Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-07-12
DESTRUCTION OF MONITORS.


Diamond State Steel Co., tho pur.
in and around PENIS Grove, N. j.,
where the work is in progress. They
are being broken up for the material
of which they are made, which is to he
used at the local steel plant.
The operation recalls the interesting
careers OF two Of Uncle Sans faithful
SOL wants, which have passed their days
CT usefulness.
Originally the monitors cost 5000, 600
each, says the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Recently the two were sod for $50, 600.
In their day they were considered we'll
nigh impregnable, calculated to with
stand the fire Of almost anything afioat.
Guarded by one or more of them the
inhabitants Of city felt safe from the
attacks of an enemy, and gloried in the
sight of them 30 near at hand. But
their day is passed. Progress and IN
ventive genius have displaced them
with battleships, armored cruisers and
other fighting shirs far more formid-
able. Their days of usefulness are
gone never to return. In the Spanish
American War they were used as con-
yoys along the coast, distributing coal
forts, in order that they might he pre-
mission accomplished and the treaty OF
peace signed they were condemned and
Telegated to quiet corner in one of
Uncle Sans navy yards, there to stay
until some one came along who would
be willing to pay the government
price for them. The only intrinsic
value these old monitors have is in the
immense quantity of iron they contain.
That is what the contractors are after
who buy them. They tow them to o
small town, where there is little ship.
ping, run them up on the beach at
high tide, and with derricks, tools Of
various kinds and dynamite, batter
them to pieces and ship the iron to
foundries and furnaces. 10 examining
the single turretsd monitors it is diff
| cult to understand how any one could
afford to pay such large sum of money
| for them, merely for the iron, yet they
are made almost entirely of that ore.
1t is an interesting sight to stand on
the shore at PENIS Grove and watch
the dynamite explosions tearing the old
monitors to PIECES. Sticks of the ex-
plosive are placed where the plates or
| beams are tightly riveted together; the
fuse is attached. and the men scatter
for safety. When all is ready the signal
| is given to the engineer in the steamer
alongside and the electric current
strikes the cap in the centre Of the
dynamite. The explosion is terrific ;
iron flies in every direction, but there
is no smoke, and the men return imme-
diately to the SPOT, clear up the debris,
and prepare for another blast. As the
iron is gathered 1t is loaded onto cars
on floats, which anchor alongside the
monitors and is then shipped away to
the purchasers. M. A. WILDER, who
has charge of the WORK at Penn's Grove,
and who has been on similar missions
all along the coast, gays it takes from
three to six months to disrupt one OF
the cid single-turret monitors. With an
extra force of men it might be accom-
plished sooner, yet the work Is such
that too large force cannot work to
advantage. He superintended the
destruction OF the torpedo ram Alarm,
which the government sold about year
ago, and what he does not know about
disrupting an old war vessel isn't worth
knowing. 1t is a business in itself,
and one who doesn't understand the
business might as we'll try to build a
battleship as to tear apart monitor
without losing any of the iron.
The Passaio, on which the work oil
destruction was recently begun, had rs
eventful a life perhaps as any Of the
Civil War monitors. She got mixed ur
in a variety of heated arguments al
Fort Sumpter, Charleston and Fort
Moultrie, and was badly damaged more
than once. She was built by John
Ericsson Of Greenroint, N. Y, and wa:
launched on August Both, 1862, going
into commission On November 10th.
Her original battery consisted o
three guns, two l5-inch and one IL,
inch. Under command of Capt. Per.
cival Drayton she was ordered to joir
the South Atlantic blockading squad
ron, first stopping at Washington, where
she was visited by President Lincoln
and the members of his Cabinet. Or
December 30th she encountered ba6
weather off CAPE Hatteras, and it wa,
found necessary to throw overheard
lher entiie cargo of ammunition. Tn,
United States ship Monitor was lost Of
Hatteras in this gale. Hey first ex
plot was to capture the sohoone
Glide, loaded with cotton, in Wassav
Sound, in company with the Marble
head: shortly after she took part in tn
attack at Fort McA llister, Ga. Apri
9Th found her in the attack on the fort
in Charleston harbor. after which sh
sailed for the New York Navy Yard t,
undergo extensive repairs. On Jul,
18th, 1863, she again anchored insid
Charleston harbor, and took part In al
the operations against that oity. He
J next mission was as flagship In th
attack on Fort Moultrie, where Ssh
assisted in rescuing the Lehigh, Will
under fire of the batteries. At thi
battle, it is said, a shell exploded on he
deck, killing nine men and woundinl
nearly as many moro. From the clos
OF the Civil War until 1898 she driftet
around between Boston, New York
: Philadelphia and Washington, assigne,
to various duties. During the Spanish
American War she was assigned to tn
naval auxiliary force and stationed q
Pensacola, Fla. She was one of tn
first cid monitors to be condemned
, and on October 10th, 1899, passed GU
of the governments hands.
The Ajax was the same style O
) monitor. She was built IN 1852 an,
! carried three guns. Her part in th
! Rebellion was not as active as that q
the Passaio, though she rendered vaIu
able service in number Of engage
munts. During tie late war she wa
. added to the naval auxiliary force, alon
\ with the other monitors, and assigne
3 TO divers DIT tics on the coast. Th
5 work Of destruction was begun on th
3 A jax first, and she will soon be total
disrupted. Numerous relics, such q
caps, knives, cartridges and smal
cannon balls, have been found in til
Passaic and the Ajax. There is
growing demand for trinkets Of thi