Morgan Iron Works

Last updated
Morgan Iron Works
TypePrivate
IndustryManufacturing
PredecessorT. F. Secor & Co.
Founded1838
Founders
Defunct1907
FateSold
Headquarters
New York
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
T. F. Secor, Charles Morgan, George W. Quintard; later John Roach and his sons John Baker and Stephen Roach
Products Marine steam engines
ServicesShip repair
Total assets $450,000 (1867)
Owner
  • T. F. Secor, W. K. Caulkin and Charles Morgan (1838-1850)
  • Charles Morgan (1850-1867)
  • John Roach & Sons (1867-1907)
Number of employees
1,000 (1865)

The Morgan Iron Works was a 19th-century manufacturing plant for marine steam engines located in New York City, United States. Founded as T. F. Secor & Co. in 1838, the plant was later taken over and renamed by one of its original investors, Charles Morgan.

Contents

The Morgan Iron Works remained a leading manufacturer of marine engines throughout the 19th century, producing at least 144 in the period between 1838 and 1867, including 23 for U.S. Navy vessels during the American Civil War.

The Morgan Iron Works was sold to shipbuilder John Roach in 1867, who integrated its operations with his shipyard in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Works continued to operate as both an engine plant and a ship repair facility in the hands of Roach and his son John Baker Roach until 1907, when the Roach family finally retired from the shipbuilding business.

Secor & Co., 1838–1850

The marine engine works of T. F. Secor and Co. was originally established in New York City, at Ninth Street, East River, in 1838. The works was at this time owned by three partners— T. F. Secor, William K. Caulkin [1] and budding transport entrepreneur Charles Morgan, each of whom had one-third ownership of the new firm. [2]

In 1845, the U.S. Congress made a number of legislative changes, including the establishment of subsidies, which were aimed at allowing American shipping lines to compete more effectively with their British counterparts. The new legislation contributed to a growing demand in the United States for steamships, encouraging Morgan to divest himself of the last of his shares in sailing vessels and plough the money instead into the Secor plant, [3] which was expanded to include one and a half blocks between Eight and Tenth Streets. By this time, the plant employed up to 700 men, and was building engines for both coastal and oceangoing steamships. [4]

Morgan/Quintard ownership, 1850–1867

In 1847, Morgan appointed his son-in-law, George W. Quintard, to the financial department of Secor & Co. Quintard proved a capable manager and rose quickly in the firm. Morgan bought out the other partners in February 1850 and renamed the firm the Morgan Iron Works. Quintard became the plant's new manager, a position he was to retain until the sale of the firm to John Roach in 1867. Morgan, now the plant's sole owner, was the firm's financier, supplying its capital and credit. [5]

The only variation to this arrangement occurred between May 1, 1857 to May 1, 1861, when Morgan's other son-in-law, Charles A. Whitney, joined the firm as co-manager. During this period, Morgan conveyed the Works to the ownership of Quintard and Whitney for the sum of $250,000 (equivalent to $7,851,786in 2022), giving Whitney a one-third stake in the company and Quintard the remainder. The two manager-owners took out a $67,000 mortgage (equivalent to $2,182,215in 2022) on the property to raise operating capital. After Whitney left the firm to pursue other business interests, Morgan returned as sole owner, purchasing the business for its sale price of $250,000 as of a few years prior, and settling the mortgage himself. [5]

1850s

Following the Morgan takeover in 1850, Quintard embarked on an extensive improvement program for the Works, installing steam hammers, a floating steam derrick and other heavy equipment, as well as building a new dockyard on the East River. Quintard also began diversifying the firm's products, manufacturing machinery for Cuban sugar mills and large pumps for a Chicago water company. [6]

By this time, Morgan himself, whose transportation business was steadily expanding, had become the plant's main customer. [7] In 1850, Morgan ordered the 1,875 ton steamer San Francisco and the 1,359 ton Brother Jonathan, both built for operation with Morgan's Empire City Line. [8] In 1852, he decided to replace some of his older ships, and ordered Texas (1,151 tons), Louisiana (1,056 t), Mexico (1,043 t), Perseverance (827 t) and Meteor (542 t) all of which had engines built by the Morgan Iron Works. [9]

In the same period, Morgan lost to accidents four of his existing ships: Palmetto, Globe, Galveston and the newly built Meteor, with a total value of $250,000. As all four ships had been self-insured in line with Morgan's usual practice, none of the losses were recoverable. Morgan was by this time wealthy enough to be able to absorb the losses however, and in the following two years he had another four vessels built, including Charles Morgan (1,215 tons), Nautilus (898 t), Orizaba (734 t) and Tennessee (1,149 t), all but the last of which also had their engines supplied by the Morgan Works. [9]

The Morgan Iron Works secured its first naval contract on October 28, 1858, for a steam sloop-of-war, the USS Seminole. The contract was met with charges of favoritism from Republicans, and in a subsequent Congressional enquiry, Quintard pointed out that the Works had bid for a number of navy contracts previously but never been successful. The inquiry ultimately rejected the charges. [10]

By the end of the decade, the Morgan Works was one of America's leading manufacturers of marine steam engines, specializing in medium-sized machinery for coastal and river service. From 1850 through 1860, the Works built engines for a total of 49 vessels, and its engines were in use with American steamship companies from the United States to as far afield as China. [11]

American Civil War, 1861–65

Steam sloop-of-war USS Wachusett Wachusett.jpg
Steam sloop-of-war USS Wachusett

The American Civil War began disastrously for Charles Morgan when the Confederacy seized his entire Gulf of Mexico fleet. In spite of this blow however, Morgan was to recover and profit handsomely from the war, mainly through the agency of the Morgan Iron Works. [11]

The war created great demand for new shipping, and shipyards and engine manufacturers alike experienced an unprecedented boom. Like many other builders of marine engines, the Morgan Iron Works was to take full advantage of this demand, building engines for 38 vessels during the war, including 23 merchantmen and 13 warships for the U.S. Navy. The plant even found time to turn out an engine for an Italian Navy warship in this period, [11] the Re Don Luige de Portogallo. [12] U.S. Navy warships fitted with Morgan Iron Works engines included USS Ticonderoga, USS Ascutney, USS Wachusett and the experimental high-speed warship USS Ammonoosuc. The Works also contracted for the complete construction of the monitor USS Onondaga, although the hull was subcontracted out to another firm. [12]

By the end of the war, the Morgan Works had grossed $2,275,991.10 (equivalent to $43,511,012in 2022) from its naval contracts alone. [12] Morgan himself made further profits during the war by ordering ships from Harlan & Hollingsworth, which he then sold or chartered to the U.S. Navy. [11]

Sale to John Roach, 1867

After the war, the U.S. government auctioned off at firesale prices the hundreds of ships it had requisitioned during the conflict, depressing the market and leaving U.S. shipyards and marine engine builders with little or no work. As a consequence, most of the marine engine manufacturing companies of New York went out of business in the years immediately following the war. [13] Two notable exceptions were the Morgan Iron Works, and the Etna Iron Works of John Roach.

Unlike his competitors, John Roach had been able to maintain his profits in the postwar period by diversifying his plant into the manufacture of machine tools and selling them to the U.S. Navy, which was in the process of upgrading its shipyards. By contrast, the Morgan Iron Works, like most other New York engine builders, had struggled in the postwar period, building only two engines in the two years following the war. [6] It remained in business only because Morgan could afford to weather the losses, but in 1866 he suffered an additional financial setback when his newly established shipping lines to Mexico were aborted due to the overthrow of Maximilian I of Mexico. [13]

John Roach meanwhile was planning to add shipbuilding to his engine building business, and he saw the Morgan Iron Works with its dockyard on the East River as a stepping stone toward this goal. [14] When in 1867 he offered to purchase the Morgan Works, Morgan was ready to sell, and the two agreed upon a price of $450,000 (equivalent to $9,422,143in 2022), divided into a cash payment of $100,000 and two mortgages of $100,000 and $250,000. [13] [15] Roach would soon run into cash flow problems of his own and consequently defaulted on both mortgages; Morgan however chose not to foreclose and Roach settled the debts shortly before Morgan's death in 1878. [13]

Roach ownership, 1867–1907

USS Dolphin, focus of a bitter political battle between John Roach and the U.S. Navy USS Dolphin PG-24.jpg
USS Dolphin, focus of a bitter political battle between John Roach and the U.S. Navy

By securing the premises of the Morgan Iron Works and buying out his remaining competitors, Roach had established a near ship and engine building monopoly in New York. [13] He subsequently closed his Etna Iron Works, transferring the best personnel and equipment from Etna and his former competitors' premises to his newly acquired East River property, and thus turned the Morgan Works into America's premier manufacturer of marine steam engines. [16]

In 1871, Roach bought the failed shipyard of Reaney, Son & Archbold in Chester, Pennsylvania, [17] thoroughly modernized it, renamed it the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, [18] and turned it into America's largest and most prolific shipyard, a position it maintained until the mid-1880s. [19] In spite of the fact that the Chester shipyard had its own engine building plant, Roach retained ownership of the Morgan Iron Works, using it to build engines both for his own ships and for third party contracts, and also for ship repairs and outfitting of new vessels. Roach in fact expanded the Works for its new role, adding upholsterers for the production of ship's furniture and expanding the plumbing department. [20] Additionally, he was able to use the Morgan Works to keep his business running during industrial action, when he would simply transfer his operations from one yard to the other. He retained the name of the Morgan Iron Works, but made it a subsidiary of a new management company, John Roach & Son (later John Roach & Sons). [21]

After a costly political battle over a naval contract for the USS Dolphin in 1885, Roach, by now a terminally ill old man, retired and placed his business empire into receivership. [22] Following the settlement of all his debts however, his family found themselves still in possession of both the Chester shipyard and the Morgan Iron Works. Roach's oldest surviving son, John Baker Roach, took over running of the business as a whole, while his younger son Stephen became treasurer of the Morgan Works. [23]

The brothers continued to run the business much as their father had done, although it lost the pre-eminent position it had previously enjoyed. With the death of John Baker Roach in 1908, the Roach family decided to end its association with shipbuilding, and both the Morgan Iron Works and the Chester shipyard were closed. [24] The Morgan Works was converted into tenements, and in 1949, the locality where the Works had once stood was redeveloped into a low-rental housing project, the Jacob Riis Houses, which still exists today. [25]

Production tables

The following tables list marine engines built by T. F. Secor & Co. and the Morgan Iron Works to 1867. Few engines built under Roach management are listed as Roach had a second marine engine facility at Chester, Pennsylvania and available records generally do not distinguish between the output of the two plants.

Where a ship had more than one name, the names are listed chronologically in descending order, with two digits representing the last two digits of the year the rename took place (where known). Ship names in small type preceded or followed by an arrow (← →) indicate that the engine for this vessel was used in another ship.

Merchant steamship and steamboat engines

Merchant steamship engines built by T. F. Secor & Co. (1838–1850) and the Morgan Iron Works (Morgan/Quintard management, 1850–1867) [lower-alpha 1]
ShipEngine(s)Ship notes/references
Name [lower-alpha 2] Yr [lower-alpha 3] BuilderTon [lower-alpha 4] Owner [lower-alpha 5] Tp [lower-alpha 6] No [lower-alpha 7] Cyl [lower-alpha 8] Str [lower-alpha 9]
Savannah1838305Troy LineVB [26] [27]
Troy1840William Capes724Troy LineHB24410 [26] [28]
Empire1843William H. Brown936Troy LineHB24812 [26] [28]
Atlantic1846Bishop & Simonson1112Norwich & New London SBCVB17211 [26] [29]
John Stevens1846 Robert L. Stevens 686Camden & Amboy RRCST1758 [26] Early iron-hulled steamboat [30] [31]
Perry1846Devine Burtis255VB1369 [26]
Thomas Powell1846Lawrence & Sneden585Thomas Powell et alVB14811 [26] Broken up, Port Ewen, 1881. [32]
T. F. Secor1846Menemon Sanford210Menemon SanfordVB [26] [33]
Antelope1847Bishop & Simonson425VB [26] "New York owners" [34]
New Orleans1847William H. Brown869 Charles Morgan VB15511 [35]
Crescent City1848William H. Brown1289Charles MorganSL1809 [36]
New World1848William H. Brown1312Isaac NewtonVB17615 [37] [38]
Ontario1848Merrick832American SBCVB15011 [26] [39]
Queen City1848Bidwell & Banta906Charles M. ReedCH [26] [40]
United States1848 William H. Webb 1875Charles H. Marshall et alSL2809 [26] Early American transatlantic steamship [41]
Connecticut1848Lawrence & Sneden1129Curtis PeckVB17212 [26] [42]
Empire City1849William H. Brown1751Charles MorganSL1759 [26] [43]
Georgia1849 Smith & Dimon 2727U.S. Mail SSCSL2908 [26] [44]
Goliah 1849William H. Webb333 Cornelius Vanderbilt VB1508 [26] NY tug; later a passenger steamer on the Pacific Coast [45]
Ocean1849M. Sanford658Menemon Sanford et alVB14811 [26] [lower-alpha 10]
Ohio1849Bishop & Simonson2432U.S. Mail SSCSL2908 [26] [47]
1849 J. A. Westervelt 436William SkiddySL2 [26] Sent to California, later the U.S. Coast Survey ship Active [48]
Boston1850William H. Brown630Menemon SanfordVB14411 [26] Last engine built by T. F. Secor & Co. New England passenger steamer, later USN Civil War transport; sunk by enemy fire, 1864 [49]
Louisiana1850 Westervelt & Mackay 1056 Charles Morgan VB15610 [26] First engine built by the Morgan Iron Works. [50] Vessel burned and sank Galveston Bay 1857, 30-60 killed [51]
Prometheus1850J. Simonson1207 Cornelius Vanderbilt VB24210 [26] First oceangoing steamship fitted with walking beam engine [52]
  • Reindeer
  • →Perseverance
1850Thomas Collyer790New Brunswick SBCVB15612 [26] Sunk by boiler explosion and fire, Hudson R., 1852; 36 killed [53]
St. Lawrence1850William Collyer588VB14411 [26] [54]
Brother Jonathan1851Perine, Patterson & Stack1359Edward MillsVB17211 [55] Struck and sank off Crescent City, CA, 1865; 221 killed [56]
1851William Collyer1043Charles MorganVB15610 [57] USN gunboat, 1862–65. [58] Sold foreign, 1870. [59]
North American1851Lawrence & Sneden1440Cornelius VanderbiltVB16012Sunk, 1852. [60]
Roanoke1851Westervelt & Mackay1071New York & Virginia SSCVB24210 [55] Seized by Confederacy and burned, 1864. [61]
Winfield Scott1851Westervelt & Mackay1291Davis, Brooks & CoSL2668 [55] Struck and sank off Anacapa Island, CA, 1853 [62]
  • City of Hartford
  • Capitol City82
1852Samuel Sneden814Hartford & New York SBCVB16012 [55] Run aground and wrecked in Long Island Sound, 1888 [63]
  • Saratoga
  • Cortes52
1852Westervelt & Mackay1117Davis, Brooks & CoVB24210 [55] Destroyed by fire, Shanghai, China, 1865 [64]
Northern Indiana1852Bidwell & Banta1475 Michigan Southern RRC VB17212 [55] Destroyed by fire 1856; 56 killed [65]
  • ←Reindeer50
  • Perseverance
1852J. A. Westervelt827Charles MorganVB15612Destroyed by fire at Indianola, Texas, 1856 [66] [67]
  • Texas
  • Quartz Rock52
  • Sierra Nevada52
1852William Collyer1246Empire City Line [55] Grounded and wrecked off San Simeon, CA, 1869 [68]
  • Southern Michigan
  • →Thomas Cornell
1852Bidwell & Banta1470Michigan Southern RRCVB17212 [55] Laid up, 1857; scrapped 1863 [69]
  • Crescent City
  • →Morning Star
1853Vincent Bidwell1746Dean Richmond et alVB18012 [55] Laid up, 1857; scrapped 1863 [70]
1853 William H. Webb 2141U.S. Mail SSCO26510 [55] Foundered and sank in hurricane; 420 killed [71]
  • Golden Age
  • Hiroshima Maru75
1853William H. Brown2281New York & Australia SNCVB18312 [55] In service until about 1890 [72]
Granite State1853Samuel Sneden887 Chester W. Chapin VB15212 [55] Destroyed by fire, 1883 [73]
1853 J. A. Westervelt 1300NY & Virginia SSCVB24010 [55] Sunk by the Confederacy to make an obstruction in the James River, 1862 [74]
Josephine1853552VB24014 [55]
San Francisco1853William H. Webb2272 Pacific Mail SSC O2658 [55] Scuttled after engine failure during storm on maiden voyage, 1854; 195 killed [75]
1854Westervelt & Son1215Charles MorganVB16011 [55] Exploded during Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 1862 [76]
Nautilus1854898Charles MorganVB14411Wrecked on Last Island, LA in hurricane, 1856; 20 killed [77]
Orizaba1854J. A. Westervelt1335Charles MorganVB16511 [55] Scrapped, 1887 [78]
Sonora1854J. A. Westervelt1616Pacific Mail SSCVB25010 [55] Scrapped, 1868 [79]
St. Louis1854J. A. Westervelt1621Pacific Mail SSCVB25010 [55] Dismantled at Panama, 1878 [80]
Commonwealth 1855 Lawrence & Foulks 1732Norwich & New London SBCVB17612 [55] Destroyed by fire at Groton, CT, 1865 [81] "[T]he great boat of Long Island Sound in the '50s." [81]
Island Home1855E. S. Whitlock481Nantucket & Cape Cod SBCVB24011 [55] Converted to barge, 1896–97; sunk in NY Harbor, 1902 [82] [83]
Christoval Colon1856Sneden & Whitlock450VB14810 [55] Built for Cuban service [84]
1856Sneden & Whitlock406"Capt. Coxatter"O1328 [55] Built for Florida service [85] [86] before conversion to gunboat. Foundered in bad weather, 1863. [87]
Fulton1856 Smith & Dimon 2307Havre LineO26510 [55] Scrapped, 1870 [88]
Eastern Queen1857John Englis695VB14811 [55]
Independence1857Samuel Sneden354Capt. Ezra NyeVB2328 [55] "[F]or towing in the harbor of Valparaiso, S. A."
Yangtsze1857Thomas Collyer1003Russell & CoO2388 [55] Built for Chinese service; employed in the opium trade [89]
  • City of Buffalo
  • →Morro Castle63
1857Bidwell & Banta2026Michigan Southern RRCVB17612 [55] Laid up, 1857–63; bulk freight carrier, 1864; tow barge, 1866; abandoned 1875 [90]
1858J. A. Westervelt817H. B. Cromwell & CoV1564 [55] Destroyed by fire, 1877 [91] [92]
1858J. A. Westervelt787H. B. Cromwell & CoV1564 [55] Sunk in collision, 1877; 13 killed [93]
Ocean Queen1858J. A. Westervelt2801Morgan & GarrisonVB19012 [55] Scrapped, 1875 [94]
Alabama1859Samuel Sneden510VB15010 [55] [95]
De Soto 1859Lawrence & Foulks1600Livingston, Crocheron & CoVB16511 [96] USN gunboat, 1861-68. Destroyed by fire S. of New Orleans, 1870
John Brooks1859Samuel Sneden780Naugatuck TCVB15612 [96] Broken up about 1897 [97]
Peiho1859Thomas Collyer1113Russell & CoO1528 [96] Built for China service [98]
White Cloud1859Thomas Collyer520VB14410 [96] Built for China service [98]
1859William H. Webb1403NY & Virginia SSCVB15010 [96] Burned and scuttled by Confederacy to prevent capture, James River, 1865 [lower-alpha 11]
Bienville 1860Lawrence & Foulks1558Livingston, Crocheron & CoVB16811 [96] USN gunboat, 1861-65. Destroyed by fire at sea off Bahamas, 1872; 41 killed
Flushing1860Samuel Sneden333VB13610 [95] [96]
1860J. A. Westervelt1517Spofford, Tileston & CoVB17112 [96] Laid up, 1885; disappears from registers 1891 [100]
Peruano1860J. A. Westervelt570VB14411 [96]
  • William G. Hewes
  • Ella and Annie62
  • USS Malvern 63
  • William G. Hewes65
1860 Harlan & Hollingsworth 747Charles MorganVB15011 [96] Wrecked on Colorado Reef off coast of Cuba, 1895 [101]
Zouave1860John Englis750VB15011 [96]
Continental1861Samuel Sneden686New Haven SBCVB17011 [96] Barge, 1902; later broken up [102]
  • Cosmopolitan
  • Havana
  • Paul Koch
  • Edmund Butler
1861John Englis774Sanford's Independent LineVB15011 [96] Still in service 1903 [103]
Hankow1861Thomas Collyer725VB14812 [96] Chinese service [98]
  • Mary Benton
  • Walter Brett66
1861G.E. & W.H. Goodspeed365Hartford & Long Island SBCVB14410 [96] Scrapped, 1897 [104]
New Brunswick1861John Englis804Portland SPCVB14811 [96] [105]
1861William H. Webb2150NY & Savannah SNCVB18011 [96] Laid up, 1875; presumed scrapped [106]
Chekiang1862Henry Steers1264VB17011 [96] China service. Destroyed by fire at Hankow, 1865 [107]
Fohkien1862Henry Steers1947J. M. ForbesVB18112 [96] Reconditioned engine originally from St. Lawrence. Fast passage to China, 1863. Struck and sank off Chinese coast, 1865 [108] [109]
  • New England
  • City of Portland72
1862John Englis852International SSCVB15211 [96] Ran aground and wrecked, 1884 [110]
  • ←Crescent City53
  • Morning Star
1863Roosevelt & Joyce2022New York Mail SSCVB18012 [96] Laid up 1867; broken up 1872 [111]
Western Metropolis1863F. D. Tucker2269L. BrownVB17412 [96] Built for transatlantic service. Converted to sail, 1878 [lower-alpha 12]
Gen. J. K. Barnes1864Lawrence & Foulks1365Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB16010 [96] Sank in hurricane, 1878 [114]
  • Retribution
  • Golden Rule63
1863Henry Steers2767Marshall O. RobertsVB18112 [96] Wrecked on Roncador Reef, Gulf of Mexico, 1865 [115]
Herman Livingston1864Lawrence & Foulks1314Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB16010 [96] Scrapped after 1878 [116]
Oriflamme1864Lawrence & Foulks1204 U.S. Navy VB16010 [96] Built for Civil War service but sold on completion. Scrapped, 1890 [117]
Albermarle1865Lawrence & Foulks871Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB14411 [96] Barge 82; schooner 83; sunk in squall 85 [118]
Hatteras1865Lawrence & Foulks868Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB14411 [96] Schooner barge 1882 [119]
Manhattan1865Lawrence & Foulks1337American & Mexican SSCVB16611 [96] Sunk, 1882 [120]
  • Paon Shun
  • Nevada66
  • Saikio Maru75
1865J. Simonson1691T. W. DearbornVB18512 [96] Scrapped on or after 1885 [lower-alpha 13]
  • New York
  • Tokio Maru75
1865J. Simonson2217Cornelius VanderbiltVB17812 [96] Scrapped, 1880s [122]
Raleigh1865Lawrence & Foulks868Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB14411 [96] Destroyed by fire off Charleston, SC, 1867; 24 killed [123]
Rapidan1865Lawrence & Foulks868Atlantic Coast Mail SSCVB14411 [96] Disappeared en route to West Indies, 1886 [124]
Vera Cruz1865Lawrence & Foulks1340American & Mexican SSCVB16611 [96] Struck and sank near Oregon Inlet, 1866 [125]
Villa Clara18661095VB1524 [96]
Cambridge1867John Englis & Son1337Sanford LineVB16011 [96] Wrecked off Georges Island, MA, 1886 [126]
Merchant steamship engines built by the Morgan Iron Works under Roach management (1867–1908) [lower-alpha 14]
ShipEngine(s)Ship notes/references
Name [lower-alpha 2] Yr [lower-alpha 3] BuilderTon [lower-alpha 4] Owner [lower-alpha 5] Tp [lower-alpha 6] No [lower-alpha 7] Cyl [lower-alpha 8] Str [lower-alpha 9]
Pilgrim1881 Delaware Works Old Colony SBCVB111014Largest simple (single-cylinder) walking beam engine ever constructed. Ship laid up 1912, broken up 1920. [127]

Warship engines

U.S. Navy warship engines built by the Morgan Iron Works (Morgan management)
ShipEngine(s)
NameTypeClassBuiltBuilderDispType [lower-alpha 15] No [lower-alpha 7] Cyl [lower-alpha 8] Str [lower-alpha 9] IHP
USS Seminole Screw sloop Narragansett1859 Pensacola Navy Yard 1235HBA2502.6250
USS Chippewa Screw gunboat Unadilla 1861 William H. Webb 691HBA2301.6
USS Katahdin Screw gunboatUnadilla1861Larrabee & Allen691HBA2301.6
USS Kineo Screw gunboatUnadilla1861J. W. Dyer691HBA2301.6
USS Mahaska Double-end gunboatSebago1861 Portsmouth Navy Yard 1070IDA1447
USS Wachusett Screw sloopIroquois1861 Boston Navy Yard 1488HBA2502.61202
USS Ticonderoga Screw sloopLackawanna1862 Brooklyn Navy Yard 2526HBA2422.61300
USS Tioga Double-end gunboatGenesee1862 Boston Navy Yard 1120IDA1487
USS Ascutney Double-end gunboatSassacus1863 George W. Jackman Jr. 1173IDA1588.9
USS Chenango Double-end gunboatSassacus1863J. Simonson1173IDA1588.9
USS Onondaga Monitor Unique1863 Continental Iron Works 2592HBA4642
USS Ammonoosuc Cruiser Ammonoosuc1864 Boston Navy Yard 3850HGDA210044480
USS Muscoota Double-end gunboatMohongo1864 Continental Iron Works 1370IDA1588.9
USS Idaho CruiserUnique1864Henry Steers3241GS2

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Fields left blank in the table indicate that the information is unavailable or unknown.
  2. 1 2 Name = ship name. Where the ship had more than one name in the course of its career, later names are listed chronologically in descending order, with each name followed by a two-digit number (in superscript) representing the last two digits of the year the rename took place, where known.
  3. 1 2 Yr = Year the ship was launched where known, otherwise, year the ship was completed or entered service.
  4. 1 2 Ship tonnage.
  5. 1 2 Abbreviations in this column include: SBC - Steamboat Company; RRC - Railroad Company; SSC - Steamship Company; SNC - Steam Navigation Company; TC - Transportation Company; SPC - Steam Packet Company.
  6. 1 2 Tp = type of engine. Engine types include: VB = vertical beam (ie walking beam); HB = horizontal beam (Lighthall patent); ST = steeple; CH = crosshead; SL = side-lever; O =oscillating; V = vertical (ie vertical inverted direct-acting).
  7. 1 2 3 No = number of engines.
  8. 1 2 3 Cyl = cylinder size in inches.
  9. 1 2 3 Str = stroke of engine in feet.
  10. ↑ [46] Heyl erroneously names the builder as "Lawrence & Sandford", apparently confusing the builders with the owner. There was no such shipbuilder as "Lawrence & Sandford"; the builder was Lawrence & Sneden.
  11. ↑ [99] Heyl incorrectly lists the launch date of this vessel as 1853; in fact it was 1859.
  12. ↑ According to Heyl, the engine for this ship was originally installed in the Lake Erie steamer Empire State, then in the Lake Erie steamer Western Metropolis in 1856, before being installed in the 1863 Western Metropolis. [112] Since Baughman lists neither Empire State nor the Lake Erie Western Metropolis among the vessels powered by Morgan Iron Works engines, [113] presumably the engine listed here was a rebuild by the Morgan Works of another company's engine.
  13. ↑ [121] Heyl notes that the spelling of Saikio in the last name recorded for this ship is uncertain.
  14. ↑ Few engines built under Roach management are listed as Roach had a second marine engine facility at Chester, Pennsylvania and records generally do not distinguish between the output of the two plants.
  15. ↑ Type = engine type.

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USS <i>De Soto</i> (1859) U.S. gunboat

USS De Soto was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Roach (shipbuilder)</span> Irish-American industrialist (1815–1887)

John Roach was an American industrialist who rose from humble origins as an Irish immigrant laborer to found the largest and most productive shipbuilding empire in the postbellum United States, John Roach & Sons.

SS <i>City of Tokio</i> American steamship

SS City of Tokio was an iron steamship built in 1874 by Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. City of Tokio and her sister ship City of Peking were at the time of construction the largest vessels ever built in the United States, and the second largest in the world behind the British leviathan Great Eastern.

<i>Providence</i> (1866 steamboat)

Providence was a large sidewheel steamer launched in 1866 by William H. Webb of New York for the Merchants Steamship Company. The first of Narragansett Bay's so-called "floating palaces", the luxuriously outfitted Providence and her sister ship Bristol, each of which could carry up to 1,200 passengers, were installed with the largest engines then built in the United States, and were considered to be amongst the finest American-built vessels of their era.

<i>Amphitrite</i>-class monitor

The Amphitrite-class monitors were a class of four U.S. Navy monitors ordered in the aftermath of the Virginius affair with Spain in 1873. The four ships of the class included Amphitrite, Monadnock, Terror, and Miantonomoh. A fifth ship originally of the same design, Puritan, was later fitted with extra armor and designated as a unique class.

The Allaire Iron Works was a leading 19th-century American marine engineering company based in New York City. Founded in 1816 by engineer and philanthropist James P. Allaire, the Allaire Works was one of the world's first companies dedicated to the construction of marine steam engines, supplying the engines for more than 50% of all the early steamships built in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etna Iron Works</span>

The Etna Iron Works was a 19th-century ironworks and manufacturing plant for marine steam engines located in New York City. The Etna Works was a failing small business when purchased by ironmolder John Roach and three partners in 1852. Roach soon gained full ownership of the business and quickly transformed it into a successful general-purpose ironworks.

Reaney, Son & Archbold was a 19th-century American iron shipbuilding company located on the Delaware River at Chester, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1859 by Thomas Reaney but it was undercapitalized from the outset, and like many other American shipbuilding companies, fell victim to the shipbuilding slump that followed the American Civil War.

The Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works was a major late-19th-century American shipyard located on the Delaware River in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the industrialist John Roach and is often referred to by its parent company name of John Roach & Sons, or just known as the Roach shipyard. For the first fifteen years of its existence, the shipyard was by far the largest and most productive in the United States, building more tonnage of ships than its next two major competitors combined, in addition to being the U.S. Navy's largest contractor. The yard specialized in the production of large passenger freighters, but built every kind of vessel from warships to cargo ships, oil tankers, ferries, barges, tugs and yachts.

John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building more iron ships than its next two major competitors combined. It was also by far the largest contractor to the U.S. Navy during this period, and at its peak is said to have been the nation's largest employer behind the railroads.

The Chester Rolling Mill was a large iron rolling mill established by shipbuilder John Roach in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States in 1873. The main purpose of the Mill was to provide metal hull plates, beams and other parts for the ships built at Roach's Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, also located at Chester.

Lawrence & Foulks was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company based in New York. Established in the early 1850s, the company built 144 vessels of all types over the course of some fifty years, but is best known for its production of high-speed wooden-hulled steamboats and steamships. Notable vessels built by the company include the record-breaking Hudson River steamboat Chauncey Vibbard, the luxury Long Island Sound steamer Commonwealth, and the fast oceangoing steamships—later U.S. Navy gunboats—Bienville and De Soto. In addition to the domestic market, the company also built ships for service as far afield as South America and China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Iron Works</span> American shipbuilding and engineering company

The Continental Iron Works was an American shipbuilding and engineering company founded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 1861 by Thomas F. Rowland. It is best known for building a number of monitor warships for the United States Navy during the American Civil War, most notably the first of the type, USS Monitor. Monitor's successful neutralization of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia in the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads—the world's first battle between ironclad warships—would come to heavily influence American naval strategy both during and after the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. F. Secor</span> American marine engineer

Theodosius Fowler Secor was an American marine engineer. Secor co-founded T. F. Secor & Co. in New York in 1838, which was one of the leading American marine engineering facilities of its day. In 1850, he sold his stake in the company to his erstwhile partner, Charles Morgan, in order to go into partnership with Cornelius Vanderbilt in the purchase of another leading New York marine engineering facility, the Allaire Iron Works.

J.B & J.D. Van Deusen was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company started by Joseph B. Van Deusen and James D. Van Deusen in 1865. The shipyard was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Some of the finest yachts, schooners and steamboats in the New York were designed and built by them. The last boat that was built at the shipyard was the schooner-yacht Mohawk in 1875, which was later renamed Eagre and transferred to the United States Navy in 1903.

<i>New York</i> (1836 steamboat) American steamboat built 1836

New York was an American passenger-cargo sidewheel steamboat built in 1836 for service on Long Island Sound. When new, she was the largest steamboat yet to operate on the route between New York and New Haven, Connecticut, and was one of the largest Sound steamboats of her day.

Erik Heyl (1887–1973) was an American maritime historian and illustrator. He is best known as the author of Early American Steamers, a six-volume work that incorporates illustrations, technical details and service histories of almost 800 steamboats and steamships built mainly in the United States between 1807 and 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Street Foundry</span> Steam engine plant in Brooklyn, New York

The West Street Foundry was an American steam engineering works notable for producing marine steam engines in the mid-19th century. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company built at least 27 marine engines between 1845 and 1855, including engines for some of the fastest and finest steamboats of the era. The company also built and repaired steam engines and boilers of all types, as well as doing other metalwork. The company failed and was liquidated in 1855.

References

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  6. 1 2 Swann 1965. pp. 24–25.
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  9. 1 2 Baughman 1968. p. 88.
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  25. ↑ Jacob Riis Houses, New York City Housing Authority.
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  54. ↑ "Steamer St. Lawrence, (painting)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian Institution. 2016.
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  58. ↑ "General Bragg". Naval History and Heritage Command. United States Navy.
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  84. ↑ "Particulars of the Steamer Christoval Colon". Journal of the Franklin Institute for the State of Pennsylvania. Vol. LXIII. Philadelphia, PA: The Franklin Institute. Jan 1857. p. 57. hdl:2027/uva.x001801686.
  85. ↑ "Ship-Building in New York for 1856". The U.S. Nautical Magazine and Naval Journal. Vol. V, no. 5. New York: Oliver W. Griffiths. Feb 1857. hdl:2027/nyp.33433069076853.
  86. ↑ "Particulars of the Steamer Everglade". Journal of the Franklin Institute for the State of Pennsylvania. Vol. LXIII. Philadelphia, PA: The Franklin Institute. Jan 1857. p. 55. hdl:2027/uva.x001801686.
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  92. ↑ "Launched during the year 1857" (PDF). The New York Times. 1858-01-15.
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Bibliography

Books

  • Baughman, James P. (1968). Charles Morgan and the Development of Southern Transportation. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 46, 55, 57, 70–71, 88, 105, 242–244.
  • Bishop, J. Leander (1868). A History of American Manufactures From 1608 to 1860. Vol. III. Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co. p.  131.
  • Bradlee, Francis B. C. (1920). Some Account of Steam Navigation in New England. Salem, MA: The Essex Institute. p. 94.
  • Coman, Edwin Truman Jr; Gibbs, Helen Marilla (1949). Time, Tide and Timber: A Century of Pope and Talbot. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. pp. 107–108.
  • Dayton, Fred Erving (1925). Steamboat Days. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. pp. 54, 57, 163, 268, 283–284, 294, 385.
  • Heyl, Erik (1953). Early American Steamers. Vol. I. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. pp. 13, 27, 61, 63–64, 75–76, 111–112, 161, 171–172, 177, 183–184, 189–190, 199, 207, 215–216, 237–238, 239, 265–266, 287–288, 295–296, 309, 311–312, 315–316, 325, 327–328, 357, 359, 367, 375–376, 379–380, 391–392, 395, 397, 437, 443, 457, 465–466.
  • Heyl, Erik (1956). Early American Steamers. Vol. II. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. pp. 63, 173, 241.
  • Heyl, Erik (1964). Early American Steamers. Vol. III. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. pp. 101–102, 167–168, 195–196, 197–199, 219–220.
  • Heyl, Erik (1965). Early American Steamers. Vol. IV. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. pp. 37–40, 65, 121–124, 137–139, 141, 217, 269–271.
  • Heyl, Erik (1967). Early American Steamers. Vol. V. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. pp. 55–57, 87, 233.
  • Morrison, John H. (1903). History of American Steam Navigation. New York: Stephen Daye Press. pp. 110–111, 186, 328, 382–383, 398, 507, 509–511.
  • Ridgely-Nevitt, Cedric (1981). American Steamships on the Atlantic. East Brunswick, NJ: Associated University Presses, Inc. pp. 140–141, 182–185, 299, 301–306. ISBN   0874131405.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1989). Warships of the Civil War Navies. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 162. ISBN   0870217836.
  • Stiles, T. J. (2010). The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. New York: First Vintage Books. pp. 188, 189–190. ISBN   9781400031740.
  • Swann, Leonard Alexander Jr (1965). John Roach, Maritime Entrepreneur: The Years as Naval Contractor 1862–1886. United States Naval Institute (reprinted 1980 by Ayer Publishing). pp. 23–26, 51, 54–56, 242, 227, 235–236. ISBN   9780405130786.

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