Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-05-24
HISTORIC HAMPTON ROADS
GEN. ROGERS TELLS OF THE THEN
AND NOH" OF NAVAL WARFARE
Reviews It's Important Part in history
From Colonial Days to Civil War.
and Present Conditions
OLD PoINr, VIRGINIA.

tory transpired here. Into this peace
/ full body of water, three pioneer yes
sells came with charter from James
the First to take possession in the name
of England's king. They sailed on, and
up the James river, established the col
ony, suffered many privations, built
stockades and erected church. Many
were scalped by the natives, and, APP
plying the law of lex talionis, they too
took scalps. 1.-THE English feet sailed
in here in l776; Tory soldiers marched
along the shore in l7S2; not far away,
at Yorktown, CORVALLIS surrendered,
caused largely by the energy of two
young officers, Hamilton and La Fay
cite, in the presence of Washington.
The British fleet appeared here in 1914,
sailed on up the bay and caused Presi-
dent Madison to take to the woods,
while the capitol and executive man
sion were destroyed. Sit was here, in
these waters, in 1862, that the Merri-
mac came down the Roads, sank the
old line frigates Congress and Cumber-
land, which went down with flags fly
ing, bands playing and gunners firing
until the waters submerged the guns
and the old frigates rested on the bot
tom of the Roads, the flags still above
water and floating in cloud of smoke
emblem of a nation then entering
into fratricidal war. That night, a
new type of naval construction arrived
to save the flag, came from the ways
in Brooklyn, fresh from the hammers
that rivited the Monitor into a ship-of-
war. The Manassas steamed out Of
her slip at Portsmouth, freshly groomed
and magazine re-filled with shot and
shells to be fred from l2-inch guns.
These two new war vessels. of the first
iron clad type, approached at close
range, when the guns of mighty pow
er sent their shells against the arfnor
only to rebound or glance aside After
two hours of pounding, the Merrimac
backed out Of range. The Monitor,
much bruised and delighted to see her
go. claimed the victory. Later, the
Merrimac was destroyed, when the iron
clad monitors controlled the waters Of
Hampton and James rivers to a bend
ganizing the Army of the Potomac in
front Of Washington, reviewing 1t in the
presence Of soldiers and statesmen, with
a complement of cavalry and artillery.
moved his army by transports to this
place-a new base for "On to Rich
mond. He turned aside, with that mag
niticent army, TO invest and besiege a
few men in Yorktown. After weeks Of
placing siege guns and digging trench
es. Gen Magrader folded his tents and
marched to Richmond. An historian
has written: "All Mcclellan had TO do
was to march on Williamsburg, when
Yorktown would have fallen. The
same writer said: Mcclellan would
make a better president of a female
academy than general of an army. He
was afraid of blood A few months
later, that proud army Of 1876, 900 men,
young men in the morning of manhood
and boys, ranks thinned by disease,
killed and wounded retraced their steps
to Old Point and sailed to Washington.
Their flags were furled; the bands no
longer stirred the boys with cheering
music. The summer lost, new COM
mander TO lead, a new field of maneuv-
ers, many comrades left behind to rot.
many wounded limbs amputated, many
bodies pierced with balls thus ended
the campaign begun in the spring to
capture Richmond.
behold mighty change. Looking
out on the water, | see ship of steel
peacefully riding at anchor, clad in a
vestment of steel armor, boasting a
crew "a $50 officers and men, fully
equipped with guns of large calibres
pointing from the bow, stern and sides,
able to throw a solid steel shot far oyer
the bend of the earth, far beyond the
horizon of man and hit the target. l
see anoth r. inquire for what purpose
and am informed it is scout, of great
; speed, to watch the enemy and report
the location. | see another of peculiar
build; and for what purpose? 1t is a
/ cuff fnrnada hAaf Lsaf Hfffa nhnsra the
water, with long gun projecting from
the bow, to run close to enemy's ship,
throw torpedo and blow up the ship in
a true spirit Of Christian civilization,
while the crew sink with flag floating
as did the boys on the Congress. Anoth-
err peculiar turtle looking thing goes
past and inquire its place in warfare.
II is a submarine, amphibious little tor
pedo boat, roaming under the water as
well as on the surface, built TO APP
proach the enemy and, unheralded, place
a torpedo beneath the dreadnaught,
blow it up, sink the fragments and send
the enemy TO eternity yea, even in the
twinkling of an eye to the bottom of
the sea, food for the fishes OF prey.
| Another peculiarly constructed, armor
plated vessel Is passing. | inquire and
am informed it is a mine boat, which
has charts Of the rivers and harbors Its
business 10 to lay mines, attach wires
and connect with shore. Should any
dreadnaught dare to enter the harbor,
the mine would be sprung and the iron
clad would go into fragments, unfit for
anything but the scrap pile, while the
crew would 60 as did the men on the
/ Maine-th thing which gave Cuba her
| freedom. Another ship passes, flying
the Red Cross, recognized by the world
as neutral, ship of humanity, know
/ ing no enemy; no guns can fire upon
/ her, no mine can spring beneath her
| bottom. 1t is a hospital ship on an
errand of mercy, to care for the sick
or wounded that may fall under any
| flag, while the dead are solemnly low
cred overheard. | see another ship at
anchor Of most singular construction,
differing from all others, and was in
| formed she was classed as collier. She
can stow away in her bunkers a half
million tons Of coal. When ship wants
more fuel, a wireless message is sent
and this great black ship steams out
and, with mass of toggery new to the
navy, connects cables between the ships
and fills her bunkers with coal while
Under steam, either in rough sea or
calm. Il so into the fort, and see out
midway the ripraps, the strongest of
all Notifications, armed with guns of
large calibre and long range, able to
throw huge mass of iron twenty miles
fifteen miles with great accuracy.
stand by the great gun in the fort, con-
a