HENRY ECKFORD. Birth.-Is placed with an eminent naval constructor at Quebec.-Commences ship-building in New York.-Establishes the reputation of the naval architecture of that city.-Improvements.-Indebtedness of our country to his exertions during the late war.-Verplanck's tribute to his memory.-Builds the steam-ship" Robert Fulton."-Is appointed naval constructor at Brooklyn.Builds the Ohio.-Resigns.-Is engaged in constructing vessels of war for the various European and some of the South American governments.-Plan for a new organization of the navy.-Unfortunate connection with a stock company. -Honorable acquittal.-Is appointed chief naval constructor of the Turkish empire.-Death.-Character." We are indebted to the kindness of a friend for the following memoir of one, whose talents and industry evinced in improving the popular arm of our national defence, should render our country proud of ranking him among her adopted children. Henry Eckford was born at Irvine, (Scotland,) March 12, 1775. At the age of sixteen he was sent out to Canada, and placed under the care of his maternal uncle, Mr. John Black, an eminent naval constructor at Quebec. Here he remained for three or four years, and in 1796, at the age of twenty-one, commenced his labors in New York. His untiring industry and attention to business soon procured for him numerous friends; and the superior style in which his ships were built excited general attention. At that time the vessels constructed at Philadelphia stood highest in the public esteem; but it is scarcely too much to say, that those built by Mr. Eckford soon occupied the first rank, and gradually New York built ships bore away the palm from all competitors. Equally conversant with the theoretical as well as with the practical part of his profession, he never frittered away his own time or the money of his employers in daring experiments, which so often extort applause from the uninformed multitude. He preferred feeling his way cautiously, step by step. Upon the return of one of his vessels from a voyage, by a series of questions he obtained from her commander an accurate estimate of her properties under all the casualties of navigation. This, connected with her form, enabled him to execute his judgment upon the next vessel to be built. In this way he proceeded, successively improving the shape of each, until those constructed by him, or after his models, firmly estab lished the character of New York built ships over those of any other port in the union. It would be impossible, within the limits prescribed by the nature of this work, to point out the various improvements in the shape and rig of all classes of vessels suggested by the fertile mind of Mr. Eckford; and perhaps their technical details would be unintelligible to ordinary readers. It is sufficient to observe, that after his models our vessels gradually dispensed with their large and low stern frames, the details of their rigging underwent ex, tensive changes, and in the important particulars of stability, speed, and capacity, they soon far surpassed their rivals. Mr. Eckford had married and become identified with the inter ests of his adopted country when the war broke out between America and England. He entered into contracts with the government to construct vessels on the lakes, and the world witnessed with astonishment a fleet of brigs, sloops of war, frigates, and ships of the line, constructed within an incredibly short space of time. At the present day, we can scarcely appreciate the difficulties and discouragements under which operations on so extended a scale were obliged to be conducted. The country was comparatively wild and uninhabited, the winters long and severe, provisions and men, with the iron-work, tools, rigging, and sails, were to be transported from the sea-coast, the timber was still waving in the forests, and, to crown the whole, the funds provided by the govern ment were in such bad repute, that, to obtain current funds there. from, Mr. Eckford was obliged to give his personal guarantee. Under all these embarrassments, he commenced his operations with his accustomed activity and judgment, organized his plans, and offered every inducement to the interests, the pride, and the patriotism of those in his employ to labor to the extent of their ability. Encouraged by his presence and example, they entered upon their labors with enthusiasm, and neither night nor day saw a respite to their toils. The consequences were quickly apparent. A respectable fleet was soon afloat, and our frontier preserved from the invasion of a foe as active and persevering as ourselves. In allusion to these efforts, one of our intelligent citizens, Mr. Verplanck, in a discourse delivered before the Mechanics' Institute, has happily observed, "I cannot forbear from paying a passing tribute to the memory of a townsman and a friend. It is but a few days since that the wealth, talent, and public station of this city were assembled to pay honor to the brave and excellent Commodore Chauncey. Few men could better deserve such honors, either by public service or private worth; but all of us who recol lect the events of the struggle for naval superiority on the lakes during the late war with Great Britain, could not help calling to mind that the courage, the seamanship, and ability of Chauncey would have been exerted in vain, had they not been seconded by the skill, the enterprise, the science, the powers of combination, and the inexhaustible resources of the ship-builder, Henry Eckford." At the conclusion of the war, his accounts, involving an amount of several millions of dollars, were promptly and honorably settled with the government. Shortly after this, he constructed a steam-ship, the "Robert Fulton," of a thousand tons, to navigate between New York and New Orleans. Unlike the light and fairy-like models of the present day, which seem only fit for smooth water and summer seas, she was a stout and burdensome vessel, fitted to contend with the storms of the Atlantic, and her performance, even with the disadvantage of an engine of inadequate power, far exceeded every expectation. The sudden death of her owner, in connection with other circumstances, caused her to be sold; and it is no slight commendation of her model, that when she was afterwards rigged into a sailing vessel, she became the fastest and most efficient sloop-of-war (mounting twenty-four guns) in the Brazilian navy. It is to be regretted that the model then proposed by Mr. Eckford for sea steamers has not been followed. The vain attempt to obtain speed, without a corresponding change in the shape of the model, that would enable them to contend successfully with heavy seas, has been attended with disgraceful failures, involving an immense loss of lives. A strong feeling of professional pride induced Mr. Eckford to accept an invitation from the Secretary of the navy to become naval constructor at Brooklyn. He was desirous of building a line-of-battle ship for the ocean that should serve as a model for future vessels of that class, and in the Ohio, we believe, it is generally conceded such a model has been obtained. Her ports, it is true, have been altered to suit the whim of some ignorant officer, who has thus weakened her frame in order to imitate an English model, and her spars have been curtailed of their due proportions, to gratify a commissioner's fancy; but, under all these disadvantages, she is to remain a model for future constructors. Unfortunately, our marine was then encumbered, as it is now, board of commissioners composed of old navy officers, who fancied that because they commanded ships they could build them,—an idea as preposterous as it would have been to have intrusted the naval constructors with their command. Under this sage administration of the affairs of the navy, six ships of the line, costing four with a millions of dollars, were constructed; the constructors received their orders from the sages at Washington, and each vessel, as was to have been expected, became worse than the preceding. Two of them are permitted to rot in the mud, a third has been cut down to a frigate possessing no very creditable properties, and the others, if not humanely suffered to rot, will probably follow their example. The same signal disgrace has fallen upon our sloops of war. Under a mistaken idea of strength and stability, their frames are solid, and in many instances their leeway and headway are nearly balanced. Some of them, we are officially informed, possess every desirable property, except that they are rather difficult to steer! Those in the least acquainted with the subject need hardly be informed that this exception, trifling as it seems, is conclusive against the model. At the head of this board was Commodore John Rodgers, and his instructions and his orders were to be the basis of Mr. Eckford's operations. These orders, copied, for the most part, out of some exploded work on naval architecture, were wisely disre garded, although their receipt was duly acknowledged; and he has been heard to observe, that when the vessel was completed, he would have challenged the whole board to have examined and pointed out in what particulars their orders had not been implicitly obeyed. Under the orders of the commissioners, he had prepared a model which, after due examination, was graciously approved of. When Mr. Eckford proceeded to lay down the vessel, he thought fit to introduce many important changes, and the only genuine draught of the Ohio is now owned by Mr. Isaac Webb, one of the most intelligent of his pupils. The consequence, however, of these collisions between presuming ignorance and modest worth were soon obvious. Mr. Eckford resigned his commission on the day the Ohio was launched; and shortly after received an intimation, that he would never see her put in commission as long as the members of that board held their seats. This promise, as our readers are aware, was kept for eighteen years. Shortly after this he engaged extensively in his profession; and so great and extended became his reputation, that he was called upon to construct vessels of war for various European powers, and for some of the republics of South America. Among others, he built and despatched to Columbia and Brazil four 64 gun-ships, of 2000 tons each, in the incredibly short space of eighteen months. In these cases his accounts were promptly adjusted, and he received from all parties highly honorable testimonials of his integ rity, punctuality, and good faith. He subsequently received pro posals to build two frigates for Greece; but as he thought he perceived, on the part of the agents, a disposition to take an unfair advantage of the necessities of that nation, he honorably and humanely declined their tempting propositions. All are aware of the disastrous and (to this country) disgraceful manner in which that business terminated. Upon the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, he received from him an invitation to furnish him with a plan for a new organization of the navy. This was promptly furnished, and was pronounced by all who read it to be exactly what was required for an efficient and economical administration of the navy. It was not acted upon, although its adoption would have materially advanced the interests of the country. Among other novel propositions, it was recommended to remodel entirely the dockyards. These were to be under the superintendence of superannuated commodores, who, in taking command, would relinquish their rank and make way for more active officers. The constructor at each yard was to be held responsible for the quantity and quality of work done, and only amenable to the chief constructor at Washington. This latter office, he took occasion, however, to say, he could not, under any circumstances, be persuaded to accept. wished, in short, from what he had himself observed of the extravagance, waste, and delay at our dockyards, to place them on a civil footing, as more consonant to the feelings of the mechanics and the spirit of our institutions. He About this period he determined to prepare and publish a work on naval architecture, for which he had ample materials, and numerous draughts of vessels of almost every class. He had also set aside twenty thousand dollars to establish a professorship of naval architecture in Columbia college, and had already entered into correspondence with an eminent constructor, Mr. Doughty, whom he had intended as the first professor, when a disastrous affair occurred, involving his reputation and his ample fortune. An insurance company, in which he was largely interested, became, in the panic of the day, insolvent, and its creditors ventured, in the madness of the moment, to throw doubts on the hitherto unimpeached character of Mr. Eckford. In this they were aided by a knot of political partisans, to whom his silent, but gradually increasing popularity, (which had, long ere this, placed him in the state legislature,) was gall and wormwood. Notwithstanding he satisfactorily proved that he had lost, by stock, and other advances to save the sinking credit of the company, nearly half a million of dollars, yet his enemies affected to discredit his testimony, upon the ground that such unparalleled sacrifices were too |