Hi Peter,
Thanks for the reply. No E Mail address showed up on the posting. NHC ´s website search engine is down for construction so I´ll have to wait a while. I´ve pretty much worn out Google searching for info but all I get are the paintings and drawings of the ship which are not very reliable when it come to being correct. I never found any of the photographs from your book on the internet. As far as the ships plans go, I have contacted everything from the Smithsonian Institution to Maryland Silver Company but no plans for the Susquehanna seem to exist anymore. I did however find plans for her sister ship the USS Powhatan and will be getting them soon. They seem to be basically the same type of build but I´m sure that there were some major differences. That is why I need some good detailed photographs like the pictures of the "Gun Practice" and the "Officers on Deck". They shows a lot of the details on deck. I want to use the photos to compare with the plans and correct any differences. Also, I am sure that since the ship was launched in 1850 until or during the civil war, that some structural changes had been made.
I currently live in Germany but I grew up in Maryland. Since I have been doing research on this project, I wish I was back there. I could drive to all of these places and probably have direct access to all the information I need. Maybe I can get back this summer on vacation and then I´ll just have to take a little trip down to the DC area.

Here´s my address:

Schweers.Bill@gmx.de

Thanks again
Bill