The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-04-13
WAR STORIES.
story Of the E'irst Confederate Arlnored
Wan. Vessel.


held the rank Of first lieutenant in
3riYot's Artillery during the late un.
plcasantneSs between the States, says
the New Ofleans Picayunc. Capt.
'cetz j, getting we'll along in years,
but he is as sturdy as the average man
Of 10 and his mind is as clear tod .y
as if he had Just been graduated from
college.
Capt. Pcctz drew the plans and su-
pcrintended the construction Of the
IRON armor of the Manassas, the ram
which played such havoc with the
federal war vessels in the lower Mis-
sissippi. He is never happier than
when telling of the work he had in
seeing that his ideas were carried out
and his fund Of "Reminiscences is re-
narkable.
Much has been said and written
said Capt. I'ectz the other day,
about the first ironclad, the Man
assas, and the recent Reunion of the
United Confederate Veterans in New
Orleans awakened lot Of interest in
her. She was twin screw propeller
.owboat, called the Enoch Train, and
vas originally brought out from Bos-
ton by the firm of Hyde Il Mackie.
Mr. Mackie is still resident Of New
Orleans. He is now about So years
old. The Enoch Train was used by
this firm in towing vessels to and from
the mouth Of the river. She was in
this service when the Confederate
Government took possession Of her
and began reconstructing Lcr to fit her
Tor the purpose Of war.
''Afler Lincoln's election it was
generally accepted that there would
be war, and having had experience in
seafaring and the construction of YES
sells in the Crimoan war, on board the
English line of battlcship Orion, of
ninety.nine guns, began the study
Of vessel that would be effective and
dangerous to an enemy. While sta
TONED Oh this English battleship,
blockading Constadt, on the Baltic,
the small Russian gunboats frequently
sailed out, and, having guns of longer
range, could lie where our guns could
not reach them, and place shots clear
through our wooden vessels. | often
wondered if this could not be pre-
vented if something was there to make
the balls glance off, or if our vessels
set lower in the water with n covered,
inclined top, instead of having high
-Freeboard or height out of the water.
1.-The Crimean war came to on end.
Fgave up the study until the approach
Of the war of the States. l was in
Mobile at the time, and after much
thought l made model and tried to
awaken interest in it among the peo-
pie in that city, but William l.. Yam
oey, the great secessionist, came to
Mobile and made number of speech
os, claiming that we did not need any
ships. He said that cotton was king,
and that England would have to have
ootton and would open our ports to
set it. His views were sadly mistak-
sn, as it afterward proved.
''After a few months, when the
need Of ships was apparent, the build
ing Of two Of them was started in Mo-
bile. They were the Morgan and the
Gaines, both planned On the old style.
submitted my model for inspection,
but, getting no encouragement, came
over to Algiers. was personally ac-
auainted with John Hughes, the dry
dock owner, and showed him by mod
81. He Immediately became interest
sd in it, and seeing it's utility soon
got the Confederate Government to
adopt it as the plan for the ram Man
assas.
1.-THE boat turned into the ram was
constructed by putting on an extra
Dow made solid and extending out a
rev feet, with an iron PROV for ram
ming purposes. A shield or roof was
put over the deck in the shape of q
surtle back. The frames were eight
inches thick, moldiug away; that is,
solid against each other orossways
}rom forward aft, and the planking on
Bop of this was four inches thick.
Outside Of this she way covered with
asingle layer of flat street car iron,
such as was used at that time to run
she street cars on, not rails such as
are used now. On the water line all
around she had solid sponsor four
feet thick to protect her from being
rammed. She carried two sixty eight
FOUNDERS. one over the stem and the