Existing comment:
"A state of perfect chaos"
-- William Bainbridge 1812
The Navy Yard in the War of 1812
When Captain William Bainbridge took command of the Navy Yard in April 1812, he founded little but a tract of marshy land and nine buildings in disrepair. Only 12 years old, the yard still had no deep water wharf for ships or adequate storage for supplies. A state-owned magazine miles away housed the Navy's gunpowder.
Bainbridge repeatedly tried to improve the Yard's facilities, but the Navy Department did not have the funds. In 1813, workers erected a new brick storehouse and blacksmith shop, and in 1814 and enormous shed or "shiphouse" covered the ship of the line under construction.
Despite these improvements, many years passed before the Yard assumed the character of the industrial complex seen today.
This 1833 view of Boston from the west end of the Navy Yard shows a harbor full of busy activity. The steeple of the Old North Church is still a prominent landmark. [courtesy Library of Congress] |