The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-15
I I. T!ITsJ N III i

crew, I propeller and rudder. The idea
OF turret for land and floating batter
les was not wholly a novelty, but it re-
manned for Captain Ericsson. to put it
into practice. 1t took just two hours
for Ericsson to explain his plaE to the
naval board, two hours for the board
to come to d decision, five minutes for
the secretary Of war to tell the invent
or to go ahead and five hours for the
Monitor to finish the terrible ironclads
Merrimac and reyolutionize sea fight
ing. 454 5ei4fa ast,.,B -i8dF is5li
The doom of wooden lwarships had
been sealed the day before the Monitor
4Merrimac fight when the Congress and
Cumberland went down before the
ironclad. Now the future of naval
warfare lay with the armored turret1
ship. The short but brilliant career of
the Merrimac showed what the govern
ment might have done had it chose to
adopt ironclads at the beginning of the
war. There We're then five sister ships
of the, Merrimac. ahoat in excellent CON-
dition. and the navy yards could have
given them armor superior to that on
the Merrimac in the course Of couple 4
of months. ~ Fl ~ e9
The victory of the Monitor was fol-
lowed by the construction as rapidly as
possible9o 60 2ironelad vessels, all Of
the Monitor type excepting three. The
Confederates,. being without navy.
yards, We're compelled, to improvises
ironclads from crude materials, but
they Succeeded in getting Afoat several
terrible engines Of destruction for the
| wooden ships OF the enemy The ram
tAlbemarle In the east, the Arkansas in
the Mississippi and the Tennessee in
! the gulf waters proved equal in action
! to the. strongest wooden, fleets. A fleet
Sof steam rams was fitted out on the
! Mississippi by The government, and
/ the brave, Ellets made such good use.
of this powerful weapon that the new
type of Warship then evolving must,
necessarily be provided With a ram:
ming beak. (8l
The Confederates forced the ironclad.
4 issue, for the growth would have been.
I slow but for the alarm created by the
4 Merrimac, 5. Then came the armored
cruiser, for, although no armored, ship
put to sea during the war. the desper-
ate deeds Of the wooden commerce de-
stroyerss sent out BY the COME derates
taught the world that armored cruis-
i ers, built for speed and fighting. would
|, be, igdispensab BILE TOD nation ambitious
to maintain sea power Two OF three
up to date warships with the apdacity
4 of the Confederate Alabama, Florida
and Shenandoah could, nif unchecked,
drive from the ocean the commercial
Tag Of any nation they II y chose to attack l
] When Gushing blew Y, up . the ram Al
bemarle, he established the torpedo
4 and the torpedo boat iii naval Warfare.
4 The torpedo was not new; ana the tor
pedo boat had; been used by the Con
federates, With suceess,i heforei Gushing
a electrified the. world, with yhiss daring IN
feat, but it takes shock like the trl-
umph Of the pygmy Monitor or CusA-
ing's reckless dash in a picket LAUNCH
= F to stir The slliggtish blood of the aver
I2aga nasyalcboard.l .aGi sfi1 rs ESQ 81.
i lrs.At tthe,daw OF the, twentieth centu
shry thenideala war ship isr one sprotecte6
around . her .yitalsno eapab lei Of high
I speed, armed with Aong yrangeIaad rap
id fire, guns and ), manned am With ht ,lI
fearless men. The new kl.searsarge hat
T tleship is the type today and the OLE
Kearsarge the type Of 100 years ago
: with tile addition OF steam for motor
ri power.ie's ~ sisa ION teis Y 9sif J,
IS sOnetvictoryiat sea may decide a. war
!, and the, .fatestof. one ship may decide
y a sea battle, No power. can IL becom.
great without sea 10 and these Be con
stitute elements OF weakness unless
pro otteacstte navy navy Finally ii comes
{ to a test of the men behind the guns
! and the American sailors from tn
,; days ,of;Paull Jones have been heroe
on, deck Inathe war of 1912 the Van
. KEGS were famous for crushing In tn