Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-11-23

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Every schoolboy knows the story of
the Monitor and can tell how, built as
an experiment, she made her appear
ance in Hampton Roads at a critical
time in the civil war, saved fleet
from destruction, inspired a feeling OF
confidence in our national ability to
cope with emergencies and practically
revolutioniZed naval warfare.
Not many are aware that the sole
surviving officer of that famous craft
that is to say, the only one who, or
dered to her before she was launched,
remained with her until she ended her
brief but glorious career by going to
the bottom off Cape Hatteras-lives in
| New York. He is Capt. Louis n. Stod-
der, United States revenue cutter serv-
ice, recently retired.
| Capt Stodders hair and mustacha
are white, but he is as active as he
was twenty years ago. He is Of erect
figure and has the air and voice of
strict disciplinarian, but he has keen
sense of humor and seems to enjoy
life thoroughly. Owing to his great
modesty, 1t is difficult to get him to
talk of his experiences with and in
the Monitor, and it was only after he
had been fairly trapped the other day
during one of his visits to Capt New
comb that he consented to become rem
iniscent for a brief space Of time and
to tell over the career Of the little
cheesebox of a raft" which took so
great a part in the making of history.
II was navigating officer and sailing
master on the Monitor" said Capt.
Stodder, ''having joined her when she
was still on the stocks at Rowland's
shipyard Greenpoint, now, l think, the
Continental Iron Works. | recollect
when I went over to see her for the
first time I talked with some Of the
workmen in the yard. You had better
take a good look at her now,' they said
as you won't see her after she strikes
the water She's bound to go to the
bottom of the East river and stick
there, sure
But, of course, she did no such
thing. They thought she could never
be launched successfully, owing to the
thirty feet of overhang at the stern,
which was likely as she left the ways
to bury itself in the mud. But Erics-
son made wooden tanks filed with
holes, with just enough buoyancy to
hold up her stern when she struck the
water, until the tanks filed, and the
launching was successful.
"Of course, most people did not be-
neve in her. 1 was thrown into con-
tact with Ericsson, who gave me many
points about the craft, and I was
rather confident she would give an ac-
count Of herself.
''She was rather a hasty job, was the
Monitor, put together and delivered in
approximately ninety days, and pre-
been remedied had there been more
time allowed. For instance it was i'm
;possible to fire both her guns at one
time, for the reason that the masses
of iron which closed over the portfolios
lin the turret after firing drew to the
center instead of to the sides, and, the
two holes being very close together,
|
covers at one time
ION her first start from the navy
yard the Monitor got only as far as
Fulton ferry when her steering gea T
became disabled and we had to put
back Our final start was made on
March 6, 1862, under the tow Of the
tug Seth Low. This was merely to
have been a trial trip, as the vessel
was not paid for, and the condition of
| her final acceptance was to have been
that she was to go down to Hampton
Roads, steam up the Potomac, passing
successfully the Confederate batteries
along the shores of that river, and
reach Washington.
Lieut.. J. L. Worden was in com
mand.
1--WE arrived in the mouth of the
chesapeake late in the afternoon of
March s, and heard firing when we
were twenty miles distant from Ha1np-
ton Roads This we took to be the
guns Of Fortress Monroe at practice
and the powder boat from which we
got our ammunition could give us no
information We did not realize what
had happened until we got near enough
to see the Congress burning.
~ was about Z 80 O'Clock the next
morning when the Merrimac, which
had anchored the night before around
Sewells Point, showed her nose com
ing out of the Elizabeth river, and
after we had got look at her the crew
| was piped to quarters. Everybody was
shut in. Lieut.. Worden was in the
square pilot house forward, whose peep
holes. four narrow Sits, one on each
side. afforded the only view of what
was going on outside the vessel. Lieut.
Greene was In command of the turret,
and | had charge of the turret ma
chinery, which was worked by a wheel
in the turret itself In the tower
whose inside diameter was only TWEEN
ty feet, were twenty men, headed by
the boatswain's mate, ten men to each