Donald McKay, the noted American shipbuilder, seems to entertain but a poor opinion of vessels constructed wholly of iron. In a letter from Paris to the Boston Commercial Bulletin, he says:
Of the sixteen iron-cased frigates which Frances possesses afloat and in construction, only two -- the Couronne, (afloat) and the Heroine (on the stocks) -- are built of iron, and it is now regretted by the Government that they were not constructed of wood, for experienced has already proved, and without any contradiction, that these vessels, on account of their rapidly fouling bottoms, will not be capable of keeping up in speed with the wooden built and coppered frigates.
The Warrior, of the English fleet, has lost from this cause two knots of her original speed, and it is generally conceded that these iron-built men-of-war ships will have to be taken into dock at least every three months to clean their bottoms.
The ship Alabama -- which by her superior speed defies the whole United States Navy, and which actually keeps up a partial blockade of our Northern ports -- is a striking example how the advantages of timber built ships for speed are even recognized in an iron country like England. Well knowing that her safety would lie in her superior speed on a long cruise, Mr. Laird, of Birkenhead, the iron-ship builder, has built this ship expressly of timber, with coppered bottom. I regret to have to state my firm conviction that we do not possess in our Navy a single ship which is capable to cope with her in speed. This is the consequence of Government never having trusted to private constructors for the production of superior models for our Navy. Vessels of high speed are what we want, but which we never shall possess unless a different course is adopted by our Navy Department.
It must be also pretty plain by this time that the Monitor class are of little use for other than harbor service.
A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron Over Wood
John V. Quarstein
The Power of Iron Over Wood documents the dramatic history of Civil War ironclads and reveals how warships like the Monitor and Virginia revolutionized naval warfare. Author John V. Quarstein, an award-winning historian, director of the Virginia War Museum and a historical consultant to the Monitor Center at The Mariner's Museum, calls upon a breadth of archival resources to present a comprehensive account that explores in depth the impact of ironclads during the Civil War and their colossal effect.