The first Fulton was a wooden war steamer designed by Robert Fulton and built under his supervision at the shipyard of Adam and Noah Brown in New York under authority of the Act of March 9, 1814. She was a center-wheel “steam frigate” of 2,475 tons, with the following characteristics: length, 156 ft.; breadth, 56 ft.; depth of hold 20 ft.; draft 10 ft.[1] Her keel was laid on June 20, 1814, and she was launched on October 29, 1814, being completed at a cost of $320,000. The propelling machinery, which was built at Robert Fulton’s own works, consisted of one engine with a 48-inch cylinder of 73 horsepower and 5-ft. stroke, driving a water wheel 16 inches in diameter, and two copper boilers. She carried 80 tons of coal in her bunkers. Her speed was 5| knots. She carried a battery of 20 long 32- pounders, protected by massive wooden bulwarks, which were nearly 5 feet thick. The crew numbered 200 men.
The Fulton The First, or Demologos as Robert Fulton liked to call her, was completed in the spring of 1815, and on June 1, 1815, left the wharf under her own steam and proceeded majestically into the river. She steamed by the forts and saluted them with her battery, and after navigating the lower bay, and receiving a visit from the officers of a French ship-of-war in the harbor, she came to without having experienced a single unpleasant occurrence. Captain David Porter, who was appointed to command her, obtained several changes in her rig. The original plan was to rely upon steam alone for propulsion, but Captain Porter regarded this innovation with misgivings and caused two large masts to be stepped to support lateen sails, and bowsprits for jibs, with all the accompanying top hamper.
The British blockading squadron off Sandy Hook were not uninformed of the preparations that were being made to break the blockade, and the Fulton lost none of her terrors in their imaginations. A treatise on steam vessels, published in Scotland at that time, conveyed the following picture of the vessel to British readers:
Length on deck, 300 feet; breadth, 200 feet; thickness of her sides, 13 feet of alternate oak plank and cork wood—carries 44 guns, four of which are 100-pounders; quarter-deck and forecastle guns, 44-pounders; and further to annoy an enemy attempting to board, can discharge 100 gallons of boiling water in a minute, and by mechanism brandishes 300 cutlasses with the utmost regularity over her gunwales; works also an equal number of heavy iron pikes of great length, darting from her sides with prodigious force, and withdrawing them every quarter of a minute.
The War of 1812 ended before the Fulton was entirely completed. She was taken to the New York Navy Yard, where she became a receiving ship in charge of Master Commandant John T. Newton. On June 4, 1829, her magazine, containing a small supply of powder for firing the morning and evening guns, blew up, entirely destroying the vessel, killing 24 men and wounding 19 others.
The Second “Fulton”
The second Fulton was a side-wheel steamer of the first rate laid down in accordance with the Act of April 29, 1816.
She was built by the government at the New York Navy Yard, and was originally designed as a floating “steam battery” for the defense of New York Harbor. Her keel was laid in 1835, and she was launched on May 18,1837. Her total cost was $308,196. Her principal characteristics were: burden, 1,011 tons; displacement, 1,200 tons; length, 180 ft.; breadth, 34 ft.; depth of hold, 12 ft. 2 in.; draft, 10 ft. 6 in. Her hull was of the best live oak, with heavy bulwarks 5 feet thick, beveled on the outside so as to cause an enemy’s shot to glance off. She had two horizontal condensing engines of 9 ft. stroke and 600 horsepower, driving paddle wheels 22 inches in diameter. Her boilers, four in number, were common “return flue,” made of copper, and wagon-shaped. She was credited with a speed of 15 statute miles. Her original armament consisted of eight 42-pounders and one 24-pounder. In 1840 this was changed to four 8-in. smoothbores and 4 long 32-pounders, while some years later (1858) her battery was reduced to two 9-in. smoothbores. Her complement was 16 officers and 130 men.
The Fulton was placed in commission at New York on December 13, 1837, and made her first cruise under Captain Matthew C. Perry. On her trial trip she attained a high rate of speed, and her machinery was satisfactory, but the vessel herself proved wholly unadapted for ocean cruising. “The Fulton will never answer as a sea-vessel,” wrote Captain Perry, “but the facility of moving from port to port places at the service of the Department a force particularly available for the immediate action at any point.” In the following spring she was taken to Washington, where President Jackson and his cabinet enjoyed the sight of a warship independent of wind and tide, after which she made a brief cruise along the coast under Captain Charles W. Skinner (June 29, 1838) for the relief of merchantmen in distress. On her return to New York, the Fulton was for a time engaged in ordnance experiments, following which she was placed in ordinary at the navy yard, where she remained a neglected and useless hulk until 1851. In that year, the vessel was razeed, the upper deck and bulwarks being removed, while her machinery was replaced by a single inclined engine mounted on a wooden frame, the cylinder being 50 inches in diameter and 10 ft. 4 in. stroke. The old copper boilers were taken out and two wrought iron ones of the double-return drop-flue variety substituted, while feathering paddle wheels were adopted in place of the original radial wheels. Her rig was also altered to that of a fore-topsail schooner. On January 1, 1852, the Fulton, which since her reconstruction was generally referred to as Fulton the Third, made a trial trip under the command of Commodore William D. Salter, commandant of the New York Navy Yard, and exceeded all expectations. In the course of a run of 71| miles, an average speed of 13.34 knots was maintained, while for a period of 20 minutes towards the close of the trial the distance run was 7 miles, or at the rate of 20 miles per hour. Unfortunately the official report of this performance does not state the condition of the wind and tide, so it is not known whether the high speed was due entirely to the engines or not. It is a matter of record, however, that the Fulton had a reputation in the service as a very fast steamer.
She was officially recommissioned on January 25, 1852, and made a cruise along the coast as part of the Home Squadron, returning to New York at the close of the year. Her commanding officers during this period were: Commander T. G. Benham, (January 25, 1852) and Commander Charles H. Jackson (July 22, 1852). In January, 1853, she was placed under the temporary command of Lieutenant Alexander Murray and ordered to convey the Hon. William R. King to Havana, after which she rejoined her station in home waters. Later in the year, while in charge of Lieutenant James M. Watson (June 27, 1853), she was detailed for special service in connection with the protection of American fisheries on the coasts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, after which she was selected to convey the Hon. Mr. Gadsden, U. S. Minister to Mexico, to Vera Cruz. On her return from this mission, she cruised among the Bahama Islands in search of the sloop-of- war Albany, which was reported lost in those waters. This cruise was followed by special service off the coast of Cuba for the protection of American commerce, following which she was placed in ordinary for repairs at the Washington Navy Yard on July 10, 1856.
A new commission dates from October 6, 1857, with Lieutenant John J. Almy in command. She sailed from the navy yard a few days later to join the Home Squadron, which was then actively employed in cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, to intercept filibustering expeditions from the United States against Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico. In June, 1858, she was detailed to Cuban waters to resist the right of search by British cruisers, after which she returned to Washington. She was immediately recommissioned, September 20, 1858, for duty with the Brazilian Squadron, which under Flag Officer Shubrick was under orders to sail for Paraguayan waters. On the successful conclusion of this expedition, the Fulton was sent north and placed out of commission at Norfolk, Virginia, on May 7, 1859. Her last cruise was made in the same year in command of Commander Gabriel G. Williamson (August, 1859). For a few weeks she was stationed off the southern coast of Cuba for the suppression of the slave trade, but an epidemic of fever compelled her to return north. During the voyage, she ran ashore at Santa Rosa Island, Florida, in a gale, September 16, 1859, but she was successfully floated and brought around to Pensacola. When that navy yard was surrendered to the Confederates, on January 10, 1861, the Fulton fell into their hands. She was in a very bad condition, but her captors hauled her on the building ways and began to repair her. Before they were able to fit her for service, however, the Union forces compelled them to abandon the yard, May 9, 1862, and they burned everything behind them, including the Fulton.
The Third “Fulton”
The third Fulton was a small stern- wheel steamer which saw service during the Civil War as tender to the Ram Fleet operating in western waters. She was a purchased river steamer, acquired in April, 1862, by Colonel Charles Ellet, under authority of the War Department. She was attached to the naval squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Porter, and participated in the various naval operations connected with clearing of the Mississippi River. In December, 1862, she made a cruise up the Tennessee River in command of First Master S. Codman, after which she returned to Cairo, Illinois, for repairs. The official records contain no reference as to her ultimate disposition.
The Fourth “Fulton”
The fourth Fulton is a submarine tender authorized by the Act of Congress approved March 4, 1911. This vessel, the first of her type, was built from the plans of the New London Ship & Engine Company, at Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on June 6, 1914, and completed at a cost of $492,930. Her dimensions are: displacement, 1,408 tons; length, 216 ft.; breadth, 35 ft.; draft, 13 ft. Her propelling machinery consists of single-screw, 6-cylinder, 2-cycle Diesel engines of 1,097 horse-power with two oil-burning boilers. Her speed is 12.34 knots. Her armament consists of two 3-in. rifles and one anti-aircraft gun. Her complement is 45 officers and 134 men.
The Fulton was originally known as the Niagara, her name being changed on February 10, 1913, just previous to the laying of her keel. She was fitted out at the Boston Navy Yard and placed in commission on December 7, 1914, for service as tender to the Atlantic Submarine Force, under Lieutenant James D. Willson. In the following year, she was transferred to the Submarine Base at New London as station ship, with Lieutenant Conant Taylor (July 1, 1916) in command. During the World War she was actively engaged as tender to the submarines operating in home waters, and in the fall of 1918 accompanied one of the flotillas to Bermuda. Twice the Fulton was under orders to sail for the Azores, but accidents to her machinery each time prevented her departure. Lieut. Comdr. Elwin F. Cutts relieved Lieutenant Taylor in command on November 14, 1917, and was in turn succeeded by Lieut. Walter V. Combs (March 6, 1918). After the Armistice, the Fulton resumed her duty as station ship at New London, where Lieut. J. C. Mather took command of her on January 1, 1919.
A defensive attitude is nothing at all, its elements of strength entirely disappear, unless it is such that the enemy must break it down by force before he can reach his ultimate objective. Even more often has it failed when the belligerent adopting it, finding he has no available progress, attempts to guard every possible line of attack. The result is, of course, that by attenuating his force he only accentuates his inferiority. —Corbett, Maritime Strategy.
[1] Actually there were two separate hulls held together by the decks and other structural members, but leaving between them a well or channel 15 feet wide in which the paddle wheel revolved.