East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-03-16
NEWSPAPER MAN TELLS
OF FAMOUS BATTLE
. j. F'REESE, WELL KNOWN
HERE, RELATES SCENE
OF MISUNDERSTANDING

non. IL was 5Z years ago on tndt udy
that c. j. Freese, the veteran field
representative of the Spokane SpOkes-
man-Review who Is a frequent visit
or in Pendleton. fell PROSTATE on the
deck of the Dragon, IA little union
ship which the Monitor was protect
ing, wounded by the explosion Of a
120-pound shell that crashed through
the side Of the vessel. wrecking the
engine and boiler. He lost toe in
that engagement and suffered other
injuries which have left him battle
scared.
In speaking of the historic engage.
ment, Mr.. Freese said:
On March 8. 1862. at p. m. the
Merrimac was seen coming down the
Norfolk river, steaming directly for
the United States frigates Cumberland
and Congress. which lay at anchor
near Newport News in Hampton
Roads. The other union vessels, the
Roanoke, Minnesota. st. Lawrence,
Whitehall and Dragon, on which lat
ter vessel was serving as an able
seaman, lay nearer Fortress Monroe.
Immediately anchors were weighed
and orders given to prepare for ba:-
tie.
Death Before Surrender.
When the Merrimac was WITHIN
Buchanan demanded the surrender
of the Cumberland and the Congress,
Lieutenant Morris, who was in COIN
mand Of the Cumberland, replied.
Never, sink with the ship"
The battle opened, shot rpon shct
.nd shell upon shell pouring into the
| Merrimac, but without avail. -
handful of peas would have had the
| same effect.
While these shots were pourel into
her the Merrimac withdre.e II few
| hundred yards, and with full head
sent hundreds of the Cumberland s
| and almost cut her in to. That blow
sent hur rdreds of the Cumbc;isin' S
men to watery grave. She sank the
| Cumberland, but rot the flag. That
emblem OF beauty and glory tloate i
from the masthead within one toct Of
the water, serving vas an inspiration
for the rest of the flee. TO aveng. he
me nster for her cruel deed.
The Congress surrendered, which
II. the judgment of its officers was un-
doubtedly the best thing TO do, al
though at the time it was not looked
upon with favor by the rest oc the
fleet
Al that afternoon the battle ragged
f'ercely. At one time every gun IN
tae fleet was trained upon single
spot on the Merrimac's side. but they
only caused thud. went over or roll
&C Lack into the water. The battle
lasted until p. m when the Merri-
frac withdrew under the guns of Sc
welrs Point
| Night came on and It was AT lpx-
ious one for all. Very little sleep, II
am was INDUCED in oy any,n, :, ?
We Al! knew too we'll thar the Merit
mae W, uld be bac X in the morning to
renew the attack and either sink us
O. compel surrender.
msy note here an order gi ga that
neVc: has appeared in hist ,ry, hut
was vertheless, carried out. This
was 10 lay fuse to the .,Jv,'Hr meg
azi,e o. each union vessel ana TO
b'o~ them all up in re'c-epce to
falling into the hands of the cra.ed-
crates.
NJ ono had heard }, tho M,r.icr
ccn'irg to our relief bu: sae 6il enj
rea'I,ed the fleet on Sua,lay m .:ning
az m. March 9. AT o'clock
the Merrimac steamed out from be-
hind Sewells Point, heading directly
for the fleet, few miles away, bent
on destruction. II was then that the
Monitor appeared from behind the
Minnesota to engage in battle, and
TIE terrific scene I shall never for
get
The two ironclads fought Ike bull
dogs, firing at each other as fast as
men could load the guns. think the
Merrimac realized what she had to
| contend with, for an hour afterwa I'd
she tried to run the Monitor down as
she had the Cumberland. The MoL-
itor, however, was too low in the wa
ter and the ram could not touch her.
as the PROV, or ram Of the Me-rimac
had been broken off by rampiing the
| Cumberland the second time.
| Monitor Stands Storm of IRON.
The bow gun OF the Merrimac was a
12-pounder, which she fired at short
range. but the Monitor stood every
shock with the exception of one,
which struck her between the look
out holes and blinded Captain Wor-
den. the only one hurt on the Moni-
tor
| Not so with the Merrimac. One shot
went clean through her lengthwise
while her port hole was open to fire,
killing and wounding several Of the
men. The Merrimac iron plating
only reached to the water line. and
when she fired hroadside the recoil
of the guns would throw her over on
her side. 1t was there the Monitor
got in her work and sent shot and
shell through the woodwork, causing
the Merrimac to take water and maxi
ing it more difficult for her to be
handled.
For two hours and a half the bat
tie ragged furiously. When the Merri-
mac saw she could not whip the
Monitor she tried to break through
the ring and destroy the fleet Again