Samuel Hartt (1786–1860) was a prominent American shipbuilder for the

U.S. 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 o ...

who built various warships used from the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

to the

U.S. 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 tha ...

, including the first steamship and

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

warships of the U.S. Navy.

Shipbuilding career

Samuel Hartt was born in 1786 in Massachusetts to

Edmund Hartt Edmund Hartt (1744-1824) was a master carpenter and owned the shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially ...

, the builder of the (1797), the United States's oldest warship. Hartt's father owned a large shipyard in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. Following in his father's footsteps, Hartt built many prominent ships including an early steam warship, the , and the first ironclad, the . Hartt worked in various Navy shipyards including the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

in New York and

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continu ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

. He also built the ''Mount Vernon'' (1815) for the City of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with his relative William Delano, and Hartt later helped train his nephew, Benjamin Franklin Delano, in shipbuilding. In 1853 Hartt served as chief of the navy's

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 ...

. During this time, he stated:

"It is believed . . . that a proper regard for the efficiency of our naval ships and a fair competition with those of other navies, as well as sound economy, require the building of more new ships, embracing the improvements of the age . . . , rather than continuing to make extensive repairs on old ones—the expense of which often amounts to nearly the cost of new."

Death and legacy

Hartt died in Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, in 1860 and was buried in Brooklyn, New York at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several ...

. He was married to Mary T. Tolman, and they had several children, including Samuel Tolman Hartt (1816-1859) who was also a prominent naval shipbuilder located in the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval ...

, and who died there in 1859. Samuel T. Hartt built the , one of the last and largest paddle frigates. Samuel Hartt's younger sons

Edward Hartt Edward Hartt (1825-1883) was a United States Navy constructor who oversaw or participated in the construction of many prominent ironclad and tinclad naval ships used during the American Civil War. Hart was born in 1825 in Portsmouth, New Hampshi ...

and Joseph were also involved in shipbuilding, and Edward constructed various gunboats, monitors and tinclad vessels.James M. Hart, GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF SAMUELL HARTT FROM LONDON, ENGLAND, TO LYNN, MASS., 1640, AND DESCENDANTS, TO 1903,p. 73 https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G002905.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartt, Samuel American shipbuilders American naval architects