Page:Decisive Battles Since Waterloo.djvu/248

214 named the Virginia, but as she has gone into history by her old appellation she will be called the Merrimac throughout this brief history of her performances.

On the midship section of the Merrimac her new designer placed a structure somewhat resembling the roof of a house. It was 175 feet long, and 7 feet clear in height, whilst its width was flush with the sides of the hull. This roof sloped at the sides and ends at an angle of 45 degrees; it was of pine and oak, 24 inches thick, and had a plating of iron on the outside 4 inches thick, in two layers of 2 inches each. The sides of the roof were straight, but the ends were rounded so as to give a wide sweep to the bow and stern guns. At the top there was a flat surface about 20 feet wide, covered with a grating, which admitted air and light to the interior of the enclosed space. The prow was fitted with a beak for ramming purposes; the engines were the engines of the old Merrimac; the smoke-stack or chimney rose in the centre of the armored space, and the pilot house was at the forward end and covered with 4 inches of iron at the same angle as the sides. The armament of the Merrimac consisted in all of ten guns. There were two 7-inch rifles for the bow and stern pivots, two 6-inch rifles, and six smooth-bore broadside guns. The ship drew 22 feet of water, and was very slow and unwieldy. The maximum of her speed under her new conditions did not exceed five knots an hour, and with her great length it took fully half an hour to turn her around. There were many delays in fitting her out, owing partly to the great demand for war material of all kinds, and partly in consequence of the inexperience of everybody concerned. It was not until the 7th of March that the Merrimac was cast loose from the dock and started down Elizabeth River on what was supposed by many spectators to be only a trial trip. She was commanded by Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, and her executive and