Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-07-02
THE LATE REBEL IRoN-cLAD ATLANTA.

OF the late conflict between the Confederate ronclad
steamer Atlanta and the United States ironcad Weehaw
ken the following interesting description of the captured
vessel then lying in the harbor of Port Royal:
ORIGINALLY THE STEAMER FISGAL.
On the 18th of November, 1861, the Fngal, English
Clydebuit steamer, blockade aud carried
valuable cargo of arms and ammunition in to the rebels at
Savannah She had aboard of her. ao several batteries
of the celebrated Armstrong guns, which the rebels I'M
medatey mounted in Fort Pulaski, and which fell into
hands when we captured that fort In the following
January the rebels having loaded the Fnga with cargo
of thousand bales of cotton endeavored to the
blockade but detected by our cruisers and driven
back up the Savannah river After this the
idea seemed to to them that the Fbga might be
converted into iron Clad and to this result they have
ndustriousy devoted themselves for the last fourteen
months After she was completion her name
changed to the Georgia. and subsequently she received
christening the Atlanta, which she has borne
for over Blk months.
HER SURRENDERED TORPEDO.
Upon seeing the white flag Capt Rodgers immediately
dispatched Capt Harmony, of the Weekawken, small
boat to the Atlanta to receive her commanders sword and
take possession Of her in the of the navy of the Uni
ted States As soon as Capt Harmony arrived board
new Confederate flag which flying at her stern, and
our victorious ensign. He then went forward
and was ordering his to cast anchor, when Captain
Webb exclaimed For Gods sake captain don't cast off
these anchors have torpedo underneath this bow"
Capt Harmony turned to him with the utmost nonchaance
and said II don't any thing about your torpedoes
blown up with me- you had better tell me how to rse the
torpedo" To this Capt Webb readily assented and, call
ing of his men, pueys attached to large iron
rod which out from the Prov and there appeared
coming out of the water huge torpedo attached to the
end of this rod which projected thirty feet beyond the
bow. Capt Harmony ordered his to carefully
the cap from the torpedo and then filled it with water in
order that the powder might be destroyed This DONE
and the torpedo, holding fifty pounds of powder, was
raised alo this rod aud secured at angle Of
about forty-fve degrees from the deck
DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR
She has three inside decks: first the gun deck two
hundred feet by forty Immediately below this is deck
two hundred and eighty feet long, which is subdvded
into the captains cabin aft the ward ROOM the petty Off
GERS quarters, and forward the mems quarters Below
this deck is the third the orop deck which stored
of the deck the magazines The engines and their
cessay COMPLIMENTS OF course occupy the centre of the
when she the blockade the old Fingal They
built on the Clyde and models for their beauty and
ton.
THE ARMoR OF THE ATLANTA.
First and the outside were wrought iron bars, SIX
inches wide by two inches thick, running perpendcuary
with her sde and properly secured both above and below
by rivets and bolts Across these bars horizontally and
the inside bars of like material and pattern, fas-
tened to the outside layer by the strongest rvets Within
this layer, and fastened to it, two thcknesses of
live oak twoinch plank also, running perpendcuary and
horizontally and again within these two were SINH
ries of her armor You will thus that her armor is
twelve inches thick, and presenting all the sodty which
could be given it by four inches of wrought ron four
inches of live oak and four inches of Georgia pine.
PORTFOLIOS AND SHUTTERS.
Her porthoIess however were made especially strong
Extra layers of iron and plank that the embrasure
from the inside to the outside forty inches The
PORTFOLIOS were foot and half long by foot in width
and protected by wroughtron shutters formed by
two transverse layers of iron bars of the dimensions
those which compose her These shutters hung
upon pivot firmly adjusted the port hole and
raised lowered by small chain which, being attached
to the side of each shutter through small aperture
into the gun-deck.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE PILoT-HoUsE.
Forward of the smoke-stack was an elevation on the
topdeck, to all appearances like upon this
was small square lookout just large enough the in
side to allow mans head to turn with freedom On each
side of this lookout two small aperures in the shape
of paraeogams slanting towards the interior and pre-
sentng to the pilots optics in the lookout two ookouts
inch and half long by inch wide. This lookout
of wroughtiron four inches thick and the upon
which it stood the thickness with this additional
strength however that the interior of the pilot house being
square, the nersces between the sides upper part Of
the pohouse and the surface of the cone were
filled with eghteeninch square live-oak blocks From the
top of the lookout to the base of the but feet
aud half so that the pilot exposed only about onethrd
of his person, the rest of the pothouse being within the
body of the ship and reached by stepadder from the
gun deck. The second shot from the Weehawken, al
though gancing one wrenched off this lookout and
smashed in the From this plot-house were seven
speaking tubes connecting with their appropriate rooms
below and all properly ettered and numbered that the
man at the wheel can readily communicate with those
below
OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS OF THE ATLANTA.
Her length from bow to sternpost is small fraction
three hundred feet The gundeck covering is at its
base two hundred feet long and forty feet in width and
lbs top hundred feet in length by fourteen feet in
breadth You will thus that her roof does not slope
all the way up but has very respectable top deck From
the gundeck to the roof the perpendicular height s
feet and the sides of the roof opng at angle of forty
five degrees the standing height eight feet The lower
edge OF the roof twenty inches above the watermark
that she stands above the water about eight feet From
her aft roof edge is fifty feet to the stenpost and from
her fore roof edge it is also fifty feet to her bow The
distance from her gundeck to her keel is sixteen feet and
her rudder completely submerged in the water thereby
being 10 the safest place imaginable Her iron plating
tends two feet below the water line
THE TORPEDO ARRANGEMENT.
1t is evident that the rebels have taught good lesson
which may well afford to learn 1t has been ques-
ton how torpedo could be safely carried in front of
vessel without interfering with its steering and other move
mens and be at the time from explosion until
the proper time. The Atlantas torpedo gearing solves
the question The forward part of the of the Atlanta
is solid IRON twenty feet length and overlad by steel
bars with their ends protrudng below the cutwate that
huge steel is formed, which would cut any wooden
gunboat in existence. This at it's bow end comes to
point, if may call it, about two inches square, From
the deck OF this iron just ahead Of its uncture with
the vessel arises strong iron bar with pivot its TOP
to which is attached massive iron boom which Just
over the rams Prov and then forming an elbow il de-
scends three feet below the water ne where forms an
other elbow aud then running out some two feet il forms
and I'm bat rr,,o - 3