The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-22
A Revolution in Naval Architecture.

Montgomery Advertiser March 15, 1862.
 The success which has attended the re- cent effots of the South to construct ves- sells strong enough to meet the shock of contest with the heavy war ships of our enemy, will undoubtedly work com plete revolution in the present mode of eracy belongs the credit of having first fairly demonstated the superiority of iron clad vessels over all others, and we may consider 1t morally certain that no more wooden war ships will be placed afl0at. They have had their day, and must now give place to huge iron monsters. im- previous to shot and shell, and armed not only with heavy guns, but also with ing an ordinary vessel to the bottom of the ocean at one stroke. The English and French have boasted of their spien- did steel clad t. ships, the Warrior and achievements of the Manassas and the Virginia, that they are incomplete with out the beak. The use of a beak upon the front of vessel is no new inven- leys were armed in this manner, but since artillery came in vogue, they have been discarded, and 1t was left for the people of the South to apply them in con Junction with steam power. The Yan- kees have not been slow to profit by the Ingenuity of Southern men in regard to the construction of ships and batteries The. iron |clad gunboats with which they made the recent descent of the Tennes- see and Cumberland Rivers were model ed after the floating battery at Charles ton, and the idea of the Ericsson floating battery: was obtained from the Manas- sas They now acknowledge the inef ficiency of modern vessels for offensive purposes, and call for the immediate con struction of an iron clad fleet.
 Our own government ought not to be less active in taking advantage of the benefits to be derived from the posses sion of a fleet of ball proof floating bat No~s1 AR '. trfran~ kxzgl sells like the Virginia and Manassas, we had twenty ready for action, we should need no assistance in breaking the Yam kee blockade of our ports. If we had one at Charleston at the time of the sink ing of the stone fleet, 1t might have aided the Yankees in sinking their vessels farther out than they desired to have them. One stationed at Savannah would long ere this have made a scattering of the Yankee fleet assembled in that neighborhood, and one each at Pensacola, Mobile and New Orleans, would be suf ficient to render each of those places may not be too late to profit by expert enee and If the proper energy Is mani fested the Yankees may be met in our ports with what they least expect. Our Mobile friends ougnC to be prepared to repeat the experience of the Virginia, as an appropriation for battery was made by our Legislature last fall, and enough time, 1t appears, has elapsed for it to be made ready for service. If the construc- tors have not been remiss of their duty we shall expect to hear of its exploits should the Yankees ever conclude to at- tack Mobile.
 It has been proven that the largest and strongest ships of the enemy cannot withstand the shock of an attack from one of these iron clad monsters, and we hope that the ship builders in all parts of the South will at once be employed in their construction. They will be able to harrass our enemy, and keep them at a respectful distance from our ports, or if they venture to approach near enough, will speedily send them to the bottom.