Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-01-16

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attacking army. Johnston kept up
strong outposts at Ringgold and Resaca
to hold the enemy at arms length and
set to work to fortify Atlanta as a
base. Atlanta is 100 miles south of
Dalton, with three rivers intervening.
Johnston would have welcomed an at
tack of equal numbers, but Grant was
not so foolhardy. He knew his man
and prepared to set Sherman at the
task, with odds in his favor Of two to
one.
Peace Talk.
This time fifty years ago there were
persistent rumors of peace negotia-
tons either taking place or about to
take place between the United States
and the Confederate States. Shortly
before New Years rumors came from
the south to the effect that the Con-
federate vice president, Alexander H.
Stephens, was about to enter the Fed.
eral lines with peace proposals.
North Carolina was the center of a
strong peace movement, and its COVER
nor, General Y. B. Vance, wrote to
President Davis making the novel
proposition that the attitude of the
north be tested. He stated with frank
ness the discomfort of many of his
people and said: 81 have concluded
that 1t Will be difficult to remove it
except by making some effort at nego-
tiation with the enemy. > | am
promised by all men who advocate
this course that If fair terms are re-
jected (by the north it will tend great
ly to strengthen and intensity the war
feeling and will rally all classes to
the support of the Confederate gov
ernment.p
Writing in reply on Jan. 8, President
Davis said that three distinct efforts
had been made to open negotiations
with Washington, all unsuccessful.
Vice President Stephens had been
stopped by Federal authority while he
was proceeding toward Washington on
a peace mission and turned back to
the Confederate lines. ITO attempt
again lin the face of repeated rejec-
lions of all conference with us) is to
invite insult and contumely and to
subject ourselves to indignity without
the slightest chance of being heard"
The attitude Of Mr.. Lincoln was that
the United States government could
not recognize the Southern Confeder-
acy ever so far as to enter into pre-
liminary negotiations with its agents.
Later General w. T. Sherman, while
In Georgia. invited the governor of
the state and Vice President Stephens
to meet him In a peace conference. Gov
ernor Brown declined because Sher-
man had no power to negotiate peace,
and Stephens asked for assurances
which Sherman could not give.
A Record Making Battleship.
The most successful ironclad brought
into action in 1863 was the armored
frigate New Ironsides. Early In that
year she Joined the Federal squadron
at Charleston and achieved a record
never surpassed by an armored vessel.
The New Ironsides was built Of wood
and armored from below the water
line to the deck with four and one
nail tuCn DluLluS. que was %O@ 1CCt
long, So broad and of 4,120 tons dis
placement. The armament was six
teen eleven-inch smoothbore guns, two
220-pounder Parrot rifles and four
twenty-fOur-pounder howitzers.
When the ironclad fleet made its
celebrated attack on Fort Sumter April
Z, 1868. the New Ironsides was the
flagship. She advanced to within !, 700
yards of the fort and sustained the
greatest amount of pounding by shot
and shell with the least damage of
any ironclad in the feet. Whereas
the plating of the monitors in action
alongside We're often broken in. bolts
displaced and plating loosened by the
shock of missiles, there was nc dis
turbance whatever inside the New
lronSides.
At one time that day she stood over
A submarine torpedo, but the land
wire by which the internal machine
was to be exploded was momentarily
out of order. and she escaped. How
ever, she was later struck squarely by
a torpedo boat, and the result was
simply a jar of the ship. with no dam
age to the armor.
Altogether the New Ironsides dur
ing her career of two years achieved
the record Of having engaged In more
actions than any vessel V e afoat and
been struck with more projectiles. Yet
she was never put out Of action and
her armor never pierced.