Arkansas true Democrat., 1862-04-03

l tune tney were IfequeH iloC notcldaH tHifly or forty yards apart. Unfortunately, the tir- i gna ran aground, and the Ericsson used her ' advantage, poured shot after shot into her, but without doing any serious damage. In a short while, however, the Virginia succeeded in get ting of, and putting on al full head of steam, ran her bow into the Ericsson doing, as it is thought, great damage.
 We are rejoiced to say that notwithstanding the firing was much heavier than on Saturday, there were no casualties on either of ourvesseis not man being in the least injured by shots from the enemy or otherwise.
 Several of the enemy's gunboats being within range. they were favored with 8 shell or two from the Virginia, with telling effect, and iii every case disabling or sinking them. One of these lying along side the Minnesota, had 9 shell thrown aboard of her, which on bursting, tore her asunder and sent her to the bottom. Having completely ridded the Minnesota, and disabled the St. Lawrence and Monitor, besides as stated above, destroying several of the enc. my $ gunhoats-in word, having accomplished all that they designed and having no more mate rial to work upon, our noble vessels left the scene oftheir triumphs and returned to the yard, where they await another opportunity of displaying their prowess.
 The enemy's loss, killed and wounded, during the two days battle Is exceedingly large, and estimated at from six to twelve hundred. The scene around the Congress Is represented as be- ing heart sckening The officers ot the Beau fort who run alongside of her on Saturday night and who boarded her for the purpose ot rcmoy- ing the wounded aboard of her, and who were brutally fired upon by the enemy while engaged iu this work of mercy to their own klth and kin, represented the deck of the vessel as being lit eraily covered with the dead and dying. One of them assures us that as he went from fore to aft, his shoes were well nigh buried in blood and brains. Arms, legs and heads were found scat tered in every direction, while here and there in the agonies of death would be found poor deaded wretches, with theIr breasts torn com pEetely out.
 Of the crew of the Cumberland, but few sur vived to tell the tale. As she weat down her crew went with her, excepting come few who were taken as prisoners by us and . few others who escaped to the shore. Out of five hundred hundred at most escaped, the remainder either being killed by our shot or drowned as the vessel went down.
 Of course, the greater part of those on board the gunboats, were also drowned, as there was not sufficient time for them to have made their escape Added to this very many i'll the camps of the enemy at Newport News were killed by the shells which the Virginia threw among them.
 On our side the loss was indeed small, and when we consider the storm of shell, to which at times they were subjected. we can but wonder while we rejoice that so few of them suffered injury.
 On the Virginia there were two killed and eight wounded. Among the wounded, we re- gret to mention, Capt. Buchanan and Lieut.. Minor. These wounds, however, we are happy to state, are but slight.
 On the Raleigh Midshipman Hunter was kl- led and Capts. Taylor and Alexander wounded, the first mentioned quite severely.
 On the Beaufort, Gunner W. Robinson and two seamen were wounded. This was all the damage sustained by this vessel among her men. Two Yankee prisoners aboard of her were struck by the balls of their friends, one of them killed and the other severely wounded. The former was standing in the door of the wardrobe at the time the Beaufort was alongside the Congress, and one of the shower of balls sent by the ene> my on shore from their Minnie nuskets, struck him on the forehead penetrating his brain and killing him almost instantly
 On the Ieaser, oue man was wounded very slightly
 On the Patrick Henry, four men were killed and three wounded. While the loss of the enc my is counted W hundreds, ours as will be seen from tho aDoYe, amounts to only seven killed and seventeen wounded.
 The loss on our part, as small as 1t is, was not the work of the enemy's shots from their ves- sels but the result for the most part of the fire of muskets from shore,
 During the contest, the mainmast of the Raleigh was carried away. The flag stals of the Virginia were also cut down.
 The report that the Congress was fired by the f ! witLoub q shadow of truth. She was fired by hot shot from the Virginia, for firing into our boats while she had flag of truce at the time flying, after she had struck her colors and sur rendered to us.
 Among the prisoners taken off the Congress was the slave Sam, the property of --r Drum Iond, esq, Of this city, who escaped to the enemy some time in October last. He is now safe, having reached his home sooner, and under different circumstances than he anticipated. :
 On the arrival of the firginlG ct the yard her men were mastered and addressed by the com manding officer in terms of praise for their noble bearing during the engagement. They respond ed with hearty cheers, and expressed a desire to again re-enact the scenes through which they had just passed whenever opportunity presented.
 The injury sustained ly tue Patrick Henry was not ;.s great as at first supposed-being 50 trihing that few hours repair were sufficient to place her in readiness for action,
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ERICSSON BATTERY.
 Our readers will no doubt be glad to have the following full and minute description ofthis new and unique rebellion annihilator," known as the Ericsson battery.
 The battery rests upon two vessels, an upper and'a lower one. The upper is built of iron, one hundred and ffty-four feet long, forty enc feet I0ur inches wide, and five deep, with draft inches of the sides exposed above the water line The sides are covered with white oak bulwark, thirty inches thick, but receive their principal protection from an armour of rolled plate iron, six inches thick. The decb is made of oak beams ten inches thick, covered with plank eight inc ches thick and one inch plate. The upper vessel is fiat hottomed, and has q wed shaped stem and stern. The lower yes se, which is entirely submerged, is one hun dred and twenty-fOu feet long, thrty-tour feet wlde and six feet six inches deep. It contains the working machinery, the rudder and the au- chor, housed away beyond the reach ofthe enc my's shot,
 Upon the deck of the upper vessel, and the only conspicuous object on this flow raking :" and terrible craft, is the turrett twenty feet in di- ameter, nine feet high, and composed oi nine one inch plates, iRpped over each other and t,s- tened with thousands of bolts. A shell proof roof, six inches thick, covers the turret, which is entered throuh hatchways from above. i'he total weight of thQ tufFat is one hundred and