Iron men & wooden ships

Bart Leetch

Member
Messages
3,206
Location
Clinton, Washington on Whidbey Island
Back in the days when ships were made of wood & men were made of iron there was this sea faring Captain & his crew just sailing along when the call from the crows nest came Sail HO. The captain asked the cabin boy to get his glass & when he looked it was the enemy. He called to the cabin boy get my red jacket then the turned about & a bloody battle ensued during which the captain was wounded but the jacket kept his wound from being noticed & he fought on & they won the battle. Afterwords the cabin boy said now I understand why captains wear a red jacket.

A day or so later the call came again from the crows nest Sail HO the captain asked for his glass & after looking astern & seeing a whole enemy fleet he turned to the cabin boy & said boy get my brown pants.
 
That was pretty good.

I know this was a joke, and I do not want to detract from that, but recently I did a webpage on my website regarding an old granite and brick fort that is located near my house. Its the original Fort Knox and located in Prospect, Maine.

We grew up visiting this place, so it has a lot of fond memories for me. One thing that always impressed me was the hot shot furnaces. It was this brick oven that held cannonballs. The furnace would be fired with Coke and then the balls would roll down the incline and get red hot. Loaded with tongs into 15 and 30 pound cannons, they would be lobbed at the wooden hulls of ships to catch them on fire. This fort never fired a shot, but could you imagine the carnage and devastation from having 100 cannons lined up and firing down on your ship? I guess that is why no ship dared tread north to Bangor.

Since this is in the off-topic section I think it is okay to leave a link of this place. Its not really woodwork related, but look beyond the fort itself and check out the level of masonry skills. Can you imagine laying brick and granite block in archways coming together at four different points? They did a great job, and this was in the 1850's. Well here is the link to that fort (there are two pages of pictures) and a picture of that hot shot furnace.

Fort Knox I

Fort Knox II

Hot_Shot_Furnace.JPG
 
That was pretty good.
Can you imagine laying brick and granite block in archways coming together at four different points? They did a great job, and this was in the 1850's. Well here is the link to that fort (there are two pages of pictures) and a picture of that hot shot furnace.

Fort Knox I

Travis, your description of the archways coming together from 4 different sides, (if that was what you were describing), reminds me of the ceilings in a building that is under the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge in SFO that was (and still is, I think), a part of the Fort there. I think this building housed the powder and balls for the cannons, and maybe even the cannons themselves that were used to protect the entrance to the bay. I guess that method of construction must have been the Spec during that era, for it's strength to hold the thick mortar and stonework above it to protect the artillary and ammo. It is quite impressive as there are "many" small "rooms" adjoining each other with open arches looking out to the bay.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This was what I was referring too, though the picture here lacks what it looks like in real life.

This Fort was part of the early American defense system so I would not be surprised if the fort you refer to was designed by the same naval fort architect. Forts like this were placed along the major interests that the nation wanted protected. Today protecting Bangor seems crazy, but at the time it was the biggest lumber capital in the world.

Harbour_Cannon.JPG
 
Might be off topic, but that is what we have an off topic forum for! :D

VERY cool, I'd love to see that in person, thanks for the mini tour! :wave:
 
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Very funny, Bart...:thumb:

Reminds me of the line in Jaws when they finally see the actual size and power of the shark....."We're gonna need a bigger boat"...

:rofl:

P.S. I bet you've been to Ft. Casey a few times, right Bart?
 
Last edited:
That's an interesting story. For a couple reasons, I collect cannons and understand some of the history of arches. Arches go back many centuries. A wooden support was built, the stones or bricks laid on top and 'locked' with a keystone then the wood support was removed. Not completely off-topic for a wood working forum. Below is my first cannon. I found it in the barn of an abandoned farm in Michigan when I was about eight years old. It didn't have any wheels but there were distinct wear marks where the original wheels had been. I cut out new wheels with a coping saw, soaked with dark stain and screwed on with all-thread and a couple bolts. They remain to this day, sixty years later. A cannon expert has told me the cannon dates to 1800-1820 and was a signal cannon, not for shooting shot. I fired it on the 4th of July for many years and still do occasionally.
 

Attachments

  • cannon.jpg
    cannon.jpg
    87.7 KB · Views: 8
Travis, I've been to Fort Knox. It is indeed very impressive. I also got a kick out of imagining the balls from the hotshot oven being fired into wooden hulls and sails of the enemy. As I recall the timing was a bit late for the hotshot idea. Iron hulled steam powered ships were starting to become popular around the time the fort was being finished.

My father and I are headed to Maine in late August and might have to stop in there again.
 
You are indeed right...the fort was outdated before the first granite block was ever laid. In fact the only army ever stationed here was during the Civil War (for training purposes only) and for the Spanish American War for a few months to protect Bangor. During the later conflict it was manned mostly to maintain the mines that were placed in the river. Its funny too because the army guys always camped out in tents when they stayed at the fort. The fort was way to cold and drafty, even in these "luxurious" enlisted mens quarters :)

Enlisted_Mens_Quarters.JPG


It is quite the place, and it is a must see for visitors that's for sure. Fun to crawl around in as a kid. By the way Dave you HAVE to see the fort when you come up here. They built a new bridge across the river and at the top of the first tower is an observatory. Its one of only 4 in the world. At 400 feet high, its view is amazing, or at least i am told. I have not yet been up there. You gain access to the observatory via the Fort Knox State Park.You can see the bridge being built in this picture.

By the way Bart, sorry to hijack your thread.

Building_Gateway_Bridge.jpg
 
Top