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 The Confederate States l^am 
 
 L 
 
 The History of her Plan 
 and Construction, and 
 her Engagements with 
 the United States Fleet 
 March 8 and 9, 1862 
 
 By VIROINIU8 INEWTON 
 
 LATE MIDSHIPMAN CONFEDERATE STATES NAVY 
 
 Reprinted from the Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XX
 
 
 3 1822 00014 8940 
 
 
 
 I I 
 
 
 The 
 Confederate States Ram 
 
 
 Merrimac or Virginia 
 
 The History of her Plan and Con- 
 struction, and her Engagements 
 with the United States Fleet 
 March 8 and 9, 1862 
 
 By VIRGINIUS NEWTON 
 
 Late Mi J i b i p m a n i S. Navy 
 
 Krprintc-il from the Southern Historical Society Papers : Volume Twenty 
 
 RICHMOND. VA. 
 THE HERMITAGE PRESS. IM . 
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 <onfeberate eunon, 
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 FUillT OK THE MF.KKIM.VC AND THE MONITOR. 
 
 The 
 
 Merrimac or Virginia 
 
 History of Her Plan, Con- 
 struction and Engagements 
 
 The thirtieth anniversary of the engagements of the 
 Merrimac in Hampton Roads is near at hand. Those of 
 us who were lads at that time are nearing the fifties have 
 passed into " the sere and yellow leaf " and a few more 
 years will have gathered the last survivors to the silence 
 of the ages. Having your encouragement, and having been 
 an eye-witness and participator as an officer of the Con- 
 tVoVrate States Navy in these eventful actions, I shall at- 
 tempt, briefly, to place before your readers such facts as 
 came within my observation, which to-day seem as fresh 
 and as vivid as they did thirty years ago. May I " nothing 
 extenuate, nor set down aii^lit in malice?" 
 
 [3]
 
 4 Soul Item Uixlur'n-iil Society Papers. 
 
 During the night of April 20, 1805. the United States 
 forces, with a haste that is inexplicable, and a panic that 
 cannot be excused, abandoned the Norfolk navy-yard after 
 a partial destruction of the ships, stores and cannon at that 
 depot. It is estimated that the Confederate Government 
 by this blunder came into possession of over $4,000,000 of 
 property, priceless to it in value, and obtainable from no 
 other place within its 'limits. The cannon and material of 
 war here found, subsequently did good service in the coast 
 and inland defences of Virginia, Xorth and South Carolina, 
 Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. 
 
 Amongst the vessels then at the navy-yard, out of com- 
 mission, which the United States forces set on fire and 
 scuttled, was the United States frigate Merrimac. She 
 belonged to the new class of forty-gun frigates of 3,500 
 tons, with auxiliary steam power. She was built at Charles- 
 town, Massachusetts, in 1855, had made several cruises, 
 and upon her returning from her last cruise was put out of 
 commission at the Norfolk yard and moored alongside the 
 dock. In her best days her speed under steam power had 
 not exceeded seven miles, and had run down to four or 
 five miles per hour at the close of her last service. Her 
 machinery and boilers had been further damaged at the 
 time she was burned and scuttled. 
 
 On May 30th she was floated and docked by the Con- 
 federates, and became in time an ironclad vessel (christened 
 the Virginia more widely known as the Merrimac). 
 
 THE PROJECTOR OF THE MERRIMAC AND THE PLAN 
 
 There are two claimants to the honor of the plan Lieu- 
 tenant John M. Brooke, Confederate .States Navy, and 
 Constructor John L. Porter, Confederate States Navy.* I 
 
 *The Editor would refer the reader to the dispassionate 
 statement of Colonel Brooke, " The Virginia or Merrimac." 
 Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. xix. pp. 3-34.
 
 Tin 1 Mi'rri mac or Virginia. 5 
 
 have no personal acquaintance with either of these gentle- 
 men, and I desire above all things to do injustice to neither. 
 The record in the matter is made up. We look for, we can 
 hope for, no new, no additional evidence. Upon the state- 
 ments before us we must make our judgment and give our 
 award, with a desire to know the truth and proclaim it. 
 
 On the 18th of March, 1862, ten days subsequent to the 
 action in Hampton Roads, the Confederate House of Repre- 
 sentatives passed and sent a communication to the Hon. 
 S. R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy, which reads as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " That the Secretary of the Navy be requested to make a 
 report to this House of the plan and construction of the 
 Virginia, so far as the same can be properly communicated, 
 of the reasons for applying' the plan to the Merrimac ; and 
 ;il so what persons have rendered especial aid in designing 
 and building the ship." 
 
 On the 29th of March, 1862, Secretary Mallory replied 
 to this message in a communication of some length, the 
 most material portions of which I shall here set forth : 
 
 1. "That on June 10, 1862, Lieutenant John M. Brooke 
 was directed to aid the Navy Department in designing an 
 ironclad, and to frame the necessary specifications." 
 
 2. " That in a few days he submitted rough drawings 
 of a case-mated vessel with submerged ends, and inclined 
 iron-plated sides which was approved by the depart- 
 ment." 
 
 3. " That Chief Engineer Williamson and Constructor 
 Porter were ordered to report in Richmond about the 23rd 
 of June for consultation on the same subject generally, 
 ;in<l to aid in the work." 
 
 4. "That Mr. Williamson and Mr. Porter approved the 
 plan of having submerged ends to obtain rotation and in- 
 vulnerability, and a clean drawing was prepared by Mr. 
 Porter of Lieutenant Brooke's plan, which that officer then 
 filed with the department."
 
 i Historical Society Papers. 
 
 5. "That the novel plan of submerging the ends of the 
 ship and eaves of the casemate is the peculiar ami distinc- 
 tive feature of the Virginia, and was never before adopted." 
 
 6. " That Mr. Williamson, Lieutenant Brooke, and Mr. 
 Porter reported that the Merrimac could be utilized for 
 this purpose, and recommended the submerged ends and 
 inclined casement for this vessel, which was adopted." 
 
 Lieutenant Brooke claims that the material feature of 
 his plan is that the bow and stern shall each extend under 
 water beyond the forward and after ends of the shield or 
 casemate, to give the sharpness for speed and buoyancy to 
 support the weight of iron ; and a patent for this claim was 
 duly issued to Lieutenant John M. Brooke, by the Con- 
 federate Government, July 29, 1862. 
 
 HER DISTINCTIVE FEATURES. 
 
 It will be observed in the above quotations from Secre- 
 tary Mallory's letter that he regards the submerged? ends of 
 the ship and the eaves of the casemate as the novel and 
 distinctive feature of the Merrimac. Lieutenant Brooke's 
 patent is based solely on this novel and distinctive feature. 
 So that Brooke's plan and the distinctive features of the 
 Merrimac are one and the same. In the same communica- 
 tion of Secretary Mallory to the Confederate House of 
 Representatives, in which he awards the merit of the plan 
 of the Merrimac to Lieutenant John M. Brooke and in 
 response to that part of the resolution, " and also what per- 
 sons have rendered especial aid in designing and building 
 the ship," the Secretary further replies: 
 
 " Mr. Portor put the ship down, submerged her ends, per- 
 formed all the duties of constructor, and originated all the 
 interior arrangements, by which space has been economized, 
 and he has exhibited energy, ability, and ingenuity. Mr. 
 Williamson thoroughly overhauled her engine?, supplied 
 deficiencies, repaired defects, and improved greatly the mo- 
 tive power of the vessel.''
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia: 7 
 
 Secretary Mallory further states that when Constructor 
 Porter came to Kichmond, as previously stated, about June 
 23rd, " Constructor Porter brought and submitted the 
 model of a flat-bottomed, light-draught propeller, case- 
 mated batten", with inclined iron sides and ends, which is 
 deposited in the department. Mr. Porter and Lieutenant 
 Brooke have adopted for their casemate a thickness of 
 wood and iron and an angle of inclination nearly identi- 
 cal." It is to be presumed that, inasmuch as the Secretary 
 notes this similarity between Brooke's plan and Porter's 
 model, he would have noted further similarities if such ex- 
 isted, and particularly a similarity of bow and stern sub- 
 merged and extending under water, which he regards as 
 the distinctive and novel feature of the Merrimac a 
 feature specially covered by Lieutenant Brooke's claim and 
 patent. We have here before us contemporaneous evidence 
 the best of its kind, and the best the subject brings before 
 us. If, therefore, Secretary Mallory be a credible witness 
 of good standing, his award in favor of Lieutenant John 
 M. Brooke must stand until his testimony be successfully 
 impeached and shown to be false. 
 
 When Secretary Mallory 's report to the Confederate. 
 House of Representatives was made public, Constructor 
 Porter, in an open letter, contested his award and claimed 
 solely for himself the honor of the plan and the building 
 of the Merrimac. If he desired to have and to keep this 
 honor, it seems to me that he should have vindicated his 
 claim and contested the issue of the patent to Lieutenant 
 John M. Brooke at the time when the most material wit- 
 nesses to the fact were alive. In neglecting to do this, he 
 Materially contributed to putting his claim out of 
 court. 
 
 Mr. Davis, iii his Else and Foil of the Confederate Gov- 
 ciiiinciit, Lieutenant Catesby Ap. 1?. Jones, and Lieutenant 
 John Taylor Wood (the two last officers of the Merrimac), 
 all award the ]>l;m to Lieutenant John M. Brooke. In view
 
 8 -Southern Historical Society Paper.--. 
 
 of the testimony and the patent granted to Lieutenant 
 Brooke by the Confederate Government it would be impos- 
 sible to make a different award ; and the death of Secretary 
 Mallory and Mr. Williamson, the most important witnesses 
 in the matter, makes the possibility of a reversion appar- 
 ently hopeless. 
 
 As early as 1847 Mr. Porter seems to have made model 
 of a casemate iron floating battery, and it is evident the 
 matter was one of deep interest to him. His familiarity 
 with the subject and his experience, ability, and ingenuity, 
 as attested by the Secretary of the Navy, was most potent 
 in the construction of the Merrimac. I well remember at 
 the time* his unwearied, unflagging devotion to the work, 
 and I much doubt whether we had within the limits of the 
 Confederacy a man so well equipped to meet the necessities 
 of the case. 
 
 CONVERSION OF THE MERRIMAC. 
 
 The hull of the Merrimac, when raised and put in the 
 dry-dock, was found to be about two hundred and seventy- 
 five feet in length. About one hundred and sixty feet of 
 the central part of the hull was covered over with a roof 
 of oak and pine wood twenty-two inches in thickness, in- 
 clined at an angle of thirty-five degrees. Upon this struc- 
 ture of wood four inches of iron, consisting of plates about 
 eight inches wide and two' inches thick were bolted. The 
 first course of iron was placed longitudinally, the outer 
 course up and down. The forward and after ends of the 
 roof were rounded and the apex of the roof was flat on top, 
 about eight feet wide, and covered over with permanent 
 gratings of two-inch square iron. The grating was pierced 
 for four hatchways to permit egress from the gun-decks 
 to the grating, or outside of the ship, where alone was there 
 standing room on the outside. That part of the ship's bow 
 and stern not covered by the casemate (about fifty-eight 
 feet at each end) was covered with decking planks and was
 
 The Merriinac or Virginia. 9 
 
 under water. The vessel, when in fighting trim, had much, 
 the appearance of the roof of a house afloat. Her prow 
 was of cast-iron, projected two feet from the stem, was 
 under water two feet, and weighed one thousand five hun- 
 dred pounds. Her battery consisted of four Brooke rifle- 
 guns and six nine-inch Dahlgren shell-guns. Her engines 
 and steam power were inadequate. They were deficient in 
 her best clays. Time had not improved them, and with all 
 our efforts they continued to be defective and a source of 
 anxiety to the last. To the future historian of the South 
 one of the most remarkable phases of our struggle will be, 
 how a people so unused to arts and manufactures, so poorly 
 equipped with' tools and shops and materials, could have 
 accomplished what they did. Delays and obstacles of all 
 sorts impeded the construction of the vessel. All the plates ' 
 of iron for the casemate had to be rolled at the Tredegar 
 in Richmond and shipped to Norfolk. Each step towards 
 completion seemed to but to disclose new obstacles, not the 
 least of which was to secure a crew. We had no merchant 
 marine and but few sailors. Some few were secured after 
 the defeat and dispersion of our gunboats at Roanoke 
 Island ; some as volunteers from our army, and a detatch- 
 ment from the Xorfolk United Artillery brought the num- 
 ber up to three hundred and twenty men. They proved to be 
 as gallant and trusty a body of men as any one would wish 
 to command; but what a contrast they made to a crew of 
 trained jack tars ! The United States Government were 
 duly informed by spies of the completion of the Merrimac, 
 but to deceive them the Norfolk papers of March 6th gave 
 out that the new vessel had proved to be a failure and a 
 great disappointment to her projectors. I doubt much 
 whether they relied upon our statements, for on March 
 7th Mr. Welles, Secretary of the United States Navy, wrote 
 to Captain John Marston, United States Navy, command- 
 ing at Fortress Monroe: iC Send the St. Lawrence, Con- 
 gress, and Cumberland immediately into the Potomac
 
 10 ^ontltcrn Historical >onV/// 
 
 river. Use steam to tow them up. Let there be no delay." 
 This order was modified by telegram of March 8th from 
 Secretary Welles to Captain Marston, as follows: "The 
 Assistant-Secretary of the Navy will be at Old Point by 
 the Baltimore boat this evening. Do not move the ships 
 until further orders, which he will carry." Had the first 
 order been executed .and these vessels moved up the Poto- 
 mac river the victory of the Merrimac would have been 
 shorn of its chief triumphs. 
 
 THE ACTION OF SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1862. 
 
 On this day the United States Government had at anchor 
 in Hampton Roads, near Fort Monroe, besides twelve gun- 
 boats, mounting from one to five guns, the frigates Roa- 
 noke (forty guns), Minnesota (forty-eight guns), St. Law- 
 rence (fifty guns), Brandywine (fifty guns), and the 
 frigates Congress (fifty guns) and Cumberland (thirty 
 guns) lying at Newport News under the guns of a strongly- 
 fortified land battery. Without a trial trip, with workmen 
 on board up to the last minute, with a crew and officers 
 strangers to each other and to the ship, with no opportunity 
 to get things into shape or to drill the men at the guns 
 or instruct them in their various duties, the Merrimac, 
 under command of Captain Franklin Buchanan, at 11 
 A. M. of March 8th, cast loose from the navy-yard and 
 started on her venture in the game of war, attended by the 
 gunboats Beaufort (Captain W. H. Parker) and Raleigh 
 (Captain J. W. Alexander). These two vessels mounted 
 but one gun each (a banded rifled thirty-two-pounder, for 
 which we are indebted to the inventive genius of Captain 
 Archibald Fairfax, Confederate States Navy), and were 
 the sole survivors of our disaster at Roanoke Island. As 
 we passed the wharves of Portsmouth and Norfolk we dis- 
 covered the landings to be well crowded with men, women, 
 and children, who gave us salutation, but seemed too deeply 
 moved by the gravity of the moment to break into elm-is.
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 11 
 
 At this time the Merrimac was drawing twenty-two feet 
 aft and twenty-one forward, and seemed to be making a 
 speed of four and one-half miles. The two gunboats, whose 
 ordinary speed was about seven miles an hour, kept along 
 with her under nearly half speed. All went well until we 
 were abreast of Craney Island (five miles from Norfolk), 
 when the Merrimac was so near the bottom that she would 
 not answer her helm. The Beaufort, being called to her 
 assistance, took a hawser from her 'and towed her past 
 Craney-Island light, where, the water getting deeper, we 
 let her go. The gunboats drew but eight feet of water and 
 were able to cut across the flats of Craney Island, whilst 
 the Merrimac had to keep the channel until abreast of our 
 batteries at SewelPs Point, at which position she could turn 
 up the south channel of James river, making the distance 
 to Newport News about four or five' miles further. The 
 day was fresh and clear, and we could see the Congress and 
 Cumberland lying quietly at anchor off the land batteries 
 at Newport News, apparently so unexpectant of danger 
 that their boats were swinging at the lower booms and 
 washed clothes were hanging in the rigging. As the Merri- 
 mac headed up the south channel, in a moment inactivity 
 gave place to stir and bustle. The evidences of "wash- 
 day " quickly disappeared ; the boats were brought along- 
 side and hoisted, booms were swung in, and both ships 
 cleared for action. The Beaufort and Kaleigh steamed 
 at half speed across the flats awaiting the detour of the 
 Merrimac. At about 2.20 P. M. the Beaufort, having got 
 within range, opened the action with a shot at the Con- 
 gress, and attended by the Ualeigh slowly approached the 
 enemy until a favorable position on the quarter of the Con- 
 gress was secured and maintained until this vessel was sur- 
 rendered. 
 
 THE GREAT NAVAL FIGHT. 
 
 A i about 2.40 P. M. the Merrimac, having reached posi- 
 tion, went into action. In passing the Congress she fired
 
 12 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 her starboard broadside at this vessel, and, receiving hers 
 in return without damage, made directly for the Cumber- 
 land, then in position off the upper end of the land battery. 
 It appears that the Cumberland, to prevent being rammed 
 or to ward off floating torpedoes, had endeavored to secure 
 protection by placing a raft of a few heavy spars at her 
 bow. Dashing through these the prow of the Merrimac 
 struck the side of the Cumberland, at right angles, under 
 the fore-rigging, on the starboard side. Lieutenant 
 Catesby Jones, the executive officer of the Merrimac, says : 
 " The noise of crashing timbers was heard above the din of 
 battle. There was no sign of the hole above water. It must 
 have been large, for the vessel soon began to careen. The 
 shock to us was slight. Backing off from the sinking ves- 
 sel, we headed up the James river to turn round and en- 
 gage the Congress." To do this, a most tedious movement, 
 the Merrimac had twice to pass within close range of the 
 shore batteries. They opened a heavy fire upon her, but 
 with little or no damage, as such shot and shell as struck 
 her sides took the angle of inclination and went up in the 
 air. 
 
 THE CUMBERLAND SUNK. 
 
 In the meantime the Cumberland, though visibly ca- 
 reening and settling in the water, continued her fire. As 
 the advancing water drove the men from the gun-deck they 
 took refuge on the spar-deck and opened fire upon us with 
 her pivot-guns. Lieutenant George U. Morris, her execu- 
 tive officer in command (Captain Radford being absent on 
 duty), says in his official report: "At 3.30 P. M. the water 
 had gained upon us, notwithstanding the pumps were ac- 
 tively at work, to a degree that the forward magazine being 
 drowned we had to take powder from the after magM/im- 
 for the ten-inch gun. At 3.35 P. M. the water had risen 
 to the main hatchway and the ship canted to port, and 
 we delivered a parting lire, each man trying to save himself
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 13 
 
 by jumping overboard. Timely notice was given and all 
 the wounded who could walk were ordered out of the cock- 
 pit, but those of the wounded in the sick bay and on the 
 berth-deck were so* mangled that it was impossible to save 
 them. We have lost upward of one hundred men. All 
 did their duty, and we sank with the American flag flying 
 at our peak." No ship was ever better handled or more 
 bravely fought. 
 
 At this period of the action the James-river fleet, com- 
 posed of the Patrick Henry, Captain J. E. Tucker ; James- 
 town, Lieutenant J. N. Barney, and the Teaser, Lieutenant 
 W. A. Webb, ran by the batteries at Newport News under 
 a heavy fire, with some loss, and gallantly joining the fleet 
 from Norfolk, rendered material aid during the remainder 
 of the action. 
 
 DISABLED AMD AGROUND. 
 
 The Congress being under the fire of the Beaufort and 
 Ealeigh, and at times of the Merrimac as she slowly exe- 
 cuted the movement of turning, seeing the fate of the Cum- 
 berland, slipped her cable, loosed her foretop sail, ran up 
 her jib, and, with the assistance of the tug-boat Zouave, 
 either endeavored to escape or to get into shoal water, but 
 in doing so grounded, head inshore, in which position she 
 could bring only her stern guns into action. The Merri- 
 mac having by this time headed round, and being in posi- 
 tion, about two hundred yards astern of the Congress, with 
 the Beaufort, lialeigh and James river fleet, concentrated 
 a most destructive fire upon her. ll;i\ing already suffered 
 much loss and damage from our shot and shell with no 
 possible hope of succor, her commander (Lieutenant Jo- 
 seph B. Smith having been killed, and each moment adding 
 to the already large number of killed and wounded), Lieu- 
 tenant Pendergrast, most wisely, about 4 P. M. ran up a 
 white flag at the fore and main masts in token of surrender. 
 
 Upon seeing this, the Beaufort being then close in action
 
 14 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 / 
 
 lowered a boat and sent Midshipmen Charles K. Mallory 
 and Ivey Foreman (acting volunteer) with a crew to take 
 possession of the prize and bring her commander aboard 
 the Beaufort. At this moment the Merrimae signalled 
 the Beaufort to come within hail. We did so, and were 
 then instructed by Commodore Buchanan to board the 
 Congress, take the officers and wounded prisoners, permit 
 the others to escape to the shore, and then burn the ship. 
 As we got under the port broadside of the Congress (our 
 little craft looking like a cockleshell by contrast) we noted 
 that the Stars and Stripes (subsequently hauled down and 
 thrown aboard the Beaufort by Midshipman Foreman) 
 were still flying from her peak, and we had some doubt 
 whether her white flags meant truce or a surrender. 
 
 Making fast to the port side of the Congress, Captain 
 Parker sent word to the commanding officer to come on 
 board the Beaufort, and at the same time directed some 
 of his crew to board the vessel and assist in removing the 
 wounded. 
 
 TERRIBLE 'CARNAGE. 
 
 Your correspondent gained the decks of the Congress, 
 and has to this day a vivid remembrance of the scene. He 
 has had no opportunity of comparing a battle field with 
 an action on the water, but if the carnage of the former 
 be greater he has no desire to witness it. Confusion, death 
 and pitiable suffering reigned supreme, and the horrors of 
 war quenched the passion and enmity of months. 
 
 Lieutenant Pendergrast, in command of the Congress, 
 and Captain William Smith, acting as volunteer, had gone 
 aboard the Beaufort and surrendered their swords to Cap- 
 tain Parker and were instructed to return to the ship and 
 transfer their wounded with dispatch to our vessel. At 
 the same time the Raleigh (Captain Alexander) came 
 alongside the Beaufort and reported for duty and was di- 
 rected to board the Congress on the other side and assist
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 15 
 
 in removing the wounded. Those of us who were aboard 
 the Congress were suddenly summoned to the Beaufort by 
 the blowing of her whistle. 
 
 TREACHERY AND DISHONER. 
 
 We quickly descended the sides of the ship and landed 
 on the decks of the Beaufort, to find that the enemy on 
 shore, disregarding our errand of mercy and the white 
 flags on the Congress, had opened fire upon us with in- 
 fantry. We were, within two hundred yards of the shore, 
 so near that I could plainly see the faces of the men. The 
 fire was most destructive, the first discharge killing Mid- 
 shipman Hutter and mortally wounding Lieutenant Taylor, 
 acting as volunteers on the Ealeigh, besides killing some 
 eight or ten of the men of the Congress on the decks of the 
 Beaufort and wounding many others. The forward cabin 
 of the Beaufort was riddled with balls and her smoke-stack 
 was perforated through and through so as to look some- 
 what like a sieve. Why every man on her decks was not 
 slain or wounded is one of those phenomena which battles 
 alone reveal. Finding no cessation to this fire, but rather 
 an augmentation, the Beaufort and Raleigh having taken 
 some thirty prisoners and stands of arms, backed off from 
 the Congress and opened fire upon the shore, but with 
 little or no damage, as the enemy were protected by breast- 
 works. 
 
 MINOR AND BUCHANAN WOUNDED. 
 
 Time sufficient having elapsed for the Beaufort to exe- 
 cute her orders if no hindrance intervened, Commodore 
 Buchanan noting that the Congress was not on fire, and 
 fearing an attempt at recapture by the United States fleet 
 from Old Point, said in the presence of his flag lieutenant, 
 R. D. Minor, " that ship must be burned." Minor instantly 
 volunteered for the duty, and the Teaser was ordered to 
 cover the attempt. Choosing the starboard side of the
 
 1C Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 Congress as more protected, Minor, with a boat's crew, 
 started to execute the order, but had hardly gotten within 
 fifty yards of the vessel, when fire was again opened upon 
 him both from the shore and the vessel, wounding him 
 severely and several of his men. Commodore Buchanan 
 observing the failure of the attempt, recalled the boat and 
 gave orders to set the Congress on fire with hot shot and 
 shell, but at this moment he, too, was severely wounded by 
 a shot from the shore, though the Merrimac was several 
 hundred. yards further away, and the command of the Mer- 
 rimac devolved upon Lieutenant Catesby Ap. R. Jones. 
 
 THE RESPONSIBLE TARTY. 
 
 It is undoubtedly permissible in war to make recapture, 
 but it can never be justifiable when the sacrifice of life 
 which it requires must be borne alike by friend and foe. 
 A moment's reflection on the part of the officer in com- 
 mand at Newport News would have convinced him of this 
 fact, so that the responsibility for the men of the Congress 
 killed on the decks of the Beaufort, and the further loss 
 of life on this vessel occasioned by our firing upon her with 
 hot shot and shell must be upon him. I find that Briga- 
 dier General Joseph K. F. Mansfield, United States army, 
 then in command at Newport News, is responsible for the 
 execution of this order. (Rebellion Records, Series 1, vol. 
 ix, page 5.) 
 
 ALL ASHORE. 
 
 So soon as the Merrimac had disclosed the object of her 
 attack to be the frigates at Newport News, the Union fleet 
 at Fort Monroe (the frigates Minnesota, St. Lawrence, 
 Roanoke, and several gunboats) got under way to give 
 aid to their sorely-stricken consorts. By a coincidence, 
 which is the more singular from its repetition, the Minne- 
 sota grounded one and a half miles to eastward of New- 
 port News, the St. Lawrence grounded in rear of the Min-
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. IT 
 
 nesota, and the Roanoke further to the eastward still. In 
 this isolation they could give no aid, and only at the close 
 of the day came under fire. Lest it should be thought 
 that I purpose a reflection upon the courage of the officers 
 in command of these stranded vessels, I here take .occasion 
 to say that their character as officers of skill, experience,, 
 and bravery was well established at the time, and suffered 
 no diminution then or thereafter. " To point the moral 
 and adorn the tale," let me use the language of Lieutenant 
 John Taylor Wood upon a like occasion: "All officers, a* 
 far as possible, should learn to do their own piloting." 
 
 The Merrimac having given the coup de grace to the 
 Congress, now, about five P. M., with the Beaufort, 
 Ealeigh, and James River fleet, moved down to do battle 
 with the three remaining frigates ashore, and the gunboats. 
 To do this it was necessary to place the Merrimac in the 
 north channel, so that close range might be had. The 
 Minnesota was a sister ship to the Merrimac and drew 
 about as much water. It was therefore hoped that, without 
 danger of putting the Merrimac ashore, she could yet get at 
 such close quarters as to compel a surrender within a short 
 period of time. When, however, this was attempted the pi- 
 lots of the Merrimac declined to take the risk of putting 
 the ship nearer, stating that the condition of the tide and 
 the approach of night made it both difficult and dangerous. 
 At long range, therefore, the Merrimac and her attendant* 
 opened fire on the Minnesota and continued the action until 
 the approach of night. 
 
 WITHDREW. 
 
 We withdrew most reluctantly when further victory- 
 seemed so nearly in our grasp. Some damage we had done, 
 but by no means commensurate witli our wishes. The 
 Minnesota had been struck some fifteen times, her interior 
 was much damaged, partition and bulkheads were knocked 
 down or blown into one by the explosion of our shells. In
 
 18 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 retiring to our anchorage by the south channel we came 
 within long range of the three frigates and received some 
 broadsides from them, but without damage, as the distance 
 was too great. The sight was a pretty one, and the St. 
 Lawrence, in particular, at nightfall made a simultaneous 
 discharge of her port broadside, which lit up for a moment 
 the entire scene, in which she stood forth as sharply de- 
 fined as in a clear day. We anchored that night off 
 Sewell's Point, in the full glare of the burning Congress, 
 fired by our shell and hot shot, though Medical-Director 
 Shippen, who was aboard the Congress, says " the ship was 
 on fire in three places early in the action; that two of the 
 fires were put out, but the third, near the powder magazine, 
 was not extinguished until the ship blew up about 2 A. M. 
 
 THE LOSS. 
 
 The loss in the Cumberland is reported by Federal ac- 
 count at one hundred and twenty-one killed and drowned ; 
 in the Congress, one hundred and twenty-five killed, wound- 
 ed and missing. No report is made of the Minnesota, though 
 she, too, had some killed and wounded. In the Confederate 
 fleet we had some forty-five killed and wounded, the larger 
 number of killed being on our wooden vessels. Exhausted 
 with the nervous strain of the day, we slept soundly that 
 night, anticipating a similar career of victory for the 
 morrow. 
 
 The Monitor (or Ericsson) had been built in one hun- 
 dred days especially to meet the Merrimac. She arrived at 
 Fort Monroe at 9 P. M. of March 8th. Secretary Welles 
 had telegraphed Commodore Paulding at the New York 
 yard ^farch Gtli : " Let the Monitor come direct to Wash- 
 ington, anchoring below. Alexandria." Similar orders had 
 been sent to Captain John Marston, United States Navy, at 
 Fort Monroe. Marston took upon himself the responsi- 
 bility of disobeying, and kept the Monitor in Hampton
 
 The Merriinqc or Virginia. 19 
 
 Ro.ids. Had Secretary Welles' order been obeyed, the 
 Merrimac on the 9th would have captured not only the 
 Minnesota, St. Lawrence and Roanoke, but every vessel 
 that remained inside of Fortress Monroe. In the engage- 
 ment of the 8th the Merrimac had lost her prow in striking 
 the Cumberland., two of her guns had been disabled, so as 
 to be useless, by shot from the Cumberland, and her smoke- 
 stack and steampipe had been so riddled that it was diffi- 
 cult to keep up sufficient steam. In this plight she was to 
 meet her antagonist. At daylight on the 9th we discovered 
 that the frigates Eoanoke and St. Lawrence had been 
 floated and moved to Old Point, but the Minnesota was yet 
 aground in the same position. Near her we discovered an 
 object like a raft, floating low in the water, with smoke-, 
 stack and turret amidships. 
 
 THE FIGHT. 
 
 Closer inspection convinced us it was (Ericsson's Bat- 
 tery) the Monitor. Having sent our wounded ashore we 
 moved out into the Roads, to resume the engagement at 8 
 A. M. The Merrimac being in advance, our wooden vessels 
 in the rear, to take part if occasion should offer. Lieu- 
 tenant Jones, then in command of the Merrimac, says of 
 this engagement : 
 
 " We stood for the Minnesota and opened fire. Our 
 pilots were to have placed us within half a mile of her, but 
 at no time were we nearer than a mile. At one third of a 
 mile's distance the monitor opened upon us. AVe rapidly 
 approached each other, and at time> \vere only a ship's 
 length apart. Once we fired a broadside at her only a few 
 yards distant. She and her turret \\eiv undor perfect con- 
 trol. Once she took a position where we could not bring a 
 gun to bear upon her. Another movement, which gave us 
 great anxiety, was an attempt to run afoul of our rudder 
 and |>ro|>eller, which could easily have Keen disabled. Her
 
 20 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 guns were seen only at the moment of discharge this done, 
 her turret revolved, shutting them out of view. We had 
 no solid shot, and our shell had no effect upon her. With 
 all our caution we ran aground, and remained' so for a 
 quarter of an hour. Finding we could make no impression 
 with our shell, we determined if possible to run her down." 
 Of this attempt Lieutenant Wood, of the Merrimac, says : 
 " For an hour we manoeuvred for position. Now go 
 ahead ! Now stop ! Now astern ! The Merrimac was 
 as unweildy as Noah's ark. At last an opportunity offered, 
 but before we had sufficient headway the Monitor sheered 
 off, and our disabled ram gave a glancing blow, which did 
 no apparent harm." 
 
 Within a few moments after this collision the Monitor 
 made her first withdrawal from the action. The Merri- 
 mac now resumed her fire at the Minnesota, doing her 
 serious injury and blowing up the boiler of a tug alongside. 
 The Monitor returned to the action, and taking a position 
 with her bow against the Merrimac, fired twice at this dis- 
 tance. The impact of these shots forced the side of the 
 Merrimac in two or three inches, and the concussion 
 knocked down all the men at the after pivot gun, many of 
 whom bled from the nose or ears. " The action had now 
 continued some three hours," says Lieutenant Jones, " with- 
 out apparent injury to the Monitor. We were therefore 
 surprised to see her run off into shoal water, where our 
 great draught would not permit us to follow." This second 
 withdrawal was most probably coincident with the following 
 fact, given by Lieutenant S. Dana Green, the executive 
 officer of the Monitor, page 725-727, " Battles and Leaders 
 of the- Civil ~\\ar," volume I. Lieutenant Green says: 
 
 ANOTHER ACCOUNT. 
 
 " Soon after noon a shell from the Merrimac's gun, the 
 mu/xlo of which was not ten yards distant, struck the for- 
 ward side of the pilot-house (of the Monitor) directly in
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 21 
 
 the sight-hole, and exploded. Captain Worden was stand- 
 ing immediately behind this spot and received in his faee 
 the force of the blow, which partially stunned him, and 
 filling his eyes with powder, utterly blinded him. Worden, 
 blinded as he was, believed the pilot-house to be severely 
 injured, if not destroyed. He, therefore, gave the orders 
 to put the helm to starboard and ''sheer off/ Thus the 
 Monitor temporarily retired from the action to ascertain 
 the extent of the injuries she had received." 
 
 Lieutenant Greene, then succeeding to the command,, 
 continues his account. " In the confusion of the moment 
 the Monitor had been moving without direction. Exactly 
 how much time elapsed from the moment that Worden was 
 wounded until I had reached the pilot-house and completed 
 the examination of the injury at that point, and deter- 
 mined what course to pursue, it is impossible to state; but 
 it could hardly have exceeded twenty minutes." 
 
 Lieutenant Greene admits that being summoned to Wor- 
 den, " he found him standing at the foot of the ladder 
 leading to the pilot-hous'e, and that he assisted in leading 
 him to a sofa in the cabin, and then assumed the com- 
 mand." If he had contented himself with his statement, 
 " it is impossible to state the time," and had not attempted 
 to qualify it with "hardly exceeded twenty minutes," he 
 would have been more accurate. 
 
 THE MONITOR WITHDREW. 
 
 A~ an officer of the Beaufort, and in close proximity to 
 the engagement, though not in the melee, for none of our 
 wooden gunboats took active part in this day's fight, I am 
 justified in making the statement that the Monitor retired 
 from the field on this her second withdrawal from three 
 quarters to an hour. I shall not pretend to say that this 
 i> absolutely accurate, for I did not take the actual time, 
 but I do say it was sufficiently long to justify the opinion
 
 22 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 then formed that she had withdrawn from the action for 
 the day. 
 
 There can be no question at this day on the point which 
 of the two vessels first withdrew from the action. The offi- 
 cial report of Captain Van Brunt, of the Minnesota, dis- 
 closes the retirement of the Monitor, and Lieutenant 
 Greene, her executive, admits that she withdrew twice from 
 the engagement once to hoist into the turret, and again 
 when Worden was wounded page 725-727, Battles and 
 Leaders of the Civil War, volume I. 
 
 Lieutenant Ap. Catesby Jones, of the Merrimac, con- 
 cludes his statement of the engagement of March 9th in 
 these words : 
 
 " We for some time awaited the return of the Monitor to 
 the Eoads. The loss of our prow and anchor, consumption 
 of coal, water, etc., had .lightened us so that the lower part 
 of the forward end of the shield was awash. After consul- 
 tation, it was decided that we should proceed to the navy- 
 yard, that the vessel might be brought down in the water 
 and completed. The pilots said, if we did not go then we 
 could not pass the bar until noon of the next day. We, 
 therefore, at 12 M. quit the Roads and stood for Norfolk. 
 Had there been any sign of the Monitor's willingness to re- 
 new the contest we would have remained to fight her. 
 We left her in the shoal water to which she had withdrawn, 
 and which she did not leave until after we had crossed the 
 bar on our way to Norfolk." 
 
 I have a distinct recollection that at this time, when the 
 Merrimac had crossed the bar, and was well on her way to 
 Norfolk, the Monitor, being then in shoal water on Hamp- 
 ton bar. fired a gun, but apparently made no motion to 
 come into deep water. 
 
 Thus ended this famous engagement, in what may fairly 
 be called a drawn battle. Either adversary seemed power- 
 less to vanquish the other. Yet the Monitor in equipment, 
 invulnerability, speed, draught of water and manageable-
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 23 
 
 riess was far the superior of the Merrimac. She was put 
 into the fight to vanquish the Merrimac and protect the 
 Minnesota; she failed in the former and succeeded in the 
 latter purpose. 
 
 EFFECT OF THE ENGAGEMENTS OF MARCH 8 AND 9, 1862. 
 
 Outside of the immediate results of these engagements, 
 the destruction of the frigates Cumberland and Congress, 
 and complete panic in the United States fleet at Fort Mon- 
 roe, the indirect result of checking the advance of McClel- 
 lan upon Bichmond, by which we were enabled to complete 
 the defences of that city and James river, was one of great 
 moment to the Confederacy. The powerful navies of Eng- 
 land and France were brushed aside in a moment. The 
 London Times in a note of warning said : " Out of one 
 hundred and forty-nine first class war-ships we have now 
 but two vessels that it would not be madness to trust to an 
 engagement with that little Monitor." Both nations, and 
 other maritime powers, with a speed, ingenuity and lavish 
 expenditure of money, which is unchecked even at this day, 
 hastened to equip themselves to meet the. requirements of 
 modern naval warfare. The whole seaboard of the North 
 went into a panic which lasted for weeks, and gave birth to 
 fears which now seem ludicrous. 
 
 Taking with us the fact that the Merrimac was the hasty 
 creation of an extreme necessity, the most unwieldly struc- 
 ture that ever was built, utterly inadequate to float outside 
 the capes of Virginia half an hour in the least seaway, or 
 to live through an ordinary easterly blow in Hampton 
 Eoads, one can scarcely repress a smile in reading the 
 Federal telegrams of that day. 
 
 WELLES'S SCARE. 
 
 Secretary "Welles, of the United States Navy, reports Mr. 
 Stanton, Secretary of War, as saying in a Cabinet meeting,
 
 24 Southern Historical Society Papers. 
 
 called in consequence of the destruction of the Cumberland 
 and Congress on March 8th : " The Merrimac will change 
 the whole character of the war. She will destroy seriatim 
 every naval vessel. She will lay all cities of the seaboard 
 under contribution. I shall immediately recall Burnside. . 
 Port Royal must be abandoned. I will notify the. Gov- 
 ernors of States, and the municipal authorities in the North 
 to take instant measures to protect their harbors. He had 
 no doubt but that the Merrimac was at this moment on her 
 way to Washington, and not unlikely we shall have a shell 
 or cannon-ball from one of her guns in the White House 
 before we leave this room." On March 9th Mr. Stanton tele- 
 graphed " the Governors of New York, Massachusetts and 
 Maine to protect their harbors with large timber rafts " 
 Rebellion Records, page 20, series 1, .volume I. On the 
 same date General McClellan sent telegrams to the com- 
 manding officers at New York, Newport, New London, 
 Boston and Portland, Maine, to the same effect. Ad- 
 miral Dahlgren is busy at Washington having twenty-four 
 canal boats laden with stone to close the Potomac river. 
 General McClellan on Match 9th sends a telegram to 
 General Wool, at Fort Monroe, in which, foreseeing the 
 necessity of evacuating Newport News in the event the 
 Merrimac gains possession of the Roads, he consents to a 
 withdrawal of the garrison to Old Point, Rebellion 
 Records, page 23, series 1, volume I. March 10th while 
 openly proclaiming the defeat of the Merrimac by the 
 Monitor in the engagement of the 9th, Secretary Welles 
 wires the Assistant-Secretary of the Navy at Fort Monroe, 
 " The President directs that the Monitor be not too much 
 exposed and authorizes vessels laden with stone to be sunk 
 in the channel of Elizabeth river to prevent the Merrimac 
 from again coming out." Do., page 25. As late as the 
 12th General MoClellan telegraphs Assistant-Secretary 
 Fox : " Can I rely on the Monitor to keep the Merrimac in 
 check so that I can make 'Fort Monroe a base of opera- 
 
 1
 
 Merrimac or Virginia. 25 
 
 tions?" Do., page 27. The same date General Bar- 
 nard, chief of engineers, McClellan's army, wires Assist- 
 ant-Secretary Fox : " The possibility of the Merrimac 
 appearing again, paralyzes the movements of this army by 
 whatever route is adopted." Do., page 27. The climax of 
 absurdity is, however, reached when Secretary-of-War Stan- 
 ton, passing over the educated, intelligent and skilled corps 
 of naval and army officers, telegraphs Mr. C. Vanderbilt, 
 a private citizen of New York, the owner of river and ocean 
 steamers : " For what sum. will you contract to destroy 
 the Merrimac, or prevent her from coming out from 
 Xorfolk, you to sink or destroy her if she gets out? 
 Answer by telegram, as there is no time to be lost." 
 Do., page 31. The doughty commodore of steamboats 
 was unequal to the conundrum, but his patriotism 
 prompted him to make the munificent gift of the large 
 ocean steamer Vanderbilt to the United States Government 
 to be sacrificed, if necessary, in running the Merrimac 
 down. 
 
 GAGE OF BATTLE OF APRIL 11, '62, AXD THE FORLORN* HOPE. 
 
 From March 9th to April llth the Merrimac lay at the 
 imvy-yard. Xew guns took the place of those that had 
 been destroyed, and a supply of bolts of wrought and 
 chilled iron for her guns was put aboard. A new prow of 
 steel and wrought-iron was fitted to her stem. A course 
 of two-inch iron for one hundred and eighty feet was put 
 on her hull below the casemate. The revolution of the 
 turret of the Monitor, which effectually closed her gun- 
 port when the gun was being loaded, suggested the neces- 
 sity of adopting some plan to protect those of the Merri- 
 mac. The attempt was made to fit them with wrought- 
 iron shutters, but the device was not satisfactory, and but 
 few of her ports were so protected. These changes brought 
 the ship a foot deeper in the water, making her draught 
 now twenty-three feet. Commodore Buchanan being still
 
 Southern Hi\lurii-nl Snrii-h/ 1'n/n-rs. 
 
 disabled by his wounds. Commodore Josiah Tatnall was 
 placed in command. There was at no time any question 
 in the minds of the Confederate authorities, or amongst 
 the officers of the Merrimac, but that the enemy must again 
 be offered battle at the carl lost moment. On April 1st 
 the Secretary of the Confederate Xavy wrote Commodore 
 Tatnall : " You will leave with your ship and attack the 
 enemy when, in your judgment, it may seem best." On 
 April 4th : " Do not hesitate or wait for orders, but strike 
 when, how, and where your judgment may dictate." The 
 Secretary of the United States Xavy had, on March 10th, 
 telegraphed : " The President directs that the Monitor be 
 not too much exposed." in the same breath in which her 
 victory was claimed. 
 
 The Confederate Secretary and the Confederate naval 
 officers well knew the many defects and vulnerability of 
 the Xferrimac. So doubtful were we of success in the next 
 engagement that upon certain information of the exterior 
 and interior structure of the Monitor, which Secretary 
 .Mai lory had obtained, we organized an expidition of the 
 smaller gunboats in the fleet the Beaufort, Raleigh, and 
 two others known as 
 
 THE " FORLORN" HOPE." 
 
 1 was of this detail, and would have made my will but 
 that I had no property. Each of the gunboats was pro- 
 vided with a large anchor; their crews were divided into 
 three squads under command of .an officer, and designated 
 squads 1, 2, and 3. The orders were that if the Merrimac 
 should be disabled or defeated, each steamer was to make 
 a dash for the Monitor, drop the anchor and make fast 
 to her, so as to hold her in that position. The detail were 
 then to board her. No. 1 was to throw ignited combusti- 
 bles down her ventilators and every opening, and cover 
 them over with tarpaulin ; Xo. 2 to wedge the turret to pre- 
 vent its revolution: Xo. 3 to cover the pilot-house,' smoke-
 
 The Merri mac or Virginia. 27 
 
 stack, and other openings with wet sail-cloth, and " smoke 
 the rascals out/' at it were. Our calculation was that one 
 of the four small steamers would be sure to get alongside. 
 There was to be no stopping to help those disabled or sunk, 
 and as each had a crew of thirty men this was sufficient 
 for the purpose. If the occasion had been offered, the 
 attempt would have been made beyond peradventure, but I 
 have never yet decided whether they of the Monitor or we 
 of the gunboats were the more fortunate that our purpose 
 was not put to the experiment. April 10, 1862, the Merri- 
 mac, with the vessels of the Norfolk and James River fleet, 
 got under way late in the evening and anchored inside of 
 Craney Island for the night, to make an early start the 
 next morning. At 6 A. M. of the llth we were under way. 
 The sun was clear, with the promise of a beautiful day. 
 As we came in sight of Fort Monroe we beheld the Roads 
 lined with a large fleet of transports, making a scene of 
 beauty that is but rarely granted to a spectator. In a 
 moment a sudden movement spread through the entire 
 merchant fleet, and in less time than I can describe it each 
 vessel had slipped her cable and, like a flock of wild fowl 
 in the act of flight, spread her sails in the race for safety. 
 
 When the Merrimac had steamed within two miles of the 
 fort we plainly made out the Monitor, the iron battery 
 Naugatuck, and other war vessels at anchor under Fort 
 Monroe. The French war vessels Gassendi and Catinet 
 and English Corvette Rinaldo were visitors in the Roads at 
 the time, and moved up towards Newport Xews to give us 
 a clear field. The Merrimac steamed around in a large 
 circle, which at one point brought her within one and one- 
 half miles of her antagonists, offering battle in deep water 
 and upon their own ground vain endeavor ! 
 
 SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTED. 
 
 After an hour or so of this unprofitable banter, and ob- 
 serving no movement on the part of the enemy, Commo-
 
 28 Southern llistnrirnl <n<-i,-lij Papers. 
 
 dore Tatnall, in bravado and in provocation to them, sent 
 the Jamestown and Raleigh into Hampton Bar to cut out 
 three transports that, deeming themselves in safety, had not 
 moved out of the Roads in the early morning. The move- 
 ment was most handsomely and successfully executed in 
 the presence of the Monitor and the Federal fleet. 'As our 
 ships returned with their captures they passed near the 
 stern of the English Corvette Rinaldo, the officers and crew 
 of which waved their handkerchiefs and hats in salute. Wo 
 held our position in the Roads until sundown, and at night 
 anchored off Sewell's Point. A day or so after this the 
 Merrimac, again in need of repairs, went up to Xorfolk. 
 During the forty-five days she was under Commodore 
 Tatnall's command there were but thirteen days in which 
 she was not in dock or undergoing necessary repairs. 
 
 GAGE OF BATTLE MAY 8, 1862. 
 
 In consequence of the advance of McClellan's army upon 
 Richmond, the wooden gunboats of the James River and 
 Norfolk fleet, in the latter part of April, were ordered to 
 run by the Federal batteries at Xewport Xews and operate 
 on the right flank of General Joseph E. Johnston. This 
 movement was accomplished in due time by running the 
 batteries at night and without disaster, though the Beau- 
 fort, in making the attempt, grounded and remained just 
 opposite the battery in easy range until near daybreak. 
 Our station henceforth being the James river, I must rely 
 upon contemporary accounts for the remaining career of 
 the Merrimac. The beleaguerment of Richmond, in the 
 eyes of the Confederate Government, necessitated the evac- 
 uation of Xorfolk, and though the Merrimac, now alone, 
 was adequate to the defence of Xorfolk on the water, it 
 was possible to take the city in rear, now that Johnston's 
 army was concentrated at Riclimond, by landing a strong 
 Federal force on the bay shore, and also west of Craney
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 29 
 
 Island, and making a combined attack from the east and 
 west. Valuable stores and materials were yet at the navy- 
 yard, and General Huger, in command at Norfolk, was 
 quietly engaged in shipping them to the interior by river 
 and rail, when the desertion of a tug boat captain in the 
 service of the Confederacy much hastened matters. 
 
 Secretary Mallory, being advised of the probable aban- 
 donment of Norfolk, had sent Commodore Hollins to that 
 place to consult with Commodore Tatnall, and such other 
 officers as might be selected, as to the best disposition to 
 be made of the Merrimac in this contingency. The con- 
 ference was arranged for May 8th, but on that morning 
 the Monitor, Naugatuck, and other United States vessels 
 attacked our battery at Sewell's Point. The Merrimac got 
 under way immediately to render such assistance as might 
 be needed. Commodore TatnalFs acount of the matter is 
 as follows: 
 
 " Upon getting into the Eoads we found six of the ene- 
 mies' ships, including the ironclads Stevens, Monitor, and 
 Naugatuck, shelling the battery. We passed the battery 
 and stood directly for the enemy to engage him, and I 
 thought an action certain, particularly as the Minnesota 
 and Vanderbilt, which were anchored below Fort Monroe, 
 got under way and stood up to that point, apparently with 
 the intention of joining their squadron in the Roads. Be- 
 fore we got within gunshot the enemy ceased firing and re- 
 tired with all speed under the protection of the guns at the 
 fort, followed by the Merrimac until the shells from the 
 Rip Raps passed over us. We thereupon returned to our 
 anchorage near Sewell's Point, and I proceeded to Norfolk 
 for the purposes of the conference called for this day." 
 
 Let us see what the Federal account has to say of the 
 affair. Commo.dore Goldsborough, United States Navy, 
 then in command of the station at Fort Monroe, says : 
 
 " The Monitor had orders to fall back into fair channel 
 way. and only to engage seriously in such a positon that
 
 30 Southern Historical tiucicty Papers. 
 
 this ship, together with the merchant vessels, intended for 
 the purpose, could run her (the Merrimac) down. The 
 other vessels were not to hesitate to run her down, and the 
 Baltimore, an unarmed steamer of high speed and curved 
 bow, was kept in the direction of the Monitor, especially 
 to throw herself across the Merrimac forward or aft of her 
 plated casemate, but the Merrimac did not engage the 
 Monitor, nor did she place herself where she could have 
 been assailed by our rams to any advantage." Let us sum 
 the matter up. 
 
 SUMMING UP. 
 
 1. On the 9th of March, the only occasion upon which 
 the Merrimac and Monitor did engage, it- is in evidence 
 from Federal official sources that the Monitor twice retired 
 from the engagement of the day; the Merrimac retired 
 only when the action was supposed to be concluded. 
 
 2. On April llth the Merrimac, in presence of two 
 French and one English war vessel, offered the Monitor 
 and the Stevens iron battery battle. Then, to provoke 
 them to accept it, cut out three Federal transports almost 
 under their guns, but without bringing them to issue. 
 
 3. On May 8th the Merrimac drove the Monitor, Xau- 
 gatuck, and six other United States war vessels from 
 Sewell's Point to within one and a half miles of Fort Mon- 
 roe, and seeing no disposition to engage returned to anchor. 
 On this occasion, the Federal fleet declined the action, says 
 Commodore Goldsborough, United States Navy, " because 
 the Merrimac did not place herself in deep water, nor in 
 a position of advantage," to be attacked by the Monitor, 
 Xaugatuck, Minnesota, Illinois, San Jacinto, and to be run 
 down by the Baltimore, Arajo, Vanderbilt, and all other 
 vessels that might be on hand to coach the Monitor. The 
 Merrimac drew twenty-three feet of water, and with the 
 exception of the Minnesota, there was no vessel in the 
 Federal fleet that drew as much as fifteen feet. Moreover,
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia, 31 
 
 they claimed the superiority of the Monitor over the Merri- 
 mac a fact we admitted then, and admit now. Comment 
 is unnecessary. Like Jack Btmsby, let us say : " The 
 bearings of this observation lays in the application on it," 
 and dismiss the subject with the "observation" of the 
 Marquis of Montrose 
 
 " He either fears his fate too much, 
 
 Or his deserts are small 
 That dares not put in to the touch, 
 To gain or lose it all." 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MERRIMAC BY THE COX- 
 FEDERATES. 
 
 The conference in Norfolk of May 9th as to the disposal 
 of the Merrimac had resulted in the decision that u the 
 Merrimac was then employed to best advantage, and that 
 she should continue for the present to protect Norfolk, and 
 thus afford time to remove the public property." Commo- 
 dore Tatnall upon this joined his ship, at anchor near 
 Sewell's Point. On May 10th, about 10 A. M., it was 
 observed that no Confederate flag was flying at Sewell's 
 Point battery and that the fort seemed to be abandoned. 
 Flag-Lieutenant J. Pembroke Jones was immediately sent 
 to Craney Island, and there learned for the -first time that 
 a large force of the enemy had landed at Bay Shore and 
 were rapidly marching on Norfolk, and that our troops 
 were retreating. Lieutenant Jones was then sent to Nor- 
 folk to confer with General Huger, in command at that 
 place, and with Captain Sidney S. Lee at the navy-yard. 
 At the navy-yard he found everything in flames, and that 
 all the officers had left on the railroad. At Norfolk he was 
 informed that General Huger and all his officers had left 
 and that the enemy were within half a mile of the city in 
 treaty with the mayor for its surrender. About 7 P. M. 
 he reached the Merrimac with his report, and at this hour
 
 ;!'.' Southern Historical >'or/Y/// Papers. 
 
 all the batteries on the river and Craney Island had been 
 abandoned by our troops. The night was fast approach- 
 ing, and what was to be done must be done quickly. It 
 had been decided previously that the Merrimac could ac- 
 complish nothing in York river by reason of its width 
 and many creeks of refuge. The ascent of the Potomac 
 to Washington, except in good weather, was impracticable. 
 A venture outside the capes was an impossibility. Battle 
 with the Federal fleet in the Roads on their own terms 
 gave no encouragement. It had been previously declined, 
 and now, with our base of supplies in the hands of our 
 enemies, they had but to keep out of our way and ten days 
 or a week would bring the crew of the Merrimac face to 
 face with starvation and capitulation. 
 
 In the emergency and Tinder the assurance of the pilots 
 that if the ship were lightened to eighteen feet she could 
 be carried to within forty miles of Richmond. Commo- 
 dore .Tatnall called his crew to quarters, and informed them 
 of his purpose. With a cheer they set to work to lighten 
 ship, dumping overboard all heavy stones, ballasf, and pig- 
 iron which had been put aboard to bring her down in the 
 water to fighting trim. Commodore Tatnall being unwell 
 had retired to rest. Between 1 and 2 A. M. of the llth, 
 he as aroused by Lieutenant Ap. Catesby Jones, with the 
 report that after the crew had been at work some five 
 hours and had lightened the ship so as to expose her hull 
 and render her unfit for action, the pilots now said the 
 ship could not be carried with eighteen feet above James- 
 town Flats. Some distance above this point the river was 
 in possession of the enemy on both banks. Tatnall de- 
 manded of his pilots the reason for their deception or 
 change of opinion. They replied eighteen feet could be 
 carried over Jamestown Flats during the prevalence of 
 easterly winds, but as the wind had been westerly for sev- 
 eral days they were unwilling to make the attempt. 
 
 The wooden hull was now above water and entirelv de-
 
 The Merrimac or Virginia. 33 
 
 fenceless against shot and shell. Her ballast had been 
 thrown overboard, and nothing was at hand to bring her 
 down in the water again. To engage the Federal fleet was 
 now hopeless and shorn of every prospect of success. The 
 attempt must meet with certain destruction and great 
 sacrifice of life. 
 
 BURNED. 
 
 A hasty conference with his officers decided Tatnall that 
 the wisest course now open to him was to abandon and burn 
 his ship and save his crew for service in Richmond. She 
 was, therefore, put on shore as near Craney Island as possi- 
 ble, and having but two boats it took three hours to land 
 her crew. She was set fire to fore and aft, and was soon 
 in full blaze. At about 4.30 o'clock on the morning of 
 the llth of May, 1862, her magazine exploded, and the 
 Merrimac was a thing of the past. In the blaze of the 
 burning vessel the crew were marched to Suffolk, twenty- 
 two miles distant, where they took train for Richmond, 
 arriving there in time to render valuable service in our land 
 batteries at Drury's Bluff, where they had the pleasure of 
 again meeting arid foiling their old adversaries, the Moni- 
 tor, Galena, and other United States vessels in their attack 
 on Drury's Bluff, May 15, 1862. 
 
 The success and the fame of the Merrimac had far. out- 
 reached, in the imagination of the Southern people, her 
 real capacity. . The disappointment and indignation of 
 the public, and the criticism of our press, were so vehement 
 in their condemnation of Commodore Tatnall that he 
 promptly requested a court of inquiry, and then a court- 
 martial upon his conduct. After a full and exhaustive 
 examination of all the particulars he was awarded an 
 unanimous acquittal. The court, composed of a board of 
 twelve officers of the highest rank and with the experience 
 of many years' service, closed its finding in these words: 
 
 HONORABLE ACQUITTAL. 
 
 " Being thus situated, the only alternative in the opinion
 
 34 Southern Historical lonely Papers. 
 
 of the court was to abandon and burn the ship then and 
 there, which, in the judgment of this court, was deliberately 
 and wisely done ; wherefore, the court do award to the said 
 Captain Josiah Tatnall an honorable acquittal." 
 
 The Merrimac and the Monitor came upon the stage of 
 action at the same time, and the close of their career \\;i> 
 not far apart. They suggest the parallel made between 
 the lives of two ancient warriors. It cannot be said, 
 " They were lovely and pleasant in their lives," but " in 
 their death they were not divided." 
 
 At daybreak of December 29, 1862, the Monitor, under 
 convoy of the United States steamer Ehode Island, left 
 Fort Monroe bound for Charleston, South Carolina. At 
 noon, December 30th, when at sea, about seventy miles off 
 Cape Hatteras, they got into a heavy gale. At 10 P. M., 
 matters having become critical and it being imposible to 
 keep the Monitor free of the water that came aboard with 
 every sea, signals of distress were burned. Gallant and 
 untiring efforts of rescue were made by the Ehode Island, 
 and one of her boats was on its third and last perilous trip 
 to remove those still aboard the Monitor when the ill-fated 
 vessel suddenly disappeared beneath the angry waters, car- 
 rying clown with her -four officers and twelve men, forty- 
 nine having been saved. This boat failed to reach the 
 Monitor or regain the side of the Rhode Island, but drifted 
 all night and the next day upon the waste of water, until 
 rescued by a passing vessel and taken into Philadelphia. 
 
 We live within a new environment. The Merrimac and 
 the Monitor are things of the past; but history shall note 
 their deeds when the names of those who bore part in them 
 shall be remembered. 
 
 TIRGINIUS XEWTON, 
 
 Late a Midshipman, C. S. Navy.