The principles of steam power were known for centuries. But, it was Robert Fulton who successfully used steam to power a commercial steamboat. After making a number of important modifications to James Watt’s basic steam engine, Fulton sailed his riverboat Clermont up the Hudson River in 1807. Fulton helped build USS Demologos, the Navy’s first warship to use steam. It was originally intended to defend the port of New York during the War of 1812. The USS Demologos was rechristened the USS Fulton in Robert Fulton’s honor. 1815 TO THE CIVIL WAR From 1815 to 1840, the Navy continued to expand its sailing fleet. In fact, more than 74 ships-of-the-line were built. In 1837 the Navy launched the 3,104-ton USS Pennsylvania, the largest of America’s ships-of-the-line. In 1841, the Navy launched the USS Missouri and the USS Mississippi. These were our first ocean-going, steam-driven capital ships. At the same time the US Navy was building bigger ships, it was developing steam powered ships and iron clad ships. At the same time it was harnessing steam power for ship propulsion, the Navy was making advances in ship construction. The Navy began making its ships with iron instead of wooden hulls. In 1843, the Navy launched its first  iron-hulled  warship—the  paddle  sloop  USS Michigan.  This  side-wheeler  was  163  feet  long  and displaced 685 tons. It was powered by a 170-horsepower, two-cylinder, steam engine. Without using its sails, the USS Michigan was capable of making 8 knots. Through   the   efforts   of   farseeing   men   like Commander Matthew Calbraith Perry, USN, the Navy was becoming more steam conscious. Perry is referred to  as  the  “Father  of  the  Steam  Navy.”  He  was enthusiastic about the possibilities of steam, and was in charge of construction and in command of the Navy’s second steam frigate the USS Fulton. The harnessing of steam power was considered the most important naval development since the cannon. The  newly  built  steamships  posed  problems  if engaged  in  battle.  Their  paddle  wheels  and  steam engines could be easily damaged by enemy fire. This problem was fixed by changing the design of the ships so that the paddle-wheel housing was enclosed behind 5-foot-thick walls and set in an inboard channelway. Steamship development overcame problems one by one. For example— Stronger engines were developed; Screw propellers replaced the paddle wheel; and Coal as a fuel was recognized as more efficient than wood. These  changes  didn’t  happen  overnight;  they required long periods of trial and error. But in the 1840s, new ideas were being explored by their proponents. On September  5,  1843,  the  Navy’s  first  successful steamship, the USS Princeton, was launched. Its new type  of  propeller  eliminated  the  vulnerable  paddle wheels and permitted the ship’s engines to be placed below decks in protected spaces. Other  actions  between  1815  and  the  Civil  War included the following: The  Navy  took  the  first  steps  in  Antarctic exploration. Notably, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes visited the  subpolar  region  in  January  1840  and  proved conclusively that the icy land was, in fact, a continent. Following  Texas’ admission  to  the  U.S.  as  the 28th state, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande. War broke out. The Mexican-American War was primarily a land  war.  However,  the  Navy  did  get  involved.  It blockaded  port  cities  in  the  Gulf  and  provided protective  action  by  the  “Mosquito  Fleet"  during  the first large-scale amphibious operation in U.S. military history—the landing of some 10,000 U.S. troops at Vera Cruz. (The Navy itself was not equipped to carry out such  an  operation  at  that  time.)  Marines  were  also involved  in  this  war—they  marched  with  Scott  to Mexico City, coining the phrase “…from the halls of Montezuma…” in the famed Marines’ song. The Navy was involved in diplomatic relations. Commodore Matthew C. Perry signed a treaty with Japan on  March  31,  1854.  This  was  the  treaty  that  opened Japan’s  ports  to  American  trade  and  provisioning  of ships. England and Russia soon followed with their own treaties, all modeled after Perry’s. 5-7 Student Notes: