The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1867-07-12
rrrrEaY navy YARD.

| xlr1ERY navy YARD.
BY in,itat;oo Of our friend, Col. Wentworth,
No visited The yard on "Wednesday (ard) to
see the launching Of tho screwstesner Min
| es.oehs. The shiphouss. whom The good
ship.of:the-line Alabama wss built, was con.
sidsrsd long enoush bat disxr.ser length
Of vessels now built hos required 100 feet
additional 70 be built on, and yet tho Prov
Of the Minnc.Ouka projected some feet into
the yard beyond ii. Going on board we
found select party Of ladies and gentlemen,
among whom No nsde ,hs-Plsasios soquaiu.
tancs Of Admiral Bailey, oommandant at
the yard, q hale and hearty gentleman, the
hero Of many years Of service On the - and
10 many ahard fought fight In this con-
nection We may correct matter Of history
which does not do justice. 10 the Admiral.
In she programme ss' decided by Admiral
Farrsgutfor the passage Of the fOrts to New
Orleans, il was arranged that Admiral Bail
ey with The fred" division shoald take ono
side Of the river, and Admiral Fsrrsgut with
hs division should take tho other, and 10
this way the feet should pass The forta This
programme was forwarded TO Washington,
and now appears a. the plan Of the battle.
But on the latter part Of tho day proceeding
tho passage Of the forts strong north east
wind rendered this plan Of battle unavail-
able, and Admiral Bailey was ordered with
bis division to lead the ,cy, which he did,
passing the forts and arriving at New Or.
leans some FIVE hours in advance OF tho
feet. 20 H.'.
Hero we found Gen. Gates, tho Oldest
officer In the service, who was lieutenant In
tho army before Scott joined It. Tho Gen.
Is stationed at Fort Constitution. Capt.
Thornton was also on board the executive,
officer Of the Kearsargo when It sunk the
pirate Alabama, and who, as We learned
from very reliable authority, wasths hero OF
that eight. He Is q young man, and was
with Farragnt ct the New Orleans passage
referred to. ..-.' ..' '.'
But We must hasten, or tho tide will bc
out before We get launched. Lougfellow, in
his unsurpassed poem Of "Tho Building OF
the Ship" says: .r'
Then the Master
| With gesture Of command
| Waved his hand, ... -.
Loud and suddenthere was heard
All around them and below.l
The sound ofhammers, blow on blow,
| Knocking away the shores and spurs,
She stsrts-shs moves, -shs seems TO feel,
And. spsrning With her foot the ground,
She leaps into the oceans arms
And 10 ffom the assembled crowd
| There rose . shout. prolonged and loud,
That TO the ocean seemed TO say,
| .rake her, D bridegroom old andgray,
with all her youth and all her charm"
sali fsrtA Into the sea. o shipi
| Throsyh wind and wave. right'onward steer
The moi:tsned syss, the e s,s IN s!G lips
On tho PROV Of tho vessel was laid o plat.
form covered with the national flag, and a.
the ship bounded into tho water, Miss Ssllie
Bailey, daughter oftho Admiral, broke o
bottle Of wine across the gunwale as liba-
ton to him Of tho trident, and exclaimed,
"ln the name Of Neptune I christen this
vessel Minnotonka." Nautical men said
more successful launch was never made,
which reflects much credit to Mr. Davidson,
this being his FIRST launch as Naval Con-
structor. Tho Minnetonka Is tho largest
vessel ever launched at this Yard and her
dimensions are as follows: y I'D,
LsngthIbstween perpendicular ......ao q
Length over all .............'....'' ~
| Beam ..''''.'. OF n
| Depth. .............. ..'. s..'. ~ "
Old measurement .........''..''SS;, oo IONS ,ons
S Diameter Of .uvin: cy Under, co Inches '
Diameter ofpropellsr Il neI
She Is to have main boilers and superhsating
boilers.
From the deck OF the new vessel wo OBJ
taiued . good view Of MOClellan's gunboat'
Galena, from whose cross-trccs sat tho re-
doubtable chieftain as he took q survey OF The
battle afar Of aud o draught Of whiskey at
ono and the Same moment! Tho gunboat is
out Of actual service and 90 10 Mcclellan.
East Of the navy yard proper lies Seavey's Is
land, the recent purchase, giving additional
l - -oo fat x-hcrc vcsscls ran float
=,
at low tide. drawing 80 feet Of water
| r ,,,o.,,,a. ,.;l, n. EoupJ
Iho ioiio"inH le"io'""u" "''' w
l;nta.ost;,y.
ltntercSunH'
| Msmorexdsp of Yssssis at the U. s. Nary Yard,
:, .,.,..
| PesssconnwS ~ Iste ,mon.ou , w @o ss"o~''
really Tot pisunS roIh susponu. - -