The weekly union record., 1865-06-24
Naval Vessels of this and Other Countries.

Al lhe beginning OF fre>ideDt llncolns Ad-
ministraiion, the navy OF the United States
contained bat 46 vessels Of all classes AZ
The end of the year 1864 il numbered 67h
OF these ll2 were sail and $50 steam vesselA
The whole aggregates a tonnage of 5l0. 900
tons, ard amounts 4,6ol guns. The English
uavy contains 669 vessels -l03 sail. 566 .
steam. The Freaeh, 500 steam and l22 sail |
vessels. Russia. 24S steam and 65 sail yes
sels. In iron clsds the United States stands
pre- eminent. We have 10. the English but
81 We have more than England France
and Russia combined, In tonnage, number Of |
euos and meu, the English have many vessels
far superior TO ours; so have the French.
But in size Of guns and efficiency. our navy 10
unapproachable. Monitors of the second class.
carrying two tnrrets and four l5-inch guIS
with Q crew Of l20 men only, are shown 10 be |
greatly an oyermaich, in any sort Of fight. foe |
the first class iron clad British ships of the line
carrying 40 small sized guns ard crews Of Tee
men. Not one of the British iron clat.s is made
on the turret-monitor plan. Her Warrior.
Black Prince Royal OaS, etc, are but par
italy covered with four and one half inch plates
They have tonnage of 5000 tons bot the
Dictator, Puritan or Duuderberg, having but
half shat tonnage, are OF double the propel.ing
power and ten times the power OF resistance
and execution. The British Warrior. their
best irou-clad, carries 2s guns Of 6S pounds
caIber and II of 100 pounds. Shot ike these.
it has been shown, make no impression on iron
sides of six inches The big Warrior might
hammer away all day upon little monitor and
never move bolt or make hole. while one
l5-inch shot Of the monitor. weighing 450
pounds, striking the Warrior on her water line,
would sink her in half an hour so that our
poorest ocean monitor is an overmatch for the
best irou-clad England has adcat. The French
iron elads Inyncibe. La Gloire and others, OF
the first class. are no better than the British.
The Russian Government is constructing about
"a vessels modelled after our Patapsco. With
half a dozen OF these vessels, armed with Is
inch guns, Russia could sink the whole navy Of
England should sheeagain be assaied on the
Black or Baltic sea.
The United States ironclad Dictator would
be atle to destroy dozen such ships as the
Warrior aud La Gloire without sustaining any
injury to herself Her superior speed enables
her TO keep them al distance, while the su.
peror weight of her metal would crush 10 their
sides of 4 ! inch plates as if they were merely
pine planks. The Dictator's armor is IL inch
iron backed by three feet of solid oak Her
turret is l5ineh iron. Her guns are two Of
10 inches caliber. Her actual speed is Is
knots an hour. She stands but 30 inches deck
above the water line when 10 fighting trim.
and so has little more than her turret-9 feet
high and % feet in diameter-exposed to an
enemyis shot. No English or French gun has
yet been cast that could make any impression
on this vessel, nor have they vet constructed
any ironelad that could resist the impact of
her shot. Should it ever happen that the
British and American navies come together
for grand fight like that of Trafalgar. their
wooden ships would be as worthless and help
less before our smallest Monitors as were the
Congress and Cumberland before the mailed
Merrimac in Hampton Roads, in March, 1862
Their great navy, 10 such q contest, would be
virtually cut down TO the 81 ronclads; ara
these again, could all be sunk 10 six hours by
two or three such invulnerable vessels as the
Dictator and Puritan. In the number of her
guns the British navy four times exceeds ours:
but 10 actual power our navy is beyond com.
parison superior TO that Of England even of
England, France and Russia combined. In
the economy of forces there is no sort of com.
parson. Twenty Of our Monitors, including
the Puritan and Dictator. require but 40 guns
and 1000 men; while twenty such inferior
ships as La Gloire and the Warrior require
500 guns and $4,000 men. Neither can the
contest be equaized in favor of the English by
boarding. That is impracticable as against q
vessel OF the monitor style. There is nothing
to be made By it. No one-man or un-can
be reached, though a thousand enemies should
succeed in getting on the low deck. Men and
guns and engines are all securely locked up 10
their imperetrable iron casing. In naval war
fare America has struck out into an entirely
new channel. altogether her own and invineible,
save by close imitation on the part of foreign
maratime powers. England so far has scorned
to copy after Us. She has allowed Russia TO
get the start of her, and if she does not make
haste TO retrieve her stupid error the Czars
will soon fnd themselves masters of Constau-
tinopie and the Mediterranean.-Sto Stockton In.
dependent