Srlt;111)WAR6 DeaTeLLILS . it* If .A.Via, lat - 'Various - peedictienigitennected with - the

futitte effects 'of ititesiie neeigation ott navie 'tinders, a greater essential* change we' th•rn le has been assernietltin the traditions than has really telt:Wei place.l' Men have looked at the wonder-working powers of stetted'', as etrapated with sailing-Tessels an overcoming the etagnatiotee a callit,ddefying, within certain though extensive limits, -thir polite of currents and winds. But though so different, stearn, is" still-only a -motive poiver ; more certain and -more manageable than Wind or tide, but doing. precisely the same thing—That is givintinotion in a certain &sating :body through the water. The application, of this steam-power to direct, or mnautical.phrase, to " handle " the vessel, will stillbe a matter in which exeallenee must triumph over mediocrity: An inexperienced or inferMi'offla' • ceratill not change his qualities by being transferred from a. sta.' irig=tegsei to a steamer; such as he was such he will remain..." The landaman " or "ordinary seaman" will -not beeense fiat' "-able seaman". by serving in a steamer. In a peaceful erubte: during hie or moderate -weather this difference may not be 'ere' readily detected.; because there is not so -much opportunity in a' steamer for the display of smartness and skill as in a "ship." (3onie to. that terrible conflict of the elements, where steamers are on ' some. °Cessions not' Superior to sailing-vessels, if they are not even St a. disadvantage, or to the equally terrible conflict where men are wielding. against each other inventions deadlier than thunder; and it Will be'found, we fancy, 'thatin&riority Or mediocrity will, as on. other occasions, fare the worst trained dexterity, the fertility in resources, the promptness in AC- • tion, and that wonderful unicin of the most reckless daring with' aninstinctiveprofeesianal caution which characterize the English . sailor, Will give. the English navy a fair chance of the day. There is, indeed,' a fearful risk in a great action ; but of that' anon.

The application of steam to war-ships has, however, placed this country under one disadvantage; and a very great one the risk of an invasion by surprise. It is here that the vaticiliations of continental writers, on steam reducing British superiority, are more likely to turn out true. While wind was the only pro- pelling force, the days in the year were comparatively few in which such a scheme could be attempted ; for it was impossible in calms or stormy weather ; the prevailing winds blow from un- favourable quarters ; and the most promising start might be ar- rested midway by a change in the weather. Steam has reversed all that. The days are now as few when invasion could nettle attempted as formerly they were -when it could. We are not, ble. many, of opinion that it would be an easy task ; or that it would be attempted under common circumstances. The chances of failure and the fearful .disaster that would attend an imperfect landing, or an encumbered fleet crowded by non-combatants if attacked by a British force strong enough to dare an action, ren- der the risk too great except as a desperate gambler's last throw. But the temptation to a trial will at any time be great, just in proportion to the insufficiency of our means of meeting it Given time enough to man our fleet, and the danger is little. But the only adversary we are likely to have is one of that class whole' success is owing to sudden surprise

"Men in their loose unguarded hours they take, Not that themselves are wise, but others weak."

Our weakness would be an insufficient home fleet. What a suf- ficient home fleet will be, must unluckily for our pockets, depend upon the proceedings of our neighbour. At present, we do not appear to have one : according to a contemporary, speaking "cm the highest authority we -could not, with a fortnight's warning, collect at Spithead five line-of-battle ships sufficiently manned to fight their guns."

But if steam navigation is not likely- to metamorphose bad sail.. ors into good ones' or per se to diminish our naval superiority (save in the matter of an invasion, which would be more than di- minution), it is very likely to effect great changes in the strategy of fleets and the tactics of great naval battles. If, for exam*, the full advantages of steam-power are to be attained, a fleet in- stead of being self-provided must have a coal-commissariat, or it will be only a sailing-fleet. The long and anxious exertions of admirals to attain the weather-guagef in a great measure, be superseded. The old-fashioned* mode' of lines of battle sail- ing past and cannonading each other with the formality and ahnost the regularity of -a review-salute, will be altogether abolished. To break or, pierce. the line and overwhelm the ships thus cut off from the rest, will probably he a prin- ciple of tactics. But Nelson's mode of bearing down at right angles upon the enemy's line and breaking through it, will no longer be possible ; indeed, had steam not have been applied to navigation, the improvement of other nations in naval gunnery Would have rendered the tactics of Trafalgar no longer possible. It is very doubtful whether an enemy under steam will ever give an opportunity; of breaking their line in the manner of Rodney • an Naval Witryisre with Steam. Dedicated by special Permission, to Pie+ Marshal his Boyal Highness the Prince Consort, N.G. &c. ac. By General far Howard 'Douglas, Bart. G.C.B., &x., &c., Author of a n Treatise on Naval °Ult. nay," 8sc. Published by Murray.

i

+ A ship has the weather-guage when to windward of an opponent. Thus if a licns.had the wind frOm the west and another fleet got to the westward cof the first, the second fleet would have the weather-guage, and could fight, or decline battle according to pleasure ; while the fleet that had lost the wind could be compelled to ,:leat or run away. Of course this rule only applies to something like equality in

strength or capacity. - .

=arab. ViderdithebTaval battles, according to. Sir Howard Doug- las, Tsang-is future, befoughtliiith the scientific) tactics. of . a land Auld they will :really become a .struggle of Skill, as to which shafltalM stiongiatrcupon, a-vixen point An exposition id, the, priimiples o whiehltheseitacties-manstbebased, and of some.lead-f Mg modes. of Adseiticelevelopment 'constitute:the most important, feature of this iiieatism..Thefirst.partiniefiy exhibits the.appliciti_ tion of steam to navigatioasixithin plinth* and practice,>and the> respective advantages anclxlisadrantages,Of paddle and screw prooi pellers 'with other cognatelinatters.2.. Bit this seetionis intended: tor the:general • reader or the: alum :who.luis not studied the set at the Royal, Feral: :College ".; and though well. digested ialnet suhatantmily- new: In the Second section tocs,, information =I thiistory.an4 &emote', ef isailing,taeties are, of necessity intin;.r ;great and , important novelty, as the inquiry into that principle-son rwhieli naval eampaignstaust in future be carried, tam osinstrktly.apeaking; how-greati naval; battles sumitle foughte This >1 incitiiry I is. freipientby techzioethenghintelligible;oftem ; histaniad, the tactios..ofyike. :past Jibing adducted' to illustratear onfor4 the principles xecommended for the future.. _ These print, ciplesseem to resolve themselves into the Aso of the echellen for- mation, :either: simply or in conjunction with a line, and ma-, =awed 0 as 'to throw . a. superior :force on some part of the enemy, and cripple or destroy' that part' before assistance, can hecrendecredc JcWhatherinthis -exposition too little allowapee is not Made >far ,what iwill always • influence >naval operations, the weather; and whether the possible in theory:rather than the pro, bable•in practice may ant pzedominate just a!ahade, weamulet undertake to determine. • -The advantage of a clear sight in. all directions, tells as Taretirably,for. one side as the other..:: It, also strikes us, but: sve P.speak with submission)" that sufficientallowit> ance is scarcely made on specially critical occasions, for the power which a steamer • possesses al> moving backwards—" turning astern," and we doubt 7whether:theTdestruction of ships: could be so rapidly. effected, as ..Sir Howard- assumes,.-against, ability in the commander, and 'what' ought to be .speed in the .rescuing steamers. Ability and speed undoubtedly will be the great: deter- mining influences in future naval wars; and hare, speaking of the present time, are the great Ileficiencies--“ the 'fearful risk "—to which we alluded at .the outset. Of speed and our actual capabi-

lity in that line the author has these observations. , . "The speed of the line-of-battle steamers serving in the same fleet should be as nearly as possible uniform. * *

"If the steam-power of the several ships of the line forming a screw fleet be not uniform the speed of the whole fleet must be reduced to that of its slowest ship. The serious inconvenience arisinfrom an inequality of speed in the ships of a sailing fleet was felt by Lord Duncan in approaching the Dutch fleet off Camperdowni when a considerable time was lost in the attempt to close up and re-form the order of battle. "The fleet which, in anticipating the manceuvres of the enemy, or in ma- ncenvering itself to get into action, (perhaps on a flank of its opponent,) can put forth the greatest steam-power, possesses a decided advantage over the other, for which no tactical sU.1 on the part of its commander can compen- sate. In the formation of the steam navy of Great Britain, this subject, which is one of the utmost importance, has not, apparently, been duly con- sidered; and there is reason to believe that the general speed of a large fleet of French steamers is superior to that of a British fleet consisting of an equal number of ships. We have the testimony of Admiral De la Graviere to the importance which the French naval officers attach to superior swift- ness in sailing-ships and steamers, in the subjoined quotation from his work, entitled Guesses Mmitimes.' " La marche du navire no roublions pas, eat la condition essentielle pour une marine expose etrouver toujours rennemi en nombre. "'La vitesse du navies Rant admise comme an des gages les plus certains de succes. tout navire a voiles on a vapeur, qu'il en fht a son data ou son -vingtieme armement, devrait, en sortant du port, etre appele a faire ses prenves de vitesse devant une commission. qui Litt le compares batiment de la. flotte dont lea qualites seraient mcontestables. —De la Graviere, Guesses Maritimes,' tom. II. pp. 278, 279."

_Of equal importance witksteam-speed, perhaps of greater, is an adMird's knowledge of the new tactics, which Sir Howard Doug- las holds Will prevail in steam warfare, and the ability to adapt and apply them to ocean battle. -

"The French are good theoretical tacticians and skilful practitioners of the modern science of war; and if Guibert's essay on the Tactics of Armies be denominated the best commentary that has appeared, on the tactics of land armies, it may with equal truth be said that -Paul Iloste's treatise of Naval Warfare [published in 1697] is the root from which all subsequent wtitings on that subject have sprung. Now the celerity and precision with whigh steam-fleets may execute any evolutions whatever, will hereafter al- low the principles of tactics on land to be applied to the movements of ships on the ocean, with this advantage on the side of the naval operations, that the inequalities of ground, which So seriously embarrass the manceuvres of troops,do not exist at sea. The author, therefore proposes to establish the analogy between the tactics of armies in the field, and those of steam-fleets on the ocean, with the view of drawing from that analogy such lessons as may be found useful in naval warfare. "An eminent military tactician has well said that the art of fortification and that of field tactics are intimately connected with each other (Guibert, vol. IL p. 194); and that the latter derives many of its principles from the art of constructing permanent fortresses. In both, the important object is to dispose the parts, whether works or bodies of troops, so that they may mutually protect each other; and he infers that, to be a good tactician in the field, a knowledge of military engineering is necessary. Of a good na- val tactician it may be said, in like manner, that he should so dispose the ships of a fleet that they may mutually protect one another."

If this be really true in its full extent, God help us should we shortly be engaged in a naval war. 'Unless the whole system of akin,' ideas and practice is changed, the British fleet, on some critical occasion—a battle for the supremacy of the channel for instance, might be commanded by some old and obstinate admiral who not only did not know anything of the new tactics I but would not learn. Mediocrity can never attain greatness ; but unless opposed to some rare genius, or critical conjunction

of eircirma Jit6kitchnl%ftifiirerwheltning evils, because it 'win if JO* 115 littfidip' , ""flii '':wilful obitipacy that

filt

usually:41;10k' ekiinalon;44;; .1414*,,, i)a his 40* passage holds that:destruction ought.in utu.reto ow naval defeat. "On landau enemy in retreat takesadvsmiage Of the inequalities of the ground, profits by the concealment which Woods 'and letherimpediments to rfliit.uP listrArit,ild41Y-0.0,4 It.irlitelf el 1413f,133 sal,dpfonses which are to be :Wait 4- AVAIOMF'creWri , iir'andlierses who have borne to the intensity of pursuit by

the heat Miff btfideh or the'ffitY i',.'''' ,tt"the die Of naval operation is an

expanse-of Witter open 'to hievr,; idx dept-when s1tipa are. enveloped 'iii smoke; the manner and.dirention in whicffisa ,diseclinfit feetisntirOs are semi, and tbeilamagerro is obvious. The serfain exclitens An battle . over, finds rest in is turn, and is restored to_s engt lap ge.supply of food; Whilstills-Shiy circles ;limn forwail d 'it the victory gained. 'It to/16We that' an admital 415a-1s/ear& et hid' 'succeeded in throwing an crienty1/4' fleet Into eonfusien, arcinlaintag stivietoryins the tao- tinal signification of-the, teCuli *in 0413' AaTI 40e01Ppliabed. half his duty if hp do not. Allow up. his ,siiceesses sigero4.„ 4.14,a4gantago gained 1?3, a steam-fleetin aCtiou Slimt a.livap lie .att gl with great results." Although the bookie,- technical there is muCh idit of curious information with a general interest The common idea probably is that thegreat utility of a screw in uotionristlieunlikelihood of disabling it ; but it4pes net se that it has much: if any advan- tage over t49_.paddAt. lnii14resp,.

... . „

" rt,iii certain•Acii, a if iF7i, A.y.qp; Nvhen, th&ship is small. and has much pitching motion, 't pibver, , iiseff sieve rater-le -an enemy's aboti but it May be doubted w ethes.;- I'M the pioninqiiity'Of the, screw to the Stern- peat and rudder, the iiiirtitire the.sliip neigh/ ieeeive would not'be sabre in- jukibus than that whidli4Ould be produced:by:a' Shot stadia& ivwheel.; the whole stein, of' a screw-steamer forms a broad target. exposed to fire, livhieli, supposing good gunnery on the part of the enemy, might, by' the, stern-post being disabled or carried away, cause the screw to be put out of service, and perhaps the.ebaft broken by , the oVerhanging weight of the steerage appa- ratus. In small screw-steamers-the propelling shaft Miry be made to-beg win collar in the main steM4metti instead olpiassing through it, and by this constructienany damage done to the outer stein-post would net muCh affect the action of. the machinery ; but with the larger screws, weighing from four to eight or ten tons, a bearing on the outer stern-post becomes indispensable. It is remarkable that, as far as present experience goes; the paddle-wheel escapes, in a wonderful manner, the- lictioa' -of shot '.and it reinairisto be Prayed whether or not the sterns of sere*-illipit;fliii, 'which- the rudder., rucl- def.-case, trunk, yokes for steering, Welting asid.olitei stern-post, all lie in close propinquity, will be equally fortunate:" . .

The Sorew has also a disadvantage Compared with 'the paddle- wheel in the force with which it shakes the stern of the vessel. This is so considerable that it might in time work very great mischief; yet no steps _would appear to have been taken by the Admiralty either to measure the extent of the disadvantage, or to - provide a remedy.

"The injury done to the stern of a ship by the shake of the Screw is a re- sult much to be dreaded in a general use of that implement, whatever its advantages may be in other respects, and a sufficient number of experiments have not yet been made to ascertain the effects of iong continued screw-pro- pulsion at full speed. Such experiments should therefore be made and con- tinued ri l'outrahee With all classes of vessels, more perticularly steam. frigates, block-ships and the first ships of the line fitted with screws. * " "The stern of all ships are still their weakest parts, notwithstanding the great improvements made in naval construction of late years, by abor ' the wing transoms upon which the stem-frame was built, and substituting, as in the construction of the bows, timbers rising from the keel, thus uniting the whole body of the ship in an entire frame; yet the overhanging stern not being water-borne, in consequence of the fine run below, this part of every ship is rendered weaker than the bows; and the aperture made in the dead wood together with the openings called the well; extending from the head of that aperture through all the decks above, weakens.farther the part already much deficient in strength, Hence the siolent shocks occasioned by the rotations of a heavy screw-propeller, occurring in quick succession, strain the stern to a degree which, in a short time, endangers the stabilitY of the whole fabric. The steerage of the ship is greatly impeded by the inter- vention of the trunk, which renders it impossible to use a long tiller, and permits only the substitution of two short arms of a lever, called a yoke, which works within the small space between the trunk and the stern.

The screw has the further disadvantage of being liable to foul by winding up ropes, dm. on the bosses; and from this evil serious mischiefs have taken place ; but for it Sir Howard sug- gests a remedy. The steering, too, of a large screw-vessel is awkward, and here again some improvements are proposed. With the paddle-wheel "a greater amount of locomotive power is obtained than by means of the screw with an, equal consumption of fuel" ; but upon the whole the advantages are in favour of the screw, at least for men-of-war, owing to the facility screw-ships furnish for sailing ; and sails we must have for the present; the sailor's occupation is not yet gone. "The screw admits of a better, stronger, and more simple form of vessel. Relieved of the paddle-boxes, the screw-propelled vessel is far less acted upon by head-winds, and less subject to the heavy rolling motion oc- casioned and aggravated by the oscillations consequent on the' top- weights on both sides of a • paddle-wheel vessel when the boxes receive the impulses and surges of the sea—such oscillations being highly un- favourable to gunnery. The screw is little affected by alterations in the trim of the ship, it is very nearly equally effective at all depths of immer- sion, and if entirely submerged, it may be driven by the direct action of engines placed so low in the vessel that both the moving power and the pro- pelling machinery are safe from the damaging effects of shot : the screw allows more freely the use of sails, and consequently enables the vessel to which it is applied to retain her faculties as a sailing ship in a much higher degree than paddle-wheels ,• it admits of considerable, reduction in the beam or breadth of the vessel, which, besides other advantages, is an important consideration in the economy of space, in a basin or in dock, and with re- spect to the magnitude of the flood-gates through which it has to pass. To which advantages may be added, that the decks of screw-propelled vessels are wholly available for broadside armament, and admit of full gunnery "It will be long before sails can be entirely superseded by steam-engines, bear tai d " • * * * *

this supereession should ever take place. Steam-fleets will be compelled occasionally, from exhaustion of fuel or from derangements of the steam machinery, to have recoiuse to sails ; and it is evident, therefore, ithat tac-

tics with sails must not be hastily disregarded. • • and f PAfifi 11.fiWey, Yakii3/49 • 04 elatM49illffej

,f1TtotliPArta ever o eamfle ntin-,p- 0 11, as ere , Yu, r of that'FacitY411.talT ientoif oft inrnatifit-al 'Skill and eXpkIiittainit It must not therefore he ithdUin Pfretsing for steam-Warferiq (that sail will bo entirely supplanted by steam, or that steam-fleets-n3ay dispense

with crowd of able seaman."

A variety of matter is appended to the text—a capital index, a statistical account,of the ,pavies of Europe and America, and a suggestion that Government sheuld appeint a " eommittee of the most experienced: Naval officers, with the aid of some officers of the Artillery and Engineers, well versed in tactical science, and in the arts of military attack and defence, in order to make a se- lection of formations adapted to fleets composed exclusively of steamers," Sze. This is a very important suggestion ; not more for the rules it might produce, than for the stamp of authority it would give to the necessity of studying steam'evolutions, which We'eanirot but fear some of our old admirals, and possibly some of our younger officers, will, if left to themselves, altogether "ignore."