Two morals were drawn from this sad affair by two of the officers of the regiment, the one mechanical and the other military. The mechanical moral was, that rifled cast-iron guns, on the Sawyer plan, were a failure, and that, everything considered, it was fortunate that the gun burst at the time it did, for, had this accident occurred in battle, the calamity would have been far more dreadful. The military moral was, that it is a piece of extreme folly to shoot for the amusement of visitors.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Sinking of the “Cumberland” and Destruction of the “Congress”—Fight Between the “Merrimack” and “Monitor”—The “Merrimack” and Other Confederate Vessels Enter Hampton Roads and Capture Three of Our Vessels in Broad Daylight—Our Fleet Shell the Confederate Batteries—Bombardment of the Rip-Raps—Adventures of Captain Drake DeKay—The Army of the Potomac Lands at Hampton—Exciting Scenes in the Department.
The Federal naval force present in Hampton Roads and James River, on the 8th of March, 1862, consisted of the “Minnesota,” a steam-frigate, commanded by Captain Van Brunt, carrying fifty guns; the frigate “Congress,” a sailing-vessel of fifty guns, commanded by Captain Smith; the “Roanoke,” a steam-frigate of the same class of the “Minnesota,” carrying fifty guns, commanded by Captain Marston; the “St. Lawrence,” a sailing-frigate, twelve guns; the sloop-of-war “Cumberland,” twenty-four guns. Beside these were two armed tugs, the “Whilden” and “Zouave,” and a small gunboat called the “Dragon.”
The “Minnesota,” “St. Lawrence,” “Roanoke,” and the tugs and gunboat lay off Fortress Monroe, while the “Congress” and the “Cumberland” were anchored in the James; the former nearest the mouth of the river, and the latter about three-fourths of a mile from the shore, and directly opposite the camp at Newport News. Sometime in November, 1861, the “Roanoke” broke her shaft, and was in this disabled condition at this time. The crew of the “Congress” had, early in March, 1862, been discharged, and the vessel manned by three companies of the Naval Brigade.
The war-vessels of the Confederates in these waters were the “Merrimack,” also known in history as the “Virginia,” carrying ten guns, eight broadside and one at each end; the “Patrick Henry,” six guns; the “Jamestown,” two guns; the “Raleigh,” “Beaufort,” and “Teaser,” each one gun.
The “Merrimack” had been raised by the enemy during the summer of 1861, and constructed into a shot-proof steam-battery, with inclined iron-plated sides and submerged ends. “The eaves of the casemates, as well as the ends of the vessel, were submerged, and a ram was added as a weapon of offence.” This novel vessel of war was commanded by Captain Franklin Buchanan, formerly of the United States Navy.
At about two o’clock in the afternoon of the 8th of March, the long roll startled the garrison at Newport News. The men were quickly in line, and in a few minutes the cry of, “The ‘Merrimack’! The ‘Merrimack’!” resounded throughout the camp. A dense volume of black smoke was now seen at the mouth of the Elizabeth River, and in the course of fifteen minutes the dark form of the foe was distinctly seen. The day was bright and warm; not a breeze rippled the surface of the river. The “Congress” being nearest the enemy, began making preparations for the battle. Her masts and spars soon whitened with her sails, and the four thousand soldiers in Camp Butler stood mute, but with intense anxiety, waiting the opening of the contest. The painful silence that brooded over that strange scene was at last suddenly broken by a sharp, angry “bang!” from one of the larboard ports of the “Cumberland.” The shot struck within a few yards of the “Merrimack,” sending the water in silvery spray high into the air. The signal for the assault thus given was quickly followed by a whole broadside from the “Congress.” For a short time both “Congress” and “Merrimack” were veiled from sight by the clouds of curling smoke. To the surprise and alarm of the garrison, the cloud rose, revealing the “Merrimack” still afloat and apparently unharmed, still approaching. The “Congress” now began a rapid and continuous fire upon the enemy. The “Merrimack,” without replying to this fire, passed close alongside the frigate, and when within a few hundred yards of her, across her bows, opened on her with a rifled gun. The shot entered the frigate, raking her from stem to stern, dismounting several of her guns, and killing and wounding many of her crew, among them her brave commander.
The “Congress” was fairly disabled by this shot; her commander was killed, confusion reigned supreme, and now the Stars and Stripes were hauled down, and the white flag of truce run up to masthead. The frigate slipped her cables and floated helplessly away, the “Merrimack” continuing on her course toward the “Cumberland.”