Her keel was laid on the 20th of June, 1814, and on the 31st
of October, of the same year, she was launched, amid great rejoicings,
from the ship-yard of Adam and Noah Brown. In May, 1815, her engines
were put on board, and on the 4th of July of that year she made a trial
trip to Sandy Hook and back, accomplishing the round trip--a distance of
fifty-three miles--in eight hours and twenty minutes, under steam alone.
Before this, however, peace had been proclaimed, and Fulton had gone to
rest from his labors.
The ship was a complete success, and was the first steam vessel of war
ever built. She was called the "Fulton the First," and was for many
years used as the receiving ship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She was an
awkward and unwieldy mass, but was regarded as the most formidable
vessel afloat; and as the pioneer of the splendid war steamers of to-day
is still an object of great interest. The English regarded her with
especial uneasiness, and put in circulation the most marvelous stories
concerning her. One of these I take from a treatise on steam navigation
published in Scotland at this period, the author of which assures his
readers that he has taken the utmost pains to obtain full and accurate
information respecting the American war steamer.
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