Hampton Roads Naval Museum

39. Steel Navy

Norfolk, VA

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It was not until the United States Navy had fallen dangerously behind the other nations of the world that attention turned to modernization. In 1883, legislation was at last passed providing for the construction of new steel warships. Known as the "ABCD Ships," they were to be named Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Dolphin. These new ships - the first of which was commissioned in 1886 - were hybrids of old and new technology. They featured hulls constructed of steel, and relatively powerful steam engines, but were also capable of operating under sail. Some officers of this period were skeptical about coal power. They felt it was dirty and unreliable, and more importantly that it was too expensive. They also felt that it diminished the teamwork built through manning a rigged sailing ship.