People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-02-20

been turned upon some Of the most
striking events Of the war. The Merri-
mac and the Cumberland, which were
the first to grspple In that terrible death
struggle, when wood and "Gir set In
motion" went down before steam and
iron, had been companion ships at the
outbreak Of the war. More than that,
the Cumberland had almost spared the
Merrimac her fate as q notorious rene
gade.
At the time when the southern states
were seeding, but had not gone out,
the Cumberland and Merrimac Law at
Norfolk. An order came from Washing
ton for the Merrimac to proceed to
Hampton Roads, and a detachment Of
officers and crew from the Cumberland
went on board to carry out the plan.
Steam had been raised when an order
came from the commodore of the SQUAD
ron to delay the movement Of the ship.
A few days later an order came to scut-
tie the Merrimac, and an officer Of the
Cumberland attempted to save her from
that fate. His appeals proved useless,
and her valves were open SO that she
filled with water and rested on the bot
tom, with her gun deck only above tide.
When the navy yard and shipping were
destroyed by order Of the government,
only the upper works of the Merrimac
were burned. Over this melancholy
spectacle, involving the destruction of
one-fourth Of the Union navy, the Cum
berland presided. Many Of the officers
and men on board Of her at the time
were in the Merrimac fight year later.
Indeed some one of them may have ap-
piled the torch to the sunken ship that
night in Norfolk harbor.
In order to economize in time as well
as in money-a prime necessity in the
Conference.-The protector of the first
iron ram fished the hull of the old Mer-
rimac from the bottom of Elizabeth riv-
er. She was q screw frigate, one of the
latest class for that time, having been
built in 1855. The Cumberland was a
sailing frigate, built in 1912.
The Transformation of the Merrimac
into an ironclad steam ram began by
cutting her hull down to within three
feet of the water line. Both ends for
several feet were decked over level 80
that the weight of superstructure and
armament would keep them below wa
ter. In the middle section-about one
half the ship-a sloping roof was laid Of
pitch pine and oak "a inches thick. This
extended from the water line at an an
gle Of 85 degrees to point seven feet
above the gun deck. At the vessels ends
this shield was rounded 80 as to give
the bow and stern guns wide sweep.
To insure iroDclad protection-the
first in naval history-the shield was
plated with rolled iron in two layers,
the whole four inches thick. In her pro-
polling power the old hulk was weak,
but even then she was far ahead Of the,
first antagonist with which she was to,
ohnch, the sailer Cumberland. Her en-,
gines had been condemned before the,
war, and the fire which ran through the,
woodwork and the long soaking IN salt
water as she lay for months submerged
hadn't improved them.
But at her worst the Merrimac, or
Virginia, as she had been rechriltened;-
was the best fighting machine afoat On
that fine spring morn when she slipped
from her ways, took sousing II rathsr
ungraceful plunge and r1ghted harself
with an air that seemed toeonvey to the
model men-of-war Of this world the ssu.
cy, challenging Saiutes Il am hepel
Haul down your colorsF' Yes, she vas
there to inaugurate new era, q triune
monster Of steam, iron and powder.
Nothing was lacking 10 make the
Merrimac a most terrible floating bat
terry. Ten guns were mounted upon her
"A finch rife each In the bow and
stern and one e-ineh rife, with three
9-inch smoothbores in each broadside.
Last, but not the least, for that was, the
main purpose of this unique creation,
came the ram, or beak. cast iron Prov
projecting four feet from the bow, and
when in action completely submerged 80
as to be out Of sight to an enemyand 10
cut below the water line Relatively
this was a trifing appurtenanee, like
the nose on face, but it weighed 1 500
pounds All the heavy armor was in
tended simply to shield men, engines,
machinery and cannon while the vessel
should be fighting her way up 10 an en-
envy to'give a finishing thrust with that
terrible beak.
News Of the building Of the Merrimac
was sounded abroad in the fall of 1861,
but she was not ready for launching IN
til the spring Of 1862, and people In the
north, who depended upon long range
gossip to enhghten them, set her down
as a myth. Southern folks, who saw
good iron, rarer gold and many solid
days work going into her and no output
of combative results, set her down as 6
tizzle. So when she steamed from Nor,
folk into hampton Roads on March s
she had fair showing to give the pub
lie ON both sides of the line q sensation
Hampton Roads is a waterway be
tween the lower end Of the Chesapeake
bay and the mouth Of the James river
4 The Confederates occupied the southern
shore with batteries; the northern force'
, the northern shore with forts and bat
teries and war vessels at anchor. Whel
fha Marr,,,,oo etoo,,ad into tha p0odc