...most desirable, was not attained. That this was due to the calibre of the gun, and not to its being located in a turret, may be shown by one notable instance. November ninth, 1863, the Montauk, Captain Davis , was engaged in battering Sumter. In so doing, the eleven-inch gun fired twenty-five shells successively in one hour, of which twenty-one hit the wall of the fort aimed at — distance sixteen ...