Monitors of the Pará-class are Referenced in Ten Publications

Pará-class monitos relied upon plates of wrought-iron and a backing of tropical hardwood, which covered the sides as well as the turrets of the river-craft, to resist the blows that they received from the batteries of the Paraguayan Army. Four and a half inches of wrought-iron plates, which were attached to fifteen-inches of solid timber, protected the sides of the fighting vessels. Six-inches of wrought-iron, which was backed by ten-inches of tropical hardwood, protected the turret from missiles. Humaitá, which was also known as Humayitá, prevented the Imperial Brazilian Navy from ascending the Paraguay River. A division of ironclads, which was stationed between Curupayty and Humaitá, awaited reinforcements from Brazil. Pará-class monitors, which arrived on the Paraguay River in the February of 1868, had been unable to participate in the earlier engagements that had occurred between the Allied armies and the forces of Francisco Solano López. A new division of ironclads, which included three monitors of the Pará-class, was formed from the original division of iron-cased fighting vessels that were stationed between the two fortresses. Six ironclads, in the third week of February, passed Humaitá and ascended the Paraguay River as far as Tayí. Asunsión, which was the capital of Paraguay, became exposed to the depredations of the iron-plated fighting vessels of the Brazilian armada. López, who had failed to procure ironclads for the Paraguayan Navy, sought to capture an iron-cased fighting vessel via the use of canoes and boarding-parties. Alagoas, which became separated from Bahia during the Passage of Humaitá, is believed to have been attacked by canoes while Rio Grande was subjected to a similar raid while it was anchored at Tayí. Pára-class monitors engaged the batteries of Fortines, which is also known as Fortin, and helped to destroy the remnants of the Paraguayan Navy. Alagoas, Ceará and Pará witnessed the tragedy that occurred at Cerrito in the final year of the Paraguayan War.

1) Armour, and its Attack by Artillery. Supplement Dealing with Development of Armour from 1887 to early in 1893. Extracted from the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich. by Captain Charles Orde Browne.

Charles Orde Browne dedicates the ninth chapter of the second part of Armour, and its Attack by Artillery to the results of artillery fire upon ironclads. Laminated armour, on page 118, is reported to have contained weaknesses while bolts and port-holes are claimed to have constituted the vulnerable areas of iron-cased fighting ships. Alagoas, which is described as a Brazilian monitor, is reported to have participated in the War of the Triple Alliance. It is claimed that the armour of the Pará-class monitor, during the conflict between the Triple Alliance and Paraguay, was subjected to a severe test. Alagoas, in a similar manner to which CSS Atlanta was shielded from enemy projectiles, is reported to have depended upon iron and tropical hardwood to protect its turret as well as its sides from the missiles that were launched in its direction. It is claimed that the sides of the ironclad, which may have referred to the freeboard, were shielded by four and a half inches of wrought-iron plates that were backed by fifteen-inches of teak. Half an inch of iron skin is claimed to have lined the metal plates or the timber backing of the river-craft while six-inches of wrought-iron plates, which were backed by ten-inches of teak, are reported to have protected its turret. It is suggested that the metal plates which covered the sides as well as the turret of the gunboat were solid, rather than laminated, and this may have improved the powers of resistance of the iron shield. Alagoas is reported to have been struck on two-hundred occasions by 32-pounder rifles, 68-pounder smoothbores and 120-pounder smoothbores that discharged their projectiles at a range 100-yards. It is claimed that the side armour of the Pará-class monitor was perforated on twelve occasions while it is stated that the bolts and the teak backing of the turret, which is reported to have been pierced on two occasions, were damaged. Alagoas, while it was able to resist the blows that it received from the Paraguayan batteries, was neither invulnerable nor impregnable.

2) Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York. Ninety-second Session-1869. Volume 12.-No. 211.

Three monitors of the Pará-class, on pages 1016 and 1017 of the twelfth volume of Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, are reported to have engaged the batteries at Fortines Bluff while they were in the company of three ironclads of different classes. Ironclads are reported to have engaged the batteries that defended the navigable waterways of Paraguay and the subject of the article, in which a similar article that was published in Anglo-Brazilian Times is discussed, is whether or not iron-cased fighting vessels can resist the power of heavy guns. Fortines Bluff is claimed to have contained fifteen guns which were installed in redoubts, arranged into different batteries and composed of different calibres. Seven of the guns, which appear to have been smoothbore weapons, are reported to have been 68-pounders while another is claimed to have been a 32-pounder. Four rifled guns, the calibre of which is not revealed, are reported to have been included in the defenses of Fortines Bluff while another four weapons of uncertain calibre are claimed to have been included in the batteries. It is reported that the batteries, which are claimed to have been positioned along the curve of Fortines Bluff, commanded the narrowest part of the channel at close range. Alagoas, Bahia and Silvado are claimed to have passed the batteries of Fortines Bluff on two occasions. It is reported that Alagoas, after passing and repassing the batteries, was hit by eight projectiles while Silvado is claimed to have been struck on twenty-nine occasions as it passed Fortines Bluff for the second time. It is reported that the engine of Alagoas, during its ascent of the watercourse, was disabled for a duration of four hours. Piauhy and Rio Grande, which are claimed to have been accompanied by Barroso, are reported to have bombarded the batteries that were situated on Fortines Bluff. It is claimed that Rio Grande was struck twice while Piauhy, whose turret is reported to have been immobilised, was hit on ten occasions.

3) Geography. Or First Division of "The English Cyclopaedia," Conducted by Charles Knight. Supplement. by Charles Knight.

Charles Knight, whose Geography is described as the first division of The English Cyclopaedia, describes some of the key events that occurred in the Paraguayan War. It is reported, on pages 1094 and 1095, that the Marquis de Caxias commanded the Imperial Brazilian Army while the Baron Ignacio de Inhauma is claimed to have commanded the Imperial Brazilian Navy. Attempts, at the beginning of 1868, are reported to have been made to improve the condition of the armed forces of the Empire of Brazil. On the 13th of February, 1868, three monitors of the Pará-class are claimed to have ascended the Paraguay River and are reported to have attempted to pass Humayitá. It appears that Humayitá, which is claimed to have been approached under the cover of darkness, was an alternative spelling of Humaitá. Pará, Alagoas and Rio Grande are identified as the ironclads that advanced upon Humayitá while the objective of the naval operation is reported to have been to join a detachment of ironclads that lay beyond the fortification. It is claimed that the batteries of Curupaiti, which was also known as Curupayty, and Humayitá opened fire on the river-craft. Humayitá, on this occasion, may have been mistaken for Curupayty. On the evening of the 19th of February, 1868, six ironclads of the Imperial Brazilian Navy are reported to have passed Humayitá while the depth of the Paraguay River is claimed to have risen to such an extent that it submerged the chain-boom. Bahia is reported to have towed Alagoas, Tamandaré is claimed to have drawn Pará while Barrosa and Rio Grande are identified as the final pair of iron-plated fighting vessels that passed the Paraguayan batteries. It is reported that the chain-boom, after the flats that had kept it afloat had been destroyed by artillery fire, sagged at a depth of twelve-feet below the surface of the water. Eighty cannons, the majority of which are reported to have been 68-pounders, are claimed to have opened fire on the ironclads as they passed Humayitá.

4) History of South America, 1854-1904. With an Additional Chapter Bringing the History to the Present Day. by Charles Edmond Akers.

Charles Edmond Akers, on page 166 of the edition of History of South America that covers the years from 1854 until 1904, describes the damage that was inflicted on the ironclads of the Imperial Brazilian Navy by the batteries that defended Humaitá. Alagoa, which may be an alternative spelling of Alagoas, is reported to have been separated from Bahia during the engagement. It is claimed that Alagoa, after it became separated from its consort, was surrounded and captured by a flotilla of thirty canoes. Bahia, Barroso, Pará, Rio Grande and Tamandaré are reported to have arrived at Tayí. It is implied, therefore, that the Paraguayan Navy was able to equip itself with one of the ironclads that had been built for the Brazilian armada. No information, however, is provided about the future service of Alagoa with the Paraguayan Navy.  Francisco Solano López, if he had managed to procure ironclads for his armada, would have been in a better position to defend his water lines of communications and to resist the advance of the Allied forces along the inland waterways of Paraguay. It is possible, therefore, that Alagoa was either scuttled by the Paraguayan Navy or recaptured by the Brazilian armada. Akers, if he had received incorrect information or misinterpreted evidence, may have been mistaken in his belief that Alagoa had been captured by a flotilla of canoes. Pará and Tamandaré, as a result of the damage that they received from the Paraguayan batteries, are reported to have been rendered unserviceable by the time that they arrived at Tayí. It is claimed, on page 167, that the Paraguayans would disguise their canoes as floating islands. Camelotes, as the islands were known in the local vernacular, are reported to have been formed by the accumulation of floating vegetation. Rio Grande, on page 169, is reported to have been attacked by a flotilla of canoes that had been disguised as camelotes. It is claimed, however, that nearby fighting vessels repulsed the boarding-parties and saved the Rio Grande from being captured.

5) Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay. by Captain Richard Burton.

Captain Richard Francis Burton, on page 311 of Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay, claims that a flotilla of canoes attempted to capture Barroso and Rio Grande within the vicinity of Tayi. On the 9th of July, 1868, the ironclads are reported to have repulsed the boarding-parties. Pará, on page 333 as well as page 334, is claimed to have caused a diplomatic incident between the Empire of Brazil and the Republic of Argentina. On the 3rd of May, 1868, the Paraguayan Army is reported to have routed the Argentinian Army during the Battle of Acayuasá. Pará, having retrieved the Argentinian flag from the water, is claimed to have refused to return the colours to Argentina without receiving a receipt. It is reported , on pages 343 and 344, that a pair of Pará-class monitors had retrieved an undisclosed number of 32-pounder guns from the Paraguay River. Captain Maurity and Captain Wandenkolk, at the time in which the guns of the battery of Timbo were salvaged, are identified as the commanders of the ironclads. Alagoas, to paraphrase Burton, was an efficient river-craft that drew four and a half feet of water. Burton, on page 345, claims that the ironclads which served in the Brazilian armada were built at Rio de Janeiro or in the shipyards of Europe. Alagoas, Ceará, Pará, Piauhy, Rio Grande and Santa Catharina are included in the official list of Brazilian fighting vessels that were operating on the inland waterways of Paraguay. It is reported that Alagoas had a compliment of between thirty-six and thirty-nine mariners while the remaining five Pará-class monitors, all of which are revealed to have been equipped with a single gun, are claimed to have had a crew of sixty men. Barroso, on pages 364 and 365, is reported to have assisted Rio Grande during the engagement of the 9th of July. It is explained that Barroso cleared the decks of Rio Grande, which is reported to have been boarded by adversaries and whose crew is claimed to have retreated beneath its hatches, with salvoes of canister-shot as well as grape-shot.

6) Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute. Volume XI. by the United States Service Institute.

Lieutenant Edward Buttevant Barry, whose translation of an article about the Min River expedition appears in the eleventh volume of Proceedings of the United States Service Institute, describes an incident that is alleged to have involved a monitor of the Pará-class and  a flotilla of canoes. Captain Chabaud-Arnault, who is claimed to have served as an officer of the French Navy, is identified as the original author of the article. It is reported that boarding and capturing vessels, which is the subject of the seventh chapter of the article, had become an unreliable tactic in naval warfare. Steam-navigation, on page 316, is reported to have increased the difficulty of capturing ships via the use of boarding-parties that were conveyed to their target by water-craft. Sailing vessels, by contrast, are claimed to have been vulnerable to the depredations of boarding-parties. It is possible that ships which lacked mechanical power, such as those which relied upon the wind for their means of locomotion, lacked the capacity to perform evasive movements. Steam-vessels, so long as their boilers were producing vapour, may have been in a better position to evade adversaries that were detected on the water. On the 19th of February, 1868, a squadron of the Imperial Brazilian Navy is reported to have passed Humaitá. Boarding-parties are claimed to have been conveyed to Alagoas, which is reported to have became separated from the ironclads that were situated further along the Paraguay River, by twenty flat-boats. It appears that the Pará-class monitor, after it had forced the batteries that lined the banks of the watercourse, was struggling against the current of the stream. Capturing an ironclad for the Paraguayan Navy, which appears to have lacked armoured fighting vessels, is claimed to have been the objective of the riverine expedition. Alagoas, which is reported to have used grape-shot and ramming tactics to destroy six of the flat-boats that attempted to capture it, is claimed to have deprived the Paraguayan Navy of its prize.

7) River Plate. No. 2. (1868.) Correspondence Respecting Hostilities in the River Plate. (In continuation of Papers presented to Parliament. February 1868.) Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. 1868. by the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.

Correspondence Respecting Hostilities in the River Plate, which appears in the seventy-third volume of Accounts and Papers, is identified as the second installment of a collection of papers that contain information about the Paraguayan War. It is revealed that the anthology, which is described as a continuation of a series of documents that were released in the February of 1868, was composed of forty-six papers. Gerard Francis Gould, on pages 14 and 15, provides Lord Stanley with two documents that contain information about Pará-class monitors. On the 11th of March, 1868, Gould provided Stanley with an overview of the recent events that had occurred in the Paraguayan War. An account of the Passage of Humaitá, which was composed by the Baron de Inhauma, forms the first enclosure. On the 28th of February, 1868, Inhauma describes the Passage of Humaitá. Six ironclads, on the 19th of February, are reported to have passed Humaitá on the same day that the Imperial Brazilian Army attacked the fortified positions at Establecimiento. Alagoas, Pará and Rio Grande are claimed to have joined Bahia, Barroso as well as Tamandaré in the Third Division of the Brazilian squadron that was stationed on the Paraguay River. Bahia is reported to have towed Alagoas, Barroso is claimed to have been tethered to Rio Grande while Pará and Tamandaré are revealed to have been the last in the line of procession. It is reported that Alagoas, which is claimed to have been under the command of Lieutenant Joaquim Antonio Cordovil Maurity, repulsed a canoe attack. Delfin Carlos de Carvalho, whose account of the bombardment of Asunción is included on page 17, composed the second enclosure of the nineteenth document. Rio Grande, in the company of Bahia and Barroso, is reported to have participated in the expedition to Asunción. It is claimed that riverine expedition occurred between the 20th of February until the 26th of February, 1868, while it is implied that Alagoas and Pará remained at Tayí.

8) The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1868. Embracing Political, Civil, Military, and Social Affairs ; Public Documents ; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry. Volume VIII. by Anonymous.

Four ironclads of the Imperial Brazilian Navy, on page 611 of the eighth volume of The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1868, are reported to have intercepted two unprotected gunboats of the Paraguayan Navy on the same day. On the morning of the 23rd of March, 1868, three ironclads are claimed to have passed the battery that had been established at Timbó as they descended the Paraguay River. It is reported that Timbó was situated on the side of the Paraguay River that bordered the Chaco while Barroso, Pará and Rio Grande are identified as the ironclads that were reconnoitering the watercourse. Igurey, which is described as a Paraguayan steamer, is reported to have been discovered in an inlet. It is implied that the gunboat, which appears to have been functioning as a supply vessel, was hiding from the ironclads at the time in which it was discovered. Rio Grande, after an undisclosed number of shots had been fired at Igurey, is reported to have struck the supply vessel below the waterline with a seventy-pound projectile. It is not explained, however, if Rio Grande bombarded Igurey by itself or if Barroso and Pará fired upon the cargo vessel. No information is provided, furthermore, about whether or not Iguery returned the fire of the ironclads. Water would have entered the interior spaces of Iguery, which is reported to have sunk within the space of two or three hours, via the perforation in its hull. It is claimed that the Paraguayan steamer, whose crew appear to have been unable to prevent the ingress of water, disappeared beneath the surface of the water. No sign of the ship, including its smokestack, is reported to have been visible after it foundered. It is claimed that boats, after Rio Grande eliminated Iguery and Bahia destroyed Taquary, were used to convey supplies from Timbó to Humaitá. Water lines of communication that ran between the stronghold and its outwork, while they had been disrupted by the loss of the steamers, had not been severed.

9) The Mechanics' Magazine and Journal of Engineering, Agricultural Machinery, Manufactures, and Shipbuilding. Edited by H. Gardner, C. E. Volume XXIII.-New Series. (With Old Series, Volume XCII.) January to June, 1870. by Various Authors.

It is reported, on page 177 of the twenty-third volume of the new series of The Mechanics' Magazine, that three monitors of the Pará-class witnessed the explosion of 360-tons of gunpowder while they were anchored at Cerrito. News of the tragedy was released in the issue of the magazine that was published on the 4th of March, 1870, and the names of the water-craft that were involved in the incident are also included in the article. On the 5th of February, 1870, The Anglo Brazilian Times is claimed to have published its report of the explosion at Cerrito. It is claimed that Pluto received its consignment of gunpowder from Quickstep on the 2nd of January, 1870, after the captain of the first vessel is reported to have gone ashore to receive his orders. Pluto, which is claimed to have been destined for Rio de Janeiro, is described as a Brazilian schooner while Quickstep is identified as a pontoon. It is reported that the captain of Alagoas, which may have been the vessel that Charles Edmond Akers claimed to have been captured during the Passage of Humaitá, was standing on the deck of the ironclad at the time in which the explosion occurred. Alagoas, if it had been captured in the February of 1868, had returned to the Imperial Brazilian Navy. Three explosions, according to the eye-witness account of the commander of the Pará-class monitor, are reported to have occurred at eleven 'o clock in the morning. It is claimed that the force of the explosion, which is reported to have originated onboard Pluto, destroyed Quickstep and the shore magazine. Nobody is claimed to have been onboard Quickstep, whose's crew are reported to have been eating breakfast, at the time of the explosion. A crew of eight mariners, the wife and daughters of the captain as well as nine workmen from the arsenal are claimed to have been onboard Pluto when the disaster occurred. Alagoas, Ceara and Pará are reported to have been damaged by the explosion but appear to have remained afloat as the tragedy unfolded.

10) The Naval Annual, 1886. by Lord Brassey, K.C.B.

Lord Thomas Brassey, on page 212 of the volume of The Naval Annual that covers the year 1886, describes the different types of ironclad that served in the Imperial Brazilian Navy. Two decades had passed between the year in which the Paraguayan War, in which Brazil took a leading role, began and the date in which the book was published. Central-battery ships, coast-service vessels and turret ships are identified as the three categories of ironclad that served in the Imperial Brazilian Navy during the penultimate decade of the nineteenth-century. Several veterans of the Paraguayan War, which may have become obsolete in the decades that followed the conflict, are reported to have remained in active service. Alagoas, Pará as well as Rio Grande are described as river monitors and it is reported that their dimensions as well as their armaments were identical. Other monitors of the Pará-class, however, may have had different characteristics. Alagoas, Pará and Rio Grande are reported to have been 120-feet in length as well as 28-feet in beam. Pará-class monitors, which are claimed to have been 340-tons, are reported to have drawn four-feet and ten-inches of water. Alagoas, Pará and Rio Grande are claimed to have been equipped with engines that generated 180 horse-power and which turned two screws that propelled them through the water. It is reported that monitors of the Pará-class, while they were protected by varying depths of iron plates that were backed by fourteen and a half inches of timber, were constructed from wood. A waterline belt, which is claimed to have been composed of iron plates that were four-inches in depth, is reported to have protected the freeboard of the ironclads. It is claimed that the turret, in which a 70-lbs Whitworth muzzle-loading rifle is reported to have resided, was shielded by four and a half inches of iron plates. Alagoas and Pará are reported to have been launched in 1867 while Rio Grande, perhaps in error, is claimed to have been launched in the first year of the Paraguayan War.