The Miantonomoh, Monadnock, and Terror were completed and put in commission. The Miantonomoh made a cruise to European waters, spreading the fame of Ericsson, and proving the ability of a vessel of this type to navigate the high seas; the Monadnock made the voyage to the Pacific, passing through the Strait of Magellan; and the Terror was for a time on service on our eastern coast; but their lifetime was of short duration, and they are now being rebuilt, or rather new vessels, three of which bear their names, are now under construction of iron, which will serve to make them efficient and durable.
It will hardly be a digression at this point to call attention more particularly to these double-turreted Monitors now under construction. They bear the following names, viz., Puritan, Terror, Amphitrite, Miantonomoh, and Monadnock. There was much contention about the completion of these vessels, and imaginary defects were ventilated in the newspapers. It may be that these attacks and erroneous statements prejudiced the public mind, and that the idea was entertained by some whose opinion is valued that there were grounds for the doubts that had been expressed of their sea-worthiness. The practical effect of these statements was to prevent Congress from appropriating money for the completion of the vessels, and this course on the part of Congress might have confirmed some in their doubts. Several boards of officers, most competent experts, however, reported upon them, recommending their completion; of these that made by the Advisory Board may be regarded as a final decision, for it was accepted without question. The Advisory Board reported as follows:
“It is our opinion that it would be wise and expedient to finish these vessels at once, and for the following reasons, viz.:
“1. The hulls, as they are at present, are of excellent workmanship, fully up to the present standard condition of iron ship construction, whilst the flotation of the Puritan and the behavior of the Miantonomoh at sea confirm the correctness of the calculations of the designs.
“2. It is easily possible to complete the vessels by taking advantage of the recent developments in armor, guns, and machinery, without making any radical changes in the designs, so that their speed, endurance, battery power, protection, and sea-going qualities shall be fully equal to those of any foreign iron-clad of similar dimensions designed previous to 1879.
“3. The vessels may be finished so as to develop all the above-mentioned advantages without making their total cost, when completed, in any way exorbitant, compared with the results obtained; again, the interests of our sea-coast defence require a force at least equal to that which would be represented by these vessels.
“We take the liberty of calling your attention to a certain erroneous impression which now exists with regard to these vessels. In one of the reports of these hulls a doubt was thrown on the correctness of the calculations of the Puritan. This doubt has spread in the public mind until it includes all the ships. The actual flotation of the Puritan and the Miantonomoh proves beyond question not only the reliability of the calculations, but also that the hulls of these vessels are lighter in proportion to the total displacement than those of any iron-clad low freeboard hulls afloat, with two exceptions.
“It has been the unfortunate custom, in arguments as to the value of the results to be obtained, to compare these vessels with such foreign ships as the Inflexible and the Duilio, to the evident disadvantage of the Monitors, no account whatever being taken of the fact that these vessels are double the size of the Monitors. If these hulls be compared with foreign ones of similar dimensions, no such disparity will appear.”