St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-01-08

" <SS4 " V1Vlu ana acCu-
T.S~-~~ rate. He says:
"On the morning Of March s, 1862, we
steamed out of Norfolk harbor to make
our first trial Of strength upon the Fed
eral fleet lying in Hampton Roads. The
day was calm and beautiful, the water
smooth as mirror and everything
would have indicated quiet pleasure
trip down the bay had it noe been that
this, like all other secrets Of the Con-
federate government, had been whis-
pered from ear to ear, causing citizens
and soldiers to crowd the shores on
either side, all anxious to behold the
anticipated battle. Some birds of i'll
omen among them declared that we had
cheated the undertaken and the sexton
by entering alive into a huge metallic
burial case.
Gas we neared Hampton Roads and
saw the United States frigates Congress
and Cumberland lying lazily at anchor,
with their boats swinging from their
extended booms and rising and falling
with the ground swell, their rigging
filled with the washed clothes Of their
respective crews and no apparent notice
being taken of us by either vessel, / was
firmly convinced that the reports which
had reached us that the enemy had
paved the whole channel with torpedoes'
were true, and that they. felt so conf
dent of blowing us out of the water be-
fore we could reach them that they
deemed it waste Of time and trouble
to beat to quarters. There are few of us
who do not wish to rise in the world,
but frankly confess that the thoughts
of being SO suddenly and forcibly ele-
waited were by no means agreeable, and
l was still momentarily expecting the
rumbling of volcano below me previ.
GUS to its explosion and wondering
where that explosion would land me,
when the heavy booming Of the guns
announced that the enemy were awake
and giving us warm reception.
sin amoment or two afterward l felt
kind of thud like that of a vessel
striking muddy bottom; then there
was crashing of timbers, a sudden re-
versal of the engines, another start
ahead, and as we were nearing Newport
News the cry was heard, we have sunk
the Cumberland Looking back, saw
that vessel rapidly settling in the wa.
ter, and in moment more nothing was
visible but her masts and spars. Retrac-
ing our course as soon as practicable, we
discovered that the Congress, in her
effort to escape us, had been run hard
and fast aground. Taking up favor
able position, we began raking her fore
and aft with shot and shell, when, see
ing the utter folly of prolonging the I'M
equal contest, her commander hoisted
the white flag and hauled down his COL
ors.
Lieutenant Minor was at once dis.
patched in the commanders gig to re-
ceive his sword, ana couple of tugs
were sent alongside of her to remove
her sick, wounded and prisoners. But
as they approached her they were fired
upon both from ship and shore, and
Lieutenant Minor was severely wound
ed. Who is responsible for this act / do
not know, but whoever it q is alone
guilty of the slaughter of the sick and
wounded among his own friends who
were unable to escape from that ill fat
ed vessel This act so enraged Commo-
dore Buchanan that, rushing from the
hurricane deck, he called out to Lieu
tenant Jones: Sink that Id ship!
She is firing on our men after hauling
down her flag He seized carbine
from the hands of one of the men and
began discharging it at the enemy with
all the recklessness of a mailman, and
while thus needlessly exposing himself
herwas wounded and landed below"
Commodore Buchanan asserted in his
official report that the Congress had
struck before he ordered his lieutenant
to 60 aboard of her and receive the for
NAL surrender. He also states that the
tugs were fired upon from the Congress.
On the other hand, Major Walmsley of
the Federal army at Newport News says
that he saw a Confederate belonging to
the tugs climb aloft on the Congress and
remove her flag, and that a man under
his command shot at him, and he was
seen to tumble and fall below, flag in
hand. Major Walmsley thinks thai the
Congress people did not fire upon the
tugs, and that all the shots were from
the troops on shore. The firing, he as
serts, was not a wanton act, but was
done to prevent the Oonfederates from
farming the guns of the Congress upon
the shore batteries.
Captain Phillips continues: "In an
hour or two after resuming our fire