The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1862-02-25
Special Coz. of the Missouri Demo ,,a..
TRIAL OF A MORTAR BOAT.
II Proves "a Complete anccess.
SHELLS THROWN 81 NILES.

boats constructed at 81. Louis, at the sugges
tiop OF G. n. Fremont there have been man,
doubts in the minds Of well meaning persons
including number Of army and naval off
cers. They have been thought clumsy, in
sufficient in their bulwarks, incapable of bear
ing heavy mortars designed for them, and be
yond all question incapable of resisting th,
terrible conclusion which would attend th,
firing OF thirteen inch shell.
All these opinions and prognosticaton
have been Overtbrown to day by the expert
mcnt made under the superintendence O
Captain Constable, and before committe,
Of three, composed Of himself, Captain Kitty
Of the gunboat Mound City, aud Capt. Dove
Of the gunboat Louisville.
One of the mortar boats, No. IS, was taker
in tow this morning by threo steam tugs, an,
conveyed to point few hundred yards be
low Fort Holt, on the Kentucky shore. Th,
huge mortar had previously been placed OF
board and fixed On one of Rodnan's mortar
carriages or beds. Ten OF twelve OF the lhir
teen inch shells were prepared, and filled
however, with wet sand instead of powder. TIA,
Object of the experiment simply being to as.
certain the range Of the mortar and the etfec,
! boat The boat WAS fastened TO the shore and
he mortar directed down the river, which,
from that point, stretches away in broad aud
straight sheet of water five ,r six miles, tow
ards Columbus.
Everything having been got in ref dness,
Capt. Constable fired small charge Of -four
pounds of powder for the purpose of Sealing
the mortar. The Fl st experiment with shell
tlen fllowed. with charge Of eleven pounds
Of powder. When all vas ready the boat WAS
cleared Of the company, most Of US retiring 20
the shore. Capt &, usla5le alone remaining
to discharge the gun. Ready fire! A deaf.
ening conclusion, and in au instant the huge
shell was seen mounting in the air with n
magnificent curve and its terrible roar grad
ually diminishing as its distance from us zap
idly increased. 1t may have risen to the
height OF half mile, and was almost lost To
view before it began TO make the descending
curve.
On its appearance our eyes were eagerly
directed to the ri er's level to mark Is iall-
1t VAS wonderful to wait so long, the seconds
lengthpning out rs it seemed TO minutes -
The suspense WAS relieved by the sudden
shooting up fr IN the waters line Of whit"
column OF spray far down the NJ ssissippi, and
as it was estimated, two mile anil half away
from us. Tue mortar boat was scarcely moved
by the explosion, aud the mortar carriage re-
coiled but Two or three inches. This was very
encouraging.
The second experiment was made with 90
pounds Of powder, Capt. Constable again dis.
charging the gun. The concussion WIS ter
,ific. Some distance in the rear Of tho boat,
where l was standing, it was not painful, but
those who wero alongside and in the boat
were considerably shocked The shell rosn
beautifully, mounting much higher il the air
and at the expiration of twenty nine aud "A
half seconds, struck the water at an estimated
distance Of three miles. This concus sion
showed itself very palpably on the boat. The
hatcLway coverings in the front part were
lifted off, and in some cases broken and split,
while the boat itself recoiled some two or
three feet aud penetrated the soft bank OF the
river.
Experiment number three was made with
the :uIl charge Of twenty three pounds Of pow
der. The time of the flight of the ball WAS
aud half miles. The recoil Of the gun
carriage was about two feet, an the effect Of
the conclusion upon the loose wooden work OF
the boat was the same as in the previous shot
Experiment number four gave results smi
lar to number three, Captain Paulling, of
the gunboat st. Louis, dsctargIng the gun in
the place of Captain Constable. Capt. Paul
ding describes the conclusion as very stlnn ing
and painful, and thinks it could not be en-
dured 10y any man for more than eight o. ten
consecutive shots.
Number five was with but fifteen pounds
of powder, the mortar in this case being ele.
waited TO more than forty five degrees. The
she'll was twenty-eight seconds in the air, an
seemed to fall US far away as any Of the pre-
ceding ones, which led to the opinion in the
minds Of the Committee, that n lighter charg"
II powder was quite as efficient rs a full twen
tythree pound charge.
The mortar boats are about sixty feet long
and twei ty.five feet wide. surrounded on ail
sides by iron plate buw uks, six or seven feet
high. The mortar itself weighs II 200 lbs
has ore easily admitting thirteen inch
she'll, and from tho edge Of the bore TO the
outer rim is II inches. The mortar be! !
weighs $500 pounds, aud from the expe
riencc Of to-day, is pronounced by Capt Con
st' ble To be the most admirable mortar car.
rage yet invented. The shell filled with wei
sand weighed $50 pounds, au enormous mis-
sie to be hurld through the air at dstaner
farther than from the levee to Grand Avenue,
in yoar city. Filled with powder these shells
will weigh 2l5 pounds, and can be thrown al
least balf mile farther than were those ill
ed with the sand
Say twenty Of these mortar boats drop
down TO within easy range of Columbus, AMI
at the same time TO be out Of reach Of the best
rfled cannon the rebels may bring to bear
30 small, indeed, at distance of three aud n
half or four miles "a scarcely TO he diecerni
bic on the surface OF the water. Say further, |
that each Of these boats will fire, at very
low estimate, four shells an hour. Then tweu.
ty Of them would Gscl srge eighty shells an
hour, with perfect impunity, and at this rate
tor one night of ten hours eight hundred OF
these terrific missiles may be Mrow into the
rebel camp and fcrtifcations. Can they en-
dure itl Pandemonum would be Paradise
to the place il would make Columbus.
THE SpoILs. The value Of the munitions
Of war captured from Zollicofer's rebel army
at Mil Spring and Cumberland River, may
Ia asti,na tad as folloGs.