(CIVIL WAR NAVY) General Directions for Building a Screw St

Sale 2344 - Lot 97

Price Realized: $ 2,000

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

BUILD YOUR OWN BLOCKADE FLEET (CIVIL WAR--NAVY.) General Directions for Building a Screw Steam Gun-Boat and two related printed documents. 3 volumes. 15; 4; 22 pages. Folio, stitched; uncut, minor wear; each docketed on first page as received from the Bureau of Construction. [Washington, June 1861]

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Additional Details

Detailed specifications for what became the Unadilla class of steam gunboat. These vessels were rushed into the water as soon as possible after the commencement of hostilities. 23 of these gunboats were launched in late 1861 and early 1862, including the USS Cayuga, Sagamore, and Kennebec, and they played an important part in the blockade of Confederate ports throughout the war.
The "General Directions" includes 12 pages of construction notes, plus a 3-page outfitting list of additional items to be supplied, from turpentine to tool-chests. Also included is a 4-page blank contract, with a newsprint slip from the Navy Department dated 1 June 1861 explaining the proposal process. Finally, an untitled 22-page document includes a cover letter signed in type by bureau chief John Lenthall, a 4-page blank contract, 14 pages of engine and mechanical specifications, and 3 additional pages listing tools and mechanical stores to be supplied. These documents were found among the papers of naval contractor Isaiah Hanscom (see lot 96). Only 2 other copies on OCLC, and none known at auction.