this was not yet deemed sufficient, and another bid was undertaken a few years later. Kroehl & Husted was one among five bidders. The Common Council awarded the contract to H&K, but Mayor Fernando Wood vetoed the contract on August 7, 1855, citing that the Council did not have the authority to award contracts, since such authority resides with the Street Commissioner. After appeals and new bidding, H&K was awarded the contract without further dispute, and proceeded to remove the underwater hazard. Blasting operations continued every year, except during the winter months, until 1860. Merlin Rock Peter Cooper, as president of the New York and Newfoundland Telegraph Company, hired H&K to blast Merlin Rock, which lies at the western end of the narrows in St. John's Harbor, in June 1855. They were successful in accomplishing the work by August of that year, to the contracted clearance of 27 feet. Outfitting the Paraguay Expedition of 1858 During the demolition of Diamond Reef, H&K provided underwater explosives to the U.S. Navy for clearing obstructions in the Platte, Parana and Paraguay Rivers, should the ships encounter any. The items were provided to the steamer USS Memphis. Norfolk Navy Yard On 1 July 1859, F.W. Parmenter, a machinist from Troy, New York, contracted with the Navy Department to construct, erect and complete an iron roof for the victualling house at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the amount of $18,000. Julius H. Kroehl and Sidney D. Roberts served as sureties for the contract. However, monies appropriated for the project were spent elsewhere, so worked dragged through 1861, with work being performed with the assurance that the U.S. Congress will appropriate supplemental funds. But the seizure of Norfolk by Confederate forces in April 1861 forestalled final completion of the project, with an amount owed to Parmenter. In 1874 and 1876, House Committee reports for private relief recommended that the outstanding amounts be paid. American Civil War Julius Hermann Kroehl served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Corps of Pontoniers In May 1861, Alexander Asboth proposed to the War Department for the formation of an all-arms brigade consisting of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers and pontoniers. The main portion would have consisted of d'Utassy's 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment – the Garibaldi Guards – and von Steinwehr's 29th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment – the Astor Rifles – along with a corps of engineers and