The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-03-31
the First European IrOn-Clad Under
Fire.

Fire.
Since the French armor-platcd batte-
ries took part in the bombardment of
Kinburn, no opportunity has offered to
bring any Of the European irOn-clads
to trial by battle. But the floating bat
teries used at kinburn would scarcely
be ranked among iron-clad ships now
and the first real trial of an armOred
ship IN Europe took place during an en-
gagement between the Danish cupalO
ship Rolf Krake and the Prussian land
batteries at Egernsund, on the 18th of
February.
The Rolf Krake was built at elias
Cow in Scotland she is covered with
four and a-half inch iron plates, is Of
twelve hundred tons burthen, draws
sixteen feet water, and has two turrcts
or cUpOlas, carrying four sixty-cight-
FOUNDER guns Apertures at the tsp Of
the towers admit light and air; me
chanical arrangements allow of the ship
being lowered until her deck is only
few inches above the surface
An officer who was on board during
the action writes:
We passed Holnaes without reply
ing to the fire of the battery stationed
there, and took up the position which
had been designated. Here we an
chored, with our broadside towards two
fixed batteries and one movable field
battery, which opened upon Us mur-
derous fire with round shot, cOnical
shell and shrapnel A tongue Of land
4
had been ordered to destroy. The
enemy fired very we'll His fixed bat
teries were masked and it is therefore
impossible to say how much damage we
did him; but / sent couple Of shells
at a rifled gun that rained couical shot
upon US from the heights, and when
sheering of bombarded a mill and u
house. We returned to SonderbOrg
after being engaged an hour and @ half
The Rolf Krake stood the trial we'll
"She was hulled sixty times, each
shot being Of itsef sufficient to sink
wooden ship. The towers were hit
several times; sixteen shots went
through the funnel, one through
the steampipe two through the fore
mast. one through the mainmast, two
through the mizen, and from sixty to
seventy through the bulwarks, small
boats, sails and riggings. The deck is
torn up in many places, the tackle
much cut, the three boats riddied
every vulnerable point was hit and j
should like to have seen any part Of
the deck where a man could have been
stationed without certainty Of death.
We calculated that about five thousand
pounds Of iron were expended upon
us, and you may suppose that we con-
tributcd our share
"The noise was deafening, produced
as much by our own fire as the missiles
Of the enemy, whose shells flew about
in all directions One, which burst di-
rectly over the tower in which / was
stationed, sent in a shower of pieces;
which set fire % two mattresses, DANA
ged my frontispiece, grazed my leg,
smashed nv telescope and penetrated
a coat living by my side in half a dozen
places am still deaf Of one ear from
the din-otherwise not much hurt One
man in each tower was also slightly
wounded, and curiously enough, each
in the left cheek
The Prussians do not appear to have
used such heavy guns as our monitors
have had 10 face. The Danish monitor
came well out Of the engagement, but
il Is doubtful If she could have with
stood the withering fire Of the rebels
at Charleston longer or better than the
ill-fated little Keokuk.