The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-12


st. Lawrence They were wooden ships,
like all navies in those days, and on March
Z, in anticipation of the Merrimac's raid,
en order had been dispatched from Wash
ington for these vessels to make all haste
into the Potomac river for safety.
This order hadn't reached it's destination
at noon of the 9Th, and on board the Cum
berland and Congress the sailors washed
clothes were drying in the rigging and
their boats were swinging from the booms
when the ram hove in sight. Things
changed in a twinkling, however, when a
pillar of black smoke was seen rising out
of Elizabeth river and a strange craft
steamed from under the Confederate bat
teries and headed for Newport News. A
swift sailing Union picket boat ran out to
reconnoiter, and fred few shots to warn
friends inshore that the stranger came not
in peace but for war. The Congress and
Cumberland and the shore batteries, ag
gregating 100 guns, opened on the ram at
three-fourths of mile distance Comnlo
dore Buchanan, an old navy officer, was
aboard the Merrinlac and decided to make
short work of it and strike the Cumberland
at once While moving up to her prey the
Merrimac passed the Congress and received
from her full broadside. At the same
time the pivot gun of the ram was fired at
her intended victim, and one guns crew ct
the Cum berland was swept away. Then
the ram struck with her powerful beak
almost at right angles, close to the Cum
berland's forerigging, making hole that
"horse and cart" might pass through
The forward rifle gun of the ram at the
instant of collision delivered shot that
killed ten men at one gun on the Cumber-
land Then the Merrimac backed away
leaving her iron beak broken off in the
| sides Of the luckless frigate, and quickly
turned upon the Congress with raking
stern fire.
| The Cumberland continued in action
nearly an hour. When hailed to strike
colors her commander, Lieut.. Morris,
shouted, ''Never, I'll sink alongsidep' She
was leaking badly all of this time and her
crew was driven by the rising water to
the upper decks and there continued firing
from the deck guns. A sailor on the roof
ofthe ram was cut in two by shell from
the Cumberland just as she went down.
She sank in fifty -four feet of water and her
flag foated from her topmast above the
waves The crew saved themselves by
jumping and swimming ashore.
The Congress tried to avoid the fate of
her consort and escape, but she grounded
and the Merrimac ran up to within 200
yards and riddled her with shells Her
commander, Lieut.. j. P. Smith, was killed,
her scuppers ran blood, her crew was being
slaughtered with no chance to retaliate,
and her officers displayed the white flag.
The lieutenant in charge made formal
surrender and went on board Confederate
gunboat, but the Union troops on shore
~ Era fho foda fnc
the Congress- colors were not struck, and
Commodore Buchanan directed that hot
shot be poured into her. While she was
burning her crew jumped into the water,
| and two southern officers lost their lives in
attempting to rescue the disabled sailcrA
| from drowning. The Congress burned all
night, and after numerous explosions OF
| shells and loaded cannon, at intervals, her
magazines blew up toward morning and
only blazing fragments remained.
| At the commencement Of the fight the
| Union frigate Minnesota, twin vessel
| with the old Merrimac, steamed up to take
| hand When the Congress dropped out
| the Merrimac started to meet the Minnie
| sofa, but the latter grounded in water
| where the Confederate pilot feared to risk
his vessel The frigates Roanoke and St.
| Lawrence were not at all shy In scraplng
! acquaintance with the new product of the
Norfolk navy yard and were on the scene
| about the time the Minnesota grounded.
| The ram fired at all three. alternately.
| giving each substantial meInento of the
| first ironclad. All three yaliantly tried to
| return the compliment, and hurled broad
side after broadside that rolled off the
| Merrimac's roof like so much hail What
| for hour
daylight no one can tell. Darkness ended
the matter and Buchanan hauled his vic
| torious David under the guns of friendly
| batteries on the south shore and set about
| counting bruises A man killed and 20
wounded were the casualties. Two guns
| had lost their muzzles by some good shoot
| ing from the other side. The 4-inch armor
was barely indented, but everything out
side large enough to hold up missile had
done SO a brief second and then disappeared
| along with it,
| The smokestack was gone, likewise one
| anchor Davits, stanchions, ratings and
steam pipes were all gone, and the flag,
| during the last half of the battle, floated
| from boarding pike But the monster
was monster still. Eight of her re-en-
| forced cannon and their crews were in
| fighting trim, and the iron shield about
| them was perhaps little better for being
rubbed smooth by the shot and shell that
bad rained upon it only to glance OF.
The north was paralyzed when the news
flashed along the wires that the Merrimac
was actually riding over the wrecks OF the
| sinking Cumberland and the burning Con
gress and steering for the rest of the feet.
Secretary Stanton exclaimed before the
| cabinet at Washington: "The Merflmac
will change the whole character OF the
war; she will destroy, seriatim, every naval
| vessel; she will lay all the cities on the sea-
board under contribution. Not unlikely
! we shall have shell or cannon ball from
one of her guns in the White House before
we leave this room" So the pioneer iron
ram was champion bugaboo as well as
! fighter, the greatest of all up to her date.
| But her day was brief. The workshop OF
the Swedish wizard Ericsson, was yet to
| hear from when the Merrimac startled the
world and sounded the doom of wooden
ships as factors in naval contests.
| GEORGE L. KILIER.