736

THE BUILDING OF THE “MONITOR."

the mere aerial current produced by the flight of the shot. Consideringthat the Monitor , as reported by Lieutenant Greene, was a “ quick-turningvessel,” the disadvantage of not being able to fire over the bow within sixdegrees of the line of keel is insignificant. Captain Coles claimed for hisfamous iron-clad turret-ship the advantage of an all-round fire, although theaxis of his turret-guns had many times greater deviation from the line of keelthan that of the Monitor.

The statement published by Lieutenant Greene, that the chief engineer ofthe vessel immediately after the engagement in Hampton Roads “ suggestedthe clever plan of putting the pilot-house on top of the turret,” is incorrect andcalls for notice. The obvious device of placing the pilot-house in the centerand above the turret was carefully considered before the Monitor turret wasconstructed, but could not be carried out for these reasons:

1. The turret of the battery was too light to support a structure largeenough to accommodate the commanding officer, the pilot, and the steering-gear, under the severe condition of absolute impregnability against solid shotfrom guns of 10-inch caliber employed by the Confederates.

2. A central stationary pilot-house connected with the turret involved somuch complication and additional work (see description of turret and pilot-houses further on), that had its adoption not been abandoned the Monitorwould not have been ready to proceed to Hampton Roads until the beginningof April, 1862. The damage to the national cause which might have resultedfrom that delay is beyond computation.

The next important part of the battery delineated on the forward sectionof the illustration, namely, the quarters of the officers and crew, will now beconsidered; but before entering on a description it should be mentioned thatin a small turret-vessel built for fighting, only one-half of the crew need beaccommodated at a time, as the other half should be in and on the turret, thelatter being always covered with a water-proof awning. Referring again tothe forward and to part of the central section, it will be seen that the quarters

T\ i 1 ;A

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TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE HULL OF THE ORIGINAL MONITOR.

The diagram gives a front view of tlie boilers and furnaces; also a side elevation of the rotating cylindrical turretwliicli proved impregnable against ten-inch solid shot fired witli battering charges at very short range.