Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

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[228] number of men, and full six times her weight of armament; she had engaged two other great vessels; and she had only been prevented from destroying them, because she could not come to close quarters with them. The Cumberland went into action with 376 men. When the survivors were mustered there were only 255. She lost 121 in killed and drowned. The crew of the Congress were 434 officers and men; of these, 298 got to shore, 26 of them being wounded, 10 mortally; there were in all 120 killed and missing; about 20 of these were made prisoners, leaving a roll of killed and drowned of 100 men. Besides these, 3 were killed on the Minnesota, and 16 wounded; an absolute loss of fully 250 officers and men. On the Virginia there were but two killed and eight wounded. On the other Confederate vessels four were killed and a few more wounded.

Early in the bright morning of Sunday, the 9th of March, the Virginia rounded the point of land at the mouth of the Elizabeth river. She approached the Minnesota. But lying near the vessel which was still stranded and supposed to be doomed, was a curious object, which some of the crew of the Virginia straining their eyes compared to a prodigious “cheese-box on a plank.” It was another iron-clad-the enemy's experiment in naval architecture, which had come just in time to match the Confederate curiosity in floating batteries.

The new actor on the scene which had come in such a dramatic coincidence was a defensive structure, the invention of John Ericsson. He had named the invention the Monitor, in order to “admonish the South of the fate of the rebellion, Great Britain of her fading naval supremacy, and the English government of the folly of spending millions in fixed fortifications for defence.” She was different in appearance from any vessel that had previously been used in war. Her deck, unprotected by any bulwark, rose about two feet above the water, whilst from it projected a turret about nine feet high, and a small box-looking place at the stern, used as a pilot-house. In the turret she carried her sole armament-two eleven-inch 168-pounder Dahlgren guns.

The two strange combatants approached each other; when within about one hundred yards' distance the Monitor opened fire. The contest continued for the space of two hours, the distance between the two vessels varying from half a mile to close quarters, in which they were almost side to side, belching out their fire, the heavy thugs on the iron sides of each being the only effect of the terrific cannonade. The strange-looking battery, with its black, revolving cupola, was more easily turned than the Virginia, and had the greater speed. The great length and draft of the Virginia rendered it exceedingly difficult to work her. Once in changing her position she got aground, but succeeded in getting afloat again, and turning rapidly upon the Monitor steamed directly at her, hoping with