Year: 1864




ImPOrtanee-The Rebel Ram Tel
T nessee-Inside View OF Her BefOI


and After the Fisht-Her Gres


Strength and Weakness-The WOr


Yet Before Us.


From the Tribune's Fort Gaines CORE
POndence, dated Aug. 9th, we take th


following:


The rebel ram Tennessee, in the extrs
ordinary fight with nearly half our entir
! feet, which took place inside the harbol
, proved herself one of the most formidabl
crafts for harbor defense which has eve
been constructed, and an inspection of he
which have been permitted to make
shows with what justice the rebel Admira
Buchanan claimed that she was able t,
sink an entire feet.


Her hull was originally intended for s
man-of-war, and is put together in tb,
most staunch and substantial manner in
which it is possible to build a vessel. Hel
length is about one hundred and eighty
feet.


In firm she varies from the old AIerri-
mac though evidently a modification Of
that unfortunate and short-lived craft.
Her arnor consists of two and hall
I inch iron in bars eight inches wide crossing
each other and bolted down with one and
three quarter inch bolts, making five inches
of solid iron. This again is backed by two
feet of solid oak throughout the entire por-
ton of the boat above the water line, and
/ extending some feet even below that
From her forward classmates forward, in
Guiding her pilot house, an additional inch
Of iron is given her, making six inches of
plating, and an additional foot, making
three feet of wooden backing at this point
( Of the boat.


Her gun room, If that Is the proper
term to use, occupies about two-thirds Of
her length, and Is constructed with fat
top, composed OF two and a half by eight
inch iron bars, crossed aud bolted together,
forming a close lattice work above her
gunners, and atfording ventilation while
in action. The sides are inclined
like those of the old Merrimac, and as
before stated, are composed Of i've inches
of iron plating, backed with two ftes Of
solid oak backing, through which, in the
fire with our feet, no ball succeeded in
piercing Her ports, Of which there are
two on either side, and one fore and af,,
are closed by means OF iron shutters, which
revolve upon pivot in the center of one
side, and are worked by means of cog
wheel on the inside in a very
simple and expeditions manner. They
are liable, however, to arrangement,
and in the engagement with our fleet, two
were actually so deranged as to prevent
their being opened, while a third, the after
one. was shot away entirely, the pivot on
which it revolved being broken of, End it
was through this that the fragment Of shell
entered which wounded the rebel Admiral,
as he was standing near directing gun
ner to clear away some splinters with
which it had become filed.


It is curious and interesting proof of
the excellence of our gunners that some
ten shots struck IN close contiguity TO this
port which it was early discovered it wss
impossible for her crew TO close, and in
tact this really became The heel Of Achilles
TO the fated Tennessee. Some where be-
tween forty and fifty shots struck her dur
ing the fight in nearly every part Of the
boat but not one penetrated her impervi-
Gus armor. One ifteen-inch shell from the
Monitor Manhattan, as is supposed, made
q deep indentation which must have cans-
ed her to stsgger, but bounded offrom her
ribs of steel The impactiOn OF the blow,
however, stove through her two feet Of
wooden backing, and produced inside all
! the evidences of the missiles having gone
through. The splinters few prOmiscuous-
z ly in ali directions in the neighborhoOd, in-
side. The ram is armed with two seven
and an eight inch rifed guns of the Brooks
pattern, fore and aft, and with four of the
same six inch guns in her broadsides'


The shooting away Of her smoke stack
has been by some given as the cause Of her
surrender Nothing can be more absurd.
The effect of the loss of this could do moth
ing more than to lessen her draft slightly,
! as it was only shot away a owe her upper
deck-on a level with which it stands, of
I course it could in nOmanner have anything
I to do with the causing Of the rams surren-
der. That fortunate event was Che imme-
/ diate result of the wOunding of her brave,
| though misguided commander, the terrible
hammering at her by our feet from every
side, the arrangement Of her ports and con-
seouent uselessness of three Of her guns,
and the severing of her rudder chains, rem
dering her to great extent unmanageate
Finally, the utter decentralization of her
crew at the sight Of their fallen Admiral
mortally wounded, as was supposed at the
time, caused them to run up the white flag
and surrender the boat to our feet.


The machinery of the Tennessee has
been greatly improved since first begun
and greater power put in than those first
assigned her She is, however, by nc
weans swift as it is, though capable Of ma
! king greater speed than first stated. 1t is
claimed that she can make seven knots an
hour which is without doubt above her
capacity. Her draught is about fourteen
feet, possibly fourteen feet, six inches. Hel
condition at present Is such that, in spite Of
all the cannonading she has received, in
spite of the rGmming she has undergone, in
spite of her lost smoke stack and her bro
ken rudder chains, she can be efectually
turned against Fort Morgan tomorrow
and with little repairing, which can be
giv,n her, as she lies, in a few days time
here, she can be turned towards Mobile
and made, if the new channel permits hel
to get there, most formidable antagonist
against those who built her.


Had this craft with her three wooden con
sorts, the Salma, the Gaines, and the Nor
gan, been content to have lain quietly un
der the guns of Fort Morgan until dark
and have then come out and attacked oul
feet with the impetuOsity which they dis
played as 1t was, they might without {
shadow of doubt, have succeeded in sink
ing or destroying halfof our ships and gun
boats, if not all, as the darkness would
have led to our fleets firing, and running
down on oar own boats, and committing
irreparable and fatal injury upon eacl
other. This matter is SO discussed in tht