Samuel Humphreys (23 November 1778 – 16 August 1846) was a noted American

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and

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in the early 19th century. He served the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as the Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846.

Naval architect

Preparation for War to defend Commerce Birch's Views Plate 29

Samuel Humphreys supervised the construction of the frigate , which was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

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, in 1798, and launched in 1799. He later constructed ships at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

, and supervised the construction of the ship-of-the-line , the first ship to be laid down at the yard, in 1815. In 1824, Humphreys turned down a very lucrative offer from Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

to create a Russian navy, saying: "I do not know that I possess the merits attributed to me, but, be they great or small, I owe them all to the flag of my country." In 1826, Humpherys was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Humphreys was Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846. He designed Americas first

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying ...

ship-of-the-line, , which was laid down in 1821, but not launched until 1837. He also designed the supply ship , which was laid down in 1835 and launched in 1836. Around 1827, Humphreys took on John Lenthall as his apprentice to work as his assistant and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

, and in 1828 he nominated Lenthall for a position as one of the assistant naval constructors at the

. Lenthall would go on to serve as Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1849 to 1853 and as Chief of the Navys

Bureau of Construction and Repair The Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the ...

from 1853 to 1871.Tucker, pp. 348, 349.

Family

Humphreys's father was Joshua Humphreys (1751-1838), the naval architect for the first six frigates of the U.S. Navy. Samuel, and his wife Letitia, had sons

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

(1810-1883) and Joshua (1813–1873) who served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

and

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

, respectively, in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

(1861-1865). His other children were Jane Murray McCrabb (1813–1897), Mary Yonge (1823–1866), and William Humphreys (1828–1897). Samuel Humphreys is buried at the

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, with his sons Andrew and Joshua.

Notes

References

* * * Chapelle, Howard I. ''The History of the American Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their Development''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1949. . * Tucker, Spencer C., ed. ''Civil War Naval Encyclopedia''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2011, .

External links

Inventory of the Humphreys Family Papers, 1840-1918
in the

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...

, UNC-Chapel Hill
Samuel Humphreys Letterbook, 1824-1845, MS 146
and hi
Directions for cutting Timber for a Frigate of the first Class, 1835, MS 194
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Samuel 1778 births 1846 deaths American naval architects United States Navy civilians American shipbuilders Burials at the Congressional Cemetery American people of Welsh descent

Naval architect

Family

See also

Notes

References

External links