, 1862-03-15
" 8. . ~ :: ;: CHICAGO; ;sATURD (; MARCH Is, 18
0URElR0N:ElAD.MAvY;:;;
Two Two New: ;Vessels-Fhe eanboat:
:: Mystic: and the PHILADELPHIA ;: :: ;.
:. Frigate:. .:' .:,..:
DESCRIPTION OF THE MFSTIC.

4
- DESCRIPTION or THE MrsT1c. 3
The new iron-clad gQnboat Mystic, which is
by Congress some four months ago, Is ordered
10 be fitted out for sea with all possible speed. |
Che is ut present at Greenpoint In process OF |
and will be ready to receive her /
in about two weeks. She was built /
in My ystic, Conn, and Will he commanded BY
Capt. Alfred Taylor.
The length of this vessel is about two hun |
d1ed feet over all, with breadth Of nearly |
thirty eight, and twelve and half feet depth |
OF hold. She would draw eleven feet Of water /
by sldee cnrvipE inward, aud plated with half
inch iron, 80 that the. whole presents an. ap-
pEasance very much Ike that Of Commodore i
Foote's. craft. Excepting the upper: deck,
the vessel has the appearance Of an ordinary
gu1boat. The Prov is sharp and narrow, and
Its shape, however, is similar to that OF an Or
ainary vessel, instead Of projecting helow the
water, as is the case with most Other inTcn-
tions Of the kind :.
q horizontal position parallel to the shear Is
three auG:a q quarter inches thick, being two
layers of iron attached It is In the shape of
bars, each tWruty-four inches long aud three
>or four inches wide. After being rolled, they
are wrought in zigzag foIm, so that they
lG1E very I0UC10 LIKE T311fO1l uaI3. 4us 10lW
is called by machinists :sschair,' as while
one edge rests fiat upon the side Of The vessel,
and is there screwed to it, the other edge
behds upward, and forming Two right angles,
oycrlaps part Of the lar NEXT below it. The
bars, which are pnt on lcngthwisc, ART also
connected By a curious system Of grooves and
tongues. somewhat similar to those in floor
and CEILING boards. They are fastened to the
vessel ct Intervals Of fourteen inches, by screw
bolts, and when in sailing :rim lcr armanlcnts
will be four feet below her water line. the
cutwater, or what Is supposed to be the steam
ram, is Of solid iron, about six by three inches
square. =
eighteen guns, and that number Of portfolios
were. accordingly made; but the intention has
;been:c changed and only sir guns will be car:
rled.f None of The port.ho1es, however, will
be permanently closed, as the guns will be SO
mounted as to be easily movable, and can be
fired from the most convenient port. Eleven
inch colunlhisds and shell guns will be used:
Her cannon were made partly at the Albany
Iron Works and partly at Stensselaer's works.
| Her machinery is similar to that On the iron
battery Monitor, consisting Of two horizontal
| eondensing engines, and was built at the iron
| fonntlry Of M~ Dalam:tcr, in West Thirteenth
! street. :
THE FEIGAT AT PHILADELPHIA
| The Philadelphia frigate will be Of 5000
! tors burden, will drav: fifteen feet Of water,
wiz he eso feet long, sixty feet beam, twenty
| Eve feet hold; will have three decks, will car
i ~ :seycral deck pivot guns, and sixteen ad-
! diti0nal guns Of cleven-inch bore. She will,
! therefore,, be not ooly the largest 1ron-clad
| vessel in course OF construction, but one OF
| the arEcst vessels in the, American navy. The
contractors and shlpbuildcrs arc strainiug
every neFye 70 accomplish their labor at an
carly day. At present the vessel IS ip the
hands Of the ioiners, who have laid the whole
hull, Keel and bulwarks, aud are at work upon
! the decks and interior arrangements: She
t LES at,the yard Of Cramp & Son, sub-contract
ors, towering above all the surrounding build
ipgs and reaching nearly the length Of d block
ot the city 'front.' The yard is literally alive
with s1,iPcarpcntcrs, and steam mill has beer
erected close beside Aer to facilitate The saw
ing Of timber and the hosting of planks, &c.
to the vessel
Under no circumstances can a shot strikt
The hull OF thu new frlgatc direct. She is con
vex upon the whole exterior part, and thu
> balls of an adversary will glance harmlessl.
from her obIique armor. The sides Of th'
ship Esye an angle Of thirty dcgrecs iron
three feet above the load lines, and She will b
armed with a sharl, iron bowsprit, to strike 0
pierce preparatory to boarding or sinking
Her rudder will also be protected, aud he
upper decks will be placed under the slope Q
the curved and p'attd bulwarE5, so that tn
crew Gun be sheltered as under an imprcgna
lie roof.
The iron plntee, which aEe to constitute tn
arrnor Of tile vessel, are being daily turue
ont from the Bristol Forge Works on the De
, awsrc river, and from one Of the iron mills Il
Pittsburgh. 4 .n7Ee quantity of Them ar
, | now in this city. They are fifteen feet lone
; | twenty y-eight and half inches wide and f0u
| and a hulf inches thick. They will be boil
ed TO the vessel, but the bolts will not CON
| through to the exterior surface Of the plate
The plates will he connected by tongue
: Of iron fitting in grooves, the groovcd psat<
| alternating with the tongued plates. III
r whole weight Of the iron casing will be serc
| hundred and fifty tons. The heavieSt plat
: yet completed weighs esx thousand niue hui
dred and eighty-eight pounds, the lighte
plate six thousand two hundred and forty -eigl
pounds. Upwards Of two hundred platt
s will equip the whole vessel One hnndrs
c men a1oue are working upon this iron armo
t and one hundred and forty tons of coal i wee
! arc consumed at the forges. The plates e.
c casing the bow will extend eight feet bcyor
q the wooden lul1. There will be no bolts, 4
q giles, projections or creFices upon the surfa'
: Of The armor when joined to the hull
+ The frigate will have two powerful engiu
= and one large bras5 propeller wheel, four bo
r ers and Z 'tbloWer,'' or second smoke STAG
7 She will travel at the rate of ten knots
$ hour. and will carry crew Of one hundr'
S and fifty men. Her machinery is being co
# st1ucted by Mr. c. E. Wood, Chief Engines
5 and Henry Hoovey, Constructor at the Ma
Z | Yard. The plates were designed by J. P. Nc
t, r1s d Co, and the boiler makers and prima
u contractors are Me1Tick & Sons.