Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-02-28
cjrespondence Of the Free Press.
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.

Ns5Irs. Editors Of fis Ere. Preis:
NEW YORK, Feb. Is.
Having just returned from visit to the Eros-
son Iron Battery, now lying at tho dock Of the
Continental Iron Works, Grsenpoint, l have
thought tsort de,giphon ,f this formidable
floating fort might Be interesting to your readers.
Of the appe,rsuce Of the vessel a, a whole it /,
difficult to give an adequate impression in few
words. II lie in fact unlike anything that ever
hosted on Neptunss bosom. The impression at
short distance /, that of iusignifcanoe and harm
lessnessi but on standing upon its deck and look
ing upon it more closely, the impression is that
Of great power sud invulnerability. The desorip-
tion of the Lsviathsn of the Scriptures very ad-
equately expresses the feeling which this
monster excites. But let us attempt more part
icusr description; and first of its external appear
snce.
The deck rises but about u feet above the wat
er which accounts for the insignihcance of its
appearance. From the middle of the deck rises
the round turret built of solid iron, nine feet
high and twenty feet internal diameter. 1t is
pierced for two guns, both on the same side, and
Of the heaviest cslisre. This tuuet revolyes BY
machinery and so can be used to am the guns. II
is everywhere inches thick. and on the side Of
the guns IL inches thick. 1t is constructed Of
wrought iron plates so riveted together that
two junctures come opposite. The plates are each
one inch thick, nine feet long and two feet wide
The tower is covered by shell-proof fat roof.
On the forward deck near the bows is the losk
out for the pilot or steersmsn. 1t is squsr.
bomb proof box like concern, about four feet each
way, and nine inches thick, with nsrrow crevioss
for lOok-Outs 1t is so small that it would not be
noticed at all at a short distance, mingling with
the black deck. The wheel itself hardly rises
above the deck at all. On the stern deck rise
four square suoke-stack. built Of boiler iron about
one inch thick, and strongly supported by iron
props. Two Of them are about six and the other
two about four feet high, and three feet square.
The rest of the deck is entirely clear, with no
| bulrarks whatever, go that the waves may wash
over it as over raft. There are dead lights here
and there, three inches or so in disneter. The
deck is plated with two thicknesses Of iron, make
ing about inch thick covering. The engines are
the smoke-stacks are not essential to their work
ibg, but only improve the draft. There is Thick
iron grating at the bottom Of each stack level
with the deck, which prevents the entrance Of suy
she'll among the machinery. The vessel is said
to be capable of running eight knots an hour.
The hull is pecul lar the rect Of the vessel
In fact there may be said to be two huls one rest
ing upon the other, of which the upper is fifty
feet longer and seven feet wider than the lower.
being ia feet long, and Al wide. The lower
hull is SIX feet deep. incining inwards at angle
of 81 degrees from the vertical line, and is cover
ei with inch iron. 1t is entirely submerged and
no ball osn strike it before going through 25 feet
Of water, and then only at an angle. The upper
hull has perp tDdculsr sides and is feet deep. Of
which u feet are Submerged. IL is built Of a
bulwark Of white OAK, thirty inches thick, covered
with an armor nowhere less than inches. So
that the whole vessel is covered over by an i'm
pregnabls iron scale, against which shot and shell