Daily national Republican. (Washington City [D.C.]) 1870-1872, 1870-02-19

t-A-hNNANH'l NhtAN A9bhAuk llnlh u llhhlt us
lance, one would say that thoy were per.
fectly level there. Her stem line Is inclined
slightly Stewards, and lust above the wntei
line beglns TO curve forward more sharply,
giving the bow projection Of ten feet OF
more beneath the water. The widest part
OF the vessel Is either at or below the water
line. Her sides slope inward slightly as
they rise and meet at her bow at an angle
so sharp and continuous, that seen at O
short distance, she has the appearance Of O
huge blade Of Iron resting edgewlse upon the
water. The old.fashloued roundness aut
blutiness Of the bow above water Is entirely
done away with, and the shape Of the yer
teal sections Is changed from tho V form
to that Of tho U, which, of course, render.
her much less liable to plunge and gives q
greater buoyancy to the bow.
The vessel Is $50 feet In length, IS feel
breadth Of beam, depth In hold, is feet s
inohesi draught when loaded, forward 90
feet 2 inches, AFT 90 feet 3 inches, draughl
when light, forward l2 feet Z inches, an is
feet. Tho three lower masts are OF hollow
trou, 40 Inches In diameter, aud having ven
nlatlng connections below deck. The fore
mast Is 90 feet In height above deck, the
malnmast 90 feet, and the mizzen 80 feet
The malnmast weighs 90 tons. The main
yards are l05 feet long. Below tho weather
deck Is the main deck, which In common
| with all the interior OF the vessel, Ia divided
Into three distinct portions by the two armor
plated bulk-heads, which run athwart ships,
lncloslng the base Of the turrets, the boilers
and the magazines, aud forming a battery
40 feet In length, In which all the crew
| would be gathered In tlmo of action. This
Is the only part Of the vessel which Is heavily
plated to the upper deck. A belt Of armor
encireles and protects the whole water line,
but above this belt, fore aud aft the battery,
the sides are only an inch and quarter In
Thickness, and would DO readily pierced by
shot, which would pass clear through the
vessel without doing any material harm.
The plating to these bulkheads is four-and.
a.half Inches In thickness, on backing OF
ten Inches Of teak, and rs a shot could hardly
strike 1t at right angle, 1t is abundantly
| sufficient to resist any blows that could bo
brought TO bear upon Il. The distance be-
tween the bulkheads Is ITO feet, giving plenty
| OF room for the storing Of shot and for the
| manipulation Of the tuTrets 10 time Of action.
The entrances fsre aud aft are protected by
solid iron doors, which open outWardly, and
would be kept tightly closed IN action.
These bulkheads extend from the weather
| deck to the berth deck, well below the
vater-llnc, and with the massive plating on
the outer sides, mako this vital portion of
the ship, where are the boilers aud the steer
ing apparatus and the turret connections,
strong enough 70 be impregnablo against
any antagonlLt less powerful than the Mon.
arch herself. There ls another bulkhoad
clear forward, perhaps 20 feet from the stern
line, which gives the bow tremendous
strength should 1t be used as ram. twill
be seen, therefore, that the vessel Is divided
into three water.tight compartments, and
that either the forward or aft compartment
might DO riddled through aud through and
allied with water without endangering the
/ lighting capacities OF the vessel.
Like the Great Eastern the Monarch has a
double bottom without any central keel, but
has deep longitudinal keelsons, which run
the whole length OF the vessel aud lntersect
at the point OF conveyance forward and an.
These keelsons, which are about four feet
apart, are upright thick iron plates, to whose
lower edge the outer skin Is securely rlyeted
with double angle irons, and on the upper
edge OF which other plates arc fastened in
the same manner, forming the double bot
tom. Transversely the same principle of
construction IL applied, and the keelsons arc
Joined once In four feet by stlaenlng plates
or gussets, which are securely riyeted to the
angle irons OF the floor plates and tho outer
sheathlng. Although these sections are only
half as numerous as they would be II the
main frames ran transversely, the bottom ia
Tar stronger than 1t would be were il con-
structed in that way. The bottoms are three
and q half feet apart, and the keelsous and
also the transverse plates are perforated In
the centre OF every section, so that a person
can easily pass from one TO the other.
The sides Of this huge vessel are composed
as follows Longitudinal glrders Of teak
twelve inches In thickness, extend inside of
the armor and outside OF tho sheathug, the
whole firmly bolted together. Outside Of the
wooden backing comes the armor, seven
Inches In thickness, rolled to the size, not
put on In Inch layers as on some Of our ships.
n ETNNEl ola - a r
two Inches In breadth, and vary In length
from ten TO flfleen feet. So nicely are they
ated together, aud the joints concealed by
paint aud putty, than on a cursory view one
would surmlse that the side was coutiuu.
Gus and undivided surface. II ls said that
each plate was carefully fitted to It's place
and planed TO the exact shape required, lust
as carpenter :would have fitted wooden
sheathiug. Another point which shows great
skull is the method of fastening the bolt
heads are nat and countersunk Ia the plate
so denly as not to be percOptible, while the
Doll heads on the sides of the Miaptonomah
and all the monitors stand out round and
full, showing the blows Of the hammer that
made them. The bolts are three inches In
diameter, and are fastened on the inside by
two threaded nuts screwed on to thin rub.
Der washer.
But the most striking and peculiar of the
resources OF this remarkable vessel are the
wing passages, so.called, which extend in.
slde thls armor plating on each side Of the
Iurret batteries. A vertical iron partition
extends along the whole interior Of this
heavily plated portion, from the outer edge
OF tho double bottom TO tho main deck,
forming chamber some three feet ln width
aud twelve to fifteen feet Ia height. These
wings are each divided Into dye separate
compartments by vertical trans sections,
and the compartments are entered by means |
81 orihces midway between the decks.
These oridces are made Water.tlght by iron
Illdes, which arc moved by q wheel and
achet They are large enough to admit A
'erson OF ordinary size, and once inside the
lsltor gets very good Idea of the plan on
Thich the ship ls built. Each compartment
provided with a slulee at the bottom,
Ihich can be opened by connecting rods
rom aboyei and 1t Is by filling these com.
artments with water, which can be almost
instantly done, that the Monarch may be
owered some three or four feet, II necessary.
n time OF action. Each compartment IL
Ilso provided with pump for tightening,
lhu tue large Iron tubes which furnish the
wafer LOT the fire apparatus run through
cred In the water, these Commandments fnT-
nlsh other very great advantages. Il is
well known that water Is a most excellent
medium, and when filed these pas.
sages give to the sides a greatly Increased
amount OF strength. Aud II the outside
plating were pierced by an enemy's shot, 40
as to admit the water from the outside, the
vessel would still be intact while If the shot
should pass clear through the armor and the
compartment, the puncture In this inner
partition could be readily stopped by the
sailors before much water could enter.
The decks Of the vessel are all plated. AS
follows; The upper or weather deck Is half
inch steel, covered with four and a half
inches Of Or. The main deck Is half.lnch
ron, covered with four aud a half inches of
AK The berth deck Is halElnch Iron,
oYercd with four and half inches of ar.
he metal plating In each case ls strongly
IYeted to the transverse strlngor.plates
hitch run athwart ships to support the
tckI. The upper deck Is furnished with q
killfully constructed drain around the outer
urface, which conveys all the rain and !
'Rshlngs over the ships side In iron soup /
ers, and prevents the moisture from tick |
ng all down the surface, which would in I
vitality give the vessel rusty look.
The anchors that holds the huge ship I
uNuaN nj a s.V.l0 l..