Charleston Navy Yard anchors Tillman's strategy

Tillman secured Charleston Navy Yard even though the Navy preferred other locations, making the facility a product of his Senate influence. Its largest building way was about 600 feet long and 90 feet wide, with two smaller ways about 350 feet long. Those facilities suited destroyers, submarines, and cruisers rather than the largest capital ships. He supported distant battleship programs when their yard assignments banked favors with politically useful Democratic senators. A much larger cruiser would require lengthening Charleston's principal way, so his support would depend on investment that kept the additional work there. His procurement choices followed a patronage system in which ships strengthened South Carolina, preserved jobs, or expanded his coalition.