NOVEMBER 14, 1863:
General
P.G.T. Beauregard inspects the Confederate gunboats at Charleston, S.C. His
report is not encouraging:
“Our gunboats are
defective in six respects . . . First, they have no speed . . . Second, they
are of too great a draft to navigate our inland waters. Third, they are
unseaworthy . . . even in the harbor they are at times . . . unsafe in a storm.
Fourth, they are incapable of resisting the enemy’s . . . shots. Fifth, they
cannot fight at long range. Sixth, they are very costly, warm, uncomfortable
and badly ventilated; consequently sickly.”
