ibuted to libraries, to cultural and scientific
organizations, and to specialists and others interested in the different
subjects.

The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in
separate form, of shorter papers from the Museum of Natural History.
These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date
of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume.

In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear
longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in
several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related
subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on
the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the
botanical collections of the Museum of Natural History have been
published in the _Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from
the United States National Herbarium_, and since 1959, in _Bulletins_
titled "Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology," have
been gathered shorter papers relating to the collections and research of
that Museum.

The present collection of Contributions, Papers 34-44, comprises
Bulletin 240. Each of these papers has been previously published in
separate form. The year of publication is shown on the last page of each
paper.

FRANK A. TAYLOR
_Director, United States National Museum_

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY:

PAPER 39

FULTON'S "STEAM BATTERY":
BLOCKSHIP AND CATAMARAN

_Howard I. Chapelle_

SURVIVING DESIGNS FOR FLOATING BATTERIES 145

CONTROVERSIAL DESCRIPTIONS 147

COPENHAGEN PLANS 150

HISTORY OF DOUBLE-HULL CRAFT 152

SAIL AND INBOARD PLANS 157

RECONSTRUCTING THE PLANS 161

APPENDIX 167

[FOOTNOTES]

[INDEX]

[Illustration: Figure 1.--SCALE MODEL of Fulton's _Steam Battery_ in
the Museum of History and Technology. (Smithsonian photo P-63390-F.)]

_Howard I. Chapelle_

FULTON'S "STEAM BATTERY": BLOCKSHIP and CATAMARAN

_Robert Fulton's "Steam Battery," a catamaran-type blockship, was built
during the War of 1812. Until recently, not enough material has been
available to permit a reasonably accurate reconstruction of what is
generally acknowledged to be the first steam man-of-war._

_With the disc