New-York tribune., 1912-03-03
CONTEMPORARY IMPRESSION OF
ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN MERRI-
MAC AND MONITOR.

the Merrimac. which had 10 do with
period now long and safely behind us. We
OF to-day can look back upon that battle
and by contrast measure how far We have
advanced i'm all Of the arts and sciences
which make our modern Dreadnoughts pos
sible This tells US more than anything
else how wonderfully the nation has gone
forward in the last half century. This IL
the lesson which most concerns MS now,
because it gives US some gauge by which to
judge the possibilities of the future.
The Merrimac had a battery Of ten guns.
Two OF these were 6-inch rifles, two were
Finch rifles and SIN were smooth-bore
guns. The protection for these weapons
was four inches of iron. composed OF two
courses of Pinch plating, and placed at
such an angle that a horizontal shot would
have to pierce seven inches OF metal in
passing through this armor. The ll-inch
guns of the Monitor were Incapable OF
sending their solid shot through this iron
with sufficient remaining velocity 10 per-
forate the twenty-four inches OF wooden
backing. The turret Of the Monitor was
composed Of eight boIted plates one inch
thick each, her side armor was five
inches thick. and one inch of iron covered
her exposed deck We know that the guns
of the Merrimac were unable to pierce the
Monitors sheltering iron. Six knots an
hour was about the best that either craft
could boast Of in the way OF speed AS for
seaworthiness. We know something OF the
rerils the Monitor experienced in her run
from the building yard down 10 Hampton
Roads. and it is a regretted historical fact
that she sank AT sea because Of her limita-
tions in this respect.
Yet. despite the impotency OF her guns
at short range against the soft iron OF the
Merrimac's coat Of mail and some OF her
, other qualified virtues. still the turret or
the Monitor and the sheltering belt OF her
waterline protection have constituted the
. prime features around which we have built
end developed our Dattleships OF to-day.
From six knots for modest displacement
of only 776 tons we have advanced to ships
OF more than 5000 tons, capable OF making
twenty-one knots an hour and able to hold
the seas in the face of any storm. In ad-
| dition to this. TO fight their guns under
conditions Of wind and wave that would
| have sent the little Monitor to the bottom
| and to render a good account Of their rines
at ranges OF more than 1000 yards.
In years gone by the ordnance engineer
| estimated the defensive value OF iron to
no one-dfth less than that OF ordinary
steel. l. e.. four inches Of steel. with the
saving of weight. being equal IN protec-
ton To i've inches Of iron. That was be-
| fore the face-hardening processes came
| into vogue; and since the HarveyiIlng
method startled the naval world other
wavs Of increasing the rosistive power OF
steel have been developed which make the
armor of to-day probably thirty or forty
nor cent more effective for given thick
ness than was possible with the steel
| used upon the first OF our battle craft OF
! the new navy. II is not alone In tne
! movers Of defence that We have advanced
our armor piercing projectiles being ex-
pectod 10 pass an acceptance teSt which
reouires them TO perforate, still In con-
dition to explode with their maximum
violence. face-hardened steel Of correspond
ing calbre or thickness!
Just compare these achievements with
the powers of attack and resistance which
the Monitor possessed. Surely the differ
ence is enough to stir TO admiration the
most phlegmatic Of us. In the days or
the Monitor and. in fact. for many years
afterwards clouds of smoke obscured the
vision of the gunner. and we know from
history how often those memorable cratt
fought at close range while guessing at
the position of their targets. To-day all
this is changed. The Monitor and the Mer-
rImac could do little in the way Oh d@-
liberate aiming-they had to fre Wheh
the foe came in line with the gun sights'
In the case of the Monitor, the revoNihs
turret made il impossible TO do more
than take a shot at the Merrimac as the
turrent swept round upon It's revoNng
course-the gun captain pulling the nrins
LANYARD at the instant the foe couid De
gllmpsed through the restricted openihs
of the turret port. To-day our oigses'
guns-many times more powerful than tns
li-inch weapons OF the Monltor-can oe
held continuously on the target even
though the ship be under way ana roinns
in a considerable sea. Thanks TO the IN
PRODUCTION of electric motive power our
ponderous turrets and their containeo
rifles can he swung from side to side WIN
a specd and precision Which, "ouio
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