“Introductory Remarks,” Pneumatic Tower Foundations of the East River Suspension Bridge. LER.
“This bridge is to be built”: The New York Times, July 23, 1869.
“He felt at his age he could ill afford to lose any time”: WAR in an “Introduction” to JAR’s Long and Short Span Railway Bridges.
This description of the accident is drawn largely from an account in the Eagle, July 22, 1869.
“There is no such thing as chance”: Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, p. 320.
Death of JAR: Various items in the Eagle in the days that followed; later remarks made by WAR (RUL and RPI); Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 139—140; description of tetanus in The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy.
Instructions to Ed Riedel: Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 140.
“He who loses his life from injuries”: Eagle, July 22, 1869.
“The name of John A. Roebling”: EWR to JAR, January 6, 1868. RUL.
Gifts for Elvira: From purchases listed in JAR’s Private Cash Account, 1867-69. RPI.
Wedding gifts for the second Mrs. JAR: Ibid.
Contents of will: JAR will dated September 14, 1867, RUL; also covered in some detail in Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 145-146.
Funeral: Both the Eagle and the Trenton Daily State Gazette for July 26, 1869, carried long descriptive accounts.
“With its inspiration gone”: Steinman and Watson, Bridges and Their Builders, p. 236; Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, p. 323.
“Not long since, before the accident”: Eagle, July 22, 1869.
“First—I was the only living man”: WAR to James Rusling, January 23, 1916. RUL.
“…At the time of his death he was already arranging”: WAR to William Couper, July 26, 1907. RUL.
“The great boast of this land…jabbering and wrangling politicians”: Eagle, July 27, 1869.
5 Brooklyn
“transformed…from insignificance”: The City of Brooklyn, a guidebook.
Third-largest city: Syrett, The City of Brooklyn, 1865-1898, p. 12.
Types of manufacturing: Ibid., pp. 14—15.
“an enigma to the respectable”: Ibid., p. 29.
East River shipyards and virtues as a harbor: Albion, The Rise of New York Port (1815-1860).
More ships than New York and Hoboken combined: Syrett, The City of Brooklyn, p. 139.
Salt air “pure and bracing…”: Stiles, A History of the City of Brooklyn, Vol. II, p. 504.
“the most majestic views of land and ocean”: Attributed to James S. T. Stranahan in The City of Brooklyn.
Banquet on board City of Brooklyn: Eagle, April 15, 1869.
Hezekiah Pierrepont and the development of Brooklyn Heights: Stiles, A History of the City of Brooklyn.
“Almost everybody appears to have built his house”: Eagle, June 22, 1872.
“elegant equipages, well-dressed grooms”: Old Brooklyn Heights, pp. 33-34.
“His knowledge of fish”: National Cyclopedia of American Biography.
Henry Ward Beecher: Smith, Sunshine and Shadow in New York, pp. 86-100; McCabe, Lights and Shadows of New York Life, pp. 655-657; Rourke, Trumpets of Jubilee; a long profile in the Eagle, March 10, 1869.
“He went marching up and down the stage”: Kaplan, Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain, pp. 23—24.
“Our institutions live in him”: Eagle, March 10, 1869.
“A more intelligent body”: From the Springfield (Mass.) Republican, quoted in the Eagle, January 1872.
Charles Dickens on Brooklyn: Quoted in Still, Mirror for Gotham, p. 204.
Brooklyn slums: According to The New York Times, June 30, 1866, “dirt and filth and poverty reign triumphant…Here homeless and vagabond children, ragged and dirty, wander about…decaying garbage, dead animals, filth and unclean privies, with crowds of unwashed human beings [are] packed together…”
The Kingsley-McCue-Murphy meeting is reported in the Eagle, May 24, 1883; also in Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, pp. 302-303.
General Johnson’s opposition to a bridge: Long Island Star, February 13, 1834; Trachtenberg, Brooklyn Bridge; Fact and Symbol, pp. 35-36.
HCM’s Mansion House speech: A commemorative booklet on the farewell dinner, LIH; also quoted in the Eagle, December 2, 1882.
William C. Kingsley: Obituaries in The New York Times, New York World, and Eagle, February 21, 1885; in memoriam booklet, W. C. Kingsley, LIH; Green, A Complete History of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge from its Conception in 1866 to its Completion in 1883; Stiles, The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, Vol I, pp. 463—464; Eagle History of Brooklyn, Eagle, May 24, 1883; scrapbooks in LIH collection; Syrett, The City of Brooklyn, pp. 74-76.
Henry C. Murphy: Obituaries in The New York Times, New York World, and Eagle, December 2, 1882; scrapbooks in LIH collection; Green, A Complete History of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge; Stiles, The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, Vol. I, pp. 360—366; Eagle, May 24, 1883; Stiles, A History of the City of Brooklyn, Vol. II, pp. 266-270.
McLaughlin the first to be called “Boss”: Syrett, The City of Brooklyn, p. 71.
“very earnest in manner”: Stiles, A History of the City of Brooklyn, p. 269.
“It was not a change for the better”: Eagle, December 2, 1882.
“Mr. Murphy only failed as a politician”: Stiles, The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, Vol. I, p. 364.
WAR’s private remarks on the role played by Julius Adams: Personal notebook, entry dated January 6, 1880. RPI.
HCM named president: New York and Brooklyn Bridge Proceedings, 1867-1884, p. 319.
The name Roebling “invaluable”: Kingsley, in a speech given on the opening of the bridge, May 24, 1883.
“Confidence on the part of the public”: New York and Brooklyn Bridge Proceedings, p. 320.
6 The Proper Person to See
“Who owns the City of New York today?”: Quoted in Syrett, The City of Brooklyn, 1865-1898, p. 19.
Tweed’s prior interest in the Brooklyn ferry lines: Lynch, “Boss” Tweed, pp. 70-75.
New York in 1869: Still, Mirror for Gotham; McCabe, Lights and Shadows of New York Life; Smith, Sunshine and Shadow in New York; Harper’s Weekly for 1869; Crapsey, The Nether Side of New York.
“…a rich field for clever money lovers”: Olof Olson to his brother, September 11, 1869, quoted in Land That Our Fathers Plowed, David Greenberg, ed., University of Oklahoma Press, 1969.
William M. Tweed and his cohorts: Werner, Tammany Hall; Lynch, “Boss” Tweed; Callow, The Tweed Ring; Harper’s Weekly; Bryce, The American Commonwealth, Vol. II; McCabe, Lights and Shadows of New York Life; Smith, Sunshine and Shadow in New York; Dictionary of American Biography.
“I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles”: Callow, The Tweed Ring, p. 254.
“Tweed had an abounding vitality”: Bryce, The American Commonwealth, Vol. II, p. 383.
Tweed and the first session of the Executive Committee: New York and Brooklyn Bridge Proceedings, 1867-1884, p. 526.
Tweed’s testimony: As recorded before a committee of the Common Council of the City of New York, September 18, 1877; quoted also in Testimony in the Miller Suit to Remove the East River Bridge, “Exhibit A,” pp. 58-63.
“a strong combination made against the measure”: Kingsley to JAR, April 16, 1868. RUL.
Chambers Street courthouse: The best account of this incredible story is in Callow, The Tweed Ring, the chapter titled “The House That Tweed Built,” pp. 198-206, which also appeared in American Heritage, October 1965.
Bridge Company stockholders as of autumn 1869: New York and Brooklyn Bridge Proceedings, “Exhibit C,” Part I, p. 167.
“…therefore he was the proper person to see”: Eagle, September 19, 1877.
Beach tunnel: Scientific American, February
19, 1870; “Alfred Ely Beach and His Wonderful Pneumatic Underground Railway” by Robert Daley, American Heritage, June 1961.
Black Friday: Swanberg, Jim Fisk: The Career of an Improbable Rascal, pp. 149-153.
Cardiff Giant: Harper’s Weekly, October 1869; Franco, “The Cardiff Giant: A Hundred-Year-Old Hoax.” The Giant itself is still drawing crowds at the Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown, New York. Once having seen the Giant, most twentieth-century onlookers find it hard to believe anyone ever took it seriously.
“all were disgusted”: Adams, The Education of Henry Adams, p. 273.
7 The Chief Engineer
Assistant engineers: Various memoirs published by the ASCE; National Cyclopedia of American Biography; biographical sketches in the Eagle, May 24, 1883; odd notes made by WAR, RPI.
Claims of Samuel Barnes B. Nolan: Scientific American, August 7, 1869.
“the details not having been considered”: New York Tribune, May 23, 1883.
“very versatile attainments”: From an unpublished biographical sketch of WAR by EWR. RPI.
“rather indifferent to matters of courtesy”: EWR to JAR, January 6, 1868. RUL.
“History teaches us that no man can be great unless a certain amount of vanity enters into his composition”: WAR considered his brother Ferdinand the perfect example of such vanity. The quote is from WAR’s draft of an obituary for Ferdinand, April 15, 1917, RUL; also quoted somewhat differently in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 307.
“a peculiarity of the Roebling mind”: WAR to JAR II, May 24, 1896. RUL.
“It might be argued if a man inherits everything”: WAR’s obituary for his brother Charles, October 1918, RUL; also in Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 324-325.
WAR’s passport: RUL.
“Roebling is a character”: Lyman, Meade’s Headquarters, p. 240; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 195.
“reverently chose…the name that most inspired him”: Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, p. 41.
WAR named for Washington Gill: WAR to JAR II, July 4, 1904. RUL.
Baptized by postmaster Shilly: WAR, Early History of Saxonburg, p. 12.
“well-built, sturdy, quiet boy”: JAR to his brother Christel, undated. RUL.
“…a black bear walked down Main Street”: WAR, Early History of Saxonburg, p. 9.
Saxonburg social life: Ibid., p. 17.
Ferdinand Baehr and Waterloo stories: Ibid., p. 18.
WAR’s love of Saxonburg and disappointing return visit: WAR to JAR II, January 5, 1926. RUL.
“Being the ‘Roebling boy’”: WAR, Early History of Saxonburg, p. 20.
Story of Massy Harbison: “The Touching Narrative of Massy Harbison,” from Our Western Border, Charles McKnight, Philadelphia, 1875, pp. 685-695.
Pigeons, thunderstorms, and the great comet of 1843: WAR, Early History of Saxonburg, p. 21.
“In regard to the mustache you covet so”: Laura Roebling to WAR, December 7, 1856. RUL.
Courses at RPI: Greene, The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; also Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, pp. 196-197.
“Under such a curriculum the average college boy of today”: Steinman, The Builders of the Bridge, p. 197.
“that terrible treadmill of forcing an avalanche of figures…unusable knowledge that I could only memorize, not really digest”: Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 173-174.
“My candle is certainly bewitched…no woman had sense enough to understand his love”: WAR to EWR, about April 14, 1864. RUL.
“Our temperaments are so very different”: RUL.
Letter written Thanksgiving Day: Ibid.
“left the school as mental wrecks”: Quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 174.
“Pittsburgh is getting along quite smart”: WAR to Charles Swan, April 11, 1859, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 182.
Penn Street boardinghouse: WAR to Charles Swan, May 2, 1858. RUL.
“There is a perfect mania here for improvements”: WAR to Charles Swan, April 11, 1859, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 182.
“dark, cloudy, smoky afternoons”: WAR to Charles Swan, November 13, 1858, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 179.
“This is my first letter to you in 1860”: WAR to Charles Swan, January 23, 1860, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 184-185.
“My enlistment was rather sudden”: WAR to James Rusling, February 18, 1916. RUL.
“Loafing in the camp”: Undated letter. RUL.
“This is a mean little town”: WAR to Elvira Roebling, July 19, 1861. RUL.
“This artillery business”: WAR to Charles Swan, July 31, 1861. RUL.
“could make a violin talk”: Letter of condolence written to the second Mrs. WAR by George R. Brown, president of the Eastchester Savings Bank, Mount Vernon, New York, August 2, 1926. RUL.
“My father being too old to rough it”: WAR to James Rusling, February 18, 1916. RUL.
Swims the Shenandoah with tape in his mouth: WAR to Ferdinand, June 8, 1892. RUL.
Surprised Jeb Stuart at his breakfast: WAR to JAR, August 24, 1862. RUL.
Describes bridge: WAR to Charles Swan, August 3, 1862. RUL.
Fate of Harpers Ferry bridge: WAR to James Rusling, February 18, 1916. RUL.
Incident with the statue of Washington’s mother: Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 193-194.
With Hooker at Chancellorsville: WAR to James Rusling, February 18, 1916. RUL.
Reconnaissance from a balloon: Ibid.; also Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 191.
Trip home for maps: WAR to Oliver W. Norton, July 13, 1915. RUL.
WAR’s account of his day on Little Round Top: Letter to a Colonel Smith of New York, July 5, 1913. RUL.
“Roebling was on my staff”: Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 193.
“I was the first man on Little Round Top”: WAR to James Rusling, February 18, 1916. RUL.
WAR and Warren before the Battle of the Crater: Ibid.
“…I was in the Civil War for four years and saw Lincoln on two occasions”: WAR to I. E. Boos, June 19, 1921, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, pp. 196—197.
“They must put fresh steam on the man factories…the rest think it is about played out to stand up and get shot”: WAR to EWR, June 23, 1864. RUL.
“…the conduct of the Southern people”: WAR to EWR, July 7, 1864. RUL.
Description of meeting Emily: WAR to Elvira Roebling, February 26, 1863. RUL.
JAR’s letter on the engagement: JAR to WAR, March 30, 1864. RUL.
“I like her very much”: JAR to WAR, November 17, 1864. RUL.
“I dare say you could not sleep”: WAR to EWR, August 14, 1864. RUL.
“This day might be signalized”: WAR to EWR, November 16, 1864. RUL.
“The town is horribly dull”: WAR to EWR, August 6, 1864. RUL.
“I have now more lasting memories”: WAR to EWR, September 10, 1864. RUL.
“I have been solacing myself”: WAR to EWR, April 11, 1864. RUL.
“…the greatest giver of us all [is] gone”: WAR to EWR, December 25, 1864. RUL.
Trip to Europe: Described in numerous lengthy letters from WAR to JAR, in both the RPI and RUL collections.
Letter to JAR describing Keystone Bridge works: WAR to JAR, October 11, 1868. RUL.
Family differences over Edmund: WAR, private memorandums dated July 20, 1898, and March 16, 1922. RUL.
Reminders and comments on stone: WAR’s personal notebook, 1869. RPI.
PART TWO
8 All According to Plan
“The foundations for the support”: JAR, Report of John A. Roebling, C.E., to the President and Directors of the New York Bridge Company, on the Proposed East River Bridge, p. 20. LER.
Dimensions of the Brooklyn caisson, as well as all other descriptive data: WAR, First Annual Report of the Chief Engineer of the East River Bridge, LER; WAR, Pneumatic Tower Foundations of the East River Suspension Bridge, LER.
Barometer analogy: Harper’
s Weekly, December 17, 1870.
“The extreme rise and fall”: WAR, First Annual Report of the Chief Engineer, pp. 8-9. LER.
Webb & Bell contract: Kingsley, First Annual Report of the General Superintendent of the East River Bridge, p. 23. LER.
“A pile which was sixteen inches in diameter”: WAR, First Annual Report of the Chief Engineer, p. 11. LER.
“The character of this material”: Ibid., pp. 11-12.
James B. Eads: There is no real biography of the remarkable Eads. The following have been used as general biographical background: Dorsey, Road to the Sea; Woodward, A History of the St. Louis Bridge; Gies, Bridges and Men; Dictionary of American Biography.
“Eads’s Turtles”: Catton, Grant Moves South, pp. 102-103.
JAR calls St. Louis people fools: JAR to WAR, November 10, 1867. RUL.
Carnegie, Linville, and the Keystone Bridge Company: Carnegie, Autobiography, pp. 119-121.
“an achievement out of all proportion”: Kirby and Laurson, The Early Years of Modern Civil Engineering, p. 162.
Material on early use of compressed air and resulting cases of caisson sickness is from The Effects of High Atmospheric Pressure, Including the Caisson Disease by Andrew H. Smith, M.D., pp. 4—10. LER.
“A workman walking about with difficult step”: Woodward, A History of the St. Louis Bridge.
“The fatigue of ascent added not a little”: Ibid.
Eads’s views on the problem of caisson sickness are contained in a long article in Scientific American, December 24, 1870.
The launching of the Brooklyn caisson was described in considerable detail by all of the following: Eagle, March 19, 1870; Engineering (London), June 10, 1870; Scientific American, July 9, 1870; Collingwood, A Few Facts about the Caissons of the East River Bridge, LER.
“more like a huge war leviathan”: Eagle, March 19, 1870.
The only known reference to Roebling’s visit to St. Louis and his sessions with Eads is an exchange of letters in Engineering (London) in the issues for May 16, June 27, and September 5, 1873.
“I do not want any news carried between myself and Mr. Ellet”: JAR to Charles Swan, April 21, 1849, RUL; also quoted in Schuyler, The Roeblings, p. 82.
“…one of the wonders of the nineteenth century”; “hidden from the gaze of mortal eyes”; “as placidly as a swan”: Eagle, May 3, 1870.
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