The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1877-07-06
AN HISTORIC BATTLE RECALLED
from the N. Y, SUM-

AN HISTORIC BATTLE RECALLED.
from the N. Y. SUM-
The death ut Selma, Ala, of Lieut..
Catesby Jones recalls one of the most
momentOus events of the war of the re-
bellion, and the beginning of Il new
era in the. history OF naval warfare.
Lieut.. Jones, who was Il brilliant OFF,
Ger of our navy, ranking with Dahl
gren as an authority in ordinance and
Runnery, took the side OF the South dur
ing the war. 1t was he who command
ed the Merrimac, or Virginia us she
was called by the Confederates, in her
famous fight with the Monitor, and
that is the event to which we refer.
On the afternoon of the sth of March,
1862, the improvisetl ironclad Merri-
mac, whose appearance had long been
anticipated and dreaded, steamed
down the Elizabeth river toward New
port News. Her appearance was
speedily signalled to the Union block.
aiding squadron in that neighbori,ood,
which consisted of the frigate Congress
and the sloop-of-war Cumberland, at
Newport News, and the frigates Min
nesota, Roanoke, and st. Lawrence, at
Fort Monroe, six miles distant. Lieut..
Catesby Jones was in command of the
Merrimac, which had been made into
an armored vessel by razeeing to the
water line the old and famous frigate
Merrimac, then lying abandoned at
the Norfolk Navy Yard, and building
up on her an iron easement to protect
her battery. This shield was in the
form Of a roof, and the plating, which
was OF railroad bars, was four inches
thick, which would be considered an
weak armor nowadays. Her
battery consisted of eight 9-inch Dahl
gren guns, and four 74-incl rifles of the
Brooke patterns powerful armament
for that time.
The feet at Fort Monroe slipped
their cables and advanced toward the
while the Congress and Cum
berland stood ready to meet her. The
three ships were soon engaged in a hot
fight but our vessels saw to their dis
may that their shots had no more effect
on the terrible Confederate than peas
on an elephants hide, while the Mer-
rimac poured forth her broadsitles with
consequences to the wooden
ships. The fight was Il short one, the
the Merrimac soon striking and sinking
the Cumberland, whose gallant crew
went down with her. The successful
vessel then paid her attentions to the
Congress, dealing out to her raking
fire of hot shot, for the heating Of
which Lieut.. Jones had prepared fur
mace aboard the Merrimac, which was
by the shells of the wooden
frigate. The Congress was soon in
flames, and the Merrimac made for the
other vessels, but owing to her great
of water was unable to get near
to them to do them any in
jury and at in the evening the Con-
ironclad aud her consorts
back to Norfolk. Lieut..
Jones, In an account of the battle
which he published long after, says
he was satisfied with the days work,
- we'll he might have been, and had
no doubt of his ability to start out on
the morrow and clean out tho rest of
the Union fleet. Meantime a panic
prevailed at Fort Monroe, and the
whole country held its breath.
But Lieut.. Jones did not do any
more cleaning out. At o'clock in the
roe a strange looking little craft, which,
two days before, had left New York.
It was the Monitor, an experiment in
naval construction, in which every
thing was new and untried, turrets,
and all. Her guns had
been only once fired, she had gone to
'ea from the stocks, the paint upon her
was scarcely dry, and her officers, ex-
,ept the two engineers, knew nothing,
BY experience, of her working or capa-
bilities. At O'Clock on the morning
IF the 9th Sunday the watch officer |
If the Minnesota espied the Merimac
toward them from Sewalls |
Point, while the mist overlaid the |
water. The Monitor was at once sig ,
,alled, aud promptly hoisted anchor,
down her iron matches and |