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acted as a sort of keel to make the raft track better in a straight line. Several timbers we re bolted toge ther to form 14" by 5'2" units. These uni ts most likely ran the length of the raft; each unit was bo lted to the ones above and below. In the center secti on where there were five layers of timber, bolts were spaced less than nin e inches apart. T hey were so densely spaced in the center that I believe bolts we re driven in each new layer of timber that was installed. T his was a structure meant to take a lot of punishment. Of interest is that Acting Volunteer Lt. E. H . Faucon, who transported the rafts from New York to Port Royal, South Carolina, was the same Capt. Faucon who commanded the brig Pilgrim when Richard H enry D ana was a sailor aboard gathering material for Two Years Before the Mast. TOM 0ERTLING Galveston, Texas
Lady Elizabeth's Future When we sent the above information along to Mr. Canfield, he responded to thank us and to report on one lovely lady.from the Falklands. In recent visits to the Falkland Islands, I have seen few marvelo us old vessels in better shape than the Lady Elizabeth, a bark of 1208 to ns, built in Sunderland, England, in 1879. Her lower masts still stand. T he islanders have done all they can to preserve her, and she has become an icon of Stanley Harbor, jealously guarded. However, the population of Stanley is only 1,700 and of the entire island gro up, 2,5 00 . Lady Elizabeth in her sailing days and in the Falklands, 1988 (Publicity Plus; Donald.Frost)
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Thus, their reso urces are exceedingly limited, and the Lady remains grounded at the end of the harbor. Additionally, many land mines remain , left by the Argentinians in 1982, and much land is marked unsafe. So their firs t priority is not ship resto ration. Al though I've not been aboard for a close inspection, discuss ions at the museum tend to support that she is in very good shape. Also, so me of the enormous cruise vessels having 1,000 passengers or more now visit, so it seems the Lady co uld beco me a to urist attraction . She appears to be in better shape than some vessels which have abso rbed mi ll io ns, and some attention may be well deserved and mos t appreciated. EUGENE B. CANFIELD Jamestown, New Yo rk
Good Words for the Gazette I am sure you get lots of favora ble comments regarding Sea History bu t this is a short note to co mpliment yo u on the mos t rece nt Sea History Gazette. It was th e fin es t I can remember. The amount of in fo rm ation was well presented in just a handful of pages ra ngin g fro m announ cements to all so rts of quality news in the maritime field. T he Gazette alone is beco min g reason enough to join NMH S. DAVID A. O'NEIL, NMH S T rustee Essex, Connecticut ERRATA & ADDENDA
T he company that built the tug Luna was listed in Sea History 96 (p34) as M . M. David. T he Solomons, Maryland, company is actually M. M. Davis.
In the review of USS New Ironsides in the Civil War (Sea History 97, pp44-5) the reviewer quotes the Preface of the book, which says the armored fri gate was "America's first seagoing ironclad and the only seago ing iro nclad to see combat in the Ame rican C ivil W ar." However, while New Ironsides was launched on 10 May 1862, the ironclad screw steamer Galena, built by Maxson, Fish & Co., Mystic, Connecticut, was launched on 14 February 1862. Galena came under Co nfederate fire from Fort Darling on the James River in Virginia on 15 May 1862. Her armor plating proved to be inadequate and was later removed. R rCHARD
H. DUMAS
Eas t Haven, C onnecticut SEA HISTORY 99, WINTER 2001 - 02