The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1862-03-13
TEE MONITOR.


clad ships will be unsuccessful, they THINK De
cause. though their attack on wooden vessels
must be fatal, the wooden ship would keep out
of the way. -. ar.o,,ld
II was suggested that our Government sn {,
yyoeure an iron clad vessel, to be built III Eng
land but this was unnecessary, az the gfe s
has proved It was determined 70 seen ny iot
proposals among our own snip -Ouliaefs' ne
nual;tieg demanded were light draught ana IN
,4r,-1ra-eh;I;tr The Board receiyed seventeen
nronosaIs Of which tie most remarkable was
pna Nv 7 Ericsson, New York, who proposed
halter 172 feet long, Al feet broad, lld feet
door 10 feet draught, 255 tons measurement,
~ make a speed Of 9 miles per hour, to cost
ao75 600 and require 100 days to build.
Cant. Ericsson is best known to the world as
the inventor of the Calorc Motor. The contract
with him bore date 4th of October, and stPula-
ted that within one hundred days the entire
structure must be ready for active service. In
view Of the magnitude Of the work to be per-
formed, this condition appeared almost impossi-
BILE to comply with and called for extraordinary
diligence on the part Of the contractor. There
was another stipulation in the contract of most
remarkable character, and probably without
precedent, viz, the trial Of the efficiency of the
battery must be made under the guns Of the enc
my's batteries at the shortest range The Uni
ted States to furnish guns and ammunition, as
well as officers and men.
The following is a brief sketch of Captain
Eriesson's plan as developed in the . MoNI-
TOR -
The structure consists of three principal parts
viz: shallow decked vessel with perpendicu-
lar sides, dead fiat bottom and pointed ends
Under this shallow vessel q second and deeper
vessel is attached with raking stem and stern,
pc rfeetly fiat bottom and sides inclined at an
angle Of 81 deg. to the vertical line This lower
vessel does not extend the entire length Or
breadth of the upper one. Il is in free commu-
nication with the latter, the bottom of which IS
cut out corresponding exactly with the top line
of the lower vessel The third principal part
consists of cylindrical turret placed on the
deck of the upper vessel. This turret contains
the armament, which it effec tually protects
We have only to add tina. screw propeller is
applied aft Of the raking stem Of the lower yes
sci, and aft the propeller an equipoise rudder,
both of which ard thus hidden under the upper
vessel, by which they are most effectually pro-
tected the anchor being i like manner pro
tected by the forward projecting part Of the 0p-
per vessel, within which it is suspended III a
cylnderical chamber open from below. steam
engine, boilers and blowers, all snugly slowed
away in the lower vessel, complete the general
arrangement of the battery which Ericsson has
been building for the Government for the pur-
pose of silencng the guns of our antagonists on
the banks of the Southern rivers. The follow
ing particulars will furnish our readers with the
necessary data for estimating the chances OF sue
cess in this important enterprise The upper
vessel, built Of iron, is ia feet long, Al feet
inches wide. and feet extreme depth. The
draught Of water will be feet 6 inches, and
consequently the projection above water line
will be only Is inches. wooden bulwark,
composed principally Of white oak, 30 inches
thick, protects the side Of the upper vessel, and
extends down to the bottom being thus 5 feet
deep. The bulwark is secured to the vessel S
sides in peculiar manner, requiring no through
bolts. An Grmor, composed OF rolled plate lron
in all six inches thick covers the bu!Wark trom
top to bottom, extending all round the vessel
The stem and stern beng both pointed at al
angle of 80 degrees, the armCr will present {
sharp wedge at each end Of the vessel of enor
nous strength The deck, as it must De shel
proof is made very heavy. 1t Is composed o
oak beams, 10 inches square, placed 26 inche
apart, the deck plank beiag eight inches thick
covered all over with double plating, one Incl
thick. The lower vessel is 1914 feet long, and 8
feet wide at the Junction with the upper vessel
and ts depth is s feet inches This lower yes
Sc is built quite light as it is perfectly protect
ed by the upper one. The manner in which
this necessary protection of the lightly construc
ted lower hull, propeller, rudder and anchor i
attained is the most important feature of thi,
singular structure. The contractor, find
instead of relying on the watsr as protection
brings the lower body within such angles tina
shot cannot strike without fist passing through
water for a distance of more than 70 feet, an(
then4 striking at very acute angle l@ deg
at the least; while the propeller, rudder ant
anchor cannot be reached by shot at ell.
The turret, within which two guns of thu
largest calbre are worked, consists Of a cytinde
30 feet internal diameter, 9 feet hight, c0mpos
ed OF consecutive rings, each one inch thick
all firmly bolted and riveted together. Thert
are no horizontal joints; the plates lap owe
each other in such manner as to present ;
single joint only at any one place. Including
the interior skeleton TO which the plates are at
taohed, the turret presents an immense wrought
iron cylinder, 8 inches thick, weighing upward
of 100 tons The top is covered with a shell
proof fiat roof, placed six inches down the cyl
inder il consis ts Of forged beams covered Will
perforated slate iron. Several sliding matches
composed eff inch tn lex plate iron, giving ac
cess to the turret from above. The port hole
ara circular, and placed three feet above tn
decks The guns move on slides made oi torg
ed iron extending across the turreti the cal
riages, also composed or wrought iron ARE mad
10 fit the slides very accurately, these latter be
ing planned for that purpose. The Circuulfer
ence of the turret rests OF a turned composition
ring inserted in the deck, but the weight is sus
tanned principally by vertical shaft 10 inche
diameter, which rests in cup supported by
bracket firmly bolted and braced to the mali
bulkhead of the vessel abont half way down.
A spur wheel 81 fee5 diameter / inch face i
attached to the turret shafts BY means OF tn
spur wheel and intermediate gearing, uctuatet
by double cylinder engine, the turret can b.
turned and the guns can ba pointed i'll any di
Fechon. rod connected with the Ieversin!
gear of the engine, passes through the vornea
shaft, and enables the person in charge Of tn
guns, to control the aim For % contest witt
iron clad ships carrying heavy ordinance re
Gently devised III Europe Captain Ericsson pro
poses to dispense with two of the outer plat
rings of the turret, and to attach III their plac
slaves of rolled iron four inches thick. thus pre-
senting an aggregate thickness Of ten inches Q
plating besides the internal skeleton.
The steam machinery and propcllers demand
no special notice The cylinders are 40 niche
in diameter and 22-inch stroke; the boilers ar
on the horizontal tubular plan. The blowers 70
the boilers and for venlatiug the vessel are &c
tuated by sepeTate engines, as usual. Smokt
pipes above deck are entirely dispensed viii
during active service, the products OF combuS
ton passing off through shell-proof gcatings ii
the deck.
Ter commander was Lieut. John P. Worden
of New York. whose original entry into The nav,
was in 1884 who has seen eighteen years o
service, and is noted in the Naval Register 0
1860 as attached to the sIosD ol-war Savannah
OF the Home Squadron. Her armament is tF,
ll-inch Columbiade. For her use was made I
novelty in war missils-f0ur hundred round forg
ed shot each weighing 1s4 poands, each cosiinI
$40, or a total of SIS 80J-rather an expensive
pile of bullets. These are intended for just wha
they accomplished, crushing through the mas
sive mail plate where the ordinary cast sho
would hy in pieces Thus much by way Of de
scription of the Monitor. She has herself hes
told her merits, saving as she did the day &
Newport News, and beating back her IRENE
dous adversary.
Emancipation.
WASHINGTON, March 7, I862.-Thc messing
from the President Is perhaps the most impoi
70 Mt dnnr mani eva. nAlrassaa - Can ross