The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-08-11

mel, about midnight March 8 The out
look of the Merrimac across the Roads on
the south shore got u glimpse Of tho strange
object by the light of the burning Con
gress. His report aroused the curiosity Of
tho officers upon the ram and they guessed
that Ericsson's famed new cortrivance was
also in the lists, though late arrival at
tho tournament, NeStm they made
out the shape as that of III cheese box, on a
plank" or ~ tin can on \ board"
The element of daring was high in the
breasts of the Monitor people when they
closed With the enemy on the morning Of
the 9th, The trip from New York down
had brought out the weaknesses Of their
craft, The waves flooded her hold, delug-
ING her furnace room and coal bunllers
and checking the fires besides almost SUI
locating the crew with gas. She had but
two guns; herports could only be closed by
cessation of firing; one shell in her only
gun chamber-the turret--would disable
her fighting powers, and her shots must be
delivered almost at random, or son the
fly" rs the turret revolved and brought
the target opposite the gunport for an in
slant, Besides, the cannon were u new in
vention. and the charge limited to fifteen
pounds Of powder for lS0-pound shot.
Other drawbacks disclosed themselves in
fighting. The Merrimac, on the contrary,
had made a record and proven invulnerable.
The ram steamed along the south chan
mel, passing the Minnesota and giving her
an 1l-inch shot at long range, as she still
lay aground. The north and south chan
nels intersect about two miles from where
the Minnesota lay, and the Merrimac kept
on to that point and turned into the north
channel to close ON her prey. TO get at the
Minnesota and destroy her was the avowed
purpose Of the commander of the Merri-
mac. His pilots promised to lay the ram
within half a mile of the grounded vessel
But as she approached the Monitor steamed
out to meet her, opening fire at third of
a mile She kept on until she was squarely
alongside. The Merrimac's shots ratified
on the iron turret and plated deck of the
newcomer without leaving dent, and the
revolving gun turret batfled the Confeder-
ate gunners in attempts to make port shots
and destroy her fighting power.
Besides, the little vessel Unanswered as
readily as a tug, and often took position
where the rams guns couldn't touch her
The Merrimac tried ramming with her
plated prov, but the Monitor bobbed out
VI IeeCn, anu LII feGuru 1ndue lunSe at
the propeller of the ram which missed by
only a hair. The Monitors shots, even
with light charges, started the bolts of the
plating on the ram, broke up the iron and
at places caused the wood backing to bulge
inward. Confederate gunners We're dis
abled by the conclusion when these shots
struck near them. A double charge of
powder would surely have enabled the
Monitor to riddle her opponent at all points,
The ram had only an inch of plating over
the hull below the water line, and there
was her vulnerable point, but the Monitors
gunners didn't know that and had no
chance to study their opponent, shut up as
they were in the turret, with only short
glimpses of the ram when the gun open
ings came abreast of her during the revo-
lutions of the turret.