Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 12.djvu/117



N this brief narrative it has been possible to give only a general idea of the services of the Confederate navy. We have seen that when the North made war upon the Confederate States, the latter had actually no navy. Had the same inequality existed on land, the war could not have lasted a week! But incredible as it may appear, the South in the four years' war constructed a fleet of iron-clads equal to any in the world at that time. This fleet comprised:

1. The Merrimac, of 10 guns two 7 -inch Brooke rifles, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, six 9-inch Dahlgren smooth-bores.

2. The Louisiana, of 16 guns Brooke rifles of 7 and 6.4 inch caliber, and 8 and 9-inch Dahlgren smooth-bores.

3. The Manassas, a turtle-back ram one 68-pounder, smooth-bore.

4. The Arkansas, of 10 guns two 8-inch columbiads, four 6.4-inch rifles, two 9-inch Dahlgrens, and two 32-pounders, smooth-bore.

5. The Palmetto State, of 4 guns one 8o-pounder rifle, one 6o-pounder, and two 8-inch shell guns.

6. The Chicora, of 4 guns two 32-pounders, rifled, and two 9-inch shell guns.

7. The Richmond, of 4 guns one 7-inch Brooke rifle, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, and one lo-inch smooth-bore.

8. The Virginia, of 4 guns one 7-inch Brooke rifle, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, and one lo-inch smooth-bore.

9. The Fredericksburg, of 4 guns two 6. 4-inch rifles, one 11-inch smooth-bore, and one 8-inch smooth-bore.

10. The Albemarle, of 2 guns two 7-inch Brooke rifles.

11. The Atlanta, of 4 guns two 7-inch and two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles.