Show Perry Brought Steam to Navy Over Years Ago Commodore Perry who died in New York in 1858 at three sixty-three supervised supervised supervised su su- at the New York Navy yard in Brooklyn a century ago the building of the first steam craft with witha a hull of ordinary type ever constructed constructed con con- for the United States Slates Navy This vessel was the wheeler paddle-wheeler Fulton of 1200 tons Perry directed direct direct- ed her construction as commandant of ot the navy yard a n post he held from 1833 to 1843 18 S says a writer inthe Inthe in inthe the New York Herald Tribune I Fulton Fullon for Cor whom Perrys Perry's vesse vessel was Q named seems to have been the V first man to conceive the Idea that f steam might be as practical for w warships as for commercial and passenger vessels In 1813 the 1813 the year In which Perrys Perry's older brother Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry wrote We have met the enemy and they are ours at the thc Battle of ot Lake Erie Fulton Erie Fulton submitted to President James Madison p plans ns for what he called a seagoing steam battery as distinguished from a craft with a hull of the us usual 31 type Congress authorized construction of such a battery which had successful successful successful success success- ful trials in the summer of 1815 Fulton died a few months before beCore completion of this craft the Demo- Demo logos of the People But 4 t her powers were never proved the War of ot 1812 being over and the conservative naval authorities regarded regarded re te- her only as an interesting experiment of little practical value Construction of ot another steam battery was voted by congress in 1816 1810 but because ranking naval officers officers officers cers could not or wo would ld not grasp the Importance of steam-propelled steam ships no steps were taken until 1835 to carry out the provisions of the law In that year th the Navy department ordered a steam man man- war of-war to be built This was the vessel construction of which Perry superintended at the New Y York rk Navy Yard |