Norfolk, Hampton Roads
485. First Success of the Merrimac.—On the 8th of March, 1862, the Merrimac sailed out from Norfolk into Hampton Roads. She there met a Union fleet, consisting of five of the largest ships and a number of smaller vessels. The battle was one-sided, and was soon over. The Merrimac with its prow sank the Cumberland and then drove the other vessels ashore and set several of them on fire. The whole fleet would have been destroyed had not darkness come on. The guns of the wooden ships made no impression whatever on the Merrimac. At night this destructive Confederate boat withdrew to Norfolk, intending to finish its work the next morning.
John Ericsson.
486. The Merrimac and the Monitor.—Fortunately for the North, when the Merrimac came out on the second day, she was confronted by a craft still stranger in appearance than herself. In the course of the winter, John Ericsson,[[214]] a great Swedish engineer, then in New York, had constructed a gunboat which he called the Monitor. It consisted of the hull of a vessel with a top as low and flat as a raft. Rising only a few inches above the water, it was made enormously strong, in order that it might carry very powerful engines, as well as its very heavy armor of iron. On its deck was a low, broad iron tower, thick enough to resist the heaviest shot, and large enough to hold two of the most powerful guns. This tower, which was said to resemble a cheese box on a raft, was revolved by machinery within the hull of the vessel. Though the tonnage of the Monitor was only nine hundred, while that of the Merrimac, owing to her heavy guns, was thirty-five hundred, the advantage was decidedly with the Monitor. When the two vessels came together, they fought for four hours with the utmost desperation. Then the Merrimac withdrew to Norfolk and soon after was destroyed by the Confederates themselves. The terror that had been felt in all the seaboard cities at the end of the first day’s victories of the Merrimac was thus relieved, and a new era in naval construction began.[[215]]
487. Capture of Confederate Ports.—Elsewhere on the coast, several important events took place. Commodore Goldsborough and Major General A. E. Burnside captured Roanoke Island in February, and, a little later, Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River. Several places in Florida also fell into Union hands. By these captures, the blockade was made much easier and more effective.
Admiral D. G. Farragut.
488. Capture of New Orleans.—The great event in the extreme South was the capture of New Orleans. This city was of much importance to the Confederacy, for it not only controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River, but also protected the passage from Texas to the Eastern states. A naval expedition designed to attempt the capture of the place was fitted out under Commodore D. G. Farragut,[[216]] with auxiliary military forces under Major General B. F. Butler. The expedition set out from Hampton Roads in February. The troops, some fifteen thousand in number, landed at Ship Island, and remained there until the fleet opened the river. The city was protected by Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, with very heavy guns, on opposite sides of the river. From one side to the other, six massive chains were stretched; and connected with these was a huge raft of logs, extending from shore to shore and completely closing the passage. Above the raft was a fleet of thirteen Confederate gunboats and an ironclad floating battery. There were also several fire rafts, designed to burn the Union ships in case they forced a passage. Farragut bombarded the forts for a week without much effect, and then determined to force his way through the obstructions. One dark night several of the gunboats ran up to the raft and succeeded in cutting the chains so as to open a passage. A very desperate combat ensued. Farragut pushed forward with fourteen vessels, protected with chains and sand bags against the enemy’s fire. The movement of the ships was made plain by bonfires lighted along the shore. The cannonading from the works and the opposing ships was terrific; but the Confederate fleet was finally destroyed and Farragut found himself above the forts. The city was now at his mercy, and it surrendered on April 25.