...s the Merrimac, but I want to say right here that there never was a vessel in the Confederate States navy called by that name. The Merrimac was a United States frigate, burned, scuttled and sunk at Gosport navyyard in 1861. The old hulk was raised, rebuilt and converted into an ironclad, and when she was launched there were only four marines and a corporal aboard. I was one of the five who did duty...