Six Pará-class River Monitors that were Built During the Paraguayan War
Six Pará-class river monitors were built for the Imperial Brazilian Navy during the Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, and participated in several key operations during the conflict. These fighting vessels, like the ten Passaic-class monitors that were constructed for the United States Navy, were built to the same general plan. Thompson, on page 246 of The War in Paraguay , explains that the monitors were built in Rio de Janeiro and that they were propelled by twin screws. The iron plates that protected the hull, Thompson continues, had a depth of 4-inches while the armour protection that surrounded the turret was 6-inches in thickness. Richard Burton, writing in Letter XVII of Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay , claims that the iron plates that sheathed the monitors were pitted by the blows of solid shot. Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo, Viscount of Ouro Preto and author of A Marinha D'Outr'Ora , provides details about the construction of