The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-08-17
MODERN IRoNcLADs.


origin In the very beginning OF the
century and in the brain of that great
statesman and engineer, Colonel John
Stevens. He, in 1872. or earlier, con-
ceived the idea of constructing an
liron-plated vessel-of-war with saucer
shaped hull, propelled by screws so ar
ranged that direction as well as for
ward motion could be given them. The
battery was to be Of the heaviest ord
nance Of the time, and the plating
heavy enough to resist the shot Of
similar guns at short range. The main
purpose of the ship was the defense Of
our harbors, and the plan Of action
was to moor the ship by chain leading
down through the bottom Of the vessel
at its center, and to spin the craft
around this center, firing gun after gun
as 1t came in line Of fire, thus antici-
pating the the later Timby turret
which, in turn, was the gem of the
modern monitor" ironclad. Such
vessel was actually built, half century
later. hy the Russian government, and
the Popoffska rs 1.-THE contemporary
representative of the first Stevens bat
terry.
The metal rainbow was familiar In
the days of the ancient Greeks The
inscriptions on stone, unearthed In the
Piraeus in 1884, gave us the information
that three-banked war vessels were in
Sc several centuries before the chris
tian era, and that four banks Of oars
came into use about 431 b. c. The
sizes and proportions of these vessels
were given In great detail In this an
cient record, and, among other data,
the weight Of iron required for the ram.
1t is an interesting and curious fact
that the old Greeks and Romans, as
well as the old Scandinavians, had,
before the dawn of the historical per-
iod, apparently, learned the best forms
for their ships and had adopted the
very proportions adopted by nature
herself when endeavorlng to secure
high speeds. This proportion was about
seven or seven and one-half times the
breadth of beam for the length of the
ship on the water line. Some of the
largest vessels are said to have been
429 feet long and 81 feet in breadth
of beam. Docks at Zea were 20 feet
wide and over 15O feet long.
The first ironclad actually laid down
was the Stevens battery Of 1912, de-
signed by Robert L. Stevens In con-
sultation with his father, Colonel John
Stevens, and under a contract with the
United States government for "a war
steamer for .harhor defense, shot and
shell proof, to be built principally oil
IRON" 1t was to be $50 feet long, 4Ol
feet beam, and of equal depth, and was
to be driven by engines of 900 horse
power. Later. in 1914, the dlmensionsl
of the then partially constructed ship
were enlarged, and vessel of 415 feet
length on the keel, of 4S feet beam, and
1856 feet deep was begun still later un-
der contract with the government
made in that year. The plating was to
G75 inches In thickness, and the engine
power was to be S,674 Indicated horse
power The first ironclads actually built
and employed in warfare were those of
the French navy Of 1864, the Devasta-
ton, the Lave and the Tonnage, which
did effective work in the Crlmean war,
beside the ships of the British fleet
The French built the Glolre In 1858, and
the British ship Warrior was ordered
IN 1853. ironclads have since that date
been admittedly the only really for
nidable war vessels. Without them Il
s doubtful whether the operation of
our own navy during our civil war
'ould have been successful. This is the
history OF the ironclad of
,ur day. According to some authorities !
he Dutch were the first In modern his
ory to build an ironclad, and Il is
aid that during the siege Of Antwerp
~ the Spaniards in 1885, the people s
u that city built an enormous nat-bot- {
omed vessel armored 1t with heavy l
Irmor plates, ard thus constructed
What they regarded as an impregnable
'attery which they named Finis Belli.
unfortunately the vessel got aground
'efore fairly in action. and fell into
he hands Of the enemy 1t was held
" Alexander OF Parma to the end OF !.
he Siege, as a curiosity. but was never
mployed py either side in any action.
----