East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-08-26
Our lron-Cind Navy,

The work OF supplanting the wool.
en- shells of our navy with an iron clad
fleet is rapidly progressing. We have
already fourteen iron clad vessels in
actual service, two large frigates Of that
! description about ready, thirty.three in
, various stages of completion. The lit.
tie Monitor, which has been SO often
described, the gun boats Galena and
Nantucket, the seven iron clad gun.
boats built for Gen Fremont, when he
took command of the Western Depart
ment, and the four gunboats purchased
on Western rivers raced and mailed,
are now in active service and have
proved their value in many a hard.
fought contest. A first class mailed
frigate, known as the New Ironsides,
has just been finished and equipped in
Philadelphia. She is no less than B.,
500 tons burden, aud is 232 feet in
length. Her sides are to average 20
inches in thickness, and her plates will
commence four feet below the water
and are 8 feet long by so inches wide.
She carries three masts, her topmast
and yards being lowered in action, leav-
ing only her lower masts in view her
draft is / 5 feet; her battery consists Of
sixteen | ! inch Dahlgren guns and two
200 FOUNDER Parrot guns; she has two
horizontal direct. acting engines, with
cylinders of so inch diameter and 80
inches stroke, and with a collective force
of 600 horse power. The other frig-
ate-the Roanoke-was built at Nor
folk in 1855, hut was seriously injured
in launching. She has been repaired
since th,n several times at great ex.
pense, and is now to be raced and
mailed throughout with thick iron
plates, extending five feet below the
water. She will have three revolving
turrets on deck; AMI a tremendous
PROV, resembling huge axe, and form
ed of plates 20 feet long and Al inch.
es thick. Each Turret will have 20
feet inside diameter, and the si,les will
be formed Of courses of inch iron =
Each plate for the turret is bent to-
the proper shape while cold by hy-
draulic press of enormous power. The
Roanoke is now at Brooklyn navy.yard1
and nearly six weeks must elapse be-
fore she will be ready for sea,
There are now also in the course of
construction at various ports on the At.
lantIc nine Dew Monitors, entirely alike
They are to be 200 feet in leogth. and
each TO have one turrent, 2l feet in di.
ameter. Their armor will consist of
five courses of plate, measuring five
inches in thickness, and two thcknesses,-
VII extend over the deck. Each will
carry two l5.inch Dahlgrep guns, and
the contract price is $500 900 each
These are nearly finished
There are also some vessels to be
built entirely of iron. One of these is
now being made at the dry dock in
New York. This one is TO have two
turrets and a PROV nine feet in length.
She will be made entirely of iron, and
will have the peculiar faculty of sinking
or rising in the water, like the Nauga-
tuck. Her plates are laid on each 9TH
er crosswise, and the vessel presents mo-
straight sides for shot to strike against.
Another vessel to be exclusively of iron
has just been started at Greenpoint, n;
Y. She will have two turrets and is
to be 226 feet long. Another iron gun
boat is to be made at Chester, Pa in.
tended especially for use in our rivers.
This, when completed, will lie the only
naual iron clad side. wheel steamer in
the world.
Another vessel, on the model of the
Monitor, has been commenced at Bos.
ton, and will be finished by the 10th of
November. Her plating will be FIVE
inches thick; the nuts and bolts are so
IL A. 4
themselves thick mail Another Mon.
itor is also being built at Jersey City,
for service on the Pacific coast, and an.
other at the Delaware Iron Works, N.
Y for general use.
Ten iron clad gunboats have also
been ordered to be built in Western 3
waters, each to carry two guns, and p
draw but 2 feet of water. These are
designed to navigate the Ohio river
aud repel all guerilla raids into the Free
States. Capt. Erricson also has con-
iracted with the government for two
ron.plated ships of unusual speed and
strength, the turrcts of which are to
20 warranted to resist the shock Of even =
A AZ FOUNDER.
A sub marine propeller, has been
ately launched at Philadelphia. This
5 sharp at both ends, and perfectly
'ound, and capable of travelling under
he surface of the water. Mr.. Webb,
If New York, has contracted to furnish
IN enormus ram, which will cost 81 $50
100. aud will be plated with iron six
nchos thick. She will have a solid y
'eak, projecting from her bos.
In addi ion to all these, there are three
'owerful gunboats now being rapidly
nished for tie more perfect defense Of
mr. western waters. These are TO be
f light draft, but bcavily plated
They win cary their armament in tur.
cts, impregnably cased in iron. One q
4 them is now nearly finished, and the
ther two will DO ready within six
veoks
Thus it will he seen that our navy, !,
Q less than our land forces, will re.
Give mipnty reinforccments within tho 8