The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-30


r1,n This was the signal for general
eDpagement The noise was terrlnc ana
the spectacle grand. Under fire OF both
the Federal frigates several gdnboats ana
OF the numerous guns on the river pahk'
the Virginia steamed slowly but steadiiy
| on. returning the an-sided fnsilade with
| snirit and Suffering no apparent damaSe
| from the shot that rainedo necessarily
! against her armored ribs. Disregarding
| the Congress. except 90 fling her ols-
| dainf,d bolt or tao In passing. she ended
! Uather than RAM with terrible dehpera-
| ton and precision down upon the pre-
! doomed Cumberland. Nearer ana nearer
! she drew. The suspense was agonlzlhs
| though the excitement was intoxicating.
| BY G-d!' shouted one OF the Doatmeh'
| 'SDc is going 10 run her down." And so
! 81 was. From every portfolio on the
| starbo1re side OF the Cumberland flashed
/ the tghtnings Of d rapid cannonade' the
! missiles Of which glanced from the turtle
! blek Of her adversary as hdilstones from
n hlppcd roof OF metal. The gallant tars
| who served the batteries Of the Cumber-
! land discharged an Ineffective broadside
! ai tho very moment which sealed their
/ fate Then into the frail wooden walls
! crashed the terrible steel prov of the
| virginia: the timbers were cut in twain
| AZ though OF parchment, the tall snip
rcelcl and staggered as a drunken man
| and then went down. the heroic crew
SIN az their posts the coiors flying. and
the cannon still bolchng out defiance.
even as the water engllfed their iron
throats. Even after her hun had dis
appeared, the smothercd echo OF one gun
was heard. mingling with the cries Of
strong men In their agony.
so absorbed had We become in this su-
preme tragedy that other stirring episodes
were about 10 pass unnoticed. Deep
mouthCd cannon away to the eastward
were now bfaying their hoarse contribu-
lions 20 the terrible din The steam
frigates at Fortress Monroe were under
way at last to give SUI TO their weaker
COnsorts there were the Confederate guns
at Sewelrs Point throwing shot and shell
IN the pathway Of the Minnesota and
Roanoke. and i'm reply the giant ordnance
at the Rip-Raps were lending deeper voice
to the discOrd 1T chorus. lust at this
iuncturc the excited accents Of one of
my companions rose clear above the tu-
mutt of de o1ations and conclusions:
what a glorious sight, Just see the
splendid fellows coming into action he
exclaimed. at the same time Juggling al my
coat sleeve like mad | turned and IT was
indeed ;he sight of a lifetime that met
my gaze. Standing down the long open
reach. under full head Of steam, right into
the p"lting storm of missiles, dashed the
I'VE wooden vessels of the James River
Squadron. Tucker leading, in the Patrick
Henry, closely followed 10y the JamestoWR
ami the saucy little gunb0ats. Why they
were not totally destroyed | did not then
and do not now understand. Admiral
buchanan SAYS that their escape was MI
raculous; for they sustained for severai
hours "A CALLING fire Of solid shot shell,
grape and canister at close quarters;
and the hull of each ship was perforated
time and time again. IL was parucu-
larly fine TO see how Webb, with his mite
OF Teazer, romped and frolicked in the
very teeth OF the enemys batteries while
nothing could have exceeded the gallant
nv with which Parker and Alexander re-
pcatedly came into the closest conflict.
The gallaHtry of all appeared 10 border
on recklessn IS in the eye of an mex
perenced spectator. BY this time we
had come TO look upon the flagship as in
vulnerable. but watched with painful IN
terest the bold manoeuvering of her COM
paratively unprotected consorts. only
the highest skill I'm conjunction with SUI
perb courage. could have saved one or
all Of them from utter disaster.
Meanwhile amid the gathering smoke.
the il-starrcd Congress was still battling
with desperation worthy OF success. II
warns the blood yet to remember how
those American scamen fought in the
very shadow Of death against the inevita-
bic. Harried and harasscd on every
side by the nimbler OF the Confederate
ships herself sailing craft, incapable OF
manoeuvcrinE for offensive or defensive
position she spared for yet little
while from direct attack by her most
formidable antagonist. After sinking the
Cumberland, the Niisnia's heavy draueht
prevented a direct approach 10 the Con-
grcss In several efforts to turn upon
her keel" She struck bottom. So much
time was lost in the attempt to clear the
shoal as to arouse our fears that she was
fast aground. Finally, Admiral Ruchan-
an was compelled to run the ship
short distance up James River IN order
TO wind her During all this time he
says. "hcr keel was in the mud and she
moved but slowly. Thus We were sub
iected twice to all the heavy guns OF the
shore batteries but In the double passage
inflicted much injury, having blown up
a large transport steamer alongside the
wharf at Newport News; sunk one schoon-
cr anG captured another In this period
OF respite. as We learned from prisoners
after the fight, the crew Of the Congress
were under the impression that the Nir-
ginia was hauling off; and IN TINS beHei
the ships company assembled on the
spar deck and gave three hearty cheers
for their fancied Victo v. Alas for them!
that hope was destined TO eXtinguish-
meft IN the very moment OF It's indulg-
eace Gathering Roadway on her new
course. the great ironCiad Crtpt up To
position from which her guns raked the
Congress vita terrible effect The small
er steamers redoubled their fire. Under
this concentration Of attack the ship soon
became "a wreck Most Of her guns We're
disabled. her decks were streWn with
dead and wounded the commanding Off
Ger had been stricken at his post. Again
the trained eye of our boatman was the
first To detect a crisis, and his eager voice
the first 10 announce the end He waved
his battered hat toward the Congress
with stentorian cheers and through a
rift in the suphurous vapor even the un-
practiced vision of landsmen could detect
the absence of the strong ensign which
lately hoated over the ship a second
later a white flag streamed at their gaff
ana halfmast and another at the main.
An incident ensued of which the
writer could comprehend little at
the time Of It's occurrence, but OF
which d better understanding than has
yet been conveyed in print can be gath
erea~hy comparison of the contemporaries
Gus Federal and Confederate reports Inn
mediately subsequent 10 the cessation of
firing ] saw the Beaufort approach the
Virginia apparently for orders and then
dash under the side Of the dss bled enc
my followed later by the Raleigh We
looked for nothing further tn that direc-
ton than formal completion of the sur
render and gave attention 10 the move
ments Of the Minnesota in the ofting. The
tugs left the wreck, and then an open