The story of the USS Michigan began in 1843 in Erie, Pittsburgh and Cleveland

On Aug. 3, 1841, a U.S. senator from Ohio, William Allen, proposed setting aside $100,000 for steamers on Lake Erie. The steamers were a new type of armed vessel for service on the Great Lakes.

This first new warship was to be named the USS Michigan. The Canadian Rebellion of 1837 — a failed uprising against the British government — had proven that a robust American military presence was vitally needed on the Great Lakes. In fact, the British had just launched two men-of-war steamships onto the lakes.

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As it turned out, the secretary of the U.S. Navy, A.P. Upshur, decided how the funds were to be spent. His decisions made some congressmen quite angry. On June 3, 1842, Upshur authored a letter to the 27th Congress on his decisions.

In it, he gave two reasons for his plans. Upshur noted that America was rich in natural resources; iron ore and coal were the most plentiful. He also told them that using a cheap and nearly indestructible material rather than wood would speed up the USS Michigan's construction. He also chose Erie as its home port.

The USS Michigan became the first iron-hulled and armored ship in the world. It would take 18 years before the French launched a similar vessel, named La Gloire, with an iron hull and armor.

A multi-city effort to build the USS Michigan

Samuel Hart designed the USS Michigan, and the contractors were Stackhouse and Tomlinson. The ship's final design was drawn according to an agreement between the United States and Canada. It was not long before many of the shipyard workers became certain that its iron hull would sink the USS Michigan quickly upon launch.

Various iron sections of the USS Michigan were built in Pittsburgh and made ready for assembly. From there, the sections were sent to Cleveland for additional work. They were then transported to Erie by wagons and teams of oxen. The work of assembly took place at the foot of French Street.

When done, the USS Michigan was an impressive sight. The ship was 168 feet long, had a 27-foot beam, a 10-foot draft and displaced 685 tons. It was also considered one of the world's fastest ships at 12 knots.

Another quite different specification was the installation of two condensing steam system engines that were placed side by side. The cylinders were 36 inches in diameter with an 8-foot stroke.

The USS Michigan was a side-wheeler with two iron boilers designed to be in service for 50 years. They held for 79 years. While it could burn wood or hard coal, it often burned soft coal. Its coal bunkers could hold 12 tons of coal.

With its launch, the USS Michigan was at least two decades ahead of the rest of the world. The launch itself was an adventure that a huge crowd came to see. Most were there to see it sink immediately upon entering the water.

The designer, Hart, stood off to the side, watching his dream ship poised to slide into Presque Isle Bay. His was a labor of love coming to an end. It was early in the day on Dec. 5, 1843, when the ship began to slide down the launch way into the bay, and the crowd was silent.

Hart's pride soon turned into embarrassment because the USS Michigan was stopped one-third the length down the launch way. The onlookers grumbled about the problems, and after six hours no progress had been made on the launch.

The iron-hulled ship didn't sink

When darkness stopped all work, everyone left. However, the workers were sure they could get the ship restarted into the bay. After all, hadn't all of them come out to watch it sink?

Most of the workers returned to the dock carrying every tool they thought would help the USS Michigan slip into the bay. When they arrived, they were dumbfounded. There the ship sat in the bay, waiting to go into action. Later, the workers realized the blocks had given way under the weight of the USS Michigan. The ship had launched itself.

The USS Michigan saga will continue in this space in a couple of weeks.

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Gene Ware is the author of 10 books. He serves on the board of the Presque Isle Light Station and is past chairman of the boards of the Tom Ridge Center Foundation and the Presque Isle Partnership. Email him at ware906@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie's USS Michigan was years ahead of its time on the Great Lakes