harlan and hollingsworth was, by the time of the american civil war, the dominant iron shipbuilder in wilmington, and the most prolific iron shipbuilder in the united states. by 1860 the company had built 75 iron hulls, mostly steamships along with a handful of barges. (brown, 1951) during the civil war the company won contracts for the construction of three monitors for the government ("patapsco", "saugus", and "napa"). the navy, however, ordered many last-minute design changes to these vessels resulting in delays while the changes were incorporated into the construction. the extra expenses incurred reduced profits, and as a result the company became reluctant to bid on government contracts. in 1863, jacob sharp left their employ to form jackson & sharp, another car-building firm, with job jackson.