A few days later, a letter from Captain Beaufort
informed Mr. Ericsson that their Lordships had certainly been
"very much disappointed with the result of the experiment." The
reason for the disappointment was altogether inexplicable to the
inventor. It afterwards appeared, however, that Sir William
Symonds, then Surveyor to the Navy, had expressed the opinion
that "even if the propeller had the power of propelling a vessel,
it would be found altogether useless in practice, because the
power being applied at the stern, it would be absolutely
impossible to make the vessel steer!" It will be remembered that
Francis Pettit Smith's screw vessel went to sea in the course of
the same year; and not only faced the waves, but was made to
steer in a perfectly successful manner.
Although the Lords of the Admiralty would not further encourage
the screw propeller of Ericsson, an officer of the United States
Navy, Capt. R. F. Stockton, was so satisfied of its success, that
after making a single trip in the experimental steamboat from
London Bridge to Greenwich, he ordered the inventor to build for
him forthwith two iron boats for the United States, with steam
machinery and a propeller on the same plan. One of these
vessels--the Robert F. Stockton--seventy feet in length, was
constructed by Laird and Co., of Birkenhead, in 1838, and left
England for America in April 1839.
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