d i s p l a c e d 6 8 5 t o n s . I t w a s p ow e r e d b y a170-horsepower, two-cylinder, steam engine. Withoutusing its sails, the USS Michigan was capable of making8 knots.Through the efforts of farseeing men likeCommander Matthew Calbraith Perry, USN, the Navywas becoming more steam conscious. Perry is referredto as the “Father of the Steam Navy.” He wasenthusiastic about the possibilities of steam, and was incharge of construction and in command of the Navy’ssecond steam frigate the USS Fulton. The harnessing ofsteam power was considered the most important navaldevelopment since the cannon.The newly built steamships posed problems ifengaged in battle. Their paddle wheels and steamengines could be easily damaged by enemy fire. Thisproblem was fixed by changing the design of the shipsso that the paddle-wheel housing was enclosed behind5-foot-thick walls and set in an inboard channelway.Steamship development overcame problems one byone. For example—Stronger engines were developed;Screw propellers replaced the paddle wheel; andCoal as a fuel was recognized as more efficientthan wood.These changes didn’t happen overnight; theyrequired long periods of trial and error. But in the 1840s,new ideas were being explored by their proponents. OnSeptember 5, 1843, the Navy’s first successfulsteamship, the USS Princeton, was launched. Its newtype of propeller eliminated the vulnerable paddlewheels and permitted the ship’s engines to be placedbelow decks in protected spaces.Other actions between 1815 and the Civil Warincluded the following:The Navy took the first steps in Antarcticexploration. Notably, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes visitedthe subpolar region in January 1840 and provedconclusively that the icy land was, in fact, a continent.Following Texas’ admission to the U.S. as the28th state, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande. Warbroke out. The Mexican-American War was primarily aland war. However, the Navy did get involved. Itblockaded port cities in the Gulf and providedprotective action by the “Mosquito Fleet" during thefirst large-scale amphibious operation in U.S. militaryhistory—the landing of some 10,000 U.S. troops at VeraCruz. (The Navy itself was not equipped to carry outsuch an operation at that time.) Marines were alsoinvolved in this war—they marched with Scott toMexico City, coining the phrase “…from the halls ofMontezuma…” in the famed Marines’ song.The Navy was involved in diplomatic relations.Commodore Matthew C. Perry signed a treaty withJapan on March 31, 1854. This was the treaty thatopened Japan’s ports to American trade andprovisioning of ships. England and Russia soonfollowed with their own treaties, all modeled afterPerry’s.REVIEW 2 QUESTIONSQ1. After the Revolutionary War, what was the nextsignificant role of the U.S. Navy?Q2. List the two conflicts that the American Navywas involved in between the Revolutionary Warand the War of 1812.a.b.Q3. Describe the event during the Barbary States Warthat Lord Nelson thought of as one of the mostbold and daring acts of the age.Q4. List two events that the U.S. Navy was involvedin during the War of 1812.5-9Student Notes:
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