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me igan Renamed the Wolverine." It was as follows: Mr. Penton, in a paper published in the last Proceedings of the Society, has given the salient points concern- -- ing this interesting old vessel, and the further information which I may | give is mainly of interest, only as com- pleting his paper. An Act of Congress, approved Sep- tember 9, 1841, appropriated one hundred thousand dollars "for the con- struction and armament of such armed steamers or other vessels for the de- fense of the northwestern lakes, as the President thinks proper and as may be authorized by the existing stipulations between this and the Brit- ish Government. % The Secretary of the ee in his annual report submitted to Congress, December 4, 1841, says, "I have taken measures for the construction of a steamer on Lake Erie, in compliance with this act, and in answer. to a Senate Resolution of March 17, 1842, submitted a letter from the Board of Navy Commissioners, giving their ex- planation of the cause of the delay, as follows: "March 22, 1842. "Sir:---The Commissioners of the Navy have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Resolution of the Senate respecting the steamer to be built on Lake Erie, which was trans- mitted on the 19th instant for ian answer, and have the honor to state as follows: : "The Board are occupied in making the preliminary arrangements for her construction, by preparing at New York, under the direction of Mr. S. Hartt, Naval Constructor, a draft of the vessel, with detail of the several portions, their form, thickness, weight, etc., etc., and the mode in which she is to be put together. A calculation also of her probable cost, with the size, quantity, and kind of wooden materials to be used in her construc- tion, is also being made by the same officer, and it is expected that a re- port will shortly be made by him, when steps will be taken to procure the portions of each, and persons be appointed to carry on the building. As soon as the draft of an engine of suitable power and kind can be made, steps will also tbe taken to procure it on the most favorable terms. Great doubts and even difficulties are ex- perienced in ascertaining the proper kind of engine for the steamer in question, as well as for the other steamers building and to be built, 'and the result of the operations of 'the Secretary of the Navy. "the Bureau that the President of the THe MARINE REVIEW those which have been lately finished is looked for with anxiety, but with confidence. "(Signed) L. W. "For the Board of Navy Commissioners. "Fion. A. P. Upshur, "Secretary of the Navy." The Board of Navy Commissioners, in May, 1842, awarded the contract for furnishing the material and build- ing the iron hull, engine, boilers, etc., of the iron 'steamer on Lake Erie, to Stackhouse and Tomlinson, of Pittsburg, Pa. The reasons for mak- ing the change from wood to iron are not known and there seems no record of them obtainable. In August, 1842, the Board of oy Commissioners was abolished, and the Bureau in the Navy Department or- ganized, the Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair, as it was then officially known, taking up the work in relation to the building and repair of vessels that was previously done iby the Board of Navy Commissioners, and therefore assumed the supervision of the work on the iron steamer: at Erie, Pa. Naval Constructor Samuel Hartt being the superintending con- structor. She was launched Decem- iber 5, 1843, and-on December 8, 1843, "informs United States thas selected Michigan as the name of the steamer building at Erie, Pa.' Some further particulars in construc- tion may 'be of interest. There are five heavy box keelsons which run nearly the entire length of the ship. The trough keel is the only drain for the five water-tight compartments under the berth deck, with simple gate valves through the bulkheads at the keel, which are not Very efficient for water-excluding purposes. The frames of T iron are 4% in. by @ in. with reverse bars 4 in. by 2% in. and are spaced 24 in. between centers. The plating as ia rule runs in lengths of 8 ft. with an extreme width 26 in. by 5% in. for keel plate; 34 in. for hol- low keel, bottom and bilge plates; 5/16 in. for side plating and run aft; and 3% in. for shear strake and. plat- ing carried up to the rail. The stem and stern posts are 6% in. by 1% in. Deck beams are T iron. The plating is lap-straked, with single butt straps 5 in. wide, single riveted. The art of countersinking rivets for outside work on the hull seems a later de- velopment, for everywhere rivet heads are in evidence even under several thicknesses of paint. The launching draught was:--For- ' carronades, July, 1909 ward, 4 ft. 4 in.; aft, 9. ft 2 Total launching weight, 563,169 Ib. The "Oldest Inhabitant" of Erie states that people came from the coun- try round about for miles to see the launching with the expectation of see- ing the vessel sink, because built of iron, and that on launching the vessel stuck on the ways and a her- self at night. The ironwork of the vessel is still in a remarkably good state of pre- servation. There is some pitting in the hold, where at some time an in- ner sheathing prevented access. In the . 'coal bunkers along the lower plates where the coal lies during the sum- mer there are marks of deterioration, not of a serious character, and parts of the framing are badly corroded, but as the frames are spaced 2. ft. apart, \repairs have not been neces- sary. The engines, fitted with double pop- pet valves and Sickle's cut-off, are practically in as good condition as when built, all repairs to keep them in working order having been made by the ship's force. The old boilers were removed during the winter of 1992-93 and two steel boilers of the flue and return fire tube type built by the Lake Erie Boiler Works of Buf- falo, N. Y., were installed and are in excellent condition. They are 9 ft. 6 in. in diameter by 15 ft. 234 in. in length over all; there are two furnaces in each boiler 6 ft. 6 in. long, 5 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and have each a @rate surface of 22.75 sq. ft.: heating surface in each boiler, 1,286 ft. There is one smoke-stack 4 1/3 ft. in diam- eter, with a total height above the grate bars of 42 ft. 2 in. - Total weight of boilers, 47 tons 342 lb. About 1884 the woodwork of the ship was torn out and renewed and a _ poop-deck cabin added; gallus framing to carry two steam launches was added in 1896, but, notwithstanding the increased 'draught resulting from these additions, | the ship is able to make ten knots on twenty revolutions in a smooth sea with a favorable wind, for the great paddle-boxes land large pilot house are very effective back sails with a head wind. Originally of bark rig, she has now pole masts and carries a jib and spanker only, still required for turn- ing in narrow waters, as she answers her helm very slowly at low speed, and, in going astern, not at all. Her original battery was to have been two 8-in. guns and four 32-Ib. but, owing to the protest of the British Minister, one 18-lb. only was mounted, and with this battery