Navigation Lights on Ironclads?

This statement is widely quoted, but ambiguous. Did the 1849 act mandate the running lights or just extend the 1838 requirement to sailing vessels?

Good question. I'll see if I can find the legislation and exactly what it says.
 
"As part of an 1838 act of Congress in the U.S. that addressed steamboat safety, steamboats running between sunset and sunrise had to display one or more signal lights, but color, visibility, and location were not specified. In England, Trinity House (which was responsible for lighthouses, navigational aids and deep sea pilotage) pressed Parliament into action to pass the Steam Navigation Act of 1846. That law required that steam vessels pass port-to-port that crossing vessels make course alterations to starboard, and that sailing vessels on the port tack give way to vessels on the starboard tack. Two years later the United Kingdom issued regulations requiring steam vessels to display red and green sidelights, as well as a white masthead light.

Back in the United States, English maritime law was having a great influence on Congress. In 1858, in separate but similar actions, the U.S. and England recommended colored sidelights for sailing vessels. Also, fog signals were required to be given on steam vessels using the ship’s steam whistle, and on sailing vessels with a foghorn or bell."

https://www.allatsea.net/the-history-of-the-rule-of-the-road/
 
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