NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



511 



inches of the right edge of the target. Its effect 

 was to make an indentation and deflection, 

 which together were 1}$ inches deep in the 

 deepest place, and which ran out to the surface 

 or diminished to nothing in a distance of 13 

 inches measured on the line of flight without 

 cracking any of the plates. The second shot 

 passed to the right of the target, and the third 

 went over it. The fourth shot struck the tar- 

 get on its left side, 13 inches from the edge, and 

 11 inches above the water, with the same effect 

 as that of the first shot, except that the depres- 

 sion was If inches deep. The figure of this 

 indentation was similar to that of the first. 

 The recoil of the gun was 7i inches, and did 

 no injury to the carriage or buffers. 



This gun was loaded by steam-power, the 

 muzzle being depressed so as to bring the bore 

 parallel with a steam cylinder situated below a 

 platform made to represent the deck of the 

 battery. The platform was composed of white 

 pine planks, 2^ inches thick, resting on pine 

 beams 5 inches square and 2 feet apart from 

 centre to centre, and caulked and pitched in the 

 usual manner. The piston-rod of this steam 

 cylinder was the ramrod of the gun. Upon the 

 upper end of this ramrod was a swab, which 

 also answered the purpose of a rammer. The 

 cartridge and ball were attached to a sabot and 

 placed on a scoop, arranged so as to lift the 

 ball to its proper position between the rammer 

 and the muzzle of the gun, when steam being 

 admitted to the cylinder, the ball was forced 

 home. The gun was then elevated, sighted, 

 and fired. 



The deck above described was 3 feet below 

 the line of fire. Upon examination after the 

 firing, no injury or change could be perceived 

 in the deck or its caulkings. 



A Parrott rifled gun having a 6 T 4 ff -inch 

 bore, and weighing about 9,300 Ibs., was then 

 fired at the target with 10 Ibs. of powder and an 

 elongated shell weighing 100 Ibs. Several of 

 these shots were fired, and one struck the target 

 4 feet 6 inches from the water, and 6 inches 

 from the right side, making a depression one 

 inch deep and running out to the surface at a 

 distance of 8 inches without doing other injury 

 to the plates. This shot grazed the edge of the 

 batten, displacing the corner to the depth of 

 half an inch. The mounting of this gun was 

 such that temporary sights had to be used, 

 which accounts for the inaccuracy of its aim. 



The experiments of settling and raising a 

 vessel and of turning her on her centre were 

 tried with the iron steamboat Naugatuck. She 

 is 100 feet long by 20 feet beam and 7 feet depth 

 of hold, and is arranged with apartments at the 

 ends and on deck for receiving the water to 

 depress her. The water was pumped into the 

 compartments and on deck, depressing the ves- 

 sel 2 feet 10 inches, and submerging the deck 

 6 inches in 15 minutes. The water was then 

 pumped out in 8 minutes, restoring the vessel 

 to her original draft. The vessel was turned 

 end for end in 1 minutes, by reversing o'ne of 



her two screw propellers. These experiments 

 were repeated several times with substantially 

 the same results. 



On the llth further experiments were made 

 in the presence of General Scott, General An- 

 derson, Colonel Delafield, and other officers, 

 engineers, and citizens. The 10-inch gun, 

 mounted as before described, was loaded by 

 steam with 11 pounds of powder and a 124- 

 pound ball, and fired four times with the same 

 charge ; the entire time occupied by the four 

 shots being 139 consecutive seconds, and the 

 average time being 34} seconds. The quickest 

 time was 25 seconds. The average was increased 

 by the failure of a friction primer to go off. A 

 225-pound elongated shot was afterwards fired 

 with 4 pounds of powder, having been loaded 

 with the same rapidity as the 124-pound shots, 

 and the recoil being less. The raft on which 

 the target was secured, having been carried 

 away by the floating ice in the river, it could 

 not be replaced in time for this experiment. 



The energies of the navy were severely 

 tested during the year, in maintaining the 

 blockade of an immense line of sea coast. So 

 successful was this effort that the governments 

 of Europe acknowledged its efficiency, and re- 

 frained from any interference. The other oper- 

 ations may be briefly stated. On the 12th of 

 April, upon the receipt of orders from Secre- 

 tary TTelles conveyed by Lieutenant "Worden, 

 the commander of the fleet off Pensacola har- 

 bor, Captain Adams, prepared to reenforce Fort 

 Pickens, and the same night the troops under 

 Captain Vodges, and the marines under Lieu- 

 tenant Cash were landed. No opposition was 

 made, and no accident or disorder occurred. 

 The expedition was under the command of 

 Commander Charles H. Poor, assisted by 

 Lieutenants Smith, Lewis, Newman, and Belk- 

 nap. 



On the 31st of May, the gunboat Freeborn, 

 supported by the Anacosta and Resolute, made 

 a serious cannonade upon the Confederate bat- 

 teries at Aquia Creek. The firing continued 

 for two hours, and the three lower batteries 

 of the enemy were silenced. The action was 

 recommenced on the next day, a higher tier of 

 batteries being engaged, and continued for five 

 hours, from half-past eleven A. M. to half-past 

 four p. M. The gunboat Pawnee was engaged 

 on the second day. Some damage was done 

 to the vessels, but no one was killed. 



On the 5th of June, the steamer Harriet 

 Lane opened fire upon the Confederate battery 

 at Pig Point. This was for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the strength of the battery. 

 Thirty rounds of shot and shell were thrown 

 from the steamer, and about fifty from the bat- 

 tery. The vessel was somewhat injured, but 

 no lives were lost. (See PIG PorsT.) 



On the 3d of June the brig Perry captured 

 the privateer Savannah. (See PBIVATEKES.) 



On the 26th of June the Freeborn and Re- 

 liance, gunboats, made an attack on the Con- 

 federate batteries at Matthias Point, and were 



