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In the Monitor Turret 1
by S.D. Greene
March 9, 1862
Published in "Century", March 1885
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From
the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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Worden lost no time in bringing it to
test. Getting his ship under way, he steered direct for the
enemy's vessels, in order to meet and engage them as far as
possible from the Minnesota. As he approached, the wooden
vessels quickly turned and left. Our captain, to the "astonishment"
of Captain Van Brunt (as he states in his official report),
made straight for the Merrimac, which had already commenced
firing; and when he came within short range, he changed his
course so as to come alongside of her, stopped the engine, and
gave the order, "Commence firing!" I triced [sic] up the port,
ran out the gun, and taking deliberate aim, pulled the lockstring
[sic]. The Merrimac was quick to reply, returning a rattling
broadside (for she had ten guns to our two), and the battle
fairly began. The turret and other parts of the ship were heavily
struck, but the shots did not penetrate; the tower was intact,
and it continued to revolve. A look of confidence passed over
the men's faces, and we believed the Merrimac would not
repeat the work she had accomplished the day before.
The fight continued with the exchange
of broadsides as fast as the guns could be served and at very
short range, the distance between the vessels frequently being
not more than a few yards. Worden skillfully man|uvred [sic]
his quick-turning vessel, trying to find some vulnerable point
in his adversary. Once he made a dash at her stern, hoping to
disable her screw, which he thinks he missed by not more than
two feet. Our shots ripped the iron of the Merrimac,
while the reverberation of her shots against the tower caused
anything but a pleasant sensation. While Stodder, who was stationed
at the machine which controlled the revolving motion of the
turret, was incautiously leaning against the side of the tower,
a large shot truck in the vicinity and disabled him. He left
the turret and went below, and Stimers, who had assisted him,
continued to do the work.
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William
Keeler, Acting Paymaster, USS Monitor
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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Daniel
Toffey, Captain's Clerk, USS Monitor
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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The drawbacks to the position of the
pilot-house were soon realized. We could not fire ahead nor
within several points of the bow, since the blast from our own
guns would have injured the people in the pilot-house, only
a few yards off. Keeler and Toffey passed the captain's orders
and messages to me, and my inquiries and answers to him, the
speaking-tube from the pilot-house to the turret having been
broken early in the action. They performed their work with zeal
and alacrity, but both being landsmen [sic], our technical communications
sometimes miscarried. The situation was novel: a vessel of war
was engaged in desperate combat with a powerful foe; the captain,
commanding and guiding all, was inclosed in one place, and the
executive officer, working and fighting the guns, was shut up
in another, and communication between them was difficult and
uncertain. It was this experience which caused Isaac Newton,
immediately after the engagement, to suggest the clever plan
of putting the pilot-house on top of the turret, and making
it cylindrical instead of square; and his suggestions were subsequently
adopted in this type of vessel.
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Drawing
of the Monitor's turret
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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Transverse
section of the turret
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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As the engagement continued, the working
of the turret was not altogether satisfactory. It was difficult
to start it revolving, or, when once started, to stop it, on
account of the imperfections of the novel machinery, which was
now undergoing its first trial. Stimers was an active, muscular
man, and did his utmost to control the motion of the turret;
but, in spite of his efforts, it was difficult if not impossible
to secure accurate firing. The conditions were very different
from those of an ordinary broadside gun, under which we had
been trained on wooden ships. My only view of the world outside
of the tower was over the muzzles of the guns, which cleared
the ports by a few inches only. When the guns were run in, the
port-holes were covered by heavy iron pendulums, pierced with
small holes to allow the iron rammer and sponge handles to protrude
while they were in use. To hoist these pendulums required the
entire gun's crew and vastly increased the work inside the turret.
The effect upon one shut up in a revolving
drum is perplexing, and it is not a simple matter to keep the
bearings. White marks had been placed upon the stationary deck
immediately below the turret to indicate the direction of the
starboard and port sides, and the bow and stern; but these marks
were obliterated early in the action. I would continually ask
the captain, "How does the Merrimac bear?" He replied,
"On the starboard-beam," or "On the port-quarter," as the case
might be. Then the difficulty was to determine the direction
of the starboard-beam, or port-quarter, or any other bearing.
It finally resulted, that when a gun was ready for firing, the
turret would be started on its revolving journey in search of
the target, and when found it was taken "on the fly," because
the turret could not be accurately controlled. Once the Merrimac
tried to ram us; but Worden avoided the direct impact by the
skillful use of the helm, and she struck a glancing blow, which
did no damage. At the instant of collision I planted a solid
one-hundred-and-eighty-pound shot fair and square upon the forward
part of her casemate [sic]. Had the gun been loaded with thirty
pounds of powder, which was the charge subsequently used with
similar guns, it is probable that this shot would have penetrated
her armor; but the charge being limited to fifteen pounds, in
accordance with peremptory orders to that effect from the Navy
Department, the shot rebounded without doing any more damage
than possibly to start some of the beams of her armor-backing.
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Go to Main Category:
The Battle of Hampton Roads: March 8 & 9, 1862
Go to other documents in this category:
"The Battle of March 8, 1862" -
H. Ashton Ramsey
"Watching the Merrimac" - R.E.
Colston
"The Men of the Cumberland" -
Rev. R.T.S. Lowell
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