136 Steam Ships, and Steam Navigation. 



this moment, more steam vessels navigating the waters of the 

 Mississippi river, than all the steam vessels of Great Britain and 

 her colonies combined, and more than three times the number of 

 all owned upon the whole continent of Europe, is an irresistible 

 evidence of the truth of these remarks. 



It is a question of the greatest magnitude, but one which can- 

 not at present be answered practically, how many sailing ships of 

 war in naval combat would be equal to one steam ship of equal 

 force ? We may suppose one seventy-four gun steam ship, placed 

 to the windward of four seventy-four gun sailing ships. It is 

 quite obvious, that the sailing ships cannot approach the steamer 

 in a direct line. If they attempt to tack in different directions to 

 gain an advantage in position, the very act of separation would 

 be instant destruction. If they form in line, perhaps the only 

 chance of security, the steamer may bear down upon a flank 

 ship, and what is to prevent her destruction ? Fifteen minutes 

 would complete the work, and I fearlessly ask any nautical gen- 

 tlemen, who has the slightest acquaintance with steam ships, 

 what power a sailing ship has to defend herself, and what can 

 prevent the steamer from annihilating the four ? 



If this supposition carries any truth with it, these thirty steam 

 ships of the line are equivalent in battle to one hundred and 

 twenty sailing ships of the line, which I suppose would be suffi- 

 cient to show, that the latter in any naval engagement would be 

 utterly useless. 



No doubt an actual engagement of two hostile steam fleets, 

 which, like armies of soldiers, can move in any direction, and at 

 any time must be terrific, and the destruction awful. But when 

 we recollect, that the violence of a storm, indicates its brevity, 

 we may gather^'some consolation from the hope, that the calam- 

 ities of war which have too often extended over many years, may 

 by a new system of naval warfare, be compressed within the 

 hmits of a few months. 



