The warship of the “perfect sailing ship type,” with the engines as little conspicuous as possible, remained in favour until the experiences of the British and French fleets in the Crimea and the Baltic compelled the abandonment of all the theories and practices which had been nursed for years; while the innovations which were made at the time of the American Civil War brought about the introduction of types of vessels which were about as unlike the historical wooden walls, the growth of centuries, as anything could well be. Some years ago, when visiting the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the writer was discussing with the officers in charge there the effects of the war between the Northern and Southern States, and the expedients tried by the two sides, upon warship construction, irrespective of generally accepted theories and the opinions of the experts. “Happy is the nation that has no precedents,” was the sententious comment of an American officer. CHAPTER V IRON SHIPS OF WAR; FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF IRON ARMOUR TO BROADSIDE AND TURRET SHIPS When the Crimean War broke out, Great Britain and France shared the naval leadership of the world. Nearly all the other nations had warships of one kind or another, but the finest specimens were to be found in the fleets of those two powers. They included the _Duke of Wellington_, fitted with screw engines of 700 h.p. and carrying one hundred and thirty-one guns; the _Agamemnon_, of 600 h.p. and ninety-one guns; and the frigate _Shannon_, of 600 h.p. and fifty-one guns, to mention three of the best examples of their classes. Russia had some powerful vessels, including a few steam warships, but her naval resources were not equal to those of either of the allies. The French and English naval reviews in 1853 and 1854 were instructive as showing the improvements which had been effected in the preceding fifteen or twenty years. The screw propeller was so advantageous a method of propulsion that the conversion of sailing vessels into steamers went on apace in all the navies of Europe, and the United States, which usually did not at that time trouble about European naval developments, caught the infection and not only built steam frigates, but transformed some of its smaller vessels also to augment the steam warships it had already found necessary for its operations in the Mexican Gulf, the West Indies, and elsewhere. The frigate was a favourite type of ship with the Americans, and whether in the sailing days or after the adoption of steam for warships, the American frigates were equal to those to be found anywhere.