Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-11-27

IL will tie seen thst there are IN al CITY one
iron clad vessels built ard - be built, and that
eighteen Of them IRE either fnishe or neirly
hsiss.ed- Thus. irsm being he 9Th OF sixth
naVa Ioser. Two yeas ago, tie Unf,d State,
suddenly takes the hist place Ia naval warfare
The american people bad sl~ays shown their
natural superiority In seamanship and gEnnery
over the British, who have claimed TO be the
foremost power ~ sea IN modern timeS-a posi-
ton. however. which j. now disputed with them
by the French. In two vars the Americans bad
in almost every naval light defeated the English,
unless where the odds were overwhelming; and
IL was partly because the circumstances OF the
country did not require 10. and partly because the
Western interest was too jealous OF the East.
that az American navy was not long since devel-
oped which would have taken the foremost rank.
The capacity existed: but it was not called into
exercise Necessity is the mother of invention
The civil strife which broke out in this country
within the last two years has wrought revoiu-
ton in naval warfare The result OF a single
battle in Hampton Roads has nulifed the wooden
navies of the world. What was but matter of
theory and experiment with England and France
suddenly berame - the United STATES tremen
dous practical realty; and, being engaged IN a
gigantic war, We were compelled, a. IL were. 70
put forth our strength in organizing the newly
discovered power.
Our resources, vast as they were fresh, our me
chanical genius and the energy of free people,
Notwithstanding the dead weights of old fsgy-
ism and the trammels OF red tape. have. in an in
credibly brief space of time, produced a mailed
feet which can set at defiAnce the nayies of Ill
Europe. Being first in the field, we always
keep ahead. The French and English iron clads
admitted to be failures. compared with our
Monitors aud other vessels. Their sehgoing
armed ships not only unwieldly, but they pre-
sent such immense marks that il is impossible iOr
them To escape. besides being unprotected III
some vital points. The strongest parts of them
could not for half an hour resist the heavy guns
with which our iron cads are armed The
ffteen.inch Dlhsren. with lis four hundred and
sixty pounds round shot, would drive in the sides
of the Warrior Ike plsieboard. The renowned
Armstrong gun is now nowhere. Ii has beer
beaten even by the English WhitwOrth; but
neither of them i a match for the fifteen incl
American gun. However. there are twenty incl
Dihlgrens being cast for stationary points 10 de
fend the coast These will throw round shot Of
090 pounds weight: AMI woe 20 any European
iron clad vessel ever built with which one o
the missiles shall come in contact. On the
other hand, our mailed Monitors present scarcely
any mark for enemy, with exception of th,
impregnable turrets which metal used in The
British and French navies is sufficiently heavy t
penetrate.
Lastly, we are building in this city rsm-th'
Dunderberg-which will ousail and sink any
thing tina, floats at the other side of the Atlantic
The London Times in commenting on our new
Navy boasts that England could easily do wha
America has done if she pleased That remains
to be proved Let her try il. She may very
soon need more iron clad ships than She can pro
duce in the next two years.
Hitherto our most brilliant successes in the wa
have been achieved by the Navy. But what an
these when compared with the victories tina
await the operations of the combined force O
iron clads on the Mississippi, the Atlantic sea
board and the Gulf during the present winter
Not only are Vicksbnrg. Montgomery. Mobile
Savannah and Charleston destined TO fall hefor
the terrible concentrated fire of their batteries
but after the conquest these places will be rem
deIed impregnable by the distribution Of Monitor
in the several ports and all communication b,
sea or with the western side of the Mississippi
will be effectually cut off After this what hop
can longer exist for the rebellion, whose last de
pendence for arms, ammunition. medicines an'
clothing is upon cotton, which can no longer b.
made available?
What a marvellous change in naval warfar
from the time of the ancient galleys, propelle
by oars to the American Monitors moved b.
steam and Al med by l5-inch guns! The domiu
ion of the sea has often changed hands.
The power of the Persians rece ed fatal bloy
from the Greeks at the naval battle of Snlami-
The might of the Saracens was smitten by III
Christians in an equally decisive fight at Lepanto
The maritime power of the Cartlagenians wa
smtten by the Romans. and Venice end Genoa
in the Middle Ages, ruled the waves. The Por
tuguese. Spaniards, Dutch and French have, il
turn. welded the trident Finally, the British
asserted their maritime superiority under Nelson
which they have maintained TO the present day
And now the sceptIe passes out OF their hands
and westward the course Of empire takes it
way" The great battle at the mouth OF tn
James river, in the year 1862. opens new era
innugurating the manifest destiny long since fore
Swallowed by the heroic deeds of Barry and Perry
Jones, Prebe. Lawr. nee. Decatur. Porter. Mac
donough, Rodgers, Hull, Banbridge and Bdde
Thus DO nations rise and fall The sun OF tn
oil. worn out monarchies of Europe Is setting
while that Of the American Republic ascends 4
meridian splendor. The civil war is only develop
ing its inexhaustible resources by land and Sc,
and when the conflict is terminated in reunion, IA
il cannot fail to be, she will come OF the fer,
ordeal ten tunes more formidable TO the despot
of the Old World than when she entered upon tn
struggle which is to try the genius of her people
and test the strength Of her. free institutions
IN Y Herald