Evening star., 1897-05-03
THE MONITOR PURITAN
Captain Bartlett's Report On Her Excellent
Behavior at Sea.
She Stood the Rough Weather OF
to Date Except Her Machinery.

The Puritan, lately returned to New York
after a short cruise to Charleston, s. c..
Is an iron, double-turreted, low-freeboard
monitor Of COCO tons displacement and
eighteen feet draft of water. Her construc-
ton was commenced at the Delaware river
iron shipbuilding yard at Chester, under
the administration of Secretary Robson,
twenty-five years ago. The form and gen.
eral dimensions of the hull proper, except
the armor, remain the same as the original
design, but numerous and successive
changes have been made in every other
particular. The aim of the department
during the long, unavoidable delay over her
construction, was to keep the designs for
completion of the ship up to date, and in
sure that, as finally completed, she should
be an effective addition to our naval force.
The ship as originally designed embodied
no radical departure from the Ericsson
monitors built during the war, except that
instead of the single bottom and overhang-
ing armor shelf common to those vessels
she has a double bottom extending up to
the armor shelf and nearly the entire
length of the hull. The design contem-
plated eliminated side and turret armor, as
no facilities existed then or for many
years after for producing solid armor
plates in this country. The turrets were to
have been of the original Ericsson type
entirely above the main deck and support
*
Notwithstanding the changes in the hull
and fittings the machinery has been left
as originally designed and constructed.
The machinery is of an obsolete type
about three times heavier for the power
indicated than would be constructed today
In every other respect the ship as finally
completed is fully up to date, and one of
our most efficient fighting ships. Notwith
standing the numerous changes, the eff
feet of all of them has been SO well consid-
cred that when the ship was commissioned
on the 10th day Of last December she
hoated within one-half an inch of her de-
signed draft. She carries a water-line belt
of armor fourteen inches thick, tapering' to
six inches at the stem and stern. In place
of the originally designed armament, con-
sisting of but four 15-inch smooth-bore
guns, she carries four 12-inch breech-load-
ing rifles in Hichborn barbette turrets, six
4-inch rapid-fire guns and ten machine
guns.
That the ship is a success in every way
recent report from Raleigh, N. c. from
which the following is quoted: BY g
o'clock 1t was blowing a fresh northeast
erly gale with heavy sea- and although
the ship behaved admirably, rolling easily
and rising buoyantly. =
AS l have already stated, the ship be-
haved admirably in the heavy sea off Hat
teras. Her roll is not quick, and she re-
covers easily and without straining As
was to be expected, while pitching very
little, she takes great quantities of water
on board, the waves dashing violently
against the turrets and superstructure and
throwing spray over the pilot house and
bridges. In my judgment, It would be pos
sibie to fight the guns in almost . ANY
weather, though not without taking water
through the turret ports. In moderate
weather she would afford a reasonably
steady gun platform, owing to her steadf-
ness and slowness of roll. Today l in
spected the vessel, and Notwithstanding
the heavy weather of yesterday, with the
exception of slight leaks around the armor
shelf, which were in existence when she
went into commission, and very slight
leak In the executive officers state room at
the base of the superstructure, I could find
no defects" This splendid Endorsement of
the ships sea-going and fighting qualities
fully offsets the unsupported contention of
the opponents of the monitor type oZ YES
sci that they are useful only in perfectly
smooth water.