March Eighth
BROOKE’S “VIRGINIA,” THE FIRST OF IRONCLADS; 10 GUNS VERSUS 268
... The Virginia, that iron diadem of the South, whose thunders in Hampton Roads consumed the Cumberland, overcame the Congress, put to flight the Federal Navy, and achieved a victory, the novelty and grandeur of which convulsed the maritime nations of the world.
Charles Colcock Jones, Jr.
Confederate Tribute to the Commander and Men of the Cumberland: “No ship was ever better handled, or more bravely fought.”
Virginius Newton, C. S. N.
On Boarding the Congress:
Confusion, death, and pitiable suffering reigned supreme; and the horrors of war quenched the passion and enmity of months.
Virginius Newton, C. S. N.