The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-07-14


! On September H., 1871, Mr.. Breiten
tstein was united in marriage with
Miss Amelia Noll, who survives along
with the Following children: Miss
Clara A. Breitenstein of st. Paul
Mimi; Miss Grace G. Breitensteil
of Los Angeles, Calf; Arthur ].
land William S. Breitenstein OF Great
Falls, Mont. and Mrs l. S. Staff OF
Jacksonville, H. In addition there is
lone brother, William Breitenstein Of
I this city, nephew, Frank Breiten'
tstein, and the following grandchil-
dren: Susanne and Julius Nobel
iStaff; Divon. Margery and Eleanor
| Breitenstein.
I Mr.. Breitenstein was member of
! the Masonic fraternity and the an
noun cement of the time for the
funeral will be made later.
Story of the Fight
His story of the historic fight be
tween the Merrimac and the Monitor
lis given here, taken also from the Ga
zette.
The passing Of J. F, Breitenstein re
duces to three the survivors of the
crew of the Merrimac, the confed'
crate iron clad that engaged with the
federal Monitor, in the first battle
ever fought in the world between
two iron clad fighting boats. The
battle occurred on Sunday, March 8,
1852. In addition to the three sur
vivors of the Merrimac crew, who
are Captain White of New York, who
had charge of the speaking tubes of
the boats; Captain Marmaduke of
Washington, D. c., who was mid
shipman in the fight, and William
Poulson of Chicago, there still sur
wives one member of the crew of the
Monitor, Charles Burr of Meriden.
Connecticut. All the survivors are
members of The Farragut Naval Vet
Grams association of Chicago, and Mr..
Breitenstein never failed to attend
the reunions of this body.
Mr.. Breitenstein often told the
story of the historic fight between the
iron clads.
The transformation of the old Mer-
rimac into one of the first iron clads
in the world, by building an armer
of railroad iron about her is an old
story. On March s, the day before
the battle with the Monitor, the Mer-
rimac, or Virginia. as she had been
rechristened, steamed away from her
moorings on Granny island, and into
Chesapeake bay, to give battle to the
Union fleet of wooden men of war.
The federal batteries from Hampton
Roads and other points played tat
too on her iron sides, and had no more
effect than so much hail, except for
the din. The veterans story con-
tinues:
The Veterans Story.
I'VE passed up the Congress, just
as a matter of sentiment. The COM
mander of the Merrimac was Com
modore Franklin Buchanan. On the
union ship Congress, his brother,
McKeon Buchanan. was an officer.
The commodore did not want to sink
the ship on which his brother was
serving, so with the batteries of all
the union ships playing on US, but
with no effect, we passed the Con
gress, and putting on full steam,
rammed the Cum berland.
THE weight back of our heavy iron
clad sent our iron ram half way
through the Cumberland Her gun
use of her artillery, while ours were
nicely in range. Buchanan called on
Commander Radcliffe of the Cum
berIand to surrender. His reply was
that he would sink first Then the
batteries of the Merrimac tore into
the vitals of the doomed ship. and
in few minutes between the havoc
wrought by the raInming and the
fire she was sinking.
Buchanan tried to back his ship
away from the Cumberland so as to
disengage his ram. This he was I'M
able to do, and for a few minutes it
looked as. though we -wpuid-sink with
our victim. However. a few minutes
later, as the Cumberland settled down,
her weight broke our ram square off
and we were released.
The Cumberland sank a few min
utes later, and her quick end had the