The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1862-03-03
Jron.clad Gunboats

Noormo Of the national service has done sue"
~ u and hr,uoht about 80 successful re-
snlts since the war commenced, as Ine 'ioo 80
runboats. And the only objection "hlc'i Ca" ~
tnuni To the recent appropriation Vi 'ei III
lions Of dollars by Congress Tor the purpose Vi
increasing our navy IN TINS direction ,s' " 10 Wv
small These boats are not hereafter 10 nc
viewed in the light Of an experiment. ihey
bavs been tried, and the trial has been more
than satisfactory, And what Is not a ht'ie
singular, while England has made such an loo
over her ron-claa ships, we have put lron-p
ted vessels to tue test OF an actual hight before
bar Itisnot to be wondered 1T that the rebels
of Kontucky and Tennessee dread Commodore
Foote's little feet, for the power OF offensive
md defensive opala, ons eyincedb by The gInboata,
was something entirely new IN the history OF ma
val battles. During the attack on Fort Henry, a
%. pound ball struck The Cincinnati, ana though
the vessel trembled from stem to stern, the plates
turned tie bail aside and it did no damage
And the only balls which found their way mo
tn, boats. were those which struck where there
was no casing.
OR naval architects have always favored tue
olatiDr of gunboats and small vessels rather
than frigates, and as he event has proved, with
GOOD reason. The British triga,e Warrior
leaked badly on her trial trip, and the french
ricale La Gloire, which has already cost mint
Of money, had to be stripped OF her arinor lor
the same reason, and some new arrangement OF
the plates is to be tried. Bot our qunboats are
omen to no objections of this kind, and seem des
tined to become the most imports and poph-
lar branch OF our naval service. Several yes
sells OF this class are in process OF consfruc-
tOn aud it 10 expected that IN Il few months we
Il
shall have on the ocean u neet OF twenty IRON
clad. light draft gUnboats. besides those on the
western waters This will do very ell Tor a
beginning. but Congress should see to 1t that
we have more OF them built Immediately. 1t
we don need them to crush out the rebellion,
we may want them to look after the allies in
Mexico, and it would be we'll to haze them
ready.
Great expectations are also placed on The OPP
er&rOns of the new mortar boats, which are
YET to be tried They carry heavier guns than
the gunboats, higher placed and more of them.
and viii, it is expected, prove OF much more
value in attacking strong lortitica'ious, and
;nosa considerably elevated above the water,
like the deience' oE Columbus. The nortars
they carry VIII ,hlow l3-inch shell three
miles and at this distance the boats themselves
would present no available mark for ordinary
2h'N ~ thd0 tiitN "od!o 10 hihor' "i' 81 '"c
reach OF danger while themselves dealing out
death and destruction. There are two mortar
fleets already conscructcd-onc on the western
waters, which seems likely to be tried soon at
Coumbns, and another under the command Of
Cow Porter. which has gone round to Ship
Is!4n1, New Orleans may receive a visit from
boJh Ok these fleets soon, aud if the is wise she
will not withstand their ba:tering powers. If,
alter rial, these boats prove as useful as the
lron-clad gunboats, the rebels have nowhere any
tor!ihcatlons that can stand against them. and it
would De fool hardness to attempt resistance
when their guns are brought to thanksgiving
field RepubiiCan