Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-03-15

At a meeting Of the New York Chamber of
Commerce, on Wednesday, Capt. Ericsson was
present, and, in compliance with the general
request, made few remarks with reference to
the Monitor:
DAMAGE TO THE PILoT-HoUsE.
In speaking of the damage of the pilot-house
Capt Ericsson said that some idea could be
formed Of the force Of the concussion from the
fact that the part broken was Of wrought iron,
Il inches suuare by 9Jthick. 1t was the fnest
kind of wrought iron, and was dovetailed to
The pilOt-house, and that was broken in two
This will give an idea of the force of modern
RroJectiles. We can have no better proof Of
the immense force of the projectile than a con-
sideration of the force required to break into
pieces wrought-iron bar nine inches thick
DAMAGE TO TIE TURRET.
As to the damage to the turret, Capt. Erics-
son explained that the part injured was an
additional protection placed upon the side Of
the structure Of two-inch wrought-iron plates
1t was placed there to protect the turret. The
turret was strong enough without it, but it was
feared that, without something to break the
conclusion during an engagement the men
would be more liable to be deafened or knocked
down. Before the Monitor left be had charged
the officers particularly, before they went into
battle, to instruct the men not to be frigh' ened
IN case there should be a very severe shock
He teld them that they need not be surprised
II they should 60 down upon their knees, and
not to be alarmed, that If the shock should
stun them and knock them down, they would
get up again unharmed. Laughter and ap-
plause Some Of the men put the question,
"Will the shot go through" He assured them
that all the shot would stay on the outside. 1t
would be no wonder that a man should be
shocked If ball weighing q hundred and fifty
pounds, moving at the rate of 900 feet per
second, should strike within foot of his head
Laughter.
THE ADVANTAGE OF THE TURREr.
In speaking Of the advantages of the turret
OF the Monitor, Captain Ericsson said he had
proposed to the captain that the sailing master
should, during an engagement, attend to the
telescope, and keep the turret moving. The
telescope was so arranged that a man could
by looking through it, and turning a little
while within reach, keep the guns continually
bearing upon the enemy, while the Monitor is
moving round her. This duty was admirably
performed by the sailing master in this in
stance, and the guns were thas kept always
pointed at this pirate, laughter, for such be
would call the Merrimac. This novel move
msnt must have astonished Capt. Buchanan,
who found the mouths of the bulldog pointed
at him all the time. [Applause.l
NO DANGER OF THE MONITOR BEING swANPED
Captain Worden conducted himself in the
most mastery manner, but he wa; not an en-
gineer. As sailor naturally would he had
felt little nervous about going on board a
vessel that was so much under water That
was the main objection urged against the yes
sci when he Capt. EricssOn) went before the
naval committee, when it was first proposed
TO build this vessel. 1t was urged that such a
vessel would not live in heavy sea. He had
guaranteed that she would, ard here was Mr.
Sinners report that she was as good a sea
boat az he ever sailed in. She is so near the
water-line that instead of mounting the waves,
they break over her. Well, what Of it? There
is no place to let the water in, and the vessel
floats IKE q champagne bottle lcith tire cork
sR. The air Is brought down through the tur-
ret by means Of blowers. The turret is nine
feet high, and measures sixty four feet in cir
cunfereDce. The men have stood upon that
when there was nothing above water except
the turret. It takes 81 600 pounds to bring
the vessel down, and that weight could not be
put upon her, from her peculiar construction.
There can be no danger from swamping, al
though the vessel may be under water con-
stantly, and the men will have plenty of air.
TEE yULL POWERS OF THE MONITOR NOT Ex-
ERTED.
In relation to the point immediately under
consideration, whether the Monitor was capa-
bic Of resisting the Merrimac, he would saw
that had the guns of the Monitor been pointed
q little lower She would have sunk the Merri.
mac. Mr.. Sinners calculated the distance,
but he put his gun in such position that when
the shot struck the Merrimac they glanced of
instead of penetrating as they would if they
hit point-blank. He fred fifty shots, and some
of them took effect-several, no doubt, entered
the Merrimac. The ricochet shots of the Mon
itor will be nearly parallel with the water.
line. He felt quite confident that the next
time the Monitor got an opportunity she would
sink the Merrimac, and predicted that she
would do it the third round.
There was another thing to be considered.
They had on the Monitor fifteen wrought.iron
shot. Captain Dahlgren was a little afraid of
bursting his gun, tnd gave peremptory orders
that these should not be used. The armor of
the Merrimac could not resist these shot, but
would be penetrated by them. The next time
the Monitor will use the wrought-iron shot,
while the Merrimac was either advancing or
retreating.
A.member of the Chamber asked hew often
these guns could be fred. E
Capt Ericsson said that they could be fred
in about one minute and a half There are
two guns, for by having that number there is
time for them to cool. They might depend
upon II, that II the Merrimac came out she
would be sunk.
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