1To James Madison from Samuel T. Anderson, 22 May 1823 (Madison Papers)
...a Scottish-born marine architect and shipbuilder, settled in New York City in 1796, where he opened a shipbuilding business. He supervised the construction of armed vessels on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. Eckford was naval constructor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 1817–20, but returned to private business, building frigates for the new navies of the South American republics. He was...