prompted this act of destruction.
308 UFB OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
Ericsson had no time to revise his diary, and was not disposed
to intrust the task to another. In looking it over he found in
it — ^as any man would under like circumstances— evidences
of mistaken ideas and impressions that he did not care to per-
petuate. The only way a growing man can live at peace with
such a chronicle is never to look at it. To come into daily in-
tercourse with one's dead past is like consorting with the dwel-
lers in the catacombs. Occasionally, when his attention was
called to some opinion he had expressed years before, or to some
drawing he had forgotten, Ericsson found what he regarded as
an indictment against himself so unanswerable, that he was led
to exclaim in his vigorous way:
"Did I write that? Is that my drawing? Then I must
have been a d d fool when I made itl"
Though he adhered with extraordinary tenacity to opinions
once deliberately formed, and the more tenaciously the more
he was opposed, the natural movement of progress would carry
him so far beyond his conclusions of a given time that he came
finally to look back upon them with that sort of half-pitying
contempt the wise man bestows upon the errors once fellow-
shipped, but no longer identified with his mental processes.
John Ericsson lived for his work, and he had no wish that
anything beyond a record of that should survive him. In 1888
the curator of the Stockholm Museum asked for some of his
personal belongings, to be added to its treasures. In his impa-
tience to deny this inadmissible request, the subject of it spent
thirty dollars in speeding under the Atlantic this telegraphic
reply:
Arthur Hazelius, Stockholm: Documents received. Accept my
cordial thanks, but permit me to inform you that I take no interest in
museums which preserve relics of barbarism and ignorance of past gen-
erations. Again, time will soon convert such relics into heaps of mould.
Please do not prepare any place for the reception of relics expected
from me, as nothing will be left after me to show how imperfect my
knowledge was. I have already destroyed upward of one thousand
drawings, and numerous models, to prevent posterity from supposing
that my knowledge was as imperfect as said relics would indicate.
Nothing will be left at last but the corpse of
John Eeicsbon.
New York, June 19, 1888.
THE HOME IN BEACH STREET. 309
Within another year Ericsson was dead, and the museum
was soon in proud possession of the entire furniture and fit-
tings of the room where he labored for a quarter of a century.
They were transported to Stockholm, and placed in a room re-
producing, as nearly as possible, his work-room in Beach Street
A copy of the photograph showing the appearance of the room
at the time of Ericsson's death is given on page 314.
The fact that Ericsson never rode upon the elevated rail-
road is an illustration of his conservatism in minor matters.
He declared that the Czar of Russia would be assassinated if
he should build such a structure through the streets of St
Petersburg. He never saw the Central Park, and would never
have seen the Brooklyn Bridge, had not his secretary driven
on it when they were out together, without telling him where
they were going. He was one of the first investors in the At-
lantic telegraph, but he always wondered at himself for this
venture, as he was ready at that time to furnish a conclusive
demonstration of the impossibility of making the cable a suc-
cess. He was accustomed to refer to this as an illustration of
the fallibility of engineering judgments. It was long before
he could believe in the reality of the telephone, and he offered
to bet his secretary a suit of clothes that he was deceived when
he supposed that he heard through it the voice of a distant
person. In the end he conceived a great admiration for its
inventor, Edison.
Ericsson dwelt, with an old man's pride, upon the fact that
he was in good working condition for three hundred and sixty-
five days in the year, in spite of his confinement, summer and
winter, to a district of the city where the gutters ran with filth,
the air was heavy with the mingled odors of a tenement district,
and not a pleasant sight or sound regaled his senses. To a
friend, who had withdrawn to his country-place for the sum-
mer, he wrote in July, 1862, '*I also enjoy a change of air as
usual during July and August, during which months the fumes
from the gutters are much stronger than at other seasons, pro-
ductive of a decided change of the atmospheric constituents, ben-
eficial, it would appear, to the 'worn-out' old fellow who has
had no occasion to seek any other than the change mentioned
during a succession of forty-three years. Indeed, so well does
310 . LIFE OF JOHN EBIOSSON.
it agree with him that he now can boast of pristine vigor, and
may be found at 11 p.m., daring our pleasant warm evenings,
stooping over his drawing-table." There was something, no
doubt, of octogenarian delusion in this, and his physician's re-
port would have modified the statement. He never would
own, even to himself, that he was out of condition, and kept
at work during the last twelve or fourteen years of his life in
spite of the fact that he suffered from the disorder that re-
sulted in the death of his son. He insisted upon studying his
own case, and would follow the doctor's directions only so far
as he approved them. His physician was under a pledge to
inform him of the first symptom of approaching dissolution,
and he resolved that he would not take to his bed except in
the last extremity.
Until within a few days of his death, he followed the rigid
regime described in previous chapters. The food and drink
constituting his simple diet 'were chosen with care and meas-
ured with exactness. The windows of his sleeping-room must
be opened just so many inches, summer and winter ; he must
have his calisthenics for two hours each morning, followed by
a sponge-bath and vigorous rubbing ; as plumbing was one of
his antipathies, there was no bath-room in his house. " I have
important work before me," he wrote after he had passed his
eighty-second year, *^ and hence live like a man training for a
fight. My reward is unbroken health. I digest my food as
well now as I did at thirty. Nor is my muscle less tough and
elastic than at that age." This view of his bodily conditions
was, as I have said, somewhat too optimistic, although true to
the general fact.
When he was over sixty years old, a visitor at Mr. Stough-
ton's house, coming unannounced into the room where the fam-
ily were gathered, was astounded by the spectacle of the famed
designer of the Monitor giving proof of his athletic abilities by
standing upon his head.
Captain Ericsson abandoned the use of intoxicants when he
was fifty years old, as he once told me. His usual beverages
were water, cooled in summer with ice to a temperature 15^ to
20° below that of the air, and hot tea made very strong. While
he lived in England, he followed the custom of the country:
THE HOMB IN BEACH STREET. ^11;
this he describes as at that time a continnous round of eating
and drinking. He seems, later on, to have acquired a prejudice
against drinking habits. To an impecunious countryman who
asked for money to fit up a liquor saloon, he answered that he
would never give a dollar to help anyone to engage in the de-
moralizing business of liquor selling. Again, on receipt of a
bill from the contractors for one of his monitors for the ex-
penses of a trial trip, his secretary wrote, saying :
Captain Eriosson directs me to ask you to inform him if, of your own
knowledge, 156 bottles of Bpiritaous liquors were consumed by the guests
invited to be present during said trial trip. If the above quantity of
liqnor was really consumed, the occasion looks more like a bacchanidian
feast than a trial trip of a small gnn-boat. Captain Ericsson desires to
be informed if the trial of the vessel was really made the occasion of
such a disgraceful feast before settling the bilL
Still he did not believe in sumptuary laws. Replying to a
pamphlet suggesting their adoption in Sweden, he said : ^' The
great danger that threatens our dear country cannot be averted
by a royal prohibition of the distillation of spirits. Evidently,
you have not considered how many crimes would result from
such a prohibition, prompted by a love of gain and a desire for
the forbidden liquor. Nor would the liberal-minded Swede
long submit to such restraint. Consideration should also be
given to the fact that the majority are accustomed to take
brandy, and that most of them consider this liquor to be whole-
some." In place of prohibition he recommended the plan, sub-
sequently adopted and applied by Act of Congress to the Na-
tional Military and NavaJ Academies, of instructing the young
as to the injurious effects of strong liquors. After he had
pursued his temperance regime for many years, one of his old-
est friends took occasion to remind him of earlier experiences,
saying : " It does not seem to me forty years or more since you
could put your full share of three bottles of champagne under
your jacket of a hot day at the Union Club. No, nor that
time since you could take your dozen oysters of an evening at
Florence's, and wash them down with a stiff glass of whiskey
toddy. And now you pass as a water-drinker, and think me no
312 LIFE OF JOHN EBIC8S0N.
better than one of the wicked because I have drunk a pint of
wine every day for these forty years." But sharing three bot-
tles of wine was a very rare indulgence at any time, and even
this boon companion of his convivial years could recall no sim-
ilar experience.
The domestic establishment at 36 Beach Street had been
for many years under the care of a tidy little Irish woman, who
was cook as well as housekeeper. She had learned to accom-
modate herself to her master's simple tastes and eccentric
ways; knew just how long to keep the two loaves of bread
adorning his dining-room mantel until they had grown suffi-
ciently stale for his use; knew how to place the two hundred
and forty pins required to make faultlessly smooth the sheet
covering the mattress upon which he slept; stood guard over
his privacy, and kept her housewifely zeal for cleanliness sub-
ject to the necessities of his comfort. Indeed, Ann Cassidy
thoroughly avenged her sex upon the man who sought to make
himself independent of women, for she succeeded in making
at least one of them indispensable to him.
The Beach Street house was put into perfect order when
Ericsson took possession of it, an observatory upon the roof
for solar experiments being added; but he was unwilling to be
disturbed by the confusion of repairs, and it gradually as-
similated itself to the general shabbiness of the neighborhood.
Symptoms of house-cleaning gave him such distress, that at-
tempts in that direction were abandoned unless he had con-
sented to them previously; and there were positive orders that
nothing should be done without his directions. He was so
opposed to newness, that the carpets in the rooms he occupied
were replaced piece by piece as they wore out, until haJf a
dozen patterns were to be found upon a single floor, and a new
carpet was hung up for a year in the attic to season before it
was considered fit for use. The smell of new paint so troubled
him, that when it had been on one occasion applied to a new
tin roof upon his piazza, a workman was required to soak it off
with gallons of still more offensive benzine.
This was the condition of Ericsson's house toward the end
of his life: His parlor and dining-room, with their heavy
chandeliers and mantel mirrors, had a certain air of old-fash-
THE HOME IN BEACH 8TBEET. 313
ioned dignity, but the handsomely finished and exquisitely
polished specimens of his solar apparatus occupied every cor-
ner of the parlor and gave it the appearance of an alcove in
the Patent Office. An oil portrait belonging to a friend, a bust
of Mr. E. W. Stoughton, an elaborately engraved and framed
copy of the resolutions passed by the Legislature of the State of
New York on the occasion of the Monitor fight, and a portrait of
Gustavus V. Fox, were the only specimens of artistic adornment
displayed about the house. Ericsson never found time for the
cultivation of a taste for art, and there was a noteworthy ab-
sence in his house of everything appealing to aesthetic senti-
ment; but the pins in the cushion on his bedroom bureau were
always arranged by himself so that they should be in exact
mathematical rows. Utility, and not taste, controlled the ap-
pointments of his house. Emancipated from the tyranny of
domestic tradition, he was permitted to make it what he intended
it should be — the abiding pl^ce of the genius of labor, the apos-
tle of the steam engine, the prime minister of the tremendous
forces shaping modern civilization. What time had he, bound
to the service of these stupendous powers, to do aught but their
bidding? Domestic life, luxury, and ease were not for him.
His keen eye must see only the path of stem, absorbing labor;
his powerful brain and indomitable will must be ever in com-
mand of his unwearied hands, in their never^nding toil. No
wife, no children must intrude the tenderness of love to soften
the rigor of his purpose, or to interfere for one moment with
his chosen work.
The room used by Ericsson when at work was large and
pleasant, occupying the entire front of twenty-five feet, the
partition of the hall bedroom having been cut away to form
an alcove. Here stood the table covered by the inclined draw-
ing-board upon which the master's hand had wrought such
marvels.
" As a draughtsman," Professor MacCord testifies, " Ericsson
had no rival, past or present, and the outlines of new devices
grew upon the paper as if by magic.'* This is the testimony
of all his assistants. He was never so happy as when en-
gaged with his drawing. At his side stood always ready, a
store of pencils carefully sharpened to a convenient length for
S14 LIFS OF JOHN SRIOSSON.
hU holder. Keftr st hftnd wfw aoother box filled with ends of
robber and an aBsortment of Bpectacles ; while a third tiny box
held bite of plaster cat to exact length to cover the splits in his
finger-nails that gave token of advancing years. He sat at his
work apon an ordinary horee-hair piano-stool raised to a con-
venient height by the addition of a rough wooden box, on-
painted, and policed only by use. This box, or a dictionary,
served him for a pillow when he tnmed aside from hie work to
stretch himself out at full length for a nap on a table standing
opposite his desk. Until the bright idea of lengthening it oc-
cmred to him one day, he slept most nncomfortably with his
legs dangling over the edge of the table.
He would not suffer the infirmities of age to be formally
presented ; they must come upon him nnannonnced, and no
hint of their presence was allowed. The walnut table where
he lay, when dnring his working hours he suffered sleep to
steal upon him, was only a degree leas hard than the bed to
which he retired after midnight for his seven hours of dream-
less repose. No lounge, no arm-chair, no contrivance of any
kind for the relaxation natural to old age, was found in the
THE HOXS IN BBAOH STSEET. Slff
home of this Spartan octogenarian. 'No persuasion could indnoe
him to adopt the luxury of a bed in the daytime, and he re-
fused to use a reclining chair brought to him in his dying
hours, because it was made upon a false mechanical principle.
Toward the end he stretched himself at more frequent inter-
vals and for longer periods upon his table, but it required much
gentle force to remove him to his bed for his ^Mast, long,
dreamless sleep."
Before the large mantel in Ericsson's work*room stood two
vases made from the wood of the vessels sunk by the Merri-
maOy the Ouniberland and the Congress. Near by were two
crockery pitchers containing pyramids of artificial flowers.
** We will have flowers," said this lover of roses. ^' But natural
flowers fade and require attention — ^let us have these."
^^ On a projecting pUaster near the left of his drawing-table
[which is seen in the cut on the opposite page] were two bell-
pulls, marked respectively ^ L ' and ^ T.' These were later addi-
tions, leading to the room above, occupied by his superintending
engineer and his secretary. In the early days he employed no
such labor-saving device, but, marching to the hall-door, he
would summon ^ Mr. Lassoe ' or ' Mr. Taylor,' with a deep chest-
voice, not musical, but clear as a trumpet, and of a volume
which would have wakened them had they been sleeping, and
at least have startled them if they had been dead.
" One mechanical appliance, however, there was even then
in this room. His fireplace, which in winter was generously
fed with Cumberland coal, had, as he conceived, some affection
of the throat, which he proceeded to treat in a manner of his
own. He had made for it a cast-iron damper, turning on
pivots at the ends, and operated from the front by means of a
rod fitted with a screw and a polished hand-wheel, the tracings
for which were duly returned from Delamater's marked, with
the shop name, ^ Beversing gear for Captain Ericsson's fire-
place,' a bit of humor which he keenly enjoyed ; if there was
no music in his voice, there was no lack of it in his laughter,
which was free, hearty, and contagious.
^^ Upon the oval table was a model of a gun-carriage, with a
gun for firing torpedoes, which, having been brought down
some years ago for exhibition to some gentlemen interested in
316 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSON.
the subject, happened to be left there, and it is the only model
which ever was in this room for any length of time."*
Ericsson's bedroom, in the rear of his house, was bright and
sunny, but the outlook from the windows was over a dreary
waste of shabby and odorous stables and tenement-houses, and
the square plot in the centre of the yard, where flowers and
grass were intended to grow, was covered by a wooden plat-
form for setting up experimental solar engines. He was hy no
means regardless of comfort, but his ideas of what was most
essential to comfort differed from the conventional standard.
Sunlight was good for him, and hence blinds and curtains \rere
forbidden. Fresh paints were poison, and the dyes in new car-
pets subject to the same objection; so he would have none of
them where he dwelt. Sanitary, and not sentimental, considera-
tions controlled his household. Around himself he drew a sa-
cred circle within which none must obtrude. Beyond this all
was free, and the housekeeper maintained her tidy manage, and
set up her altar to the Virgin in an upper room, without moles-
tation.
Curious contrivances here and there about his rooms illus-
trated the great engineer's ingenuity in providing for his per-
sonal convenience. In a doorway of his bedroom two short
ropes with nippers at the ends hung at about the height of his
shoulders. To these nippers he fastened his coat, so that he
could get into it without lifting too high his rheumatic arms,
or subjecting himself to the humiliation of asking assistance.
Eighteen hods of coal were placed just outside his bedroom door,
and two stokers' iron pokers, six feet in length, enabled him to
stir up his fire without approaching it too nearly, or calling
upon a servant for help. Open fireplaces were all he used, and
no furnace was permitted to poison the air of his house. A
tin saucepan, with a handle several feet in length and crooked
so as to hang on to the edge of the fender, allowed him to heat
the water for shaving without burning his face. Everything
about him gave proof of his independent spirit and his unwil-
lingness to invoke the aid of others in personal matters. He
was accustomed to tie up the articles of his wardrobe not in
immediate use, in brown paper packages, and store them away
* Professor C. W. MacCord in the Scientific American.
THE HOME IN BEACH STBEET. 317
in a closet of his bedroom. Once a year, he would stand upon
a chair and hand these packages solemnly down to his secre-
tary, who in his turn solemnly rid them of the twelve months
accumulation of dust, and handed them up again for further re-
pose upon the shelves. This appears to have been the extent
of Ericsson's concession to housekeeping proprieties. Summer
and winter, he wore vests and stocks of buff Marseilles or piqu^;
this material having once attracted his fancy, he had bought
one hundred and fifty yards of it and used it for these gar-
ments during the remainder of his life. When the supply was
exhausted and it was found impossible to match the material,
the well-worn vests were patched and repatched with remnants
saved when the cloth was cut. Separated so much from con-
tact with his fellows, he grew more and more eccentric, and
while he was quite conscious of this, his joy was in his work
and he did not care to change. Those who had business with
him and who understood hb ways, could always gain access to
him, but for visits of mere curiosity he had no tolerance. On
the recurring anniversaries of his birth, toward the end of his
life, congratulations were sent to him by telegram and letter
from friends and admirers, a few of the more venturesome
calling to tender their compliments in person. How such visi-
tors were received is indicated by this copy of a memorandum
given to his secretary for his guidance on such an occasion.
July 31, 1884. — Mem., Capt. E.'s Instructions.
Tell the gentlemen who may do me the honor to call, that I positive-
ly refuse to appear, as I am tired of being described.
Regarding my profession, I desire to be useful, and love to work;
but I desire that my works should speak for themselves.
As to congratulations, my friends know that I prefer a few friendly
lines over an autograph.
I have not time to examine my correspondence to-day, as I should
Uke to send a certain scientific document by Saturday's mail.*
* Ericsson was a constant contributor to the newspapers — scientific and
others; writing not for pay, but because he was interested in the subject he
discussed. He would frequently furnish not only the article but the illustra-
tions to accompany it. On one occasion he sent an article to a New York daily
paper. As it did not appear promptly he sent a copy to a rival sheet. The re-
sult was that two papers that had a genius for differing were for once found in
318 LIFB OF JOHN SRIOSSON.
Not one of the expected congratulations would I publish.
You can show the solar apparatus if you see fit. The result of my
inyestigation is a positire demonstration that the tempezature of the
solar surface exceeds three million degrees of F.
The national melodies, sung by the Swedish societies who
gathered in front of his house on his last birthday, touched
Ericsson profoundly. He did not appear to acknowledge the
courtesy, it is true, but, in the privacy of his own room, he lis-
tened intently, and his eyes filled with the tears of tender recol-
lection
** That is not akin to piBun,
And resembles sorrow only,
As the mist resembles the nun.**
If the avenues to his heart were known to but few, they were
far from being untrodden ways. A Swedish traveller who
called, at the time of dedication of the monument erected at
L&ngbanshyttan, to give an account of the celebration there,
says of his interview : " After having waited a few minutes, I
heard somebody coming very quickly down the stairs, and a
moment afterward I saluted one of the most renowned per-
sons of the century. I gave him the views of L&ngbanshyt-
tan after having delivered my message. This was one of the
most interesting moments of my journey. To see how the
warm-hearted patriot was overcome with emotion, how he
for a long time stood as if rooted to the floor, and gazed npon
the pictures recalling the scenes of his childhood, and the hum-
ble dwelling where he passed his yonth, cannot be described
in words. At last he said, ' Yes, I know my home very weU,'
and at the same time a few tears, which surely came from the
depths of his heart, appeared in his eyes, as he continued to
gaze npon the unpretending pictures which showed him how
his friends in the old places had done him honor.''
"The heart has its own memory like the mind.*
the most striking aooord. Each printed on the same day Erlosson's arttole as
an editorial, and the exact similarity in expression and opinion was the snlijeot
of no smaU amosement to critical contemporaries.
THX HOME IK BBAOH STBSBT. 819
Tegnier, the poet of Yermland, recalling the sceneB of his
youth, said in his old age : ^^ The verdure of spring, the cool
shade of the wood, the refreshing waves, the odor of the pine,
the perfume of the flowers, and the sweet breath of the morn-
ing air, all are still fresh in remembrance. The distractions of
town-life, of study among books unlimited, the dust. of the
highways of learning, have never obscured these recollections,
and they refresh me as do the wells that spring out of the
desert the thirsty traveller."
Among the same associations John Ericsson obtained his
deepest impressions, and as the sands of the desert cover hid-
den waters, so beneath his life of absorbing devotion to utili-
tarian pursuits lay hidden the well-springs of sentiment, hav-
ing their origin in recollection of the days when Olaf and
Sophia Ericsson gathered their little famDy around them in
the Yermland forest, when all was lost save love.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFE.
Resolution to Die in the Harness. — The Last Invention. — Death of Cor-
nelius H. Delamater. — Its Effect upon Ericsson. — His End Ap-
proaches.— Remarkable Tenacity of Life. — His Death upon the
Anniversary of the Monitor and Merrimac Contest. — Funeral Cere-
monies.— Sweden Asks for the Remains. — Imposing Ceremonies
Attending Their Transfer. — Two Nations Join in Honoring the
Dead. — His Estate, and Directions as to its Disposition. — The
Dream of Piranesi. — Finis.
IN 1856 Ericsson promised his Swedish relatives and friends
that he would return to them when he was eighty years
old, and dwell at his ease in his native land. But the usual
changes came with time. Those nearest and dearest to him
were no longer with the living, and the familiar places had lost
the charm of familiar presence. His zeal for invention con-
tinued unabated, and when the twenty-seven years had passed
and he was reminded of his promise, the attraction of work was
stronger than his desire to visit Sweden. "I propose to con-
tinue at work," he now said, ''so long as I can stand at the
drawing-board/'
Five years more passed and he was still busied with his
project for controlling solar heat — the culmination of the stud-
ies begun nearly three score years and ten before, in Jemtland
with his flame engine. In the yard attached to his house he
had set up a large solar engine. Needing power to test it, in
December, 1888, he began work upon the design for a ''small
motor engine.*' To this he devoted the last week of the year,
and, as usual, he made with his own hands all the working
drawings. These went to the shop and the engine was re-
turned completed by February 1, 18i89. This little engine was
John Ericsson's last finished work. His secretary saw that his
powers were waning, and urged him to refrain from further
320
THS OLOSS OF A USEFUL LIFE. 331
exertion, but he pointed to his new engine as proof that there
was no occasion for anxiety. On February 7th he received a
great shock from the annoancement of the death of Cornelius
H. Delamater, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. This event
sundered relations of business and friendship extending over
half a century ; it deprived him of the chief coadjutor in his
work, and it gave unpleasant interpretation to his own bodily
symptoms. Though these daily grew more alarming to his
friends, he would not permit a physician to be called ; when the
swelling of his limbs suggested dropsy, he directed his secretary
to consult medical treatises, and report without asking medical
advice. It soon became apparent that there was no evidence
of dropsy, and the heart was next held accountable for symp-
toms only to be explained on the theory of approaching disso-
lution. ^^ A diagram of the pulse resembled a saw with every
sixth and tenth tooth broken off," as the sick man described it
In spite of increasing weakness lie still declined assistance, and
cautioned his attendants not to speak of his illness. ^^ At
my age," he said, *' such a report would interfere with future
plans, and most likely with future usefulness." He was able to
continue at work and was in excellent spirits. On February
23d a change in appearance was noted, and he complained of
increased exhaustion, and of rest disturbed by the constant
occupation of his mind at night with planning and working
out new mechanical devices.
The crisis approached, and from this time the faithful sec-
retary forsook his home in the suburbs of New York and re-
mained constantly upon the watch. The dying man continued
his daily routine, and the early morning hours were still devot-
ed to severe physical exercise, now so much beyond his strength.
He showed unusual irritability, though his habitual courtesy to
those about him remained unchanged. Soon he was forced to
ask for assistance in dressing and to forego his laborious gym-
nastics; fever and thirst increased, appetite failed, and he
finally consented to have a physician consulted. The doctor,
when he received the report of his condition, insisted upon call-
ing. Though Ericsson still kept about the house, and still took
his frequent naps upon the top of his table, with his box for a
pillow, he was already *Hwo-thirds dead," as the doctor re*
Vol.. H— 21
822 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
ported. It waa only his indomitable wiJl tiiat sonrived. To
his failing sight fog ■iwimrd to fill the room, and mUk at a
lempecatsTO of 175 degrees coold not oonvej the sensation of
warmth to his dolled senses. Yet, in spite of this, there were
wonderfnl flashes of the old vigor. His instractions concerning
his affairs were precise and emphatic ; he still retained interest
enough in the world around him to send for an extra, which a
newsboy cried under his window on March 4th, and to read
President Harrison's inaugural address. Tired of his enforced
idleness, he sn^^sted that the evenings ^^ now passed in look-
ing at each other be occupied with intellectual conversation."
On March 5th came the anniversary of the day on which
the Jfoniior received her first sailing orders. Ericsson was
still able to descend the stairs to his meals, and enjoyed his
food. He was quite vivacious and his voice had the old ring
in ity but he dozed through much of the day, and far into the
night, stretched upon the table where a coverlid had been
spread, and a hard pillow substituted for the wooden box.
His secretary was greatly distressed by his painful moaning,
but it was not until three o'clock in the morning of March 6th
that he was able to persuade him, by gentle violence, to with-
draw to his bed. Ericsson was resolved to fall with harness
on. His old friend and physician. Dr. Thomas M. Markoe,
had been sent for. At 11.15 a.m. he appeared. As he ap-
proached the bedside of his patient, Mr. Taylor said, ^' Cap-
tain, here is Dr. Markoe to see yon." ^^ Who t " he asked, in a
loud tone ; ^^ who sent for him f "
Taking the hand of the dying man, Dr. Markoe asked :
** How do you feel. Captain ? " A smile of recognition lighted
the wan face, and after a pause Ericsson said, in distinct tones :
<< Markoe, can a man who has Bright's disease do any more
workT'
To this the doctor answered : ^^ Captain, a man who has
Brighf s disease has no right to do any work." Mr. Taylor,
to whose memoranda I am indebted for these facts, says : *^ I
knew that the death-knell had sounded, for he had told me
hundreds of times that when he knew that his usefulness to
mankind was at an end, he would not make an effort to live
another minute." Mr. Taylor says further :
THB CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFE. 823
** Dr. Markoe sent a prof esaional nurse at once to relieve me,
and after this I saw Captain Ericsson only at intervals. Mj
presence suggested to his mind matters of business, and he
wonld give me peremptory orders, ending with the oomtnawd
to dress him at once.
^^ At nine p.ic., Wednesday, March 6th, I took the house-
keeper to his bedside, to bid him good-night, as she had never
failed to do for thirty years, and more. I imagine that blind-
ness was coming on, as he could not see her uplifted hand. He
gently squeezed her fingers and said, ^God bless you, my
child I '
^^ Thursday, March 7th, Dr. Boullee reports that when he
felt it to be his duty to inform the Captain of his very preca-
rious condition, he merely remarked, ' Then give me rest'
^^ At 11.30 P.1C. I arranged bis pillows and spoke to him.
He gazed into my face, and with a smile said :
^' ^ I am resting. This rest is magnificent ; more beautiful
than words can tell 1 '
^^ I am positive that he was absolutely without pain, and
perfectly conscious when I left, a minute later. At 12.30 a.h.
I was called to see him breathe his last, and at 12.39 a.h., with
just three gentle movements of the lips, the noble friend, the
great and good man, ended his life."
Thus, in the first hour of the morning of March 8, 1889 —
the anniversary of the event giving chief significance to his
name — John Ericsson passed away. He had so separated him-
self from his fellows, and so far outlived the era of his best
known works, that few realized the historical significance of
his death until they read the record of his achievements in the
biographical notices filling the papers. The Ericsson of the
Bain hill contest, of the Prineetonj of the caloric engine and
the caloric ship, was forgotten ; the Ericsson of the Monitor
was but vaguely associated with a living presence, and the solar
engine brought to most men's minds only the dim suggestion
of an inventor's dream. Stories of the hermit life in Beach
Street had occasionally floated upon the air, as the fancies of
reporters turned that way, but they had made no permanent
lodgement in men's minds.
On the day of his funeral, March 11, 1889, the pall-bearers^
S34 LIFB OF JOHN BBI0S8ON.
ihirty-two in nnmber ; his personal friends, and the representa-
tives of various societies, Swedish and others, gathered at the
desolate house in Beach Street. From tliere tliey proceeded
in carriages, and without ceremony, to Trinity Church, in lower
Broadway, where the rector, Bev. Morgan Dix, D.D., and his
assistants read the Burial Service, and the fine choir sang Cardi-
nal Newman's noble hymn — " Lead, kindly light." On the
coffin, with other tributes, lay two beautiful palm leaves tied
with a broad black ribbon and bearing this inscription. Hun-
ter^ Regiment JVb. 23, JRoyal Swedish Army. No offering
could have been more grateful, for with the service thus signi-
fied Ericsson's dearest recollections were associated. However
other titles might accumulate upon him, he would insist upon
but one, and that was ^^ Captain" Ericsson, late of the 23d
Fait Z^ar.
In Second Street, on the east side of New York City, is lo-
cated the "Marble Cemetery," dating back to the time of James
Monroe, fifth President of the United States, who was buried
there in 1831. Then in the suburbs, it was at the time of
Ericsson's death surrounded by a population similar to that in
the vicinity of his Beach Street house. To this cemetery his
body was carried and placed in a receiving vault to await a
decision as to its final resting-place. A procession accompa-
nied it, consisting only of the few carriages containing those
connected with the dead by personal association, and there was
nothing in the nature of a public funeral. As the body was
deposited in the vault, a funeral hymn was sung by a Swedish
glee club, and the Odd Fellows of Ericsson's Lodge, the Ama-
ranthus, performed their simple rites, which seemed more in
consonance with the character of the departed than did the more
elaborate ritual of the Church. Following Ericsson's death,
came various suggestions as to the proper place for his final in-
terment, and among these was the proposition to place his re-
mains in the Livingston Vault of Trinity Church-yard, beside
those of Robert Fulton. The Legislature of the State of New
York, on May 8, 1889, passed an act autliorizing the City of
New York to expend $10,000 in erecting a monument to Erics-
son in one of the public parks. Two bills, one appropriating
$50,000 and the other $30,000, for another monument, were
THE CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFE. 825
introdnoed into the Honse of Representatives of the American
Congress, and committed to the slow processes of Federal leg-
islation. A month after Ericsson's burial, this communication
was sent to the Department of State from the L^ation of the
United States at Stockholm :
Legation of the Unttbd AtatsSi )
Stockholm, April 10, 1889. )
Hon. Jaicbb G. Biiaznb, BBOBBrABT of Staxb,
Washington, D. 0.
Sm : On yesterday I had the honor to transmit to you a cablegram
in the following words : '< Blaine, Washington : Sweden would regard
with extreme layor Ericsson's body sent home by man-of-war.
" Maged."
This cablegram was the result of a conversation with the Under Seo-
xetary of State for the Boyal United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway,
who asked me to forward it on request of Gonnt EhrensTard, Minister
of Foreign AfGurs. Unquestionably the Goyemment, as well as the
people, of Sweden would regard such an action on the part of the Qot-
emment of the United States as highly complimentary and satisfactory.
I have made no expression upon the subject, and report simply my
reason for forwarding the cablegram. If such action is taken I would
suggest it be in June, as nayigation will hardly be opened here before
the latter part of May. Perhaps a formal reply should be made to the
Department here as to the determination in the matter of the Goyem*
ment of the United States. Awaitiug the same, I have the honor, etc
BUFDB MAnKB.
No action was taken upon this suggestion for eight months ;
then this letter was sent to the Navy Department by the De-
partment of State :
Dbpartmbnt of Statb, )
Washinqton, December 14, 1889. )
Thb Honobablb, IBS Sbobrtabz of thb NAyr.
Sib : It haying been intimated to this Gk>yemment that the Gbyem-
ment of Sweden would regard it as a graceful act if the remains of the
late Captain John Ericsson should be conyeyed to his natiye country on
board of a United States yessel of war, I haye the honor to suggest the
matter for your consideration and action, if deemed practicable. I haye
the honor to be, sir, your obedient seryant,
James G. BiiAIHB.
Finally, in June, 1890, the Secretary of the Navy wrote to
the executors of the Ericsson estate, informing them that the
S26 LIFE OF JOHK BBI08801T.
TJ. S. S. Ebbbos web at their service for carrying out the ex-
pressed wish of the Swedish Oovemment. The Euex was one
of the old and inferior vessels of the Navy, and it waa soon
made apparent that her employment on such dnty wonld not
satisfy public sentiment. Accordingly, the Navy Department
reversed its decision and substituted for the &8ex one of the
vessels of the " new navy.*'
The BaUitnore^ a fine cruiser under the command of Captam
W* S. Schley, U.S.N., whose rescue of the Greely parQr of
Arctic explorers had made his name favorably known through-
out the country, was the vessel finally chosen. And this order
was issued from the Navy Department :
Navt Depabtmbht*
Wabhikgton, August 2^ 1800L
BBAB-Annrm/vTi D. L. Bbahib^
XJ. S. Navt, GoMMAMDAirr, Navt Tabd, Nbw Toes.
Bib : The Department has fixed the afternoon of Saturday, AugnBt
2dd, as the time for the embarkation of the remains of the late Oaptaia
Jolm Ericsson for transportation to his native country, on board the
United States ship Baltimore, and it entrusts to jou the direction of all
the arrangements connected with the ceremony.
The Department has assumed this duty in response to an intimation
conveyed by the Minister of Foreign Affidrs of Sweden and Norway,
through the United States Minister at Stockholm, to the Department
of State, that it would be regarded by the Government and people of
Sweden with peculiar satisfaction.
Apart from the desire thus expressed, it is in the highest degree ap-
propriate that the United States, through its Na^y, should pay this final
tribute to the memory of the great Swedish inventor. As the most fa-
mous representative of the Scandinavian race in America, his name
stands for that of a kindred people, who have given to this country a
large and highly valued element among its adopted citizens. An officer
of the Swedish army in early life, Ericsson dosed his career with the
illustrious distinction of being among the foremost of American me-
chanics.* Of the innumerable applications of mechanical art that are
the fruit of his genius, many so long ago passed into general use that
they have ceased to be associated popularly with his name ; but his
achievements in the field of naval science will remain forever a monu-
ment to his memory. To the United States Navy he gave the first
Monitor, and in her he gave to all the navies of the world the germ of
the modem battle-ship.
For these reasons, it is the Department's desire to surround the em*
* Bead in oonneotion with this what Is said on page 328, Vol L
THE OLOSB OF A USBFUL LIFB. 827
tMolcation wiUi every oironmstanoe that oan inyest it with dignity and
solemnity. All the yessels of war that may be available will be assem-
bled at New York and will be directed to nnite with yon in paying to
the deceased the honors befitting his rank and his distingoished name.
The details will be regulated by yon in consultation with the represent-
atives of Captain Ericsson, and the officers of the association desiring
to take part in the ceremony. The anchorage ground near the Statue
of Liberty is designated as the place where the Baltimore will receive
the remains, and the other vessels of war will be anchored in her vici-
nity. The marines from the ships and the station will form the guard
ox honor to escort the body from its present resting-place to the Bat-
tery. It will there be embarked on board the Nina and conveyed to
the BaUimore, under the escort of all the available steam launches and
pulling boats of the squadron, formed in double column, the steam
launches preceding the Nina,
The Department has extended to the Minister of Sweden and Nor-
way at this Capital an invitation to be present, which will include the
members of his legation and such officers of the consular service of
Sweden in this country as he may designate. Letters have also been
sent to the executors of the deceased, and to Bear Admiral John L.
Worden, U. S. Navy, the veteran captain of the Monitor ^ inviting them to
take part in the ceremonies, and to accompany the remains to the BaUi'
more. It is the intention of the Secretary of the Navy to be present.
By the publication of this letter, the Department invites all associa-
tions composed of the friends, companions, or former countrymen of
Captain Ericsson, to take part in the procession to the Battery, and to
report to you through their representatives for instruction as to their
position in the line and other details of the ceremony.
The flag officers who may be in New York will be directed to co*
operate with and assist you in carrying out this programme, the details
of which you are authorized to modify as circumstances may require.
Very respectfully,
Jaicbb B. Sglbt,
Acting Secretary of the Navy.
On August 18th the following order was issued bj authority
of the President of the United States :
Nayt DsFABTicBirr, Wassin€»tok, August 18, 18001
The Commandant of the Navy Tabd, New Yobk :
Sm : Upon the occasion of the embarkation of the remain
of Captain Ericsson, it is the desire of the President to give
solemn expression to the cordial and fraternal feeling that
unites us with a kindred people, the parent source of a large
338 LIFE OF JOHN SBIOSSON.
body of onr most valued citizens, of whom the late inventory
a Scandinavian bj birth, and an American bj adoption^ was
the most illustrious example.
In recognition of this feeling and of the debt we owe to
Sweden for the gift of Ericsson, whose genius rendered ns the
highest service in a moment of grave peril and anxiety, it is
directed that at this other moment, when we give back hia
body to his native country, the flag of Sweden shall be saluted
by the squadron.
The Department therefore issues the following instrao-
tions :
The colors of the squadron will be at half-mast during the
embarkation.
Minute guns will be fired from the monitor ITcmbAcket
during the passage of the body from the shore to the BaUif
more.
As the BaUimore gets under way and passes the vessels of
the squadron, each vessel will masthead her colors, display the
Swedish ensign, and fire a national salute of twenty-one gnna.
The Baltimore will immediately proceed to sea.
By command of the President :
J. Russell Solet,
Acting Secretary of the Navy,
Under these orders, addressed to the Commandant of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard, Rear-Admiral David L. Braine, an ap-
propriate ceremonial was arranged, and on Saturday, August
23, 1890, the remains of John Ericsson were removed from the
receiving vault in the Second Street cemetery, and placed on
board the BaUvnwre for transportation to Sweden. Again
the Swedish singing societies gathered in the little cemetery
around the coffin of their dead countryman, and sang Otto
Lindblad's " Stridsbon," or battle prayer of Sweden. Then
in solemn procession, through streets lined with thronging thou-
sands of curious sight-seers, the remains of Sweden's honored
son were transported to the tug at the Battery for transfer to
the noble war ship waiting in the harbor, where they were
placed under the protection of a guard of honor on a catafalque
upon the spar-deck. In committing the remains to the chaige
THE OLOSS OF A USEFUL LIFE. 329
of the Commander of the national vessel assigned to the duty
of conveying them across the ocean, Mr. George H. Bobinson,
one of the executors of Ericsson's estate, and a son-in-law and
partner of Mr. Delamater, spoke thus appropriately :
Oaptain Schley : In the nation's tribnte to our illnstrious dead the
simple duty falls to us to yield to the claims of his mother-oonntry,
that she may again receive her son. We send him back crowned with
honor ; proud of the life of fifty years he devoted to this nation, and
with gratitude for the gifts he gave to us.
Was he a dreamer ? Yes. He dreamed of the practical application of
screw propulsion, and the commerce of the world was revolutionized.
He dreamed of making naval warfare more terrible, and the Monitor was
built. After one trial, at a most critical x>eriod of this nation's history,
where were the navies of the world ? The London Times said : '* Eng-
land has no na^y." Again he dreamed, and the Destroyer , with its sub-
marine gun, was bom. He dreamed of hot air, and behold ten thou-
sand caloric engines. He dreamed of the sun's rays in sandy deserts,
where water was hard to get, and the solar engine came ; and so he
dreamed and worked for seventy years.
He bore the strain of unremitting toil, and at the end his last words
were : ** This is rest." Well earned, benefactor of the world I
To you, Captain Schley, we commit these remains. The honorable
duty is yours. Deliver them to his native oountiy. We keep his
memory here.
Beplying, Oaptain Schley said :
To XHB EZBCUTOBS OF THE JOBN EbIOBBON EsTAIB.
GbntziEiobn : The officers and men of this splendid cmiser regard
their assignment, by the honorable Secretary of the Navy, to the sacred
duty of conveying these honored remains of the late John Ericsson to
their home in Sweden with peculiar pride and pleasure. It will be
their bounden duty to watch over and guard them with an interest that
is increased by the fame of this great man, whose part during the most
important epoch in our history is so widely understood and so justly
appreciated by our people. Ericsson's genius created a new instrument
of war, and it is not too much to say the latest modem battle-ships are
but modifications in one form or another of his original idea as per-
fected in the little Monitor. The Navy which we represent will be
justly proud that their brothers in arms have been selected to perform
this last sacred duty. And you need no assurance from me that this
mission will be dutifully and lovingly performed*
890 LIFB OF JOHK BBI088ON.
The day was a beantifol one, and everything conspired to
give solemnity and effect to the ceremonial : the buildings ap*
propriately draped ; the flags at half-mast, Sweden's standiud of
blae and orange mingling with the stars and stripes ; the fine
naval display upon the water, and the salute from the forts in
the harbor ; and the double line of saluting war-ships between
which the Baltimore proceeded to sea, flying at the fore the
despatch-flag to proclaim that she was upon the king's business
and must not be halted or interfered with on her journey.*
What man has been more highly honored in American history!
What other man has better deserved such honors t
After a prosperous voyage of nineteen days, the BaUimore
arrived at Stockholm and transferred her sacred charge, on
September 14th, to the custody of the Swedish Oovemment.
The vessel reached the Swedish capital on Friday, having been
detained somewhat by foggy weather, and the ceremony of
transferring the remains was postponed until the Sunday fol-
lowing, September 14, 1890. Three officers of the Swedish
Navy and four nephews of the deceased had been appointed a
committee of reception. They proceeded to the BaUimore.
Captain Schley delivered the body to the Minister of the Unit-
ed States to Sweden, the Hon. W. N. Thomas, Jr., and he in
turn consigned it to Admiral Peyron.
^' I transfer these honored ashes with all reverence," said
Mr. Thomas, in his brief address, ^^for well I know how grand-
ly the hand, that now lies cold and still within this casket, has
wrought for America and for humanity. At a critical moment
in the history of the United States, John Ericsson, by the crea-
tion of his genius, rendered illustrious service to his adopted
country, and saved her from great peril. And the BepubUc is
not ungrateful. Lovingly as Agrippina bore home to Bome
the ashes of Germanicus, so tenderly and honorably America
brings back the body of Ericsson, that the land which was his
* The despatoli-flag \b ft white squftre flag with fire blue oroMes. Hoisted
forward, this flag denotes important and argent special seryioe, which most
not be interfered with by anj officer junior to the one bj whom the Tessel
was despatched ; in this case the supreme head of the Navj, the President of
the United SUtes. See Preble's History of the Flag of the United States, pc
676.
THS OLOSB OF A USEFUL LIFB. 881
eradle may also be his grave. The body of Ericsson we restore
to yon, but his memory we shall ever retain in sacred keep-
ing ; or rather we will share it with yon, and with the whole
world.''
Sailors belonging to the American man-of-war carried it on
board a steam barge commanded by a captain in the Swed-
ish Navy, and this was followed to the shore by a procession
of boats, the vessels in the harbor flying their flags at half-
mast, and the Baltimore and the forts firing minute-gnns. At
the landing, the Governor of Stockholm I'eceived the body, and
it was borne by the American sailors to a pavilion ; the troops
paraded as an escort, presenting arms, and the bells tolled sol-
emnly. At the railway station a train was in waiting to con-
vey the body to its final resting-place at Filipstad. After a
simple service, consisting of the singing of Swedish hymns and
the recital of a poem, the hearse proceeded to the station, fol-
lowed by an escort, including the representatives of the King,
the Crown Prince, and the Government ; the American Minis-
ters to Sweden and to Denmark ; the officers of the BaUimcrej
and the mnnicipal authorities of Stockholm. The solemn dig^
nity of the ceremonial made a profound impression, as had the
similar ceremonial in Kew York. Through double ranks of
Swedes, standing reverently with uncovered heads, the funeral
cortege proceeded to the cars waiting to convey them over the
railroad Nils Ericsson had built, and Hjalmar El worth super-
intended, to their beautiful resting-place among the Yermland
hUls.
The funeral train was received along the route from Stock-
holm to Filipstad with numerous manifestations of sorrow and
respect, for Ericsson was remembered there, not only as the
great engineer, but as one who had let the cry of the poor come
unto him, and whose heart was always open to the humble
classes who form the great body of every community. Kings
might honor him, but the common people loved him as a friend
and brother. Arrived at Filipstad in Yermland, the body
was borne by twelve miners into a church, where the Lutheran
services for the dead were performed, and on the morning of
September 15, 1890, the coffin was deposited in its final resting-
place — ^a chapel especially prepared for its reception in the
333 LIFE OF JOHN ERICSSOIT.
adjoining cemetery, the finest in Sweden. The honors accord-
ed by the Government of the United States to their dead won the
hearts of the Swedes, and, as the representatives of the United
States, the officers of the JBcMmore were received with the most
distinguished courtesy, the audience rising en masse as they ap-
peared at the opera, and the king giving a dinner in their honor.
Few men of his profession have had a greater opportunity
than John Ericsson for acquiring wealth as well as fame, but his
indifference to pecuniary considerations prevented his advanc-
ing on the road to opulence beyond the stage of comfortable
independence. In a letter written November 7, 1884, he said :
^' They imagine in Sweden that I now possess a large fortune,
not considering what it has cost me to be useful to my fellow-
men, especially my native country, for which I have worked
out a complete system of defence. They do not know that for
nearly twenty years (during which time I have spent a million
crowns), I have not worked for money. They know that dur-
ing these years I have produced various machines that now pay
well, but they do not know that I have resigned these inven-
tions to certain mechanical manufacturers who most liberally
consented to construct experimental machines for me at a time
when I was not able to pay for the work." The fortune
which he estimated at one time at nearly $300,000, had greatly
diminished at the time of his death, and the inventory showed
a total valuation of only $100,000, including $72,715.42 for
his personal property, the house in Beach Street, which was
sold for $19,000, and a house in Abingdon Square. His large
investment in the Destroyer was dependent upon Oovemment
action for possible value, and the still standing Princeton claim
was an even more uncertain asset. Both were required to
make good the bequests of his will, amounting altogether to
$147,000, distributed as follows :
To the assistants in his office $52,000
And twenty per cent, of certain reoent inventions.
To female dependents 45,000
To his friends Yon Bosen and Adlerspaire 15,000
To the widow of his son Hjalmar 15,000
To the children of his sister 20,000
To his nephews and nieces the residue of his property.
THS OLOSB OF A USEFUL LIFE. 338
This is the text of his will, which makes characteristic dis*
position of his shranken estate :
I, John EmoflsoK, OiTil Engineer, of the Oity of New York, being in
good health and sonnd mind, do hereby make, publish, and declare this
mj last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all other will or
wHls heretofore execnted by me.
Hem I. I give and bequeath to the six children of my deceased
sister, Anna Oarolina Odhner, Christina Sophia, Carolina Qabriella, In-
geborg Wilhelmina, John Olof Emannel, Class Theodor, and Anna Ma-
thilda, twenty thousand dollars, to be divided equally among them.
And in the event of any one or more of them dying before the said lega-
cy is paid, then and in that event, the share that would have been re-
ceived by such deceased if living, shall be paid to the heirs of said
deceased in equal portions.
Item IL I give and bequeath to Hjalmar Elworth, Superintendent
of the Swedish State Railroad, fifteen thousand dollars ; and in the
event that the said legatee shall not be living at the time of my death,
then and in that event, the said legacy shall be paid to the widow of
said Hjalmar Ellworth if she shall be living. If not living, then and in
that event said legacy shall be paid to her heirs.
Item m, I give and bequeath to Commodore Axel Adlersparre, re-
siding at Stockholm, in Sweden, five thousand dollars ; and in the event
that he shall not be living at the time of my death, then and in that
event, the said legacy shall be paid to the lawful heirs of the said Axel
Adlersparre in equal portions, share and share alike.
Item IV, I give and bequeath to the wife of Commodore Axel Ad-
lersparre, five thousand dollars ; and in the event that she shall not be
living at the time of my death, then and in that event, the said legacy
shall be paid to the lawful heirs of the said wife of Commodore Axel
Adlersparre.
Item V. I give and bequeath to Count Adolph Eugene Yon Bosen,
of Stockholm, Sweden, five thousand dollars.
Item VI, I give and bequeath to Ann Cassidy, my housekeeper,
fifteen hundred dollars.
J^sm VIL I give and bequeath to Samuel W. Taylor, one of my
assistants, five thousand dollars ; and in the event that he shall not be
living at the time of my death, then and in that event, the said legacy
shall be paid to the lawful heirs of the said Taylor in equal portions,
share and share alike.
Item VIIl, I give and bequeath to Yaldemar Frederick Ldusfie,
one of my assistants, five thousand dollars ; and in the event that he
shall not be living at the time of my death, then and in that event, the
said legacy shall be paid to the lawful heirs of the said Lassie in equal
portions, share and share alike.
3S4 LIFS OF JOHN ERICSSON.
Jlem IX. I giye and beqneath to Oharles William Maooord, Fto-
iMsor in the Stevens Institute, two thousand dollars; and in the eYeni
that he shall not be living at the time of my death, then and in that
event, the said legacy shall be paid to the lawfnl heirs of the said liao-
oord in equal portions, share and share alike.
Item X I give and bequeath to Miss Sarah Thorn, residing at Na
5 Abingdon Square, in the Oity of New York, fifteen hundred dollars.
Bern XI, I give and bequeath to Miss Mary Austin, residing at No.
414 East Thirty-second Street, in the Oity of New Tork, five hundred
dollars.
J^ern XIL I give and bequeath to Miss Sarah Thorn, for and dur-
ing her life, all that house and lot now occupied by her, and known as
No. 5 Abingdon Square, in the City of New York.
Item XIIL I give and devise in trust to my executors and trustees
hereinafter named, seventeen thousand dollars, to be separated and set
apart for the following purposes : To invest the same in good securities,
and to pay the interest and dividends received thereon to Ann Cassidy
during her natural life ; the payments to her to be made monthly, and
as nearly as possible the average one-twelfth part of the yearly interest
or dividends of said sum invested.
Item XIV, I give and devise in trust to my executors and trustees
hereinafter mentioned, seventeen thousand dollars, to be separated and
set apart from the rest of my estate for the following purposes : To in-
vest the same in good securities, and to pay the interest and dividends
received thereon to Miss Sarah Thorn, of No. 5 Abingdon Square, in
the City of New York, during her natural life ; the payments to her to
be made monthly, and as nearly as possible the average one-twelfth
part of the yearly interest or dividends of said sum invested.
Rem XV, I give and devise to my executors and trustees herein-
after named, seven thousand five hundred dollars, to be separated and
set apart from the rest of my estate for the following purposes : To in-
vest the same in good securities, and to pay the interest and dividends
received thereon to Miss Mary Austin, of the City of New York, during
her natural life ; the payments to her to be made monthly, and as near-
ly as possible the average one-twelfth part of the yearly interest or divi-
dends of said sum invested.
Item XVL I give and devise in trust to my executors and trustees
hereinafter mentioned, twenty thousand dollars, to be separated and set
apart from the rest of my estate for the following purposes : To invest
the same in good securities, and to pay the interest and dividends re-
ceived thereon to Samuel W. Taylor, or his present wife, during their
joint lives ; and upon the death of the last survivor I direct my execu-
tors and trustees to pay the said principal sum to the children of said
Taylor in equal portions, share and share alike.
Item XVIL I give and devise in trust to my executors and trustees
hereinafter named, twenty thousand dollars, to be separated and set
THB OLOSB OF A USEFUL LIFE. 836
apart from the r«at of my estate for the following purposee : To inyeet
the same in good secnritieB, and to pay the interest and diTidends re-
oeived thereon to Yaldemar Frederick Lassde and his present inie,
quarterly daring their joint lives ; and npon the death of the last snr-
Tiyor I direct my exeontors and trustees to pay the said principal som to
the children of the said Lass5e in eqnal portions, share and share alike.
Item XVIIL All the remainder of my estate, both real and personal,
I hereby give and bequeath to the children of my deceased sister Anna
Carolina Odhner, and to Hjalmar EUworth, in eqnal portions, share and
share alike. And in the event of any one or more of them dying before
the said legacy is distributed, then and in that event, the share that would
have been received by such deceased person or persons, if living, shall be
paid to the heirs of said deceased person or persons in equal portions.
Item XIX. And I hereby name as my executors and trustees of this
my last will and testament, Eden Sprout, counsellor at law, Qeorge H.
Robinson, William Henry Wallace, and Cornelius H. Delamater; and I
hereby give to them full power and authority to sell and convert all my
goods and estates, both real and personal, into money, and to invest the
same as may seem to them best, and to do all things necessaiy and
proper to carry into eflfect and execute this my last will and testament.
Lf WmnsB Whsbbof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this fif-
teenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-
eight
J, FiBTOHHON.
[Seal.]
To the will was added this codicil :
I, John Eeubbon, of 86 Beach Street, in the City, County, and State
of New York, having made and declared my last will and testament,
bearing date the fifteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-eight, do now make this codicil, and direct that it shall be
taken as a part of my said wilL I do hereby nominate and appoint my
friend, Cornelius S. BushneU, of New Haven, Conn., to be one of my ex-
ecutors, he taking the place of Cornelius H. Delamater, deceased. In
addition to the beqnests to Yaldemar F. Lass($e and Samuel W. Taylor,
contained in my said will, I hereby give and bequeath to each of tiiem
ten per centum of my interest, whatever it may be, in the emoluments
and profits that may be derived from the sale of expansion engines,
manufactured and sold under certain letters patent granted to me by the
United States, dated December 6, 1887, and numbered 874,854, for an
improved compound steam-engine. I also give and bequeath to the
said Yaldemar F. Lessee and Samuel W. Taylor, and to each of them,
the same amount of interest as the above, namely ten per centum, of
my interest in the emoluments and profits that may be derived from
the sale of hydraulic pumps manufactured and sold under any patent
336 LIFE OF dOHN ERIOSSON.
that maj be granted to me bj the United States ; an application for
which patent was filed bj me last -year and is now pending. The rest
and remainder of mj interests in the emoluments and profits arising
from sales under the above-mentioned two patents I give and bequeath
to mj nephews and nieces, to be divided equally between them, or if
any one of them may have died, their children to receive the share of
the parent, to be equally divided between them. I also give and be-
queath to said Yaldemar F. LassOe and Samuel W. Taylor, and to each
of them, ten per centum of my share in the interest of profits and emol-
uments that may arise from the manufacture and sale under any patents
that may be granted to me by the United States for certain improve-
ments in caloric engines, for which it is my intention to apply for pat-
ents. These improvements are embodied in two motive engines just
built for me, and designated as solar-engine and sun-motor.
The rest, residue, and remainder of my interests in the so-called
solar-engine and sun-motor, under any patents therefor, I give and be-
queath to my nephews and nieces in equal parts, and in case of their
death to their children.
So ends the story of John Ericsson — the son of Olof, the
son of Nils, the son of Eric, the son of Magnus Stadig the
miner. I have set forth as faithfully as I could what he ac-
tually accomplished ; the relative value of his work, it is not
for his biographer to determine. For that is required a point
of view impossible to one who draws too near his subject.
Though it is true, as I have said already, that his inventions
were not the result of waking dreams, but of the studious
application of engineering and mechanical knowledge to new
problems, those who knew him most intimately were accus-
tomed to speak of him as in all respects the most original man
they had ever known ; and originality was the striking feature
of his engineering work. Severely logical as were his meth-
ods from his own point of view, there was much in his
mental processes suggesting that faculty of unconscious cere-
bration, or whatever it may be called, which is the accom-
paniment of the loftiest flights of human effort in all depart-
ments. "Ordinary talent produces artificially, by means of
rational selection and combination, guided by its eesthetic
judgment. . r . . It may accomplish something excellent,
but can never attain to anything great • . . nor produce
THE CLOSE OF A USEFUL LIFE. 337
an original work. . . . There is wanting the divinej^r^i^y,
the vivifying breath of the Unconscious." * .
This ^^ activity and efflnx of the Intellect freed from the
domination of the Conscious Will/' however variously it may
be accounted for, has been recognized in all times and by all
schools. With the Latins it was the work of a tutelar spirit ;
with Plato, " the divine frenzy, gift of holy daimonea ; " with the
Jewish prophets, ^' the lifting up of the spirit." Bacon speaks
of it as a kind of felicity, working " not by rule ; " Carlyle as
" the clearer presence of God Most High in a man ; " Hartmann
as '^ the vivifying presence of the unconscious." From pagan
philosopher to German pessimist, all take note of its existence.
In an article on " Genius," Mr. Stedman includes Ericsson in
his illustrations of this inborn faculty ^' appertaining to the
power and bent of the soul itself." t
Schopenhauer teUs us that ^' what is called the stirrings of
genius, the hour of consecration, the moment of inspiration, is
notliing but the liberation of the intellect, when the latter, for
the time exempt from the service of tlie will, . . • is active
all alone, of its own accord." Be this as it may, he truly says
that ^ in such moments, as it were, the soul of immortal works
is begotten."
It was in such moments that John Ericsson did his best
work. When he had a difficult problem to solve he would
lean back in his chail*, with his head resting against the wall,
and sink into a quiescent state, approaching unconsciousness.
Then, as he was accustomed to say, his best thoughts came to
him. Once, indeed, a puzzling combination in his solar engine
was worked out for him in a dream. He had a profound be-
lief in his own mission, and dwelt with interest upon the his-
tory of the first Napoleon, as illustrating the tide of destiny
that carried him in like manner on to his ordained end.
^^Men of genius," said Dean Stanley, over the grave of
Charles Dickens, ^' are different from what we suppose them to
be. They have greater pleasures and greater pains, greater
afiPections and greater temptations than the generality of man-
* Hartmann*8 Philoeophy of the Unoonfloioos, English edition, vol. i. , p. 267.
t See article *' Genios/' by Bdmund C. Stedman, in the New Princeton
Keriew for S^tember, 1^.
Vol. IL— 23
888 UFB OF JOHN BRIOSSOK.
kind, and they can never be altogether understood by tbeir
fellow-men." ^^ Gtenins implies always a certain fanaticism of
temperament^" James Bussell LoweU tells ns, and this was the
secret of Ericsson's difficalties. In his own department he was
controlled by imagination, and if his life was one of constant
friction, it was, as he himself explains, because he saw so much
that lay beyond the vision of those with whom he dwelt. He
was never a popular man with his profession, and he felt that
much of the professional judgment passed upon him was the
result of prejudice or jealousy. His subordination to the con-
ditions under which he must work no doubt explains in some
measure his impatience of suggestion, and his contempt for ad-
verse opinion. So unwilling was he to follow the lead of others,
that the fact that an expedient was in common use was, in his
mind, rather an argument against it than for it. It was only
by disregarding precedent and example that he could free his
genius from restraint and accomplish his greatest results : and
thas the habit of independence so grew apon him that in his
later years, when engineering and mechanical science had made
progress he had not taken full note of, he refused to avail him-
self, as he might have done greatly to his advantage, of meth-
ods approved by experience. Let us, in spite of his own doubts,
accept the cheerful faith of his friend Adlersparre, that assigns
to him a kindlier sphere beyond, where just appreciation, and
intelligent sympathy may stimulate him to still higher efforts.
In the dream of Piranesi, as described by Thomas De Quin-
oey, appear Gothic halls, covered with engines and machin-
ery expressive of enormous forces overcoming vast resistance.
Creeping along the sides of this hall rises a staircase whereon
Piranesi is seen groping his way upward. Just beyond him
this staircase terminates abruptly, without balustrade to stay the
final step that is to plunge him into the depth below. Here,
then, must end the labors of PiranesL But behold beyond a
still higher flight, with Piranesi still ascending, and again and
again still more aerial flights, until the unflnished stairs and
Piranesi both are lost in the upper gloom of the hall.
Fitting symbol is this of the labors of John Ericsson.
INDEX.
AOAJUBaaB (ma SooIetiM)
Aofeinometar, the, ii. 284. 990
Adama, John Qninoy, deaoribet bmrtiiig
of Peacemaker, L 126, 196
Adama, WiUiam, ezpenmenta with aolar
heat. iL 271
AdeUkold'a biogxaphy of Nile Brioaon, L
Adleraparre, AzeL ii 190, 156. 150. 161,
287, 289, 888, 888; lettera to. ii. 124,
188, 180, 208, 204, 288, 238, 249, 260
Adndralty, Bntiab, U. 91. 168, 164. 178 ;
adviaed to employ ESriouon on ita ar-
mor-elada, ii §0, 82, 88. 104. 105. 108;
oompelled to foUow Ma lead, i 188 ; en-
gine triala by^ 189 ; hoatility of, to in-
vention, ii 87, 89, 90, 108; oppoaea
aerew. i 89, 90, 164, 170, 171 ; a 82. 88,
96. 140. 176 ; rejeota annor, i 284, 244 ;
teftaamphibioprojeotilee, ii. 176; treat-
ment of Bnmel by, i. 284 ; warned by
the Monitor, i 208, 966
Admiralty Board for United Statea, ii
118
Afrioa, regeneration of, through lolar
motor, ii 270
Afielina inatmota Olof Erioaaon'a Kma,
i.l6
Anaais, Lonia, diaonaaea granting Bun-
ford priae, i 219 •
Age of oalorio and ace of ateam. i 192
Agreement with Stockton oonoeming
PrffuvtoA, i 140 (lee Princeton)
Air. oompreaaed, early nae ol i 89
Air, mode of aapplying to caloric engine,
i 204 *'«-•'-• -•
Amaranthua Lodge of Odd Fellowa, ii
824
Amerioan watera, introduction of acrew-
▼CMela upon, i 165
Amonton*8 hot-air ensine, 1699, i. 71
Amphibic projectile, ii. 169
Anaragotaa explaina mn*! nature, ii 288
Anchor-well of the Monitor^ ii. 10
Aneodotea, i 112, 11& 185, 186. 204. 221,
281, 966. 266. 258, 260, 961. 271 ; ii 61,
Ancle of repoae between iron and iron.
Anglo-PeruTian conflict, uae of tovpadoet
in, ii 161
Anglo-Saxon race might rale the world.
il.87
Anthradto coal, ezperimenta with, i
181
Apparatna employed in adar inyeatiga-
tion, ii 281
Arohimedea firee Boman fleet with burn-
ing-glaaaea, ii 271
Arjj^le Booms, fire at, i 46, 106
Anatooratio prejudice against xailroadB.
i. 51
Armor and proiectilea, beginuing of war
between, 1. 188
Armor, early experimenta with, i 154,
243: ii 116, 117: laminated, VL 101;
thickness of, ii. 106, 149
Oonfederatos adopt, i 246, 278; de-
mand for, ii. 8 ; Eriosaon^a early reo-
ommendationB concerning^ i 177 ; exam-
plea of rapid building, l 260; na^al
Ignorance concerning, l 275 ; obsolete,
u. 15. 16. 158, 166, 166, 170; Bnasia
proposes for, li 8; Secretary Welles'
douDta concerning, i 245; aapersede
wooden yeasela. ii 1 (see Monitors)
Armstrong gun, failure propheded, ii
140
Armstrong, Sir William, his plagiarism,
ii 143, 144
Army and Navy JoumaL i. 162, 262, 299 ;
ii 57, 141, 160
Army, Swedish, organisation of, i. 24;
Bnc8son*s experiences in, i 17, 18, 24*
99,86;iil^
Artificial draught, uae of, i 40, 66. 67 :
ii 188
Artillery. England deficient in aoience of,
iia5
Artillery, flying, propoaition for, ii 84
Artillery off^Pluitageneta supersedes that
of Nonnans, ii 84
Artillery, studies of, i. 95, 124, 177, 288,
247,265
Artillery, submarine, ii 165; economy
of, ii 170
340
INDEX.
AJiiatio ooontries, influenoe of ■olar mo-
tora on, ii 370
Astor Hoiue, reaidence at, L 106-111 : U.
302
Anitoo-Italiui war, nae of torpedoes in,
ii.l51
Autograph, answer to requests for, ii.
009
Anxont, Bonguer, and Hnygens meaanxe
solarlight, u. 287
Bi.coN, Sib Fiunoib, iL 887
BaUic and P<ieifle compared with oalorio
ship, i. 192
Balanced rudder, ii. 57, 58
Baltimore^ the, transports Erics8on*s re-
mains to Sweden, i£ 826-.8S2
Banouet foUowing the Rainhill contest,
Buicroft, (George, iL 207
Barclay^B brewery tests steam fire-«i-
gine, i 46
Bimiard, Dr. F. A. P., explains defects
of oalorio engine, i 206
Barnard, General J. O^ii 178
Barometer, alarm, L 183
Batteries, floating, of Bngland and
France,! 242
Battles, naval, examples from, it 11 ;
losses in, ii. 61
Battle record of monitors, ii 56, 58, 50,
60 61, 62, 65, 60, 92, 93. 99
Battle-ships, progressive studies of, i 178 ;
waste of monev on, ii. 152
Bazaine. Marshsl, in Mexico, iL 224
Beach Street, home in, i. 114; ii. 802-
319
Beaumont, Master, introduces tramways
in England, i. 50
Beauregard. General, commends night at-
tack on Charleston, iL 46
Beer ii Mftdler's charts of moon, iL 298,
299
Bemadotte becomes crown prince of
Sweden, L 18 ; his interest in Ericsson,
L28
Berwick-on-the-Tweed, a free town, L
173
Bessemers, father and son, ii. 208
Betrothal, ceremony of, in Sweden, i.
82 ; earlv, condemned, ii. 224
Biffelow, tJacob, discusses granting Rum-
ford prize, L 219
Bigelow. John, Life of Bryant, ii. 246
Biograpny of Ericsson proposed, ii. 288
Bill for work upon Princeton,, L 142 ; re-
ferred to Stockton, L 143 (see Prince-
ton)
Birkenhead in 1818, i 69
Black Diamond barge, i. 156
Black Sea, British experiences in, i 245
Blackmailing assaults on monitors, iL
100, 238-285
BlaektDOO€Cs Jfagazine quoted, L 55
Blaine, James 6., ii. 325
Blair, General F. P., il 84
Blaxland, screw invented by, i. 171
Bloodgood, William, i 190; pnrol
intoest in caloric engine, i. 188
Blue ribbon of Sweden, iL 206
Board on armored vessels appointed, L
246. 249^ 274 ; Ericsson's interview with,
L 262 ; Ignorance, L 247 ; xeoommenda
three vessels, L 249
BouUee. Dr. J. G., a 828
Bourne, John, i. CI ; commends Eriesaon
to BritUh Admiralty, iL 82, 88, 84, 86^
104 : oonespondence with, L 167 ; iL 12,
67, 80, 81, &, 86, 104, 105, 106, 116, 144,
145, 148, ISi, 155 189; credits inven-
tion of screw to Ericsson, L 97, 170 ;
describes Ericsson's engineering abili-
ties, ii. 258; opinion of Novelty loco-
motive, L 64 ; of Ehiosson's critics, ii
199 ; testimony to value of the MimiUtr^
iL 106, 107, 1C8
Booth, Sir Felix, introduces Sir Joha
Boss to Ericsson, i 40, 41
Boot-jack, or obstruction remover, ii 49
Bomf ord. Colonel, i 248
Boilers, low, for war vesselai ii 181
Boom torpedo, ii. 159
Bow on fighting in Sweden, ii 122
Bolter^ vessel blown up by Colt, ii 155
Boxer, Colonel, loses a son on H. M. 8.
Captain, ii. Ill
Brains, innuence of, in warfare, ii 858
Brains, men of, vs. men of position, i
109
Braithwaite, John, i 56-58
Braithwaite and Ehncsson, [firm of. i S8L
41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 61, 67, 72, 92
Bramwell, Sir Frederick, oondemna
steam engine, i 201 j testifies to the
value of heat-engine, i. 214
Brandenburg, Lieutenant, teaches Erics-
son drawing, i 15
Bra8se/s''BritiBhNavy "quoted, i 260:
ii 91, 107, 110
Breechhig, first discarded by Ericsson,
ii 136, 142, 145
Bremer, Fredrika, ii 288
Bridjgewater Works, ii 140
Brituh ironclad navy, ii 144
Broadside vessels, money wasted on, in
England, ii 118; prejudices in &vor
of, ii 12, 62; vs. turret ships, a 18,
78
Brother Jonathan^ P^P^ quoted* i 128
Browning, Sw B., letters to, ii 178, 176,
192,220
Bull, 01e,ii 241, 242,243
Brunei, L K., contention with British
Admiralty, i 164. 284, 285; his son,
ii. 208 ; opmion of caloric engine, i 73 ;
of patent laws, ii. 240; recommends
screw for Great Eaatem^ i 168
Bryant, William Cullen, cowhides a fel-
low editor, ii 246
Buflfon's experiments with concave mir-
rors, ii. 271
Bulkheads, water-tight, reoommended in
1846, i 177
Bureaux, Naval, disadvantages of system.
iin>EZ.
841
a 86; oppoflition of, i.284; a 2 ; pUoa
far amior-olada, iL 1 ; proorastiiiatioii,
a 7, 25, ae, 37
Boigoyne, Sir John, i 285 ; iL 111
Buminff-gUsaes, ezperimentB with, a 271
Bnmnae, Ambrose B., General, L 288
Boxr, Aanm, i. 156
Budmell, C. &, i. 262, 257: a 835; telhi
rtory of the JfonOor, L 248; letter to
ErioMon, a 8
Batler, W. C, nominated for vioe-pred-
deni, L 181
Byam, Amelia, marzies John EriosBon, i
82
Byzon, Lord, quoted, a 280
CAiiiFOiUf 14, LowKR, adyautaffea of using
the solar engine there, ii. 270
Gable torpedo, the, a 156-161
Caloric engine, i 72, 78 ; ii. 182, 224, 262,
268; admired by Professor Horsford, i.
212 : advantages of, L 84, 199, 200. 204;
application of cold blast to. L 21^ ; be-
comes profitable, 1. 202 ; Canada grants
patent for, by special aotj. 214 ; cost of
enezimentsL L 200. 201, 206 ; detects of,
L 197, 190 ; demana for, lessened, i 211 ;
difficulties of high temperatare in, L 76 ;
disonssion of its principle, i. 218 ; Dr.
Barnard explains its defects, i 207 ;
^qperiments with, 1 185 ; failure in, L
199 : Faraday lectures on, i. 75 ; history
of, L 200, 202, 212; inseparable from
oiyiliiation, i. 211 ; number sold, i 203,
206 ; reoeipts from patent rights, i 206 ;
nvingof inelin, i 187 ; simplioityof, i
908 ; testimonials to its value, i 78, 75,
199, 200^ 214 ; ii. 200 ; caloric pumping
en^ne improved and sold extensively,
Calorio iMp, L 189; a mechanical tri-
umph, L 193 ; compared with monitors
ana Gr$at Eastern, i. 192; coal oon-
■amotion of, i 102, 196 ; converted into
asaUer, L 198; engines of, i. 195.212;
Ericsson's opinion of it^ L 191, 198 ; its
visit to Washington, l 196; maohin-
eiy described, L 193 ; makes a second
tnU trip, i 195; safety and comfort
of^ L 190 ; serves as a transport at Port
Royal, i 198 ; sinking of, aesoribed by
Ericsson, i. 195 ; speed of, i. 198, 196 ;
transformed into a steamer, i. 197 ; Vir-
ginia Legislature invited to visit, L 194
Ouorimeters, used for experiment, a
Csnal-boat fitted with screw, i 98; in-
▼entions in connection with. L 78, 108,
118,182,204
Canvas valves for air-pumps first applied,
L 165
Carlstadt, sufferers by fire relieved, a
227
Carlist insurrection in Spain, a 101
Carlyle, Thomas, ii. 80&.307
Garpente^ Senator M. H., iL 180
Garziage for guns, a 185 (see also Guns)
Gbss, Lewis, nmninated for Presidency,
LlSl
Casualties on armored vessels, ii. 15, 61
Cast-iron for ffons, L 186
Cavendish ana Baily measure gravitation.
a288
Cellular system, use of, in vessels, 1 168 ;
a 163
Cemetery in Second Street, temporary in-
terment in, a 324
Caitrsl Park never visited, ii. 809
Centre, advantage of turning a vessel on,
a 12
ChiiUenger expedition, a 299
Chambor of Commerce, N. T., a 179;
votes thanks for Monitor ^ i 245
Chandler, W. K, Secretary of Na^, a 168
Charleston, S. C, attack on, ii. 45, 65, 67,
137 ; capture of not desired, ii. 124 ;
night assault on, Beanregard^s opinion
of, ii. 46, 47 ; obstructions in harbor of,
a 46 ; use of monitors during the siege
of, a 59, 60, 61, 62, 92
Chelmsford, Baron, L 171
Childers, Lord, loses a son on H. M. 8.
Captain, a 111
Chilian Qovemment wishes monitors, a
75
Chili-Peruvian War, a 178
China first used the screw^ i. 178
Church, last visit to one, 1. 82 ; member-
ship in and contributionB to Lutheran,
a 255, 256
Church, William C, letters to, a 102, 160
Chute, Sir Trevor and Lady, L 82; a
220 221
Cit^ kail Park centre of fashion, a 806
Civilisation, influence of solar motors on,
a 266, 269, 270
Civil WsTj our lessons of the, ii. 184
Clarion, nrst ocean propeller, L 109, 110,
158
Client and patron, new phase of quarrel
between, l 109
Clowes, W. Laird, on ramming^ a 11
Climber, experimental engine, L 182
Coal armor, i 134; a 181, 188
Coal consumption in osloric ship, L 192;
in modem engines, L 207
Coal to be scarce as diamonds, iL 191, 190L
264,265
Coast defences not needed, a 170
Cog-wheel svstem, i. 120
Coles and .£ancsson compared (see Navy,
British), a 111
Collins Steamer Line, a 186
Colt, Samuel, torpedo experiment of, a
155
Columbiad, Bomford*c, i. 244
Comfort, personal, as a naval factor, a
55,106
Commercial rivalry between England auJ
America, a 87
Compressed air, early use of, i 89; a
154,176
Compromise required in naval vessels, a
65
842
INDEX.
Gondenter, independent action, L 188
Confederate GoTemment, L 373 ; OMual-
tiee to its naval yeseels, iL 68, 69 ; nee
of t(Hn>edoefl by, il 161 (see Navy, Con-
federate)
Oongreea of United Statea, L 149, 284;
ii 167, 173, 811, 815; aoknowledgea na-
tional debt to Ericaaon, ii. 307 ; action
on PHnceton claim, i 145, 148 ; il 3U5,
306 ; applies for models of an iron shot-
proof Teasel, L 177 ; anthorises steam
vessels of war, L 105 ; investigates light-
draoghta, iL 31 ; report on Cnban in-
Barreotion, iL 101 ; resolution oonoem-
in^ Nihilists, ii 77 ; onoomplimentary
<mmion of it. iL 204 ; votes thanks for
Monitor, i 394 ; u. 197, 204 ; war, com-
mittee on conduct of, L 398, 399
Congreve Colonel, ii. 151
Conservatism of sailors, ii 63, 94
Constitution, Swedish, adopted in 1809, i
13
Consul of Sweden transmits Jfonitor offer
toNajDoleonllL, 1340
" Contnootions to Centennial Exhibi-
tion,*' work so entiUed. 1 181, 182,
186, 310, 211 ; il 215, 278, 279, 394
Contractor, experience as a, 1 309; ii
19, 22^ 88, 43, 43
Controversy over monitors, 11 54
Coofwr, Peter, a welcome visitor, 11 847 ;
builds first American locomotive, il
347 ; exchanges reminiscences, il 248
Copper, conductivity of, ii. 291
Ooraair, steamer, appUcationof fan-blow-
er to, 1 70, 133
Court of Claims allows Princeton daim,
i. 148, 1411 : but it is never paid, il 205
Cowper, E A. , opinion of the Novelty, 1
50
Creator, benevolent, belief in a, ii. 249 ;
subject to the limitations of mathemat-
ical Uws, a 249, 261
Crimean war experience of plunginjgf
fixe in, il 45 ; introduces shell firing, i.
244; record of ^uns used in, il 196;
use of torpepoes in, il 151
Criticisms of Jfonitor by naval officers,
il 64j 66 ; answered, il 11, 199
Crocodile, the, and armored vessels com-
pared, il 153
Cronstadt defended against Napier, 1
314, 375 ; il 151
Crotou aqueduct adopts fluid meter, i.
183
Cruisers, fast, superior to torpedo boata,
il 174; those of the Umted States
worthless, ii. 181
CiTstal Palace, Exhibition of, 1851, 1
Cuba, use of caloric engines in, 1 303
Cuban insurrection, American sjrmpathy
with, it 101, 108, 127 ; success of pre-
vented, il ISl
Cuban Junta libel Spanish gunboats, il
139
Cnpola ahip Captain^ ii. 109, 113, 113
0«t««pFr.nd.B..««M.<«l«rl.-dR
Cylinders of caloric engine, L 304
Dahloben gnn anticipated, iL 18(^187;
reoord of,ll 186
Dalton's theory discussed, 1 818
Daniel, J. F., tablea ooxreoted, ii. 384
D^ Arson, Chevalier, his attaok on Gibral-
tar, il 115
Daylight, steamer with Briosaon*a en«
gme,1355
Death-bed scenes, il 828
Death of Ericsson falsely reported, il 194
Degrees confened on Ericsson, il 197
De Kay, Commodore, commends /Vifios-
ton,\ 183
Delamater, C. BL, association, with Brios-
son, 1 113, 169, 236, 843, 348, 360; ii.
14, 166. 187, 191, 193, 244, 245, 374, 802,
831, 886 ; builds the Iron Wite/L 1 113.
160; builds Spanish gunboats, il 128,
139 ; correspondence with, il 169, 186,
187, 344 ; his estimate of Eziosaon, il
344
Delisle*N claim to screw, L 97
Dellinger, Dr., purchases interest in oa-
lorio ensiue, 1 188
Democratic nomination for Residenoy,
1848, i. 181
De Quincey, Thomas, H 838
Descartes' vortex exoBeded, iL 298
Despateh flag, United Statea, iL 880
Destroyer, torpedo boat, II 89, 154, 181,
344 ; commercial intereato hostile to, il
170 ; Commodore Jeffers*s approval of,
ii 168: first sumsted, 1 3U; u. 168,
168 ; history of, u. 162-181 : motive en-
sine d ii. 176 ; object in building, ii.
168; offered to foreLgn governments, il
172,178
Deville,il 394
Devil's Backbone, engagement known aa, •
U.43
Diary kept by Ericaaon, L 368; de-
stroyed, iL 809
Diathennacy of flames. iL 891
Dickens, Charlea, iL 887
Diet, Swedish, members of Ericsson fam-
ily belonging to, ii. 328
Dimmock, Charlea, orders steam canal-
boat, L 188
Direct acting screw system, father of, L
87,120^^ "^
Discouragemento attending building of
Monitor, L 366
Displacement of Monitor, L 36(^-266 (sea
Monitor)
Distance, instrument for meaauring, L
139-1^, 184
Dix, Rev. Dr. Morgan, ii. 834
Dobbin, Secretary of Navy, ridioulea
monitor idea, 1 237
Documento accompanying iViii«9toi» pe-
tition to Congress. 1 147
D^ge, William and Mia. Mary Mapea^ L
iin>xz.
843
IWr, aoreement oonflerning a, iL 805
DomeSio relAtions, i. 2S1 ; ii 224^396
Dorothea, blown np by Fmton^stoipedo,
iil61
Draft of 1868, effoot of, on monitor work,
ii43
''Drake's Amerioan Biography,** a IM
Draught, light, adyantages of, iL 108
Dream solves a meohamoal dif&oiilty, iL
887
Drew, Daniel, as a oompetitor, L 181
Drinking habits, prejndice against, ii
811
Dniry*s Blnit attaok on, ii. 44
DaUhailln, Paul, quoted, L 86
Duck, Mrs. Ericsson's pet name, i 157
Duel with Sir John Boss threatened, L 48
Dnlong and Petit correoted, ii 884
Dundonald, Lord, on shell-firing, i 845
Du Pont de Nemours, ii 64
Dnpont's attack on Port Boyal and on
Charleston (see heading Navy, Officers
tnbi
Dunham, Edwazd, invests in oalorio ship,
L 189
ZhUeh R^ortned MnBengerxum oalorio
engine, i. 208
SUds, Jambs R, ii. 108
Bastem Counties RailwaT. resigns posi-
tion as engineer of, i 104
Bdet saw-nmls, home at, i 16
Edison, opmion of, i. 206 ; ii 260
JSdith, auxiliary steam bark, i 158. 160,
168, 180 1 ti. 185
Edstrom, J., Captain, inflnenoe on Erica-
son's career, i 15
Bgypt, future possibilities oC^ through so-
lar motor, ii 270
Elworth, Hjalmar (Ericsson's son), i 84,
35 ; ii. 818-217, 910, 228. 881, 888, 885
Emerson, J. B., claims the screw, i 168,
160 ; destroys profits of the invention,
ilTO
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, quoted, ii 286
Empire. Hudson River steamer, i 161
'* £hioyclop«dia Britannioa '*gi^ea credit
for screw to Ericsson, i 170
Engmeers creators of modem conditions
of thouffht, ii 259
Engines, back action, i 156; British,
worthless character of, i 121 ; carrying
225 pounds pressure, ii 103 ; oompoun(L
ii 182, 108; condemned during Civil
War, ii 44 ; double with single crank-
pin, U. 185 ; electrical, ii 191 ; flame
engine, i 85, 86, 87, 88, 80, 71, 184, 212 ;
ii 820 ; multi-cylinder, disbelief in, H
101; oscilUting, i 180; a 186; perfec-
tion, i 176 ; the Princeton' e compared
with British, i 188; semi-cviinaer, i
182 ; ii. 185 1 single cylinder, l 156 ; the
last engine mvented, ii. 100-108 ; twin
screws first ai>plied to, i 156 ; uniform
success of Ericsson's, i 886 ; vertical,
for working twin screws, i 165 ; with
8^000 tuxna a minute, ii 100
Engineering Judgments, faUao]|rof, ii. 800
Jmgineering, London j)aper, i. 48,155:
K 70, 157, 184, 185, OT; 278
Engineering miUtacy studies, i 288; ii
Engineering report, adverse never made
against Ericsson, ii 187
Engmeering, steam, contributions to,
iJ; 182-108
Engineering «a military sentiment^ ii
1^; vs. nautical ezperienoe, ii 80,
118,184
Engineering work during Civil War, poor
character of, ii 48^ 78
IiDgineers' appreciation of Ericsson's tal-
ent, ii 80
Engineers of monitors, their ignorance
of their business, ii 54-71
England and Wales, area of, ii 205
England follows the lead of France, i
244; loaing supremaoy of sea, i 168,
178
England, removal to, i 86; proposal to
reviait, i. 187
"Wwgi'*** languapieuEricsson's thorough
oommand of, i. 228
Engliah pilot'a fear of a monitor, ii 8
English public opinion, ii 81, 86 ; vacil-
lation ooncemmg guns and vessels, ii
86
Engraving machine, i 80, 31
JSruerprite, screw vessel, runs on Ashby
de la Zouche CanaL i 00
Ei^uipoise rudder, i 174
Ene Canal and Lake Erie, first propellers
used on, i 100
Ericsson, John, acquaintanees (see head-
ings Bemadotte, Bomford, Brunei,
Bull, Bushnell, Cooper, Delamater,
Forbes, Fox, Griswola, Horsf ord, Jef-
. fers. Laird, lArdner, MaoCord, Mapes,
Markoe, Ozden, Sargent, Stoughton,
Vi^oles, Von Plateu, Von Kosen,
Wmslow, Woodcroft) ; admiralty ad-
vised to employ him, a 82-85, 104;
admiration for Milton, i. 287 ; ances-
tors, i 8, 4 ; antagonisms encoun-
tered (see Fox, Emerson, Isherwood,
Stockton and Naval Antag<misms).
Anticipates balanced rudder, ii 57,
68; coal armor, i 184; ii 181, 188;
compressed air, i. 80 ; ii 154, 176 ;
Dahigren gun, ii 185; dixeot-aoting
screw system, i. 87, 120 ; Fell RailroacL
i 182; and water-tight bulkheada. i
177. Application of hotnair principle
(see Caloric Ehigine, Caloric Ship, Hot-
air and Regenerative Principle) ; of
screw (see SdUK^ Marmora^ Mauo"
ehuMtU^Ptineeton^ Propeller, JiUiae^
&otew. Water Witch), Believes war is in
its in&ncy, ii. 148 ; that sun motor will
transfer empire to Africa, ii 270. Bi-
ography proposed, ii 293; birthday
observanoea, u. 227, 817; boyish pur-
suits, i 8: builds Spaniah gun-boats,
ii 128-188. Oondemna displa^a ot
844
IKDBX.
iMrning, ii 78 : En^^aad^i poHoy to-
waid United StaAra, u. 87 ; Father
Seoohi's theories, ii. 214. 282, 286, 280 ;
hukYj iion-oUda, ii. 180; httntiiig, ii
296 ; La Pkoe'a theoriM, ii 8771ight.
draught moniton, ii 20-38; MeUoni'a
tlworiea, ii. 288^ 289 : light charges in
monitor gnna, li 18? ; and utilitarian
spirit of timet, ii. 12S. Gonfidenoe in
himself, i 108; Congressional aotion
oonoeming him (see Con^^reas) ; con-
tributes paper to Institution of Civil
Engineers. 1. 84. Contribates to Crystal
Paboe Exhibition of 1S61, i 188 ; to
peace oaose, ii 88 ; to steam engineer-
ing (see Chapter zzx.) ; and to variona
periodicals, i. 48, 191, 215 ; ii 157, 186,
277, 278. 298, 294l 817. Contributions
to Centennial Bixhibition (see this
title) ; corrects heat tables of Regn&ult
and Joule, i 211 ; Croton Aqueduct
adopts his meter, i 183; Court of
Clauos allowu, Princeton claim, i. 148l
149; dealings with Navy Department
(see Navy Department) ; death-bed
Boenes, ii 828 ; declines to visit Wash-
ington when Peacemaker explodes, i
141 ; declines membership in National
Academy, ii 199 ; deprived of his prop-
er^ in the screw propeller, i. 168, 1(19,
VKj'^ destroys his diary, ii 800 ; diffi-
culties with officials explained, 285 ;
dines with Washington Irving, 194.
Discusses Eoropean politics, i. 220;
philosophy, i. 2Sa, Discards breeching,
u. 186, 142, 166 3 cogwheels, i 120;
geariuff for engmes, i. 165. Disiq;>-
Sinted in resnlt of Jfonitor fiffht, i.
9 ; domestic relations, i 173, ^1 ; ii
224-226 : drawings of (idta Canal, 21 ;
early education, i 14-18; eloquence,
i 194, 250-251, 264; ii 81; *' En-
cydopadia Britannica** acknowledges
his claim to screw, i 170; enffineer^s
appreciation of his talent, ii 80 ; en-
gmes steamer Victory (see Victory};
etymology of name, i 8; executes
drawing of Sunderland iron bridge,
21 ; experiences with Princeton (see
Princeton and Stockton). Experiments
with anthracite coal, i 181 ; with ter-
pedoes. ii 268. Elxtent of his work,
199; extravagance in experimentin^p,
67; fails in attempt to ^PPly oalonc
engine to naviffation, i 107, and the
■orew to canal boats, i 182 ; false re-
port of his death, ii 194 ; financial ex-
rriences (see Financial) ; flame engine,
85; funeral ii 253, 824-832; great
part in Civil War, i 238 : hires nei^h-
Dors to keep qniet^ ii 806, 807 ; his m-
ventions pirated, li 275; his son (see
Elworth) ; histrionic tastes, i 28 ;
honom received, i. 184, 221, 290, 296 ;
ii 194-204. HostiUty to routine, i 8;
to Russia, i 240; to slavery, i 241.
|m|aovea stMun engine (see Enguiesand
Stwm) ; inoaneratod in Flaei Frjaon,
i 102 ; inoonsiatenoy, ii 807 ; inter-
view with armor boucL i 252 ; invcii'
tory of his estate, ii S&O : last days, iL
820-822; last finished work, ii 820;
leveller on OCta CanaL i 16 : Ufa fa^
London, i 81: libnury, i 928, 204: lin-
gnistic abiUties, L 223, 224; literarr
abiU^, ii. 817 (see ChanotenafeioB) ;
local influencea shaping his character, L
6 ; makes designs lor first British war
aorew steamer, 138 ; makea his first in-
ventions when nine years old, i 19, 20 ;
mastery of nautical problems, iL 111*
member of Amaranthus Lodge of Odd
FeUows. ii 824, and Union Club, i 191 ;
ii. 802, 811 ; meteoxolopioal studiea, ii
290; methods of keepug aoconnta, L
157 ; monument at Fihpstad, ii 200 ; en-
tombment there, ii 8S1 ; monument at
L&ngbanshyttan, ii 200-204: nuUtaiy
experience, i 17, 18, 24, 26, d6, 28, s£
88; U. 20 65, 228 ; naturalised, i l£;
neglect of holidayflL i 181 ; of ExioBaan
at outbreak of Civil War, i. 284 ; never
reads Swedish books, L 224 j New Toik
Legislature votes thanks, li 197; au-
thorizes monument, ii 824. Observance
of Thanksgiving, i 221 ; offered oom-
missionership to Paris Bxpotition^ii
196 ; offers to build war steamer, L 887;
offers his services to Lincoln, i 246.
Opinions aa to taking Charleaton, it
4EM9; on harbor defence, ii 108, 179;
of Edison, i 205; ii 250; of JameaR
EadSj ii. 199 ; of monitors, ii 1(^; of
marriage, ii 224, 226, 280; on moral
influence of steam maolunexy, i 216^
216 ; of perpetual motion, i 171 ; on
Scandinavian politics, ii 248; of Tpk-
dall, ii 29& Ordnance experiencea (see
Guns, Ordnance, Oregon, Torpedoes,
Sub-aquatic Attaok): orisnnality, ii
386. Partnership with Bxaithwaite
(see Braithwaite) ; in caloric (see Ca-
loric) ; in Iron Witch, i 160 : with
Monitor associates (see Bushnell, Gris-
wold, Winslow). JPetitions Congress
concerning Princeton, i 145 ; pivin-
dioe against drinking habits, ii 811 ;
Privy Council renews propeller pat-
ent, i 172 ; political omniona, L 181,
228; portrait painted by ElUott, ii
238; prepares a book f or pubUoation,
i 29; prodigally as an mventor, i
158 ; profito on JtoniUMr, i 269 ; pro-
poses the neutralization of theoceui,
li. 88^ 148; proposal to return to Swe-
den, li. 202; protests against unjust
criticism, i 42, 2M, 288 ; proud of. the
titie of geometrician, i. 224; pur-
chases barking dogs, ii 805; plagi-
aristo* iL 144: i^uiok promotion, i
16 ; quarrel with Sir John Boss, i ¥^
48; Rainhill contest of first locomo-
tives, i 58-66 ; receives Rnmf ord priie,
i 218 ; xeoeives Swedish pdae for oa*
846
loria an^na, L SOS i raoommmd* ■ re-
pMtiDg rifla, u. 34 ; ratoMs to gin
opiakmi ooDoemiiw ntenta, ii. 840 :
i^oiM* Uut UdiM OMM to mU, a 80G .
nlatioiu to Unitad St*tei QorcmnMiii
SH aoTemmeal, JConitor, PrincetoH,
DU, Torpwloaa) : reouuiu t>kgo to
BwBdm, U. saS-Ssa. Ramoraa to Bnc-
Uod, L Se ; to Uuitsd StktM L 104.
Baudenoe at Astor Eoow, iL lOB-tll ;
Beuli BtiHt, i. lU; li. 803^9;
FnmkUn Street, L 06, 113, 115 ; U. 230,
803. Barieiii u eogiiisaT of Bkatem
Coontua Biulrowl, t 104 ; ridumlad by
oSoimldoin, L 180 ; riTkli and imitat-
on, Ch^it«r TIT. ; BAirBB a fiellow-pnpil
from drowniDS. i- ^1 ; SoandiiuTia do-
airea hii •amoea, li. 310; aoholaatii
digreea reodved, li. 197 ; aells intareat
in oalorio eusine, L 188 : aalla inl
faiSt John'TFaikii. 804; aerric . .
fiwaden (aaa Sweden) ; akill in tapo-
graphlaal drawing, 1. 39 ; aolTSa
L lW,'3efe. StQdiea'o^Aotl'^^
marDon, il 39U ; Baclid, L 37 ; infla-
anoa of liTsr oarrentK. Il 304; H^oa-
niqne Oeleate, ii 323 ; naTal wufare, L
17a ; lolar pbjsioe, ti. 877-801 ; itrength
of "'■fc**^»T i. 1^ ; the peoaliAiitiea of
flnlda, L IV i inrfaoe oandenaara (ua
Sorfaoa Coodenwlion). Surrer* Jent'
land, L 23; Swede of Bwadea, L 3;
qrmjwthy with weak Statea, iL 177:
teatifiea to promptDeaa of Ooremment
in MmUor matter. L 854; tluuikl
toted (aae Ohiunber of Oommeree, Con-
oraa^ Swadiih Rikniag) ; tlieorisa ai
to IM ann (aee Snu) ; theoriee oon-
osning moon, IL 394 ; thorongfa work-
man,L 43 ; tootfaaoha, ■nflering frDin,
L lee ; torpedo inTention* (aee Dt'
llroytr ana Torpedo) ; tretnendoDa
(mAot in mabniaJ pro^saa, iL 193 ; nn-
eompUmeDtarjr opimoni of Dmted
i. 310;
_„__. .___oftK__„_
eratiTe prinoiple, i. 73; nnwilUngneaa
to aooept adiioe, L 337. Tiiita itiah-
moni Va., i. llS; United Stfttei to
intredaoe loraw, L 107, 106 : Waahing-
ton, L 193, asa Woika for Qnarter-
maater'a Department, United Stah*
Aim;, L 180 ; worka for ReTenoe Ha-
liiM Serrioe, L 1B6, 168, IW, 180, 183 ;
nratlifnl clumMter dewiribed, L 38, Sa
Brioaaon, John, ohaiactariatiaa of, i. 154,
1B7, IM, 179, 194. ati6, 357 ; oharMtar In-
hodted, L 4 ; onltnle, L 191 : engiaeeriDe
abiUtT and meUwda, i. ll4. Ufi. 19^
3B3, aiv-sas, 831, KT-aei, aes ; il 4, 5,
7,m, 111, 114, 123. 144,147, S83, 3S8, 301,
809, 818, 837; ability to appl; theorj
topraetioa, L BS; a lion eniiineer, 1. 1,
10 i adiane enginwiriiutrqiert an hia
week nerermade, il. 187: an engineer,
not inventor, L 306 ; indepraidenoa of
precedent. L 18 ; leuna "'"g'"'' metb-
oda, L 18 ; matbematioal meUiodB, i.
234-335, never propoaed "■■■'■-"'■^'
abaurditiea, t 68; nots "^ -" '
L 237 ; lone a finger. I 231 ; r6ginis
followed, iL 810, 813-831 ; prejndicea
and pndilectiona, iL 303-313; religjODi
opiniona, i. 185; ii 230, 28S, 256, M7;
aooepta omniiicienoe, bat denlea omnip-
otence, iL ms ; belieTea in uinihlla-
tion and nirrana, IL 353: In DiTine
PrOTldenoe, i. 247; in a creator aabjeot
to meehaaioal UwB, il 349,251 ; ohnrch
relatlona, i. 83 ; IL £65-356; acntiment,
L83, 116 22U, 2S0 ; U. 31S, 319
■rioaaon, John, aome inTcntiona, alarm
harometor. L 183 ; engTaving maohini^
L 80, 81 ; eqnipoiae rudder,! 174; ex-
pandon engine, li 191 ; file-eott^ig
maohine, L SO: flame engiuOj L 45; frio-
tion ^ear, ii. 183 ; hTdraolio rereraiiiB
sear. u. 18B ; hrdroaiatlo gauge, i, 80,
164 ; hjdiostatao Javelin, iL ITT ; in-
rtramant for mnnolng diitanoea, L
IXP, ISa 184; link moSm, L 63, 133;
obatmoUon mnover, il. 48; one bnn-
died laventicau liated, L SI ; aalf-aotin^
gnn-loek, L 183 ; pamping-engine, l
89; pyrometer, I 184, Iffi; u. 388;
mt-ti^i, IL S06; aalt-water evapor>tor
S46
INDEX,
L 70; ■im*inotoiB. iL 9S1, 265-377;
«team fize-«iigine, L 45 ; steam wheel,
L 68 ; twin ■crews, L 156 ; water oon-
denser, L 180 ; weighing machine. L 79
Brioeaon, John, ietteza addreaaed dt, to
▼azioaa persona : Adleraparre, Axel, ii.
121, 124, 125, 126, 138, 159, 161, 180,
208, 204, 233. 2S8, 249. 250, 251, 252;
Anton, li 2S2; Barnard, J. G., ii 178;
Blackmailer, ii 285 ; Board of Armor-
dada, ii. 274; Bourne, John, L 41, 61,
167, 240 ; il 12, 67, 88, 86, 144, 145,
148, 158, 155. 189; bridegroom, a, i
230; Browning, S. R, ii 173, 1^221 ;
Bnmel, L K, i 75; Builder. The, i
88, 199; Bull, Ole, ii 242; Buahnell.
ii 252; Calozio asKMnatea, i 199;
Chamber of Commerce, New York, ii
179 ; Church, William C. , ii 102 ; Chute,
Lady, ii 221 ; cUent, a, i 225: Con-
greaa, i 146, 177; Cox, 8. S.. ii
171 ; Cragin, A. H., ii 170 ; Day. Hor-
ace, i 89; Delamater, ii 131, 244, 246,
262, 268; Dorr. B. P., i 252; Ediaon,
concerning, i. 205; 3iUh, concerning
the, i 158; Engineer, The, ii 184;
Snhineering, ii. 157, 277; Forbes,
R. B., i 174; ii 114, 170, 183, 190, 233,
240, 268, 254, 271 : Fox, G. V., i 241,
254, 262; iL 7, 14, 22, 29, 78, 148;
Gould, Cnarles, ii 261 ; Gregory, Ad-
miraL ii 26,28, 29; Griswold, Jolm A.,
ii 187 ; Hale. Senator, iL 41 ; Haawell,
C. H., i 50: HazeUus, Arthur, ii 806;
Henry, Proxessor Joseph, ii 277, 278 ;
Horaford, B. N, i 211; ii 261; Iron
Witch, concerning, i 161 ; Kemble, Fan-
ny, i 229 ; Kitchm^, J. B., i. 191 ; Jef-
fers. Conmiodore, ii. 164, 171 ; Llngban-
shyttan admirers^ ii 200, 204 ; Lanffley,
Professor S. P., ii. 281 ; Lincoln, Abra-
ham, i 246; ii 17, 84; Luce, Admind,
i. 243: Lund, University of, ii. 263,
264. 265; MoCIellan, GoDeraL i 259;
Kalcampo, U. 182 ; Milea, il 247 ; Hon-
iters, concerning, ii 66; mother, hia,
i 26, 27, 115; Ifo. Mapes,a 253; Na-
poleon m., i 240-241 ; I^ature, ii 275 ;
naval secretaries, i 141, 142, 143; ii
11, 24, 25, 27, 69, 93, 162, 168, 181, 254 ;
niece, a, ii 262; Oscar IL. ii 1'22, 195 ;
Pastor of Gustaf Adolph Church, ii.
256: Piktent Office, London, ii 80;
Pfeulding, Admiral, ii 14; JErince Al-
bert, i 184; Bobinaon, J. A., ii 273;
Rosen, Von, A. B., ii. 287; Rosa, Sir
John, i 42 ; Kqyal Library, Stockholm,
ii 227; Royal Society, London, ii 277;
Roasian minister, ii 172 ; Sargent, John
O.. i 107, 118, 120, 121. 149, 151, 159,
160, 166, 179, 181. 186. 187, 195, 196,
211. 224, 236, 287 ; ii. 186,205,236,802;
Scientific American^ The, i 191; Seward,
W. H., ii 5| 122; Stevenson, George,
concerning, i. 57 ; Smith, Commodore,
i. 286, 269, 274 ; Stockton. R. F., i. 108,
119, 123, 141 ; Stonghton, Mr&, i 206;
Btoaghton, ^ler, and Bloodgood, I.
1907S$1 fSwedish relatives, 1141216,
217 ; a 212, 217. 219, 222, 824, 2£ 229,
275, 276 ; tempemnoiB. ii. 311 ; Twmi,
London, i 215 ; United Btatea, oonoem-
ing, ii 281 ; Virginia legialataztt, i 194 ;
Weakyan Univecuty, li 197; Wise,
Henry A., a 140 ; Woodoraftu Bennett,
L 102; a 80,186
Bricaaon's anoestora, i 8
** Bricsson*8 Folly,** name given to Moni
Brics8on*s mother, i 6, 17, 28
Bricsson, NiU, i 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 14, 16, 17,
18. 2L22, 28, 203 ; ii 126, 206, 209, 210,
212, 218, 219, 220, 224, 886: ohnpter
XXX. ; his aona. a 89, 112, m 227
BricssonOlof, i 1, 2, 8, ^ 7, 8, 9, 10, 14,
15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 86; a 208, 227, 819^
836
Bricsson propeller line, i 109, 110 ; Brioa-
aon*a aon (aee Blworth) ; Wriosson*a
wife, i ITS, 292, 294 ; a 219, 820: de-
scribed, i il5; viaita New York, i
116; oongratulatea her huabandon suo-
of Mon\
'onitor, i 298 ; a 118
Bthicalobjectionato steam engine, i 815^
216
European pditica diacnaaed, i. 220; af-
fected by Monitor, i 241
Evana, Oliver, a 25b
Evarta, William M., ii 180
Evening Beraid, The, of Bynunaab
quoted, a 96
Bvefiing Foet, The, N. T., naea oalozio
engine, i 206
Kxpansion engine ntiliiingfnH power of
steam, a 191
Experimenting, oomplieatioB not re-
gfded in, i 42; snoold not be con*
unded with practical work, i 286^
283 ; money wasted on in England, a
118
En>losive force expieaaion of power, a
Explosive forcea, atudy of, a 184
Falt Zaoab regiment, a 824
Family interests, influence of, on pnblio
affiurs. a 81
Famine in Sweden relieved, a 288» 8S9
Fanaticism of genius, a 888
Fan-blower Qf^em firat naed, i 70
Faraday's beuef in regenerative prinoi]de,
i 210 ; lecture on Mlorio engme, i 75
FaraJUmee, MaaeaehuavUe re-ohristened
aa,il59
Faxon, W., i 251
FeU railroad anticipated, i 188
Fifteen-inch gun. i 802
File-outting machine, i 80
FiUpetad, inhabitanta of, erect mona«
ment, a 900^204; burial there, a
831
Financial experienoea, i 16, 27, 29, 8QL
87, 92. 99. 106, 143, 157, 161, 166, 18L
188, 196, doo, aoi^io; ii su, ao7, m
HTDBX.
847
FbumoUl gtatement of propeD«'(pateiit),
199
Finger, Iom of &, i. 221
Fiz«i, old methods of extingpiahing, L
44-47 ; deelaractiTe effeoto of, in London,
L45
Fize-engme described by Hero, i 46;
Steam (the first), i 45-48 ; prise for, i
106
Firemen of monitors, ignorance of, iL 54
Fitch, inventor of steam engine, ii 259
Fitchonrg Railroad, Massachusetts, uses
oalorio engines, i 203
''Flag, Isle's History of the,*"!!. 880
Flame engine, L 84, 87,38, 71, 184,212
Fleet Prison, incarceration in, i 92
Floid meter, i 188
Flying Devil, aailoi's name for first screw
propeller, L 89
Forbes, Bobert R , i 158 ; correspondence
with, L 174 ; a 115, 170, 188, 190, 212,
2SB, 240, 271; inyests in Iron WUch,
L 160; opinion of Ericsson, i 162;
** Reminiscences ** quoted, i 159, 160.
Foreign intervention prevented by the
Monitor, a 219, 220
Foreigners, militvv commissions be-
stowed upon, i. 294
Forei^ powers order monitors, ii 75, 76
Forsvik, home of Ericsson family, L 10
Fort Fisher, Monitor's attack on, ii 58,
59,187
Fortifications not needed, ii. 175
Fort^ broadside and'turret vessels in at-
tacking, iL 48
Forts, monitors not intended to attack,
ii 45, 46, 48. 49, 100
Fox, Gustavus Vasa, i. 249, 258,254,277,
287, 298 ; ii. 2, 8, 6, 84. 86, 41, 45, 67, 88,
118, 229. 2S7, 258, 318 ; ablest man of
Lincoln's administration, i 278; asks
for light-draught monitors, ii ^a, 22;
oondemns them, ii 28, 80, 83; confi-
dence iu Ericsson and the monitors, ii.
4, 8, 9, 77; conversion to Ericsson^s
ideas, i 27r, 278 ; correspondence with,
1241,264.262.278,279; ii 4,7,22,62,
77, 78, 14^ 166; originates scheme for
oapturin^ Charleston, ii. 124; patriot-
ism and mtegrity, ii 78 ; sent to Rus-
sift, ii 77; testifies to value ot Moni-
tor, u. 21, 68
Fox, MrSb, invited to christen Dictator,
IL 14
Fox, Sir Charies, rides with Ericsson on
the Novelty, i 56; oongratolates him
on his Monitor, i. 292
Francii B. Ogden, first screw vessel, i 88
Frankland, Ftofsaiiorj on moon, ii 801
Franklin Street, residence at, i 95, 118,
115 ; ii 290, 802
FroMer'M Magagine on the Rainhill trial,
L56
Freeboard, low, advantage of, ii 78, 92,
110
Friction-gear applied to gun-carriages, i.
Friendships, i 81 ; Oham. xiv. ,
"FrithiofSaga" quotec^li 216
Frith wxougfat-iron gun, ii 186
Fuller, Thomas, quoted, ii. 246
Fulton, Robert, and Ericsson, i 191, 192 ;
and the steamboat, i 40, 86, 178; bur-
ial-place, ii. 824 ; steam war vessels, i
105 ; torpedo experiments, ii 148, 151,
162,159
Funeral of Ericsson, the, ii 268, 824-882
Gallbt Slaybb, modem, ii 80.
Gansevoortu Guert, reporto on 18-inoh
gnn, ii. 188
Gai^d, President James A., ii 169
Gas to supersede steam, i. 207
Gearinff for engines discarded, i 165
Geijer Dom in Vermland, i 5
Gecnnetrician, proud of the title, i 224
Genius of Bricraon, i 190 ; ii 5, 108, 162,
886-88
Georgetown College, Father Secchi, pro-
fessor in, ii. 286
German, knowledge of, i. 224
Gillmore, General, Q. iL. ii. 47
Gladstone, Lieutoiant, K.N., reports on
DeUroyer, ii 175
Glasebrook uses regenerator in 1797, i.
71
Goliath of Gath and the Monitor, I 800
Gota Canal employment of Ericsson
upon, i 15, 22, 29, 81, 40, 208, 288 ; ii
iSl, SoS, 219Thi8tory of, L 10-18
Gould, Chsrles, i 295 : u. 260
Government, its confidence in Ericsson,
ii 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 22, 78, 284 ; his uniust
treatment by, i 122. 150, 179, 256, 267,
268, 270, 278, 275 ; ii 96, 189, 166, 168.
205 ; its interest sacrificed to conceit oz
office, i 285
Grant, XJ. 8., i 278, ii 128, 126, 161
Great JSattem fitted with screw, i 168;
compared with ciJoric ship, U 192;
reacnes limit of sis& ii 141
Great Mechanician, belief in the, i, 185 ;
ii. 249, 254
Oreat Repttblie, towed by ErieBSon*s tug,
il68
Oreat Wegtem, stesmer, i 10^ 164
Greece, proper armament for, li. 124
Greek, Ericseon^s knowledge of, i 224
Greene, Confederate General, attacks
MonUor, u. 21
Griswold John A., i 249-251, 262^367,
270-298 ; ii. 187, 802
Gun and armor, struggle between, i 244 ;
iil52
Gunboats for defence, a 128, 124, 12S,
180
Guns, ancient, early models of, ii 186;
Armstax>ng. defecte of. ii 140 ; bsnded,
early use of, i ISO, 181 ; breeching for,
ii 136; carnages for, i 181 ; ii 141, 142,
145, 146; cast iron, record of. ii 186;
dajTs of monster guns numbered, ii 165;
English and American, ii 78 ; 15-inch
service, record of, ii 187 ; heavy, reo*
348
INDEX.
oaunaidMl bj RrieMon and oppoied
by DiJilgNn, 11184. ISO, 187; Honlall,
it 185; loaded below deck, firtt ez-
•m^ of, ii 157 ; of KelBon't Victory^
ii 149 ; powders and projeotiles for, li
149 ; 18-moh, trial of, deaoribed, ti. 188,
189; IS-inoh, on PHnceton. i 128; a
184, 185, 186; aS-inoh, H 141 ; Panott.
for Spuiiah ^nboata, ii. 128 ; preaeniea
to Siroden, 11 70 ; aelf -acting lock for,
i 129, 182; ateel, a 127, 189; tab-
marine, ii 176, 177; waste of mon^
upon Bngiish ezi>erimenti, ii. 141 ;
iraight of modern, ii. 187
GnitaToa Vaia originates OOta Canal, ill
Haul Sehatob, Cbaixman Naval Com-
mittee, a 40
Halleok, Gtonenl, ii, 77
HamiHon and the Federalists, i 150
Hampton Roads, naval engagement in, i
87&^1, 808
Harbors, how to defend, ii. 102, 179
Hare, Robert, reoeiTes Romford medaL
i217
Harold, the fair-haired, i 6
Harrison, BUas, testimony as to invention
of screw, i 96
Harrison, President Benjamin, iL 822
Hdvrtford Timet nses caloric engine, L
Harfanann's *' Philosophy of the Unoon-
sdoas,*' a 887
Harvey's theory of dronUtion of blood, i.
08
Harvey torpedo, the, a 150
Hawse-pipe of MonUffr^ i 283 ; a 10
Hayden^i hatred of ''t*will-never-doists,**
i9l
Hayes. President R B., ii. 194
Headlev*s miner boy, a 288
Healthinln6ss of monitors, ii 05
Heat apidied to enginei^ i 184; erro-
neous theories conoemmg. i. 85, 206 ;
theories of Aristotle, i75 ; Baoon, i. 76 ;
of Regnaalt, Jonle, Mayer, Romford,
TyndaU, i 70, 207, 208, 211 ; their
tables revised, i. 218
Hell, Hindoo estimate of its dnxation, a
264
Herbert, Lord, loses a son on H. M. 8.
Captain^ a 111
Heredity, law of, illostrated, ii 206
Hermit life, a 802>19
Heroinn, noble example of, a 62
Henchel, Bir John, ii. 264, 285, 287-295,
290,299
Hgh U^-Kl h«d drinkmg in Bng-
Holidavs, neglect of, i 161
Holley V ** Ordnance and Armor ** qooted,
HoneX PhiUp, ••Diary," i. 94, 101 ; a 240
Honors bestowed opon BricaMm, i 164,
221.290,290; a 194-204
Horace qnoted, a 249
Uora, Jan, becomes Tngstram, L 4
Hotsford, R N., a 201, 962; favors oivs.
ing Ericsson Komford medal, i Sll,
216; admiration of caloric engine, i
212
Hot-air principle, diflloolties in applying,
i 192, 196, 199, 200, 209; to snpenede
steam, 201, 2OT, 214 rsee also Csloric)
Houston, President of Texas, i. 158
Hodson River Railroad boys St. John*s
Park, a 804
Hodson, torpedo experiments on the, a.
168
Hogo, Victor, his story of an escaped gun,
a 142
Hont, Freeman, commenda caloric ship,
i. 191
Hontinff condemned, i 225
Hydraouc engineering, revelation in, a
^draoHc lift for Monitor, a 90
Hydraulic reversing gear, early use of,
li 163
Hydrostatic gaoge, i 60, 164 ; weighing
machine, i. 79
Igsobancb, NavaL i 270; EricMon*s
chief enemv, ii. 165
lUiberality of Gkyvemment, ii 87
Immortality, disbelief in, a 260, 251,
252, 250, 257
Income and fortone, a 222
Inconsistenoy of homan natore, a 807
Individoality destroyed by machinery, L
215, 210
Indostry commended, ii. 225
Inlostice, vigoroos denondation of, L
Inventor, title of, disclaimed, i 205;
treatment of, by Ericsson, ii 210
Inventory of £bncsson*s estate, a 882
Iron for naval vessels first suggested, 1.
248-244
Irving, Washington, dines with Skiosson,
Iron WiUh, the. i 114, 100-102, 100
Isabella the Catholic, Order of, U. 182
Ji.0K8Olf, GlNEBiJL BtOHBWJLLL, a 184
James River CanaL boilds propellers for,
i 113
Javelin, hydrostatio, iL 177
Jefferv^s respirator in the hot-air engine,
Jemtiand described, i 27, 26; experi-
ences in, i 24, 29, 288; iL 12lVa9;
memories of, a 227, 820
Jenkin. Professor, approves regenerative
principle, i. 208
Judith, thei, fitted with monitor — igin^
i255
Jnpiter and Satom, temperature of, a
Karlstad, gymnasium of, i 8
Kemble. Fanny, letter to, i 229
Kiobom, armored vessels used at, i. 276
Kitohing, John R, i 169, 191, 196
mDEZ.
849
Knights of old and moniton, ii. 66
Krapotkm, Prinoo, on ethioal objeotions
to iteun engines, i. 216
LABOB^^BAYiif G maohines destroy individ-
wOity, i 216, 216
Lftdies ooMO to Tiiit Eriosson, ii 806
Laird A Sons*, ship-bmlders, association
with Ericsson, L 69, 70, 92, 06; a 109,
181
Lakes, American, first nse of propeller
on, L 108; of Sweden, L 6, 8, 10. 11,
18, 28, 27; rafts on, suggest MbnUar,
L288
Laminated armor superseded, i. 104
Lsnder^s vessel for explorinff Niger, i. 96
Lsnd turrets, Russian, L 178
LIngbanshyttan, i. 1, 7, 14; ii 200, 204,
210, 818
I^nnle^, Professor a P., ii 291, 298;
opinion of Briosson*8 scientiflo work,
i£ 279
Laplaoe^s theories contradicted, ii 287
Laplanders in North Sweden, i 28
Lardner, Dionysius, i 147, 166, 167, 176,
177
Lau6e, v. F., ii 806. 888, 885, 886
Latitudes, high, influence on tempera-
ment, i 82
Lawyen, friendshi|>s with, i. 281
Lay torpedo, the, ii. 150
League Island as a harbor for monitors,
iil08
Legal claim in Ptineeton matter, i 145
L^slature of New York votes thanks, ii.
167 ; authorises a monument, ii 824
Library, Ericsson's, i 228, 224 ; the royal,
of Stockholm, contribution to, ii. 227
Life-boats, monitors as, ii 67 (see Moni-
tors)
Light draught monitors, disgraceful his-
tory of, iiT 8. 20-S8 (see Monitors)
Light on board Afoniior, ii 68
Ligfat- houses, use of caloric engine in, i.
Liliputians and OnlliTer, ii. 219
Lincoki, President, i 284, 245, 249, 278,
287. 290; appoints board on armor-
claas, ii 246 ; his interest in MbnUor.
ii 2; letters to, i 247; ii 2, 17, 84
Ling's system of gymnastios, l 26
Lineuistic abilities, i 214, 224
LinJc motion, first use of, l 62, 188
Lissa, battle of, ii. 157
Livingston vault, Fulton's buiial-p]aoe»
Look for gun, self-acting, i. 129, 182
Locomotives first tried on the Liverpool
A Manchester Railway, i 52, 54, 62, 64,
66, 182 (see Novelty) ; early profession-
al hosUUty to, i 58; speed of, i 64,
66
Lovering, Joseph, oppoaes award of Rum-
ford medal, I 218
Lowe daims the screw, i 171
Lowrey. O. P., Comuel for Gabaa Junta,
Lowell^ames Rnsaell, ii 888
Lund Univeraity, bl-centennial of, ii
265
MoAllistbb, Fort, during the capture
oftheiVasAtfiZltf. ii 58
MacOord, Professor, ii 806. 818, 816, 884 :
articles on Ericsson, i 266, 266, 267;
u. 199
McGlellan, General George B., i 168, 259,
286^287,299; U. 98 «» ' '^ '
Machinery emancipates man from domi-
nation by nature, ii. 259
Machinery, intrusted to ignorant officers,
i 282 ; of caloric ship, u. 198
Maelstroms on the Moon, ii 298
Magee, Rufos, letters concerning Biica-
son's interment, ii. 82fi
Manhattan Buik, account with, i 156,
167, 188
Manuscript left by Ericsson, quoted, i 58
Markoe. Dr. T. M., i 222; ii 81^^828
Marble oust, by Kneeland, i 157
Malignant pustule, suffers from, i. 222
Mallet compressor, anticipated, ii. 146
Blalloiy, a R., Oonfederate Naval Secre-
tary, recommends armed vessels, i 245
Mansfield, CteneiaL i 290, 291
Mapes, Professor James J., i 188, 147,
191, 222, 223, 282, 291 ; U. 252. 258
Marquis of Worcester, i 158 ; ii 288
Marmora, twin screws applied to the, i
156
Marriage, opinion concerning, ii 224,226,
280| to Amelia Bvam,iS; ii 219
Maritime warfare of the future, ii 88
Mandial of the United States seiies the
Spanish gun-boats, ii 129
Maskelyne measures dttusiiy of earth, ii
278
JfataaehusettiL the auxiliary screw steam-
er, i 159, 160, 168, 164, 165, 179
Matnematical formulas, unnecessary use
of, il 78
Matrioularii of Rome, i. 44
"Mecanique Celeste," favorite study, ii
228
Mechanic, an ingenious, i 118
AfeehanicB^ Mdgojtlne concerning screw
propeller patents, i 172
Mechanical absurdities never proposisd,
i 88
Mechanical defence for weak nations, ii.
121
Mechanical laws do not admit of a cre-
ator, ii. 261
Melloni's theories combated, a 288, 289
Melville, Lord, ii. 161
Mercury, conductivity of, studied, ii. 290
Merrimae and Monitor fight, i 280 ; dis-
appointing result of, i 288 (see Merri"
mae and Monitor') ; ii. 258
Meter, fluid, i 188, 184 3 smrit, ii. 196
Meteorological studies, li 290
Mexico, Napoleon III.*a projects in, ii
219 ; transports demanaM dfuing war
with, i 159
360
nn>Ex.
Jildoi twin lerew propeller, L 158
Miles, Qenend N. A., u. 160^ 194. 246
Military men, Erioeaon as ^ iL 20
Militeiy seryioe, number ox men in, iL 43
MUls, J. K, invests in Iron WUeh, I 160
Milton admired, i. 287
Minotaur or Monitor, L 289
Misfortunes of Ericsson famihr, i 9
Mississippi Riyer, influenoe of, on earth**
rotation, ii. 264
Models of machines, nunber of, i 182
Money, waste of, during oivil war, ii. 48 ;
in uAval experiments, by England, ii.
247
JfonUor and Merrimae fight, the, i. 284,
286, 299; iL 818, 815; dissatisfaction
with result of, L 288, 298 ; Ericsson's
death on anniveisaiy of, iL 822
Monitor, the original, L 288-301 ; ii. 818,
828 ; battle test required before accept-
ance of, L 278; behavior of, at sea, L 281;
changes made in, iL 9 ^ commendations
of, ii. 200; compared with caloric ship, L
190 ; ooncnratnmtions following success
of, L 290-297 ; constructed in one hun-
dred days, ii. 2 ; cxystallization of forty
centuries of thought, L 289 ; Ericsson's
account of, L 252 ; early conceptions of,
L 287, 240. 249.262; eaual to fifty thou-
sand men. i. 2o6 ; establishes a tjrpe, L
.289 ; heayier charges for guns advised, iL
187; history of,l 248, 261 ; iL 8; how
time was savea in building, i. 260;
leaves New York for Wasmngton, L
879, 280, 283 ; motive for bmlding^ L
242, 247; never improved noon, L 262;
patentable inventions in. L 261 ; remu-
neration for, declined, iL 96; revolu-
tionized naval warfare, L 288 ; rush of
proposals for, iL 8
Monitors^ battle reoord of, ii. 58-65, 69 ;
casualties on, iL 61 ; compared with
turret ships, iL 109 ; condition of, after
war, u. 1(«, 108; criticisms of, i. 285 ;
iL 8, 82, 54; description of , iL 8; float-
ing batteries, ii. 55 ; healthfulness of, iL
65 ; influence of, on modem navies, ii.
55, (^ 97 ; not designed to attack forts,
ii. 45 ; not clever makeshifts, iL 99 ;
Panaie class, iL 3-6, 8, 15, 19, 20, 21 , 87,
55, 58, 66/74, 75, 98 j a portentous spec-
tacle in England, l 202; iL 84; pro-
pelled by oars, ii. 122, 123; rejected
names for, iL 6 ; sea-going qualities of,
iL 8, 66-71, 78, 79, 96,97, 99; testimonials
to the value of, iL 51, 76, 77, 80, 84, 85,
100, 101 ; to be fouc^ht end on, ii. 96:
versus battle-ships, iL 98, 102 ; wanted
by foreignpowersJ ii. 75 (see Armor-
dads and Vessels U. & Navy)
Monitors JHctmtor and Puritan^ L 87 ; il
8-12, 16, 17, 21, 24, 35, 87-41, 66-68, 91,
92, 94, 107, 144, 185, 186, 298; as sea |
boats, iL 67; compared with foreign
iron-cUds, 16 ; cost of, 89, 43 iDietaior \
goes into commission, 15; difficulties
attending oonitruotion of, 16 \ draught i
of, 14 ; influenoe on foreign naval
struction, 17; launch of, 18, 14; never
in battle, 17 ; power of, 18 ; speed of,
16 ; supplementary specifications for,
37 ; ten years after completion, 18
Monroe doctrine, the, iL l8
Monroe, James, President, i. 198 : a 824
Monument at LIngbanshyttan, iL 200-
204
Moon, atmosphere of, ii. 297; a ynSL-
watered pUnet, iL 896, 299, 801 ; gla-
ciers on, L 296, 297 ; hydraulic action
on, iL 897, 898 ; lava cones on, ii. 299 ;
mass of, ii. 299 ; mountains on the, iL
295-299 ; opinions concerning, 294-801 ;
snbw on, it 298 ; surface of, as seen by
earth-light, iL 801; theories concern-
ing, presented in letter to Nature, iL
294; temperature of L 294-296, 899;
warm springs on, iL 299
Morebead, Senator John, letter to^ con-
coming Pi-ineeton^ L 147
Morgan and Secor, ii. 186
Momer, Count Axel, ii. 228
Morse and tbe telegraph. L 178
Mouchot's solar engine, iL 2^3, 271
Mount Cenis Railroad, the, antioipated, L
78
Muscle-power superseded by steam-pow-
er, i. 49
NiJ*OLBOvin., L 14, 18,849,258, 275; iL
87, 112, 116, 146, 149. 158, 155. 158, 168,
176, 184, 219, 840, 841 : adopts armor
defence, L 244 ; rejects Monitor^ L 241
Nast, Thomas, letter to, iL 246, 247
Nature (the newspaper), ii. 278, 296, 894
Nautical problems, mastery <^, iL 111
Naval antagonisms encountered, L 106,
287 ; iL 71, 88, 106, 152, 177; opposition
to monitors, iL 4, 10, 62, 98-95
Naval construction, conditions and ten-
dencies of, iL 88; influence of Monitor
upon, iL 55
Naval defence of Scandinavia, ii. 810
Naval engagements, casualties during, ii.
61 ; to be settled at dose quarters, L 156
Navsil hofftihty to innovation, iL 807
Naval ignorance of iron-clads, L 888. 288
Naval officers, British, lost on H. M. &
Captain, ii. Ill
Naval officers, conservatism of, L 106,
287 ; a 63, 71, 86, 89, 106, 152, 177, 199,
802; modem development of,iL 89;
opinion of, i. 196
Naval Secretary generally a politician,
dominated by profossicmal dogmatism,
L 106
Naval steamer, offer to build one in five
months ridiculed, L 287
Naval system, fatal defects of our, L 276
Naval vessels, incompatible oonditionB
required for, iL 54
Navies of world revolntioniied by gun
ordnance, iL 135
Navigation, attempt to apply ealinio en-
gine to, L 207
INDBX.
851
NftTT, Anitriaa, Ornnm. ii 176 ; Btehund^
iLi76
Natt, Britbh, Xmp Aiofi, L 188, 156, 165 ;
iL dd; BeUeraphony u. 15. 67, TO, 91;
Black Prince, l 348; iL 16; Captain,
ii. lOa, 118 ; DefBnee, i 348 ; iL 17 ;
DeooMiation, ii. 107, 106, 158; Srebtu,
L 960 ; Impregnable, iL 61 ; InJUxibU,
iL 93, 170, 171; Lord Clyde, JL 79;
Oberon, iL 176 ; Plantagenet, ii. 151 ;
J2a<(i«r, L 164 ; Reeietanee, L 17, 348 ;
^oZ OoJb, i. 348; iL 17; Rityal Sov--
erHgn, iL 107, 108 ; Seorpioti, u. 107 ;
Tnror, L 360 ; Thunderer^ a 92, 107,
108; ThunderboU, L 360; Warrior, L
848, 375, 391 ; u. 4, 15, 16 ; Wyvem, iL
107; offio«ri of, mentioDed : Belcher,
Br Bdward, iL 183 : Beresford, Lord,
IL 164 ; CUfton, Rioluurd, L 168 ; Cook-
bam, Bir Ueorge, L 164; Golea, Ck>w-
per, iL 81, 108,109. 110, 111, 113. 118,
114, 118; DandoxuilcL Bad ot iL 113;
Hftj, Sir John, L 345; Hobart Puha,
iL 174 ; HoUoway, Admiral, iL 151 ;
Noble, Captain, iL 149 ; Parxr^ Sir R,
L 164 ; BoDinaon, Spenoer, iL 98 ; Roaa,
Sir John. L 41-48 ; Sooti, Captain, iL
148 111
1S%YJ, BritUh, a byword, iL 108: infla-
enced by Monitor idea, iL 81, 91 (see
Monitor)
Nary, Condfederate, oifioen and Tenelfl
mentioned: Alabama, L 800; ii. 100;
AlbemarU, iL 63, 88 ; Arkantae, iL 31,
63: Atlanta, ii. 59, 61, 63, 99; Brooke,
John M. , i. 246 ; Buchanan, Admiral, L
388; Chattahoochie, iL 63; Chieora,
IL 59 ; Florida, ii. 100 ; Jones, Catesby,
L 384, 286, 387, 800, 808 ; Louieiana,
u. 63; Iferrimae or Virginia, L 343,
346, 351, 371, 378, 287, S§9, 396, 399,
800, 801; u. 8, 4, 6, 10, 81, 44, &, 97,
306; MiuieHppi, iL 63; muhvUU, iL
58, 123 ; Palmetto State, iL 59 ; Porter,
J^n L., L 346, 287 ; Tennetsee. iL 51,
60, 63, 99; WiliiamM>n, W. P., L 346
Navy, Con^premional treatment of the^ L
178 ; extraordinary progress of, durmg
war, iL 18; intendea for fighting only,
iL89
Navy Departmentb dealings with, L 148,
148, 1457198, 335, 286^^ ; ii. 158; or-
ders ooncenung xemoval of Ericsson's
remains, iL 836, 837, 828, 888
Navy, French, Couronne^L 348:2>«va«-
tation, I 348; Innfincible, I 243; La
Oloire,l 348, 275; La Normandie, L
348; Lane. L 348; Pomone, L 188;
Ibnnante. I 348 ; Trehourt, iL 93
Navy, GenMn, BwtUUkJL 176
Navy, ItaWiL 158 ; Catena^ H 176 ;
DantMoTh, 107, 158, 171 ; DvHio, n.
98. 158; Halim, iL 158; Lepanto, IL
m; Re donatio, IL 11 ; Tripoli, L 176
Navy, South Ameiioan, Senuralda, iL
91; JSTiMnear, iL U, 178; Independ^
0nHa,iL U
Nayy, Spanish, offioers and Tesaebi men-
tioned: Aragon, Raphael de. iL 137,
183, 138; Arbor, Captain del, L 188;
l^Ooampo, Admir^, ii. 137, 183, 188 ;
Bodos, de, L 181 ; Tornado, ii. 146
NaTy, Swedish, John Erieeaon, a 76
Nayy of the United States, vessels men-
tioned : Athuelot, u. 78 ; Augutta, iL 78,
79; Brooklyn, il 51; CatekiU.iL 61;
CTUmOj iL i(f; Comafiche, ii. 19; Con-
Treat, uL 10 ; Cumberland, L 371, 380,
L 396 ; Kalamaxoo, il 91 ; Keokuk^ IL
63; Lehigh, ii. 6; Afadatoaeka (2V».
netaee) iL 44, 189. 190 ; Manhattan, iL
60: inantonomoh, ii. 73, 78, 79, 80, 91,
106 ; Minneeota, L 396 : IL 96 ; iftwifsip-
»i, L 343 ; Miaeouri, i. 348 ; Monadnoek^
u. 73, 91, 185; Moniauk, iL 6, 58, 60,
73 ; yantucket, iL 19, S38 ; JfaehviUe,
iL 99; Oeage, ii. 31 ; Patapeeo, iL 6,
60; Penguin, ii. 186; Sachem, L 279;
Sangamon, iL 6 : San Jacinto, L 168,
178; Saranac, L 163, 178; Sueque-
hcnna, i. 17S ; Tecunueh, iL 51 ; Tona-
wanda, ii. 72; Tuxit, u. 39, 80 ; Wam-
panoag, iL 187 ; Weehawken, ii. 19, 48,
59, 61, 63, 66. 67; Winn^ago, iL 51;
Torktown, L 296
Navy, United States, officers mentioned :
Ammen, D., iL 171; Braine, David L.,
iL 836, 327, 828 ; Campbell, Albert R,
L 280; Craven, Tonis A, iL 53; Dahl-
gren, John A.. L 389, 896, 399 ; iL 38.
47, 49, 136. 187 ; Davis, Charles H., L
346, ^ ; iL 63; Drayton, PerdvaL iL
69, 7^ 93 ; Dupont. S. F^L 163; iL 47,
59, 60, 64. 65: Erben, Henry, a 80;
Farragnt, D. O., L 878 ; IL 4< 58, 118 ;
Fiske. Bradley A , iL 153 ; Folger, WiU-
iam N., iL 185 ; Goldsborongh, L. IL, i.
208 ; Greene, S. D^ L 279, ^, 981, 282,
386, 390; iL 10; Gregory, F. fl., iL 36,
28, 39, 41, 188; Hands, R. W.. L 380;
Henderson, Alexander, iL 83: Hunter,
W. M., L 107 ; Isherwood, B. F., L 243 ;
iL 18, 73, 78, 187, 188, 189; Jaques,
William H., iL 170; Jeflfars, W. N,
iL 147, 157, 160, 161, 164, 167, 178 ;
Jones, FtraL iL 118 ; Keeler, W. F., L
280; King/J. W., iL 48 ; Lee, a P., ii.
38 ; Lenthal, John, iL 40 ; Ligne, Daniel
C, L 279; Luoe, S. B., L 343, 289;
Harston, John, L 379; Miller, J. W., L
139; Newton, Isaac, L 361, 279, 280,
286, 387, 290. 299 ; U. 94 ; Parker, Fox-
hall A, a 51 ; Peny, M. C, L 343 ;
Paulding, Hiiam, L 1^ 350, k», 379;
u. 14; Pook, S. H., L 848; Porter, D. D.,
a 68,68, 157, 167; Rhind, A C, a
62 ; Rodgers John, a 11, 17, 44, 61,
66, 67. 70. 144 ; Sands, J. R. L 190;
Sioard, Montgomery, a 167, 168;
Bimpaoa, Edward, a 146, 170; Smith,
36^
INDEX.
JoMph, L 198, 246, 860, 251, 258, 264,
271. 278, 274 ; ii 1, 2, 8, & 7, 48. 94 ;
Smith, jcweph B., i. 271 ; Boley, J. Bua-
eel, i. 276 ; u. 45 ; Stimera, Albui C,
i 266, 279. 280, 281, 282, 283, 287, 290,
295, 296, 298; ii. 8, 28, 26, 27, 29, 80,
88, 45, 65, 69; Stodder, L. N^ i 279,
280 ; Snnstriun, N. T., L 280 ; Wiae, H.
A., ii 140; Wood, W. W. W., ii 28;
Warden, John L.. i 288, 256, 279. 280,
282, ^, 286, 290, 295, 297, 299; ii
68^70
Naty Yards, IT. Sw, mentioned, i 208 ;
a 134,189
Neighbor! in Beaoh Street, ■greemente
^th, a 806, 807
Nentrality laws and Spanish gnn-boats,
ii 129, 180
New Orleans, captore of, planned by
Captain Fox, i 278
Newspapers, contributions to, i. 48, 191,
215 ; u. 157, 185, 277, 278, 298, 294^ 298,
817
Newton, Sir Isaac, and Briosson com-
pared, i 191 ; study of his works, i
223 ; his scientific theories defended,
ii 218, 279, 282, 283
New York Central Railroad uses caloric
engine, i 208
New Tork Harbor, plane for defending,
i297; ii 179
New York Legislature Totes thanks for
Monitor, i 2^
Nineteenth century, mechanical changes
in, ii 267
Nordmark^ Olof Ericsson's home, de-
scribed, L 1
Norfolk, proposition to capture with
Monitor, i 296
Norrland, midnight light of, ii. 289
Norse rovers, inheritance from, i 38
Northbrook, Lord, loses a son on H. M.
8. Captain, i 111
Northern lights, sonnet to, i. 82, 230
Norwegian monitors, ii 76
Novelty, canal boat, i 96
NoveUy, locomotive, preserved in British
Patent Office, i 103
Novelty Iron Works, N. Y., i 259
Nyar Daglijt Allehandra, ii 215
Obstruction remover, or " boot-jack,**
ii. 48, 49, 60
Ocean, neutralization of, projKieed, ii 88,
148
Odd Fellow membership, ii. 824
Odhner fiunily, ii. 223, 224, 228, 883, 886
Odin, colonises Scandinavia, i. 7
Offence and defence, factors of, in war, i
56
Office, ip^orant conceit of, i 26
Official mertia and prejudice, i 48 : ridi-
cule of Ericsson, i. 186 (see Naval Offi-
cers)
Ogden, Francis B., associations with
Ericsson, i 78, 91, 104, 144, 152; his
opinion of Sto^cton, i 161-158
Olsson, Jonas, watch presented to, ii 204
Omniscience aocepteo, but not omnipo-
tence, ii 249
Onff, Jesse, a claimant for invention of
the Borew, i 167
Opdyke, Mayor, asks plans for defenoe of
New York, i 297; if 179
Orders and decorations received, i 188,
184, 221 ; u. 138, 183; 197, 198
Ordnance, advanced view concerning, ii.
136-141 ; officers of, fear heavy guns, ii.
187, 283, 299; present and past of, ii
149 ; use of, by Confederates, ii 20 (see
Ouns)
Ordnanoe sense, lack of, in Monitor fight,
i285
Or^n, boundary difficulties of, 1862, i
OrMon gun, the, i 123, 180, 131; ii
OriginaUty of Ericsson's work, ii 886
Ostergotniand Fair awards prise to ca-
loric engine, i. 208
Overhang of Monitor, i. 263, 264, 268 ; ii
8, lOT^, 56, 56, 70 71, 93
Overruling Soricsson^s plans, reanlta of,
i28-3S
Owen's. Samuel, screw, i 167
Oxyhyarogen blow-pipe, i 210, 217
Pacifio Railroad solves Indian que»-
tion, U. 267
Fftixhan, (General H. J., invents shell-fir-
ing, i 248
Pakmgton, Sir John, ii. 104
Palmerston, Lord, ii 87
Paraguayan war, use of torpedoes in, ii.
151
Paris Exhibition, commissi onership of-
fered Ericsson, ii 196 ; report on mon-
itors, i 99
Parke, Baron, renews screw patent, i 172
Parrott, Robert C. testimony to Erica-
son's priority on nooped guns, ii 180
Ftbtents and patent fees, i 89, 40, 68, 70,
71, 72, 76, 78, 80, 81, 87, 88, 91, 92, 96,
97, 96, 99, 145, 146, 147, 156, 157, 169.
167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 176, 177, 188,
183, 188, 200, 201, 202, 206, 207, 210,
214, 220; ii 168, 241, 274; neglect of,
ii26l
Patent fees and professional aervioea,
distinction between, i 145, 146
Patent Office certifies to originality of
screw, i 168; British Patent Office
also gives credit for screw, i 102 ; asks
account of inventions, ii 80 ; has por-
trait by EUiott, ii. 240
Patent Office, Washington, burned, 1 168
Patents, aef usal to give opinion concern-
ing, ii. 240
Patent rights in Monitor, ii. 94
Patriotism and love of fatherland, i 276;
ii 19,22,120,124,227,228
Peace contributions^ ii. 88
Peace, demondiring influenoe of, on Navy^
i276
INDEX.
353
Peaemnaker gun, the. L 124, 180, 140, 206;
• bunting of, L 125-128, 140; letter oon-
oemlng, L 141.
Feirce, Professor Benjamin, opposes
granting Rumfoid prize, L 210
Peninsular A Oriental Ck>. and Monitor
▼entilation, fL 105
Fenn, John, englne-bu&der, it 106
Pents, Major, i. 20
Perkins, Thomas H., L 158
Perpetual motion, opinion of, L 71
Peruvian Qovemment wishes monitors,
IL 75; and destroyers, IL 172
Petition to Ck>ngre8S concerning the
PrineUon, L 145
Philadelphia Exposition, opinion of, IL 106
Philosophy, discussions of, L 228
Phoenix Foundry casts Frineetan gun, L
. 141
Physical principles, denial of, by sailors,
iL68
Physics, solar, study of, IL 277-801
Pickering, Charles, discusses grant of
Rumford prize, L 210
PUot-house of MonUor, I 262-263, 282
Pirating his Inventions, IL 225
Piranesl, dream of, IL 888
Pitt, Sir William. 11. 151
Flans, official interference with, L 286
Platen. Count Von, i. 12, 15, 10, 21, 22,
24; IL 156
Piatt, Senator, proposes remuneration for
Monitor, i. 06
Playfalr, Shr Lyon, IL 182
Plunging fire, effect upon monitors, U. 45
Poetry by Ericsson, L 82, 280
Pohl teaches Ericsson architectural draw-
ing. L 15
Polheim commences GOta Canal, L 12. 17
Political opinions, L 181, 228; naval
contracts affected by, IL 25, 26
Pollard's ** Secret History of the Confed*
eracy." L 801
Portraits of Ericsson, U. 228
Port Royal saved by Monitor, L 288
Port stopper of Monitor turret, IL 56, 57
PouUlet, C. Q. M., 11. 208, 204, 206
Powder charge, present and past, weight
of. 11. 140
Practteal men vs. party intrigues, iL 81
Price of Monitor, and profits on, L 260
Prices, advances of. on contract work dur-
ing Civil War. ii. 10
Prince de Joinville's oplnton of monitors
and battle-ships. IL 08
Poverty, dread of. IL 222
Princeton; the United States steamer, L
181, 140. 141, 142. 148. 146. 147. 155. 156.
284; IL 88. 145. 160. 185, 206. 258; ap-
plication of screw to, L 166; claim for
engineering services on, L 142. 148. 147,
140, 160, 178, 170. 250; confounds an-
tiquated dogmas, L 187; demonstration
of efficiency of screw dates from, L
170; correspondence concerning. L 110-
;128; deecrtbed by J. Q. Adams and
Stockton, L 125, 120; engines oC« L
Vol. II.— 23
110, 182, 226; exhibited at Washing-
ton,L 140; explosion on, L 125-128.140-
141 : first example of its type. L 151 ; first
monitor. L 180; foreign admiration of,
L 187; foundation of steam navies, L
140; praised by American Institute, L
188-184; races with steamer (Trscu IFeM-
<m, L 185; sensation produced by, 1.
188; Senator Mallory's speech concern-
ing. L 148-140; Stockton's report on, L
126, 120, 143-146
Priority in monitor Idea, claim to, IL 114-
117 (see also Coles, Cowper)
Privy Council, petition to. L 06
Procrastination of Naval Bureaux, IL 86
Proctor on lunar cold, 11. 206
Projectiles, present and past. 11. 184, 140
Propeller, early experiments with, L 87;
first introduced on Northern Lakes, L
152; success from start, L 155; ease of
fouling by obstructions. iL 40, 124 (see
Screw)
Prophecy of Lame Eric. L 6
Prosperity. L 188 (see Financial)
Providence, divine, Ericsson's belief In, L
247
Providential teaching in monitor expeii-
enoe, L 276; iL 4
Public opinion misled concerning Erics-
son, L 187
Pumping engines, 1. 80. 181, 182
Pyrometer, L 184-185; IL 288
Quarterly Journal of Science, The, iL 284
Quartermaster's Department, United
States Army, work done for. L 180
Queen's Privy Council, argument before
the, L 171
Radiant heat. law governing transmis-
sion of. IL 282. 288
Rafts, observation of, applied to MonU
tor, L 233. 262; 11. 77. 01; for destroy-
ing harbor obstructions, IL 48-50
Railways, early distrust of, L 50, 68;
modest expectations concerning, L 50,
51; Swedish, IL 208, traffic on, 1841
and 1880, L 65
Ralnhiil trial of first locomotives, 1. 53-
66, 70. 85. 154; IL 247. 828
Ram. steam, inefficiency of. IL 10, 171
Rankin, Joule, Napier, Regnault, Bar-
nard, Norton. L 218
Range, short, in naval warfare, iL 176
Rasl. Professor, teaches Ericsson chemis-
try, L 18
Rat-trap invented. 11. 806
Rawlins. John A.. Secretary of War, IL 180
R. B. Forbes tug-boat, the, L 168
Reed, Sir E. J., L 167; and the monitors,
11. 81. 82, 84. 01. 105, 106, 108 (see
Bourne)
Regenerative principle In caloric engine,
L 72. 76, 84. 185. 100, 105, 107, 100,
200, 206; belief of Faraday and others
in, 208, 210; Blemen's application of,
L 207, 208, 200; IL 266
354
INDEX.
BegDftult and Joule's tebles oomcted, L
211
ReJoiclngB at sucoen of Moniior, i. 280
Relations of Ericsson to his wife, ii. 219
ReliGS of Ericsson. U. 228
Religious belief, I. 247; iL 219, 224. 249-
257
Repeating rifle leoommended to Lincoln,
U. 34
Reporters, opinion of. iL 235
Ressel claims the invention of the screw,
L 97
Revenue marine service, work in conneo-
tion with, L 156. 158, 106. 180. 183
Revue de$ Deux Mondes quoted, li. 85
Richmond, excitement at, when MerrU
mac was destroyed, i. 301; iron-clad,
demonstrations against, i. 44
Rideau Canal, first propeller on, L 109
Riksdag, Swedish, votes thanks, iL 196,
204
Risley, Samuel, describes Ericsson, L
112
Rivals and imiutors. IL 104-119
Rivers affect rotation of earth, IL 263,
264, 265
B4>beri F. Stockton, the, L 87, 94, 95, 101,
102. 103. 155
Roberts, Marshall O.. L 160, 162
Robeson, Secretary George M., iL 100,
101. 161
Robespierre's death saves Admiral Du-
pont's grandfather, ii. 64
Robinson, George H., transfers Erics-
son's remains, ii. 329, 335
Rocket, Stephenson's locomotive, L 54, 55.
59. 60. 61. 64. 103
Rodman gun. the. L 130; 11. 140
Roe. Oaptain, runs the Iron Witch, L
160
Rolf the Ganger. L 6
Roll of monltora and broadsides com-
pared. iL 78. 79. 96. 97. 107
Rosen Von. Count. L 18. 39. '99. 138, 152,
172. 173; U. 89. 333
Ross. Sir John, quarrel with, 1. 41-43
Rotary engines, i. 68. 69, 81
Rowland. T. F.. L 251. 258. 259
Royal personages mentioned: Alfonso,
King of Spain, ii. 133; Austrian Em-
peror, IL 18; Charles XII. (of Sweden).
L 11; U. 227; Charles XV. (of Sweden).
L 87; ii. 76. 196; Comte de Paris. L
296; Constantine, ii. 76; Crown Prince
of Sweden, L 87; Cxar of Russia, 11. 14.
76, 257, 309; Duke of Edinburgh, ii.
84; Napoleon I.. L 24. 243; U. 258;
Oscar II. (of Sweden). L 195. 273; IL
172; Prince Albert. L 184; 11. 107. 108;
Prince of Wales, ii. 84. 106; Sultan of
Turkey, 11. 14; Vtotorla, Queen of
England, U. 14
Rudder, the balanced, L 37, 58. 174
Rumford prize, history of. L 217
Ruskln on the line of battle ship. 11. 86
RusseU, J. Scott, L 63, 170, 264; iL 15,
118
Russia, aggresstons of, IL 84, 121; moni-
tors and land turrets, ii. 76. 87, 178;
Swedish hostflity to, L 8, 172, 221, 240,
241, 244. 245
Rutherford's lunar photographs, iL 297
Sailob conservatism. iL 63. 86
Sandy Hook experiments, L 154, 274; tl.
134, 162
Salt, Ericsson and Siemens's attempts to
manufacture. 1. 70
Salt water for sea-board cities, L 162
Sargent, Epes, L 113, 291
Sargent. John O., L 103. 104, 111, 112, 118,
147. 160. 186, 187. 195, 196, 202, 220.
224. 237. 291; ii. 262
Savannah, first ocean steamer visita
Stockholm. 1. 40
Saw-mill and pump, the first invented, L
19, 20
St. Aubin opposes torpedoes, IL 152
St. John's Park, New York. IL 303
St. Vincent. Count, censures Pitt, ii. 151
Scandinavia desires Ericsson's services.
U. 210
Scandinavian origin of British dviliaa-
tion, L 1; spirit strong in Vermland,
L6
Scandinavian politics, opinions on, IL 248
Schleswig-Holstein war, IL 223
Schley, W. S., removes Ericsson's re-
mains, ii. 326, 829
Schuyler. Robert, L 147
Scientific American, The, L 191; IL 807
Scientific apparatus, ii. 296; artkdes in
Engineering and Nature, 11. 277, 278;
investigations and theories, iL 262-289;
opponents, ii. 232
Scott. General Wlnfield, L 259
Scottish ancestors, L 4
Scourge, screw applied to, L 166
Screw, advantages of. ii. 154; Admiralty
hostmty to, 1. 89, 90, 96, 138, 139. 164;
ii. 176; adoption of. recommended by
Brunei, L 163; affidavit as to priority,
1. 98; applied to commercial vessels, I.
96, 155-166; iL 12, 183; to war vessels,
L 117-139; authorities giving priority
to Ericsson. L 170; claimants to. L 171,
172; cost of Introducing. L 171; early
studies in. 1. 98: effect on steam navi-
gation, 1. 174; first used in China, L
173; obstinate depreciation of, II. 302;
patent charges on, L 169; successful
application of twin screws. IL 132
Scribner'e Magazine, article In, on Erics-
son, ii. 245
Sea-going properties of monitors, IL 78,
81, 91. 93 (see Monitor)
Sebastopol. naval attack upon. L 244, 275
Secchi. Father, controversy with, iL 214,
282, 286, 289
Second Street Cemetery, ii. 328
Secretary of Navy. Ericsson as, L 270
Seldler. Charles. L 39. 82
Selfridge Board oommenda Drntrotftt^
IL167
INDEX.
355
Bemi-rotary engines, i. 80, 81
Sermon on Mount, Ericsson's creed, il. 253
Seventh N. Y. Regiment on caloric ship,
i. 197
Seward, W. H., 1. 249. 288; IL 5, 75
Sewing machines, caloric engine applied
to, i. 204
Sharp-shooters, Ck>nlederate, assault U. S.
vessels, IL 20
Shell firing, destructive effect of, 1. 244,
276
Sheriff sells Ericsson family furniture,
i. 8
Ships of the line, ii. 86, 87
Ships of war, past and future of, ii. 108
Shoeburyness trial of 15-inch gun, ii. 188
Shots fired by Monitor against Merrimac,
L 280; rolled out of guns of broadside
vessels, U. 79; striking monitors during
war, IL 60, 61
Siemens, Si. W., i. 207-210; U. 208
Sight-holes of the Monitor, I 282
Simplicity, value of, in war, ii 184
Sinope, Turkish fleet destroyed at. i. 244
Slavery, hostility to, i. 241; Europe favors
it, il. 87; destroyed by Monitor, ii. 219
Smaller states, defence of. iL 76
Smith, Francis P., and his screw, L 88,
171
Smith, Elrby, surrender of, iL 48
Smith. Sir Skiney, ii. 151
Smoke-Jack illustrates hot-air principle,
i. 71; compounded with screw, L 174
Smoke-stack, discarded, i. 132
Societies honoring Ericsson, ii. 197, 198,
199. 200
Societies mentioned, American Academy
of Arts and Sciences, 1. 218; ii 200,
260, 299; American Institute, i 133,
134, 142; Art Society of London, ii.
240;. Franklin Institute, i 186; 11. 197;
Institution of Civil Engineers, London,
i 34, 212; ii. 107; Italian Royal Acad-
emy of Sciences, ii. 279; Mechanics
Institute, i 106: National Academy of
Sciences, U. 199. 277; Naval Archi-
tects' Institute, ii. 183; Swedish Royal
Academy of Sciences, i 184; Swedish
Royal Military Academy of Sciences, i
184; Royal Society, London, ii. 277,
284.
Solar engine, ii. 320 (see Sun Motors)
Solar physics, study of. ii. 214, 222, 262-
289, 301 (see Sun and Moon)
Soldier, the professional, a peace-advo-
cate, ii. 150
Somerset, Duke of, ii 6
Sounding instrument, i 76; ii 74
South America, solar engine used in, ii
276
Spain, threat of war with, U. 100, 101;
gun-boats built for, ii. 128-133
Spanish, Ericsson's knowledge of, Ii
224
Speeches of Ericsson, 1. 194, 295
Spirit of our times too utilitarian, ii 195
Stanley* Dean. ii. 337
State Department arranges for return of
Ericsson's remains, ii. 325
Stadlg. Magnus, ii. 936
Stability of Monitor, i 267; ii 68 (see
Monitor)
Stage coaches, speed of, i 49
Stanley. H. M.. ii. 270
Stanton, E. M.. i 288, 300
Steam, applications of, i. 39, 68, 85; dy-
namic energy fully utilized, U. 192;
improvement in its application, ii. 182;
Influences on naval character, ii. 89;
pressures in Watt's time, 1. 76; supe-
rior to hot air. i 98; used ezpansivdy,
i 161; ii. 190. 191
Steam-blast, early use of, i 55
Steam-engine, efforts to supersede, i 40,
71; demoralizing influence of, i 215;
statistics of, i 211; to be superseded,
i 201. 207
Steam fire-engine, i 44-48; opposition
to, i 47. 106, 107
Steam fleet of Great Britain in 1826, i 40
Steam machinery, rapid improvement of,
ii 182
Steamer, naval, offer to buUd one in eight
months ridiculed, i 237
Steamer, paddle-wheel, not able to com-
pete with sails, i 98
Steam-pumps invented, i 68
Steam-wheel invention, i 68
Stedman, E. C. quoted, ii 837
Steel for guns, ii 141
Steering gear, importance of protecting,
ti. 11
Stellar heat and radiation, Ii 206
Stephenson, Gleorge L., gains prise in
Rainhill contest, i 40, 52-58; ii. 208;
Ericsson's opinion of, i 58. 154
Sterling's hot-air engine, i 72, 213
Stevens family, i 151-154, 244; ii. 116,
208
Stewed engine-wheels as an article of
diet, i 52
Stockholm museum, il. 308. 309
Stockton. Robert F., 1. 93-95. 131; ii 116;
acknowledges Princeton claim, i 206;
as a duellist, i 152; correspondence
with, concerning claim, 119-121; Erics-
son's opinion, 1. 151; first acquaintance,
i 92, 144; injured by Peacemaker ex-
plosion, i 126-128; introduces screw
to war vessels, i. 93, 103, 105. 117. 144;
misunderstanding with, and hostility to
Ericsson, i. 107-109. 128. 130. 140-145,
152. 157. 160; praises Ericsson, i 118;
takes all credit for Princeton, i 120. 148
Stockton, R, F., first screw tug. 1. 94, 95,
99. 100, 101, 102, 103, 109; ii. 185j
engines of. i 133
Story, Judge, on enforcing claims against
government. 1. 150
Stoughton. E. W.. i 199. 206, 220. 313;
11. 243; buys interest in caloric patents,
1. 188
Stove, a single one might beat New York
City, 11. 293
356
INDEX.
Strength of materials, study of. i. 134
StridsbOn, sung at Ericsson's funeral, U.
828
Sub-aquatic attack. U. 237. 240; ii. 88.
116, 148. 154, 165. 163. 173. 177
Submerged propellers, early experiments
with. i. 87, 98
Submerged vessel-naval, conditions of,
i. 261; stability of, li. 71 (see Afrni-
iior)
Summer recreations, ii. 300, 310
Sumner. Charles, senator, i. 130
Sumptuary laws, Ericsson's opinion of, 11.
311
Sumter, Fort, attack on. 1. 234; ii. 42, 47
Sun, the, depth of its atmosphere, ii. 283;
circulatory movement in, ii. 287; dy-
namic energy, ii. 281 ; effort to store up
its power, 11. 272; measurement of its
light, ii. 287; rays retarded by our at-
mosphere, ii. 286; radiation from, 11.
263, 266, 287, 292-206; spoU on, ii. 281 ;
temperature of, ii. 262. 266, 269, 280,
285. 280, 200-204; yearly shrinkage of,
11. 280
Sun motors Invented, ii. 221, 265, 267,
268. 260, 270, 272, 273, 277, 320; nearer
perfect than steam-engine. 11. 276.
Superheating, condensing steam-engine,
1.76
Superheating steam, early use of. i. 183
Surface condensation. 1. 210, 211, 227; ii.
22; first applied to steam-engine, 1. 41.
183; its value, i. 42, 211; novel use of.
ii. 120
Surgeon-General's report on healthful-
ness of monitors, ii. 65
Swedenborg commences GOta Canal, i. 11;
quoted, ii. 157
Sweden, defence of. i. 240; 11. 213; de-
scribed. 1. 2, 5. 6, 21, 22, 28; famine in,
11. 228. 220; future of. 11. 121; indus-
trial exposition in, 11. 104; Jealousy of
functionaries of. 11. 124; letters of King
Oscar, li. 105. 180. 273; land turrets
for. ii. 178; love of and gifts to, ii. 76.
120, 121, 122, 125, 127; lying allega-
tions of papers of, ii. 126; monitors
for, 11. 76. 120. 121. 185; poverty of, 1.
21; pride of, in Ericsson, 11. 124, 201;
Riksdag of, votes him thanks, ii. 106;
threatened by Russia, 1. 240; ii. 121
Sweden, intention to return to. 11. 320
Swedes, as soldiers, ii. 121; built and
fought the Monitor, 11. 280; humane
customs of, ii. 220; love of strong
drink, 1. 85; their applications for
charity. 11. 231, 232
Swedish books never read. 1. 224; letters
translated from, 11. 250; peasantry de-
scribed. 1. 3; U. 122; drinking habits,
ii. 311; Government asks for Ericsson's
remains, 11. 326; railways built by Nils
Ericsspn. ii. 208. 200
Swlnton's account of Monitor, 1. 301
Bymonds, Sir William, eariy objections
to screw, L 00, 164, 170
Talent as distinguished from genhiB, IL
336
Target exhibitions, uselessness of, U. 141
Taylor, President, opinion of, L 181
Taylor, Samuel W., IL 230, 245, 315, 888-
336
Tegnier, poet of Verxnland, IL 810
Telegraph. Atlantic, invests in, i. 810
Telford, Thomas, influence on Erlcaaon's
career, 1. 12
Tellier's solar motor, IL 268
Temperature of the sun (see Sun)
Temperance habits, i. 85; IL 880
Temperatures, artificial methods of iiieft»-
uring, L 185
Tennyson, Lord, quoted, 11. 257
Thanks, legislative, voted to Ericason, L
200, 204
Thanksgiving, observance of, L 221
Thayer, John E., invests in Iran Witch,
I. 160
Theatre, Ericsson's Interest in, L 228
Thermometer, Inaccuracies of, iL 200, 201,
202
Theslger, Sir F., before Privy Oouncil, L
171
Thierry's cast-iron guns, ii. 186
Thiers's opposition to railroads, L 66
Thomas, W. N., Jr.. transfers ErilOBSon's
remains to Swedish Government, 11. 830
Thompson. Benjamin, Count Rumford,
L 217; IL 260, 261
Thomson, Sir WlUlam, L 76, 207
Thule. location of. L 2
Tklal action, study of, 11. 264
Tlmby, T. R.. U. 114, 115
Times, the London, on monitors, IL 68,
84, 85, 107. 113; letter to, on labor-fl»T-
ing machines, L 215
Toombs. Robert. 11. 117
Toronto, packet-ship, towed by flist
screw vessel. L 80. 00
Torpedo boats. 11. 87, 106, 170; unrelia-
ble, ii. 174, 175
Torpedo guard devised, iL 174
Torpedoes, armor-clads food for, tt. 154;
cable, 11. 156-162, 172; Colt's, IL 155;
effects of. ii. 151; for clearing chan-
nels, ii. 40; for war, 11. 00, 124; Ful-
ton's, 11. 150; locomotive, ii. 153, 154,
157. 164, 174; professional hostility to,
ii. 152; sink monitor Tecunueh, 11. 52;
stationary, 11. 102, 125, 171, 174; Jef-
fers's (Commodore) opinion of, IL 160
Tramways, first employment of, i. 50
Torpedo projectile carrying dynamite, IL
162
Trafalgar, guns used at, 11. 140
Trans-caucaslan railroad, 11. 257
Treadwell, Professor Daniel, L 218; H.
260. 262
Treasury Department, work for, L 180, 182
Tredegar foundry, armors Merrimae, L 246
Troy, steamer, beaten by Iron Witch, L 160
Tryggve-son, Hercules of the North, L 26
Tschlmhauser, experiments with ooDcavf
mirrors, iL 271