Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1862-05-03

had three s.ipch siege howitzers hauled
down by land from my land batteries, and
brought to bear on her from the bank of the
| river. / added TO these the fire of two of
Towards Light Battery rihcd guns. Though
the shot from all of these pieces raincd on
her, they bounded from her plating like
hail-stonCs.
''As soon as the Cumberland went down
with her formidable batteries, three steamers,
supposed to be the Yorktown, jamestown,
and tug came down the river under full
head of steam. l turned all my guns on
them. But they were so far off Uhe river
here is four miles wide) and their speed was
so great, that | could neither stop them nor
disable them. While the Cumberland was
sinking the Congress slipped her cable,
dropped her forcsail, and set her spanker,
and ran straight for the shore, just above
! Signal Point. Many of her crew escaped to
the beach in the boats. Before these could
be rowed back, the Mcrrimac ranged up to
the trigates stern, and poured in raking
| fire. Her flag was struck immediately. Two
of the three Rebel steamers then ran along
side of the Congress, and made fast to her,
on each quarter, apparently with the pur-
pose of hauling her off As soon as | saw
| this, l ordered Col Brown, of the Goth
Indiana, to send his rifle companies, A and
! X, down to the beach, and drive these
steamers away. | also sent down two rifled
guns under Capt. Howard, and a rihed
Dahlgren howitzcr manned by Master Stuy-
vesant, and fourteen sailors of the Cumber-
! land. From raking position on the beach,
covered by sand-hills and trees, these guns
played effectively on the steamers at about
800 yards. The Indiana riicmen, throwing
themselves upon theis breasts worked for
ward in the sand, loading and firing with
deadly aim as they crawled. The two
steamers quickly let 90 their hold on the
Congress and moved out of range, having
undoubtedly received great loss and damage
They soon came back, accompanied by
launch filled with men but the gunners and
rifemen again beat them off
"Thc Merrimac, finding her prize retakcn,
now approached and fired three hot shot
into her, and then withdrew to the other
side of the river. The Congress was soon
abla2c. The men remaining aboard of her
I escaped over her bows, and before dark the
wounded were taken out. 1t was not until
2 o'clock in the morning that the burning
| frigate's magazine exploded. Before this,
at intervals during the night, her 81 shotted
guns went off. One of them sent a ball
through schooner at the nearest wharf, and
sunk her. Throughout the day my whole
force was under arms and my officers and
men were engaged in the batteries and on
the beach. Wherever we had show of
chance at anything not covered with twelve
! inches or six inches of iron, our brave men
whipped the Rebels, and drove them off,
Strange to say, not one of my command was
killed, and but one was wounded-a private
of the 9TH New York, who lost leg.
ut would have been utterly impossible,
Sir, to have united the fate of the two war
ships The superiority of the Mcrrimac over
both, was as decided, as iron is decidedly
stronger than wood"
During this conversation I glanced from
time TO time with interest at the evidence
of the passage of shot through the room
in which Gen. Mansfield was sitting. He
had indeed narrow escape. He had enter
cd his quarters and sat down at his table to
write Il tccgraphic dispatch While lifting
his pen, a shell from the Merimac dashed
through the side of his room opposite his
chair; made toothpicks of Il large black
walnut clothcs-prcs penetrated with a clean
cut the mantle-piccc; carried away about
quartcrof the brick chimney, and went howl
ing of over the camp. The General was
seated only four feet from the track of this
proiectile. and was showcred with its passing
compliments of spinterS and dust. He bears
a charmed life here, rs ut Fort Brown, Mon
terey and Buena Vista
To return to the Cumberland. She was
''bunted" on her starboard bow as she lay
at anchor. The Merrimac did not recoil,
and was not permitted by her engineer to
recoil from the shock. The Cumberland
was driven back by it till brought up by the
full strain upon her cable Then, the Merri-
mac still pressing upon and goring into her
with her iron horn, the frigate hecled over
l.. Il ,-,l
the fatal, crushing wound, into which the
sea rushed. Let nautical men make a note
of this.
The loss of life which ensued was partly
due to the battering down of all the matches
save that leading to the cOckpit-customary
caution on men -of-war prior to going into
action. Among the incidents of the wreck,
new to me, | was told to-day that before the
Merrimac backed off from the Cumberland
two of the crew of the latter jumped for
safety upon the rams iron TOot-and in
stantly slid off into the water. 1t had been
thoroughly slushed with grease. Just before
she went down, the Cumberland's men yet
on her decks took refuge in the rigging
Gen. Mansfield sent orders to the Captain of
the propeller Weldon, lying at the dock, to
run out and rescue them. He refused to do
it, saying that he would be sunk or taken.
The General took short method with the
coward. He threatened to shoot him if he
did not Immediately slip his hawser and
save those men. The fellow ran out and
brought away every one of them.
In the height of the fire of the batteries
upon the Merrimac, her flag staff was shot
away. A trap-door was opened in her iron
roof, and man emerged and began moving
a straddle of the ridge toward the socket of
the staff. A riiled cannon shot struck him
in the side, and tore him utterly to pieces
A fate rs mortal overlook Unies- f-c'-'
either the Yorktown or Jamestown, who
hurried TO carry away our flag from the Con,
gress. He had it partially wrapped around
him and was in the act of descending the
frigate's side, when an Indiana rilleman "
ing ON the beach caught sight of him. lie
swore aloud that the frigate's flag should
never see Norfolk, and sent his bullet
9 through the officers breast and tumbled
him into deep water, He sank instantly.
It is stated that the United Presbyterian
are building four new edifices in London, ant
, are right heartily at work in many OF thu