Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-05-22
The Monitors before Charleston.
Ht1ox Ht,p, s. c April rs, 1863.

HILTON HEAP = = HIli 80 Aco'.
W DearSir
Our friend Col. - shovel me one
paragraph Of YOUR letter to him in which you
referred, apparently with surprise, to the fact,
that the attack on Charleston by the irOn-clads
should have been discontinued when 50 fev
casualties had occurred" This is % obvious
reflection on the first has,y view Of the affair.
and yet so radically unjust when we look calmly
at the facts that, in Col. -'s absence Che
has gone to ST. Augustine and Fernandina)
will venture TO occupy your time few moments
on the subject
In ordinary warfare the amount Of casualties
will give fair iles Of the strength Of the resis
tance and the power and perss,eney Of the at
tack With wooden vessels, You remark-and
know !, to hc an all but universal One-Fouli
apply With truth, AMI it is because we have all
become so accustomed 10 measure battles on land
or sea 10y the amount OF blood spilled, that We
are npt % err in julsins an utterly uncommon
and unprecedented battle by the ordinary or
common standard Let me now submit sone
points
|. |; is to be borne m mind that this 60 far
a. the navy WAS concernedl was purely an e.
pertinent a. TO the possibility Of taking city b
machinery. The Monitors might be called blood
saving machines, with this penalty attached T.
them; that whenever the loss Of life should be-
Of every man on board. The number Of men in
the whole iron clad squadron was less than
regiment; and these few hundred men, rushing
against forty or fifty thousand, were to have 10
other part IN the fight than TO supply the neces-
slry power for working the machines. lfChsrles-
ton were 70 fall, it was by machinery; and the
moment the experiment was tested 10 the point
of proving that the machines were inadequate to
their work, it was wisdom to withdraw them and
woull have been dangerous foolhar1iness TO have
held them longer exposed.
. The experiment was fully prosecuted up to
this point, with a magnihcence Of gallantry be
fore which, as spectator, bowed in reverence
The machines were untried and the conflict WAS
the first practical test we have ever hsd Of the
power Of the new kinds Of ordnance and ord
nance material employed against them. | refer
to the Blakely and Whitworth English guns,
firing steel bolts and steel-pointed shot. The
warfare was almost new to the Admiral and
his Captsins as il would have been 20
you or myself-new kinds Of proiectiles rain
ing on him from above; vast torpedoes known TO
be underneath his keels, and every channel OF
entrance blocked with triple rows Of torpedo
armed distractions.
g. After less than an hours conflict, i've cut
OF the eight Monitors were disabled-the keokuk
sinking. Behind the forts, calmly waiting their
opportunity lay tllltr VI NAS-Ag
in plain view; vessels not able in fair fght 20
live an hour before one Of our Monitors; but
held in readiness to cruise out and capture any
Monitor disabled by the artillery practice Of the
forts and batteries This should not be lost sight
Of
{. With two or three Of our vessels Of this
kind disabled, captured, repaired, and in the en-
emy's service, what force would it require to
maintain the blockade Of Charleston? Wooden
vessels-Our gunhOats and steam-sloops-"ouId
be useless; and our iron vessels could not live
outside Of Charleston bar in rough weather.
Nor, even If they could, unless We had enough
Of them TO cross freover every inch Of the mouth
Of the harbor permanently, could blockade be
maintained against the fast clipper steamers
bull, as blockade-runners in English ship-yards
In a word, the enemy, with a single Monitor
ours, could drive every wooden boat nom the
blockade; and would, practically, " have raised
the blockade
5th Could we afford 10 have Charleston a
free port-the greatest free port in the world.
when viewed as the only outlet and inlet for the
commerce Of eight millions ofpeople, with arms
and all other requisites pouring into II unmoles-
tel. and cotton pouring out , Would not such
an event of necessity-I mean moral and 70
Htical necessity-have compelled France, and
perhaps other wavering foreign Powers, to so-
knowledge the COnfederacy Are VIC IN POSI-
ton to hazard these consequences lightly
9TH Bear in mind that the weakness Of the
Nonitcr-turrets was increasing in geometricsi
ratio under the force Of each coneussion bach
bolt s;artcl, each plate cracked, each stanoheon
bent bv the first ball, left weaker protection
acains: the second and the second transmitted
this deterioration increased By its own impact to
the third Thus onward, the element Of the cal
culation beins that three hundrei guns. worked
with every advantage Of space and hxitT. were
arraycd against thirty-two guns cramPed NJ n
delicate machines and requiring 20 be fixed Just
At the exact right moment Of rotation.
= Fort Sumter itself, We should no: forget
was but the hre-focus Of two long, converging
lines Of forts and batteries and while, for ag-
gressive purposes, and from its position, iis
armament was nlore to be dreaded than that Of
anv other work, the fort itself, being built Of
masonry, fully exposed to FIRE, was the most
pregnable point in the harbor nor would its
fall have terminated the contest, nor given any
further ease to the iron-clads than the withdraw
al Of so many guns from against them Their
work would still be before them in silencing the
other forts and batteries and removing the triple
line Of powerful and cunningly devised obstruc-
tons.
The foregoing are only few Of the most prom
inent suggestions to be used in forming right
estimate Of the struggle. Busy and overworked
was done to let you see this affair from the stand
point Of deeply interested spectator, who had
given some thought and observation to the prob
lem, and who certainly has no other interest in
the matter than to that injustice IS done to
brave true patriots, whom he honors-honors
with his whols heart and soul
How should have felt if in the Weehawken
(which led the van) do not know; but suppose
that pride and the busy sense Of duty and re-
sponsibility would have held me firm to my work
But only spectator, with no cares to distract
nv attention, | am not ashamed to say that1
trembled like leaf for the gallant souls on
board the weehawken when she first went into
the hell-made-visible fronting and around Fort
Sumter.
Earnestly begging you to reflect on the points
In this letter, and to use them IL any quarter
where you think they can do good. or help in the
slightest degree to remove misooncepton, VIII
only further tax my injured cye-sight sufficiently
to assure you that, with many pleasant memories
Of the kindness you have heretofors shown me.
I an your very sincere friend ari servant. ..s
~ Y Tribune.