NAVY, UNITED STATES. 



520 



stock*, inti-ml.-dto carry 122 guns, and 4 heavy 

 monitor*, which, when completed, will l>o 

 lormiilaMo vessels, capable of bearing armor 

 .ill resist the heaviest enemy's shot. They 

 ilso be arranged to carry 20-inch guns, 

 throwing a weight of shot which few ships 

 could resist. There are in commission 8 moni- 

 tor or turret vessels, mounting eight Ifi-inch 

 triiiH, and 19 laid up in ordinary, that could bo 

 made serviceable. There are 20 light-draught 

 monitors, which are worthless as flghting-ves- 

 .iud 12 paddle-wheel steamers, dnly 2 of 

 which are fit to go into action. Of 22 old 

 H:ii ling- vessels of various classes, nsed as re- 

 ceiving-ships, store-ships, etc., 11 are service- 

 able as store and practice ships, but are not 

 suitable for other purposes. There are 85 tug 

 ;iii'l store vessels in moderately good repair, 

 though not suited for offensive purposes, and 

 6 condemned vessels, including the New Or- 

 leans, 74, which is on the stocks at Sackett's 

 Harbor. "Together we have," says Admiral 

 Porter, in his report to the Secretary of the 

 Navy, " a sum-total of 181 naval vessels, of 

 which number only 49 are at present available 

 as ships-of-war. 



" Many of the vessels on the register should 

 be entered as 'hulks,' for at present they tend 

 to deceive our own people with regard to the 

 strength of onr navy, while foreign powers are 

 well aware of the value of every vessel in our 

 service, as they have for years employed intel- 

 ligent officers in this country to keep them 

 informed in all particulars relating to our ships 

 in commission or under construction." 



The marine corps consists of about 2,500 

 officers and privates, under the command of a 

 brigadier-general. The number of seamen in 

 the navy is limited by act of Congress to 8,500, 

 which renders many of the vessels deficient in 

 seamen, and causes the exercises in seamanship 

 to be incomplete. The naval pension roll on 

 the 1st of November, 1870, was as follows: 



1.868 invalids, annnallv receiving $123,014 SO 



1,642 widows and children, annually receiving. 266,03200 



3,010 persons. Total $339,046 60 



The whole actual expenditure chargeable to 

 the naval appropriations for the year ending 

 December 1, 1870, was $18,985,165.11, a de- 

 crease of $1,096,119.89, from the previous 

 year. The appropriations for the current fis- 

 cal year ending June 80, 1870, are $19,994,- 

 687.17. The expenditure for the five months 

 from the commencement of the fiscal year to 

 December 1, 1870, is within the proportion of 

 the appropriations applicable to that period, 

 and shows a decrease of $2,488,585.80 from the 

 expenditure of the corresponding five months 

 of the previous year. The estimates for the 

 general expenses of the service for the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1872, amount to $21,638,- 

 417.77. 



Upon the death of Admiral Fnrragnt, whose 



exploits at New Orleans, in the Mississippi, 



and at Mobile, won him undying renown, 



Vice-Admiral David D. Porter succeeded to 



VOL. x. 34 A 



the position of admiral, and Rear-Admiral 

 Rowan, who had received the thanks of Con- 

 gress for gallant services to the country, was 

 appointed vice-admiral. 



\\ hile all foreign navies, since the introduc- 

 tion of steam-power into vessels-of-war, have 

 adhered to the system of full sail-power in 

 their ships, using steam only as necessity re- 

 quired, the United States have gone on, year 

 after year, discarding sails and increasing the 

 steam-power of their vessels. This course has 

 greatly increased the expenses of the vessels- 

 of-war, BO that it has been estimated that, 

 during the late war, the expenditure for coal 

 alone was at least $18,000,000, not to mention 

 the additional expense for engineers, firemen, 

 and coal-heavers, and the wear and tear of en- 



S'mes, which last item is beyond computation, 

 esides the increase of expense, the disuse of 

 sails has proved detrimental to seamanship. 

 Since 1869 measures have beentaken to reme- 

 dy these defects, and 26 ships besides those 

 already existing have been equipped witli lull 

 sail-power. At present there are no other 

 than full-rigged- ships in active service, with 

 the exception of four or five iron-clads and a 

 few side-wheel steamers used as dispatch- 

 boats and surveying-vessels. A system of ex- 

 ercises has been devised and put in operation, 

 which lias improved the discipline of the ser- 

 vice and created a spirit of emulation, which 

 has been very beneficial. In reference to these 

 topics, Admiral Porter, in his report to the 

 Secretary of the Navy, says : 



From personal observation I can assure you that 

 there is now great economy in the sailing of our ves- 

 sels-of-war compared with what there was before the 

 ships were fitted with full sail-power. Comparatively 

 little coal is now consumed, the engines and boilers 

 are not worn out from constant use, the hulls of the 

 shins are not heated and the wood thereby destroyed^ 

 ana there is a reduction of four-fifths in the expenses 

 of the engine-room and coal-bunkers. 



In addition to the measures already taken to restore 

 the former standard of seamanship in the navy, I 

 would strongly recommend the formation of a rar- 

 tice squadron, to be employed on our coast, which will 

 serve the twofold purpose of a school for officers and 

 men, and, at the same time, afford assistance to our 

 mercantile marine during the inclement season. \Vc 

 have now eight sailing-snips that will suit admirably 

 for this purpose, viz., The frigate-built Sabine, Sa- 

 vannah, Macedonian, Constellation, and Constitution, 

 and the sloops-of-war Dale, Portsmouth, and Sara- 

 toga. All these, with the exception of the Constitu- 

 tion, are nearly ready for service, and she can bo 

 prepared with very little expense. She is now at 

 the Naval Academy, but is no longer needed as a 

 school-ship, the midshipmen having been accommo- 

 dated in barracks on shore. The place of the sailing- 

 vessels heretofore used as practice-ships for the mid- 

 shipmen can be supplied by the Tennessee, which 

 vessel is well adapted for a school-ship, having a 

 fair combination of sail and steatn. 



The fitting up of the Mare Island Navy- Yard 

 in'Sim Francisco harbor, so that it shall be ca- 

 pable of fitting out and repairing all the vessels 

 on the Pacific and Asiatic stations, is strongly 

 recommended; this would save the expense 

 and risk of a voyage around Cape Horn, or the 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



