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mode of approach would perhaps be both dangerous and uncertain, from the difficulty of passing a towrope, and the probability of its breaking or being cut by a shot, besides the risk of the steam-tug being disabled, as was the case with the Danish ship, the 'Christian the Eighth.' (See Colonel Stevens' account of that catastrophe.)

In the naval attack of Sevastopol in 1854, each sailing ship was led to its station by a steam-tug lashed alongside, and this is a more effectual method of gaining the end than that of towing would be; but the best application of steam-power for battle purposes is evidently that in which the propulsion is inherent in the ship itself.

During the war with Russia in 1852-4 the Government of this country, impressed with the importance of having a numerous flotilla of steamers, of dimensions which would permit them to manœuvre in shallow waters, caused a considerable number of such vessels to be constructed; and these being capable of penetrating into creeks, or moving along a shore to which large vessels could not approach, it was intended that they should be extensively employed in the Baltic and the Black Seas. One kind of these vessels, which were called Despatch Gun-Boats, are from 180 to 200 feet in length, and from 28 to 30 feet in breadth; their draught of water is 11 feet 4 inches, and their burthen 450 tons: they are propelled by screws, and their horse-power is 160. Their great length, in proportion to their breadth, is a serious cause of weakness in these vessels, as it is very difficult to tye them well together in midships, and they are very liable to twisting strains in heavy seas. The guns are mounted on pivot-carriages and slides, in the body of the ship; the one abaft, and the other before the funnel. In voyaging the guns are housed longitudinally in the middle of the deck.

A smaller class of steam vessels has since been constructed as gun-boats, and these come fully up to the author's idea of what a good gun-boat should be. Their

dimensions are-in length 100 feet, extreme breadth 22 feet, depth of hold 7 feet 10 inches; and draught of water at the load-line 6 feet 6 inches; their burthen is 212 tons; they have two engines, each of 30 horsepower, and they are armed with a 68-pounder of 95 cwt. These vessels are lugger-rigged without bowsprit, and they are sufficiently strong to bear that heavy gun at either, or at both ends, for action.

167. The means of reducing to practice the principles which are to operate the vast change in naval tactics caused by the use of steam as a moving power in ships of war may, to many persons, appear to involve very serious difficulties; and, perhaps, to some, those difficulties may seem insurmountable. Such, indeed, they would be if it were attempted, without previous experience, to execute the more complex formations, which are occasionally required. Officers and men should, however, be made familiar with such formations with steam-fleets, beginning with those of the most elementary nature, as the disposition of ships in simple lines of bearing, and proceeding to the formations of columns in double lines of bearing: they should also be exercised in the practice of the evolutions required in the various circumstances of attack and defence.

Much study will be required on the part of naval officers to enable them to understand thoroughly the principles and objects of naval warfare with steam; and, with this, much must still be left to individual judgment when an officer would put those principles in practice, or direct those who are to execute the operations under his superintendence.

The disposition of a fleet in divisions, consisting of double columns en échelon, in lines of bearing, as shown in fig. 8, p. 92, may be considered as the general order of steaming in which a fleet should move, being thus always ready either to meet or to make an attack. In naval, as in military tactics, the formations for action depend on various conditions; on the localities, on moral circumstances, on national character, and on the talents of the commanders; and it is justly observed by

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a great tactician that it is a fatal error to attempt the reduction of every system of war to fixed rules, and to cast as it were, in one mould, all the tactical combinations which a General may have to form.

168. On land, an enemy in retreat takes advantage of the inequalities of the ground, profits by the concealment which woods and other impediments to pursuit afford, and avails himself of the natural defences which are to be found in all countries: a limit is also assigned to the intensity of pursuit by an exhaustion of the physical energies of men and horses who have borne the heat and burden of the day. But the sphere of naval operation is an expanse of water open to view, except when ships are enveloped in smoke; the manner and direction in which a discomfited fleet retires are seen, and the damage sustained is obvious. The seaman, his exertions in battle over, finds rest in his turn, and is restored to strength by an immediate supply of food, whilst his ship carries him forward to reap the fruits of the victory gained. It follows that an admiral of a steam-fleet who has succeeded in throwing an enemy's fleet into confusion, or in gaining a victory in the tactical signification of the term, will only have accomplished half his duty if he do not follow up his successes vigorously. Any advantage gained by a steam-fleet in action should always be attended with great results.

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APPENDIX.

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