CHAPTER XIV.

THE MERRIMAC AND THE MONITOR.

BUILDING OF THE GALENA.-ORIGIN OF THE MONITOR.-DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME.-FEARS OF ITS FRIENDS.-ITS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH.-FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE MONITOR.-THE MERRIMAC AND HER FIRST AGGRESSION.-HEROISM OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN UPON THE CUMBERLAND.-DESTRUCTION OF THE CONGRESS.-WITHDRAWAL OF THE MERRIMAC.-TERROR AT FORTRESS MONROE.-ARRIVAL OF THE MONITOR.-TERRIBLE DUEL.-SINKING CONDITION OF THE MERRIMAC.-APPEARANCE OF THE MONITOR AFTER THE FIGHT.-SPEECH OF MR. BENTINCK.

As soon as the rebellion assumed such magnitude, that a serious na-▾ tional war was threatened, C. S. Bushnell, Esq., a capitalist of New Haven, Conn., turned his attention to the navy. Some early experience in nautical life particularly invited his thoughts to that branch of our national He conceived the opinion, that in iron-clad vessels there lay an undeveloped problem, which it was the mission of America to solve. He therefore caused to be drawn, by several eminent engineers, various plans' of such iron-mailed craft, one only of which met with his approval. This plan was subsequently developed into the gun-boat "Galena."

arm.

Many eminent mechanics insisted that the proposed weight of iron on the Galena, was such as to submerge her so deep, that, with her heavy armament, she would inevitably sink. In order to satisfy himself fully upon this point, and make assurance doubly sure, Mr. Bushnell concluded to submit his plans to Capt. John Ericsson, whom he regarded as one of the ablest engineers in America, that he might obtain his opinion as to her buoyancy. Capt. Ericsson pronounced the calculations correct, and stated that he believed she would prove a very serviceable vessel, though not perfectly shot-proof. He then asked Mr. Bushnell if he wished to undertake an absolutely invulnerable battery, and receiving an affirmative answer, Capt. Ericsson took from a shelf a box, about 18 inches by 14, which he said contained the result of the labors of twenty years of his life.*

* John Ericsson was born in Sweden, in 1803. His father was proprietor of an iron mine, and thus his son had an early opportunity to cultivate his taste in mechanics. The genius he indicated interested Count Platen, a friend of King Bernadotte, and he secured for young Ericsson, in 1814, a cadetship in the corps of engineers. After six months' study, when but twelve years of age, he was placed in command of six hundred men on the great ship canal. At seventeen, he entered the army as ensign, and was soon promoted to a lieutenancy, and was sent to survey the northern part of Sweden. While busy with this survey, he invented a machine for engraving. In 1826, Ericsson went to London, where he invented a locomotive engine, which would run fifty miles an hour. In 1833, he constructed a vessel with screw propellers, instead of paddle-wheels. England did not give Ericsson a very warm reception, and, in 1839, at the solicitation of Com. Stockton, he came to New York. Our Government employed him to introduce his propeller into the Princeton. Two

He explained the plan to Mr. Bushnell, who soon appreciated its value, and tried to induce Capt. Ericsson to proceed with him to Washington, offering to assist in piloting the invention through the mazes of governmental boards and bureaus. This the inventor declined doing, stating that he had already been sufficiently badgered and insulted by officials in Washington, and that he should go there no more.

Capt. Ericsson was the first to apply the screw propeller to a war steamer, and nearly fifteen years before had thus equipped the Princeton. But he had been so annoyed by ignorant and supercilious government agents, and had found it so impossible to obtain the remuneration promised him, unless he would bribe some one to engineer his claims through committees and boards, that he had left Washington in disgust, resolved that its dust should never cleave to his feet again.

Capt. Ericsson stated that he had exhibited his plans to scarcely any one, save that, in 1854, he sent duplicates to the Emperor Louis Napoleon. He offered to allow Mr. Bushnell to take the plans, and do what he pleased with them. A bargain for the equitable distribution of labor and proceeds was soon agreed upon, and the same night, Mr. Bushnell was on his way to Washington, keeping a close eye upon the small box by his side, which possessed a value which even he then could faintly have imagined.

On arriving in Washington, Mr. Bushnell met two acquaintances, Messrs. John A. Griswold and John F. Winslow, both capitalists of Troy, N. Y., to whom he unfolded his plans, and at length they concluded to .' unite their money, influence and energy, with him, in pushing the matter through the governmental boards. They first called upon President Lincoln, and explained the plans to him. With the keen sagacity for which the President is noted, he glanced his eye over the papers, and listened to the explanations, and remarked that they struck him very favorably, although he did not pretend to have much knowledge of such matters. He, however, accompanied the gentlemen to the Naval Board, and expressed his interest in the plan.

But now came the tug of war. The gentlemen explained the diagrams with all minuteness, showing their superiority to every thing of the kind yet invented; but the Board were incredulous. Some were disposed to listen to the proposals, while others did not disguise the profound contempt with which they regarded the whole affair. One distinguished gentleman, who happened to be present, remarked,

"It resembles nothing in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You can take it home and worship it, without violating any commandment."

Not discouraged at their ill success, they thought, if they could get Mr.

years were devoted to this work. In 1842, he received from the New York Mechanics' Institute a gold medal, for the best steam fire-engine; and, in 1851, was rewarded with prizes at the great Industrial Exhibition, for a salt-water condenser to supply fresh water to steamers. His other inventions, including the caloric engine, are too numerous to mention. His last and greatest work is the Monitor. Capt. Ericsson is of large and symmetrical form, with a countenance indicative of genius. His manners, though courteous, are slightly brusque, and all who meet with him are impressed with the conviction that he is an extraordinary man.

Ericsson before the Committee, with the enthusiasm which he, as inventor, could throw into his explanations, and with his greater familiarity with the details, something might be accomplished. The night train found Mr. Bushnell a passenger to New York.

But the trouble arose how to induce Capt. Ericsson to consent to visit Washington. He had almost taken a vow that he would not again ask any thing from Government. Mr. Bushnell, however, was so sanguine that the merits of the invention could not fail to secure the approval of intelligent men, if they could but be induced to examine the plans, that he assured Capt. Ericsson he would guarantee the offer to build would be accepted; that the Board merely desired further explanations, which only he was able to give, and therefore he must go before them, and explain his diagrams, for no one else could properly do it. Another night ride brought Mr. Bushnell and his reluctant friend to Washington. They went immediately to the Naval Board, which was then in session, and negotiations were again opened. This interview was successful, and all were convinced that possibly there was some merit in the invention. The Board immediately sent to Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, that they were ready to report favorably, if Capt. Ericsson would guarantee the good qualities and invulnerability that he claimed for his battery. This was agreed to, and Messrs. Bushnell & Co. were ordered to proceed at once to its construction, and the contract would be forwarded in a few days. The next train saw them en route for New York, and the following day active business was commenced at the Continental Works, under the direction of Thos. F. Rowland & Co.

In a few days the contract came on, and so stringent were its terms, compelling the contractors to take all risks, to guarantee every thing, and withholding payment until actual service should prove the battery capable of accomplishing all that was promised, that some of the gentlemen were alarmed, and felt a little disinclined to embark in an enterprise, which, under such conditions, might involve them in ruin. To their credit, however, all remained, and now share the rewards of wealth and honor, which the triumphant success of the battery has secured. Capt. Ericsson, with his own hands, prepared all the working plans, the labor of which can be imagined, when it is remembered that there are between thirty and forty patentable inventions applied on the battery. Work was pressed with the. greatest vigor, night and day.

In one hundred and one days from the signing of the contract, the "Monitor" was launched. Very many doubted her success. Some eminent engineers predicted that she could not carry the weight of iron which was placed upon her, and that, in sliding from the ways, in launching, she would make one grand plunge and disappear forever. So general was this opinion, that but few would venture to be launched in her, and even the builders, though satisfied that their calculations were correct, were so influenced by popular prejudice, that they provided a steam-tug to rescue the passengers, if she went down.

Gloriously this first impregnable battery glided into the river, beneath the banner she was to uphold so nobly, and whose strength she was so

greatly to augment. A graceful dip but baptized its bow beneath the wave, dedicating it to liberty. It rose steady and firm, fulfilling, in its buoyancy, Capt. Ericsson's predictions almost to a hair's breadth. There she sat, new born and unknown, but destined to be the "Monitor" of nations, the wonder of the age, the humiliation of all existing navies, whose wooden walls she could laugh to scorn. There she sat, an invention that will descend side by side with the steamboat, whose daughter she is, and the telegraph her kinsman. This fabric, which had been scorned and jeered at, as a monstrosity, while being built, became the saviour of our navy, possibly of our nation. Those whose genius conceived her, and whose energy constructed her, are entitled to deathless gratitude. The Monitor" has placed America, as a naval power, at least, on a par with any nation upon this globe.

The Monitor is so novel in structure, that a minute description will be necessary, to convey an accurate idea of her character. She has two hulls. The lower one is of iron, five-eighths of an inch thick. It is flat-bottomed, six feet six inches in depth. It is sharp at both ends, the cut-water retreating at an angle of about thirty degrees. The sides, instead of having the ordinary bulge, incline at an angle of about fifty-one degrees. This hull is one hundred and twenty-four feet long, and thirty-four feet broad at the top.

Resting on this is the upper hull, flat-bottomed, and both longer and wider than the lower hull, so that it projects over in every direction, like the guards of a steamboat. It is one hundred and seventy-four feet long, forty-one feet four inches wide, and five feet deep. These sides constitute the armor of the vessel. In the first place is an inner guard of iron, half an inch thick. To this is fastened a wall of white oak, placed endways, and thirty inches thick. To this is bolted six plates of iron, each one inch thick, thus making a solid wall of thirty-six and a half inches of wood and iron.

This hull is fastened upon the lower hull, so that the latter is entirely submerged, and the upper one sinks down three feet into the water. Thus, but two feet of hull are exposed to a shot. The under hull is so guarded by the projecting upper hull, that a ball, to strike it, would have to pass through twenty-five feet of water. The upper hull is also pointed at both ends, and will serve the purpose of a ram. The deck comes flush with the top of the hull, and is made bomb-proof. No railing or bulwark rises above the deck. The projecting ends serve as a protection to the propeller, rudder and anchor, which can not be struck. Neither the anchor or chain is ever exposed. The anchor is peculiar, being very short, but heavy. It is hoisted into a place fitted for it, outside of the lower hull, but within the impenetrable shield of the upper one.

On the deck are but two structures rising above the surface, the pilothouse and turret. The pilot-house is forward, made of plates of iron, the whole about ten inches in thickness, and shot-proof. Small slits and holes are cut through, to enable the pilot to see his course. The turret, which is apparently the main feature of the battery, 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 together, one over another. Within this is a lining of one-inch iron, acting as a damper, to deaden the effects of a concussion, when struck by a ball. Thus there is a shield of nine inches of iron. The turret rests on a bed-plate, or ring, of composition, which is 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 bulk-head. The top is made shot-proof by huge iron beams, and perforated to allow of ventilation. It has two circu lar port-holes, both on one side of the turret, three feet above the deck, and just large enough for the muzzle of the gun to be run out.

The turret is made to revolve, being turned by a special engine. 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, and can be regulated to stop within half a degree of a given point. When the guns are drawn in to load, the port-hole is stopped by a huge iron pendulum, which falls to its place, and makes that part as secure as any, and can be quickly hoisted to one side. The armament consists of two eleven-inch Dahlgren guns. Various improvements in the gun-carriage enable the gunner to secure almost perfect aim.

The engine is not of great power, as the vessel was designed as a battery, and not for swift sailing. It being almost entirely under water, the ventilation is secured by blowers, drawing the air in forward, and discharging it aft. A separate engine moves the blowers, and fans the fires. There is no chimney, so the draft must be entirely artificial. The smoke passes out of gratings in the deck. Many suppose the Monitor to be merely an iron-clad vessel, with a turret; but there are, in fact, between thirty and forty patentable inventions upon her, and the turret is by no means the most important one. Very properly, what these inventions are, is not proclaimed to the public.

It may be of interest to know, that for her construction, Capt. Ericsson, himself, prepared nearly three thousand plans, large and small. Her cost was but $175,000.

From the commencement of the rebellion, the rebels, conscious of their weakness as a maritime power, devoted much attention to the structure of iron-clad rams and batteries. Upon the burning and evacuation of the Norfolk Navy Yard, the steam frigate Merrimac was scuttled and sunk, by order of Commodore Macaulay. This was one of the most magnificent ships in the American navy, being rated as a forty-gun frigate, of 4,000 tons burden. She was built in Charlestown, Mass., in 1856, and was considered one of the finest specimens of naval architecture then afloat. She was 281 feet long, 52 feet, broad, and drew 23 feet of water. Her engines were of 800 horse power, driving a two-bladed propeller, fourteen feet in diameter, and so adjusted as to be raised from the water when the vessel was driven by wind alone. Her armament consisted of twenty-four nineinch shell guns, fourteen eight-inch, and two 100-pound pivot guns.

This magnificent structure was raised by the rebels and cut down, leaving only the hull, which was exceedingly massive and solid. Over this they constructed a sloping shield of railroad iron, firmly plated to