The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-03-23
''' RELICS oil THE NAVY.
Y,,mi,nasr, 81 Naval aiii..-Th.y Also
r.ii Of oar yieiorlss ON ths oesan-cspt.
,ursd pisess Of Ord ma nee. Al


T.i Of Oar yieiorlss ON the oesan-csp.
tursd Pise.s OF Ordnance. i! {, n
New York tlspateh IN Plttfburglf
S.Ns: There Is nothing. from modern
rarships to the big new dfydoek, that
attracts more sincere Interest among
me visitors 70 the Brooklyn navy yard
,san the nttle group ot!earious old ean-
non which have been ae, up on Trophy
p,rk, a triangular bit Of sod close by
the Offices OF Admiral Bunce, comman-
dant OF the yard. II Il y.
The interest felt In these old pieces o.
ordnance IL not surprising for as tam
cIble evidences OF our former naval
glory they appeal directly 10 our pa
triotIsm. And. besides. they are highly
Interesting as ctrios and Instructive by
way ot Illustration. 81 ;;dl
There, nrc not moro than q couple OF
dozen 81 the old guns. all told. Two or
three OF them arc small and inslgnifi-
can, 10, nppearance.ib being not more
than thirty-six or forty inches long and
standing not more than knee high. car
rage and all. to- a grown man, while
the largest are only eight feet In length
and stand not more than three feet
above the ground. Yet the collection rs
n whole forms an admirable museum OF
progress In the design OF ordnance. The
smallest plccesS the carriages OF which
resi- upon wooden whcels or rollers not
more than six inches In diameter, are
excellent examples of last century arr
mament, being exactly like the major
;ty OF pieces with which the old sew;
enty-tour gunships Of the line were fit-}
ted. y 81 I. s, h sS-,a
1t Is highly probable that they once
stood upon the deck OF some English
vessel captured by the Americans In
the Revolutionary War or the War OF
1877; but,S owing to the negligence OF
those In charge. the labels with which
the guns are said to have once been
adorned have been painted over and
their history, lost !, n
More interesting than these old pieces
because fully identified, are the 9TH
bore cast cannon six feet and eight feet
IN length that were taken from the
British frigate Macedonian after It's
capture by the American. frigate United
States on October IS, 1872. These guns
were constructed upon the same prin-
ciples rs the small ones, but are much
heavier and were therefore more for
nidablc. They were quite equal. In
fact, 10 any carried by the American
vessel, and except In point Of size, were
rot surpassed by any ordnance made,
anywhere until the Introduction OF RI
fling in artillery. pieces.
This modern development OF ord,
nance designing Is also shown at
trophy park. there being two rlfed
piece, one dahlgren, that were
used on board Union vessels In the
civil war. - o. ~
But the two irined pieces are unmark-
ed, like the small pieces above mention
cd. II is a pity that their history has
been lost since the mere fact that
pains were taken to bring them to the
Brooklyn navy yard would seem to
prove that they played not unimport-.
ant part in some decisive naval engage
rncnts OF the civil war. 4
The only essential change in the de-;
signing and construction OF ordnance
since the introduction OF the dahlsren
rifed pieces has been in method OF
building UP. = -.
Not far from Trophy park and in the
shade OF the building used as headquar-
tiers BY the commandment lies a monster
V shaped piece OF steel ten or twelve
feet long and about four feet Thick.
Weighing many tons. This was once the
Prov OF the Confederate ram Mlssissip-
pl. The naval authorities Of the south
placed great dependence In this ram as
the probable means OF destroying Far
ragut'st fleet, at. New Orleans. The tatesi
or thegskill OF FarraSut, however, de-
creed otherwise. 4;
The Mississippi was originally Com
modorc Perry's flagship during that in-
trepid commanders cruise TO Japan in:
1852. a cruise that changed the history;
Of the Suahower empire, threw 1t open
10 the trade OF the western world and
,noculatcd the yivacious little brown
men who dwell there with the spirit,of
occidental progress. After the Mississip-
ri was brought back TO America she
engaged in one or two short cruises and
was used ih the carlS naval operations
OF the civil war. When the Federals at
tackled Fort Hudson. however. she was
run aground and set on fire by them.
The Confederatcs at that time were ex-.
cecdinEIy short of ships. and as soon as,
the Mississippi had been abandoned
they boarded her, and after a series OF
heroic acts succeeded in ;extinguishing
the. flames. Afterward they cut her;
down. transformed her into an IRON
clad of the Merrinac type and took
her to New Orleans, only to lose her at
last t Esfr ~. e s,5sFaEs ~