The Washington herald., 1907-12-07
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

The departure of the great Atlantic
squadron for the Pacific is only another
of the many great proofs OF the nations
marvellous growth and development The
ironclad war ship is only forty-fve years
old, yet, passing through a process OF
swift evolution to its present perfection.
this American discovery has revolution
lied the science of naval warfare
throughout the whole world. There are
now 270 vessels in commission in the
United States navy, where, at one time,
IN WashingtOn's administration. there
was not one OF these. there are thir-
teen battle ships Of the first and second
class, carrying guns into whose mouth
this countrys first and only com
mander-in-chief of the navy Essex Hop
kins, might easily have hidden his dis
graced head when an outraged Continent
tai Congress summarily dismissed him.
should such an unlikely thing as a
war cloud loom on the horizon of this
country, Uncle Sam could soon swing a
neet OF vessels into a line of appalling
length, commanding 1900 men in the
present feet sailing for San Francisco.
10 say nothing OF the ones already on the
other side. This is a great contrast to
the situation before the Revolution. the
war with Algiers. and the war OF 1872
In the two first Instances, the country
had no navy at all. Before the Reyolu-
ton she had needed none, nor as an ag-
gregation OF colonies would she have
been permitted 10 keep one. Before the
war with Algiers she had sold her navy,
fearing the charge of monarchical ten
denotes might be brought against her.
When the war with England. in 1872. was
imminent President Madison made no
preparation for war, and when Il was
finally declared. all the ships were in
New York harbor. and the orders for
sailing had to reach them by letter.
1t was in Hampton Roads that the first
chapter in the worlds history OF iron
clads was written. 1t is in Hampton
Roads that the nation has gathered six
teen Of her finest sea fighters ready for a
trip of nearly 10000 miles. Where the
Merrimac swung clumsily across the
channel long ago and drove terror 10 the
hearts Of sea men who had never yet
seen such a monster, irOnclads as grace
ful and as swift as greyhOunds have
come and gone all summer until they
have become a familiar sight Among
these is the Minnesota, the largest Of
Uncle Sans big battle ships. and next
only in size to the Dreadnaught, which
King Edward of England launched with
such ceremony a year or so ago. and TO
the Satsuma, Japan's new monster Of the
deep.
OF the naval battle in Hampton Roads
that spring forty-nve years ago was born
the modern battle ship. Until then iron
had not been deemed practicable as de-
fensive armor on a ship. War between
che States had caused the Northern
forces TO evacuate Hampton Roads and
the drydocks OF Newport News In their
haste 70 leave they destroyed what ship
ping they could not remove the new
sloop-ofwar. MerrimaC. being among
those burned to the waters edge The
story Of the raising OF this hull and con-
verting it into the first ironclad in the
history of the world is "A story of in
genuity and daring familiar to all who
can read So carefully did John L. Por-
ter figure out his scheme that when the
Merrimac had been raised, covered with
heavy beams. again with plank. then
with iron plates and with railroad iron
bolted through and through over all. she
drew only six inches more water than he
all the worlds naval records to which he
might refer.
Spies were thick in the land. and while
Porter was building this floating. dirigible
fort. and covering the iron surface with
thick slush to defect cannon shot. the
Union government had been receiving bids
on ironclads and had three in process OF
construction One was failure. another
did a little service. but the third made
history. This was Ericssons Monitor. the
Yankee cheese box on n raft of which
the South spoke so sneeringly. The Mont
tor met the Merrimac in Hampton Roads
one March day. and when the Merrimac.
not knowing that she had sadly crippled
herself in ramming the Cumberland the
day before. rammed the Monitor. she
stove in her bow. and from this drawn
battle limped back into dry docks for re-
pairs.
Other nations. rs well as the United
States. took note of these two new and
widely different sea-fghters. Both offered
ideas worthy OF adoption. The iron hull
Of the Merrimac and the round turret OF
the Monitor were the best points Of the
two, and on these two basic features the
modern naval vessels Of the world have
been built. The North built more vessels
plated with iron The South had not the
same facilities, but made few that did
some service. The Albermarle. built for
the Confederacy, had her keel laid In a
North Carolina corn field. and her iron
plates made of scrap iron in Richmond
and Wilmington furnaces. a blacksmith
shop was a substitute Tor a shipyard. and
the timbers were pine logs cut from a
q r. -
until Lieut.. Gushing. L. S. N. earned for
himself the right to have his country's
first torpedo boat named for him by put
ting a torpedo on the end OF pole. row
ing to the Albermarle. and exploding It
under her decks
So great has been the revolution in
battle-ship building in the past half cen
fury that comparison IS almost impos-
sible Shortly before the civil war the
Merrimac. the Minnesota. the Roanoke.
the Franklin, the Colorado. and the Sara
toga were finished, frigates and sloops-of
war OF the highest type then known. So
wonderful an achievement in naval archi-
lecture were they supposed to be that
they were sent 70 England as an ex-
hibit, and were a revelation to the people
who saw them. They were wooden yes
sells. and had to swing broadside TO the
enemy before doing much damage. They
were constructed with the world-old idea
in mind that sooner or later they must
grapple with the enemy. and. with yes
sells dashed together. fight il out man to
man, as did John Paul Jones when he
drove the Bon Homme Richard against
the Scraps. They carried such ordnance
as was known in the war of 1872. and
when the civil war broke out they be-
came a part Of the 600 vessels that
formed what some one has called the