The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-03-31
WAR STEAMERS.

SHOWS tne HlSn appreciation III winch ehoy al
Justly held, as engines of destruction. Among
the many great advantages which these vessels
possess over all others, is their independence OF
winds and tides, by which those who navigate
them are enabled to choose their positions at
pleasure and attack at the very times when yes
sells propelled by sails are entirely at their mer-
CIV. The first occasion on which the superiority
of this description of vessel was tested, on
great scale, is believed to have been at the
attack on Vera Cruz, when the celebrated castle
of San Juan D'Ulloa, previously deemed i'm
pregnable, was battered to pieces in the course
of very short time. Another and later en-
gagement, in which their effectiveness was
fairly tried, was the attack on Acre, by the Brit
ish land and naval forces. In this brilliant affair,
the result of which was SO glorious to British
arms, was attributed, in great measure to the
ability with which the war steamers were man
aged, of which the COMMUNICATIVE chief made
the most honorable mention in his dispatches to
his government 1t would seem indeed that,
armed with the Paixhan guns, these engines are
irresistible. These guns, when brought to bear,
are destructive beyond conception, as they can
be fired with all the precision of common ord
nance, and throw shells which burst when they
strike, tearing to pi ,ces the material in which they
become imbedded. AS all that is required to give
them full effectiveness is to get sufficiently near
their use is peculiarly adapted to war steamers,
which can enter harbors, by narrow channels
that have heretofore been inaccessible except
-. &c
wind and tide We have seen plan Of the
attack on Vera Cruz, in which the French ac-
CURED SO much renown 1t appears that one
source of safety, on which great reliance had
been placed by the defenders of the fortihca-
tons, was the difficulty of approach. In order
to come within gun-shot of the works, it was
necessary to get inside Of reef of rocks which
extended itself along the shore and through
which there was but single narrow passage
In order to take advantage of this entrance, it
was necessary for an assailant to catch the wind
in certain quarter at particular time of the
tide, which could very rarely be done. Having
ascertained the position of the channel, the
French commander made his war steamers tow
the other ships through, one after the other,
and place them precisely at the points which
should make their fire most effective. His
heavy ships being thus disposed of in line, and
within reach of the batteries, he caused them to
commence firing simultaneously, and the conse-
quence was utter dismay and destruction to the
enemy. Thus, in space Of time incredibly
short was this fortress reduced to mass of
ruins
We have attempted to give this description
from memory, a considerable time having
elapsed since we saw the account, and may
have made some trivial mistake, but we believe
it to be correct in the main. Our object in ad-
vertng to this affair is to furnish an illustration
of the power of this description of armament,
particularly when brought to act in concert with
heavier ships, and to let our readers know what
they are to anticipate in the event of a war.
AS for stationary batteries they are only etfec-
tive whilst their guns can reach moving objects,
but these steamers can be always kept if neces-
sary within gun-shot Of foe, whilst on the
other hand, they can be Withdrawn at will.
Our own Chesapeake Bay furnishes case,
in which this species of vessel would prove pc
culiarly destructive. The works at Old Point
Comfort derive their efficiency from the fact that
they command the channel and would, there
fore, prevent the passage of sailing ships, ex-
cept at the expense of great loss of life. Now
we will suppose that two or three of these
steamers, with full head of steam were to
run by at the rate of even fifteen miles an hour.
1t is evident that the guns of the fortress could
only bear on them from various points in sue
cession from the moment when they should
come within range, until they could get beyond
reach Say that the distance to be passed
over would be three miles, then the time would
be the fifth of an hour, or twelve minutes in
all The steamers being shot-proof, and their
crews being under cover, as they need not be
exposed in managing sails, the probability is,
that the injury to them would be very limited
indeed, particularly as portion of the guns of
the fortress would become useless so soon as
the vessels would have passed the points from
which these guns would bear OF the precise
number of times that the guns could be fired,
we are not informed, nor is it very MATERIAL
These works having been passed, the whole
frontier of the bay, say four hundred miles,
leaving out Of view the rivers that discharge
themselves into it, would be exposed to at
tacks, under circumstances that would make
it impossible to imbody troops to resist them.
This is only one example, out of great num-
Der, that might be adduced
Should a war with England take place, a
thing very far from impossible, how would the
matter stand2 1t appears from statement in