Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-02-28

eouip themselves to meet the require
ments of modern naval warfare. The
whole seaboard OF the North went into
panic which lasted for weeks, ana gave
| birth TO fears which now seem ludicrous.
Taxing with US the fact that the Merri-
mac was the basty creation OF an extreme
| necessity, the most unwIeldy structure
| that ever was built, utterly inadequate to
| float outside the capes OF Virginia hall an
| hour In the least seaway. or to live through
an ordinary easterly blow in Hampton
Roads. one can scarcely repress smile IN
| reading the Federal kilograms OF that day.
wfLLEs's SCARE.
Secretary Welles, Of the United States
navy. reports Mr.. Stanton, Secretary OF
| War. AZ saving in Cabinet meeting, called
IN consequence Of the destruction OF the
| Cumberland and Congress on March sth:
"The Mermac will change the whole
| character of the war. She VIII destroy
ser,d'in, every nayal vessel. She will lay
| all cities of the seaboard under contribu-
| ton. / shall Immediately recall Burnside.
| Port ROYAL must be abandoned. i will
| notify the Governors of states. and the
| municipal authorities. in the North TO take
| instant measures To protect their har-
| bora. He had no doubt but that the
| Merrlmac was at this moment on her way
| 10 Washington. and not unlikely Nc shall
1
| her guns on the White House tefore We
| leave this room" On March 9th Mr.. stan
| ton telegraphed 1.-THE Governors of New
| York. Massachusetts,, aud Maine TO pro-
tect their hafbors with large timber
RATS "-RebeiliOn records. page 20, series
| /. Volume ]. On the same date General
Mcclellan sent kilograms to the command
ing officers at New York, Newport. New
| London. Boston, and Portland, Me-, to the
| "a. Admiral Ianlyrpri IL busV at
| Washington having twenty-tour canal
boats laden with stone to close the Poto-
| mac river.
General Mcclellan on March 9th sends
| telegram TO General Wool, at Fort Mon:
roe, in which. foreseeing the necessity Oh
evacuating Newport News IN the event the
| Merrlmac gains possession OF the hoaus'
| he consents to withdrawal Of the garri-
son 10 Old Point.-Rebei iOn Rec1rds. page
%. Series /, volume ]. March 10th,
whilst openly proclaiming the defeat OF
| the Merrlmac by the Monitor In the en-
| gagement, of the 9Th. Secretary Weiles
| wires the Assistant Secretary OF the Navy
at Fort Monroe. THE President directs
that the Monitor be not too much ex-
posed and authorizes vessels laden with
stone to be sunk in the channel OF
| Elizabeth river 10 prevent the Merrimac
| from again coming out. DO. page 70.
| As late as the 18th General Mcclellan teie-
graphs MISUNDERSTANDING Fox; Can /
| rely on the Monitor TO keep the Merrimac
| in check so that can make Fort Monroe
| a base Of operations !'"-Do., page ~
| The same date General Barnard, chef OF
| engineers, McClellan's army, wires Assist,
ant-Secretary Fox: The possibility OF
| the Merrimac appearing again paralyzes
the movements of this army by what
ever route is adopted. DO, page
a. The ciindJ n GbslTduy Is, how
| ever, reached when Secretary.o War
| Stanton. passing over the educated. intel
| ligent. and skilled corps OF naval ana
army officers. telegraphs Mr.. {: Wander
| bilt, private citizen OF New ork, the
owner of river and ocean steamers FOR
what sum will You contract to destroy the
Merrimac. or prevent her from coming out
| from Norfolk, you TO sink or destroy her II
| she gets ont? Answer by telegram, as
| there is no time to be st."-DO.. page 81.
The doughty commodore of steamboats,
was unequal TO the conundrum, but his
patriotism prompted him to make the mu-
nificent gift of the large ocean steamer
Vanderbilt to the United States Govern
| ment to be sacrificed. II necessary, III run
ming the Merrlmac down.
GAGE OF BATTLE or APRIL II, '62, AND TIP
FoRLOBS HOPE.
From March 9th TO April 18th the Mer-
rimac lay at the navy-yard. New guns
took the place OF those that had been de-
stroyed. and supply of bolts Of wrought
and chllled-iron tor her guns was pat
aboard. A new PROV OF steel and wrought
iron was fitted TO her stem. A course OF
pinch iron for $50 feet was put on her
hull below the casemate. The revolution
Of the turret of the Monitor, which eff
fectually closed her gun-port when the
gun was being loaded, suggested the ne
e a tins f.la ~
those of the Mernmac. The attempt was
made to fit them with wrougnt-iron shut
ters but the device was not satisfactory,
and but few Of her ports were so pro-
| tected. These changes. brought the ship
\ q foot deeper III the water, making
| her draft now % feet. Commodore
| Buchanan being still disabled by
| his wounds. Commodore Josiah Tat
| nall was placed IN command. There
was at no time any question IN the
| minds of the Confederate authorities. or
amongst the officers of the Merrlmac, but
| that the enemy must again be offered bat
| tie at the earliest moment. On April lst
| the Secretary of the Confederate Navy
| wrote Commodore Tatnall You Will
| leave with your ship and attack the enc
my when, in your judgment. 1t may seem
| wait for orders, but strike when. how, and
| where your judgment may dictate The
| Secretary of the United States Navy had.
on March 10th. telegraphed " The Presl-
dent directs that the Monitor be not too
much exposed" IN the same breath III
| which her victory was claimed.
The Confederate Secretary and the Con-
| federate naval officers we'll knew the many
| defects and vulnerability of the Merrimac.
| So doubtful were we of success III the next
| engagement that upon certain information
| OF the exterior and interior structure of
| the Monitor, which Secretary Mallory had
| obtained, We organized an expedition OF
| the smaller gun-boats III the feet the
| Beaufort, Raleigh, and two Others, known
as
TIE "FoELogS HOPE"
| | was at this detail, and would have
made my will but that / had no property
| Each OF the gun-bOats was provided with
| q large anchor: their crews were div ed
| into three squads under command of an
| officer. and designated squads l. ? and 3.
| The orders were that If the Merrlmac
| should be disabled or defeated each steam
| or was to make dash for the Monitor
| drop the anchor and make fast to her. so
as TO hold her IN that position. The detail
| were then TO board her No. was 70 throw
| ignited combustibles down her yentilators
and every opening. and cover them over
with tarpaulin: No 2 towedge the turret 10
| prevent its revolution; No. to cover the
| pilot house, smoke-stack, and other open
| ings with wet sail cloth, and "smoke the
rascals out" as It were. our calculation
was that one Of the four small steamers
would be sure TO get alongside. There was
| to be no stopping to help those disabled or
sunk, and as each had crew OF thirty men
| TINS was sufficient for the purpose. If the
occasion had been offered. the attempt
would have been made beyond peradven-
| ture, but have never yet decided whether
| they of the Monitor or We OF the gun-boats
were the more fortunate that our purpose
| was not put 20 the experiment. April 10,
| 1862. the Merrlmac, with the vessels of the
Norfolk and James-River fleet. got under
way late in the evening and anchored inside
of Craney Island for the night, to make an
early start the next morning. At A. NJ.
OF the 18th we were under way. The sun
was clear. with the promise OF q beautiful
dav. AS we came in sight of Fortress
Monroe we beheld the Roads lined with
large feet of transports. making a scene of
beauty that is but rarely granted to
spectator. In moment d sudden move
ment spread through the entire merchant
| feet, and in less time than l can describe
it each vessel had slipped her cable and.
| like n flock of Wild fowl in the act az