The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1862-04-02
THE ROMANCE or WAR.

THE ROMANCE or WAR.
There are battles in history which ar, ,ox
net merely the deadly struggle Of tvs hestiIe
Iorees, but which, from their dramatic eharse.
ter. or from their results, becoas sveso q
eras in human adaira Romance asd pAilaao.
ply both cluster around them, and however m.
important in themselves, they become surnins
points in history. Such We conceive vas the
naval battle Of Saturday and Sunday in Hemp.
ton Roads. No military scene on the stage. 10
combination Of oil elements Of exciting interest
In romance. ever equAled. for moment the in.
tense excitement and fuctusting suspenss Of
that remarkable conflict Ii Wi be one Of thcee
events that our children and our children's ehsl
dren wil read OF over and over again, with uA-
dying interest.
The telegraph, il must be remembered nut
New York amos, in the position Of spectaise.
The scene 10 his.oric-the beautiful outlet Of
the Potomac, where tho earliest English colonta
sailed to discover new treasures in the W es,eru
wiids, and close 70 the river by which the ioun.
dssien Of Virgins zee laid Yarsssss Ma.so<
with It's flock OF shipping on one side, juss -.
yond the ruins OF the once beautiful Hampton:
still further on, the shite tents Of Newporto
News, and the hulls and spars Of the in. fated
frigates at anchor. Suddenly, on "a mild, ha.
~ morning., mysterious, monstrous object. q
dark, floating house. terrible and inprcenable.
makes her appearance - strange aud formidable
to the wooden ships a. we're the artillery Of the
jamestown settlers To the bows and arrows of
the Indians. With closed ports without van.
ing or threat she ~oves steadily to the terrible
work. Nothing vithholds her; the iron rain a
batteries and broadsides falls harmless from her
mailed sides She attacks the great ships which
the da, before were the pride Of our navy, aad
in short time one OF them gees dows, ascen.
quered, with the old asg flying, sbossh her
eurging into the broken sides The other eur.
renders. Still more damage 10 done, and night
closes in with the prospect Of . moro terrible
morrow, Our finest ships are aground or disa-
bled, and it seems a. il the monster bad only
80 49, L. ~ $3.50, ..s.S .ss~.iy sAssAssiisis
them. She Can then proceed to shell the fort
and the camps, and then quietly sailing out
from the Capes, she may 60 forth on her mission
OF destruction. Imagination can hardly picture
the disasters which we're possible: Dispersal
Of our blockading feet-the opening of the
Southern blockade-the shutting Of our smaller
scapOrts-the widespread destruction Of eur
commerce, and even the blockading, IL not tho
attack, Of our own great City. All these are
the pictures before the inagnatiens sf the i'm.
menss audience through the country, % the
curtain OF this remarkable sceue is dropped the
first night.
With the early morning . new figure appears
on the stage. The iron mailed knight, whom
ronancers 20 delight to summon, CONES forth
from the darkness to do battle With this nailed
dragon. He seems bot . dwarf beside hh
mighty antagonist, yet he bears on his slsodse
lance the honor If not the destiny Of bic csun.
Try. Perhaps there never was single encoun.
ter where such mighty results hung on the sue.
cess of enc combatant If We night felIew our
figure, We should say our valiant little knight
vas wearied With travel, but half prepared foe
| the deadly struggle, and nov for the first tine
testing his maiden sword.
The whole nation cit - spectators around the
vast arena The monster at frss scarcely notices
his adversary, bat ID soon warned that be has Q
new antagonist. ia
| The battle begins between the giant and the
| dwarf. They fight At distance; they SIGHT
| hand to hand; they charge and meet; they par.
| ry and strike; each seeks place in which to
pierce his opponents armor. At one tine tho
diminutivs knight, Who bears on his shield tie
| Stars and Stripes. and the honor and welfare Of
. nation, seems utterly Overborne by his gigan.
tic adversary, bat in . moment be 10 up again,
| TO direct . more dangerous thrust ct the vital
part Of the mopster enemy. Nothing can isjsrc
or PROSTATE the valiant little warrior, and at
last his mighty opponent withdraws wounded
and helpless, and the whole people breathe
freer again.
Such 70 our children and 10 posterity win b
the romance Of this NEST dramatic battle q The
| mouth Of the Potomac. But to tie world ct
large it Possesses vastly greater interests. On
that eventfui Sunday, the whole naval arehitsc-
ture and haTbor deiences Of the world we're
snmmary changed. Aencef0rth the mighty
frigstes and gigantic steamers, the " "wosdsa
walls" which have formed the marine defescs
Of nations, are nothing. They have passed
away, m the cross-bow did before the muskst.
or the kaiists when the cannos appeared. They
are already things Of the past. No woodea.
sided war-vsssel will hencefOrth be built. All
the fleets Of the world-sheusands and thousasla
Of ships-must be laid up, or rebuilt, or plated
as the result Of that scenic struggle in Hampton
Roads. Stone batteries, harbor-forta, I'll post
defences, too, must be changed; for il 10 svideat
that the Monitor, if not the xerriDac, could
have entered upharmedany harbor Of the world
r Il is but too sadly apparent that bali . dosss
Monitors, three months earlier, would have
cleared the Potomac, James and the York; cap
tured Norfolk and her monster, and shelIed o.
taken Charleston, Savannah, PcnsaeolA, nobil,
and Nev-OrleaDs. Henceforth, either artillery
. more tremendous than any known to var. mus
be used in the defsece Of hsrbos or iron floating
, batteries and iron e2sed figates. Even th'
, enormous and expensive plated chips, ike th.
Warrior and La Goire must be replaced. Tbey
would neither of them be . match for the Mer
rimac, with her railroading plating; End - te
the Monitor, ovr engineers telieve she vou!t
, shoot them through and through With he
wrought iron eleven inch balls, fired near tn
| water line.
Such are q few Of the aspects Of the battle o
, the iron clad ships on Sunday. We trust tha
ve NAV record no more results.-E y. Ts9ss
TgInLrxG IscrDExr.-Ap officer Who vas ol
. the CunberlaDd, writes that the scenes q bsar'
we're heart breaking. Tso Of the guansrs q
! the bow guns. when the ship vas sinking, elasp
, ed their guns in their arms and would net b ~
. moved, and went down embracing them. On
gunner had both his legs shot away, but he mad
three steps on his bloody thighs, seized the lasd
| yard and fred bis gun, falling back dead: An
: other lost both arms and legs. yet LIVED, sn'
, when they vsuld assist hin, cried oot "h.ek
) your euns, boys! Give EN- fs! hurrah 70
the fsg!" He lived till she sank.
? eEA yosng man Who applied at 2 rscfsiic(
! .tssioo for enlistment, was asked If be eesk
, sleep on the point ef abayeeet when De Peo9ps
, " replied BY saying hs could ~ il. - he ha1
; often slept on . pint of whisky, and the kiss
, they used in Broskville would kill further thai
D .n. .boo,;nc iran he ever oaW.