1817 - Passage of American 74 Franklin at Portsmouth

Franklin, launched in 1815 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, rated as a 74, has passed by Portsmouth to bring the new minister, Richard Rush, 37 years old, succeeding John Quincy Adams to negotiate a treaty with Britain, to settle the borders with Canada in particular. It has given the opportunity for British officers to examine this astonishing ship.

Designed by Samuel Humphreys, Franklin is the third of a first series of four 74s. Independence and Washington have been launched three years ago, while Colombus is still under construction.

¤ A first ship of the line, a 74 named America, had been built during the American Revolutionary war. Lead ship of a series of three, the only one to be built for lack of funds, she was launched in 1782 at John Langdon's shipyard in Maine and was presented to France upon launch. Her career under French flag was to be very short as it had been built with green timber which resulted in dry rot. She was very large in her days, having a tonnage of 1980 tons, being 182½-foot long, 50½-foot broad, and 23-foot deep. As a comparison, a contemporary British 98 as Duke has a tonnage of 1,930 tons.

¤ A series of six two-deckers had also been contemplated twenty years ago but they were never laid down and all cancelled in 1800. Thus this series of four is the genuine first series of American ships of the line. They were laid down during the late war with Britain (1812-15).

¤ The designation as "74" should not be taken literally. We must understand that as "ship of the common class", generally displaying two batteries on two decks totalling 58 guns, plus 16 other guns on the forecastle and at the poop. The British 74 themselves carry four or six extra guns, most often carronades, on their forecastles and poops, for a total of 78 or 80.

¤ After this first series of four 74s, the Congress ordered the construction of three large three-deckers, and of a 74 of a new type, which will lead a new series. The USA are clearly building up a significant navy to deter or to face any European threat.

Franklin is quite a large ship, metered at 2,240 tons, to compare with the typical 1,750 tons for the last British 74s or to the 2,290 tons of the 104 Queen Charlotte launched seven years ago. She is 190-foot long at the gun deck and 54½-foot broad - dimensions which have no equivalent in the British navy, the closest ship being Queen Charlotte, 190-foot long and 52½-foot broad, built on an outdated design. She carries 86 guns of the unique 32-pounder calibre, thirty long 32-pounders, thirty-two medium 32-pounders and twenty-four 32-pounder carronades - a feature that has been contemplated in Britain and in France lately but not tried yet for lack of an appropriate stock of guns.

After her call ar Portsmouth, Franklin has continued her voyage to rally the Mediterranean squadron. It is well known that the USA have been maintaining a squadron in Mediterranean sea from 1801 to 1807, and again since 1816, fighting Barbary ships in order to protect their merchant vessels. Franklin will relieve Independence as the squadron flagship.

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IN RETROSPECT FROM TODAY

Note A - on the next series of 74s

The series is composed of seven ships, amongst which three, Delaware, Ohio and North Carolina, were launched in 1820 at the navy yards of Norfolk, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. They were very large vessels, having a tonnage of 2,630 to 2,720 tons, as the British 120s, being 196 or 197-foot long and 53 or 53½-foot broad. They were intended to carry 102 or 104 guns. Ohio's armament was composed of thirty-four 42-pounders, thirty-four 32-pounders, thirty-four 42-pounder carronades and two 32-pounders - 104 guns. She is likely the mightiest ship of the line in the world in her early days.

Note B - on the single calibre gunnery

In France, the system is adopted in 1827. The first ship to display it is the 90-gun Suffren launched in 1829. Her armament is composed of thirty long 30-pounders, thirty-two short 30-pounders and twenty-four 30-pounder carronades, plus four 18-pounders. After the introduction of Paixhans howitzers, she was armed with eighty-two 30-pounders, four 223mm shell guns, and four 164mm shell guns.

In Britain, the first one is the 90-gun Nile launched in 1830. Her armament is composed of thirty long 32-pounders, thirty-four medium 32-pounders, twenty-six short 32-pounders and two 68 carronades. The 32-pounder is the British equivalent of a French 30-pounder, firing a 14.5-kilogramme projectile against a 15-kilogramme one.

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SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Andrew David Lambert - The Last sailing Battlefleet : Maintaining Naval Mastery 1815-1850 - London, 1991