The Chanute times., 1907-05-24
GRAND AND REALISTIC
SPECTACULAR REPRODUCTION OF
MONITOR -MERRIMAC ENGAGE
NENT AT THE JAMESTOWN
EXPOSITION
BY NJ. o WATERS

people now living In the vicinity of
Hampton Roads, who will remember
the terrible days of March 9Th and
9Th, 1862, to the last hours of theiI
lives. Ga those days the bravest
them risked the missiles of death ant
thronged the shores to hecOm'
eyewitnesSes of the most unique nlva
engagement 10 the history Of tn
world, the struggle between the
Merriac and the Monitors a struggl,
which spoke The knell of wooder
vessels Of war and marked the begiI
ming Of new style of naval arch
lecture from which the modern bal
tleships ard cruisers have been devel
oped,
To those who witnessed this famous
event, as we'll as to those millions Oh
visitors from all parts of this ano
other countries to whom the details
Of the battle are familiar, as matters
Of history, one feature Of the James
town Exposition will be Of special
interest. This will be the spectacu
lar reproduction of the great engage
ment which occurred just off the
Exposition Grounds In Hampton
Roads, and the presentation will be
giyeni Jas realistic manner as the
perfect equipment of the present da!
will allow. The historical location ST
near the actual scene of the occurrences
lends added interest to the reprOdut
tion and it is sure to be one OF tht
dec 'ded attractions of the Exposi
tion.
The scene of the battle will bt
Cyclorama and will he as grand si1h
as the human eye ever beheld. The
scene opens the day before the battle
between the iron-clads and shows th'
sun just setting upon the leapinp
fi4mes of the burning Congress" ano
the sinking Cumberland" with her
cannoasbooming and her crew cheer
ing as the ship settles beneath the
waves and the brave fighters going
down to death rather than surrender.
The victorious MerrImac is seen
slowly steaming away to the shelter
OF the Confederate shore batteries, to
await the coming of dawn, to com
plete the work Of destruction. This
sunset scene will be one Of the most
gorgeous ever beheld and will be a
revelation of this character of scenic
effect. Twilight comes on and the
lurid light Of the burning vessel casts
Its reelection upou the waters. reveal
ing the other vessels of the Federal
fleet to which 1t seemed rs forecast
OF their own doom on the morrow. A.
the darkness appears, the stars twin
kle and the scene becomes tranquil
Teen come rolling clouds, fOrked
Tightening aad peals of thunder and a
storm busts Ia all its fury. Ram fall
In torrents and the scene will have
every appearance of reality. After
the storm has subsided the stars
again show themselves d the moon
appears fn all her glory.
After awhila the day begins 10 dawn
and the sua peeps over the eastern
herzon and the audience behold the
mcst beautiful sunrise that can be
imagined. Out on the water they
Will see the Merrimac,steaming down
upon the Minnesota. The Confeder
ate ironclad has been repaired after
her damages from ramming the
Cum berland the evening before, and
draws closer and closer to the Federal
sMp. The Minnesota lies helplessly
stranded In ehallow water but sud
denly from therear darts the Moni-
itOr- TIE Meprimacp puts on all steam
aud soon the battle bet@een ironclads
ia go. The cannon will be seen 10
action ar the crack and roar of the
guns will be rs II was during the time
Of the greatdight. The audience will
be tkrilled with the working OF the
great tight. The audience will be
thrilled with the werktog OF each
gunboat and every mowement will be
IN hsr0ony vita the most authentic
records OF the great battle. just at
the climax The curtain wtu be drawn
and the audience will be left To de
termlne which was victor.
The engagement will be reproduced
that nc exception csn be taken by the
visitors from any section OF the
country. Mr.. Austiu, who a. the
artist reproducing the spectacle, is
considered the best 10 the world in
this line OF work and he says this 10
bis masterpiece.
The MerrImae aud Monitor used fn
the reproduction will be made OF steel
and bY the effect OF the new sppll
ances Of electricity they will appear
70 the spectators the actual size OF
the vessels when thev were engaged