The ship looked simple enough, a raft with a gun turret in the middle. Ericsson boasted that it was secure against the heaviest shot and designed for action in shallow coastal waters like Hampton Roads and Southern rivers. He explained that even in narrow passages it could operate its guns in battle, since only the turret needed to be turned.

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Abraham Lincoln’s Role
Bushnell was impressed and urged Ericsson to present his model and plans to the secretary of the Navy. As Ericsson was reluctant to do so, Bushnell asked if he might take them, and Ericsson agreed. Bushnell then took the plans to his old friend, Welles, at his home in Hartford, Conn.

The timing was good, because Welles was worried. He had just been informed that since June the South had been pushing forward work on Virginia. Welles urged that the model and plans be taken to Washington for further scrutiny by the Ironclad Board. Bushnell agreed, and well aware of the difficulties of dealing with the board, he managed to arrange an appointment with Abraham Lincoln.

On September 12, Lincoln received Bushnell in the White House. The unique features of Ericsson’s raftlike design and turret impressed the president, and he accompanied Bushnell to the Navy Department, where they met with the Ironclad Board the following day for a discussion. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox was present, as were several other naval officers. They all listened intently to Bushnell’s presentation. There were many negative murmurs in the room, and opinion was split on the peculiar warship, but the president openly backed it. As he was holding the pasteboard model, studying its unique features, he remarked: ‘All I have to say is what the girl said when she stuck her foot in the stocking. It strikes me there’s something in it.’

The next day the board held an official meeting to decide on Ericsson’s proposal. The ship was unlike anything they had ever seen or even imagined before, and the very mention of Ericsson’s name made them suspicious. In the ensuing discussion, Paulding and Smith agreed to proceed with construction because the boat was inexpensive and could be ready in three months.

The third member, Captain Davis, had witnessed the Princeton tragedy and did not trust Ericsson. He handed back the model to Bushnell and, paraphrasing a Bible text, said: ‘Take it home and worship it. It will not be idolatry. It is the image of nothing in the heaven above, or the earth beneath, or the waters under the earth.’

That same evening Bushnell left for New York. When he met Ericsson the next morning, he tried to appeal to his vanity, saying: ‘The Board has been very impressed by your ingenious floating battery but one member, Commander Davis, only needs some further explanation about your design before signing a contract, details I was unable to explain. Therefore Secretary Welles suggested you come to Washington to give a personal explanation.’

Ericsson agreed to leave immediately for the capital and took the night train to Washington. Great was Ericsson’s surprise when he heard that his plan had been rejected by the junior member, Captain Davis. When confronted by Ericsson, Davis said, ‘Your ship, Captain Ericsson, lacks stability.’ The inventor proceeded to defend his creation with detailed knowledge and numbers, and pointed out that the low freeboard of his vessel in no way made it unstable. In fact, he said from his own experience with rafts in Sweden he knew that high seas washed over the decks, but the body of the ship itself remained steady.

He concluded, ‘Gentlemen, after what I have said, I consider it to be your duty to the country to give me an order to build the vessel before I leave this room.’ Davis relented and reluctantly recommended construction as an experiment. Ericsson was asked to return in an hour, and only five minutes after he was ushered into the room, Welles told him to ‘go ahead and start building as soon as possible; don’t wait for a formal contract.’ Ericsson and his strange little ship were suddenly at the forefront of the Union’s ironclad race.

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