The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-06-07
Fran the Nsw York EreniRg Post. I
tU II 4 A M fp. n


Gun-boats are small men-ofwar, propelled by
steam, and capable of floating in verv shallow wa
ter. They carry on y few guns, which are how
ever, of the heaviest cabre. Until about ten years
ago sailing briggs and schOOners of light armament
were denominated gun boats; but these were not
hit for hard fighting, able to get out of the wav
| speedily If the wind was unfavOrable, a want of
naval (skirmishlng) warfare which the modern
gun-boat supplies felt. Without caring to con-
slider anything else than that this want must be
| provided for, an Irish Lieutenant in the British
Navy, furnished the Admiralty with the sketch of
small steam vessels model, on plan of his own
and in few months afterwards the first gun boat
| OF the modern pattern constructed. The in
ventor probably, did not fOresee the importanc G
that wouid one DAY attach to his discovery, or how
extensively it would be applied. He never once
imagined that the idea, the realization of which
put out on the deep small steamship of sixtv
horsepower, only one hundred feet long, CARRYING
two guns, differed and manned by forty men
| would suggest the construction, on the shallow
draught principle of vessel having the capacity
of the largest ship of the line There was an emer-
gency at hand, (the contemplated attack on Cron-
stadt,) and he originated a scheme to meet it.
which satisfied him. Neither beauty of model nor
accommodation for officers and men was studied in
building the new vessel; the aim being to unite
! quick movements and efficient execution, and to
Keep the most vulnerable part of the ship, the ma
chinery, below water mark, under the shelter of
the coal-bunkers. The gunboat was merely got
up by the inventor as a temporary engine of war
and he never dreamed, when experimenting her
construction, that "shallow draught" and gigantic
proportions should be characteristics of the same
craft. lie onl y wanted "a small target powerfully
armed. Others. however, have improved upon
the lrlshmans invention, and the ''usual dimen-
sions'' Of the gunboat have so rapidly increased
OF late, that it is impossible to predict their imita-
| tion
| Although the gun-boat has been for wears n fea-
| ture of several European navies il was not nntI
the Russian war broke out that American naval ar
chitecs devoted any attention to the study of its
peculiarities. The British in 1855, exchanged
worn-out frigate, the Thetis, with the Prussans
for few gun-boats, and this circumstance created
sort OF curiosity among 1.-THE naval powers in which
the United States, ofcourse, had share. No soon
cr did the ankee minutely examine the chief
characteristics of gunboats than he saw at once
their usefulness. But he could not see what was to
interfere with bringing them into constant use: or
why the many imperfections they possessed, could
not be removed. Accordingly our government was
addressed on the subject by naval officers of emf
nence, and experiment was determined upOn at an
| early day. That experiment has been partly made
with what results cannot at present be distinctly
| ascertained, the American gunboats have not
yet undergone any practical trial; but far as it
is possible to Judge, a more valuable contribution
to navy has never been made than the new yes
| sells recently launched.
Let us now give few particulars relative to the
dimensions of the gunboat in its various stages of
| improvement.
! As originally built for the British government
the steam gun-boat was of60 horse power; leng tn
over all, ,'lO6 feet length between perpendiculars
lOU leet extreme breadth of beam, 90 feet; mould
ed breadth, Il feet inches; depth of hold feet
draught of water, 6 feet inches forward, and I
feet inches aft The machinery consisted of one
engine to ea"h vessel, having two cylinders of l515
inches diameter Is inch stroke, and two boilers,
one furnace in each, giving fire surface of l4O
| square feet. The screw only feet in diameter
and 8 inch pitch. The highest speed attained by
this class of vessels was eight and half knots an
hour. As may be supposed, in ship of this size,
little room remained for coal, provisions, water &c.
of coal only enough could be carried to keep up
steam for four days and half, with supply of
water for only four days. But even England saw
that the proposed construction of American gun
boats idea not to be ridicued, and she forth
| with commenced herself to build two on larger
scale than ever before attempted. The vast resour-
ces of the Royal navy enabled the admiralty to
equip and put to sea its craft on the American
principle, before the Americans could complete
those they had in of erection and so pleased
was the British government with the large pun
boat, that several additional ones were ordered -
| The largest gun-boat in the British NAVY is the
Intrepid, and we will now compare some of her
dimensions with those of the United States steam
vessel lroquois, built at Brooklyn, on the revised
gun-boat principle. The Iroquois was launched
about month ago, and is soon to be equipped for
| sea. -0'