Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/391

 IRON-CLAD SHIPS 37T against Tunis in 1535, had one vessel plated with lead in his fleet, furnished by the knights of St. John of Jerusalem ; and at the battle of Lepanto (1571) many of the Genoese ships were strengthened by blindages or bulwarks composed of heavy beams, old sails, cordage, &c. In 1782 the chevalier d' Arcon, on the suggestion of M. de Verdun, at the unsuccess- ful siege of Gibraltar, constructed and used 10 floating batteries having their tops bomb-proof, and the sides protected by parapets 6 ft. thick, composed of hard wood reenforced by cork wood, leather, and bars of iron. These float- ing batteries carried 214 guns of large calibre, of which 72 were reserves, and for several hours at close range withstood the heavy fire of artillery concentrated upon them. They yielded finally only to red-hot shot, and all but one were burnt or blown up. In 1814, toward the end of the war with England and after the success of the first steamboats, Robert Fulton proposed to construct a floating battery for the United States government, capable of steaming five or six miles per hour, and having walls proof against the heaviest artillery. The hope of breaking the blockade of the Hudson and Chesapeake caused this proposition to be received with enthusiasm. The vessel was be- FIG. 1. Demologos (elevation). gun in June and launched in October of the same year ; but owing to delays in completing her machinery, she was not ready for service till June, 1815, after the declaration of peace. This battery, called the Demologos, was 150 ft. long, and was composed of two hulls coupled together, but separated by an open space 13 ft. wide. The wheel was placed between the two hulls. The battery and machinery were pro- tected by a wooden wall about 6 ft. thick and extending 3 ft. below the water line. The ar- mament consisted of 30 32-pdr. guns. The Fro. 2. Demologos (section). speed of the vessel reached nearly six knots per hour. Her name was changed to the Ful- ton after the death of that distinguished engi- neer. This vessel seems to have been far ahead of her time, and, although never used in war- fare, was doubtless superior to anything of the kind ever built up to that day. She was de- stroyed by the explosion of her magazine in 1829. In 1838 the Fulton II. was constructed, but with improved engines and greater speed. She was a true side-wheel steamer, and her wooden walls are said to have been covered with a thin plating of iron. In 1826 an anonymous writer in Paris proposed the construction of iron or iron-clad frigates, the walls of which should have a thickness sufficient to resist can- non shot, asserting that when the enemy should have adapted the Paixhans system of hori- zontal shell firing wooden ships would no longer serve for the purposes of war. This was a correct idea, but only an idea at that time; and it is nearly impossible to find the real inventor of iron-plated ships, or ironclads, as they are now commonly called. The idea was public property and the natural outgrowth of the improvements made in artillery ; the in- ventors were those of all nations who gave the idea form and feasibility. The remarkable re- sults obtained by the employment of Paix- hans's system of artillery called the attention of all nations to the means of defending both ships and land batteries from the destructive effect of horizontal shell firing. Some experi- ments were made in 1834 at Metz and Gavres for the purpose of determining the power of different materials to resist penetration, in consequence of which Gen. Paixhans recom- mended that the French vessels of war should be strengthened by plating them with iron ; but this was rejected by the board of naval con- struction in 1841. In 1835 Mr. John Podd Drake proposed to the English naval depart- ment the protection of the machinery of steam men-of-war by iron plating 4 in. thick, and in 1841 he promulgated the idea of iron-clad blockading ships. In 1842 Robert L. Stevens of Hoboken, N. J., proposed to the United States government the construction of iron- clad steam batteries for the purpose of de- fending the commercial ports from the chances of bombardment by hostile fleets. After rec- ognizing the importance of this idea, the gov- ernment decided to make a series of experi- ments with the view of determining the best arrangement for the walls of such batteries. These experiments demonstrated that an iron wall 4J in. thick was, sufficient to resist the largest projectiles then in use. The construc- tion of one battery was decided upon, but it was not commenced till 1854. From the best information which can be obtained, her length over all is 420 ft., her breadth 52 ft, depth from fighting deck 28 ft., draught of water with coal and stores on board 20 ft. 6 in., fighting draught 22 ft. 6 in. The vessel is an iron screw steamer, secured by longitudinal bulkheads, by a heavy box keelson running from stem to stern, and by shot-proof decks and continuous side armor. She has two screw propellers working independently, each being