The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-15
49, r1,trs RICHMOND VA SUNDAY MARCH
little boAts az We may stnasii Al ess.sheil
Under olir Ynet, Ora hf khaxa 1ittia t,t,atA

little boAts as We may stt,ash Al ess.stetl
Under Dur feet. ono ot these little boats
was vas named tin "f3caufort,. aud was
commanded ~ Lieutenant WILLIAM Hi
ga e rrker, who had graduated at Annapolis
ana had beef, II the old t,avy, But. had
tho MorriinaD and these llttie boats With
their boarding parties were about ready
70 go down to the roads 10 attack the
Monitor, The writer, having obtained PER-
mission q hls commanding officer went
aboard the beaufort and asked Cap.
aid. Captain Parker had Ills ifuii cotr1pie.
r1ent OF MISUNDERSTANDING Mallory, Of
Hampton, Va, and young VlrrInlus New.
ton,/ OF Norfolk Va. 1t IL believed that
young Mallory WIS afterwards killed In
a naval battle down South, but Mr.. Viz
glhius Newton, Is now. and has been for
and Influential resident 81 Richmond, va.
Captain Parker agreed to let the writer
60 and assigned him q specific duty IN
( the plan to capture the Monitor, He
was ore OF tie party Who was to throw
the canvas over the top OF the Mont
tor" and Smoke ON out"
THE PROPOSED ATTACK. "a
down the river to make the attack, III
Hampton Roads there we're one French
and one English 'man-of.war. The SAIL
ors Of the TWO vessels c1ambered up
into the rigging To SEQ the expected hsht,
The Merrin1ac and the little boats steam.
ed down towards Hampton and Fortress
Monroe, ma the Merrin,aq fited several
roe and at the Rip Raps. Mr.. Maclay
says that a fleet Of twenty-five war yes
sells, besides tho Monitor, were 1t that
time collected sitli Hampton ROADS, .'de-
termined 10 crush the monster by sheer
weight a small schooner was sailing
near the. shore III the direction Of New
port News. The commander OF one Of
the little boats got permission from the
commander Of tho Mtrrlthao 10 10 IN
and capture the SCHOONER. The schooner
was captured ccordingly. The United
States flag was run up and the schooner
was towed towards Norfolk. The two
foreign mer1-of-war were looking On. Tho
writer saw this with his own eyes. It
was done under the Monitors nose that
Is, In Hampton Roads. In broad day and
in full view. Why did not tho Monitor
come out and protect the defenceless lit
tie schooner Why did not the twenty
Ave r1en-of-war (Which Maclay says were
little schooner? Why did not the twenty
six war vessels Qncluding the Monitor)
sheer Weight7'''' They saw the United
States nag hauled down and the Confed-
crate flag run UP instead, while foreign
any night In them one would suppose that
would have brought Il out. The Merrimac
steamed UP and down, firing at the ship
ping and coaxing and bantering and bull
lying the Monitor to come out and have
another tight; but the Monitor and all
and collectively, absolutely refused the
challenge. Finally, when the Merrtmac
became convinced that neither the Monl-
tor nor any other ship or ships could be
either coaxed or, bantered or bullied into
another fight, she returned to Norfolk.
and Of course the little boats returned
t TsA writer rte ief t TIE "BeauiortS ana r..
turned to his duties on the "states"
and his personal connection with the Mer-l
irimao and her doings ceased 1l5#t
ANOTHER CHALLEN CD. ls l.s
But after this the Merrirt1ac again went
down 10 Hampton Roads and challenged
the Monitor to another fight This time
the Merrirnac caught the Monitor and a
guns Of Fortress Monroe. When they
saw the Merrimac they all turned tall
and fled to the shelter OF the guns at
Fortress Monroe. The fairest northern
account 81 tho Merrntao-Mohitor fisht
which this writer has ever seeh1.is the
Naval HISTORY inc UnlL9Q STATES Oy
wins =. AbhoDtt.""g The BOOK Is entirely
northern. in It's sympathes. We need not
be afraid that It viii be too favorable to
the Merrmac and too t1nfavorable to the
Monitor. This. book says: "Oh April 9Th
a third trip was made BY the Merrimac.
when she came down the bay She found
the Union fleet, INCLUDING the Monitor,
hard at work Smelling the Confederate
batteries at sewel's Point. AS. ste came
towards them they ceased their cAtitidns
AIDE and retired again to the shelter at
Fortress Monroe. The Merrlmac steamed
up and down the Roads FOR some hours;
and finally Commodore IA tndl1, in deep
a gun to windwafd, and take the ship
back TO her buoy. I"
Mr.. Maclay does not even mention this
third time that the MerrImac "venturcd'
into the Roads.
DREWRY's BLUFF.
But the personal relations OF this writ
err with the Monitor were not over yet
Az ia we'll known when tho Confederates
abandoned Norfolk In the spring OF 1862
they blew up the Merrimac because she
drew, such depth OF water that she could
not be taken UP the James RIVER. The
old States OF course was left behind ;
ordered aboard the "Eansemotid,n lit
lie wooden. two-gun gunboat that had
Just been built at the Gosport Navy
Ya.d. It was commanded by lieutenant
( Rochelle. a Virginian. and Lieutenant
Kerr, North Carotinia,i. was second In
command, These two officers had been
Ii, the United States Navy and resigned
When the war broke out. This little
boat ran past the Federal batteries at
Newport News at night, and assembled
James River to Drewry's Buff. In the
spring Of 1862 the Monitor, the Geana the
Port Royal and attacked the battery at
tho James and attacked the battery at
Drewry's Bluff. They were now about
seven miles from Richmond and almost In
sight of the city They had come
about one hundred miles UP the river. II
they could pass tho battery and sweep
away the little wooden gunl,oats at tile
foot OF the bluff there would be nothing
to prevent their going up to Richmond
ana Smelling It. The battle, therefore,
was an important one. The stakes were
nothing less than the city OF Richmond,
Richmond was never In as great danger
from McClelland's army, OF course the
Monitor and the iron-clads could have
done nothing more than shell the city,
they could neither have taken It nor
held IL, hut thew could have laid It IN