Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-20

given for the first time to the public.
But first let me tell you something about
Lieut. Howard. He Is an old man now, and
his years number seventy-five. Still his
eye is bright, his step is firm and he is
mentally sound as he was when, now
more than a generation ago, he took the
Monitor into action. He is as straight as
an arrow, and his bearing is military. He
has broad forehead, bright blue eyes and
a long blonde beard. in which there are
many gray strands. He lives in a modest
little house almost under the shadow of
the national Capitol He is the personi1ca-
,tion of modesty, and in his talk about the
engagement with me last night he kept
himself In the background. I had to ask
many questions before I got the story Of
his life. His first voyage was taken at
the age of sixteen, when he sailed from
Dublin for the Mediterranean. I believe
he ran away from home to go to sea, and
he had visited nearly every part of the
world, and had coasted up and down the
Atlantic shores of the United States for
many years before the war began. He had
been several times captain of vessel, and.
as naturalized American citizen, he put
himself at the service Of Uncle Sam as
soon as the war opened. He was appointed
acting master CT the brig Amanda, whose
duty 1t was to coast up and down the east
ern shores Of the Atlantic and capture
the ships who tried to run our blockade,
and he left this ship to act as pilot for the
Monitor. Speaking of his Inodesty, he evil
any other man would have done under
similar circumstances, and when j asked
him whether he was not afraid when lie
was penned up IN that little iron box with
the shot and shell raining down upon 1t,
he replied:
IT had no time to think of being afraid.
1t was all I could do to keep the boat
moving according to the directions of Capt.
Worden. who stood In. the pilot house by
my side"
f, Lieut.. Howard had arrived on his brig in
time to see the engagement between the
Merrimac and our gunboats. and the most
of my Information concerning that fight
comes from him. Sitting in the rigging of
his ship, with his glass he saw the queer
irorclad sail down the Elizabeth river and
take its way across the channel to engage
with our gunboats lying along the coast be-
tween Newport News and Fortress Monroe,
and he watched that terrible fight. The
Merrimac, you know, was a frigate of $500
tons, which had been burned and sunk
during the spring Of 1861 at Norfolk.
A few months later 1t was raised by the
confederate and converted into an iron
clad. The ship was then cut down to the
old berth decks. Her machinery was left
within her, but the whole Of the ship above
the water was covered with iron plates
two inches thick and eight inches wide, so
riveted together that the vessel had an
armor of iron four inches thick. Upon its
Prov they put great iron ram, which
projected four feet beyond the vessel and
which did terrible damage to one of the
rived
The Monitor Appears.
When the day broke, however there was
a new figure on the scene. TT looked"
says Mr.. Howard, like a massive iron
turtle with a gigantic black cheese box
on its back, and it swan to and fro in
front of the Minnesota, and between 1t
and the Merrimac. AS the day grew
brighter, through their glasses the con-
federate officers could get better idea of
this new marine monster. 1t was ap-
parently a raft plated with iron, with
great round tower rising from it's center.
As the officers looked they saw this tower
move slowly about, and two mighty eleven
inch guns were pointed in the direction of
the Merrimac. They had read about this
vessel which was being made. They knew
It was Ericsson's Monitor, and they thought
1t the strangest looking vessel which up
to that time had f1oated upon the sea. It
looked very small beside the mighty Mer-
rimac. and its two guns did not appear in
vulnerable in comparison with their ten.