The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-08
THE WRECKS IN OUR HIEBOR.
What they Arc, ana. how they Came
thcrc-Contract for their Removal
Operations soon to Commence.

Operations soon to Commence.
A corporation of enterprising capitalists OF
New York City, known as the monitor
Wrecking Company" of which Mr.. B. I. Ben
ton is president, has been awarded by the
Treasury Department the contract for raising
the wrecks now lying in Charleston Harbor
The New York Tribune says:
Among these are the Keokuk, Weefawken.
and Putapsco, iron-clads, and the Housatonic
others of less importance. Storc-ships, block
adc-runners, torpedo boats, vessels OF every
known variety, fitted for war or peace, are
found by the divers strewn over the bottom oil
of the harbor; probably there is not at present
another place in the world where so many SUBJ
merged wrecks arc collected within SO small
space. The harbor is formed by the Junction
of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, which here
combine to empty their waters into the ocean,
Across the entrance, seven miles below the
| civ. q sand bar stretches from Slllllvan's TO
| Morris Island On this bar the government
stone fleet of sixteen vessels was sunk IN 1851,
with the intention OF rendering the entrance
| impassable. but as the river current soon hol-
| lowed out q channel on the other side as good
as the first, it did not materially impede navi-
cation. This bar renders the harbOr inacccssl-
| Bic to large vessels, except ut nigh tide anu
dangerous at all times; but the explanation OF
tile wrecks (which all around with fragments
strcw the sea" is not to DC found in this, put
in those gigantic conflicts OF OF winch these aic'
The Keokuk, the first iron ship ever sunk In
hattie. was q double turreted iron-clad, built
by Mr.. Whitney OF this city,. On the morning
OF the 7th of August, 1863, she brought up the
rear of that tremendous armada OF nine yes
sells which steamed up Charleston har0or TO
attack the rebel stronshoidnt Il-Mlea
Wpehawken, on whose stout ribs the worms
now feed near by, leading the attack. The
odds were terrific; feet mounting 32 guns.
AGAINST forts mounting 800. The attack con-
tnucd through the llay. The keokuk bore the
brunt of the fight, advancing within few
hundred feet OF Fort Sumter, and receiving no
less than 90 of the heaviest shot. Her ilull, at
water mark, showed 10 shot holes. She was
kent up through the night only by plugging
and continual pumping, and went down next
morning. with coors still flying, abreast Of
Morris Island, where she now lies. The Pataps-
co-monitor-was sunk by torpedo, which
tore an immense hole in her bottom and the
Housatonic, st0rcship, met the same iatc
The loss of the Weehawken will be remem-
bereil bv many from the sad tragedy attending
It. four engineers and twenty-siX seamen hav-
in.r been carried down in her. She sunk at
her anchorage on the 9th OF December, 1863:
II was asserted ut the time that the forward
hatch was open, and the continuous stream
poured in by the high waves washing over The
bow deck weighed her, head down before the
crew. who were aft, knew anything OF 1t, SO
that she sank before they could escape. This
seems the best explanation, though it has been
declared improbable, and even impossible, by
the surviving officers. 1t was an nSlorous
end. reminding one of the wreck ofthc 'Royal
George" of Which Cowper wrote:
at was not in the battle; no tempest gave the
she snran@ not fatal leak; she ran upon no rock.
Ills sword was in his sheath and Ills fingers heid
When Kempcnfclt went down with twice four
hundred mell.'
But, unfortunately, it is no Use to say In the
case OF these vessels rs he said OF that one
"welgh the vessel mp, once dreaded by our foes.
And mnse with the cup tile tear That England
owes.
Her timbers yet arc SOUND, anu shc may hoaI
again,
Full charged with England's thundefs, ana piough
the distant .naln.'
All efforts to raise the vessels have proved
unsuccessful. Mr. Whitney expended three
years labor and fortune in cndcayorng to
raise thc Kcoauk. but without avail, and Mr..
Benton has lost Il great deal In the futile at
temnt which ne has made during the last three
seasons to float the Weehawken. His plan
was TO run huge iron cylinder down to the
ton of the turret, to make it air-tight at the
ieint, and pump the vessel out through it. The
plan would probably have succeeded, but Just
at the time when the machinery was al erected
and an iron cylinder 81 feet in diameter and
and 30 feet high had been successfully joined
to the turret, Il storm came up and washed
the whole structure away, the men barely eS-
Gaping with life.
1 Even If it were possible to raise these YES
= &cs whole, they have now been SO long sub
~ A.. al, Lost, tt,.n N,.nr tvh tn1
abound in those waters have eaten away the
woodwork so that II has scarcely enough
STRENGTH left to hold together and in manly
mart. piece is hooked on to, it comes away
from The rotten hnl without any pcrccptibc
resistance. Under these circumstances, the
government has wisely concluded that IL IS IN
| cypcdicnt to attempt raising the vessels whole,
and the present contract merely looks 10 the
preservation OF their undestr0ycd metallic
parts. The method pursued will be to blast
ont picces and raise them by machinery Much
of tie machinery used by the wrcckinS conf
many in their former attempts still remains,
and can be used for this purpose. The mines
will be laid by submarine divers, with the as.
sistancc OF sand-pumps removing six thousand
Gallons pcr r,inute, for use where the vessels
are partially covered with shifting sand, which
is often the case.
After the blast the divers will descend with
chains, E,slen them to the disjointcd portions
-uiSjcctu 7Remlbra-and at u signal they Will
be h0istcd away. The powerful hoistins ma
chinery is IL great steam scUw, built for the
purpose, and the fragments are deposited hy
il on other scows, also constructed specially
for that use. The machinery is capable of
hostinr over 40 tons, Il single pair Of ''blocks
and falls used weighing 27OO OOpounds.
An idea Of the value Of the metals contained
in all these vessels may be got from the follow
iny inventory of that in the store-ship Honsa-
tonic, which Is not an iron-clad, but Il wooden
| screw steamer:
Pounds. Pounds
Cast.iron works. OBJ, ,357 Blowing engines. lO,520
Wrought-iron .Sl, ,152 StarbUard boiler. .lOl, 500
Brass. .115, ,5SG Port boiler. SS,SOO
Coal bunkers.. 0,45O donkey boilcr.... 16,900
Chimney. ......... 10000 Coffee pipes. 9.e2o
Besides the metals, it is expected that valua-
blc car@oes will be found on some Of the block
a(lc runners, such as cotton and other things
| which withstand the action of the water Il long
time. The contract will include these, as it
covers everything of value sunk within the
| limits of the harbor. Mr. Benton will conf
nlcnce operations about the lst of March.
THE POLISH COLONY IN VIRGINIA. The
INnchburr Republican announces the sale of