The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-05-12


! gress caught IL and continued to
| catch ham until she ran up the
whito flag. In trying to cscape
| 5rom the Merrmac tho Congress ran
| aground. head on. near tho Now1,ort
News battery. and the Merribacs
shots were aking her from end to
end with fearful loss of life ursil she
was forced to surrender. One of our
gurb oats was sent to ncr to take off
+; the wounded and prisoners and set
fire to her. but while in the act OF
| doing so was fired on from tho New
| port New battery. which resulted in
| killing and woundlnS many OF their
| own men as well as some OF ours. J
, is alwaye permissible to rccaponre
prisoners and property In war but
never when 1t is necessary to fire on
ones own men TO do II.
| Our gunboat was then recalled to
! her post. and the Merrimac poured hot
shot into nor until she was ablsze and
| finally burnt to tho waters edge. About
| midnight her magazines exploded and
the Congress WAS a thing Of the past
! About this time our James River feet.
consisting of the gunbosts Jamestown.
comma nded ny Lieut.. i. y. Barney; the
! Patrick Henry, comma ndH BY Captain,
j. X. Tucker. and the Teaser. COM
manded by Lieut.. ". ~. Webb. ran by
| the Newport News battery under a
| heavy fire and, with soma loss. joined
the balance OF our fleet. The gunboats
| being only wooden shells were at all
times daringly vonturesome. but not
qualified TO engage In the real battle.
| After setting fire TO tho Congress
| the Merrlinac turned upon the Union
| feet and drove IT towards Fortress
| escape from tho Mcrrinlac ran aground
| about two miles cast OF Newport
| News. The St. Lawrence and Roanoke
| also grounded sti! further to the east,
, and the Brandywine and tho Sunboats
| were tho only ones to make good
| their escape. During the night, how
| ever, thu st, Lawrence and Roam c
were noated and towed TO Fortress
| Monroe. leaving the Minnesota stiil
| hard aground. The tide being out
| made il impossible for tho Mcrrimac
| 10 get within reach of either vessel.
| out she continued to fire at the Mime
sofa, II being nearest. until darkness
| put an end to the conflict. The Cum
beriand sunk. the Congress burned and
| the balance of the Union feet eth or
| hard aground in water too shallow for
| the Merrimac to get at. or driven und er
| the guns OF Fortress Monroe ended the
| battle OF March the Sth and left the
Merrimac mistress OF the situation. and
| having nothing else to contend with.
! Shc returned tnTi night 10 uer anchor
age at Sewell's Point.
In describing the Merrimac l failed
to tell you that the ends OF the berth
deck forward and aft OF tho cas.mate
were laden with pig iron to sink her
to the desired depth and when she
| rarnmed the Cumberland not only left
her brow sticking into 1t, but the shock
| Knocked some of the iron off the for
ward deck. which caused her bow 10
rise to the waters surface. and in this
condition she fought the Monitor the
next day.
| The "Chccse Box on n Raft"
The next day was the eth of March.
| 1852. and an ideal one for either a
frolic or fight 1t was pity that a
most terrific naval battle should have
married the beauty OF it. but battles
are fought when and whsre forces meet
| without regard to the day. Early this
morning an object, which has beon ap-
propriately compared to "a cheese box
on a raft" was discovered lying along
side of the Minnesota and 1T turned
out to be tho monitor. II was an iron
hull covered by projecting deck and
surmounted by a revolving turrct pro-
tecting the gune and crew. 1t was
1T5 feet long. 81 feet wide. and
drew IL feet of water. The turrct was
. feet high 90 feet wide and s inches
thick. 1t was equipped with two IL
tnch Dahlgrccl guns. and fired shot
weighing $50 pounds. After firing n
shot the turret could be revolved by
| machinery until the other gun was in
position for firing without the neccs-
sity of turning the vessel around, which
| was quite an advantage she had over
| the Merrimac.
AS soon as she was seen the Merri-
! mac started towards her and the Moni-
tor advanced boldly to meet her, firing
| the first shot: and the battle OF giants
commenced. They were about a mile
| apart when the Monitor fred the first
shot and they continued TO approach
each other. both firing with much deiip-
} Grafton. until they were only a few
| yards apart Then they would sepa
rate MS II manocuvrIng for a position
where one could ram the other. While
| they We're close together every shot
seemed TO reach It's mark but glance
off without doing any apparent dam
| age. The A1errlmac drawing % feet OF
| water and being very unwieldly was
at asgreat disadvantage, while the Mon :
itor drawing only IL feet of water and
capable of sinking deeper by letting
in as much water was necessary
| or pumping II out at the rate OF 5000
gallons per minute to tighten it. was
able TO %oid the rushes of the MerrI-
mac; and when too hard pressed could.
and did. retreat INTO shallow water.
where the Mcrrimac couldn't reach
her. Several times during the action
the Merrimac made desperate rushos
at her. but by quick and clever action
the Monitor AVOIDED them and the Mer-
rimac only glanced alongside. 1t GER
tainly was n battle royal fought with
skill AMI determination by both vessels,
giving shot for shot and no quarter
| asked.
This give and take was kent up for
| several hours; then the Monitor retired
from the conflict. apparently having
had enough; but, as they claimed.
to hoist more ammunition into the tur-
| ret The Merrimac in tho meantime
held her position, firing occasionally
at the Minnesota--to let hcr know she
| must he good.
Later in the day the Monitor re-