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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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Map
of Hampton Roads, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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The fight was over. We of the Monitor
thought, and still think, that we had gained a great victory.
This the Confederates have denied. But it has never been denied
that the object of the Merrimac on the 9th of March was
to complete the destruction of the Union fleet in Hampton Roads,
and that in this she was completely foiled and driven off by
the Monitor; nor has it been denied that at the close
of the engagement the Merrimac retreated to Norfolk,
leaving the Monitor in possession of the field. 4
In this engagement Captain Worden displayed
the highest qualities as an officer and man. He was in his prime
(forty-four years old), and carried with him the ripe experience
of twenty-eight years in the naval service. He joined the ship
a sick man, having but recently left a prison in the South.
He was nominated for the command by the late Admiral Joseph
Smith, and the result proved the wisdom of the choice. Having
accepted his orders against the protests of his physicians and
the entreaties of his family, nothing would deter him from the
enterprise. He arrived on the battle-ground amidst the disaster
and gloom, almost despair, of the Union people, who had little
faith that he could beat back the powerful Merrimac,
after her experience with the Cumberland and Congress. Without
encouragement, single-handed, and without specific orders from
any source, he hurled his little untried vessel against his
huge, well-proved antagonist, and won the battle. He was victor
in the first iron-clad battle of the world's history.
The subsequent career of the Monitor
needs but a few words.
On the day after the fight I received
the following letter from Mr. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the
Navy:
"U.S. Steamer Roanoke, Old Point,
"March 10, 1862.
"My dear Mr. Greene:
"Under the extraordinary circumstances of the contest of yesterday,
and the responsibilities devolving upon me, and your extreme
youth 5, I have suggested to Captain Marston to send
on board the Monitor, as temporary commanding, Lieutenant
Selfridge, until the arrival of Commodore Goldsborough, which
will be in a few days. I appreciate your position, and you must
appreciate mine, and serve with the same zeal and fidelity.
"With the kindest wishes for you all, most truly,
"G.V. Fox."
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The
City of Norfolk, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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For the next two months we lay at Hampton
Roads. Twice the Merrimac came out of the Elizabeth River,
but did not attack. We, on our side, had received positive orders
not to attack in the comparatively shoal waters above Hampton
Roads, where the Union Fleet could not man|uvre [sic]. The Merrimac
protected the James River, and the Monitor protected
the Chesapeake. Neither side had an iron-clad in reserve, and
neither wished to bring on an engagement which might disable
its only armored naval defense in those waters.
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Attack
on Fort Darling, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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With the evacuation of Norfolk and the
destruction of the Merrimac, the Monitor moved
up the James River with the squadron under the command of Commander
John Rodgers, in connection with McClellan's advance upon Richmond
by the Peninsula. We were engaged for four hours at Fort Darling,
but were unable to silence the guns or destroy the earthworks.
Probably no ship was ever devised which
was so uncomfortable for her crew, and certainly no sailor ever
led a more disagreeable life than we did on the James River,
suffocated with heat and bad air if we remained below, and a
target for sharp-shooters if we came on deck.
With the withdrawal of McClellan's army,
we returned to Hampton Roads, and in the autumn were ordered
to Washington, where the vessel was repaired. We returned to
Hampton Roads in November, and sailed thence (December 29) in
tow of the steamer Rhode Island, bound for Beaufort, N. C. Between
11 P.M. and midnight on the following night the Monitor
went down in a gale, a few miles south of Cape Hatteras. Four
officers and twelve men were drowned, forty-nine people being
saved by the boats of the steamer. It was impossible to keep
the vessel free of water, and we presumed that the upper and
lower hulls thumped themselves apart.
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The
sinking of the Monitor
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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No ship in the world's history has a
more imperishable place in naval annals than the Monitor.
Not only by her providential arrival at the right moment did
she secure the safety of Hampton Roads and all that depended
on it, but the ideas which she embodied revolutionized the system
of naval warfare which had existed from the earliest recorded
history. The name of the Monitor became generic, representing
a new type; and, crude and defective as was her construction
in some of its details 6, she yet contained the idea
of the turret, which is to-day the central idea of the most
powerful armored vessels.
S.D. Greene, 7 Commander U.S. Navy.
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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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