The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-31
Keokuk First Of
Big-Gun Armorclads
Attack on Fort Sumpter During
the Civil War-Biazed the Way
for the Modern Dreadnousht-
Built at New York In 1862.
/ Robert g. Skerrett, in Scientific Am
a1.ican

IHODert q. SKerrett, In SCIENTIFIC Am
erican.1
The all-big-gun fighting ship is not
a craft of recent conception as most
Of the general public may suppose: 1t
has an honorable antiquity OF more
than half century, and in these days
of rapid changes this is very con-
siderable period of priority.
When Great Britain brought out
her original dreadnought few years
ago, she was proclaimed as the first
promptly rival claims were advanced
from a number Of directions. Not un-
reasonably, Ericsson's -Ionitor seemed
the logical pioneer. and, in sense. 80
she was. But in the broader view Of
a craft of the battle line she lacked
in some vital particulars. She was
woefully deficient in habitability, sea-
worthiness, and speed, and her entire
offensive might was conferred In .
single turret-an arrangement that
might have put all Of her guns out Of
action had a chance shot effectually
damned that rotating citadel.
There is no disputing the debt to
Ericsson. The contract for the Mont
tor was signed on the 4th of October.
1861, and she led the way for a num-
erous list of kindred craft The adop-
ton OF the cheesebox-on-a-raft'' type
brought into being the so-celled ire,
clad board of the navy in 1861, and
that body OF officers examined many
novel plans for armored fighting ships.
One of the most unique was a design
rendered by G. w. Whitney of New
York, and, strictly speaking, she may
properly be looked upon as the first
Of the seagoing aIlbig-gun armclads.
In other words, the ship that blazed
the way for the modern dreadnought.
The Keokuk, for so the vessel was
named, was contracted for on the
25th Of March, 1862, and built by J.
s. Underhill at the Dry Dock iron
works, New York City. She was
launched on the 6ti Of December. fol.
lowing. The Keokuk was classed as
an iron-plated shot-proof steam bat
terry: she had length Of 159 feet, a
beam OF IS feet, and a depth OF hold
CT 3 feet inches. Instead Of one
t1-rat, the KeoE4E had two, and in
each II thz-- Tzs mounted a single
Tfiach yin TEls insured one weap-
en- hefar Elective even (, the other
vera sisa6Isrs - Any way. The idea
@ EE,sre I.ss ~ z-Ezo-st fighting sta
Y
- The z-I- 49, Tzs z distinct IN
Dl'-azzrlss.ls I1ar -tzt q the original
EIfrsEsr -,-ss s-@e-cerr vas higher
s.rJ:ssI ..-asz.s-S rF-- defensive plat
~ s1t Cs-ft5I5g .eJss@7 Esi tie Keokuk
s,sz-- rzrsssE arrS5- n ey.- - gsaEay
~ -r--J< tgzTs <1-z -.tz when the
1f1y-5.s~ we-E1s E1sTs --ZIsS stozt help
isEstT-
~. -r.-i~-<~ 49, ----.-s<.p --<s-- fo-
rrTezss-e <rzSe- ys-z e-Zl1sz csrable
u S-f5t-z E-< 5ess>5 - -ze rate os II
knots, TteGta -tg@ Eg-t-c- taf q sresc
Ds 2 kro-s s-c 5@- cfzss With .oIiorw
ed inn e6ts.et- after enid boast Of
no more than E-ots- IT her day. The
Keokuk represented high speed. not
able powers Of attack. theoretically
sturdy defense: and the capacity tr
go to sea in heavy weather. Besides
these characteristics, the KeoIzuk had
ram bow: and her accommodations
for officers and crew were big i'm
provement upon the Monitor conceive
but short while earlier and scarcely
more than launched when the plans
for the Keokuk were drawn.
II is matter Of history now thai
the monitors assembled before Char
lesion did more in battling with Fort
Sumter than could possibly have
been accomplished by any other tyne
of vessel built up to that time. Amone
the armorclads there employed was
the newly arrived Keokuk and memor
able, indeed, was the attack in which
she engaged in the evening of the I'll
OF April, 1863. The Keokuk got with
IN 300 yards of Sumter, in fact wa,