, 1863-04-30
Progress of the HIen-oEwar
Building. In New York.
{Et0rn nuf AffnY and Earr Rarox4ar1

4 visit to the Government ship-vards in
this vicinity enables one to form some idea o1
Inc maEn11 ndc Of our naval operations, The
tremendous iron fHgates Puritan and Dic'a
tor, the huge ram Dnnderbcrg. the lron-clads
Aiantonomah and Onondaga, The wooden yes.
sels Metacomet, Mendoza, Shamrock, che.
mango, Mackinaw, Peoria, Nyack, alaumee.
and IN Jersey the iron, clad5 Manhattan, Na'
hopac and Tecnmseh. are all in various staoes
Of progress. The following brief aecount OF
tnetr condition embraces all that Is necessary
to know.
The Puritan and Dictator are the two Er;cs.
SON ocean 1ron-clads, each being over $40 feet
long, anu having the largest cylinders attached
70 their engines, eyer built for a man.of.Tar
thus rendering it probable that they viii be
ne fastest vessels Of their kind in the world.
BON are now in about the same state, the
Iles OF Inc hulis being al1 up, and portion
Of the inner skin Of armor going on. The The
ezoss inside beams on the bottom are bcinr
put n their places. Every bolt fastening ma
interior armor to the frame of the lulI il nnf
IN not, and hammered home in the same man
ner. Ihe present appearance Of the vessels is
Is httie different from that OF the skeleton of
IN ordinary tirst-rate, In frame, except that The
beams are of iron instead Of wood. The plates
PM on these vessels are preparing rapidly, so
time next year,
TIE onondaga,. Mr.. George Quintard's res
sci, Is nearly finished, aud will be launched
next week. She is almost exclusively iron.
has her plates put on in solid thicknesses. like
the Roanoke, but has no wooden backing
under them. The oyerhang, which seems to
be an Objectionable feature in the monitors, is
dispensed with In this vessel. She has turrets
like the Ericsson batteries, and will be armed
On oIn the same general plan. She is nearly
~ tons heavier than the latter, although !
stranger might mistake her for one Of them as
she looks now on the ftocks
me iron c!ads Tecumseh, Manhattan aud
lalopac, building in Jersey, al1 belong to thu
first batch Of light draught vessels ordered.
atlcr m the completion of the nine monitors.
ering them, and will be completed bv july.
The aessrs. secos are building them, Mr. Geo.
blrkbeck experimenting their construction.
The Camanche is also building here, but any
mention Of her in detail is prohibited for good
REASONS. Capt Perine and the Secors are pre-
pairing to build still smaller vessels.
The great ram Dundcrbere, building by Mr..
Webb, has now her first wooden story on. and
her ram shaped. She will be built altogether
of wood, the mali or armor going on over It.
she Will have taIrets. The ram Is prolonged
over thirty feet from the hull proper, and ris.
ing upward from the keel abont half the dis.
tance from the water line, is there rounded,
presenting blunt end, in shape like the pro.
f'ie Of an axe edge. The bow for period Of
nifty tfro1n the extreme end, will be a so1jd
mass Of wood. The frames Of the hull are no
less Than twelve inches thick. She cannot be
completed short oftwo years to come.
The Mjntouomal, will be the first rern1ar
nary.built jron-clad. She is now nearlT tin-
isl ed, and embraces no new principles re-
semblirg the Ericsson batteries in ali her
chief features. She is about 200 feet long.
and over 600 tons burthen. It is said s6c
VIII be toated out Of the ship-house on the
1st Of May.
All the wooden vessels named are adoat. ex.
cept the Maumee, Nyack and Peoria, The two
latter having been commenced last week.
TIE Chcnapgc and Others arc waiting Of the
different machine shops for their engiies, and
others have arrived here troul other cities for
a l3ke purpose. Hlr. Stack, Mr. WesteryeIt,
and some other shipbuilders, have lust com,
meneed small steamers for the revenue, Which |
Will be finished in few months.