The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-10-11

Raymond 0asstts.
While visiting Norfolk, our VOL
thy tovnsman, Capt. ]. R. Eggles
ton, addressed the following inter
esting letter to q newspaper Of tina
town, correcting some inaccuracie
in the sham battle representing tina
famous battle in which the Capt
was an officer on the Merrimac:
To the Editor Of The Landmark:
Sir-As q former naval officer,
was well acquainted with Norfoll
in the ante-bellum days. On revis
iting it after the lapse Of forty-fvt
years, | find the quaint and charm
ing old city replaced by a splendid
and magnificent one.
My last temporary sojourn here
was as one Of the lieutenants of the
Merrimac, so it was natural that Ia
me the most attractive object at the
Exposition should be the "Merri-
mac and Monitor"
Notwithstanding some slight in
accuracies--as for instance the rela-
tive positions Of the Congress and
Cumberland spectacle remind
ed one very much Of the real thing.
1t is to be regretted, however, that
the curtain does not fall on the
Monitor speeding for Fortress Mon
roe, and the Merrimac firing her
parting shots at the Minnesota.
The narrative of the "Shouter'
was correct until he got to the de-
struction Of the Congress. Then he
made so bad "a break" that | start
ed down the aisle to demonstrate
with him, but he called me to order
and / came.
When the curtain fell l explained
to him that he was doing a great in
jury to Buchanan and his officers
by saying that the Congress was de-
stroyed, because Federal troops on
shore committed an act of infamy
by firing on our white flag. 1t
would have been infamous in US to
slaughter the crew of the Congress
for the act Of others. It was her
own act that brought destruction on
her,
The battle was over. Buchanan
was standing on the upper deck.
Lieutenant Minor, in a ships cutter,
under a white flag, was half way
between US and the Congress flying
two white flags. Suddenly Buchan-
an, in a ripping voice l can never
forget, called down the hatchway:
Destroy that id Ship! She's
firing on our white flag"
He was speaking Of what he saw
going on in less than a hundred
yards away. Minor and several of
his men were wounded by shots
from the gun deck of the Congress
by men who were under the pro-
lection Of the white flag.
Jones, another eye witness, speaks
OF it in his official report.
Buchanan was shot soon after be
had given his stern order, and we
took it for granted that the shot was
fred from the shore, but it came
from the Congress.
Several years ago l received a let
ter from an ex-Federal officer, who
had read an account Of the battle |
had recently published. why"
he asked, "do you say that Bucha-
nan was shot by a sharp -shooter on
shore? An acquaintance of mine,
lgiving the nance, was a marine on
the Congress, says that he shot
him."
u replied that I said what I did
because ! knew we we're fighting
with Americans and not Modocs.
My friend the "shouter" at the
show, makes another mistake, but a
minor one and not worthy Of men
ton, since that it tends to glorify
the Monitor. He says that the Con-
federates laughed scornfully at the
thought of the new. conner presum-
ing to encounter us. On the con-
trary, we knew that the guns were
heavier calibre than any we had
the day before, and thoroughly
protected.
The 'Merrimac and Monitor
show is teaching history by the
most effective Of all methods the