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Modeling the U.S. Brig Jefferson

handled little differently than any other. Shipboard healers acted as a sort of insurance policy for the Company with their function among the crew being seen as yet another safeguard to keep the engines of commerce running smoothly. 1 I. Briujn, . (Leiden, 2009), 17.

1(:6 5(32576 & (17(5  )25 0 $5,7,0( $ 5&+$(2/2*<  & 216(59$7,21 ‡1 $87,&$/ $ 5&+$(2/2*< 3 52*5$0 9 2/80( 1 80%(5         6 35,1*  texAs A&M UNiveRsity VHD VXUJHRQV ERWK LQ EXON FRQ¿UPV WKDW WKHVH PDWWHUV ZHUH handled little differently than any other. Shipboard healers acted as a sort of insurance policy for the Company with their function among the crew being seen as yet another safeguard to keep the engines of commerce running smoothly. 1RWH5HIHUHQFH 1 I. Briujn, 6KLS¶V6XUJHRQVRIWKH'XWFK(DVW,QGLD&RPSDQ\&RPPHUFHDQGWKH3URJUHVVRI0HGLFLQHLQWKHWK&HQWXU\. (Leiden, 2009), 17. 0RGHOLQJWKH86%ULJJefferson *OHQQ*ULHFR 6KLS0RGHO/DERUDWRU\ Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, Texas A&M University D uring the War of 1812, the presence of British naval forces in the Great Lakes created a need for capable American warships in the area. Under the direction of well-known shipbuilders such as Henry Eckford and the brothers Adam and Noah Brown, shipyards were established in the wilderness along the shores of the lakes. The need for larger, faster, and more heavily-armed vessels would lead to many innovations in shipbuilding technology and construction. At the forefront of the innovation, Eckford was commissioned to build several vessels at Sackets Harbor on the shores of Lake Ontario. One of those vessels was the 20-gun brig Jefferson. Opting for speed to outrun and outmaneuver its British opponents, the 123-foot (37.49 meters) brig was designed with D VKDOORZ GUDIW VKDUS KXOO DQG H[WUD VDLO ¿J   Jefferson ZDVDOVRRXW¿WWHGZLWKVRPHRIWKHKHDYLHVWJXQVDYDLODEOHDW the time. Originally intended to carry 32-pound carronades, she was ultimately equipped with sixteen 42-pound carronades and four 24-pound long guns. Her design also called for an 18-pound pivot gun on the forecastle, but this was removed early in her career to improve her sailing capabilities. At the close of the war, Jefferson was mothballed and eventually abandoned to deteriorate along the shore of Sackets Harbor. In 1984 the remains of the hull were relocated, and between 1984 and 1988 the hull was excavated and recorded under the direction of Kevin Crisman and Arthur Cohn of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Although only about 40 percent of the hull survived, it has provided a window into some of the innovations occurring in the shipbuilding industry at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Subsequent research and reconstruction of the vessel by Crisman has provided one of the most complete pictures of an early American brig and Figure 1: Port stern quarter view of :ĞīĞƌƐŽŶ showing shallow ŚƵůůĂŶĚĐŽŵƉĂƌĂƟǀĞůLJƚĂůůƌŝŐ͘WŚŽƚŽ͗͘tĂLJŶĞ^ŵŝƚŚ͘ 18 CMAC News ANd RepoRts 3:1 MXVW IRUZDUG RI WKH FDSWDLQ¶V TXDUWHUV RI¿FHUV¶ TXDUWHUV DQG staterooms. The port side of the vessel has been planked and ¿WWHGRXWWRUHSUHVHQWZKDWWKHYHVVHOSUREDEO\ORRNHGOLNHDW ODXQFK ¿J  Figure 2: Stern of model showing exposed frames and deck beams on the starboard side of the vessel and completed bulwarks with guns on the port side. Photo: C. Wayne Smith. the associated innovations that were occurring in the early 19th century. In May of 2002 it was determined that Crisman’s reconstruction would provide an excellent foundation for a model reconstruction of Jefferson. Built by the author over a period of seven years, the 1:36 scale model represents the vessel as she probably would have looked at the end of the war. The model was constructed of Castello Boxwood, a wood that approximates the appearance and mechanical qualities of oak at this scale, and blackened brass to represent fasteners, cannons, and any other objects made of iron on the original vessel. The starboard side of the model has been left unplanked in order to show internal details that were recorded from WKHRULJLQDOYHVVHO ¿J &KDUDFWHULVWLFRIZDUVKLSVRIWKLV period, Jefferson’s frames were very tightly spaced, providing almost a solid wall of timber underneath her hull planking. The exposed deck framing on the starboard side of the vessel exhibits the lack of both lodging and hanging knees aboard the vessel. Normally considered essential for securing the deck beams to the sides, the construction of these knees were laborintensive and required the use of appropriately curved compass timber. Eckford eliminated the need for knees by sandwiching the ends of the deck beams between heavy deck clamp and waterway timbers. These were strongly supported from below by ten pairs of diagonal riders that not only supported the clamp and deck but also diagonally tied the frames together to greatly strengthen the hull. Early in the life of the vessel, her main mast was moved aft to improve her sailing qualities. The original mast step was extended aft to accommodate the new placement of the mast. This explains the unusual double mast step that can be seen in the model constructed exactly as the original. Other structures of interest visible in the model are the copper-lined magazine 19 Figure ϯ͗ ŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ :ĞīĞƌƐŽŶ’s lower decks. Note the diagonal riders, elongated mast step and coppered magazine. Photo: C. Wayne Smith. Over ten thousand scale nails were used to replicate the fastener pattern that was used to fasten Jefferson’s planking to her frames. To expedite construction, only iron fasteners were used in the original vessel. Precise recording of the locations of ringbolts and eyebolts inside the bulwarks by Crisman has provided information for the proper arrangement of Jefferson’s sixteen carronades and four long guns. An unusual break in WKH SDWWHUQ RI WKHVH ¿WWLQJV RQO\ DURXQG IRXU JXQSRUWV QHDU midships hints at the probable location for the four long guns. Another interesting feature of the guns’ rigging are the heavy breach tackles that were used to limit the recoil of the cannons. Typically fastened to ringbolts inside the bulwarks, the breach tackles on Jefferson are fastened through lead lined holes in the bulwarks on either side of the gunports. With the introduction of 32- and 42-pound carronades, the ringbolts ZHUHQRORQJHUVXI¿FLHQWWRFKHFNWKHUHFRLORIWKHVHSRZHUIXO guns and occasionally pulled through the bulwarks. Unfortuntely, nothing remains of Jefferson’s deck, deck IXUQLWXUHDQG¿WWLQJVLQWKHDUFKDHRORJLFDOUHPDLQV7KHGHFN structure and hatches, capstan, wheel, and other details were constructed according to Crisman’s reconstruction. There are also no remains of the hammock rails and netting along the top of the caprail, although these structures almost certainly would have been used. The starboard side of the model shows the bulwarks as excavated and the port side shows the bulwarks ZLWKKDPPRFNQHWWLQJDVUHFRQVWUXFWHG ¿J  texAs A&M UNiveRsity Figureϰ͗WŽƌƚƐŝĚĞŽĨĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞĚ:ĞīĞƌƐŽŶ Model. Photo: C. Wayne Smith. Very little archaeological evidence for Jefferson’s spars and ULJJLQJKDVVXUYLYHG)RUWXQDWHO\WKHUHPDLQVRI¿YHULJJLQJ channels and a few associated deadeyes and chainplates and an opening through the bulwarks for the fore sheet sheave were recorded on the port side of the vessel. These features provided important information about the rigging to the lower masts. Additional evidence for Crisman’s reconstruction of the rig of the vessel came from historical sources and drawings of other vessels built by Eckford. All the rigging for the model was hand ODLGRIOLQHQERRNELQGHU¶VWKUHDGDFFRUGLQJWRVSHFL¿FDWLRQVLQ contemporary ropemaking tables. $GGLWLRQDOSKRWRVRIWKHFRQVWUXFWLRQDQG¿QLVKHGPRGHO of Jefferson can be seen at http://nautarch.tamu.edu/model/ report3/ as well as photos of other models that have been constructed in the CMAC Ship Model Laboratory. Streaming video of the reconstruction of a rowed galley from the Yenikapi site in Istanbul, currently in progress in the CMAC Ship Model Laboratory, can also be found on the website. 20