The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-05-03

NAVAL AFFAIRS.

All is hustle and activity at the Navy Yard. The
various vessels that were In incomplete state are
being finished, and those that have been ordered 70
this station are undergoing the necessary repairs
prior TO their departure for the North Atlantc
squadron. The supposition is that they are being
hurried OF for the purpose OF protecting American
merchant vessels which are obliged to pass close 10
spanish waters, in the region OF Cuba.
OF the iron-clads the one nearest completion is tne
Uanonicus veteran OF the monitor class which met
with some hard knocks at Fort Fisher She Us armed
with two fifteen-inch guns in the turret The old
gums have been taken out and new ones substltuted
which are sixteen inches longer than the oid guns
n was thought that the latter had been too long In
service be SAFE and moreover II was desired that
the guns should be longer so that the muzHes should
nroiect further outside the turret. Her machinery
has been thoroughly overhaued, and large force OF
Workmen is now engaged in putting 1t together. She
~ being scraped and painted, and the interior wood
work is being repaired 1t is expected that she will
he ready for sea in about three weeks
Next In order is the Miantonomoh splendid spe-
eimen of the monitor style of iron-clad This vessel
has two turrets, carrying four 15inch guns She mas
never been in action but she mas won something Oh
renutation as fast steamer and an excellent sea-
goinp vessel The Mantonomoh, 1t Will De remem-
6ered carried Assistant Secretary G. y. Fox to St
Petersburg and astonished the Russians with the
wonderful Improvement in naval architecture pro
duced by the experience gained In TINS country our
ing the great Rebellion Se IN 10 @ Deng y good rnnnng
order alterations are to made inside, the bottom IS
TO be repaired, and she is to- be newly painted
steameT is expected to arrive in New York in few
DAYS 10 take her to Brooklyn Navy Yard in order to
mt her i'm the dry-dock Both of the dry-docks here
are unavailable one being occupied by the sloop
BrOokyn and the other being too small for the Mian-
tonom9h When ready for sea she will be COM
manded by Captain =. X; calhoun. t. A., ,,,o.o.o.
The third ironclad being repaired is the Dictator,
the longest monitor in the navy with the exception
Of the Puritan. She is 3lS feet between perpehdicu-
lars 80 feet beam, and Il feet deep in the hod She
carries two 15inCh Dahlgren guns. Ine Dictator
has never been tried under fire. Sne was nnlsned
near the close of the war and was sauoneu LOT anew
months at Fortress Monroe. AL, -.
The Juniata, steam sloop, is also Delng ntted OUT
for service, and the work Is being hurried as lue
"a possible as she is under orders for the North
Atlantic Squadron. When her duty in the west
Indies is ended it is thought she will be sent to emma
The Juniata is 205 feet long, IS feet bee and IL 1eet
in the hold. She will carry six 9-inch Dahlgren guns,
one 11-inch pivot, one 6Opounder Parrot rie, ana
two boat howitzers.
and strong force of workmen is employed IN get
ting her ready for service She Is undergoing gene
raj reconstruction; all the defective tmbers are
being replaced by sound ones; her panklng Will be
entirely new Her machinery is in the shops, but few
men are working it, the orders requiring that the
monitors shall be fitted ont first. She will probably
be ready for duty in about four months.
Beneath shed, and on the stocks, is hat-hnished
hull OF the huge monitor ShackamaXon. This vessel
was commenced towards the close OF the war; and
work was suspended on her when the Rebellion ter
minated She is 332 feet in length between peTpen-
dculars Sc feet beam, and Is feet depth of hold. All
her machinery and the iron work for plating turrets,
piOt-houses, and everything necessary to complete
her are slowed away under sheds, waiting for some
contingency that will render it necessary TO resume
her construction
steam sloop Antietam stands on the stocks. This
vessel was commenced near the close OF 1866, and
fully modelled, long, deep, and narrow and intended
to be fast vessel. Her length is 3l2 feet, her beam
e feet ana her depth OF nqd y iee oc Inc o snip mp
accommodation. she Is pierced LOT tWenty-one
guns. one pivot gun. ..,.
D,nnSa S whi"S ia so Iar forward that she can be
ready Tor launching in from three !? va. 9lGn;hs
The Omaha is $50 feet long, 8S feet BEAM and 10 feet
deep the n0 20 SnS be VIM ON
modelled very similarly to the Antietam and will
doubtless prove to be very last vessel 49, ,..o,oo
The only other vessel at the yard Is the Potomac,
used as a receiving ship and commanded by Com
modore DeCamp. Her crew at present Is not large,
ing it is expected that in few weeks she Will be
filled to her greatest capacity.
the Navy Yard :-Commodore j. b. Marchand COM
mandant; Captain A. Murray, executive o1lcer;
Commander IT. G. Harris, Commander W. r McCann,
Mate M. K Henderson; Commodore j. X. Colds
borough, Inspector of ordnance; Commander A.
Pendergast assistant inspector of ordnance; $. M.
PoOk naval constructor; T. d. Wilson, assistant
naval constructor; A. Lawton, chief engineer; A.
Adamson, first assistant engineer; S. w. Robinson
and G. A. Uber, second assistant engineers; w. q.
NcEwan, third assistant engineer; j. Fulton, pay
master; Commander B. Gherard, navigation officer;
Leutenant-C Commander G. M. Bache, equipment
officer; Paymaster W. n. Watmough, inspector OF
provisions Surgeon j. MCClelland Passed Assistant
Surgeon d. r. Bannon; X. Given, chaplain; r. Ken
ney boatswain; W. Ferguson, George L. Albro, and
G.. Dugan, gunners; II. NJ Grmths, carpenter.
AT LEAGUE ISLAND.
Little or nothing has been done towards convert
ing League Island into the commodious naval station
it is expected, i'll the course OF time, to become. The
commandant of the station resides in an antiquated
mansion situated near the centre OF the island,
while the other officers duty are obliged to con-
tent themselves with narrow berths in the ward
room of the old steam soop st. Louis which is an
chored at the dock and rooted over to protect the
occupants from the weather.
A few hundred Yards from the dock Is the spot
where the steamer New Ironsides was burnt near the
close of 1856, The Government sold the wreck to an
individual, who had an eye to rlcn R speculation in
old iron, for $780, 900. BY surrounding the wreck with
water tight cribs, connected by heavy chains, which
were passed beneath the wreck at low water and by
drawing on the chains, the old hull was gradually
lifted from her muddy bed as the tide rose, and
carried up the river. BY short movements of this
kind the wreck has been carried about threequarers
of mile up stream, the object being to get her into
shoal water. Thus far the purchaser has recovered
about $50, 600 worth OF iron
Orders have been received at the island to send
the steamer Pushmataha, which has been lying mn
here, 10 the navy yard to be fitted up for She
TO have light spar deck some alterations to be
made in her keel, and her machinery Is to be over
hauled. She is TO be ordered on duty as soon as
finished and 1t is thought that the duty will be with
the West India squadron.
The other vessels on the eastern side OF the island
in the main channel, the following The Puri-
tan, intended for monitor, but which is at present
in half finished condition, without turrets or ma
chnery OF any kind The Puritan is the longest of
all the iron-clads but no effort is being made to
finish her or turn her to any account The steam
soop Chattanooga, one OF the vessels OF the Wam-
panoap class These vessels were built with a view
of securing the greatest rate of speed to be attained
by steam vessels and the matter OF expense was not
taken much into consideration in their construction
They were intended to make sudden daShes out &c
sea in chase of fast vessels used during the fol
running the blockade; but they nave been pro
nounced failures, principally because they are 81
taken up with machinery, ana consume so large
quantity of COAL that it has been found impossible t
carry III them more than five or six days fuel.
Alongside of the ST. Louis lies the old Rebel ran
Atalanta, which was built at Savannah, Ga, with tn
proceeds OF jowery contributed by the ladies of tn
bogus Confederacy She is a pOwerfuly-buit vessel
but was disabled by the very first shot fired at heI