“Now that we know that the contraption works,” said Farragut, “we can build a lot more of them. I would expect a dozen by fall.”
Farragut was surprised at how easily his change of heart fell from his tongue. Originally, he thought the idea of iron ships contemptible and unworkable. Yet the battle off New York had proven otherwise, and now David Glasgow Farragut believed in ironclads with the fervor that only a convert can show.
“One turret or two?” asked Fox as if he were discussing sugar for tea. It was a point of contention between the navy, which wanted two turrets per ship, and Ericsson, who wanted one. “Two:” Farragut replied adamantly. “Two will double each ship's firepower. And make them at least twelve-inch guns and not elevens. That'll give the British something to chew on.”
“And Ericsson?”
“The great man is wrong, and that's all there is to it. He thinks two turrets'll get in each other's line of fire. They would, if the ship is poorly handled, but, well handled, they can keep up a fairly steady rate of unstoppable fire from an invulnerable platform.”
Fox nodded agreement. “We'll commence building at both New York and Philadelphia. Engineers are copying and modifying designs as we speak. To keep things moving, however, I will recommend to Mr. Welles that we build ships of each design. Thus, a fleet ofMonitor's would have ships with one and two turrets. Do you foresee a problem?”
“None whatever,” Farragut said, conceding what was a minor point. The ships were going to be built, and that was what was important. “Can you expedite theNew Ironsides?'
“Of course, but what of theGalena?”
“A poorly designed abomination. Give me theNew Ironsides and scrap theGalena if you wish.”
TheNew Ironsides was being built in Philadelphia and was scheduled to be launched in May. A steam frigate, she was sheathed amidships with four and a half inches of iron. She would carry sixteen eleven-inch Dahlgrens. which would make her a fearsome enemy. TheGalena was much smaller, a corvette, and it was rumored that she was both top-heavy and would be unable to withstand heavy shelling. Fox agreed. TheGalena would never be finished. Efforts would be concentrated onMonitors,
“And what will the British do?” Fox asked.
“They can do whatever they damn well wish. What they can't do is change what has occurred. Naval warfare will now be forever different.”
Fox grinned. “TheMonitor's victory is a marvelous tonic. And it is particularly pleasing that the first tweaking of Britain has come from the navy, and not the army.”
“Indeed it is,” Farragut said. He visualized the mightyNew Ironsides leading a steady stream of one- and two-turreted ships of what would now be referred to as the Monitor-class pouring out of New York in line of battle to fight the damned British. The ironclads would smash the wooden hulls of the British ships.
Not surprisingly, Farragut visualized himself on the quarterdeck of theNew Ironsides and in command of the entire Union fleet.
Sir James Graham, Great Britain's First Sea Lord, was exasperated. “Prime Minister, I assure you that the presence of the American ironclad was not a total surprise. We knew she was under construction and even knew the weight and thickness of her armor. Dear God, sir, we even had spies helping build her. What we did not know,” he added ruefully, “is how damnably effective she would be.”
Since the fighting took place within sight of land, newspaper reports of the American victory were telegraphed across much of the United States and Canada almost immediately. Some reports had even been sent before theGorgon sank. Thus, the Canadian government was able to cable London with unconfirmed reports of the disaster within hours. Confirmation followed the next day.
Palmerston was not happy, “I am appalled that we had only six ships outside New York and not one of them a ship of the line. Where is the navy? The entire nation is asking that question. Why didn't we have theWarrior on patrol?”
Graham was not intimidated. “The navy is everywhere it should be, Prime Minister. But please recall that, even though we have the mightiest navy in the world and one that is larger than our next two competitors combined, it is still a finite fleet that cannot be everywhere. Tell me, sir, would you really have had theWarrior waiting off New York for the two-gunned and experimentalMonitor toemerge? Should I send her there now? Then what would we do if another such ship appeared out of Boston or Philadelphia? The Royal Navy is limited, sir.”
Palmerston grudgingly agreed that it was senseless to have had the greatest ship in the Royal Navy focused on one ship that mounted only two guns. “But where are the rest of our ships?” he persisted almost plaintively.
“Sir, we have squadrons off New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, while still another squadron is stationed at Norfolk, which is in position to control Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac. That, of course, seals off Baltimore and Washington.
“We have yet other squadrons operating off the Falklands to prevent passage by American ships to the Pacific and off Capetown to block passage to India.”
“And how successful have those actions been?”
“The American coastline is vast,” Graham demurred, “which means there is still significant coastal movement by American ships. We are running into many of the same problems the Union had in blockading the South. It's just too large an area, and there are too many coves for a ship to hide in. However, since much of America's commerce was with us, the fact of the war has shut much of it down. Other European nations, including France, have declined to shut their ports to American shipping, although they will not accept American prizes taken by their navy.”
“As the war has shut American businesses, it has also shut our businesses down,” Palmerston muttered. The economy was being hurt by the war.
“A handful of American warships are operating in the Pacific,” Graham continued. “These were commissioned into the navy and armed from stores available in San Francisco. As in the Atlantic, where American raiders are more numerous, we have still other ships out trying to run them down and sink them.”
“And with precious little success.”
“No argument there, Prime Minister. The oceans are just too vast and there are too many places for the Americans to hide. As they are sinking their captured ships and not taking the ships into port as prizes, we don't know what the damage truly is until a ship is either so long overdue that we finally realize she's gone, or her crew shows up in some foreign port.
“In short, Prime Minister, the Royal Navy cannot be everywhere at all times. For instance, we have no significant ships in the Great Lakes, only a handful of armed schooners.”
“I understand,” Palmerston said glumly, again thanking divine providence that the Americans had made no move towards Canada.
“Do you truly understand?” Graham snapped. Frustration made him momentarily forget that Palmerston was his superior. “Or have you forgotten that we must also keep still another portion of our fleet in European waters to protect our commerce in the Mediterranean and, of course, the North Atlantic? France and Spain may be quiescent, but Russia is delighted that we are up to our naval necks in this war.”
Russia had lost to England and France in the Crimean War, but that had not deterred her expansionist tendencies. Alone among European powers, Russia had sought out the United States and offered friendship short of an alliance. Russia's navy was small, incompetent, and old in comparison with England's, but it was a fleet nonetheless. An unproven rumor held that Russia was permitting American warships in the Pacific to rest and victual in Russia's Alaskan ports.
There was no way to dispute the facts behind Graham's outburst, Palmerston admitted. A large English fleet had to remain in English waters to watch out for the ambitious Tsar Nicholas and his minions.
“And what of theMonitor?” Palmerston asked. Graham's outburst was already forgotten. “The opposition press has described her as a fire-breathing dragon the size of a mountain that would steam across the ocean to bombard our cities.”
Such exaggerations struck Graham as ludicrous and irresponsible. “TheMonitor is a very small vessel that is totally incapable of crossing any ocean, or, for that matter, going more than a few miles from shore in anything but the calmest of seas. She has virtually no freeboard; thus, any wave will swamp her. She is strictly built for
