, 1862-03-18
MERIMAC AND MONITOR.
The Rebel Description Of the Fight.

From the Norfolk Day Book, March II.
Tie previous cha pter in this strange history
was headed the s'Combat of the N1ht5," when,
in reality, it WIS description Of that Of the
Sth-of Saturday performance, and not Sun-
days Us would appear from the caption Of
which we speak.
On Sunday morning faint cannonading WAS
beard below. When the thick vapors that
oyeShnng Hampton Roads lifted, Lieutenan.
Commanding Capt. Z. Jones gotunder. weigh,
and began his attack upon the enemy. At ten
o'clock the steamer Harmony showed of from
the Dockyard and shot the harbor. After
threading our way through the barriers, and
passing the forts, dark, as on the previous day,
with masses Of soldiers Of all arms, we saw
picture-a picture at once novel and beautiful
The gpnbosts xeTe: lying il line Of battle
Of smoke foating lazi1y above them, firing
now aud then q shot; while the Virginia,
looking grim and mysterious as before, steam-
ed in. pursuit Of wonderful looking thing
that was Justly compared to o prodigiou5
- Yankee cheese on aplank,' said "cheese
box" being Of PIutonian blaekness.
At first We could sec the great puts Of white
smoke jetting ont: now FROM the Virginia, now
from the Minnesota, aud at long intervals from
the black ."cheese box" But these white
wreaths Of smoke blew off to seaward without
a sound reaching US, for the wind had now
risen, and the warm calm Of early morning was
succeeded By piercing northeaster- Away we
went across Csaney Island fats, and presently
We could hear the guns, louder and loud
er. But, the strange looking battery,
nth is black, Eeyolvng enpol fed befofs
fighting a ghost.' Now she ran down to-
wards Old Point, now hack towards Newport
News, now approached to fire and then ran
away to load, but evidently fighting shy, and
afraid Of being put tin chancery," as the pugi-
lists call it, by her powerful pursuer. The pro-
jecties from ncr great piece Of ordnance, s ten
inch solid shot gun, came dancing across the
water with series Of short sharp pops, which
made music more exciting than melodious
Now she ovcrshot the Virginia, and the spray
few more than thirty feet higll~ Nov she shot
to tlis side, then to that. Now she steamed
close up; and hit her fairly. In one of these
encounters We thought leriron castle had been
shot away, bnt when the smoke cleared away,
there it was and the leng, plank like hull In
shore again, driving along like the Flying
Dntchman." Meanwhile the Virginia crept up
towards the Minnesota, crept up and paused ia
that mysterious silence which fell upon her at
all times-a silence awfnl1y impressive to US
| aboard the tug. Was she aground? One
| thought yes. another could make out that
| she was moving. A third discovered tha. it
| was our forging ahead which impaired to her
the apparent motion we had moment before
| congratulated ourselves npon. The minutes
seemed like hours as VIC stood watching the
| noble ship, agafnst which the combined bate
ries Of the Minnesota and Ericsson were now
directed. The shot fell like hail the shell f1ew
like rain drops, and slowly, steadily She return
cd the fire. There lay the Minnesota with two
| tugs alonge1de. HeTe, there and e,gry,o1ere ,eas
the bEaek cheese boz" There lay the Virginia
evidently aground but still firing with the same
deliberate regularity rs before. Presently 4
great white column Of smoke shot up above
| the Minnesota, higher and higher, fuller and
fuller IN its volume, and beyond doubt carried
death all along her decks, for tho red tugs
boiler lad been exploded By :: shot, and
| that great white cloud canopy was the
steam thus liberated - more terrible
than the giant who grew out Of the
yapor unsea1ed by tho fisherman in the fable.
And now the Virginia moves again. Thery
can be 10 error this time, for we sec her actt.
ally moving through, the water, and can mark
the foam Of her Prov. And, strange to say,
these long, painful hours measuring time by
| our emotions, a1e condensed By the uusym
pathetic hands Of our watches into fifteen
minutes! At twelve o'clock nooo" she VT:
steaming down for Sewall's, while the strangt
looking battery bore away for the frisate
ashore.
As We looked up towards Newport News
we saW the spar Of the Cumberland above ths
river she had SO long insolently barred; bu
Of her conEort there was not even q timbel
head visible to tell her stary. But this va:
not all she had done. The Minnesota lay thers
taincd will never be known, but it must 1layi
been frigltfu1. And within einht and fort,
| hours Ehe had successfully encountercd-en
countercd, defied and beaten force equal tt
2.eD men and 2S0 guns. as will be seen by th
| fO1Ic1yiur fahln-