The _Hartford_ was built at Boston in 1858. Her length is 225 feet, beam 44 feet, draught of water 18.3. She has a displacement of 2900 tons, and attains a speed of 10 knots per hour with an indicated horse-power of 940. The capacity of her coal-bunkers is 241 tons. Her battery consists of one 8-inch muzzle-loading rifle (converted) and 12 9-inch smooth-bores. These ships were built of live-oak, and endure to the present day. They were reproduced by England and France when they made their appearance, and are now, except the _Trenton_, the only ships in service which can accommodate a commander-in-chief of a squadron. They are kept constantly employed showing the flag abroad, but it is with difficulty that they are retained in suitable repair for service. [Illustration: U. S. SLOOP-OF-WAR “BROOKLYN.”] This class of ships has good speed under sail, with the wind free, but their light draught prevents them from being weatherly on a wind. Much of their cruising is done under sail, which tends to lengthen their existence. Under the late act of Congress prohibiting repairs on wooden ships when the expense shall exceed twenty per cent. of the cost of a new vessel, these ships must soon disappear from the navy list. When that time shall arrive, and steel cruisers shall be substituted, the name of the _Hartford_ should be preserved as closely associated with the glory that Farragut shed upon the navy. In 1859 a new type of sloop-of-war was introduced, of which the _Kearsarge_ will serve as an example. This ship was built at Kittery, Maine; her length is 199 feet, beam 33 feet, draught of water 15.9 feet. She has a displacement of 1550 tons, and attains a speed of 11 knots per hour with an indicated horse-power of 842. The capacity of her coal-bunkers is 165 tons. Her battery consists of two 8-inch muzzle-loading rifles (converted), four 9-inch smooth-bores, and one 60-pounder. This has proved a very handy class of vessel, and for the year in which they were built were considered as having very fair speed under steam, the proportion of space occupied by boilers and engines being more than had been assigned in previous constructions. Several ships of this class were launched and put in commission before the war, and gave a new impetus to construction. [Illustration: U. S. SLOOP-OF-WAR “KEARSARGE.”]