The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-06-25
AMERICAN lRoN.cLAps.
Types nj Vessels Built for the EedsRa1
Navy During the Civil War.

AMERICAN lRON-ClADS.
| Types Of Vessels Built for the TedsRa1
Navy During the Civil War.
The types of vessels that were bulls
during the war were selected for special
purposes. The effort was made to null
tply ships as rapidly as possible to
blockade the coast and to enter shoaA
harbors; the '.ninety-day gun-boats''
and the ''double-enders'' were added
to the navy list, and merchant steam7
ers were purchased, and were armed
with such batteries rs their scantlinG
would bear. All of the vessels have
disappeared, with the exception of tho
TallapOosa- The Juniata and Ossipee,
of the Kearsarge type, but of greater
displacement, were launched in 1882
and they are still in commission; and
several vessels of large displacement
and great speed were launched at aboub
the close of the war, which were never
taken into the service. have been dis
posed of since, and form no part Of
our present navy.
The New Ironsides and the Monitor
represented the two features of con-
struction which, produced in this period
of emergency, have continued to i'm
press naval architecture.
As q sea-going iron+clad the New
Il onsides was, for the time and services
required, success. She was built a.
the yard of Mr.. Cramp, in Philadelphia,
in 1862. Her length was 2S0 feet; beam.
IS feet; draught of water, Is feet She
had displacement of 4,015 tons, and
attained speed of knots per hour
with an indicated horsepower of TOOL
The capacity of the coal-bunkers was
$50 tons. Her battery consisted of 20 ii.
inch smooth-bOre guns. She was built
of wood, and was covered with armOr
four inches in thickness. which,.
with the inclination given to her Sides,
made her impervious to the artillery that
was used ag ainst her during the war
In one engagement with the batteries
on Sullivan's Island, Charleston Har-
Dor, lasting three hours, she was struck
seventy times, but at the end of the ac-
ton, except some damage to a port
shutter or two, she withdrew in as per-
feet fighting condition as when the &c.
ton commenced. This ship does not
appear on the navy list; she was de-
stroyed by fire off the hayward at
League Island, Pennsylvania. :,
The Monitor, was without doubt. tho
most remarkable production of the con-
structive art that appeared during tho
war. The original Monitor was lost at
sea, but the Passaic class of monitors
quickly followed the original of this
type. !
The Passaic was built of iron, and was
launched in 1862. Her length is 200
feet; beam 40 feet; draught of water
11.6 feet. She has displacement Of
1875 tons and attains speed of knots
per hour with an indicated horsepower:
of 377. The capacity of her coal bunk
ers is 14O tons. Her battery consists of
l winch smooth-bore and l xi-inch
smOOth-bore. Her sides are protected
by five inches of laminated iron, and
her turret by eleven inches of the same,
This vessel and eleven others of her
class constitute the entire armored feet
of the United States. Too much credit
can not be awarded to Captain Ericsson
for his brilliant conception of this float
ing battery, and the navy must be ever
grateful to him for preserving it from
ulIO ulSdStCIe WuICu was 6SCitCu W SuO
appearance of the original Monitor at
the moment of a great crisis. These
vessels bore themselves well through
the storms of elements and battle dur
ing the war, proving capable of making
sea-voyagcs, and of resisting the effects
of the artillery that was in use during
the period of their usefulness; but an
interval of more than twenty years has
produced such q change in artillery n
to make the protection afforded by -
few laminated plates of one-incb iron
but poor defense against it, which
results in robbing this fleet of its once
formidable character. Although many
of the features Of the original design
may be retained in new constructions,
most of the details will be changed.
notably in the turret, in consequence Of
the greater weight resulting from tho
thickness of armor. The central spin.
dial around which the Ericsson turret
revolves must disappear, and the turrst
must turn on rollers under the base. e
The effect produced abroad by the
success of Ericsson's Monitor is so Fl.
miliar to all that it hardly needs moro
than a passing allusion here. There ID
no doubt that the Monitor was tho
progenitor of all the turreted vessels in
the fleets of the world; the essential
principle of the vessel, however, wss
never viewed with favor. This prin-
ciple consists in the low frce-boardi
which, besides reducing the size Of tho
target, was intended to contribute to
the steadiness of the hull as gun plat
form by Offering NO resistance to tho
waves, which were expected to ws4h
freely over the vessels deck; the hori.
zontal overhang Of the Passaic class was
intended to contribute to resisting .
rolling motion. The vessel was de-
signed to be as raft ON the water, con-
stantly submerged by the passing
waves. Theoretically sealed to prevent
the admission of water, and artificially
ventilated by means of blowers drawing
air down through the turret. This was
the most startling feature about the
construction. The protection afforded
to the battery by a circular turret.
having the form best suited to defieca
projectiles. the employment of ma
chinery to point the guns by the rota-
ton of the turret, the protection to mo-
tive power, to anchoring apparatus,
ETC., all presented admirable points of
advantage, but the almost perfect inn
mersion of the hull, and the absence Of
motion due to the great stability, was
the essential feature in the construction.
E. Simpson, in Harpr's
Magazine.
al.,>h>.-.. Hs.l&,..~