![]() The great cost and weight of a boiler and engine limited the application until new ideas were developed. The basic elements of the modern steam engine were introduced and, for the next hundred years, new ways would be found to use this source of power. When a young mechanic named James Watt was asked to repair one of these engines in 1769 he began developing ways to improve their efficiency. In England a crude steam engine was being used to pump water from the mines. Many of the mills were located next to fast-moving rivers and streams to provide the power for these machines other sources of power came from wind, animals and even men turning the main shaft. In the 18th Century a series of machines were designed to improve efficiency in the garment industry, including the spinning jenny, spinning frame and cotton gin. The massive naval involvement in the US Civil War, the Union blockade, Confederate raiders and blockade runners all served to accelerate the development of the steam warship. There were steamships active in both of the Opium Wars in China (1839-42, 1856-60) and the Crimean War fought in and around the Black Sea (1853-56) in all cases they still served alongside ships powered only by sail. Although the transition to steam was occurring in most of the developed navies at the same time, this Entry will concentrate on the US Navy. The transition from sail occurred in the first half of the 19th Century, with a few notable exceptions. This transition was considered inconceivable at the beginning and inevitable by the end.Īlmost all the ships in use today are powered by machinery. By the end of that same century they had become low, noisy vessels covered by a haze of dark smoke. In the opening years of the 19th Century, the arrival of a naval fleet was identified by acres of white canvas spread over tall masts and wide yards.
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