“I am indeed most interested in that.”
“Work goes according to plan. The keel plates have already been passed through the rolling mill. But you must realize that a craft of this type has never been built before. And, even as we begin to assemble the ship, Mr. Ericsson is still working on the drawings. That is why I asked Mr. Bushnell’s committee for just a bit more time.”
“That will not be a problem,” Bushnell said. “I always felt that three months, from design to completion, was very little time. Are you sure that ten more days will be enough?”
“Ericsson says that she will be launched after one hundred days — and I have never known him to be wrong.”
“That is good news indeed. And now — may we see this remarkable vessel?”
“That will be a little difficult. The hull is still under construction and there is very little that can be seen at the present time. I feel that if you will look at these drawings you will understand something more of this wonderful invention.” He spread the large sheets out on the table. “The bottom of the hull is made of iron plate and is 124 feet long and eighteen feet wide. It is stiffened with angle iron and transverse timber beams to support the decking above which is much bigger, all of 172 feet long and forty-one feet abeam. And armored, heavily armored on top and on the sides that extend below the water to protect the thin hull. Engines here in the hold to drive the propeller screw. And all of this has but a single purpose — to bring this turret into battle.”
“I am sure of that,” Fox said, turning the drawings about. “But I must admit that my experience in understanding the designer’s craft is less than perfect. The ship is apparently made of iron, with some wood to reinforce it. But is not iron heavier than water? Will it not sink when launched?”
“Have no fear of that. There are a number of iron ships afloat — and iron warships as well. The French have one — the British too. The hull will certainly support the massive firepower of the turret, the new engines will bring it into battle.”
“Then we shall see the turret itself — and the man who designed it.”
The large building echoed with the clamor of metal on metal. Overhead winches swayed up a load of plate iron to be fitted onto the growing hull. Following Roland they made their way toward the rear of the hall where the circular form of the turret was beginning to take shape. A tall, gray-haired man with mutton-chop whiskers was supervising the assembly of a small steam engine. Although he was almost sixty years old Ericsson’s strength was still phenomenal; he easily lifted and slid into place a rocker beam that weighed over ninety pounds. He nodded to his visitors and wiped the grease from his hands with a rag.
“Und so, Bushnell, you come to see what you spending the navy’s $275,000 on.” Although he had been an American citizen for many years he had not lost his thick Swedish accent.
“I do indeed, John. You have met Mr. Fox before?”
“I have. In the office of the Secretary of the Navy — and joost the man I want to see. I want my money!”
“I am afraid that appropriations are not my responsibility, Mr. Ericsson.”
“Then talk to someone to pay up. My good friend Cornelius here has received nothing — even though he is building my ship! He pays for the iron plate out of his own pocket. This is a situation that should not be. The navy commissions this battery so the navy must pay.”
“I promise to talk to my superiors and do what I can to alleviate the situation.” Not that it will do much good, he thought to himself. The navy was tight-fisted and loath to pay any debts that could be avoided. “But for the moment I would dearly like to discover how this vessel’s marvelous turret will operate.”
“It will operate in a manner never seen before, I assure you.” Ericsson patted the black metal affectionately, financial matters forgotten for the moment. “Deadly and impenetrable. This armor is eight inches thick and the gun has not been made that can send a shell through that much iron. Now around here — you see these openings. Through them will fire two 11-inch Dahlgren guns. Remember — this vessel has been designed to work in the coastal waters of the South, to penetrate up narrow rivers in search of its prey. Turning the entire ship to fire the guns, the way navy ships are built now, will no longer be necessary. That is the genius of my design — for this entire 120-ton turret revolves!”
He bent and ran his hand along the bottom of the turret’s armor. “Machined flat as you can see. At sea it will rest on a smooth brass ring in the deck — and its great weight will make a watertight seal. In action the turret will be jacked up so that it will rest on these wheels. Below it is this steam donkey engine that will drive this circular gear situated right below the deck — operated by a lever in the turret of course. It will take less than a minute for a complete revolution.”
Fox nodded with appreciation. “It is a great concept, Mr. Ericsson. Your ironclad will change the face of this war.”
“Not ironclad,” Ericsson said angrily. “That is what your idiots in the Navy Department do not realize. This is a machine, the creation of an engineer, an iron, steam-powered vessel of war. A fabricated iron hull fi
lled with complex machinery that bears no similarity to the wooden sailing ships of the past. Yet in the specifications your people say, a moment, I have it here.” He took a wrinkled and much-folded sheet of paper from his pocket and read it aloud.
“They want me to… here it is. ‘To furnish Masts, Spars, Sails and Rigging of sufficient dimension to drive the vessel at the rate of Six knots per hour in a fair breeze of wind.’ Impossible! The power is steam and steam only as I have said many times in the past. No masts, no sails, no ropes. Steam! And the cretin who wrote this proves that he knows nothing of ships when he writes of ‘knots per hour’! One knot means that a vessel covers a distance of one nautical mile in one hour as you know.”
“I do indeed,” Fox said and hurried to change the subject. “Have you a name for your floating battery?”
“I have been giving that a good deal of thought. Consider that the impregnable and aggressive character of this structure will admonish the leaders of the Southern Rebellion that their batteries on the banks of their rivers will no longer present barriers to the entrance of our Union forces. This iron-clad intruder will thus prove a severe monitor to those leaders. But there are other leaders who will also be startled and admonished by the booming of the guns from this impregnable iron turret. Downing Street will hardly view with indifference this last Yankee notion, this monitor. On these and many similar grounds, I propose to name the new battery Monitor.”
“A most excellent point,” Bushnell said, “and I shall recommend it to my committee.”
“I concur,” Fox said. “I will put it to the Secretary of the Navy as well. Now if you gentlemen will excuse us for a few minutes, I need to have a few words about naval matters with Mr. Roland.”
In the ironworks owner’s office, Fox got right to the important matter at hand.
“It has been pointed out to me that in addition to your being an entrepreneur, you are also an engineer of experience, not only in ship building but in the construction of marine steam machinery as well.”
“I am indeed. In the past I have submitted designs to your Navy Department.” He pointed to the wooden model on his desk. “This was one of them. A twin screw ironclad with twin rotating turrets.”
“The design was not accepted?”