New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-05-11
REAL STRENGTH OF 11Noo1N's NAVY.

The following, from a late number of the scien-
tiic American, may be regarded as relable-in
fact as authoritative:
On page 1873 of our current volume we gave an
accurate list of the vessels belonging to the United
States navy. From that mass of statistics we now
sft out the elements which show the actual extent
of our naval power.
We must first strike from the list every ship
which is not furnished with steam., No argument
is required to make good this assertion, for it is
now the practice of every naval power to build
steamers only, and to convert all sailing ships Chat
are capable of it, of course) into steamers. Our
sailing vessels, without steam, could not overtake
steamships of less force, nor escape from those of
greater force. This operates as tremendous re-
ducon, for it deprives at once of 1900 guns out
of 2S0o But there is help for it, and the fact is
as stubborn as it is disagreeable. The conversion
of the best of these vessels naturally suggests
ITSELF but even this process requires time which is
precisely what our necessities do not admit Of in-
deed, il the work were begun tomorrow, it is
doubtful whether single one of these ships could
be got to sea in eighteen months.
The navy, then, upon which the Union must rely
to represent it to foreign nations, if it were re-
/ qured to do so Immediately, consists OF seven
screw frigates five screw sloops, four side-wheel
sloops, and eight gun sloops, making total of
twenty.four vessels, carrying 1856 guns. This is
absolutely the entire national feet of the United
States, and no other statement of the case can
make it greater. With few exceptions they are,
however fine ships. The frigates are superb, sail
very fast and can carry heavy batteries-such as
he Minnesota, 50 Of 9-inch Dahlgren's guns on the
gun deck, "a Of 9inch and Of ll-inGh on the spar
deck They have now only 40 guns mounted.
Their defect is want of steam speed, which may
be to % knots. If it were II to ID, these ships
would be unrivaled. The Niagara (by Steers) is o
fine model, and can reel off from IA to Is knots
under canyas--could steam u knots easily if she
had proper propeller. The present one can only
expend tw0-thirds her engine power Her spar
deck battery of IL llnch cannon should have the
Il Al - I, IN n
Lancaster which is in reality frigate, steams bet
ter than the Merrimac class, but does not sail WELL
Her battery is suitable to her tonnage, which is
| about three-fourths that of the larger screw
| frigates.
The screw soops are well built, and one of
them, the Brooklyn, cohtractbu ship, is very
superior, sails and steams fast, and carries pow
| erful battery. The Pensacola is probably quite
| equal to her. But the Richmond is very slow and
uneasy at sea, the Hartford is not remarkable and
the Jacnt0 is a serviceable, strong ship.
The side-wheelers Powhatan, ETC., are Welt tried
and reliable steamers, but not of the greatest
speed
OF the gun-sloops, the Iroquois is certainly an
admirable sample, steaming l24 to Is knots, uses
her moderate canvas to the best advantage, and is
a good sea boat. The Dacotah may be her equal
the Mohican and Wyoming not quite so fast. The
Narragansett and Seminole are very inferior to the
Pocahontas, build, whiclfis sufficient indca-
ton of her efficiency. The Pawnee carries very
heavy battery for draft of ten feet.
Tue soteh-lliSdLts, sloppS duu SuIl'SlOOpS,
and the Powhatan, are armed with 9pch, lO-inch
and lI-inch cannon, Of Capt Dahlgrens model,
except the Jacinto.
This, then, is the total effective force of the
United States by sea, and if concentrated under
one command on our own coasts, would insure
them from foreign insult during present troubles,
and repress Spanish designs in the West Indies or
Mexico.
With such contemplate sea force as this, the
asnine Government at Washington proposes to
blockade more than two thousand miles of ocean
coast, without counting many more thousands of
miles of bays inlets sounds and tde.water reaches
which afford ample facilities and protection for
thousands of war vessels privateers, and so forth
We imagine we see the great powers of the earth
the validity Of such blockade-over
the eft-and permitting their commerce to be
vitality injured by it-aso, over the left Eng
land would stop all her manufactures, and starve
some millions Of her people, and ruin herself gen
orally and particularly, before she would for a
moment disregard snch bloekade!-of course
she would