SS ''Dessoug'' was a wooden

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

which was built in 1864 for the

Khedive of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and e ...

as ''Denton''. She was noteworthy for being selected by

Henry Honychurch Gorringe Henry Honychurch Gorringe (August 11, 1841 – July 7, 1885) was a United States naval officer who attained national acclaim for successfully completing the removal of Cleopatra's Needle from Alexandria, Egypt to Central Park in New York Cit ...

for the purpose of transporting the

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

Obelisk from Egypt to New York City. She was sold to Ocean Steam Company in 1880 and renamed ''Dessoug''. She served between New York and Savanna for her final years. In 1896 she sailed to Cow Bay, Long Island and broken up for scrap.

History

''Denton'' was built in Hartlepool England in 1864 for the

. She was selected by

for the purpose of transporting the

Obelisk from Egypt to New York City. Realizing that lifting a roughly 200-ton stone up and placing it down into the cargo hold was beyond the technology of the day (and placing it as top-heavy deck cargo would capsize the ship), Gorringe devised a novel loading method. He had the ship moved to a sturdy

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

. Then, he had a by hole cut in her

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

bow – and the

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

would be slid along horizontally right into the ship's interior. Cannonballs were used as bearings to move the obelisk inside. Thus loaded and the bow planks replaced, she left on 12 June 1880 for the United States. During the voyage her propeller shaft broke and was replaced using a spare while she was under sail power from shore. (The obelisk in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

also called ''

'' was of similar weight; it was shipped in a purpose-built temporary vessel, the ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

''.) She was later used between New York and Savannah until she was scrapped in 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dessoug Ships built in Pennsylvania 1896 ships Steamships

History

See also

References