510 



NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



capable of throwing round shot of 425 Ibs. 

 weight, and 2 ten-inch rifled guns. They are 

 to rest on wrought-iron shot-proof carriages, 

 each of the 15-inch guns, with its carriage, 

 weighing 60,000 Ibs., and each of the 10-inch 

 guns, with its carriage, 40,000 Ibs. The weight 

 of broadside thrown by these guns is 2,200 Ibs., 

 far exceeding that of any other war vessel in 

 the world. The weight of broadside of all the 

 guns of the Warrior is 1,564 Ibs, and of the 

 Minnesota, unprotected by armor, is 1,122 Ibs. 

 The original plan was to depend upon the im- 

 mense weight and strength of these guns for 

 their protection against the shot of the enemy, 

 and it was supposed that they might them- 

 selves be sufficient defence to the single man re- 

 quired upon deck to each one for sighting it ; 

 but a covering of wrought iron is also devised 

 for their further security in their exposed situ- 

 ation en larlette. The whole arrangement for 

 loading and training them is of an exceedingly 

 novel character, designed to be conducted en- 

 tirely by men below the deck, and with steam 

 machinery, under the direction of the gunner 

 in charge of each gun. The loading is perform- 

 ed by depressing the muzzle into an opening in 

 the deck at an angle of about 20. The bore is 

 thus brought in line with the steam cylinder, 

 below which it has, upon the outer and upper 

 extremity of its piston-rod, a compound sponge 

 and rammer. On admitting steam to one side 

 and the other of this piston, the gun is sponged 

 out, and the ammunition being placed in a posi- 

 tion near the muzzle, is rammed home by the 

 steam rammer, after which the piece is elevat- 

 ed, trained upon the enemy, and fired. The 

 recoil is received by springs of india rubber 

 disks, making a pile on each side 40 inches long, 

 which throw the piece forward into position 

 again, similar springs in front checking the re- 

 turn movement in that direction. 



The total expenditure upon the vessel has 

 been $728,435.87, of which the Government 

 has paid $500,000 and Mr. Edwin A. Stevens 

 the remainder. The amount required to com- 

 plete the vessel is estimated at $554,858.13, 

 making the total cost $1,283,294. The follow- 

 ing were the principal objections found by the 

 board in the construction and equipment of the 

 ship : her great length compared with the trans- 

 verse strength rendering her unsafe in a heavy 

 sea, while for harbor service alone, she would 

 be inconvenient on account of her length and 

 draught of water ; the exposure of the quarters 

 of the men and officers to be flooded by shot- 

 holes in the unprotected sides near the water- 

 line when the ship is submerged below the 21- 

 feet deck ; a want of sufficient strength above the 

 14-feet line for the support of the heavy armor ; 

 the inefficiency of the side armor forward and 

 abaft the central protected part ; the danger to 

 the light deck when the heavy guns are fired 

 nearly on a line with the keel. This last ob- 

 jection, however, was withdrawn after the board 

 had witnessed some experiments made by Mr. 

 Stevens in firing a 10-inch gun over a deck 



temporarily arranged on the same plan. The 

 others also have been ably answered by Mr. 

 Stevens in a memorial he addressed to the Sen- 

 ate and House of Representatives in February, 

 1862, in which he fully explained the peculiari- 

 ties in the construction of the vessel, presented 

 the opinions of experts thoroughly acquainted 

 with the construction of iron steamships, who 

 reported unanimously their opinions in favor 

 of the great strength and safety of the vessel, 

 and her great capacity of speed, &c., which is 

 estimated at not less than 17 nautical or 20 

 statute miles an hour. 



This memorial, which forms a large printed 

 pamphlet, contains much valuable information 

 respecting iron-clad ships, the history of their 

 earliest designs, and offers an interesting expla- 

 nation of the fact of the French preceding all 

 other European governments in adopting this 

 class of war vessels, their first idea on the sub- 

 ject being derived from an eminent person, who, 

 when an exile, became aware of some of the 

 author's experiments. On the 31st of Decem- 

 ber Mr. Stevens having made preparations for 

 a series of experiments at Hoboken, upon a 

 large scale, invited the board appointed to 

 examine the battery, together with a large 

 number of gentlemen, officials and others, to 

 witness their results. On the day appointed, 

 Jan. 4, a large company assembled at Hoboken, 

 where they were shown the battery in its in- 

 complete state, and the models and plans ac- 

 cording to which it was to be finished. After 

 this the following experiments were made : a 

 10-inch gun, procured from the Navy Depart- 

 ment, weighing 9,883 pounds, was mounted 

 with India rubber buffers behind the trunnions. 

 This gun was loaded with a full service charge, 

 11 pounds of powder, and a solid spherical ball 

 weighing 124 pounds, and was fired at a target 

 exactly representing a section of the armor of 

 the battery, and anchored in the river, 220 

 yards from the gun. The target was composed 

 of layers of plate iron from five-eighths to two 

 inches thick, making 6J inches in all. It was 

 4 feet broad, 8 feet long, and set at an angle of 

 27 degrees with the horizon. 



The iron was backed with two layers of 

 locust timbers seven inches thick each. In the 

 lower layer were imbedded wronght-iron beams 

 six inches high, four feet long, and two feet 

 apart, weighing forty-six pounds to the yard. 



Beneath the wood was a half-inch iron plate, 

 making the entire thickness twenty-one and 

 one-fourth inches. The upper and lower plates 

 were fastened to the wood by wood screws 

 fifteen inches apart, and the side edges of 

 the upper plates were battened by iron, one 

 inch thick and three inches wide, and riveted 

 together. 



This target rested on a raft, so as to have no 

 support except at the edges, the lower part of 

 it was 18 inches under water. 



After a few experimental shots, the gun was 

 pointed at the target, and the first shot struck 

 it 21 inches above the water, and within nine 



