The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-05-07
MONUMENTAL HISTORICAL ERRORS

A Springfield, Illinois, correspondent
Of the Chicago Times writes an elaborate
description of the bronze groups de-
signed to ornament the base Of the ma
tional Lincoln monument, In process Of
construction at the Illinois capital. In
the course OF this description the Times
correspondent takes @ serious liberty
with the truth of history In the follow
ing reference to the use and efficiency
OF monitors in the late civil war:
1.-THE centre object is one Of those immense
monitors which were brought into use during the
celebrated expedition for the opening Of the Mis-
sissippi. They were used against the Island No.
10 and against Vlcksburg, but they attained their
utmost celebrity as used IN the reduction OF Forts
ST. Philip and jackson below New Orleans
Here is gross historical error, which
we hope will not be embodied in the
durable form Of bronze. 1t Is bad
enough to produce suoh errors In the
discreditably inaccurate and, we hope,
fleeting form of the innumerable, super
fetal and singularly erroneous histories
that have been written of our civil war.
but when renowned artists give to them
the permanent record of costly monu
ments of marble and metal. truth and
good taste revolt at them. and demand
their correction In order to prevent the
misleading and deception OF posterity.
Here Is one such error, to which the
attention Of the contributors to this
monument should be called.
There were no monitors employed on
ha NFfscsssty>pi OF TINA dfyrinO thu
war. nor were there any ironclads-if
these be ignorantly included under the
designation Of monitors-which accom-
plished any results on the Mississippi
river or took any part in the reduction
Of Forts st. Phillip and jackson.
On the contrary, the only use Of mon
itors in the operations In the Southwest
was in the movement against Mobile,
long after the opening Of the MISSISSIPPI
ri; and in this single instance Of the
employment Of this style of vessel, a
most lamentable example was given OF
their ineffectiveness and dangerous
character. The only monitor employed
by Commodore Farragut in his attack
upon Fort Gaines illustrated the force
and accuracy Of his opinion that such
crafts would only prove collins to bury
gallant crews. Capt. Craven, and about
two hundred sailors and soldiers, in one
OF these wretched and unsightly mont
tors, disappeared forever from mortal
sight at the first explosion Of a she'll or
torpedo directed against the iron float
in which they were encased. Not one
of the crew survived the explosion.
This was the only serious disaster in
cured by Commodore Farragut. With
his wooden steamers he dashed ahead
against the powerful iron clad rams of
the Confederates, the Tennessee and
Nashville, and battered them into so
helpless condition that their wounded
and heroic commander, Admiral Blu
chanan, was compelled to surrender.
All the effective work accomplished by
Farragut in the Southwest and on the
Mississippi-and he did about all that
was done In that line-was effected with
wooden steamers, slightly protected by
iron cable.
Farragut had as just horror of all
such contrivances of charlatans and
SPECULATIVE contractors as he had Of
Porter's mortar vessels. So far from
their efficiency having been proved by
the reduction of Forts st. Phillip and
Jackson 4...e sta.ss went is met and re-
e.. u bv the notorious a"ot that those
forts never were reduced. Farragut
passed them with his fleet of wooden
ships and cut them off from this city.