Henry Eckford (shipbuilder)

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Henry Eckford (1775-1832) was a Scottish-born shipbuilder, naval architect, industrial engineer, and entrepreneur who worked for the United States Navy and the navy of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.

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[edit] Early life

Eckford was born in Kilwinning, near Irvine, Scotland, on March 12, 1775, the youngest of five sons. As a boy, he probably trained as a ship's carpenter in the shipyard at Irvine on the Firth of Clyde.

In 1791, at the age of 16, Eckford left Scotland to begin a five-year shipbuilding apprenticeship with his mother's brother at a shipyard on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. In 1796, he moved to New York City to work as a journeyman in a boatyard on the East River.

In 1799, he opened his own yard on the river. The yard prospered, turning out a series of ships that were handy and seaworthy, and upon which he built a reputation as a talented shipbuilder.

[edit] Personal life

In April 1799, the 24-year-old Eckford married 20-year-old Marion Bedell. They had nine children, two of whom -- Henrietta and John -- died in a house fire in 1828. Marion outlived her husband by eight years, dying in 1840.

[edit] The War of 1812

Eckford earned a national reputation in the United States during the War of 1812. U.S. Navy Commodore Isaac Chauncey had known Eckford since Chauncey had been master of Beaver, an Eckford-built ship owned by John Jacob Aster, in 1806-1807. In 1812, Chauncy established his headquarters at Sackets Harbor, New York, on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario. He summoned Eckford there to establish a naval base and construct naval vessels for use on the Great Lakes. (Eckford also took the opportunity to invest in real estate in the area.)

Despite terrible winter weather, Eckford quickly established a shipyard in what once had been merely a quiet hamlet, making Sackets Harbor one of the U.S. Navy's main bases during the war. He built all U.S. Navy men-of-war launched on Lake Ontario during the war. By 1814, the Sackets Harbor yard had both converted some Great Lakes merchant vessels to carry guns and launched eight new warships. Among the converted ships was USS Trippe; the new ships ranged in size from the 89-ton USS Lady of the Lake launched in 1813, to the never-finished 3,200-ton ship-of-the-line USS New Orleans, and also included USS General Pike in 1813 and USS Superior in 1814. Using prefrabrication in New York City and on-site assembly in Sackets Harbor, he achieved what were considered breathtaking construction rates. Among his yard's most spectacular feats was the rapid construction of the 42-gun frigate USS Madison, which took only six weeks from keel-laying to launch in November 1812; the yard went on to beat that record in November 1814 by taking only five weeks between laying the keel of USS Mohawk and launching her.

[edit] Back to New York City

After the war, Eckford returned to New York City. He became chief naval constructor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1817, and while there oversaw construction of schooner USS Grampus, completed in 1820. In 1817, the Brooklyn Navy Yard laid down the largely Eckford-designed 74-gun frigate USS Ohio; she was launched in 1820 and established a model upon which "74s" were built thereafter. Eckford resigned from his post at the yard on June 6, 1820, the week after Ohio was launched, and returned to running his private shipyard.

Ohio, however, would not see service for years. Funding for her completion was not forthcoming because the navy was not a high priority during the quiet 1820s and 1830s, but the ship also may have run afoul of naval politics; it has been claimed that the Board of Naval Commissioners, led by Commodore John Rodgers, felt that Eckford had ignored their design for Ohio and blocked her completion.

Again in private life, Eckford and his family moved in New York City's higher circles. Eckford expanded his business interests, including ventures in the shipping, banking, insurance, and publishing sectors. He also became involved in Democratic Party politics, serving in the New York state legislature, running for the Untited States Congress, and serving in the Electoral College. At his shipyard, he built ships for the United States Government, including three lightships.

[edit] Scandal

Eckford's political activities led him to become part of the leadership of Tammany Hall. On September 15, 1826, he and other Tammany Hall leaders were indicted for committing millions of dollars in acts of fraud against banks, insurance companies, and private citizens. The first trial in the case ended in a hung jury in October 1826. Eckford was not brought to trial again, although other defendants were convicted in a second trial. Eckford sought an apology and public statement of his innocence from District Attorney Hugh Maxwell, but succeeded only in having Maxwell make a statement that Eckford had been duped by others into illegal acts. Eckford challenged Maxwell to a duel in December 1827, but Maxwell ignored him.

Thanks to Eckford's political connections, five different Congresses considered bills for the financial relief of Eckford and his heirs over the course of many years following the scandal.

[edit] Service to the Ottoman Empire

After a shattering defeat of its navy in the Battle of Navarino in October 1827, the Ottoman Empire began looking for help in rebuilidng its fleet. Eckford, seeking to rebuild his fortune and reputation after the scandals of 1826 and 1827, left New York in June 1831 aboard the fast new 1,000-ton, 26-gun corvette United States, which his yard had built and he hoped to sell to the Ottomans. Eckford and his ship arrived in Constantinople in mid-August 1831.

At first, Sultan Mahmud II thought that United States had arrived as a gift of the American government. Once he realized that she was a privately owned ship and was for sale, he purchased her. In the Ottoman Navy, she became Mesir-i- Farah.

Mahmud II then hired Eckford, who began to build ships in the Turkish shipyard for the Ottoman Navy, starting with a small schooner, a frigate, and a 74-gun ship constructed using a frame imported from New York City. He also began to design the 128-gun ship-of-the-line Mahmoudieh. Mahmud II was impressed enough to consider giving Eckford a high imperial rank.

[edit] Death

Eckford's quick start in Ottoman service ended all too soon, however. He died suddenly in Constantinople on November 12, 1832, probably of cholera. Appropriately, his body was shipped home to New York City aboard the barque Henry Eckford, second ship of the name. He was buried in Hempstead, New York.

[edit] Memorialization

[edit] References

  • Jampoler, Andrew C. A. "Who Was Henry Eckford?" Naval History, December 2007, Pages 38-45.
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