US39816A - Improvement in means for defending harbors and river-channels - Google Patents

Description

- A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

n. H. Jnwnrr, or Mourir STERLING, ILLINOIS.

, IMPROVEMENT IN MEANS FOR DEFENDlNG HARBORS AND RIVER-CHANNELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,816, dated September 8, 1863; antedated April 29, 1863.

To callwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, E. H. JEWETT, of Mount Sterling, in the county of Brown and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Harbor-Defenses; and I do hereby declare thatthefollowing is at'nll, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan view of a harbor-defense, constructed according Q0 my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear View ot' a portion ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in the employment as a harbor-defense, of one or more vessels provided with ports through which they may be filled with water for sinking them across the mouth or channel of the harbor, and with pipes through which the water may be pumped Vout when it is desired to raise and remove them, and having' erected upon them parapets or other superstructures which may project above the water when the vessels are sunk, and serve, in addition to the hulls or bodies of the vessels themselves, as obstructions to an enemys vessels, and also serve for the mounting of guns or as places for sharpshooters.

It also consists in the/employment, in combination with such vessels and superstructures, of a series of oats arranged between them and secured thereto by chains or cables, for the purpose of serving, in part, as obstructions to the enemys vessels and obviating the necessity for the use of as many sunken vessels as would otherwisebe required, but being capable of easy removal when no enemy is near, for the entrance and exit of those vessels the arrival and departure of which it is desired to permit.

To enable others to apply my invention to use, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A A are the sunken vessels constructed for the purpose, of any forni that may be desirable, or consisting of the hulls of old but tolerably sound vessels, having the decks and al1 other parts tight enough to enable the water to be pumped out for the purpose of floating them again after they have been sunk.

B B are the superstructures erected upon the vessels, consisting of an inclined parapet, as shown in Fig. 3, or made of any other form that may be considered best. This structure should be iron-clad on the face which is to be presented to the enemy, as shown at c a. in Fig. 3. i

In that side of each vessel which is to be turned away from the enemy, there are provided one or more ports, b b, which are below the line of flotation when the vessel is afloat, and in the deck of each there is a hatchway fitted witha hatch, c, in which there is a pipe, d, to connect a' pump for pumping out water from the interior of the vessel, and a pipe, for the admission of air. When the vessel has been towed to the place whereit is to be sunk, the port-holes are uncovered by raising or removing the ports b b, and the water entering soon sinks it, leaving only the superstructure B, or a portion of the same, above the water. The hat-ch cis not applied until it is desired to raisev the vessel, as it would afford facility for its beingraised by the enemy but in a place where the vessel would be liable to be lled with sand or mud, a hatch without pipes is put on and the ports are closed after the vessel has been sunk. The hatch c, with the pipes d e attached, is to be kept onboard of an ironclad gun-boat, which is to act as a tender, until it may be required to raise and remove one of the vessels A, to allow a ship or other vessel to pass in or out, when the ports, it' previously open, are closed and the hatch put on, and the pump connected and set to work till the vessel A- lioats, and is so permitted to be towed away or otherwise moved to a suitable distance.

The defense for the mouth of a harbor may be composed entirely of sunken vessels of the construction above described; but `it may be constructed at less cost by interposin ga strong iron-clad float, G,between every two such vessels, or between such vessel and the shore, besides which the removal of one of the said floats, which can be easily accomplished when no enemy is in sight or under the protection of one or more gun-boats inside ot' the harbor, may sometimes serve to permit the passage of a small vessel without raising of either of the sunken vessels, or the raising of one of the sunken vessels and removal of it and the floats on each side of 1t may permit the passage of a larger vessel, which, it the sunken vvessels were used alone, might require two or more ofthe latter to be removed. These oats'() G are secured to the vessels A A by means of strong cables D D, and may also be further secured by anchors attached to other cables. In removing` the oats C C, their cables are slipped and attached to buoys, so that they may be easily picked up When it is desired to replace the floats.

What I claim as my invention, andv desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment,as a harbor-defense, of

one or more vessels, A, each having-ports b b, a hatch, c, -tted With pipes d e, and a superstructure, B, the whole combined substantially as herein specified.

2. The employment, in combination with the above-described vessel or vessels, of floats C C, applied and secured substantially as herein specified.

R. H. JE WETT.

Witnesses:

lA; A. QUERY,

D. A. MAHONEY.

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