USS Tennessee 1869 by Keith Black - scale 1:120 - Wood Hull Screw Frigate - ex Madawaska 1865

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for visiting and for the likes. Lynn, Glen, Pat, Mark, Tom, Brian, Dave, Gary, and Keith thank you for your kind support.

 

On 3/16/2022 at 8:52 PM, TBlack said:

Nice looking flags. And I'm jealous of the fact that you have windows in your workshop!

 Thank you, Tom. Actually it's our front porch, my workshop is upstairs. Because I take such lousy photos due to the bad lighting upstairs, I've started taking pics on the porch when possible. 

9 hours ago, Dave_E said:

I know I’m way late on this build (I wasn’t a member yet, and Keith and I have corresponded much since I came aboard). Really glad I posted some rigging comments lately on my Lady Nelson. Because of your comments on rigging, I came to your build and while looking for your wire stropping, I find this. This is one of the really cool things about build logs and a forum like this. I never thought about making the tackle look “more real (correct)” until I read this section on how you did all this work to make the tackle look so realistic. This is so cool! 😎 Think I’m going to try your process. 👍

 Dave, I've enjoyed being part of your journey. I'd be so pleased if you were able to find something useful in my build to help you in yours. MSW is a collective of sharing by like minded individuals. I'd still be stuck in first gear if not for the build logs from which I've gleaned so much.

8 hours ago, FriedClams said:

That's a shame because I think the flags look great, especially Old Glory.  Nice subtle wave in it - I can almost hear it popping in the wind.  But if something doesn't seem right, it'll always bug you.

Gary, the running lines right next to the flag halyards of the same size is a poke in the eye. The kid came out in me. I just couldn't wait till I had the proper size line to finally see the 37 stars fly after seeing it in my mind for so many years.

 

 Each of you warms my heart for which I am eternally grateful. 

[rwiederrich]

Keith, will you be adding any sail control lines to your rigging?

 

Rob

[Keith Black]

2 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

will you be adding any sail control lines to your rigging?

 

 No, Rob, lifts and braces only as there'll not be any canvas in the yards. I'm rigging the Tennessee per the first two H&H photos. Hatton and Hart were on board the Tennessee at least twice (maybe three) taking photographs of the Tennessee during her career. 

 

 

The above and below photos of the mizzen port side pin rail void of control lines.

 

The above and below photos of the mizzen port side pin rail with control lines.

 

 Not having a pin rail plan, rigging the Tennessee without control lines makes life much easier. I could probably fake it but why? 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Keith Black

[lraymo]

Love the pictures of the officers and the crew!  These are great (although there must've been a rule to look "serious" for the camera!)  I know you were using these as construction photos, but I think its equally fascinating to see the crew!

[Keith Black]

Lynn, the H&H photos with crew in them are really neat. I've been meaning to post all the Hatton and Hart photos in one posting, I promise to do so soon.  

[Keith Black]

These are all the photos and two drawings I have of the Tennessee. Hopefully they provide interest and insight. I'll make four entries; profiles, port side view, starboard side view, center view, and odds and ends. Unfortunately there are no photos taken from the main mast forward, most all were taken around the mizzen area. 

 

 Profiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This photo is either of the USS Madawaska (later renamed USS Tennessee in 1869) being laid down or the USS Tennessee being broken up?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Keith Black

[Keith Black]

Port side views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find this photo interesting as it shows someone's child and someone's dog

 

I find the last photo interesting as it shows someone's child and someone's dog. 

[Keith Black]

Starboard side views. 

 

 

 

Dup

 

 

 

 The last photo was provided by Pat Banyan. It's the earliest deck photo of the Tennessee that I know of. Photographer unknown. 

[Keith Black]

Center views. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Odds and ends.

 

 The first photo is interesting as it provides views of the Admiral and Captain's quarters. The next two photos were not taken by Hatton and Hart. The last photo is the album cover by Hatton and Hart of the Tennessee, there are only two known to exist. I think most if not all of photos of the Tennessee in that album are included in these four post.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by Keith Black

[wefalck]

Good photographs, showing a lot of useful period details 👍

 

The very first photograph seems to be a photo-montage ... the capitain was copied indvidually from officier group photograph.

 

I gather it was not someone's child on the other photograph, but a 'boy' (apprentice) and perhaps the ship's dog - many ship had mascots on board.

[lraymo]

Very cool collection of photos!  Makes me want to know much more about life on the Tennessee and learn about its history...  although I'll have to put that research on the back burner till I have more time (i.e., after I complete the Phantom!)

I especially liked the kid and dog.  And the band!  Thanks for posting these!

[mtaylor]

19 hours ago, lraymo said:

Love the pictures of the officers and the crew!  These are great (although there must've been a rule to look "serious" for the camera!)  I know you were using these as construction photos, but I think its equally fascinating to see the crew!

Part of the "serious" faces is a couple things.  First, exposure times were fairly long so one had to hold the pose and serious is easier than "happy"..  The other is being military.  We still do the later.  When I was in the Marines it was "show us your war face" at photo time.

[Keith Black]

58 minutes ago, wefalck said:

I gather it was not someone's child on the other photograph, but a 'boy' (apprentice)

 Eberhard, I have to disagree. If it was an apprentice he'd (if a boy) have a regulation hat on (see last photo in 'center views' of the apprentices) not that child's hat it's wearing. I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl but they're cute.

 

 I thought about the Setter being a ship's dog but of all the photos the dog only appears in this one photo. Plus, I wonder what US Navy regs were regarding animals aboard ship? 

[wefalck]

Keith, I was looking at the wrong kid, I thought you meant to boy at the left, I didn't notice the small kid in the centre ...

 

The dog looks quite big for a mascot, but it seems that it was quite common in the navies to have cats (against the rats) and dogs or even exotic animals on board.

[mbp521]

Keith, I love the old photos! Thanks for posting them. They seem to bring life to the ships we build. What I wouldn’t give to have this type of collection on the Cairo. Sure would save a lot of guesswork in my build. It’s funny how the Navy can have an over abundance of photos of one ship an only a single one for another. I guess that ships like the Tennessee were more likely to dock at more populated areas where cameras were readily available, whereas the Brown Water Navy tied up to the riverbanks in more remote locations. Regardless, that is a great collection you have there. Thanks again for sharing. 
 

-Brian

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, mbp521 said:

What I wouldn’t give to have this type of collection on the Cairo.

 Brian, in a way I feel guilty having this many photos of the Tennessee. You sit there starving for visual information and here I sit drowning in it though the forward part of the Tennessee remains cloaked in mystery. It's such a shame that so much of the past went visually unrecorded when the means was there.  

 

 I consider these photos a legacy. Wouldn't it be great if MSW had a vessel photo and or drawing library/data base? What a leg up that would be for modelers, particularly for members new to the hobby. 

[BANYAN]

Great collection of photos Keith.  I find they help add a sense of realism to the model making process  - I often find my reminiscing on what those times would have been like (please find me a way-back machine ).

 

cheers

 

Pat

[mbp521]

1 hour ago, Keith Black said:

in a way I feel guilty having this many photos of the Tennessee. You sit there starving for visual information and here I sit drowning in it though the forward part of the Tennessee remains cloaked in mystery.

No need to feel guilty Keith. Research all part of it, and I have had a blast researching mine. No matter how frustrating at times the research is, the conversations that are inspired by said research, are priceless.  
 

However, with that being said, I have already begun research on one of my next projects. Fortunately, there is a little more documented history on it so it won’t be near as hard to get things right. 
 

-Brian

[lraymo]

I was inspired by these photos - wondering what life was like on a Navy ship at the time.  And to @mtaylor, thanks for the info about "serious faces".  That makes sense, and i sortof forgot about the military aspect of it (my apologies).

 

So I did a quick google search of https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Tennessee_(1865)  and found this snipet:  "Seaman George Low jumped overboard and rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor ".

 

It really brings a tiny bit of the crew to "life" for me. Completely fascinating!

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to all for the comments and for the likes.

 

 The mizzenmast has finally been secured. I've rigged the mizzen to the best of my abilities in the space available and according to how I've interpreted the H&H photos. Due to my limited rigging knowledge and experience I'm somewhat suspect that the way I've rigged the mizzen might not be correct but there's no going back to make changes, it is what it is. 

 

 Before starting the shrouds I need to add rope coils around the belaying pins at the base of the mizzen. I didn't add them yet as I wanted to show the blocks and the way I rigged them. The topsail and topgallant yard braces are temporary (I wanted to check their angles against the photos)  as they will be in the way when running the shrouds.  

 

 It's been a long time getting to this point. The further along i've gotten in the rigging process, the nagging questions I had regarding where and how different running lines attached to the deck and hull came easier and seemingly natural.

 

 Thank you to all for stopping by and sharing in my journey.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mbp521]

Beautiful Keith! This is the point where I think ship models start coming together. To me, the rigging adds a certain beauty them. 😀

 

-Brian

[Glen McGuire]

Very impressive work, Keith!

[AJohnson]

Just beautiful Keith, lovely detailing.  👏

I have soft spot for this era, the Screw Corvettes and pre-Dreadnaught warships that were a hybrid of Sail and Steam, they look so interesting to me.  I have an ambition to build a series of models based around a RN ship (with a slight family history) that has had five incarnations from Sailing sloop to Screw Corvette, Protected Cruiser, WW2 light cruiser and finally a modern Frigate.  Your log giving me the idea of doing a scratch build for the Screw Corvette one. 🤔

[mtaylor]

I realize that scale is pretty tiny but I'm gobsmacked at how great the rigging looks.

[BANYAN]

The rigging is coming along very nicely Rob, looks good!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Keith Black]

On 4/5/2022 at 4:25 PM, mbp521 said:

Beautiful Keith! This is the point where I think ship models start coming together. To me, the rigging adds a certain beauty them.

 Thank you, Brian. Years ago when I thought about reaching this point I couldn't see any beauty in rigging, all I could see was dreading a process I knew nothing about. All the rigging research I did has paid off as my level of comfort grows with each additional rigging element added. I can see the beauty now that I have a basic understanding of rigging.

 

On 4/5/2022 at 4:28 PM, Glen McGuire said:

Very impressive work, Keith!

 Thanks, Glen.

 

On 4/5/2022 at 5:08 PM, AJohnson said:

Just beautiful Keith, lovely detailing.  👏

I have soft spot for this era, the Screw Corvettes and pre-Dreadnaught warships that were a hybrid of Sail and Steam, they look so interesting to me.  I have an ambition to build a series of models based around a RN ship (with a slight family history) that has had five incarnations from Sailing sloop to Screw Corvette, Protected Cruiser, WW2 light cruiser and finally a modern Frigate.  Your log giving me the idea of doing a scratch build for the Screw Corvette one. 

 Andrew, thank you. The ships from transitional period are such beauties but unfortunately so few are modeled. What a great project to undertake, modeling each ship that's carried the same name. I so hope you choose to scratch build the Screw Corvette. Please let me know if you do where I can get a front row seat. 

 

23 hours ago, mtaylor said:

I realize that scale is pretty tiny but I'm gobsmacked at how great the rigging looks.

 Mark, that means a lot to me. I'm trying to live up to the standards that you and others have set. I only know 'better' because of my MSW family. 

 

 

44 minutes ago, BANYAN said:

The rigging is coming along very nicely

 Thank you, Pat. If I have success it's due in large part because of you. 

 

[My Fathers Son]

Keith, as you know, my knowledge of rigging is what I have gained in restoring my Cutty so I will not attempt to comment on the accuracy, but you have captured the essence of how she should look brilliantly.

Keep up the good work.

 

Simon

[Keith Black]

On 3/27/2022 at 11:59 AM, lraymo said:

So I did a quick google search of https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Tennessee_(1865)  and found this snipet:  "Seaman George Low jumped overboard and rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor ".

 

It really brings a tiny bit of the crew to "life" for me. Completely fascinating!

 

 

 Lynn, my apologies for not responding to your post sooner.

 

 It's neat that George Low was awarded the medal of Honor while serving aboard the Tennessee. In Marine bootcamp we were told all about the Marine Medal of Honor winners and the actions surrounding the Award. Years ago when I read about Low Jumping overboard to save a fellow crew member from drowning, it seemed pretty tame compared to the stories of Marine awardees. Unfortunately details of George Low's story are sparse in details. It was obviously a lot more harrowing than simply "jumping overboard". I wish I could find a detailed account of the incident. 

 

 I keep a constant lookout for crew member letters and would rob the cookie jar if ever a logbook were to come up for sale. Fat chance! 

 

On 4/9/2022 at 6:38 AM, My Fathers Son said:

you have captured the essence of how she should look brilliantly.

 Simon, thank you so very much.

 

 Current shipyard activity is limited to stropping deadeyes. i can get into lacing deadeyes but stropping them just bores me to tears. 

 

 Thank you to all for the comments, the likes and for following along. 

[lraymo]

Wow, Keith!  Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful!  I am really amazed at the incredible detail, from everything on the deck to the massive work on the rigging!  Fabulous!  I can't even imagine getting to the level of skill you have, but its inspiring!