. . . was published while the Ericsson steamer Monitor was being
constructed, and is a full and accurate description of the engine of war that
defeated the rebel iron-clad vessels, that made such havoc with our old wooden
ships off Fortress Monroe:
A New Engine of War --
Description of the Ericsson Battery -- Its Peculiarities and Uses
There is now building at the Continental Iron Works, Green
Point, a formidable iron battery, which will probably prove a novel and
efficacious implement of war. Congress
at its last session made an appropriation of one million five hundred thousand
dollars, for building iron-clad vessels, and Captain Ericsson submitted to the
commissioners who were appointed to examine the proposals, a plan for an
impregnable iron battery, which should be novel, yet simple in its construction. His plans were approved, and the contract for
building the battery was awarded to S. S. Bushnell & Co. By the terms of the contract it is to be
finished and equipped for active service in one hundred days from the 5th of
October. It is not to be accepted if, on
being subjected to the enemy’s guns at the shortest range, it fails to fulfill
the pledges made in regard to it. So
confident are the inventor and contractors of its success, that one of these
gentlemen remarked that he should be perfectly ready to enter into a contract
to take any city that can be approached by water.
THE HULL.
Avoiding as far as possible technical terms and phrases, let
us examine the vessel and gather as clear an idea as possible of its
structure. The hull is sharp at both
ends, and instead of the gradual curve of a cut water the bow projects, and
coming to a point at an angle of eighty degrees, the sides instead of the
ordinary bulge, incline at an angle of about fifty one degrees to the vertical
line. This hull is flat-bottomed, six
feet six inches in depth, and built quite light, of three-eighth inch iron. It is one hundred and twenty-four feet long
and thirty four feet wide at the top.
Resting on this is another, or upper hull, also flat
bottomed with perpendicular sides and pointed ends. It is forty one feet and four inches wide, so
that it juts over the lower hull on each side three feet and seven inches. It is one hundred and seventy-four feet long,
thus extending twenty-five feet beyond the hull at each end. The sides are five feet high, and when in
fighting order the lower hull will be entirely immersed, and the upper one sunk
three feet six inches, thus leaving but eighteen inches both fore and aft above
the water, the battery drawing teen feet of water.
The sides of this upper hull are composed of an inner guard
of iron; outside of this is a strongly fastened wall of white oak thirty inches
thick, and covered with an iron armor six inches in thickness. The bottom of this vessel is joined to the
hull, so that the interior is open to the bottom, as in a sloop. The deck comes flush with the top of the
upper hull, and is bomb proof. First is
a frame of oak beams, ten inches square and twenty six inches apart covered
with eight inch plank and protected with two layers of iron, each an inch
thick. – There will be no railing or bulwark of any kind above the deck.
The ends of the upper vessel projecting over the hull, fore
and aft, serve as a protection to the propeller, rudder and anchor. The propeller is of course at the stern; and
the equipoise rudder behind that, and they are so protected by the upper vessel
that they cannot be struck by a ball.
The anchor is in front, and is short but very heavy. It is hoisted by a chain running into the
hold, up into a place fitted for it, outside of the lower hull, but within the
impregnable walls of the upper hull.
The inclination of the lower hull is such that a ball to
strike it in any part must pass through at least twenty five feet of water, and
then strike at an inclined iron surface, at an angle of about ten degrees. It is, therefore, absolutely protected yet so
light as to give great buoyancy. A ball
striking the eighteen inches of exposed upper hull, to do material damage, must
pass through six inches of iron, thirty inches of white oak, and then about
half an inch more of iron. It is
exceedingly doubtful whether southern ingenuity has invented a gun that will
accomplish it.
The Hull being finished, we will go on board. Only three things are exposed above
deck. In the center is the turret or
citadel, the wheel house and possibly a box around the smoke escape.
THE WHEEL HOUSE.
The battery will be steered from the front, and the wheel
house will stand before the turret. It will
be of iron, very strong, though during action, it is not intended that is
should be exposed. It can be lowered
into the hold like a bale of dry goods on one of the Broadway sidewalk
falls. When lowered, the top, which is
bomb-proof, is level with, and forms part of the deck. The joints are water-tight. The house will be pierced for sharp shooters.
THE CHIMNEY.
The draft for the furnaces is a forced one, and in action no
chimney will be used, as the smoke will pass through the bomb-proof gratings in
the deck as the deck will be continually washed by the sea, the accumulation of
cinders, &c, will be of no consequence.
Probably a small guard will surround the gratings, to prevent heavy seas
breaking over them, and a contrivance is made to prevent what water may dash
over from going into the furnaces.
THE TURRET.
The whole vessel thus described is but a bed to support the
castile. The turret, is the important
feature of the structure, is a round cylinder twenty feet in interior diameter
and nine feet high. It is built entirely
of iron plates, one inch in thickness, eight of them securely bolted on, one
over the other with the joints over lapping each other. Within this there is a lining of iron one
inch thick, thus giving nine inches of solid iron. It rests on a bed plate, or rather ring made
of composition, which is securely fastened to the deck. To help support the weight, which is about a
hundred tons, a vertical shaft ten inches in diameter is attached and fastened
to the bulkhead. – The top is covered with forged iron beams and perforated
iron, shell proof. The top is perforated
to allow the smoke from the guns, and even more, the concussion of air to pass
off. The concussion from a gun fired in
a small close room would kill the inmates as quickly as though the ball had
struck them. In small casemates men
cannot work for more than a couple of hours at a time, the concussion of the
air causing sometimes bleeding at the nose and ears. Frequently the men have to be rubbed down as
carefully as a race horse after its victory.
The top has also some small sliding hatchways composed of two inch plate
iron, to serve as entrance ways.
The turret has two circular port holes, three feet above the
deck and just large enough for the mouth of the gun to be run out.
THE ARMAMENT.
The Battery will carry two very heavy rifled guns. The carriages of wrought iron, will run back
on iron slides, are made to fit very accurately. The whole turret, by an arrangement worked by
a special engine, is made to revolve. The
operator within, by a rod connected with the engine, is enabled to turn it at
pleasure. It can be made to revolve at
the rate of sixty revolutions a minute – a speed which would be uncomfortable
to endure. It is so accurately made that
it can be regulated with within half a degree.
THE WORKING.
In action the guns will be loaded and run out while the port
holes are away from the enemy. When
ready the turret will be turned as nearly accurate as possible. By nicely adjusted wheels, a very precise aim
is quickly obtained the gun fired, and instantly the turret is turned to bring
the gun out of danger. The gun is then
drawn in and loaded as before. While one
gun is being aimed and discharged, the other is loading so that almost a
continuous discharge is taking place.
THE MACHINERY.
There will be two engines, one for the propeller, with
40-inch cylinders and 22-inch stroke.
The battery is not built for speed. – It is a battery, not an iron-cased
ship. The ventilation is obtained by
blowers worked by another smaller engine, which also works the blowers for the
boilers and turns the turret. They are
built very compactly; yet of great power.
THE UTILITY.
The battery, so far as can now be judged, seems to have no
vulnerable part, save the port holes which are exposed only for about half a
minute in firing. Its sharp and massive
iron prow will enable it to sink any ordinary vessel with perfect ease. In case it is boarded no harm is done. The only entrance is at the top of the
turret, which cannot be easily be scaled and even then but one man at a time
can descend. There are no places in the
deck where an entrance can be forced, so the boarding party may stay until the
sea washes them off, or the sharp shooters assist in their departure. – The mechanics
who have it in charge are all very sanguine of its success.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 15, 1862, p. 3
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