Although it is well upriver, the city of Richmond has a long and rich history of ship and boat building and naval accomplishments. The most well known period of ship construction in Richmond occurred during the Civil War when ironclads and other vessels were built for the Confederate States Navy. Records indicate that the first steam powered ship built in Richmond was the paddlewheel steamship L.
Ladlum built in 1839. Very little information has been found on this 149 ton ship that was abandoned in 1841. Another paddlewheel steamship, the Benjamin Sheppard, was built in 1841. On July 7, 1843, the steam powered canal boat Governor McDowell was launched. It was 94 feet long by 13 feet wide with a 6 foot draft. It was equipped with an Erickson screw propeller. It was not successful venture because the wake of the powered vessel tended to destroy the sides of the canal walls as it traveled. The first significant steam powered vessel built in Richmond was the James K. Polk, built for the U.S. Revenue Cutter service. The Polk was one of a group of eight steam powered vessels built for the Revenue Cutter Service and was the first sidewheel steamer built for the Revenue Cutter Service. Built by Tredegar Ironworks and launched in October 1846, this vessel was later assigned to serve with the Navy in the Mexican American War. However, serious design errors prevented it from fulfilling its mission. It was eventually transformed into a sailing bark and served for a few years on the California coast before being sold in 1854 in San Francisco and became a floating hospital. The next and most well known period of shipbuilding took place during the Civil War. The Confederate "Naval Station" located at Rocketts, where the Annabel Lee docks today, and the "Navy Yard" directly across the river built ironclads and gunboats for the Confederate Navy. Ironclads completely built in Richmond were the Virginia II and the Fredericksburg. The ironclad Richmond was completed in Richmond after being brought up from Norfolk when it fell back into Union hands. The massive ironclad Texas was captured by Union forces nearly complete when Richmond fell. Four gunboats the Squib, Hornet, Wasp, and Scorpion were also built. These ships along with others including the Confederate States Naval Academy school ship Patrick Henry made up the James River Squadron that played an instrumental role in defending Richmond and preventing a Federal invasion. These ships were destroyed on April 4, 1865, to prevent their capture by the invading Union troops. Serving as the home for the Confederate Navy, Richmond was also the site of much naval experimentation. Matthew Maury conducted his experiments with "torpedoes", or what we today call mines, in Richmond. Torpedoes were used very effectively by Confederate forces throughout the war. One little known fact is that experiments with submarines were also conducted in Richmond in the fall of 1861. Responding to rumors about the construction of an "infernal machine" (submarine) in Richmond, Allen Pinkerton, head of the Union Secret Service, sent a female spy to Richmond to check out the story. This spy was invited to a test of the "infernal machine" that took place 10 miles downriver from Richmond. Pinkerton's book A Spy of the Rebellion relates the following story from the spy. At a given signal the boat was sunk into the river, about a half mile below the scow, and shortly afterwards began to make its way under the water towards it. The only visible sign of its existence was a large float that rested on the surface of the water, and which was connected with the vessel below, designed to supply the men that operate it with air. ... As my operative listened to a full explanation of the machine and its workings, she could scarcely control her emotions of fear for the safety of Federal boats, in the event of its successful operation. The spy was told that the submarine that she had witnessed was but a small working model of a much larger one that was nearly completed. The story of the submarine is confirmed by records of the Tredegar Iron Works that describe materials used by a William G. Cheeney for the construction of not one but two "submarine boats" for the Confederate Navy. Little more information has been uncovered concerning the Richmond built submarines. The Official Records of the Civil Union and Confederate Armies state that a William G. Cheeney was arrested early in the war by Union troops in Washington after her had tried to arrange a meeting with President Lincoln to discuss an important war project in Richmond. Following the war shipbuilding did continue and in 1867 three 65 foot tug boats were built for the state of Virginia. These were the Virginia, Manchester, and Tredegar. In 1872 a 206 foot steel freighter the Richmond was built. The most prosperous period of shipbuilding took place at the turn of the century. William R. Trigg founded the Trigg Shipbuilding Company in 1898. This company was located in the area of the present site of the Great Ship Lock Park. From 1898 through 1903 Trigg built the cruiser Galveston, destroyers Decatur and Dale, and torpedo boats Shubrick, Thornton, and Stockton for the U.S. Navy; the cutters Mohawk and Tuscarora for the Revenue Cutter Service; and the dredge Benyuard for the Army Corps of Engineers. Also built were the passenger steamships Virginia and Berkeley, one of the first oil tankers Captain A.F. Lucas, tug boats Lancaster, Bristol, Chester and Cape Charles and the stern wheel missionary boat Samuel P. Trigg also engaged in repair work and one of the unique vessels it worked on was the Plunger, the first modern submarine built for the U.S. Navy. The Plunger was never commissioned into the Navy because of design errors. Trigg's work on the sub nearly got Richmond involved in large scale submarine production. Trigg had tentative agreements with John Holland the builder of the Plunger and the Navy's first commissioned submarine, the Holland, but Holland decided that with all the work it was doing, Trigg was just too busy too build his first six production submarines. Trigg, as were many other shipyards at the time, faced tough financial times and the sudden death of William Trigg in 1902 lead to the eventual failure of the shipyard. Little remains of the shipyard except some ship locks. The Mariners Museum has parts from the Virginia on display and models of other Trigg built ships are on display at the Smithsonian and the Coast Guard Museum. The final chapter to Richmond's maritime history is the accomplishment of one of its former residents. Admiral Samuel Gravely, Jr., who grew up and was schooled in Richmond, was the first African-American Admiral in the U.S. He was promoted to that position in 1972. Admiral Gravely began his career of many firsts during World War II. He was the first African-American Navy ROTC officer and the first African-American naval officer to serve on a Navy vessel. The vessel , Patrol Craft 1264, was the first Navy vessel with an all African-American enlisted crew. Today PC 1264 is rotting away in a marine yard in Staten Island New York. Gravely was also the first African-American to captain a Navy fighting vessel. Richmond's maritime and naval history has been a well-kept secret but now as interest in the downtown riverfront grows, more people will learn of the shipbuilding and naval accomplishments of this city so far upriver.
