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USS Madawaska Bronze Plate - Where Would It Have Been Used? (Screw Frigate USS TENNESSEE)


spilogale
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Hello everyone.  I picked up this metal plate at a recent estate sale that had many fine military items.  It appears to have come from the USS Madawaska (later to be renamed the USS Tennessee), a screw frigate built at the New York Navy Yard and launched on 8 July 1865.  The plate is round and appears to be made of bronze.  It measures about 3" in diameter.  The center is dated "1866" and marked "40 GAL".  I presume it was attached to some sort of tank to designate maximum capacity?  Anybody have any ideas?  Thanks in advance! 

madawaska front.jpg

madawaska rear.jpg

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Salvage Sailor

Correct, she was a Screw (Steam) Frigate and this was probably attached to a holding tank.

 

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Thanks for the reply.  I presume 40 gallons would be too small for a water, oil, or fuel tank?  Maybe a holding tank for waste?  Seems weird that they would mark every waste tank though.  A cool relic, regardless.

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Salvage Sailor

Information from navsource.com

 

Screw Frigate:
Laid down, date unknown, as a wood-hulled screw frigate at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Launched, 8 July 1865
Commissioned USS Madawaska, circa January 1867, CDR. Francis A. Roe in command
Renamed USS Tennessee 15 May 1869, timbered up to the necessary height to allow a spar deck to be installed
Tennessee served as flagship for the Asiatic Squadron from 1869 to 1879
Reassigned as flagship for the North Atlantic Squadron in 1879
Decommissioned, date unknown
Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
Sold, 15 September 1886 to Burdett Pond, Meriden, CT.
Final Disposition, fate unknown
Specifications:
Displacement 3,281 t.
Length 355'
Beam 45' 2"
Draft 21' 8"
Speed 13.9 Kts
Complement 480
Armament
two 8" rifles
two 100-pdrs
one 60-pdr
eighteen 9" smooth bore guns
Propulsion Steam and Sail
As Built - two Ericsson vibrating lever engines
1869 - two compound back-acting engines, 3,200hp
Bunker - 380 t. coal
ten principal sails, 22,500 square feet
 

z8.jpg.4c2e76a15c6893305c77aa9dbeeb52e2.jpg

The wooden-hulled steam screw frigate USS Tennessee (III) at Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1875, after her conversion to a gun-deck frigate.
US Navy photo from Warships of the Civil War Navies, p. 33, by Paul H. Silverstone, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD.

 

z9.jpg.a029c19545996a7c3ec8653661c641ab.jpg

USS Tennessee (III) in the early 1880s, location unknown.
A U.S. Naval Institute photo from the Florida Keys Public Libraries photo # MM00014609.

 

z10.jpg.21d23bc934e48a6c775c50edf5fb2ae7.jpg

Drawing comparing the machinery installation of USS Wampanoag, USS Tennessee (Center noting boiler locations) and USS Trenton. It is marked: "Copy from Roach's April 16th (18)77". The plan emphasizes the savings in weight, space and personnel represented in the machinery and boilers of Tennessee and Trenton as compared with Wampanoag. The original drawing is # 107-10-5A in Record Group 19, National Archives.
US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 76383

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everforward

FWIW, there was a USS Madawaska used as a troop ship in WW1…..not the same ship though.

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  • 5 months later...

I bought the USS Madawaska 40 gal tank ID plate from member spilogate. He had placed the ID plate on eBay and we came to an agreement on a price. I am thankful to have this bit of history to add to my USS Tennessee (1869) collection. Up until I bought the plate I had items associated with the Tennessee but nothing one could say was actually aboard the ship. 

 

 I've been working on a scratch built model of the Tennessee for six years and finally, the light is at the end of the tunnel. I've attached a couple of photos.

 

Thank you.

 Keith 

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655C55E3-7369-42AA-A546-E1070B3C82A0.jpeg

34A874AD-5587-4106-9C21-8EBA52FE5A98.jpeg

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 Thank you, SS.

 

 Posting pictures of my humble efforts wasn't the reason for my joining. The main reason for my joining was to provide an update to the Madawaska artifact and that it had come into the possession of an appreciative caretaker.

 

 I didn't mention in my previous post that the Tennessee model scale is 1:120. 

 

KB

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52 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 Thank you, SS.

 

 Posting pictures of my humble efforts wasn't the reason for my joining. The main reason for my joining was to provide an update to the Madawaska artifact and that it had come into the possession of an appreciative caretaker.

 

 I didn't mention in my previous post that the Tennessee model scale is 1:120. 

 

KB

Ok, I won't compliment you on that fantastic model. Ok, yes I will. It's beautiful.

 

But I also think it's great that you now have plate. You should start a post with the rest of your collection. 

 

I am curious about your interest in that ship in particular. Any family history? 

 

Mikie

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9 minutes ago, mikie said:

I am curious about your interest in that ship in particular. Any family history?

 Thank you, Mikie. 

 

 No family history but I love the transitional period between 1850 and 1900 when navies went from sail to steam, cannon to gun, and wood hull to clad. I think it's a unappreciated and overlooked part of naval history. 

 

Why the Tennessee? I bought a folk art model of the Tennessee almost 20 years ago on eBay that was needed to be restored and i was close to completing restoration when I had a stroke in 2017. The scale of deck item, yards, and mast was ridiculous and during recovery I decided to strip it down to the bare hull and make a proper model that was to scale (1:120) and as accurate as possible given the limitations of the hull. 

 

 I'm a member of MSW/Nautical Research Guild and below is the link to my build log...

 https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19698-wood-hull-screw-frigate-uss-tennessee-1869-to-1886-by-keith-black-scale-1120/

 

 As a side note the USS Madawaska was renamed the USS Tennessee in 1869, the same year our house was built, the same year the Golden Spike was driven. 

 

 I do love a bit of history,

 KB

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