The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1896-02-25
OUR SEA POWER.
SHIPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN
CASE OF WAR.
The Battleships, Cruisers, Gunboats
and Monitors Ready or to BE Re
lied Upon-Thirteen Armored
Nessels-Torpedo Boats.

can rely upon in case of early
need. We must strike out, of course,
most OF the relics of our old wooden
navy, although some of these would be
of service by reason of the batteries
they carry.
But, taking the new war vessels, we
find, to begin with, thirteen armored
ships of four different types that can
be counted on. Five of these are bat
tleships. The Indiana, Massachusetts,
and Oregon are of 10, 2SS tons dis
placement, and the Indiana has shown
speed of over 15I knots. Their main
batteries consist of four 13-inch, eight
S-inch, and four 6-inch guns, with
twenty 6-pounders, six 1-pounders,
and four Gatlings in the secondary
battery. They carry IS inches of
armor on the sides, and II and 10
inches on their heaviest barbettes and
turrets. and are uneoualed, it is be-
lieved, in their combination of armor
and armament, by anything ahoat
The Indiana is ready for service to-
day, and her two sister ships are
nineteen-twentieths complete, so that
all three can be relied upon from this
time forth. Two other completed bat
tleships are the Maine and the Texas,
the former of 66S2 aud the latter of
63l5 tons. They were built for II
knots, and the Maiue exceeded that
speed on her trial, although then she
was not carrying her normal weights.
The Texas carries two 12-inch and six
6inch guns, and the Maine four 10.
inch and six 5-inch guns. The former
has 81 and the latter 20 secondary
pieces. The Texas has II inches of
armor on her SIDES and turrets, and
the Maine also ID inches on her sides
and barbettes. Both are ready for ser
vice.
Passing to the armored cruiser New
York, she is of $500 tons displacement
and 81 knots, carries 10 inches of
armor on her barbettes, 81 inches on
her turrets, and inches on her sides,
and has six S-lnch and twelve 4.inch
guns in her main and twenty pieces in
her secondary battery. Her protec-
tive deck is 6 inches thick on the
slopes and inches on the flat. The
ram Katahdin, of 2155 tons, has n
speed exceeding 16 knots, and armor
on her sloping sides of from to 3
inches thick.
OF our six double turret monitors.
three, the Montery, the Miantonomah
and the Amphitrite, are in regular
service. And since the Terror, Mt n
recent reckoning, was 81 per cent
finished, the Mona iuock, 81 and the
Puritan 81, we really have all six at
our service.
The Puritan, of 5000 tons, has side
armor and barbettes of 16 inches and
turrets of s, and carries four I2-inch
and six 4inch guns. The Monterey,
built of steel, while the others have
iron bulls, is of 1854 tons and over
134 knots, with sides 13 inches thick
and with ID and IL inches of armor
on her barbettes and and u on her
turrets. Her turret guns are two 10
inch and two 10-inch. The four 9th
ers, 1890 tons, have speeds of from
1Ol to 14l knots, 8 to 5-inch sides,
and tnrrets OF IL inches to u. They
carry each four 10-inch and, all but
one, also two 4.inca guns.
In this array is not included the
Iowa, though larger and faster than
the Indiana class, and very powerfully
armed and armored, since she IS only
half completed; nor the Brooklyn, far
surprising the New York in battery
power and protection, as she is only
two-thirds completed. Yet neither is
to be forgotten, in reckoning for the
future. Nor is here included the
bakers dozen of single-turret mont
tors, some of 210O and others Of 1875
tons, which carry two 15-inch smooth
bores, and would undoubtedly be of
some use for harbor defence.
In the steel cruiser and gunboat
types, excluding the Chicago, now un-
der repair, we have twenty YES.
sells, outside of the composite gunboats
recently laid down. They would all
be useful for destroying an enemy's
commerce. The only ones of them
not completed are the Helena, Will
mington and Nashville, and they are
all over two-thirds done, and could be
hurried forward
The Minneapolis and Columbia ale
of 1875 tons, and have made 23 ard
o. knots respectively. The Olym-
pia, OF 2S7O tons, has made 81 knots.
and carries the powerful battery OF
four Sin and ten 4.inch guns. The
Baltimore is OF 44l3 tons and 20 knots.
and heavily axmej. Only little be.
low her in speed are the San Francis
60 and Philadelphia, carrying each
twelve G-inch guns. Tho Cincinnati
and Raleigh, tho sister ships Detroit.
Montgomery aud Mnrblehead, and the
Charleston all have GOOD speeds TO
theiI records The 3DOO.ton Atlanta
and Boston, che 1900 ton Yorktown.
Concord AMI Lexington, tNo Castine
and Machias are all useful. The Dol
phin, Petrol, Bancroft and Vesuvius
are among our new steel craft.
or our torpedo craft, only throe.
the Cushing, Ericssonsand Stiletto are
built, but three others are somewhat
advanced, and work on the third trio
can bo hurried. OF other craft, either
iron or wooden, perhaps - dozen
could be made useful in some form
The auxiliary cruisers OF the Ameri
san line and Others TO come from the
merchant service must ncs be forgot.
ten. New York Sun.
John Il. Smith, farmer OF the