Neptune's Needle

Naval architect and shipbuilder. At the age of sixteen Eckford was sent to Quebec, Canada, to study shipbuilding under the aegis of an uncle, John Black. He next relocated to New York City in 1796 and for three years labored in a boat shop. In 1799 Eckford established his own boat yard and from 1803 to 1806 enjoyed a profitable relationship with Captain Edward Beebe. Eckford soon became a designer known for ships possessing both strength and speed. Whenever a vessel he constructed completed its maiden voyage, he would personally interview the captain about its performance and make desired modifications at his own expense.

Among Eckford's many clients was John Jacob Astor, for whom the 1,100-ton ship Beaver was built in 1803. Eckford also secured government contracts and in 1808 constructed the schooner Oneida for the U.S. Navy. The Oneida was the first American warship located on strategic Lake Ontario and launched for the suppression of smuggling. By 1812 Eckford was a highly regarded shipwright and a close friend of noted steamship inventor Robert Fulton. When hostilities with Great Britain were renewed in June 1812, Eckford was persuaded by Captain Isaac Chauncey of the New York Navy Yard to accompany him to the Great Lakes.

From his primitive base at Sackets Harbor, New York, Eckford established himself as one of the preeminent shipbuilders of his day. On 26 November 1812 he launched the 26-gun corvette Madison in only forty-five days. The following summer he added the dispatch vessel Lady of the Lake, the ten-gun schooner Sylph, and the 28-gun brig General Pike to the American squadron. His efforts were assisted by Chauncey, an administrative genius, who oversaw the allocation of cannon and naval stores from New York City. Their efforts culminated in the spring of 1814 when the 64-gun frigate Superior and the 42-gun frigate Mohawk were launched while the 22-gun brigs Jones and Jefferson were on the stays. That fall the British scored a coup by launching a huge warship, HMS St. Lawrence of 102 guns, which wrested Lake Ontario from the Americans. At Chauncey's urging Eckford designed two vessels of similar girth, the 130-gun Chippewa and the 110-gun New Orleans, then the largest ships of their class in the world. They were nearly completed when word of peace reached Sackets Harbor in January 1815, and they were subsequently mothballed. However, considering the appalling frontier conditions encountered, Eckford's building campaign had been a remarkable achievement.

After the war Eckford resumed his business activities at New York. The government appointed him chief constructor of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and he designed six warships. Eckford resigned in 1820 following a dispute with the Navy Department and returned to commercial pursuits. By 1822 he had launched the oceangoing steamer Robert Fulton, which at that time was the fastest vessel of its class.

Sources

Images

Public Domain Source

Compiler

Peter Richards