Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-10-12


when morning came with heavy fog
we were disconsolate. We could see,
however, the heavy column of black
smoke that indicated the position OF
the Merrimac.
"Soon the heavy column of smoke
moved down the river and we knew
more deviltry was afoot. To our sur
prise and delight the fog lifted and we
saw the Monitor move swiftly toward
the Merrimac as II to ram her. The
scene is as vivid to me now as 1t was
that morning, and am sure that
when the Merrimac sighted the
strange craft sailing straight toward
her she backed water. The Monitor
did not ram, but the fight opened and
continued for three hours and half.
We could see every maneuver-c could
see the balls strike the Monitor and
glance off,
I'VE could see also the heavy shot
of the Monitor strike the Merrimac.
Some OF them glanced off and some of
them didn't. We saw when the rail
around the deck was broken and when
at last the Merrimac turned tail and
went up the river. We cheered like
wild men. We knew the terror of
the Confederate fleet had been worst
ed. and when the Monitor came past
the Roanoke we could see only some
dents in her armor to indicate that
she had been in a fight But, great
Scot! it made us nervous to watch
her, kneeling this way and that. AS
for glancing shots, we couldn't count
them. Chicago Inter Ocean.
Prize Fighter Not Good Soldier.
1T is rare that the prizefighter is
good soldier" said Major S. G.
Brock, who went through the war in
the Army of the Potomac. when
was Captain OF Company II, Sixty
seventh Ohio, we had a strapping big
| fellow named Frank Blaine with us.
Blaine was an expert boxer, and he
had all his comrades terrorized be-
cause of his agility with his fists
THE boys became afraid to box
with him, and Blaine dropped into
the habit of knocking them around
/ out of pure devilment. | reprimanded
him frequently of course, and he
would laughingly retort that he was
trying to train the soldiers muscles.
'At the battle OF Winchester, in
1862, our company, like others, was
rushing into action. While climbing
over fence | noticed a man lying
down with his face to the earth. He
did not seem to be wounded, and in
vestigated. / pulled his head up. and
found that it was Frank Blaine, the
prizefighter | said:
Are you hurt, Frank
'N-n-n-o, sir, he chartered
"'Then why don't you go on with
the boys?'
He stood up and looked at me with
trembling lips. His face was white
| as chalk.
1.-The Gods truth is, Captain, he
said, I'm scared to DEATH
II saw that his fright had mas
tered him, in spite of his strong will.
He dreaded the charge of cowardice
almost as bad as death, but he just
gave way in one supreme moment of
terror. There were little men of the
company, not half the size of Frank,
who were fighting CALAMITY in front
There we've men there whom | had
seen Frank knock halfway across the
camp, and yet they were doing their
duty in a way that ought to have
shamed the big bruiser.
Il finally got him into the line and
he faced the music fairly well. It
was a terrifcally hot fight and hap
pened to be the only one Of the Civil
War where Stonewall Jackson was
defeated. After the battle Frank
came to me and pleaded with tears in
his eyes not to tell the boys and
promised, on condition that he would
quit knocking them around.-New
York Telegraph.