History
of the CSS BIBB
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The
Coast Survey Steamer Bibb served as the platform from
which Stellwagen mapped an unknown bank in Massachusetts
Bay.
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The
Coast Survey Steamer BIBB, the vessel which carried Lt. Cmdr.
Henry Stellwagen and his crew around Massachusetts Bay as they
mapped a major bank, had an interesting history in its own right.
Built originally for the U.S. Revenue Marine Service, a forerunner
of the Coast Guard, the BIBB never quite lived up to the expectations
placed on it. From its earliest days it was beset by mechanical
problems. The letters from Stellwagen to Alexander Bache, Superintendent
of the Coast Survey, are filled with references to needed repairs
and delays due to engine problems.
In an article on the Revenue Service÷s first steam cutters (in
The American Neptune, Winter 1992), Robert M. Browning, Jr.,
the Coast Guard÷s chief historian, wrote: "The quest for technology
is as old as mankind itself. History is filled with great inventions
and their impact on society. The failures, however, are often
forgotten or dismissed. In the 1840s, with steam propulsion
increasing in popularity as a method to propel ships, the U.S.
Revenue Marine Service build eight steam vessels. Most were
built with innovative machinery and propulsion systems. Nonetheless,
the building program was a disaster. None of the ships worked
well, they were exorbitantly expensive, and all were converted,
sold, or transferred to other services within several years
of their commissioning. The quest for innovation and progress,
in this case, ended in complete failure."
The BIBB was named for George M. Bibb, the Secretary of the
Treasury in 1844. It and the SPENCER, DALLAS, and McLANE were
designed to use a horizontal paddle wheel patented by William
W. Hunter, a lieutenant in the U.S.Navy. Two other vessels contracted
at the same time (1843) were to use a screw propeller designed
by Swedish inventor John Ericsson (JEFFERSON and LEGARE). The
final two vessels (POLK and WALKER) used side-wheel propulsion
systems.
The BIBB was launched on April 10, 1845. Her sea trials were
a complete failure, with the ship developing a major leak leading
the captain to haul her up on a beach to prevent sinking According
to the Browning article, the BIBB÷s Hunter wheel was a technological
anomaly. He notes, "Everyone failed to take into account the
inefficient nature of the Hunter wheel, where as much as 50
to 75 percent of the propulsion power was lost pushing the water
around the wheel wells." In addition, the hull design "had little
structural strength and compromised the ship÷s stability and
sailing qualities….The designers of the steamers attempted to
utilize a combination of sail and steam propulsion, with the
final product being a combination of the bad qualities of each."
The ship was towed to Cincinnati where she was refitted to side-wheel
propulsion.
She
was called up for service to protect the coastline in the Gulf
of Mexico during the war with Mexico. The Browning article notes
that she lasted in service for four months and went back to
Boston. "Captain Winslow Foster commented about BIBB ?that never
a vessel left port so badly qualified to encounter a sea.÷ He
added that ?This might have been a good useful vessel, of fair
speed, had any nautical skill been employed, when she had prepared
for the change in her propulsion…÷"
The BIBB was transferred to the Coast Survey in 1847. During
her service with the Coast Survey she saw duty in New England,
where she was used to map potential lighthouse positions (and
was the vessel from which Stellwagen mapped his offshore bank.
Other survey locations included the Chesapeake area and the
Florida Keys, including the waters around the Dry Tortugas (the
southernmost portion of the Florida Keys, now also a National
Marine Sanctuary). The BIBB was called up for war duty during
the Civil War (War of the Rebellion) where she was part of the
Union÷s naval blockade of the harbor in Charleston, SC. She
took a hit from an underwater charge (mine) but did not suffer
significant damage. The BIBB was decommissioned in 1879.
