TheGorgon had commenced taking on water at an enormous rate. The pumps were overwhelmed and she was visibly settling by the stern. Weeping tears of frustration, Hawkes ordered his ship abandoned. His attempt to drop sailors on the Union ship had been a failure. So, too, had been an attempt to launch the ship's boats with men to board her.
However slow theMonitor was, she could move more swiftly than rowed boats. More important, those boats were needed to take men off theGorgon, He ordered them back. Honor be damned, Hawkes thought bitterly. Now he had to save himself and his crew from a frigid death.
Hawkes watched as theMonitor turned and headed slowly back towards New York Harbor. The remainder of the blockading force attempted to close on her and they fired at her, virtually at once. Hawkes watched in dismay as several shells from British ships struck other British ships while theMonitor moved unscathed through the shower of metal.
A sloop of war, theAsp, steamed ahead to block theMonitor 's return to the harbor. It was suicide. Hawkes wanted to yell to the captain of theAsp to back off, but could only watch the tragedy unfold. The eleven-inch guns of theMonitor spokebut once. They struck theAsp amidships and broke the back of the sloop. She immediately began to burn and sink while theMonitor disappeared into the sanctuary of New York Harbor.
Dozens of men from theAsp had either fallen or thrown themselves into the water. In just a few moments, most of them had disappeared under the waves. The combination of cold water and the sad but true fact that sailors were poor swimmers had killed them.
Hawkes had his own problems. Water was lapping at the stern and scores of wounded lay on the deck. Frantic signals to other ships brought more boats that took them off, the last of them just as the dying frigate slid beneath the waves. It was so close that both Hawkes and Freeland simply stepped off the deck of theGorgon and onto a boat.
When Hawkes and Freeland were finally taken aboard another warship, everyone in the squadron knew that something more than the sinking of two ships had occurred. They had just seen the face of naval warfare change.
Captain David Glasgow Farragut was as happy as a naval officer without a command could possibly be. Months ago, he'd been appointed commodore of the squadron that was going to attack New Orleans, but that mission had been aborted when England entered the war. The sixty-year-old Farragut understood, but still hated it. He'd fought the British as a junior officer in the War of 1812, and now wanted an opportunity to strike at them again.
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles's exceptionally competent assistant. Gustavus Fox, was equally happy. Fox was the power behind Welles's throne, and Farragut understood that Fox was the path to getting a new command.
“Captain Farragut, please tell me how we can exploit theMonitor's victory.”
“Simple,” said Farragut, “build a lot more of the damned things and let me take them right at the British.”
Fox grinned. Farragut's directness was one of his virtues. “How many and how soon? Then tell me about the other new ships.”
TheMonitor hadn't been the only ironclad under construction. Two others, theGalena and theNew Ironsides, were also being built. These, however, were more traditional in that they were ordinary ship designs that were being sheathed in metal. In this, they were smaller versions of the British warshipWarrior, and not radical innovations like theMonitor.
TheMonitor's unique design had been the brainchild of Swedish inventor and shipbuilder John Ericsson. The Swede had been difficult, obstinate, stubborn, cantankerous, and brilliant. His design had performed flawlessly. Almost as important: it had taken only ninety days to build theMonitor.
“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 R
oyal 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 harbor and river defense. Further, she has no sails and cannot possibly carry enough food and coal to take her far.”
“But the Americans will surely build others like her.”
“Of course, Prime Minister, and they will deny us access to their harbors, which are already fairly inaccessible because of their strong shore batteries. They will not, however, break our blockade. It will require us to be much more vigilant when the Monitors do come out. For instance, Captain Hawkes suggests avoiding combat with them if possible.”
“Understandable under the circumstances,” Palmerston said drily, causing Graham to chuckle. “I would expect nothing else from a man whose ship had been sunk by one.”
“Indeed. But he is currently the resident expert on fighting Monitors. He said the ironclad is slow, which means our ships should be able to avoid her fairly easily. Thus, we should be able to dance around her until she tires of the game.
“If battle cannot be avoided, Hawkes proposes we fight her with two ships at a time. One will engage with cannon, while the other attempts to ram.”
“Can't the rebels help us? Weren't they building their own ironclad?”
“TheMerrimack, yes. However, when we came into the war. the Confederacy understood that we would break the Union blockade, so they stopped work on her. They are chronically short of guns and armor, so they stripped her of same and shipped the guns and armor to the Mississippi, where they are not doing as well and where we are not there to protect them. It would now take many months to complete theMerrimack”
Again, Palmerston had to accept reality. While failing in the eastern theater, the Union was relatively successful along the Mississippi. The Confederacy had a very real fear of the Union gaining control of the great river. Union success in that arena would mean that the young Confederacy had been cut in two.
“Tell me, Sir James, what will be the long-term impact of theMonitor? What of those who say our ships are now all obsolete? But if theMonitor can't cross the seas, then what good is she?”
“Our ships, sir, are not obsolete. At least not yet, although they soon will be. The Americans have proven that they can take an old idea, a floating battery, and make it mobile and virtually impregnable. What is of primary import about theMonitor is not her armor but her revolving turret. As it is round, any shot striking her must hit at an angle and be subject to deflection. It is a devilishly clever idea and we are already looking at incorporating it on our ships. As the turret turns, it can fire in any direction; thus, fewer, but larger, guns could be put on future ships. I might add that turrets are damnably heavy, which would preclude putting them on smaller ships or even many existing vessels.
“Prime Minister,” Graham continued, “I would anticipate that the problem of Monitors crossing oceans will be solved shortly. It really only means giving the vessel a higher freeboard, which would make her a larger target that, in theory at least, would render her less invulnerable. Thicker armor would resolve that problem.”
“And how would you pierce that armor?” Palmerston asked. He did not like the direction Graham was going. “If theGorgon and her sisters hadn't hurt theMonitor, then what could?”
“Sir, I do not believe that any of the guns currently on our ships could stop or hurt theMonitor, and that includes theWarrior 's. We must design and build not only larger guns but those that fire shaped shells with greater velocity. Sir, you asked if our fleet was obsolete and I answered not yet. However, I predict that, within a couple of years, all nonarmored ships will be useless as a line of battleships.”
Palmerston was aghast. The implications were staggering. The numerical advantage English ships held over those of other nations had just disappeared in one afternoon off New York. Great Britain had to remain preeminent on the seas. Britannia had to rule the waves in order for her empire to exist.
“We will design and build the ships we need to protect our interests regardless of the cost,” Palmerston said glumly. “Other nations will do the same, and that includes both France and the United States. We will be in an arms race with them and we must not lose it.”
The war had suddenly taken a new and expensive turn. There would now be the need to raise funds to finance the new navy. Only two British ships, theWarrior andtheBlack Prince, were what could now be considered “modern.” The navy's problem had come as a complete and unpleasant surprise. Palmerston wondered how many more unpleasant surprises were in store for England.
“We must win and win soon. If victory is not in sight by the end of this year, I don't know what will happen,” Palmerston said.
“The navy will do its part,” said Graham confidently. “As to New York, theAgamemnon will head there and join the blockade when she is finished laying cable from Canada to Norfolk. That will be in a couple of weeks.”
“Excellent,” said Palmerston. TheAgamemnon was an eighty-gun ship of the line when not laying telegraphic cable. “And I'm certain the Confederate army will handle the Union army when the North invades,” Graham added.
There was an irony that Graham didn't understand, thought Palmerston. McClellan's anticipated invasion of the South would be defeated unless Lee did something dreadfully wrong. If the reports of Lee's ability were only half correct, Lee would make no mistakes.
However, if McClellan were defeated, might he be replaced by someone with more skill and vigor? Was the Union winning along the Mississippi because the Confederacy had all its best leaders near Richmond, or was it because the Union had its best along the Mississippi? It was a conundrum. The Union with McClellan was defeatable; therefore, McClellan must stay in command long enough to ensure Confederate victory. If he lost too decisively, he might be replaced.
“And what of Mr. Hawkes?” Palmerston asked, thankful to have another topic to discuss.
Ordinarily, a captain who had his ship shot out from under him was disgraced, even court-martialed. However, this was different. Hawkes was the hero who had sunk theSt. Lawrence; was it his fault that he had been the first to confront the new danger, theMonitor? There were those who said he should have broken off the engagement when he realized he couldn't harm theMonitor, but they weren't there at the battle. Besides, who would want as captain a man who runs from a ship so much smaller than his own? In hindsight, flight would be considered a prudent course of action, but then it would have been cowardice. It did not help that Hawkes was arrogant and had made many enemies. Graham was one of them.
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