The Ottoman or Turkish navy, her ships and the naval yard as seen through the eyes of the American James Ellsworth Kay in 1831-1832

Thanks to the American Kay’s account of his journeys in Turkey at his visit to Canstantinople we obtain useful information dealing with the Turkish or Ottoman navy in this period. (1) Kay’s remarks are confirmed by the accounts of other visitors, for instance by a Dutch navy officer who visited the yard in 1825. His account will be placed on this weblog within a short time.

P. 310: “In pursuance of an invitation from the commandant of the arsenal, we visited this morning the navy-yard, where we were gratified with a sight of the operation of letting in the water to one of the dry-docks containing a ship of the line. The navy-yard, or arsenal, as it is termed here, covers a large extent of ground, commencing just above Galata, and extending along the Golden Horn for nearly a mile and a half. It has a noble range of storehouses and workshops solidly constructed of stone, and contains also ropewalks, a hospital, and a prison. It is under the control of the Reis liman bey, or intendant of the arsenal, and the Tershannay emini, or secretary of the navy, has also his office within the walls. About 500 labourers are usually employed, independent of numerous galley-slaves. These latter are cutthroats of every grade; but the greater number are Albanian desperadoes, a fierce and truculent race, eternally warring with their neighbours, and rarely giving or asking quarter. Their religious ideas are so vague that the Christians consider them as Mohammedans, and the Turks believe them to be “no better than Christians.” They certainly possess the bulldog quality of courage in a remarkable degree, which led Byron, in speaking of them, to ask, “Who ever saw their backs ?” As they assisted us out of the boat in hopes of a trifling gratuity, we felt a shudder at being in close contact with such ferocious and desperate

p. 311: looking ruffians. They were all more or less chained, and some of them seemed to require a muzzle into the bargain. The various operations of the yard appeared to be conducted with great perseverance, though in that slow and easy manner so characteristic of the Turks, and which will one day prove their ruin. They are about putting up three steam-engines; one for boring guns, another for sawing wood, and a third for rolling copper. These have all lately arrived from England with the requisite engineers. The two large dry-docks in this yard are built of a coarse limestone in a substantial and workman-like manner. They were constructed about forty years ago under the direction of an able French engineer. The largest is 340 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 30 deep: it is estimated to hold 1400 tons of water. A line of battle ship, the Mahmoud, was in this dock undergoing coppering and repairs ; and shortly after our arrival the water was let in in order to get her afloat. This was done by six separate sluices, and the whole time required was nearly an hour. The dock is emptied by horse-power, and this usually requires two days : arrangements have lately been made to procure a steam-engine for this purpose, which will free it in a much shorter space of time.

p. 313: After this vessel was afloat, we walked round the arsenal to inspect the various men-of-war then in port: most of them were unworthy of repair, being hogged and rotten ; but from a childish attempt at display, new poops were being built upon these worthless vessels. Such tricks impose upon no one, and only excite laughter. We took the pains to examine each vessel separately, and made out a list, which has unfortunately been mislaid, stating the size, appearance, and condition of each vessel. The following may, however, be relied on as conveying nearly an accurate account of the condition of the Turkish navy up to the year 1833. In ordinary, three line of battle ships, 140 guns, three others carrying 100 guns, much hogged, eight frigates, four of these old, hogged, and leaky, eight corvettes, twenty brigs, two cutters, and two steamboats. One of the line of battle ships was built by the celebrated French naval constructor Le Brun; she is 198 feet in length, with 53 feet beam. Although roughly built, the timber was of a good quality; she was fastened with iron spikes alone. The frame was oak from the Black Sea and

p. 314: the Sea of Marmora, the knees abundant and good, the beams of a pine resembling our yellow pine, her ballast was sand. All the vessels were sadly neglected. We took the liberty to suggest a shed or covering for these vessels, but found that their ideas on this subject were at variance with ours. They contended that a shed was an excellent protection if a vessel was kept on the stocks; but after having been launched, its effect was to exclude light and air, and by thus interfering with proper ventilation would only accelerate the progress of the dry-rot. There may be some foundation for these remarks, if the dry-rot has actually taken place before the vessel is thus smothered by a shed. Among the frigates and corvettes, several were pointed out to us as the remains of the iniquitous affair of Navarino, and one is the only naval trophy of which the Turks can boast: it is a small Russian frigate, captured in the Black Sea during the last war. The government steamboats naturally attracted our attention. There are two of these, both of English construction : one was originally a Scotch smack, lengthened, and now rebuilding ; the other is about 200 tons, of eighty horse power, and, although she has not been in the service more than three years, is very rotten. She cost this government in the rough state $ 850,000, and much has been expended in fitting her up for state purposes. Her accommodations consist of a large cabin, lined with mahogany, and fitted with six berths near the centre of the vessel. In the after-part are two state-rooms for the captain, and a small but superb cabin for the use of the sultan, floored with a Wilton carpet, two beds covered with the most costly silk and satin, divan, marble water-closets a la Turque, &c. &c. She is commanded by a clever Scotchman, Captain Keltic, who is in the Turkish service, and has adopted the Turkish fez, mustachios, and petticoat trousers. The engines of both vessels are very old, and are interest-

p. 315: ing specimens of the infancy of the art. The utmost speed of these vessels is about six knots per hour. The fleet which has just arrived consists of the following vessels. A line-of-battle ship of 80 guns, dto, 76 guns, ditto, 76 guns, two frigates mounting 50 guns, 2 dito, 36 guns, a frigate 52 guns, ditto 48 guns, ditto 42 guns, two corvetts, 24 guns and two transport brigs . 8  There are besides, according to an official statement, in the dock-yards at Mytilene, Boodroon, &c. four ships of the line and ten heavy frigates, three corvettes, and four brigs on the stocks in various parts of the empire, and nearly ready for launching. These vessels are built by the pachas of the respective districts; and the manner in which they are built is another evidence of the short-sighted policy which characterizes all arbitrary governments. Is a maritime pachalik poor - it is ordered to make up its deficient revenues by furnishing a vessel to the government. Is a pacha supposed to have acquired property by grinding the poor of his district - he is ordered to build a vessel, and this gives him another opportunity to increase his exactions. The government, so far from feeling its own prosperity identified with that of its subjects, seems to act upon the absurd and wicked principle that every para wrung from the labourer is so much clear gain to the nation. Some of the vessels were much hogged, but others would have done credit from their appearance and manoeuvres to any navy. One frigate in particular, which we visited, is considered to be the crack vessel of their service; she mounts 52 guns, viz. 32 on the gun-deck, 14 on the quarter-

p. 316: deck, and 6 on the forecastle, all of brass. On the subject of brass cannon for ships the Turks exhibit much ignorance: their lightness as fieldpieces presents some advantages; but we are not aware of any superiority which they possess over iron cannon for sea service. In the navy-yard we noticed heaps of brass cannon, of all shapes and calibres, from the infancy of the art down to the present day. Some of them were pointed out to us from Negropont, which being too large for transporting entire, had been broken into several pieces. The bore of one of these was three feet in diameter, and the thickness of the piece at the muzzle was eight inches. According to a rough estimate, its weight was judged to be 4000 Ibs. There are, at least, 2000 pieces of ordnance of brass in the navy-yard, which, if broken up, would produce more than a million of dollars ; but which are now lying idle and useless, as the greater part of these guns are so much injured as to be unserviceable. The Turks have latterly shown some gleamings of good sense in ordering 1500 iron cannon from England for the use of their navy. There is no iron-foundry in the country, although their castings of brass are equal to any in the world. From the facts cited above, we may form a pretty accurate idea of the actual condition of their fleet. We are presented with the following total: Nine line-of-battle ships, nineteen frigates of various sizes, thirteen corvettes, twenty-six brigs; besides steamboats and smaller vessels. Separating from this the mass of rubbish which is to be found in the navy-yard, we may estimate the effective force of the Turkish navy at the present moment as follows: six line-of-battle ships, twelve frigates

p. 317: ten corvettes; and other smaller vessels. To these must be added a corvette of 26 guns and 1000 tons, recently purchased in the United States, and by far the most efficient vessel in their service. The fleet, which has recently arrived from a cruise in the Mediterranean, came into port in tolerably good order, although their manoeuvres were not exactly in the first-rate style of seamanship. We were informed by Captain Kellie, of the steamboat, that upon coming to anchor at Rodosto, it was done so expeditiously, that the anchor of the admiral's line-of-battle ship was dropped into the cabin-windows of the crack frigate. We are at a loss to conceive how this could be done; if it really occurred, it is a naval feat which is without a parallel.

p. 320: No country in Europe has greater need of a maritime

p. 321: force, and few surpass it in the abundance of all those articles necessary for the support of a marine. Excellent oak and pine are found in great abundance along the Black Sea, Marmora, and the Mediterranean. Iron is obtained from Samakof, Inada, and Cavalla; rosin from Negropont; pitch and tar from Cazdaghi; and hemp from Samsoon, Fassa, and Yooneyay. Gunpowder is manufactured near the city, and at Gallipolis and Salonica.”

Source

James Ellsworth Kay. Sketches of Turkey in 1831 and 1832. New York, 1833.