Born James William Doughty also known as William Doughty and James Doughty (1773 – 1859) was a United States naval architect who designed many of the sailing " Seventy-four ships". Doughty worked for many years as a United States naval architect laying down such ships "as the , , and that rank with the best ships ever built."

Shipbuilding career

Philadelphia Navy Yard

William Doughty began his career as protégé of noted naval constructor Joshua Humphreys. In a letter to Secretary

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

dated 22 October 1794, Humphreys recommended young Doughty for a position as his clerk at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Humphreys stated he believed Doughty to be a "devoted and distinguished worker." Doughty took the oath of allegiance on 23 October 1794 as a clerk at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 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 ...

; his pay was set at $500.00 per annum.

Washington Navy Yard

On April 12, 1804, William Doughty was appointed as head carpenter,

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and Weapon, ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serv ...

, by Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith Doughty was popular among shipyard mechanics and laborers and was supportive of their 1835 strike. Naval constructors like William Doughty combined the skills of a naval architect and engineer, at the navy yard his position was somewhat unique, for the naval constructor job provided Doughty with a wide range of connections; most importantly, it meant that he reported to the

Board of Navy Commissioners The Board of Navy Commissioners was a United States Navy administrative body in existence from 1815 to 1842, with responsibility for the navy's material support. The three-member Board was created as part of an expansion of the U.S. Navy Departme ...

and not to the shipyard commandants like

Thomas Tingey Thomas Tingey (11 September 1750 – 23 February 1829) was a commodore of the United States Navy. Originally serving in the British Royal Navy, Tingey later served in the Continental Navy. Tingey served with distinction during the Quasi-War and ...

and Isaac Hull. The BNC placed such a high value on Doughty's nautical expertise that they scheduled a regular Monday morning meeting to consult with him each week. This relationship with the Navy Commissioners allowed Doughty considerable influence. The regard he enjoyed with the shipyard workforce also led to considerable tension as during the strike of 1835, when he advised the ship carpenters to hold out for higher wages. His career as a shipbuilder, though, was long and very successful; the 1850 census for the

District of Columbia ) , 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, ...

records his real estate as valued at $35,000. He was also one of the highest-paid civilians at the Washington Navy Yard. The navy yard payroll for April 1829 shows William Doughty's annual salary as $1,900, nearly the same as a naval captain. William Doughty, while working at Washington Navy Yard designed many naval vessels, including the USS ''Independence'' and USS ''Brandywine''. He also designed the ''President'', USS ''United States'' 74s, ''Peacock'' class, ''Erie'' class, ''Java'' and ''Guerrier'', USS ''North Carolina'' 74s class, USS ''Brandywine'' 44s Class, brigs, revenue cutters, and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Clipper model.

War of 1812

Navy Yard Rifles

During the War of 1812 British Chesapeake Campaign, William Doughty served as a militia captain and was incorrectly named in the military records as John Doughty. In 1813, Doughty formed the quasi-militia Navy Yard volunteers and drilled them regularly after Navy Yard working hours. This military unit became known as the "Navy Yard Rifles", becoming a volunteer rifle company that served under the command of Major Robert Brent of the 2nd Regiment of the District of Columbia Militia, who was the first Mayor of Washington, D.C., in the defense of the capital city which resulted in the disastrous defeat in August 1814 at the

Battle of Bladensburg The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British for ...

.Doughty, William Captain, 2nd Regiment (Brent's) District of Columbia Militia War of 1812, NARA RG 94

References

Bibliography

*Brown, Gordon S. ''The Captain Who Burned His Ships Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750–1829'' Naval Institute Press: Annapolis 2011 pp 141–142. *Donovan, Jane B. ''Henry Foxall: Methodist, Industrialist, American'', New Room Books 2017. *Maloney, Linda M. ''The Captain from Connecticut: the Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull''. Northeastern University Press.1986 p. 268. *Sharp, John G. ''History of the Washington Navy Yard Civilian Workforce 1799–1962'' Stockton: Vindolanda Press, 2005 p. 13. * Shiner, Michael.
The Diary of Michael Shiner Relating to the History of the Washington Navy Yard 1813-1869
'. Transcribed in 2007. *Wood, Virginia Steele ''William Doughty Naval Constructor 1773–1859'' New Interpretations in Naval History Selected Papers from the Twelfth Naval History Symposium, ed. W.Cogan US Naval Academy: Annapolis 1992 pp 114–122.

External links

from

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty, William American shipbuilders 1773 births 1859 deaths