Weekly Trinity journal., 1865-02-04
The Monitor Camanche.

N~O--~~~
Look at Monitor and you nothing above
water but low smooth, slightly arched, guard
less tog-colored hulk, with a round turret at its
waist, having two oval-shaped closely-shut ports
on side. Go upon its decks and you
nothing for a cannon ball to impinge against
but solid and massive plates OF iron, boied and
welded together, TILL in the most exposed places
they are foot more in thickness The Ca
manche is of the model of all the Monitor class
so that description of her works will convey
a knowledge of those of all the rest.
The vessels length from stem to sern-post is
one hundred and sixty feet from the point of
the forward RAM to that Of the stern two hundred
feet breadth of beam of the submerged hulk
thirty-seven feet eight inches, and over the ar
NOR, also partially submerged forty-fve feet
The armor is forty-siX inches thick, plated on
the outside with iron FIVE inches thick, flush with
/ the deck-plates, and backed with oak The
! deck is panked with timbers about eight inches
square, plated with twO-inch iron and laid on
oak beams seven by twelve inches, and placed
two feet apart.
The turret is made of laminated iron plates
one inch in thickness, forming wall of iron
eleven inches thick all around. This revolves,
but the pilot house at its top is stationary. The
turret is nine feet high, and its interior diameter
| is twenty-one feet. With its guns, the turrct
weighs 100 tons-and is made to revolve by
4
by steam and acting on the circumference OF
another, which is about twelve feet
power is thus gained by which fifteen pounds of
steam propes the turret through one revolution
| i'll a minute and a half.
| The pilot-house is eight inches thick, six feet
1 in diameter and six feet high, with small perfo-
rations near the top through which the pilot
! looks. It rests on great central shaft OF iron
which descends into the turret and is otherwise
J nod NV rin
pounds. On the top of the pilot-house is erected
q copper pinnacle seven feet high. In this is
suspended the compass away from the local at
| traction of the great mass of iron. IN image OF
the compass is reflected iownwards by strong
mirrors, that the pilot read it with
great ease if it was really before him.
In the turret are placed the guns. They weigh
~ 600 pounds each, are thirteen feet long, four
feet through at the breech, and of ifteen-inch
bore. They throw solid shot of four hundred
and sixty pounds weight, consuming fifty pounds
of powder at each discharge. On the side of
each is hole through the walls of the turret,
in which is placed the telescope lying in the
same direction the gun. The cannons' muz-
zles are not passed beyond the walls of the
turret, but touch against the inside plates while
the port beyond is constructed in the form of a
brass mouth, faring like that of a bugle, and
calculated to keep the smoke from rolling back
into the tnrret. An immense iron slot swings
moved back by a lever when they are to he dis
charged. The turret is covered by bars of rail
road iron, placed a few inches apart and over
them plates of perforated iron, the holes CORE
spending with the spaces between the bars be-
Meath The turret is made to change its direction
instantly, as necessity may demand
Through the deck of the vessel are numerous
holes for the admission of light and air. and
! which, in time of action, are closed by heavy
{ W a is nod into +bo
steam power, and light supplied by lamps
There are two matches one before the turret
which leads to the mess-rooms, magazines Off
GERS quarters, ETC., the other abaft the turret
and leading to the engne-room.
The anchor is raised into re1l at the base
Of the forward ram, and is entirely hidden from
sight are also the propeller and rudder all
being covered by iron lids of the same thickness
as the remainder of the deck. The machinery
for raising the anchor is fixed the forward
part of the ship, and be worked without
single man being exposed. The steering appa-
ratus is duplicated. The boilers and main en-
gines are placed back of the turret. The engine
which moves the propeller-shaft is a very power
full one. Its cylinders are of peculiar con-
structon. They are in casting with par
/ tition in the center. The pstons play from each
end of what seems TO be only a single cylinder
and have twenty-five inches stroke each. Inter-
nal diameter of the cylinders forty inches They
{
which, by short pistons, reYolve the propeller
shaft. This method precludcs the necessity for
having any cross-heads and slides. In the same
room are smaller accessory engines. Those for
/ the turret and air-blasts are in the turret-room
/ At the right hand of this room, looking forward
is the cook galley, and the left water-closets
and various store-rooms. The first room, going
/ forward is the main saloon mess and sleeping
room for the At the extreme forward part
of this room, and upon either side, arc the pow
der and shell magazines, lined with copper and
provided with an apparatus by which they can
be almost instantly flooded Passing out of this
room, one enters the Captain cabin and quarters
of the other officers all beautifully furnished,
carpeted and adorned by carved work and tapes
try equally with some of the most magnificent
state-rooms. Still further forward is the apart
ment in which is placed the anchor windlass,
etc The rooms described will be warmed by
steam-heating apparatus. similar to that used in
other vessels and on land
Such is the Camdnche, which one yeir ago
was sunk in the mud at Hathaways warfi and
and being fshed up piecemeal by the patient
divers. She is now clothed in her mighty armor,
and ready to launch from the depths of her
ponderous guns thunders and bolts more terrible
than Joyes. Such emtapultas as she carries
would sink any armada of wooden ships that
could float, in three hours close fighting. She
is worth, for the defense of our harbor, four or
five defenses like Fort Point and AlcatraZ-Sdn