it is not often that the memoirs of a man cover the history of threescore years of active manhood. still more rare is it that the period covered happens to be the most fruitful of progress known in the annals of mankind. and yet more remarkable, even to the point of the unique, is it that such a career, in such an epoch, should be inextricably interwoven with the history of one of the fairest arts and one of the most fascinating sciences,—naval architecture and ship-building.
all this is true of the subject of this memoir, charles henry cramp.
such phrases as “prominently identified with” or “an acknowledged leader in” his sphere of creative activity do not adequately express charles h. cramp’s personal and professional relation, or rather his individual identification, with the maritime and naval history of his country. those phrases applied to his status and his rank would be commonplace. vihis impress is far deeper than that, and the association of his name and his personality with the art and its triumphs have become a symbol.
the generation of naval architects and ship-builders among whom he began his life-work sixty years ago have long since passed away. of them all he stands alone, the only surviving link that binds the romantic memories of wood and canvas to the grim realities of steel and steam. even the generation that knew him in the middle of his long and fruitful career is gone. he is the only man who has alike designed and built ships for the navy of the civil war and for that of to-day,—alike for the navy that fought at charleston and fort fisher and for the navy that won santiago and manila bay,—twoscore years asunder! in all the history of our country there has never been another professional career like his. no other man ever made such an impress as he upon the life, welfare, and progress of the nation. no other man, without ever holding a public office, has so indelibly left his mark upon our greatest and most vital public interests as he has done.
he has passed from the sphere of membership viiin his profession and has become its exponent. his name is a synonym for the art in which he has so long been master, and the mention of his personality instantly suggests the science whose triumphs he has so often and so well won.
this status and this rank are by no means limited to our own country. mr. cramp is as familiar in london as in philadelphia; as well known in tokio and st. petersburg as in new york or washington.
undoubtedly, the first impression one will derive from the study of mr. cramp’s career and character as mirrored in his acts and his writings is his singleness of purpose, fixity of resolve, and directness of method. these are, in fact, his distinctive traits, and to them, throughout his long and arduous life, all others have been rigorously subordinated. if he appears to be exacting of others, he is yet more so with himself. it is not to be expected that in a life so long, in an experience covering literally the scope of the civilized world, and in a range of endeavor so wide and diversified, all could be plain sailing. on the other hand, few men have encountered more or greater obstacles. viiino man ever faced them more cheerfully or combated them with more sanguine pluck. if he did not always triumph over them, it was because they were insurmountable, or because those upon whom he relied for a proper share in the sum-total of effort failed him. he himself never left undone anything that a clear head could devise or a resolute will strive for.
but with all his singleness of purpose, fixity of resolve, and directness of method in professional pursuits, charles h. cramp, as a member of society at large, is a man of the broadest vision and most comprehensive culture. intent as he may be upon his work, he “never takes the shop home with him,” as the saying is. he has always possessed the happy faculty of laying down his burdens at the close of each working-day to find mental recreation in social occasions, in general literature, art, and the higher order of social amusements. a clever writer in a magazine sketch of him many years ago said, “charles h. cramp knows more about more things than any other man of his time!” unlike most epigrams, this is true, and in terse fashion it conveys a portrayal of his intellectual make-up. mastery of ixthe literature of his own profession, rich and varied as it is, forms but a small part of mr. cramp’s mental equipment. to all these attainments add the lessons and observations of wide travel and constant association with leading minds and controlling personalities at home and abroad, and the result is a perfectly equipped, all-round man of affairs.
during his whole active career mr. cramp has held positions of command. at the age of nineteen he began to direct operations and assume responsibilities; and such status he has maintained for threescore years, with constantly increasing volume of operations and incessantly growing weight of responsibility. but through all he has kept the even tenor of his way, neither elated by triumphs nor depressed by reverses, and guided always by an inflexible integrity and a scrupulous honesty that are proverbial.
