CH. III] THE MERRIMAC AND MONITOR 115 At one than so many pebble stones thrown by a child." 1 time Lieutenant Jones, who was in command of the Merrimac, inquired, "Why are you not firing, Mr. Eggleston?" "Why, our powder is very precious," was the reply, “and after two hours' incessant firing, I find that I can do her about as much damage by snapping my thumb at her every two minutes and a half." 2 Jones determined then to ram the Monitor as the Cumberland had been rammed the previous day. But the engines and boilers of the Merrimac were defective; her speed was only five knots; she was unwieldy and her iron prow had been twisted off and lost in her encounter with the Cumberland. Opportunity offering, however, she made for her antagonist at full speed, but the Monitor being easily handled, got out of her way, receiving only a glancing blow. "She gave us a tremendous thump,' wrote the Chief Engineer, "but did not injure us in the least.”3 The Merrimac got the worse of the collision, springing a leak; she had, also wrote Jones, "received a shot which came near disabling the machinery.' But Worden was hurt. In the pilot house, which was constructed of iron logs in the manner of a log cabin, he used a look-out chink to direct the movements of his vessel. A shell struck and exploded just outside, severely injuring his eyes and leading him to believe that the pilot house was seriously damaged. He gave orders to put the helm to starboard and sheer off." 5 Jones, either because he thought the Monitor had given up the contest or because his own boat was leaking badly, steered towards Norfolk and the struggle was over. The Monitor was uninjured and in condition to engage the Merrimac if she appeared on the morrow. But the Merrimac was too badly damaged for 10. R. N., VII, 11. 2 B. & L., I, 702. 3 O. R. N., VII, 26. 5 B. & L., I, 727. 116 THE MONITOR [1862 further operations; she had to dock for repairs and did not reënter Hampton Roads until a month later. 'Captain Ericsson," wrote the Chief Engineer of the Monitor from Hampton Roads on the day of the fight, "I congratulate you upon your great success. Thousands have this day blessed you. I have heard whole crews cheer you. Every man feels that you have saved this place to the nation by furnishing us with the means to whip an iron-clad frigate that was, until our arrival, having it all her own way with our most powerful vessels." 1 This momentous encounter demonstrated that the naval ships of the future must be iron-clad. The "wooden walls of England" were no longer her security.2 The performance of the Monitor on Sunday did not entirely dispel the apprehensions in Washington and throughout the country, occasioned by the destructive work of the Merrimac on Saturday. McClellan had decided to transport his army to Fort Monroe and, using that as his base, advance on Richmond by the Peninsula between the York and James rivers. But this movement required the control of the sea in Hampton Roads and at Fort Monroe by the Union Navy and this was rendered dubious by "the possibility of the Merrimac appearing again." He therefore asked Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Fox [March 12], who was still at Fort Monroe, "Can I rely on the Monitor to keep the Merrimac in check so that I can make Fort Monroe a base of operations?" Fox replied: "The Monitor is more than a match for the Merri 1 O. R. N., VII, 27. 2 Authorities: The Correspondence and several reports in O. R. N. VII; B. & L., I; III; Welles's Diary; J. Hay; Swinton; Chesnut. Other Confederate vessels and gunboats, Union frigates and tugs, Confederate and Union shore batteries had a part in this contest but, as their action did not seem to me material, I have omitted the mention of them in the narrative to avoid burdening it with too much detail. CH. III] THE MERRIMAC 117 mac, but she might be disabled in the next encounter. I cannot advise so great dependence upon her." Meigs, still alarmed, wrote from Washington [March 13]: "I would not trust this city to the strength of a single screw bolt in the Monitor's new machinery. If one breaks, the Merrimac beats her." As late as March 15, Welles confessed, "There is a degree of apprehension in regard to the armored steamer Merrimac which it is difficult to allay." The Merrimac made two more appearances in Hampton Roads, the first one on April 11, when she directed the capture of three merchant vessels by a Confederate armed steamer and a gunboat. The Monitor was on the watch, but neither ventured to attack the other. Her second appearance was on May 8, when, in the words of her commander, she "stood directly for the enemy for the purpose of engaging him," but the Monitor and her consorts would not give battle. Secretary Chase, who with the President and Secretary of War was at Fort Monroe on a brief visit, wrote this account of the incident: "The Merrimac came on slowly and in a little while there was a clear sheet of water between her and the Monitor. Then the great rebel terror paused then turned back and having finally attained what she considered a safe position, became stationary again." On May 11, as a consequence of the evacuation of Norfolk by the Confederates due to McClellan's advance, she was fired and, after burning fiercely for upward of an hour, blew up." 1 66 The opportune appearance of the Monitor was a piece of good fortune for the Navy Department, but her construction was due to its foresight. Nevertheless, her restraint of the Merrimac was in the nature of defensive warfare, whilst the 10. R. N., VII, 99, 100, 101, 127, 220, 335, 336, 337, 342, 387; Warden, 428; N. & H., V. In December, the Monitor foundered off Cape Hatteras. 106 BATTLE OF SHILOH [1862 the enemy soon driven back." Darkness was close at hand. Beauregard sent orders to his troops to cease fighting and to sleep on their arms. 1 The contest had lasted more than twelve hours and was a Confederate victory, inasmuch as the Union troops were driven back from a mile and a half to two miles and lost Shiloh Church, the point which, as Grant wrote, "was the key to our position." But the victory did not meet the expectations of Johnston, who had hoped to capture the Union Army or at any rate to drive it from the field in complete rout. At the time of his death he must have felt that his hopes were in a fair way to be realized. For the demoralization of a part of Grant's army began with the sudden attack and continued to the end of the day, greatly impressing Nelson as he crossed the river in the late afternoon. "I found cowering under the river bank," he wrote on April 10, "from 7000 to 10,000 men, frantic with fright and utterly demoralized, who received my gallant division with cries, 'We are whipped; cut to pieces."" 2 "The battle of Sunday," wrote Henry Stone, "was like an old-fashioned country wrestling-match, where each combatant uses any method he chooses, or can bring to bear, to force his adversary to the ground.' Next day, Monday, April 7, 20,000 of Buell's well-disciplined soldiers, Lew Wallace's 6500, and such troops of the four divisions that had borne the brunt of Sunday's battle as could be brought into line, attacked Beauregard under orders from Grant and Buell and, largely out-numbering him, drove him, after eight hours' fighting, from the field, recovering the lost positions. Beauregard's army, badly demoralized, retreated to Corinth. Bragg, who had commanded the second corps in the battle, wrote to him on April 8, during the retreat: "Our condition is horrible. Troops utterly dis 1 Grant, 338. 2 O. R., X, Pt. I, 324. 3 Milt. Hist. Soc., VII, 95. Сн. ІІІ] BATTLE OF SHILOH 107 organized and demoralized. Road almost impassable. No provisions and no forage. The enemy up to daylight, had not pursued." 1 Like most victories of our Civil War, whether Confederate or Union, no effective pursuit was made. Grant himself and his army, except Lew Wallace's division, were too fatigued for immediate active service and he did not exercise the authority over Buell's army for which he had the warrant from Halleck. Any later pursuit was rendered impossible by Halleck's instructions and by his project of joining the army in person and taking over the command. The Union casualties during the two days were 13,047; the Confederate, 10,694.2 Never before had a battle of such magnitude been fought on this continent. The Confederates failed to repair the disaster of Donelson; on the other hand, Grant might have crushed Johnston had he anticipated the attack. His lack of correct information is evident from his despatch to Halleck two days after the battle, saying that he had been attacked by one hundred and sixty-two regiments, which was a much larger number than he had actually to contend with. It was a battle between men from the Southwest and Northwest and these sections went into deep mourning over their dead and wounded. The hilarity in Chicago at Donelson gave place to grief over Shiloh. Private letters from soldiers to their homes in the Western States told of the useless slaughter and aroused a feeling of indignation toward Grant. The press and members of Congress faithfully reflected this sentiment. Washburne in the House and John Sherman in the Senate alone defended him. "There is much feeling against Grant," wrote the Senator to his brother the 10. R., X, Pt. II, 398. |
