Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-03-24
TO-DAY'S TELEGRAPHIC NEWS
Battleships Launched.

left the ways in the James river at
1902 o'clock this morning at the i'm
meuse plant of the Newport News
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company,
and at 1886 o'clock her exact counter.
part followed. They were christened
respectively the Kearsarge and Ker-
lucky. The Kesrsarge was the ship
launched first and long before the
hour announced for the ceremony fully
$4,000 people were pushing and jostling
around the powerful steel hull OF No.
IS, as the Kearsarge was known in the
shipyard, each person endeayoring 10
get the best view obtainable of the in
terestiug ceremony about to take place.
just before the preliminary prepare
tons were finished the christening par
ty arrived and was conducted through
the vast throng to the gaily decorated
stage at the bow of the Kearsarge. The
party was composed of Mr.. Calvin B.
Orcutt, president of the Newport News
Shipbuilding Company; Mrs. Herbert
Winslow, sponsor for the Kearsarge.
and her maid of honor, Miss Margaret
Eastman, of Washington; Miss Chris
tine Bradley, sponsor for the Kentucky,
and her maids of honor, Misses Mary
E. Gatewood, Lillian Siege, Sallie
Bronston, Abbie Ballard and Alice
Castleman, all of the Blue Grass State;
Miss Anna Webb, of Paducah, KY,
Mrs. William O. Bradley, mother of
the fair sponsor, Governor Bradley, of
Kentucky, and staff; Gov. Tyler, of
Virginia, and staff; members of the
House and Senate committees on naval
affairs and other distinguished visitors.
All preparations being arranged, a
saw severed the pieces that held the
Kearsarge in place and the hull started
on her journey to the waters. AS it
started Mrs. Winslow broke the bottle
of champagne over its bow and ex.
claimed II christen thee Kearsarge."
AS the vessel glided into the river it
seemed as if bedlam had broken loose.
Cheer after cheer went up from the
crowd and the shrill whistles of the
steamers in the harbor welcomed the
new naval champion to its natural ele-
ment. The cruiser Brooklyn and mon
itor Puritan, which were lying out III
stream, were the representatives of the
navy present.
The christening party then proceed
ed TO the bow of the Kentucky, which
vessel was launched at 11:35 o. IN.
This ceremony was an exact counter
part of the former, except that Miss
Christine Bradley broke cut glass
bottle of water from the spring on
the old Lincoln farm, and said II
christen thee Kentucky" Then,
as the vessel started down the
ways, several bottles of old Bour-
bon whiskey were hurled against
her sides by Kentuckians who were OPP
posed to the water christening. Water
from the spring on the Jefferson Davis
farm in Kentucky was also smashed on
the vessels sides. Both launchings
were successful in every particular. The
invited guests and distinguished visitors
then boarded the steamer Newport
News and proceeded to Old Point,
where the shipyard officials rendered
magnificent banquet. Covers were laid
for six hundred persons. 1t was en-
tirely informal. Among the toasts re-
sponded to were Kentucky" by Gov
ernor Bradley, and "Virginia" by Gov.
ernor Tyler.
The Kentucky and Kearsarge are
possibly more powerful and speedy than
any other vessels of their displacement
aAoat. The general dimensions and
features of the ships, as designed, are as
follows: Length of water.line, SOS feet;
beam. 70 feet % inches; free-board Is
feet; mean 6raught, % feet inches;
displacement, II, 525 tons. They will
be driven by triple expansion engines,
moving twin screws, collective horse
power OF 10000 when making about
12O revolutions minute, at speed of
16 knots per hour. The batteries of
each of the ships consist of 4 13-inch
breech-loading rifles, 4 S-inch breech-
loading rifles, IA 5-inch rapid fire
breech-loading rifles, 20 6-pounder
rapid-fre guns, 6 1-pounder rapid.fir
guns, 4 machine guns. In addition
battery of II 5-iuch rapid-fre guns
will be mounted between the turrets,
and will be protected by 6,inch ermor.
A battery ofnumerous smaller 6.pound.
er and 1-pounder guns will be carried,
and there will be four torpedo tubes on
each ship.
The protection of the hull will be eff
fected by means of an armor belt of
maximum thickness of 1G! inches, with
mean depth of 7! feet. The belt will
taper gradually to thickness of 4
inches at the bow. This armor, as we'll
as all other armor used on the vessels,
will be of solid nickel steel, Harveyized.
The armor of the 13-inch turrets will be
Is inches, except Immediately in front,
where it will be II inches. That pro-
tecting the S.inch guns will be 9 inches.
Each ships complement will be $40
persons, officers, seamen and marines.
A comparison OF these vessels with
any foreign battleships built or building
will, in every case, be to the advantage
of the United States ships. These vessels
carry heavier guns and more of them
heavier armor, more widely distributed
and protecting more thoroughly the
vitals of the ship and gun crews. With
work rapidly pushed, both ships could
be ready for service by next November.
When completed each will have cost
the government over 10000 900.
The Waters Receding.
PITTsBURG, March pa sudden
and decided fall in temperature check.
ed the flow in the headwster streams
this morning. After reaching 80 feet