Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-11-26
A ATerribIs FnaIne OF war.

Among the terrible engines of war now
being constructed for the Government is an
on.clad gun boat which is being built by
Engineer Ericsson in New York City. The
boat is seventy.two feet long and forty one
feet beam. She will carry six hundred tuns
Custom-house measurement. Her arma'
ment will consist of two eleven-inch Dahl
gren guns, placed on q revolving turret on
deck. The turret will be twenty two feet in
diameter, nine feet high and eight inches
thick, and will be composed Of solid wrought
iron. The iron armor on the sides Of the
vessel will be FIVE inches thick, placed out.
side of solid oak twenty three inches thick
The entire deck is eight inches thick, to be
covered with solid wrought iron one inch in
thickness. The deck rests on solid oak
beams ten inches in diameter, placed three
feet apart between centers, each beam to be
supported by two wrought iron columns
two and half inchesi in diameter, and heavy
wrought iron diagonal braces.
The turret is revolved by machinery at the
will of the officer in command of the guns.
The men who load and fire are not required
to take aim, that being the duty of the officer
controlling the guns who, by means of a
lever, works his death dealing Dahlgrens at
pleasure. The men occupying the turret are
in no way exposed to the fire of the enemy
in fact the only exposure is that of the muz
! ment of the discharge. The rudder, the
screw propeller, and the anchor, when up
are entirely out of the reach Of even those
elongated shot, which do not ricocheb but
| continue their course under water in the
direct line of flight, The pilot who steer
thhe vessel is projected by coniesl.shapet
! wroughtiron casing six inches thick, which
| rises five feet above the deck.
| Attached to the propeller there are two
engines and two boilers of four hundred in
dicated horse. power, which will give a speed
at sea of six knots an hour. Every part o
the vessel will be thoroughly ventilated by
fan blasts, and the ammunition will b.
brought to the very muzzles of the guns by
machinery. The deck of the vessel is to bt
eighteen inches above the surface of the wa
ter. Although not intended as q genera
cruiser at sea, she is expected to be able tc
| proceed with safety from any one point t
another on the coast. This vessel differ,
very materially from every iron-clad vesse
| yet designed, and the only one of which any
detailed account has been published. ThI
| construction Of the vessel and machinery i
to be under the superintendent of Chief En-
gineer Alban G. Stimer, United States Navy
OF this city, on the part of the Government
The most casual observer must see from the
details we furnish, that almost every diff
Guilty incident to the production of an efhcien
gun-boat has been anticipated, and provided
for with consummate skill. The perfect pro
lection of the men, guns, ammunition anC
stores of every description-the impervious
ness of the hulk and turret-the ease will
which the guns are managed at every
point-the lightness of draught-all, to ou
mind, 60 very far toward giving to the Gov
| ernment lust what it needs at present.