参考译文：

美国内战中的海战

十九世纪美国南北双方所发生的惨烈内战，不仅仅只发生在美国的陆地上，这次内战的另一部分发生在大海上，而这却常常为人们所忘记，但内战中的海战却非常重要。北方如果不是海军所取得的重大胜利，最终是不可能获得内战胜利的。海战，有许多只发生在美国海岸线之外，还有一些战役却发生在距美国海岸线很远的国际海域。本周，我们就向你讲述美国内战中的海战。

在美国内战暴发不久，亚伯拉罕.林肯总统就想要封锁南方的一些重要港口，他想通过封锁南方港口，来阻止南方将其农产品销售到国外并换取其所需要的工业品。林肯的计划是正确的，但北方却有一个很大的弱点，北方的海军太弱小，难以完成这一使命。南方海岸线很长，从切萨皮克海湾到墨西哥海湾，长达5600公里的海岸线，北方海军缺乏足够的军舰对其进行有效的封锁。在北方发展起强大的海军力量之前，时间已经过去好几个月。

在内战之初，南方没有海军，南方政府也没有钱来组建自己的海军，而且南方也没有工业企业来建造军舰。南方曾经从英国那获得支持得到军舰，然而，北方通过外交压力迫使英国停止对南方的这种支持。在很长一段时间里，南方依靠私人船只进出南方港口运送物资，在这些私人船只中大约有20艘船悬挂南方的旗帜。这在内战刚开始取得了很大的成功。例如，佛罗里达号军舰，在1864年自己在巴西海岸被北方捕获之前，他们共捕获了30多艘船只。阿拉巴马号军舰，共捕获了60多艘船只，而它最后在法国海岸外与北方的基萨奇（Kearsarge）号军舰的一次海战中被击沉。谢南多厄（Shenandoah）号军舰驶向太平洋，它共捕获40艘船只，在内战结束后，谢南多厄号停泊在英国的利物浦。

除了这些胜利外，南方还宣称在内战期间发展了好几项海军技术。这其中的一项是第一艘现代潜艇，这艘潜艇长10米，在测试期间，它四次下水，它每次从升起，然后又沉入水下。在某个夜晚，它向北方一艘很大的军舰发射鱼雷，并击沉了这艘北方军舰。但由于鱼雷的威力太大了，在击沉北方军舰的同时也炸坏了自己，结果这艘潜艇自己也沉没了。南方还开发了其他一些非常有效的水下爆炸装置，这些水下爆炸装置安放在港口中。

然而，尽管南方在海战中取得这些胜利，和在海军方面取得这些技术进步，南方还是无力阻止北方建立其强大的海军。北方的海军开始不断壮大，而且发展很快。

在内战的头两年，北方占领了南方的好几个港口：北卡罗莱纳州的哈特拉斯堡（Fort Hatteras）和罗诺克岛（Roanoke Island）、南卡罗莱纳州的皇家港（Port Royal）、佛罗里达州的彭萨科拉（Pensacola）港，以及也许是最重要的路伊斯安那州的新奥尔良。新奥尔良位于密西西比河入海口，它是南方最大的城市和最大的海港，这里还是繁忙的工业中心，它源源不断地为南方军队生产武器装备。如果北方占领了新奥尔良，那么北方就将控制密西西比河。林肯总统任命海军将领大卫.法拉格特（David Farragut）负责进攻新奥尔良。

为了到达新奥尔良，法拉格特必须率领他的舰队突破南方军在密西西比河的两座军事要塞。法拉格特连续向这两座军事要塞炮击了六昼夜，但这两座堡垒非常坚固，连续六天的炮击对它并没有带来多大的损害，因此法拉格特决定不再等待了。

在一个漆黑的夜晚，法拉格特率领他的17艘战舰排成一条直线向前进发。南方军听到了他们的动静，便向他的舰队开火，有一艘战舰被击沉，另有三艘战舰损毁严重而无法继续前进。但其他13艘战舰却突破了这两座军事要塞的防卫圈。当法拉格特舰队到达新奥尔良时，发现，这座城市的防卫很薄弱，几千名南方士兵得知北方舰队到达时就逃跑了，因为他们知道无法与强大的北方军对抗，城里留下的只有平民。法拉格特不放一枪便占领了新奥尔良。南方的旗帜在新奥尔良城降落了，美国的旗帜在这座城市的上空升起。

就在法拉格特占领新奥尔良的几周前，一种新的海战形式出现在维吉尼亚海域的汉普顿（Hampton Roads）上，这是铁皮战舰的第一次交锋。南方的战舰是维吉尼亚号，它是由被捕获的一艘北方战舰改装而成的，这艘北方战舰叫梅里麦克（Merrimack）号战舰。维吉尼亚号战舰与迄今以来世界上所出现的战舰不一样，它长80米，浮出水面的部分是由六十厘米厚的木头制造而成的，它的外面又用十厘米厚的铁皮包裹起来，四面有十个窗户，在每个窗户里面都有一门加农炮。在战斗中，窗户就会打开，加农炮就会开火，随后窗户又会关上。在这艘战舰的前面是用铁制成的尖角，它可以冲破木船。维吉尼亚号的航速并不快，而且还很难操作，它在水面上转一圈大约需要三十分钟时间。尽管如此，似乎没有什么可以阻挡这个铁皮怪物，它已经摧毁两艘北方战舰了，现在它又将继续却摧毁更多的北方战舰。

北方挑选与维吉尼亚战舰对垒的是蒙尼特（Monitor）号战舰，它也是用铁皮包裹的，但它比维吉尼亚号小得多，它只配备两门加农炮。然而，这两门大炮位于战舰可以四面旋转的地方，它可以朝不同方向射击。蒙尼特号与维吉尼亚号在1862年3月9日的早晨下面相碰，两艘战舰的距离很近很近，随后就开火了。南方的炮弹打在蒙尼特号战舰的铁皮上弹开了，北方的士兵欢呼了：维吉尼亚号的大炮对他们不会带来危害！但北方的士兵很快就发现，他们自己的大炮也没有什么危害。

两艘战舰里的海军士兵们忍受着双方炮击所带来的噪声、灼热和浓烟，双方大炮所发出的声音非常大，更大的声音是敌人的炮弹落在自己的战舰上并发出的爆炸声。有些士兵的耳膜都震坏了，至少有一个人被炮弹打在战舰的铁皮上爆炸所产生的声音震昏过去。于是在战舰里面的士兵立即意识到必须到外面去。炮弹引起的浓烟迷漫整艘战舰，然后飘向大海，一时，两艘战舰相互谁也看不到谁。

维吉尼亚号与蒙尼特号相互炮击了三个小时，双方都没有受到沉重的打击，都没有受到太大的损害。接着，维吉尼亚号的大炮沉寂了，这艘南方战舰用完了它所有的炮弹，也耗尽了所有的燃料，它现在是轻飘飘地浮在海面上。一枚炮弹准确地打在它的铁皮下面，并使战舰往下沉。南方舰长决定撤退，而北方的舰长也准备撤出战斗，他决定不追击维吉尼亚号。南北双方的战舰都没有声称获胜，但蒙尼特号战舰有效地阻止了维吉尼亚号再次摧毁更多的北方木制战舰。维吉尼亚号战舰自己只再存活了两个月时间，北方军队占领了南方诺福克（Norfolk）海军基地，而维吉尼亚号正停泊在此，因此，这艘铁皮怪物被凿沉，以免落入北方军的手里。

维吉尼亚号与蒙尼特号之间的汉普顿海战并不是一次决定性的战役，它对美国内战的最后结果没有产生多大的影响，但这次海战仍然是一次非常重要的海战，因为这次海战标志着世界上木制战舰结束使命的开始。

欲知后事如何，请看下周分解。

简评：

撇开其他一切不讲，单就武器发展来说，真正能够推动武器发展的，只有战争。

美国自1860年内战以后，逐渐成为世界强国，特别是军事强国，其中一个很重要的原因，就是美国自内战以后到现在的一百多年时间，美国人所进行的战争几乎从未间断过。当然这些战争都不再发生在国内，而都发生在周边甚至是世界各地。正因为美国人所从事的战争不断，美国的武器装备才会不断地升级。

一种武器的好坏，是否实用，是否先进，只有通过真正的战争才能得以检验，其他一切，包括演习，那都是虚的。

而且更为重要的是，只有通过战争，才能使武器不断地更新换代，否则，到什么时候，拿出来的武器都是落后的。

The Civil War at Sea　　

The American Civil War in the eighteen sixties was fought not only on land. There was a great deal of fighting between the Union and Confederate navies. This part of the war -- the sea war -- is often forgotten, but it was important. The Union victory might not have been possible without the successes of its navy. Many battles took place just off the coast of the United States. Many others took place farther away, in international waters. This week in our series, we talk about the naval side of the Civil War.

As soon as the war started, President Abraham Lincoln wanted to block the South's major ports. He wanted to prevent the South from shipping its agricultural products to other countries in exchange for industrial goods. Lincoln's plan was good. But it had one major weakness. The Union navy was too small for the job. The Confederate seacoast was long. It extended from Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, a distance of five thousand six hundred kilometers. There were not enough ships in the Union navy to blockade all of it. Many months would pass before the Union could build up an effective naval force. 　

The Confederacy had no navy at the start of the Civil War. The Confederate government had little money to create one. And the South had no factories to build one. For a while, the Confederacy was able to get warships from Britain. Then the Union put diplomatic pressure on Britain to stop this support. For the most part, the Confederacy depended on privately owned ships to get goods in and out of the South. About twenty of these private ships flew the Confederate flag. Most were very successful in the beginning. The Florida, for example, captured more than thirty ships before being captured itself off the coast of Brazil in eighteen sixty-four. The Alabama captured more than sixty ships. It was finally sunk in a battle with the Kearsarge off the coast of France. The Shenandoah sailed in the Pacific Ocean. It captured forty ships. After the war ended, the Shenandoah tied up in Liverpool, England.

In addition to these victories, the Confederacy claimed responsibility for several new naval technologies during the Civil War. One was the first modern submarine. This ship was ten meters long. It sank four times while being tested. It was raised each time and put back into service. One night, it fired its torpedoes at a much larger Union ship and sank it. But the explosion was so great that it tore apart the submarine. And it sank, too. The Confederacy also developed very effective underwater explosive devices for use in the harbors. 　

Even with its victories and technologies, however, the Confederacy could not stop the Union navy. The Union navy was bigger to begin with and grew much faster. 　

During the first two years of the Civil War, the Union captured several southern ports: Fort Hatteras and Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Port Royal, South Carolina. Pensacola, Florida. And -- perhaps most importantly -- New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans lay near the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was the largest city in the south. It was the largest seaport. It had become a busy industrial center, producing war equipment for Confederate forces. If the Union could capture New Orleans, it would control the Mississippi River. President Lincoln appointed navy officer David Farragut to lead the attack on New Orleans.

To reach the city, Farragut had to sail his ships past two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River. He shelled the forts for six days and nights. But the forts were so strong that the shells caused little damage. He decided not to wait any longer.

One dark night, Farragut led seventeen Union warships up the river in a line. The Confederate forces heard them and began to fire. One ship was sunk. Three others were damaged so badly that they could not continue. But thirteen made it safely past the forts. When Farragut reached New Orleans, he found the city defenseless. Several thousand Confederate soldiers had fled. They knew they could not defend against the bigger Union force. Only civilians remained. Farragut captured New Orleans without a fight. The Confederate flag was lowered. And the United States flag was raised over the city.

Several weeks before Farragut captured New Orleans, a new kind of navy battle was fought off Hampton Roads, Virginia. It was the first battle between iron ships. On the Confederate side was the Virginia. It had been built from what remained of a captured Union warship called the Merrimack. The Virginia was like no other warship ever seen in the world. It was eighty meters long. The part that showed above the water line was built of wood sixty centimeters thick. This part was covered with sheets of iron ten centimeters thick. Ten windows were cut into it. Behind each window was a cannon. In a battle, the windows would open, the cannons would fire, and the windows would close again. At the front was a sharp point of iron that could smash through the sides of wooden ships. The Virginia could not move fast. And it was difficult to control. It took almost thirty minutes to turn around. Still, there seemed to be no way to stop this iron monster. It already had destroyed two Union warships. And it was coming back for more. 　

The Union ship chosen to fight the Virginia was the Monitor. It, too, was covered with iron. But it was much smaller than the Virginia. And it carried only two cannons. These two cannons, however, were on a part of the ship that could turn in a complete circle. They could be aimed in any direction. The Monitor and the Virginia faced each other on the morning of March ninth, eighteen sixty-two. They moved in close -- very close -- then began to fire. A Confederate cannon ball hit the iron side of the Monitor and bounced away. Union sailors cheered. The cannons of the Virginia could do no damage! But the Union sailors soon discovered that their cannons could do no damage, either. 　

The men inside the two ships suffered from noise, heat, and smoke. The roar of their own cannons was extremely loud. Even louder was the crash of enemy cannon balls and explosive shells on the iron walls. Some of the men suffered burst eardrums. At least one man was struck unconscious from the force of a cannon ball against the iron. The men quickly learned to stay away from the walls. Smoke from the cannons filled the ships. Then it floated out over the water. At times, the two ships could not see each other.

The Virginia and the Monitor fought for three hours. Neither ship scored an important hit. Neither suffered serious damage. Then the cannons of the Virginia fell silent. The Confederate ship had used up its gunpowder. It also had used up much of its fuel. It was lighter now and was floating higher in the water. A well-aimed cannon ball could hit below its iron covering and sink it. The Confederate captain decided to withdraw. The Union captain, too, was ready to break off the battle. He decided not to follow. Neither ship could claim victory. But the Monitor had kept the Virginia from destroying more of the Union's wooden warships. The Virginia itself was to live just two more months. Union forces seized the Confederate navy base at Norfolk, where the Virginia was kept. And the iron monster was sunk to keep it from falling into Union hands.

The battle at Hampton Roads between the Virginia and the Monitor was undecisive. It did not have much effect on the final result of America's Civil War. But it was still an important battle. For it marked the beginning of the end of the world's wooden navies. 　

We will continue our story of the Civil War next week.

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