The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-05
CONGREGATIONS.
For the uardcn
MEMOIR, UPON. A PROPER sTEAMNAyY,
.r AND IT'S ORGANIZATION.

Il For the uaracn
AfEMoIR, UPON. A PROPER sTEAM-NAyY
4 .r AND IT'S ORGANIZATION.
/ The present thfea,eniDg aspect Of the politics
horizon has directed the attention Of the republic 4
consideration OF her power and available n'eans
maintain her rights, and to repel any Resistance
which may be offered TO the assertion or full erer
else Of them; This consideration has presented il
self for The studous dsibenon OF the executive ant
Legislative branches OF the government and Of the
supseme embodiment of a governuient- -the, people
common result has besn attained in their dslibefa
tons BY each and all Of these Il is settled coo
Vcton of the power Of the republic 70 maintain her.
self against all and every foe; Of her sxhausess ye
dormant resouress, and Of the necessity which OK
ists FOR rendering these Immediately available, "a
guard against the spirit Of sggresslon upon her ter
ritory, and ofhost,y TO the extension Of her rir-
ciples, which ere daily being manifested abroad too
significantly TO be msundersiood With this COZ
Uction came the question, how shall thess resources
be 20 applied as 10 render them most availabe for
these purposes similar unanimity Of opinion
among all these classes has determined that il shall
lie by 'stesm navy" The question. then, nov
tnder consideration u.s. What manner Of steam navy
shall ihis be, and what shall be ils orxanizaiionl q
To Determine this, II b necessary that we should
know what conshtuie the Indispensable qaali6ea-
toas foo cruising sea-steafner sdaptsd 70 all the
uses and purposes Of war. To our mind hey are
these: r. 4-t t.t.-f ea. 80
A perfect erassiss ssa-sssauer, to be available in
all parts Of the maritime eodst Of he United States
is vessel watch shall unite all the sailing qualities
Of the ship with the greatest possible speed to he
attained by the steam-vessel 10 all teesthers al sea;
the two powers, steam and sails, 10 be entirely in
dependent Of and in no manner TO interfere with,
each other. ..
Her steam motive power should be invulnerahle
TO shot, and should In no wise interfere with her
baItery-whst It's control over the vessel should be
absolute, TO enable her 10 msnnuyre perfectly,
without the Of rudder sails, or any other power
than itself.
She should be able 10 carry battery, in proper
ton TO her tonnage, equal To that of any ship ahaat
Her capacity should enable her To carry all the
supplies and stores now used, and a sufheiency OF
fuel for the longest cruise.
She should lie built OF material that will deprive
the Paixhan, or horzonIJ shell, VI its destructive
character when used against her.
The draught Of water should permit liar To the
bars Of the Mississippi, Savannah, aud Charleston,
and render available all the chief intermediate pous
for defence, supplies, or repairs
Possessed Of all these properties, she should sti
be fl to make onr OF The line of battle.
The vessel possessing ali these separate qualihca-
IONS in their fullest extent, will he, at the present
time, the most perfect sen-stenmsr.
Having thus determined what the essentials of
a ledeci cruising sea.sleamer, let us coutraSt the
quail hcaiions Of the national sea-s,eamers uf the
world with these fixed essentials, and Judge Of than
by this standard
So far "a we have had the means OF ascertaining.
there are hut two principles Of propulsion now used
in oeean-steamers, whether national private; these
are, the vertical side wheel and the various modi-
fcatpns OF the screw.
The side ,wheel steamer, as measured by the
standard we have determined upon. is found to be
dskcient in the following points, and must therefore
be look ed upon not possessing the qualifications
essential in a cruising sea-going steamer.
She does not possess the sailing qualities OF the
ship, because her massive wheel-houses, wheel
guards, and paddlc-whees unfit her for the efcien,
use Of She is therefore compelled IN heavy
weather at to resort to the ofsteam. Atsuch
times her speed must Of necessity be slow, and her
steam be reduced 10 the smallest quantity capable Of
keeping the vessel under control; because the roll OF
the sea viii immerse one wheel 90 deeply, and lift
the other high out ofihe water that there viii be
no resistance offered this, whilst the other will DO
so deeply immersed to lose its power; hence the
efficiency of both TO propel is destroyed. This irreg-
ular action of the upon the wheels being impart-
ed to the machine exactly in pssposuon to The re-
sistance offered to each wheel, would, under full
steam so rack the machine as to break II down
hence, the necessity Of the lowest power Of steam
that will keep the vessel under control-and conse-
quently diminution Of speed to mere seerage way.
For the same ressons ths two powers OF steam and
sail be used together in her, with full effect
Her machine Is exposed 10 the hre OF an enemy,
because her shaft is Of necessity elevated nearly the
semi diameter of her wheel above the water. line.
Her wheel and shaft are therefore vulnerable by
shot. For the same reason, the necessary connex-
ion between her shaft and machinery cannot be pro.
tectcd. .......
The midship portion of her deck, being occupied
by her wheel-houses and wheelguards, she is COM
PEELED 10 mount her battery on her exuemities,
where she is least able to carry IT.
She is dependent upon her rudder to control her
course and enable her to mancuyre, because the
irregular action Of the sea will not permit her 10
disconnect her wheels, as to apply the power IL
them reversely. ..l...' ......... ..t..-.. ...
The great weight of her massive wheel house,
whcel-guards, shafts, and paddle-whels, les
sens, in d great degree, her available tonnage foI
carrying supplies and fuel; which last costly ar.
tice her ineicieney as sailing vessel continuously
demands. 49,. ..... ..,.......... l......
For these causes, and others which it is not ne.
cessary to enumerate, il is manifest that the side
wheel steamer is not adapted to the purposes Of /,
| cruising sea steamer, or to the uses Of war. s.
We will next consider the screw propeller, as
tested by our standard. All the various modfca
tons Of the propeller, when applied to ships
because, being without the vessel, detached from
her main body, and placed ransvsrsely to her kee
abat the stern post, it offers a separate body
beside the ship to be impelled through th,
water by the canvass, and consequently subtract'
from the power of the canvass to imPel the ship
propeller the number Of revolutions required &c
measure the speed Of the ship; or, in other words
it diminishes the propeng power Of the canvass to
drive the ship, exactly in the proportion the sur
face of the vertical section Of the propeller bears
the greatest cross section Of the ship. Hence tn
speed Of all vessels propelled by the screw must, o
necessity be low under canvass. Should it be at
tempted 4, raise any Of the screw prope'ers nut a
or above the water, to the end that the vessel may
have the use Of her canvass, the propeller then he
comes the iohoie erisni Of It's diameter vulnerable
by shot, and occupies position where should IN
the vessels battery, and causes the weight,
and massive structure of the propeller to be suspend
ed by the after extremity Of the vessel.
The only definite information OF the speed OF thi
class of propeller that is known TO me, is the pub
,shed statement of the speed Of the English steam
Great Britain. That this not satisfactory, hs
been mate abundantly manifest. The United State
ste amer Princeton, believed to - the best and mos
efficient of this class of vessels has prof ssedly a,
tanned to high rate Of speed under steam; but
have yet to leain that any trial OF her sailing qua
lilies without steam has ever been made. lndetd,
have every believe that she has never bee
fully tested under canvass alone To attain her RAJ
!, IL 10 uss Gun,