Benjamin F. Isherwood
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Franklin Isherwood (October 6, 1822 – June 19, 1915) was an engineering officer in the United States Navy
during the early days of steam-powered warships. He served as a ship's engineer during the Mexican–American War
, and after the war did experimental work with steam propulsion. Rising to the rank of rear admiral
, as Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy during the Civil War
, he helped to found the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering
.
. He worked for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and trained under William C. Young, one of the most prominent engineers of that period. Isherwood then worked on the Croton Aqueduct
, followed by an engineering job on the Erie Canal
. Designing and constructing lighthouse
s for the Treasury Department
was Isherwood's last employment before joining the Navy.
, he served in the steam warship
, and later was senior engineer of the gunboat
.
When the Mexican–American War ended, Isherwood was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard
, where he assisted Charles Stuart
in designing engines and experiments with steam as a source of power for propelling ships. Throughout the 1850s, Isherwood compiled operational and performance data from steam engines in U.S. and foreign commercial vessels and warships. He used these empirical data to analyze the efficiency of engine types then in use.
In the twelve years between the Mexican–American War and the Civil War, Isherwood published 55 technical and scientific articles on steam engineering and vessel propulsion in the prestigious Journal of the Franklin Institute
. In 1859 the engineer published the results of his own original thermodynamic experiments in the two-volume Engineering Precedents for Steam Machinery. Isherwood was the nation's most prolific antebellum technical writer.
Isherwood went to sea during the period between the wars, serving as Chief Engineer of the steam frigate
on a cruise of more than three years on the Asiatic Station. During this cruise he was stricken with dysentery
, prompting his return to the United States.
was created under his direction.
When the Civil War began, the Navy had 28 steam vessels, and during the war, the number grew to 600. Isherwood conducted the design and construction of the machinery necessary to accomplish this. He designed ships that were fast enough to pursue the blockade runner
s.
In 1863 and 1865, Isherwood published the first and second volumes of Experimental Researches in Steam Engineering, which were translated into six languages and became a standard engineering text upon which future steam experimentation was based.
at Annapolis. By 1874, naval engineers refined this curriculum to the point that it served as the model for mechanical engineering education at most American universities.
In 1869 Isherwood ran afoul of former shipmate Admiral David Dixon Porter
. During the war years Isherwood led a campaign to increase the rank and influence of engineering officers in the navy. Porter opposed this change in the service's class structure. After the presidential inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant
, Isherwood's longtime patron, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
, could no longer protect him. Admiral Porter banished Isherwood to the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco.
Despite his diminished stature, Isherwood continued to produce technical innovations. In 1870 and 1871, Isherwood conducted experiments that resulted in a propeller
that was used by the Navy for the next 27 years.
He was a pioneer in the production of fast cruiser
s, producing this class against strong opposition. Following a tour of European dockyards, he became president of the Experimental Board under the Bureau of Steam Engineering
until his retirement on October 6, 1884.
Isherwood died in New York City
at the age of 92.
in Annapolis, Maryland
, is named "Isherwood Hall" in his honor.
The Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood Award is awarded by the Navy to recognize "innovation and expertise in the effective assessment, development, execution, or deployment of technological solutions for operational Fleet needs."
Three U.S. Navy ships—two destroyer
s named and a fleet replenishment oiler named —have been named for him.
In a 1941 article in the United States Naval Institute
's Proceedings, George W. Dyson stated that Isherwood might possibly be the greatest engineer the United States Navy had developed.
The revolutionary engineering program initiated by Isherwood at the U.S. Naval Academy became the template for professional American mechanical engineering education. That basic curriculum designed at Annapolis in the late 1860s and early 1870s still serves as the core of university mechanical engineering pedagogy.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the early days of steam-powered warships. He served as a ship's engineer during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
, and after the war did experimental work with steam propulsion. Rising to the rank of rear admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
, as Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he helped to found the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering
Bureau of Steam Engineering
Bureau of Steam Engineering was set up by act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June 1920, the Bureau of Engineering...
.
Career in civilian engineering
Isherwood was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He worked for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and trained under William C. Young, one of the most prominent engineers of that period. Isherwood then worked on the Croton Aqueduct
Croton Aqueduct
The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842...
, followed by an engineering job on the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
. Designing and constructing lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s for the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
was Isherwood's last employment before joining the Navy.
Early Naval career
At the age of 22, Isherwood was appointed First Assistant Engineer in the Navy May 23, 1844, serving aboard in 1846–47. During the Mexican–American WarMexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
, he served in the steam warship
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, and later was senior engineer of the gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
.
When the Mexican–American War ended, Isherwood was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, where he assisted Charles Stuart
Charles B. Stuart
Charles Beebe Stuart was an American engineer, United States Navy and Union Army officer and politician.-Biography:...
in designing engines and experiments with steam as a source of power for propelling ships. Throughout the 1850s, Isherwood compiled operational and performance data from steam engines in U.S. and foreign commercial vessels and warships. He used these empirical data to analyze the efficiency of engine types then in use.
In the twelve years between the Mexican–American War and the Civil War, Isherwood published 55 technical and scientific articles on steam engineering and vessel propulsion in the prestigious Journal of the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
. In 1859 the engineer published the results of his own original thermodynamic experiments in the two-volume Engineering Precedents for Steam Machinery. Isherwood was the nation's most prolific antebellum technical writer.
Isherwood went to sea during the period between the wars, serving as Chief Engineer of the steam frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
on a cruise of more than three years on the Asiatic Station. During this cruise he was stricken with dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, prompting his return to the United States.
Civil War
Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, Isherwood was appointed Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy, and so important were his services considered that the Bureau of Steam EngineeringBureau of Steam Engineering
Bureau of Steam Engineering was set up by act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June 1920, the Bureau of Engineering...
was created under his direction.
When the Civil War began, the Navy had 28 steam vessels, and during the war, the number grew to 600. Isherwood conducted the design and construction of the machinery necessary to accomplish this. He designed ships that were fast enough to pursue the blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s.
In 1863 and 1865, Isherwood published the first and second volumes of Experimental Researches in Steam Engineering, which were translated into six languages and became a standard engineering text upon which future steam experimentation was based.
Post-war activities
Immediately upon the conclusion of the war, Isherwood was principally involved with organizing a new scientific curriculum for steam engineering at the United States Naval AcademyUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
at Annapolis. By 1874, naval engineers refined this curriculum to the point that it served as the model for mechanical engineering education at most American universities.
In 1869 Isherwood ran afoul of former shipmate Admiral David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
. During the war years Isherwood led a campaign to increase the rank and influence of engineering officers in the navy. Porter opposed this change in the service's class structure. After the presidential inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, Isherwood's longtime patron, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
, could no longer protect him. Admiral Porter banished Isherwood to the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco.
Despite his diminished stature, Isherwood continued to produce technical innovations. In 1870 and 1871, Isherwood conducted experiments that resulted in a propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
that was used by the Navy for the next 27 years.
He was a pioneer in the production of fast cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s, producing this class against strong opposition. Following a tour of European dockyards, he became president of the Experimental Board under the Bureau of Steam Engineering
Bureau of Steam Engineering
Bureau of Steam Engineering was set up by act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June 1920, the Bureau of Engineering...
until his retirement on October 6, 1884.
Isherwood died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the age of 92.
Legacy
The Navy has recognized Isherwood's contributions in various ways. The steam engineering building at the United States Naval AcademyUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, is named "Isherwood Hall" in his honor.
The Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Isherwood Award is awarded by the Navy to recognize "innovation and expertise in the effective assessment, development, execution, or deployment of technological solutions for operational Fleet needs."
Three U.S. Navy ships—two destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s named and a fleet replenishment oiler named —have been named for him.
In a 1941 article in the United States Naval Institute
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute , based at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is a private, non-profit, professional military association that seeks to offer independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national defense issues...
's Proceedings, George W. Dyson stated that Isherwood might possibly be the greatest engineer the United States Navy had developed.
The revolutionary engineering program initiated by Isherwood at the U.S. Naval Academy became the template for professional American mechanical engineering education. That basic curriculum designed at Annapolis in the late 1860s and early 1870s still serves as the core of university mechanical engineering pedagogy.
Selected publications
- Engineering Precedents for Steam Machinery; Embracing the Performances of Steamships, Experiments with Propelling Instruments, Condensers, Boilers, Etc., Accompanied by Analysis of the Same, Vol. II. New York: Bailliere Brothers, 1859.
- Experimental Researches in Steam Engineering Vol. I. (Philadelphia: 1863).
- 'Notes on the Steamer Bibb.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 52 (1851): 250-255.
- 'Investigation of the Comparative Merits of the Perpendicular and Radial Paddlewheels for Sea-Going Vessels.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 50 (August 1850): 134-139.
- 'Investigation of the Comparative Merits of the Perpendicular and Radial Paddlewheels for Sea-Going Vessels.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 50 (September 1850): 181-188.
- 'Reply to the Objections of ‘M’ (Published in the October Number, page 260) to a Comparison Between the Radial and Perpendicular Paddle Wheels for Steamers.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 50 (December 1850): 378-383.
- 'Remarks on Nystrom’s Screw Propeller.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 52 (July 1851): 42-49.
- 'Trial Trip of the U.S. Screw Propeller Steamship of War, San Jacinto.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 52 (November 1851).
- 'Notes on the Indicator Diagrams from the U.S. War Steamer Spitfire.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 51 (February 1851).
- 'Notes on the U.S. War Steamer Spitfire.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 51 (March 1851).
- 'Performance at Sea of the U.S. Steamship Fulton.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 53 (February 1852).
- 'Remarks on H.B.M. Screw Steam Frigate Arrogant.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 53 (May 1852).
- 'Performance of the U.S. Screw Steamship San Jacinto, from Norfolk, Va., to Cadiz, Spain, during the month of March, 1852.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 53 (June 1852): 393-397.
- 'The French Line-of-Battle Screw Steamship Charlemagne.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 57 (February 1854).
- 'Notes on the Application of Lamb and Sumner’s Boilers to the U.S. Steamer Vixen.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 58 (1854): 267-269.
- 'An Account of some Experiments on a Mixture of Saturated and Surcharged Steam (Wethered’s patent) made under the direction of E.K. Collins, Esq.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 57 (April 1854): 257-267.
- 'An Account of some Comparative Experiments made at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard, April, 1854, on the ordinary mode of setting Land Boilers, and on the mode patented by Henry F. Baker.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 58 (September 1854): 193-201 and Vol. 58 (October 1854): 259-269.
- 'Disquisition on the Laws regulating the Slips of Screw Propellers in Function and Form of Dimensions; based on a digest of the Experiments made in 1845 by M. Bourgois, Engineer de Vaisseau, at the French Government Manufactory at Indret.' Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 59 (March 1855): 156-163, Vol. 59 (April 1855): 219-231, Vol. 59 (May 1855): 295-304, and Vol. 59 (June 1855): 361-368.