The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-08-21
THE VIRGINIA"
Plea for Historical Accuracy In Refer
ring To the Famous Vessel.

mac but there was q Confederate ram
virginia" adding. OF course thdt the
"lfnOminiOu8 shelter ana ctl-e- "t1
on the Federal and not on me Conied'
crate side While all sollneIhelS IN
writing OF this briiiian, COnieaeIale VIC
tory over the FEDERAL fleet give iAe lints
as they really occurred, why Is Il that
SD many OF them fail TO cai the Con
tolerate ram ~ her right Nance is IL
.ho ALTERATION that seduces thcm-"Mor-
rimac and Monitor or 10 10 simply
thouehtiessnoss and the example OK in-
accuracy set them by Northern wr!tcraf
Northern historians, I believe, Invariably
sneak OF the Virginia as the MerriMac
ignoring the Confederate name OK TIE
vessel entirely. as iu the recently pub
Uen.d memoirs OF Admiral Franklin, for
instance. and FIN an article. NAVAL War
fare az To-day" Frank Les.ie8 P0pu-
lar Monthly TOR May. The writer here
by the way, Frederick stone Daniel
goes SO far towards casior aa to call
the engagement between the Monitor
and the Virginia Ca drawn h6At.
IS IN Northern histories 50 in the q
presumoJ Northern cyc.orama Of the enc
eaeemont IN Hampton Roads the Fif-
giuia goes by Che name or tne old United
states vessel AfeIrlHac. But it is as in-
VIRGINIA the Merrlmac as r. would be 40
con .bo Shenandoah the Sea Eing. 40 is
even more so. FOR the Sea King was cone
ve4ted into the Shenandoah simply by
putting in guns and making her "a vessel
or war. while the NCrrmaC was not only
nrovGod with Guns but she was trans
formed into an ir0nclad or unique ana
novel pattern. and thus mctamorpeosed
ehe became the virginia And we Virgin
ane OF an others should proudly and
tenaciously Insist thal the Virsnla should
90 down into history by her rIsht name.
Tho famous Alabama, the FLORIDA. tfe
Georgia, tho gallant ram Arkansas cit
happily associate the names of confel-
orato states with Confederate vessels. and
is the Virginia alone OF the group 90
lose her Identity. and 90 be rcloga-ed back
to- a name NOT properly belonging % her.
O. name Identified geographically with
Now England and OF no Southern sIsniii-
canoe Whatever
While Lieutenant catceb- Ap. Il.
Jones, and others write of tho Virgins
bv her true name. Lieutenant Brooke
entities on article OF his on the subject
"The virginia or Alcrrimac.' and Mr..
Yireinius Newton. IN his account Of the
battle in Hampton Roads. revcrses this
order and describes tho vessel as "Tle
Confederate States Ram Acrr.mac, or
Virginia" These papers arc al C0ntrihu-
lions 10 tho archives of "Ile Southern
IT'S 0rical Society" where Or anywhere.
truth should reign in the m.rutct pare
ticuar hlr. Ncwt0n's very valuable and
interesting article has ben rolubishcd
u pamphlet form and in o. De Gays Of
Che Confederate irouciad that sha was
"chrlstCncd tho Virginia Out l) more
widely known as tho Meumac." And
throughout his paper be invariably speaks
of the vessel as the Mewimac. But be-
cause an error i5 widespread o. that n
reason for embracing 81? 7 mad the
pleasure of bearing Mr.. Newton deliver
hia excellent lecture on the Confederate
Navy in Richmond last spring. and tho
only thing that married my satisfaction
in Che speakers discourse w1s the fact
THAI he uniformly called tho Virginia by
name that Ola not belong Go her. I'm
letter 10 fLo washington Post (ra-
published in THE Times o. Nay 0,m.
Colonel John II. Morgan, who. like Mr.
Newton was on officer of fhe Confederate
States Navy, writing of certain cr-con-
Iedentes then applying for o0mm ions
IN the war with spain, says: 1.-TWO "
these men were ON board the Nerlimac
during her great hsht with the Monitor"
should not Confederate naval officers. 90
least, Set an example of correctness IN
o- Ooi'. 1,Ille Ness'.f!
.. vac ,-', H.'l'u.I ul i"o virginia Ills-
-i'- -@'''' ,,-.I' l7 in the feneo-
i,7tl'' aI .ici' on 4He "ll4iamson YAM
"5 " HuAce on 7" imam fure Whltn-
eoN '"b4neer-i'i-c "lel az tne Confederate
"-1y' VINO Pi'.-- the machinery
p. 'uo ili'-a -Dl.-l'eitl ram 2-rfIl-
".''' I'VE l-Al 90. writer OF tne afLi-
.-o ana lAe aecoi. '-Isleo eaHor or me
'.--'@l-a "Al paINoN me lot Gaming at
'-''''" '"'s pIDHel5' ih ths interest "l
"i1."' ''iI 49, 'l"-y, To lA4a over
.e.',, "' No'"4+''ll-' "l-" ua4ei--4
u.-D-l'
Ut seems lheie orc pleaciFcd lh our
inNe tuila NUMBER of relics ol the VIZ
Ailit ana ln ailAine labels 90 tlan, ana
in preparing IcataloEuea OF these relics
is 70 NOT OF paramount Importance fhnt
the name of the vessel should he property
tiFent Tn tho catalogue OF the Mary land
ldne Ielct-r0om, Confederate Relief ba-
z.ar Baltimore, tnl5 rlla Us observed
only partially Among the relics pre-
served at the Confederate Soldiers Home.
pkeune. ND. are enumerated. Horse
shoe made from fre Ner-lmac." Uniform
coat belonging o. aud worn boy Admiral
Franklin buchanan in the engagement
between the Virginia aud Monitor ~
Hampton Roads" Among the 'misce!-
laneous rciics' at The bazsar were GAM
non made OF wood al O.. ". $. Virginia
GIerrimac)" "yarl-stick made of wood