Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 4.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[58] for him as soon as the bows struck the water. Amidst the greatest anxiety on shore and on board, the vessel moved easily into the water, not immersing more than six feet of her forward deck, and sailed gracefully out into the stream for some distance. It was very evident to the dullest observer, that the battery had not the slightest intention of sinking, being more than three feet out of water; and Captain Ericsson was delighted to find that she drew considerably less than his calculations had led him to anticipate. The anxiety gave way to enthusiasm, and all cheered to the best of their ability, including, to their credit be it said, those who had lost money by bets on the certainty of her sinking, and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs from the shore was answered by the jubilant passengers on the vessel in the stream. The workmen, who have taken the greatest interest in their work, and have a personal pride and confidence in the battery, were very enthusiastic. As soon as possible the vessel was brought to the dock and made fast there, giving many of the spectators an opportunity to go on the deck and observe her construction more closely. The whole work of the launch was accomplished in a very little time, and the crowd soon dispersed, satisfied with the success of the undertaking thus far.

The vessel has been constructed with the specific intention of attaining absolute invulnerability under the guns of the most powerful batteries. It has been the endeavor, therefore, of the inventor to leave no part of the structure without adequate protection against all the possibilities of assault by shot and shell. The plan is entirely new and novel, and it is claimed that it fulfils every requirement of naval warfare more perfectly than is the case with any existing floating battery.

There are, in effect, two hulls to the vessel. The lower one, which is entirely under water, is about six feet deep, built lightly, flat-bottomed, sharp at both ends, and with sides inclining at an angle of fifty-one degrees to the vertical line. The second or upper hull comprises the defensive portion, has straight sides, is longer and broader than the under one, is five feet deep, sinks into the water three feet and three inches, and is covered with heavy iron armor. It has no bottom excepting what is required to enable it to fit exactly on the top line of the lower hull, both, of course, forming the consecutive side of the vessel. Upon the deck, which is shell-proof, is a cylindrical turret, which is to contain and protect the guns. A screw propeller, aft of the raking stem of the lower hull, supplies the motive power against the water, and aft of the propeller is an equipoise rudder, both hidden under and protected by the upper hull. The engine, boilers, and blowers are also in the lower part and protected by the upper.

The upper hull is one hundred and seventy-four feet long, forty-one feet four inches wide, and five feet deep. The stem and stern are pointed at an angle of eighty feet, and its sides are perpendicular. The sides are composed of a bulwark of white oak, thirty inches thick, fastened without bolts, upon which is placed an armor of rolled plate-iron six inches thick, extending from bottom to top of the straight side, of five feet depth, and all around the vessel. This will be submerged three feet and three inches, thus projecting only twenty-one inches above the water line.

According to the original estimate of Capt. Ericsson the vessel was expected to draw ten feet, and project above the water-line only eighteen inches. But the actual presence of the vessel in the water yesterday proved that she will draw about three inches less than was estimated, or nine feet and nine inches. After the launch the vessel drew only seven feet three inches forward, and eight feet one inch aft; and as the additional weight of iron plating around the turret, the guns, and the fuel, which are to be put on the vessel, is accurately known, it has been estimated from these data that she will draw only the depth mentioned-nine feet nine inches.

The deck is shell-proof, and is composed of plank eight inches thick, placed on oak beams ten inches square, twenty-six inches apart, and covered on the top with double iron plating one inch thick. Both ends of the vessel being sharp, it is almost impossible, at a casual glance, to tell which is the stem or which is the stern.

The lower hull is one hundred and twenty-four feet long and thirty-four feet wide at the top, where it connects with the upper hull. It is six and a half feet in depth. It is sharp at both ends, the bow projecting and coming to a point at an angle of eighty degrees. It is flat-bottomed, and the sides incline at an angle of fifty-one degrees to the vertical line. It is built light of three-eighth inch iron; its average thickness being something like three quarters of an inch.

It is built thus light because it is entirely protected by the impregnable upper hull. By comparing the length and breadth of the two parts of the vessel, it will be seen that the upper hull extends three feet seven inches over the sides of the lower one, and twenty-five feet over each end. The inclination of the lower hull is such that a ball cannot strike it without passing through at least a distance of twenty-five feet of water, and then striking at an acute angle of, at the most, ten degrees. It is therefore absolutely impossible that the lower hull, and for the same reasons the propeller or rudder, should be injured at all by shot. It mast strike the sides of the upper hull, where it is met by the resistance of six inches of iron and thirty inches of oak, or the turret, the defensive powers of which we shall proceed to describe.

The turret, which is placed upon the deck, and which is intended as a protection to the two guns and the gunners, is an iron cylinder, .nine feet high and twenty feet internal diameter. It has two port-holes, if they may be called so, for the guns, and is intended to revolve. It is composed of plates of wrought iron, one inch thick, nine feet long, and about two feet wide, which are placed standing lengthwise, so that there are no