, 1862-03-17

Ine INJURY sustained W Lne IaGF1ck Henry
was not as great as at first supposed, being so
tlifing that few honr's repairs were safa-
clent to place her in readiness for notion
The officers Of the Virginia are represented
as having acted with the utmost courage and
bravery during the contest 1t is related Of
Captain Buchanan that during the thickest
Of the tight lie remained on the deck Of The
Virginia, and that he discharged musket after I
musket at the enemy as they were handed up
to him. It Was while TINS exposed TINT he re-
celycd the wound Of which mention is made
above.
It is said that all Of the batteries on New
port News were silenccd except one, and our
shot and shell were thrown with such uner-
ring aim and precision among the enemy that
great numbers Of them were killed and
wounded.
The Ericsson Ba1tery.-1nterestiue
Statement of the Inventor
The Monitor is no new invention Of Mr..
EricsEon's, but that she is the result Of Is
years' study toward an ingulnerable siege bat
terry. During the Crimeap war, Mr. Ericsson
proposed the building Of similar vessel to
Louis Napoleon, who expressed himself very
much pleased with tue design, but declined to
carry it into execution. Mr.. Ericsson Is at
present so busf1y engaged on plans for still
more formidable vessel that, though sent for
from Washington, he has refused to go even
for single day
At special meeting Of the New York
Chamber Of Commerce On Wednesday, 18th,
for the purpose Of considering The harbor de-
fcnses Of New York, Nj. Ericsson Was pres.
ont, and gave most interesting account Of
the construction and capabilities Of that Won
dctful vessel Resolutions wcrc passed yery
strongly condennato1y Of the Navy Depart
ment for its neglect Of Hampton Roads, and
Mayor Opdyke and Messrs. A. A. Low and
Charles b. Marshau were appointeda commit
fec to so to Washington to consult with the
War Department.
The following statement in reply to inter-
rogations il the course Of the discussion, will
be read with interest:
have the great satisfaction to tell the gem
t1emen tllat this morning, few minutes after
Twas called upon to attend this meeting, I
got letter from Mr. sinners. I sent copy
Of it to Tie Etening Post, 50 that the press
should have it in the morning. T Will noE
Inon CLAD MONITOR,
HAMPTON ROADS, March 9, 1854, 1
Nj DEAR Sir-After stormy passage, Khfch
proved NJ to be the tneat sca-boat was ever in,
NC fought tho McttinHc for more than three houte
sinking condition. Iron clad against iron clad.
We 1naneurered about the bay here, and went at
each Other With mutual fterceness. consider that
twenty-five times s-pilotho twice, tu1rct ninc
timee, side arrnor eight timee. deck three tin,es
The only vulnerable point was the pi1ot-house
broken N Two. Ths shot G q s}ruck just outside of
where the Captain had his eye aud It has disabled
bIm b 4ss oEbeE his left eye and temporarily
That is proved since not to be so. Il was
imagined At first that his eye was lost
The log ie not quite in two, but il broken and
pressed inward 1K inches.
This shows The. Immense force Of tuesc
shots. This beam is 9iaches by 12, and Of the
best wrought iron. This gives an idea Of the
difficulty Of resisting thcse shot, and yet We
have succeeded in the turret in doing SO: -.
She tried to run down. and sink Ut AZ che did
The crmbcrland yesterday, hut she got the w;orst.
sharp, upperedged side cut threE the iighs iron
vim nottry hat again. she gave Us tremendous
thump: hut did not injure u IN the least. We are
just able 70 find the point Of contact.
That is gratifying, that after such a concus-
sion it was difficult to sec where she struck
| her.
The t1rret is a splendid structure don't think
| much Of the shield but the pendnlunts arc fine
| things, though cannot tell you how. they would
| stand the Shot, AZ they were not hit.
The shield Is an extra thickness OF two
inches on the fighting side. L WAS placed
| there principally on account Of the sound. ]
was affaid that the force Of the shock would
| knock the men down.
| You were very correct in yonr estimate Of the
| effect Of ehot upon the man On the inside of the
tu1ret when it was struck near him. Three me1
ether tWe bsd 10 Be carried below, ut pV vs. no t
disabled at ALL and the others recovered before the
Before the Monitor left charged the officer
particularly to tell the men not to be frighten
| cd. told him to tell the men, let erery mar
60 down On his knees, aud don't be alarmed
when the Rebel shot strikes You, because i!
mont hVE S41 tss They ahe{ al Put the qgestsa t.
saSs be, 1T viii stay oat.' sfhen We don', @
care,'' they said. But for this prccausion thert
! would have been great CONSERVATION when tn
turrct was struck. Ton may estimate th
shock when a shot Of 200 pounds weight, ,moT
ing at the rate Of {, 600 feet in second, strike
within foot Of mans head.
Capt. Wordcn stationed himself at the pilo
house, Greene fired the guns, and I turned tn
tulTet until the Captain was disabled, and va
relieved BY Greene, when I managed the turre
myself. Master Stodden having been one O
The two stunned men.
proposed to the captain to let the sailin
master turn the turret. On one side Of th'
turret there is telescope, reflector tn
image being bent by q prism. This sailing
master, who has nothing to do on the Moni
tor, proposed that he should be stationc,
AAE1Gs 0E HUI NAA3 4VOk%CA GHC L5G
scope, but By means Of a small wheel b
turned the turret Just exactly where he liked
He did that to admiration, pointing it exacti
on the enemy. As the Monitor went round
| the turTct kept turning lit no doubt astonishe
Capt. Buchanan, 90 that wherever the Monito
two bulldogs kept looking at him all the imt
Capt SssoT tf;o yon np99 os
you. have heard whole crews cheer yo1. Ever
| man feels that you have eayed this place to tt
nation b. farnisbIng ns with the means to vii
an iron.eaad fstgate TINT was, until our asrivs
| having It all her own Way With our most poweff
| vessels, -7.
an with much esteem F.E Ell tEay EasEst
CART. J. ER1cssoH, No rs FTanklin-st.. New Tor
, cannot permit this opportunity to pa
/ ! without saying that ! look upon the succe
: of thst as being entirely owing to the pre-
E rncc Of naaetef mind. The men we're nea
t their passage had been very rough, and II
5 master had to put his vessel right under Il
), heaviest guns that are ever worked on shi
i board. Il is evident that but for the preseu'
r ct master nlind en board Of that yesss
), that success could not hare becu achieve
Capt Worden, no doubt, acquitted himself
g Inc most mastery manner. But eveythis
s. he went On beard. The fact that the bulwal
= Of the vessel Was but one foot above the +
!. ter ll.e was enough to make him SO. .Wher
l. 1as before the Naval Committee, the graz
CUlNNL0A HA& kAht IL 6Eh LIE fCEs
t, would not york. I gave it SIS my opi
1. ion that it would prove the most cas-
a, working in EGG va:r, and it Is an eKce1le
n Ees hoat. The men sIe supplied with FIRE
se air, Though t5ere is NO opening except ttrou!
q. the turr=t, by means Of blowers worked
E. the engines. and sheg are perfectly comfort
= BE, TLsy cac remain cn the top Of tbs II
= ret IL tee eea wny; it il 81 feet ic circEtEf
Id e.c=-quitE promenade. Though the de
ar is but foot above TIE ~ater-line, the top
ii The tur7et is nine feet above; sud here is t
it important point that this vessel Ia in the e
it way pEshsps TIC saseat vessel ever bEiit.
:akes GO, 600 ba to bring hcy down The
T. can be Eo danger Of her swkmpicg. It ID We
., n.ucn like = bottle with S cork In it. In re
d. ton - Tie pol1t, vheshsr II. Monitor
I'd | ,caFhhlo ct taking care CT see Merdnsc.
u NE Bay that +he would hare tuuk tie Ne,
AZ mac but for the fact Of her hsving tired I
ss high. II thty h.d kept OF 1t distance
I'd 200 ysrds. ard held the guns exactly Icy
t.