The adoption of broadside batteries followed, therefore, necessarily
upon increase of size and consequent length, but not upon that only. It
is instructive to observe that the sailing fighting ship was derived,
in part, at least, from the galley, and its resemblance in form to the
latter is traceable for at least a century after the general disuse
of the oar. As the galley, however, was small, it could concentrate
its fire advantageously in one or two pieces, for which small number
the cross-section offered a sufficient line of emplacement: and as,
when it could move at all, it could move in any direction, there was a
further advantage in being able to fire in the direction of its motion.
Hence, bow fire prevailed in galleys to the end, although the great
galleasses of Lepanto and the Armada had accepted broadside batteries
in great part, and whenever the galley type has recurred, as on Lake
Champlain during our Revolutionary War, bow fire has predominated. The
sailing ship, on the contrary, was limited as to the direction in which
she could move. Taking her as the centre of a circle, she could not
steer directly for much more than half the points on the circumference.
Bow fire consequently was much less beneficial to her, and, further,
it was found that, for reasons not necessary to particularize, her
sailing, steering, and manœuvring were greatly benefited by the
leverage of sails carried on the bowsprit and its booms, projecting
forward of the bow, where they interfered decisively with right-ahead
fire.
For all these reasons, bow fire disappeared and broadside fire
prevailed; but the fundamental one to be remembered is the greater
development of fire conferred by greater length. All ships—except
the very small ones known as schooners, cutters, and gunboats—were
broadside vessels, moved by canvas which was carried commonly on two
or three masts; but into the particulars of the sails it is presumed
readers will not care to enter. Being thus homogeneous in general
characteristics, the ships of this era were divided commonly into
three principal classes, each of which had subdivisions; but it was
recognized then, as it is now in theory though too little in practice,
that such multiplication of species is harmful, and our forerunners, by
a process of gradual elimination, had settled down upon certain clearly
defined medium types.
The smallest of the three principal classes of fighting ships were
called sloops-of-war, or corvettes. These had sometimes two masts,
sometimes three; but the particular feature that differentiated them
was that they had but one row of guns in broadside, on an uncovered
deck. The offices discharged by this class of vessel were various, but
in the apprehension of the writer they may be considered rightly as
being above all the protectors or destroyers of commerce in transit.
All ships of war, of course, contributed to this end; but the direct
preying upon commerce, upon merchant ships, whose resisting power
was small, was done most economically by small vessels of relatively
small power. Having a given amount of tonnage to devote to commerce
destroying, many small vessels are more effective than a few big
ones of unnecessary force. Such being the nature of the attack, the
resistance must be similar in kind. That is, a flock of merchant
ships being liable to attack by many small adversaries, several
small protectors would be more efficient than one or two large ones.
Sloops-of-war served also as despatch vessels and lookouts of a fleet,
but were less well adapted to this service than the frigate was.