Another factor which caused difficulty in the administration of the contract was the position of Adam and Noah Brown. The brothers were deeply involved in the shipbuilding program on the Lakes, in which they were associated at times with Henry Eckford. The Browns constructed a blockhouse, shops, and quarters at Erie; in addition to Perry's two brigs and five of his schooners, they also built some of the Lake Ontario vessels and, later, the _Saratoga_ on Lake Champlain. In their New York yard, whose operation continued throughout the war, they built some large letter-of-marques: the _General Armstrong_, _Prince de Neufchatel_, _Zebra_, _Paul Jones_, and some smaller vessels. They also cut down the 2-decked, merchant ship _China_ into a single flush-deck letter-of-marque, renamed _Yorktown_; and they had a contract to build the sloop-of-war _Peacock_. It is remarkable that the Browns could undertake and complete so much work between 1813 and 1815 and still be able to build the steam battery in a very short time. With the contracts in order, the Browns began building. The keels of the battery were laid June 20, 1814. It is apparent that the Browns prepared the original hull plans, undoubtedly before the building authority was obtained. The vessel required only about four months to build; she was launched October 29, 1814, at 9 a.m. This was an excellent performance, considering the size of the vessel, the amount of timber required and handled in her massive construction, and the other work being done by the builders. During the ship's construction, sightseers were a nuisance and finally guards had to be obtained. During the building of the steam battery, work had to be practically stopped on the sloop-of-war _Peacock_ at one period after she had been partially planked.