Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-176) and index.
Contents
The origin of Francis' metallic lifeboats -- The metallic life car and the U.S. Life-saving Service -- Metallic boats for the U.S. Army -- The Third Seminole War: strategy and tactics -- Metal army pontoon wagon bodies -- Francis' European associates -- Back home -- The Impostor -- Retirement and challenges -- The perfidious Captain Douglass Ottinger, USRMS -- Reactions to Ottinger's charges -- The Forty-ninth Congress and beyond -- Epilogue.