Believed they were traitors.
On May 10th, two days after the evacuation of
Norfolk, we tried to get the
Virginia up
James river.
We lightened her all we could, until her shield was out of the water and she was in no condition to fight.
Before this, however, all hands were called to quarters and
Commodore Tatnall, stating the condition of affairs, said all hands must work with a will to lighten the ship.
Everyone worked with a will, but, as everyone believed afterwards, the pilots had turned traitors to the good old fighter and to the
Confederacy.
The
Virginia could not get over the bar in her path even when she did not draw but eighteen feet.
The commander then ran the vessel ashore off
Craney Island, landed the crew and set fire to the ship.
The magazine exploded about 5 o'clock on the morning of May 11, 1862.
We arrived at
Drewry's Bluff the next day. The batteries there repulsed the
Monitor, Galena and other vessels on May 15, and
Drewry's Bluff was thereafter called the
Marine or Iron battery.
During the 8th and 9th of March, 1862, the Confederate fleet successfully encountered and defied a force equal to 2,896 men and 230 guns, as follows:
| Men. | Guns. |
| Congress (burned), | 480 | 50 |
| Cumberland (sunk), | 360 | 22 |
| Minnesota (riddled), | 550 | 40 |
| Roanoke (scared off), | 550 | 40 |
| St. Lawrence (peppered), | 480 | 50 |
| Gunboats (three disabled), | 120 | 6 |
| Forts (silenced), | 200 | 20 |
| Monitor, | 150 | 2 |
| —— | — |
| Total, | 2,890 | 230 |
Following are the vessels which composed the Confederate fleet:
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249]
Steamers
Virginia (12 guns),
Captain Buchanan;
Patrick Henry (12 guns),
Commander John R. Tucker;
Jamestown (2 guns),
Lieutenant-Commander I. W. Barry; gunboats
Teaser (1 gun),
Lieutenant-Commander W. A. Webb;
Beaufort (1 gun),
Lieutenant-Commander W. H. Parker;
Raleigh (1 gun),
Lieutenant-Commander I. W. Alexander.
When the
Virginia steamed over from
Norfolk to engage the Federal fleet, her officers were:
Flag officer, Franklin Buchanan; executive,
Lieutenant Catesby A. R. Jones; lieutenants,
Charles C. Simms,
R. D. Minor,
Hunter Davidson,
J. Taylor Wood,
J. R. Eggleston and
Walter Butt; midshipmen, Fonte,
Marmaduke,
Littlepage,
Craig, Long and Roote;
paymaster, James Semple;
surgeon, Dinwiddie B. Phillips;
assistant surgeon,
Algernon S. Garnett;
captain of marines, Reuben Thom;
engineers, H. A. Ramsey;
acting chief,
Tynan,
Campbell,
Hening,
Jack and
White; boatswain,
Hasker; gunner,
Oliver; carpenter,
Lindsey;
clerk, Arthur Sinclair, Jr.; volunteer aid,
Lieutenant Douglas F. Forrest;
Confederate States army,
Captain Kevill, commanding detachment of Norfolk United Artillery; signal corps,
Sergeant Tabb.
