Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-11


 Saturday was the 56th anniversary of the historic battle between the Con- federate ram Merrimac and the Union ironclad Monitor, the cheesebox on raft, and the anniversary occasion re- called to the minds of his friends in this city, where he has lived for many years, that Thomas Taylor, colored, is one of the few survivors of those who participated in the struggle. He was ! a member of the crew of the invincible l little Monitor, the forerunner of the great steel fleets of today. MT. Taylor has told of how he es- caped from the man who owned him, 1 took his owners saddle horse one night and stealthily made his way toward Hampton Roads. He was a mere lad and happened into the vicinity of Fortress Monroe on the eve of the Monitors arrival there. The attention 1 of one of the officers of the queer | looking craft was attracted to him and he was taken aboard to serve the of l ffcer.
 MT. Taylor. a boy of about 16. did not realize that he was soon to figure | in one of the most famous battles in the history of naval warfare. l The whole battle still remains vivid ly pictured in his memory Though not aboard the vessel in fighting capacity, the demands of the combat led to his engaging in passing up l powder for the ginners who were op- erating the deadly weapons with which the eheeesebox was equipped MT. Taylor recalls that the gunnere, stripped to the waist, were quickly covered with blood. from myriad tiny wounds received as the impact of shells from the guns of the Merrinac tore particles of steel loose from the railroad iron with which the cheese box's turret was lined.
 Mir. Taylor tells, too, of the pleas ure he experienced when later early in the morning he was a witness of the explosion that wrecked the Merri- mac.
 MT. Taylor's participation in the
 battle aboard the Monitor has in a way been immortalized by one of the series of Brady's war pictures, in
 which he is shown as member of the
 crew of the Monitor.
 I Mission to Begin Sunday. Next Sunday will mark the begin ming of series of missions at St
 Mary's parish. These missions will
 continue throughout the Lenten sea. f son.
 Bankruptcy Hearings Final hearings are to be held al Willimantic March 19 before Referee . in Bankruptcy A. J. Bowen on thu
 involved estates of Clarence A. Seavel
 of North Grosvenordale and Hector D Magnan of this city.
 l Coal Needed at Once. Unless shipments reach here il heavy quantities, this city, insofar a. t it is dependent upon electricity fo [ power, will continue to face a disturb ing situation this week The coal sup ply at the big plant iii Mechanicsville
 where power IS generated, is not sui
 ficient to warrant the belief that i
 may not become exhausted. Not mucl f more than 10 per cent. of the cleo s tricity generated at the plant is pro V duced from water power. t Grange Meeting. 2 Musical numbers are to be givel . by Mrs. c. L. Torrey and Miss Eliza ,na n beth Byrne at tonight's meeting o Putnam grange. Refreshments are t
 be served.
 Henry C. Morrison to Speak.
 Henry c. Morrison, assistant stat , superintendent of education, is t
 speak Tuesday evening at the hig
 school at a meeting of the Parent ,s Teachers association. His subject wi 'L be The Modern Requirements of Edu ls cation.
 T Anxious to Enlist. l. Members of the local board are re is ceiying almost daily requests for reg
 istrants who have been certified fo l. future military service that they b i allowed to enlist Some of thee young men want to get into the nav, some into aero squadrons and som ,- into the shipbuilding industry.