The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-04
S05e. @Mrvjv0r OF Monitor.


Pennsylvania boasts among its inhab-
itants the only survivor Of the crew of
the famous Monitor which whipped the
terrible Merrimac In Hampton Roads in
1862 f85a1
His name is D. r. Ellis, his residence
lockwood, village several miles from
Johnston, and his LIES work Is that of
spreading the gospel Of Jesus Christ. He
is pastor of the little United Brethren
flock in lockwood
Not only on the Monitor did Rev Mr..
Ellis perform signal service for his adopt
ed country; for later, In 1865, he was a
member Of the crew of the Sassacus,
which patrolled the James river and bay
In the hope Of intercepting a boat sent
out from the Northern shore to bring off
the assassin OF Lincoln and his conspira-
tors.
In his account of the battle Rev. Mr..
Ellis sheds some new and interesting
light on it.
According to him the cheese box"
reached Hampton Roads about o'clock
on the evening of March 8, 1862, after a
rough voyage. and was delayed from CO.
ing up the river by lack of pilots Pilots
there were plenty, but all were either
rebels at heart or else they were afraid
to risk the undertaking Finally the late
Lieut.. Howard, of the United States
coast survey, volunteered his services.
lie was an Irishman, a grand, noble,
dashing, manly fellow" is Mr.. Ellis
Characterization of the man.
One of the first startling experiences Of
the Monitors crew after reaching Hamp-
ton Roads was a terrific explosion of the
magazine on the Congress, which was
rammed and fired by the Merrimac. The
men In the turret Of the little craft thus
were, enabled by the explosion lighting
up the water to obtain a useful and pre-
liminary view Of their dueling ground Of
the morrow. The time Of this incident
was just about midnight.
Several things about the battle Mr.. Ell
lis emphasizes.
One is that the Monitor burned anthra-
cite, while the Merrimac used bituminous
coal. This enabled the Monitors crew to
detect the whereabouts Of the Merrina q
with the first streaks Of dawn and hence
when the rebel ram steamed toward it's
Notwithstanding adversary, the Mon
ltor was thoroughly prepared to meet the
Goliah-sized craft
Again Mr.. Ellis emphasizes the fact
That the Monitor fired the first shot. A.
nrst, he says, the Merrimac suIlenIv re-
Iused TO answer. Then, as though sud
denly swept by consuming rage. she
opened fire, and hurled broadside after
Droaoslde against the "cheesebox" Mr..
Ellis states that the conclusion was
something beyond parallel. The men In
the turrets were injured by the badly
contrived recoil of their guns, While for
all below the water served as a terrific
sounding board, intensifying greatly the
rattle Of the Confederate shell on the
Monitors iron skin.
A shot from the Monitor, Mr.. Ellis Is
positive, dismounted a gun on the Mer-
rlmac. This fact, he states, has never
been published before. The Merrimac had
rammed the Monitor, and the lucky shot
struck the Confederate vessel while it
was close to the Yankee.
We could hear them cheering for Jeff
Davis" says Mr.. Ellis mot to be out
done, Lieut.. Howard stood on q ladder
and, sticking his head out Of the turret
gave three rousing cheers for Lincoln
His action created wonderful excitement
and enthusiasm among those chaps on
the Monitor"
After undoing the Merrimac, the Mont
tor. went UP the James river to assist in
the attack on Fort Earling. During the
rbombardment Mr.. Ellis states, the Moni-
tor was struck by an 11-inch solid shot
which cracked seven plates and bulged
the iron ribs Of the little fighter.
Mr.. Ellis Is one Of the few members Of
the crew of the Monitor to escape from
It just before it found a watery grave
off Cape Hatteras.
Among the fifteen who were drowned
was a man named Robert Williams, who
had enlisted with Mr.. Ellis especially