The navy yard at Gosport, United States of America as described by the British navy captain Basil Hall in February 1828

Basil Hall, captain of the British Royal Navy visited in 1828 the American naval yard at Gosport (since 1862 called the Norfolk Navy Yard). It’s not the first and last time that foreigners visited American navy yards and lucky enough many of them described what they saw. This sort of descriptions are quite useful if we want to compare the dock yard facilities available for the European, African and North American navies.

p. 81: “On the 7th of February, I visited the navy yard at Gosport, on the left bank of the Elizabeth river, nearly opposite to the town of Norfolk, which stands on the right or eastern side of that stream. The term dock yard is used amongst us, whether there be docks in the establishment or not; but the Americans, with more propriety of language, perhaps, have a term - navy yard - which includes all that is essential, and excludes all that is not so. A change, however, will, ere long, be necessary in this respect, as a superb dock is actually in progress at Gosport. The length of the bottom, from the inner or foremost block, to that which is nearest the gates, is to be 206 feet, besides 50 feet

p.82: of spare room - enough to hold a smaller vessel if required. The width of the dock at top, is to be 86 feet. As the tide rises and falls only about 3 or 4 feet, the water must be pumped out by steam-engines. This dock, which will be completed, probably, in about three years, is in all respects similar to that forming at Charlestown, near Boston, which is much further advanced. On the stocks, there was a line-of-battle ship called the New York 74 (2), a ninety gun ship, and the St Lawrence 44 (3), of sixty guns. The frigate is round sterned, and both are built exclusively of live oak, in a compact and apparently skilful manner. It occurred to me, when looking at these large ships, that there was no good policy in building such an expensive class of vessels; for other nations would, of course, profit by past experience, and avoid unequal matches in future. “That is very true,” said an American naval officer, who was present when I made this observation, “but we calculate in this way. In the event of a war with you or with France, for instance, it may happen that our enemy will have many times our number of ships such as these, but he will have a still greater proportion of smaller . ships. If one of our frigates should chance to meet with one of yours of the same large class, she must, of course, take her chance, and we trust she will

p. 83: play her part as becomes her. But as the greater number of your ships are small ones, of the old sort, the chances are more in favour of our meeting them; and if we do, the balance will tell on our side. Thus, in either way, we hope to preserve the advantage we have already gained.”

Sources

Donald L. Canney. Sailing Warships of the US Navy. 2001.

Lieutenant George F. Emmons. The navy of the United States. Washington, circa 1853.

Basil Hall. Travels in North America in the years 1827 and 1828. Vol III. Edinburgh, 1829.

Notes

1. See for instance the next notes on this weblog ““The navy yard at Norfolk described by Bernhard, duke of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach during his visit in 1825”, “The navy yard at Philadelphia, United States in 1826 as described by the British navy Lieutenant Fred. Fitzgerald de Roos” and a American reaction by “James Fenimore Coopers in 1838 dealing with the description of the naval yard at Washington made by the British navy Lieutenant Frederick Fitzgerald de Roos in 1825”.

2. According to Canney she was laid down May 1820 at Norfolk but still at stocks when the Civil War broke out and April 1861 burnt to prevent her capture by the Confederate forces.

3. Laid down at the Norfolk Navy Yard in 1826, finally launched 27 March 1847 and commissioned 17 August 1848. The delay in launching her was caused by lacking money. Canney wrote that she was fitted out with an elliptical stern. Since 1863 she served as a store ship at Hampton Roads, after the Civil War used as a marine barracks ships and finally sold in 1875. Dimensions 175 (between perpendiculars) x 45 x 14’4” and a maximum draught of 22½, a tonnage of 1708 tons, ballast 60 tons, water 55,000 gallons and provisions for 6 months. According to Emmons, p. 98: “Reported to have logged 2” in launching, leaving a draught of 16’6” aft, and 11’11½” forward. Sails very fat off the wind, and performs admirably in every respect, except she does not bear her canvass well; would be unsafe on lee shore.1849. In 1850, Capt. Paulding took on board 44 additional tons of iron ballast at Bremen Haven, which he subsequently reported had not only improved the ships’s stability, but her sailing qualities. On her passage to England, 1851 (World’s Fair”) carried only her spar deck guns, with 146 tons of kentledge, and 300 tons of cargo. Had a draft of 21 feet aft. Best sailing trim 2 feet by the stern-rolling deep, but easy.