New-York tribune., 1897-08-29
THE MONITORS OF TO-DAY.
ESSENTIALLY AN AMERICAN TYPE OF
WAR-VESSEL.
CONSTRUCTED ON THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF
ERICsSON's PLAN-IIISToRY OF THOSE NO"
IN TIE AMERICAN NAVY.


quoted the following sentence from the writing
Corps Of the Navy upon the structure and per-
formances Of the monitor Amphitrite in n cruise
at mo other type Of war-vessel is so essen
TALLY American or so essential to the mante
nance OF our defensive naval policy" The his
tory of the modernized monitor-the Puritan.
the Terror, the Miantonomoh. the Amphitrite
and the Monadnock-is an interesting one. There
Is, naturally, much difference of opinion relative
to the monitor type Of armored vessels; but
there is not much among the practical experts
Of the Navy as to their value for real fighting
purposes. Those who lived during the period OF
the Civil War and were old enough to take an
active interest in it will not forget that the first
Of the National ironclads was n monitor. less
effective to be sure, than the later craft-the five
mentioned-constructed the same general
principle. but nevertheless an engine remarkable
for her fighting qualities. While it was under
construction Captain Ericsson was ridicued by
the press; his success was doubted so strongly
by many naval officers who could not see in
mastless iron vessel any characteristic OF what
they thought vessel should be that the
project was strongly opposed by them. Hence
there was a clause put into the contract which
REQUIRED that the Monitor be fitted with masts
and sails Su1nClent 10 proper HcT al I'ltc Va
six knots an hour in a fair wind. without aid
from the engines. But the contrary opinion OF
such men as Chief Engineer Alban c. Sinners
and John Newton prevailed. and there were no
masts or sails fitted The Monitors performance
at Hampton Roads in March, 1862, when she
turned the tide of war in her contest with the
Confederate ram Virginia (Merrimac) reversed
the adverse criticisms of the press and partially
ouieted the Navy carpers So complete was this
victory over non-expert opinions that the Navy
Department at once proceeded with the con-
struction Of veritable fleet of steam turret
batteries which with the exception OF a Few
built on Western rivers upon designs OF other
engineers from Ercsson's plans
So much has been said upon the subject that
the consensus Of opinion to-day is that the
monitor Is a purely American idea. and the
armorclad European fallacy.
THE REVOLVING TURRET
1t was on the Monitor that the revolving tur-
ret earliest demonstrated its usefulness, that
the advantages Of the low freeboard and heavy
iron plating fairly tested and the possibility
Of making the ram an efficient implement Of
offence was convincingly revealed. There are
left thirteen OF the original fleet of sngle-tur-
reted monitors those of the design Of the original
Monitor, five of these-the Ajax. the Canoncus
the Mahopac the Manhattan and the Wyan-
dotte-of ., 100 tons displacement each and the
others-the Comanche, the Catskill, the Jason
the Lehgh, the Montauk the Nahant, the
Nantucket and the Passaic-of 1875 tons
each. All of these have very low freeboard,
which renders them difficult mark for an
enemy to hit. In addition, this low freeboard,
as RearAdmira Edward Simpson once ex-
pressed 1t, 'is intended to contribute TO the
seadiness Of the hull as gun platform by
offering no resistance to the waves that are ex-
pected to wash freely over the vessels deck
Another advantage is that they Of light
draught, and could in few moments steam
into shallow water, where they would be beyond
the reach OF heavy sea-going cruisers. few
years ago. Senator Chandler. ex-Secretary OF
the Navy in an argument in Congress declared
that vessels of the monitor type are the ideal
ships for the defence Of the coasts and harbors
Of America and that 'the time has not yet
arrived, If indeed it will ever come, for the
construction by the United States Of the pom
derous. unweldy and costly broadsde armored
vessels with which European nations are max
ing experiments Of at least doubtful value" He
maintained, and upon the authority Of naval
officers Of war experience that "the advant ages
Of the monitor type are that it presents to the
enemy a minimum target while allowing the
greatest possible concentration Of armcr upon
this narrow exposed side, and also that 1t Sc
cures stability by allowing the waves to sweep
heely over the deck instead Of offering a re-
sistance such in the high armored battle
ship inevitably causes much rolling"
FEATURES OF THE PURITAN
Compared with the Yankee cheesebox a