USRC Harriet Lane Model Shipways 1:96 scale circa 1863

It was also mentioned the Lane had two 24pd Dahlgren howitzers on swivel mounts.
To make these, I scaled the barrel of my 12 pd boat howitzer to the size of a 24 pounder and then scaled the David Porter photo to fit that. The carriage is modeled to the one in the photo and by referencing the pair of guns on the Vermont, Some details are fattened up or simplified to help it withstand scaling down to 1:96 scale.
24pd_howitzer20240220b.png 24pd_howitzers_Vermont.jpg
 
JerryTodd said:
It was also mentioned the Lane had two 24pd Dahlgren howitzers on swivel mounts.
To make these, I scaled the barrel of my 12 pd boat howitzer to the size of a 24 pounder and then scaled the David Porter photo to fit that. The carriage is modeled to the one in the photo and by referencing the pair of guns on the Vermont, Some details are fattened up or simplified to help it withstand scaling down to 1:96 scale.
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Dear Jerry, you never cease to amaze!
 
JerryTodd said:
Lost some details making in scaling it down, mostly eyebolts, but it should still be usable.
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Jerry, how many times do I have to say "WOW!"? This is some super cool stuff! You may be able to quit your day job ;)

Seriously, thank you for sharing your expertise on the subject. Start a thread on Civil War era naval armament? Hint, hint

Blessings. Peace. Gratitude.
Chuck
 
Good afternoon, shipmates

I had a minor interruption in my work on Harriet Lane. My wife and I competed in a marathon yesterday. Background: My wife has been marathoning since the mid 00's and this was her 18th! I started doing it because I was bored waiting for her. Also, I like to test from time to time whether I have the grit and mental focus to compel myself to go 26.2 miles without stopping. I am not a runner. Never have been. I don't train. In fact, although I am not proud of it, I'm probably in the some of the worst shape of my life. My last one was KC in 2019.

If you enjoy a little country music (or a lot) you know the line: "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." At the mid point of my 60th year the question was: "Am I?" Can my mind still compel my body to finish this task? Most importantly, in my heart I dedicated this experiment to the audacity of my friends, former students, current students and shipmates on this forum. Here's to your inspiring audacity!

Blessings. Peace. Gratitude.
Chuck

Marathon pre cigarette.jpgMarathon Across the finish line.jpgPost Marathon.jpgMarathon Cigarette.jpg
 
Happily, when I got home I found that Amazon had delivered reference books that I wish I had even before starting USS Enterprise back in 2020 which is when I got back into this avocation. I know that some have doubts about the accuracy of the Petersson book, but I would love to have had pictures of how the rigging ran, what it ran through, and where it went. If I find the audacity one of these days to add sails, I'll be very glad indeed. His drawings of the sails and their parts seem amazingly instructive. "Arming the Fleet" is another one I wish I had. It is particularly pertinent to Harriet Lane. And I'm pleased with its content, drawings and diagrams. On the other hand, If I had it before starting Harriet Lane, I might not have asked so many questions and made a connection with Jerry Todd. I'm still hopeful of receiving guidance on the rigging of US Navy ships like the Harriet Lane (wink, wink . . . I know you're out there ;) ) The Isard book looked interesting and it was inexpensive. Once I spend some time with it, I'll share my thoughts.

Thankful for the interest, appreciation and fellowship.
Chuck

References.jpg
 
All good books to have.

I don't know that Petersson will of any use in rigging the Lane. His works seldom go past 1800 and are decidedly British. That book, despite being about rigging a British frigate, has much in it that basically had gone out of style, and no longer applied to the British frigate I'm modeling, that was built in 1810.

Since the Lane was built by a company that made their name building clipper ships, I would look to books on that subject when thinking about her rigging. I found a lot of so-called "merchant" practices were common-place on American warships from the 1850's on while researching Constellation's rigging. The use of "patent trusses" for instance. I only recently discovered that rigging screws (turnbuckles) were far more common on American warships built in the 1850's on, than dead-eyes and lanyards. You can see them in photos (especially deck shots of crews and the like) of ships like Hartford, Kearsarge, Susquehanna, and Constellation.
con20231016e.jpg
I think the Lane too, had rigging-screws like those shown on my model of Constellation, rather than dead-eyes and lanyards.
If you put sails on her, it's improbable her heads'ls were miter-cut as shown on that profile drawing. Miter-cut fore-and-aft sails were just started to appear during the 1860's and then on merchant ships. Even in the 1890's the Navy's sailing ships still had Scotch-cut jibs, even when they had split-tops'ls installed.

BTW, I found this pic of her capture while looking for something showing her rigging. The artist was pretty good at drawing Dahlgren howitzers.
1709012550018.jpeg

The Young Officers Sheet A nchor and Biddlecombe's The Art of Rigging both predate the Lane enough to not be of much use with the details you'll want.

For Antebellum and Civil War period American ships, I've found Spars and Rigging From Nautical Routine, 1849 to be useful, but still not an end-all source.
The Historical Naval Ships Association (HNSA.org) used to have a manual on seamanship that had a lot of useful plates applicable to ships of this period, but they moved it behind a paywall. It contained useful plates like this, which is how I rigged Constellation's spanker gaff and boom.
1709016346684.jpeg I saved them, so if you're looking for a certain part of the rig, I'll post the one that pertains to it, if there is one.
 
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Just to add to the confusion note on the engraving of the battle how there are no railings over the gun ports for the 9" Dahlgrens port and starboard aft of the deckhouse. The upper surface of the gun's muzzle is nearly level with the bulwark sheer.
Every time I finish a model that poses questions that require this kind of research I find a load of information that turns some one or more aspects of the build on its' head, POST build! :eek:
Great research and print modeling from Jerry.Thumbs-Up
 
JerryTodd said:
All good books to have.

I don't know that Petersson will of any use in rigging the Lane. His works seldom go past 1800 and are decidedly British. That book, despite being about rigging a British frigate, has much in it that basically had gone out of style, and no longer applied to the British frigate I'm modeling, that was built in 1810.

Since the Lane was built by a company that made their name building clipper ships, I would look to books on that subject when thinking about her rigging. I found a lot of so-called "merchant" practices were common-place on American warships from the 1850's on while researching Constellation's rigging. The use of "patent trusses" for instance. I only recently discovered that rigging screws (turnbuckles) were far more common on American warships built in the 1850's on, than dead-eyes and lanyards. You can see them in photos (especially deck shots of crews and the like) of ships like Hartford, Kearsarge, Susquehanna, and Constellation.
View attachment 431045
I think the Lane too, had rigging-screws like those shown on my model of Constellation, rather than dead-eyes and lanyards.
If you put sails on her, it's improbable her heads'ls were miter-cut as shown on that profile drawing. Miter-cut fore-and-aft sails were just started to appear during the 1860's and then on merchant ships. Even in the 1890's the Navy's sailing ships still had Scotch-cut jibs, even when they had split-tops'ls installed.

BTW, I found this pic of her capture while looking for something showing her rigging. The artist was pretty good at drawing Dahlgren howitzers.
View attachment 431055

The Young Officers Sheet A nchor and Biddlecombe's The Art of Rigging both predate the Lane enough to not be of much use with the details you'll want.

For Antebellum and Civil War period American ships, I've found Spars and Rigging From Nautical Routine, 1849 to be useful, but still not an end-all source.
The Historical Naval Ships Association (HNSA.org) used to have a manual on seamanship that had a lot of useful plates applicable to ships of this period, but they moved it behind a paywall. It contained useful plates like this, which is how I rigged Constellation's spanker gaff and boom.
View attachment 431068 I saved them, so if you're looking for a certain part of the rig, I post the one that pertains to it, if there is one.
Click to expand...
Dear Jerry, thanks for coming through AGAIN! I had my suspicions. So, now I have ordered Underhill's "Masting and Rigging: The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier" and Crother's "The Masting of American Merchant Sail in the 1850's." Having these references will help me move forward without having to signal SOS every time in the hope that Jerry isn't too busy :p

That is a neat illustration of the action on January 1, 1863. I wonder, however, how far it can be trusted. For example, where is the deck house? What is the structure in the centerline meant to represent? I wonder whether the rail over the Dahlgren howitzers was sacrificed for a better view of the gun. And, something is a little strange about the artists perspective and the foreshortening of certain objects and people. If you compare the objects and people at the starboard gunport with the port gunport, the objects and people to port look a little smaller than they should, at least to me. Kind of a fish-eye distortion without the aid of a camera with a fisheye lens. The howitzer on the port side also looks to be squared in the center of the port. On the other hand, I always thought the shape of the water closets on the model was strange. Was it common in sidewheeler construction to build water closets in such a geometrically complicated design? Although it looks cool, I doubt the model's water closets can be accurate. In this representation the water closets make more sense as structures with right angles. Also, as Jerry indicated, looking at the chains - not a deadeye in sight.

I think Pete mentioned it recently. I know Paul, Grant and others, perhaps countless others, have mentioned it. We're building models. When we're doing it from kits in particular we make a decision to accommodate the kit as designed with a desire for a greater degree of accuracy, or of feeling or both - see Grant's Xebec log. Some call it "bashing". Some call is amendment or improvement or modification. Short of having been there at the time, or having access to the real ship like some lucky people (Constellation, Constitution, HMS Warrior, etc.) there is an ocean of room for inspired interpretation as we make art.

Blessings.
Chuck
 
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