Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-29
TaE AMERICAN NAyY-AN EHCEEsEE
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From the London T;mesl
In January, 1861, the Americans had forty
one vessels Ct all rates in commission. TheT'
are now two hundred and 6ily-six neF- DIVA
carrying the Federal flag, SO t}at the navy ha:
been multiplied six fold in Tess than two years
This, hewever, though denoiiag a WoDdsriu
effort on the part of the nation is not very eE.
traordinary result, when the circumstances are
reviewed. On the same conditions we could
send thousand cruisers TO sea even Ia Q shorter
time. The fact is, as we have before taken oe-
ession to remark, that the Americans were driven
out Of their old tactics By the sharp pressure of
instant necessity. Instead Of concentrating
their energies and their expenditure upon one
or two m0nstrOus specimens of their respective
classes, they pressed at once into their service
/ every floating vessel that could be found River
steamers, ferTyboats, mail packets, merchant
men, and coasters were all bought up, hastily
armed, and sent to sea under the pennaDt The
result, of course, Was an astonishing increase of
the national marine, and, as it happened, an
efficient one, too. The Federals were fighting
against an enemy who had no navy al all, and,
consequently, any feet was good enough for the
] purpose. really effective squadron might
have made short work of these mere make
! shifts, but the Confederstes had 10 squadron
of any kind, aad so it followed thst the extern
porzsd fleet Of The N0rtherners succeeded in
7
/ ports of the helpless SoIllh Although, how
ever the Faderals acted wa this jutiici0Rs de-
/ cision on the spur Of Tho TnOmeat, they lost no
/ time in putting some better work in train. They
] accepted very promptly the conclusious of Eu-
/ ropsan governments respecting iron cassd yes
/ sells, and ordered good many ships on the new
model. At the present moment they have be-
! tween twenty-five and thirty of these vessels
actually g6Oat and no fewer than thjrty-seven
. ~ hcr- II
! ourselves with the belief that the "iron clad
steamer" Of the Federal navy list represents
anything ike such vessels as are now included
IN our squadron at Lisbon The same urgency
in the demand, and the same peculiarity in She
/ contemplated service, have been at work here
also to sffset the efficiency Of. the ships turned
out We know by experiences what is required
/ for such constructions as these and when we
hear that even improved and powerful models
are launched in 6 few months, and for ES0000
| each, we can form very good idea Of their gen
ersl qualify.
With these qualifications, however the new
Federal navy may certainly be regarded as a re-
maTkable creation That very government
which, few months syo, had but forty nen-oE
war adoat, has now bloekadirg squadron Of
| iffy-one vessels in the South Atlantic, and an
other Of forty-three in the North Atlantic Il
has 8 third squsdron Of fifty-sevsn ships in the
q 4
the East Gulf Beside these, there is a hotilIa
in The Potomac numbering twenty-fonr vessels
and another in the Mississippi, comprising
twenty The chief portion Of the navy, it viii
thus be seen, Is employed on home service in the
prosecution of the evil war, but foreign stations
sTe not entirely neglected Tho Pacific sausd.
ron has i've ships that in the Mediterranean as
many more. 0e the East Iudis station there
are two vessels IN the West Indies-!l is sig
nI6canty sdded at present"-theTe are six.
Three Of tlese constitute the little squadron
under' the command of Commodore Wilkes at
Bermuda, and we can learn from the list before
MS their dimensions and armeuents- The
/ Wachusett, carrying the cemmodore's flag, is
screw steam sloop Of 032 tuus burden and nine
euns-appGTently muck such vessel as tie
Tuscarora, with which we made the acquaius-
/ aHce in cur own waters lsst spring. The So
noma and Tioga, described Ia the report from
Bermuda as "gunboats," are paddls-wheel
steamers, mounting six guns each, one being of
955 and the Other of $40 tuus burden From
other documents in our possession we gather
that all three chips have been built under the
[ immediate supsrintendence o. the Federal Navy
Department since the commencement of the
war.
L Is not little striking TO observe that the
Americans, notwithstanding their recognition Of
iron plating in naval architecture are, ueverthe-
]
They have, in fact, almost as many Of this esss
IN hand as they hsve Of the new class. All three
of Commodore Wilkes vessels are wooden
vessels, though so recently launched, and there
are thirty-one Of much the same 6escription still
on the stocks. The Federals boast that their
iron clad ships form greater proportion # their
whole navy than is to be found in any oihBr
marine, and if all partially plated guuboa.s are
10 be ranked as real ironsides, tho claim is sab
es.IT
wooden ships ah3at entirely unprotected, aud
seem to expect fair service from them. Oae
thing, however, is certainly notable, and that is,
that they have utterly discarded even on paper,
all such vessels as ships-of-the-line. In the
whole list there are no ships larger than the As
gun frigates of the Minnesota class, aud Ws
can find bus two remaining even Of these The
entire force consists Of doOps coryettes sad gun
boats, the great majority Of which mount less
than ten gnns These guns, however, are very
/ heavy, ard. though the principle Of the Dahl
gren ordnance has not found much favor on this
side of the Atlantic, they are probably formida
/ bic IN their way. The system of the Federals
appears TO consist in building stout vessels On
4 approved models, whether of wood or iron and
4 in giving them such dimensions IS would en-
able them to carry four to ten lsrge guns. The
/ Wschusett, for instance, if she follows the pat
/ tern Of her class, would have two ll-inch Dahl
/ grens, running on circular railways, one
24.pOunder rifed gun and large 32s on her
/ brosdside. The pattern vessel of the gUnoOat
class is rated also to carry two ll-ineh guns and
/ two rihed PARROTS, but as the SOnOma and Iioga
are returned as mounting SIX guns each, this ar
/ mament must in their case have been increased.
Upon the whole, the new Federal navy has
\ been designed with so peculiar and exeeptionabe
] an object that It is hardly safe to draw any gen
/ era lessons from snch an example The North
/ erneTs wanted feet, not TO encounter the fleets
/ of an enemy, but TO take on the instant and keep
/ possession of an Uncontested sea. They required
/ gunboats for the navigation Of broad rivers and
| hotillas TO cooperate with an army in the deld.
These necessities of their position they not only
| diseerned, but accepted without an hours delay,
aud the result certainly does them credit, as it
! has, indeed, done them service Measured how
! ever, by European standards, their squsdrons
can hardly be regarded as effective, unless We
/ are to presume that other nations have expended
/ upon their navies a large amount of superhnous
/ pains. We could do in tweivemonth not only
| what the Americans have done, but Ave times as
much. By pressing every species of craft into
The service, and setting every bulldog yard TO
work without stint or scrutiny, we could soon
multiply by considerable figure the number of
our ships in commission, but their quality would
not remain such as It is at present.
! To the COnseript Fnthers-An Appeal 20
the cid HAen Of WississipPi.
FEALow- -CITIzENs: To meet the emergency
/ Of the present invasion, our patriotic Governor
/ Pettus has agreed to accept as many companies
/ of old men in the State who are, b. their age ex-
/ empt both from the e0nscripiion and militia
/ duty as will tender their services such COM