Embracing Steel: In 1880s Navy Transitions from Iron Ships

On March 3, 1883, Congress authorized the first steel vessels in the US Navy. From the article:

"From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division

He was Northern by birth, but Southern by choice. During the Civil War, while living in New Orleans, he was forced to serve in the Confederate Army, yet his sympathizes were against secession, and for the Union. He rejoiced when New Orleans fell to the Union in 1864.

Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt, Jan. 7, 1881 to April 16, 1882. Artwork: E.P. Andrews. NHHC Photograph Collection,
Secretary of the Navy William H. Hunt, Jan. 7, 1881 to April 16, 1882. Artwork: E.P. Andrews. NHHC Photograph Collection,

It was through that series of juxtapositions that defined William Henry Hunt; lawyer, professor, Confederate Army officer and in March 1881, the Secretary of Navy.

Hunt had but a short tenure in that position, but during the time he was there, his legacy was rebuilding a Navy neglected by a country still recovering from a four-year Civil War. Hunt began with the creation of a Naval Advisory Board that on Nov. 7, 1881, dared to ask Congress for $30 million to build 21 armored ships, some with steel hulls rather than iron, and nearly 70 unarmored vessels.

Hunt would face more than a few hurdles in pushing his agenda through the bureaucracy. He was a Southerner in the North. President James Garfield, who appointed him, was shot just four months into his presidency, succumbing to his assassin’s bullet Sept. 19, 1881. Less than two months later, SECNAV Hunt would present his advisory board’s recommendation to Congress.

“The condition of the Navy imperatively demands the prompt and earnest attention of Congress. Unless some action be had in its behalf it must soon dwindle into insignificance,” Hunt said.

About 18 months later, on March 3, 1883, Congress would approve the Naval Appropriations Act of 1883 that included only $1.3 million to build a fraction of the ships requested in 1881, but with steel rather than iron hulls. They authorized building three cruisers and a dispatch ship, most commonly known today as the ABCD ships – cruisers Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and dispatch ship Dolphin – the beginnings of a steel Navy."