Confederate States of America,
Navy Department,
Richmond, May 6th, 1863.
Sir,—
Herewith you will receive copy of a Secret Act of Congress
appropriating £2,000,000 for the construction of ironclad ships-of-war in
Southern Europe, which Act was induced by the belief that we can have such
vessels constructed and equipped in France and delivered to us upon the high
seas or elsewhere. The President has selected you as the agent of the
Government to accomplish the important object thus provided for by Congress. In
view of the great improvements which theory and experiment have produced in the
construction and equipment of armoured ships in France and England, as well as
of your thorough knowledge of the subject and your means of observation, it is
deemed expedient to leave to your judgment, untrammelled by instructions, the
size and details of the vessels, subject to the consideration that in draft of
water, speed and power, they must be able to enter and navigate the Mississippi
river; that their first trial must be a long ocean voyage; that their
antagonists carry 11-inch and 15-inch guns; and that they must be completed and
delivered at the earliest day practicable. . . . You will regard the £2,000,000 as the
only fund for building, equipping, manning, providing, and furnishing the
vessels for one year's service. Your immediate attention to this subject is
important, and every effort must be made to have the ships completed at the
earliest day practicable. To this end I suggest to you a conference with Mr.
Slidell.
I am, etc.,
(Signed)
S. R. Mallory.
SOURCE: James D. Bulloch, The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe, Volume 2,
p. 30-1
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