New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-12-07
TORPEDO VESSELS OF WAR.

| in the world This is admitted by even
French and English officers. There is no
lack of hardy blue jackets either to man
the ships already fitting out, and as most OF
those now being shipped are old men Of
wars men, who have seen service under
Admirais like Farragut and Dupont in the
war of the rebellion, they may be classed
as veteran ''hn backs" who are perfectly
familiar with all the details of duty and dis.
| cipline on board of vessel of war, and
thoroughly versed in handling pivot and
broadside guns of the heaviest calibre.
| 1t is comparatively Of recent date that
the art of firing projectiles weighing 500
and 1000 pounds become known. Previous
| to 1860 ordnance of six and nine inch cali
| bre was the heaviest in use, either afloat or
| on shore, while an eleven-inch gun was
| looked upon as a wonder. Many of the old
| readers of the Sam will remember the big
| gun invented by the late Commodore Rob
| ert F. Stockton which burst on board the
| war steamer Princeton in the summer of
1874, while she was steaming down the PO-
| tOmac. Several members of the Cabinet
and many of the elite Of Washington So
ciety were on board at the time. The
| writer was then attached to the Princeton
and was standing in the rear Of the gun
while it was being fired. When it exploded
| it spread death and destruction around, and
among the killed we're two members of the
Cabinet. The Princeton, it will also be re-
| membered, was the first vessel of war which
was propelled by screw instead of side
wheels. She carried eighteen thirty-two
on each broadside, with the big gun, carry
ing shot weighing $50 pounds. forward.
The invention of this big gun by Stockton
OccasiOned quite hutter of excitement in
English and French naval circles at the
time. 1t was during the war agitation over
the Oregon boundary questions Of fifty
four forty or hight" and secret emissaries
from both countries came over to investi-
gate the manner in which it was cast and
charge of powder-some thirty-five pounds
to each discharge-was fred without one.
half of the charge being blown from the lips
of the gun and its explosive force lost by its
failure to ignite with that portion of the
powder which was nearest the vent. They
soon discovered or purchased the secret,
however, from some one, and thereafter
England and France and the other
maritime nations of Europe began to
spherical shot weighing 200 and $50
pounds Until this time, 1914, the in
ventiOn of Stockton claimed precedence
over all other ordnance The great diff
Guilty heretofore experienced was to explode
the whole service charge of powder instan.
taneously, so as to exert it's full force and
effect upon the projectile. One-half of the
powder was blown out of large guns before
the spark at the vent could reach it. One
cause of this was that the powder was too
fine; but as soon as the fact became known
that Stockton used very coarse granulated
powder the secret was out, and the nations
OF Europe began to cast quite as big guns
as we had, without so much as giving us
the credit of making the discovery. Two
hundred and three hundred Founders after
ward came into general use.
refer to StocktOn's big gun, because in
what have to say in relation to our secret
torpedo service. and the efforts that are
now being made by Spanish spies and mill
tary and naval enginees from other coun-
tries to pry into its mysterious appliances
for the benefit Of their own governments,
may be guarded against in future. Ad-
miral WOrdens recent letter calling the at
tention of the Navy Department to the
movements of two of these spies, who tried
to induce one of the watchmen at the New
London naval station to allow them to
board the monitor Dictator lying there, at
nine o'clock at night, by telling him they
were engineers of our navy, and wished
to make some repairs to the machinery, is
an Illustration of the subterfuges resorted
to to gain the much desired information.
They evidently were under the impression |
that the Dictator had a torpedo apparatus
attached to her bow, and they wished to |
find out how it was worked inboard. Thanks
to the shrewdness of the faithful sentinel,
they failed to get on board. Then they fired |
a shot or two at him from pistol, but when |
the Waterman returned the fire from his |
revolver they hastily withdrew.
The late Emperor Of the French, Louis |
Napoleon, has been credited with the honor |
Of being the originator of rified ordnance. |
Whether the claim is just one or not l |
AM not prepared to say; but the riaed can
1on as we'll as the Introduction of ironcIsd
vessels Of war are certainly of French
origin. To the late Major Rodman. how
9ver, OF our own ordnance corps, belongs
he credit of the invention of guns capable
If hurting solid shots of 500 and 1000
pounds weight, known as fifteen and twenty
nch guns, almost as far as rihed cannon.
The principle upon which these guns are
asst, that Of running small stream Off
water through the core when the mould is
eady for the fused metal, and the care
AIKEN to let the iron cool outwardiy. had
lso to be promulgated to our maritime
lvals IN Europe, so that they might readily
ompete with us for naval supremacy
Not the least effort was made to keep the |
lethod OF casting these heavy guns a Sc
ret for the benefit of our own country.
,odman also discovered the means to pro-
'ct the neaVy SDOu from these enormous |
annOn by the invention of pressed cart
dges, known as cake powder. To make |
s explosion instantaneous when a spark
as applied, each cartridge is perforated |
Ill of small holes, which receive the flame
the discharge simultaneously. To our
lame be it said, this important invention |
perforated pressed cartridges. without
hich, simple as it IL, no English Arm ,
rong three or four hundred FOUNDER, or
rench or Spanish heavy ordnance could
ave been fred successfully, had no sooner
cen known to our own authorities than it 1
aked out of the War Department. and be- !
lme the common property of all Europe
ut as though this were not sufficient, even
pies of the drawings of the machine for |
aking these cartridges were furnished by e
me modern Benedict Arnold, who had
ady access to them, of course, it is pre- 4
med for consideration in money. t
Major Rodman, who was afterward pro- :
oted to Brigadier General in the regular p
my, never patented his inventions in ord t
nee; for, as he once informed the writer, o
patent them would be to publish them to a
Q world, as any one could get copy OF v
e patent by the payment OF the Office fee. c
, desired his own country alone to be n
nefited by his exDerimenta and inyen. | u