The great Naval victory.
full particulars.
departure of the fleet — the enemy surprised — terrible cannonade — the
Cumberland and Congress Destroyed — Incidents of the fight, &c., &c.
We copy from the Norfolk
Day Book, of yesterday, the subjoined graphic description of the great Naval battle on the 8th and 9th of March:
‘
On the morning of the 8th, the steam frigate
Virginia,
Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, Commanding, left her moorings at the
Dock-Yard, and, attended by the steam-tugs ‘"
Beaufort,"’
Lieut. Commanding
Parker, and the ‘"
Raleigh,"’
Lieut. Commanding
Alexander, steamed down the harbor.
It was a gallant sight to see the iron-clad
Leviathan gliding noiselessly through the water, flying the red pennon of her commander at the fore flag-staff, and the gay Confederate ensign after.
Not the least impressive thought which she suggested, was that her gallant crew, under a commander and officers worthy to direct their destiny and defend the flag she bore, went thus boldly with smiles and huzzas to solve a new problem in maritime warfare — to make the ‘"trial trip"’ of the ‘"
Virginia"’ the trial of battle?
Nor could any man behold the little tugs with their gay ensigns at peak and masthead, their battle flags set, steaming in her wake, without an emotion of admiration for the brave men they thus bore, and a prayer for their deliverance.
In the wake of all came the
Port Admiral with a staff of naval officers.
Thus down the harbor, past the wharves, thronged with eager citizens, past the batteries, whose parapets were dark with soldiers, steamed the squadron.
Through the two barricades and then the
Virginia put her helm a-starboard, and took the
South channel.
Meantime the morning was still as that of a Sabbath.
The two frigates lay with their boats at the booms and wash clothes in the rigging.
Did they see the long dark hull?
Had they made her out?
was it ignorance, apathy, or composure?
Those were the questions we discussed as we steamed across the flats to the south of the frigate, with the two gallant little gunboats well on our starboard beam heading up for the enemy.
Our doubts were solved by the heavy boom of a gun from beyond
Sewall's Point.
The reverberation rolled across the sun-lit water and died away, but still the clothes hung in the rigging, still the boats lay at the booms.
Another gun, (twenty minutes past one,) broke on the air, and a tug started from Newport News, while at the same time two others left
Old Point, taking the channel inside
Hampton bar. Steadily, with a grim and ominous silence, the
Virginia glides through the water, steadily and with defiant valor the
Beaufort and
Raleigh followed where she led. At ten minutes to two, a rifle gun from one of these little vessels rang out, then a white puff from her consort.
Still the clothes in the rigging, still the boats at the boom?
Was this confidence?
It could not be ignorance.
Did it mean torpedoes, submarine batteries, infernal machines?
The gunboats have fired again, and led here away to the eastward were the
Roanoke and
Minnesota rising like prodigious castles above the placid water, the first under steam, the second in tow. Other puffs of smoke, other sharp reports from the gunboats, but the
Virginia goes on steadily, silently to do her work.
Now the in-shore frigate, the
Cumberland, fires, now the
Virginia close aboard, now
Sewell's Point battery, now the
Minnesota, now the
Roanoke, now the air trembles with the cannonade.
Now the
Virginia delivers both broadsides, now she runs full against the
Cumberland's starboard bow, now the smoke clears away and she appears to be heading up
James river.
This at 22 minutes to 2.
The Congress now lets fall fore-topsail and then the main, and so, with a tug alongside, starts down the
North channel, where the
Minnesota has grounded, and presently runs plump ashore.
Meanwhile the
Virginia opens upon the
Yankee fort; slowly she steams back, and the
Cumberland, sunk now to her white streak, opens upon her again A gallant man fought that ship — a man worthy to have maintained a better cause.
Gun after gun he fired; lower and lower sunk his ship; his last discharge comes from his pivot gun, the ship lurches to starboard, now to port, his flag streams out wildly, and now the
Cumberland goes down on her beam ends, at once a monument and an epitaph of the gallant men who fought her. The Virginia stops.
Is she aground?
And the gunboats?
Raleigh and
Beaufort!
glorious
Parker!
glorious
Alexander!
there they are on the quarters of the
Congress hammering away, and creeping up closer and closer all the time.
At ten minutes to 4 the
Congress struck.
Parker hauled down the ensign, run up his own battle flag in its place; there the heroic
Taylor, who fought the
Fanny at
Roanoke Island and
Elizabeth City, got his wound — there the gallant young
Hutter fell, all shot by the dastards who fired from the ship and shore when the white flag was flying at the main and mizzen of the
Congress!
Here, too, and in the same way,
Flag-Officer Buchanan, and
Flag-Lieut. R
Minor were wounded.
Now, the
James River gunboats, whose dark smoke had been seen against the blue distance ever since 8 o'clock, came dashing along past the shore batteries.
Tucker, the courtly and chivalrous, leading the van with
the Jamestown,
Lieut. Commanding Batney, close aboard, and the little
Teaser,
Lieut. Webb, in her wake — like a bowlegged bull-dog in chase of the long, lean, stag hounds.
It was a gallant dash, and once past the batteries, the two heavy vessels took position in line of battle, while the
Teaser dashed at the
Minnesota, looking no larger than a cock-boat.
And right well she maintained the honor of her flag and the appropriateness of her name.--Now the
Roanoke puts her helm up and declines the battle.
Now the
Virginia is thundering away again.
The Teaser is still closer in. We are closer in — size comes a shell ahead; presently another astern; finally a third, with a clear, sharp whizz, just over head, to the great delight of the
Commodore, who appreciated the compliment of these good shots, which were the last of six directed shots at the ‘"Harmony."’ Now the schooner ‘"
Reindeer"’ comes foaming along, cut out from under the shore batteries, she reports, and is sent up in charge of
acting Master Gibbs.
And next the gallant
Beaufort runs down.
Parker steps and brings on board the great piece of bunting we saw hauled down just now. He brings also some thirty prisoners and some wounded men — men wounded under that white flag yonder desecrated by the
Yankees.
One of these lies stretched out, decently covered over, gasping out his life on the deck — a Yankee shot through the head, all bloody and ghastly, killed by the inhuman fire of his own people.
Another pale and stern, the
Captain of the
Beaufort's gun, lies there too, a noble specimen of a man who has since gone where the weary are at rast.
A gallant man, a brave seaman!--We shake hands with
Parker, he gets back to his vessel slightly wounded, as is
Alexander also, and steams back gallantly to the fight.
The
Patrick Henry, the
Jamestown, the
Teaser, the
Beaufort, the
Raleigh, and the grand old
Virginia are all thundering away.
We steam down and speak the first.
We hear a report of casualties; we shake hands with friends; we shove off, cheer, and steam towards the
Swash channel.
Presently, through the thickening gloom, we see a red glare; it grows larger, and brighter, and fuller, and redder.
It creeps higher and higher, and now gun after gun booming on the still night, as the fire reaches them; the batteries of the
Congress are discharged across the water in harmless thunder.
It was a grand sight to see; and by the light of the burning ship we made our way back to Norfolk At half-past 11 the act of retribution was complete, for at that hour, with a great noise, she blew up.
’
Additional details.
We append further details of the fight, with an account of the casualties on both sides:
The attack upon the Cumberland.
The Virginia on approaching her and getting within point blank range, fired her bow gun several times, and ran into her, striking her fairly with her ram, which made her reel to and fro and sent her speedily to the bottom; but while going down, we understand, the after gun of the
Cumberland was discharged at the
Virginia, with what injury we know not.
The object in first getting rid of the
Cumberland was probable to destroy the very heavy armament which that frigate carried, it being the heaviest in the
Yankee Navy.
The officers and crew of the
Cumberland made their escape as best they could, many of them being captured by our gunboats.
The wounded on board it is believed wand down with the vessel.
The frigate Condense.
The Virginia next turned her attention to the
Congress, which vessel, it is said, gallantly resisted her inevitable fate for nearly an hour; but finally finding the ship rapidly staking, she hauled down her colors and made for the beach, where she was run as high aground as possible.
Her officers and crew were taken off by our gunboats, and while she had her flag of truce hoisted, and was being relieved of her killed and wounded by our boats, the
Yankees on shore at Newport News, disregarding the flag of truce, with Minnie muskets, fired into her, and killed several of their own men and slightly wounded in the arm
Mr. John Hopkins, one of our plicts, attached to the
Beaufort.
While the
Virginia was engaged with the
Congress, with her how gun she poured broadside after broadside into the shore batteries of the enemy at Newport News. One discharge from the bow-gun of the
Virginia, says of the priestess, capsized two of the guns of the
Congress, willing of her crow
and taking off the head of
a Lieut. Smith, and literally tore the ship to pieces.
The Minnesota and it Lawrence come up.
While the engagement was going on between the two frigates and the
Virginia, the enemy's steam frigate
Minnesota put out from
Old Point to their assistance.
She laid well ever towards Newport News, but not entirely out of the range of our batteries on
Sewell's Point, which opened on her, with what effect we are unable to say, but she replied to them without any damage whatever.
The
Minnesota got aground when within a mile or two of Newport News Point.
There she stuck, unable to get off, while the Confederate steamers
Patrick Henry and
Jamestown peppered her with their batteries, while the
Virginia was attending to the shore batteries at Newport News.
The frigate
St. Lawrence then came up to the assistance of the
Minnesota, and she also got aground, and a steam frigate, supposed to be the
Roanoke, put off from
Old Point with the same intention, it is supposed: but seeing the sad havoc which the
Virginia was playing with the
Federal vessels, she put back to
Old Point.
Casualties.
The Virginia had two men killed and some five or six wounded. A shot entered the porthole and struck the gun on the mixable, knocking off a piece nine inches long..This disabled the gun, which was immediately replaced by another of the same calibre.
Captain Buchanan and
Lieutenant Minor, of the
Virginia, are said to be wounded — the former slightly, the latter severely.
On board the
Patrick Henry, a shot entered one of her ports, we understand, and passed through one of her boilers, disabling it. She was compelled to haul off temporarily for repairs.
There were four men killed and three wounded on board of her. Other damage not material.
On board the gunboat
Raleigh,
Midshipman Hutter was killed.
Prises.
Several small prises were said to have been taken by our gunboats from the
Yankees, one of which, the schooner
Reindeer, was brought up to the
Navy-Yard on Saturday night. Two others were said to have been carried over to
Pig Point on Saturday.
The battle on Sunday.
Some detention occurred on board the
Virginia on Sunday morning, we learn, or she would have commenced the engagement much earlier than 8½ o'clock; at which time she, together with the
Patrick Henry and
Jamestown, and our other gunboats, opened fice on the
Minnesota, which still lies hard and fast aground.
The tide being at the ebb, the
Virginia did not take the channel where the
Minnesota lay probably for fear of grounding, but getting within a good range of her, she opened fire with terrible effect, completely ridding her, and rendering constant exertion at the pump necessary to prevent her from filling.
Early in the morning, the
Ericson Batters, now called the
Monitor, was discovered off Newport News Point, she having gone up there during the night.
A sharp encounter soon took place between her and the
Virginia, during which time they were frequently not more than 30 or 40 yards apart.
Unfortunately, the
Virginia ran aground, and the Ericson using her advantage, poured shot after shot into her, but without doing any serious damage.
In a short while, however, the
Virginia succeeded in getting off, and putting on full head of steam, ran her bow into the Ericson, doing, as it is thought, great damage.
We are rejoiced to say that notwithstanding the firing was much heavier than on Saturday, there were no casualties on either of our vessels — not a man being in the least injured by shots from the enemy or otherwise.
Seve all of the enemy's gunboats being within range, they were favored with a shell or two from the
Virginia with telling effect, and in every case disabling or sinking them.
One of these laying along-side the
Minnesota had a shell thrown aboard of her, which on bursting tore her asunder, and sent her to the bottom.
Having completely riddled the
Minnesota, and disabled the
St. Lawrence and Monitor, besides, as stated above, destroying several of the enemy's gunboats — in a word, having accomplished all that they designed, and having no more material to work upon, our noble vessels left the scene of their triumphs and returned to the yard, where they await another opportunity of displaying their prowess.
The enemy's loss, killed and wounded, during the two day's battle, is exceedingly large, and estimated at from six to twelve hundred.
The scene around the
Congress is represented as heart-stricken.
The officers of the
Beaufort, who ran alongside of her on Saturday night, and who boarded her for the purpose of removing the wounded, and who were brutally fired upon by the enemy while engaged in this work of mercy to their own kith and kin, represented the deck of the vessel as literally covered with the dead and dying.
One of them assures us that as he went from fore to aft, his shoes were well nigh buried in blood and brains.
Arms, legs, and heads, were found scattered in every direction, while here and there, in the agonies of death, would be found poor deluded wretches, with their breasts torn completely out.
Of the crew of the
Cumberland but few survived to tell the tale.
As she went down her crew went with her, except some few who were taken as prisoners by us, and a few others who escaped to the shore.
Out of the five hundred aboard of her, it is estimated that not over a hundred at most escaped, the remainder either being killed by our shot or drowned as the vessel went down.
Of course, the greater part of those on board the gunboats were also drowned, as there was not sufficient time for them to have made their escape.
Added to this, very many in the camps of the enemy at Newport News were killed by the shells which the
Virginia threw among them.
On our side the loss was indeed small, and when we consider the storm of shell to which at times they were subjected, we can but wonder while we rejoice that so few of them suffered injury.
On the
Virginia there were two killed and eight wounded. Among the wounded, we regret to mention,
Capt Buchanan and
Lt. Minor.
These wounds, however, we are happy to state, are but slight.
On the
Raleigh,
Midshipman Mutter was killed, and
Captains Taylor and
Alexander wounded, the first-mentioned quite severely.
On the
Seaport Gunner W
Robinson and two seamen were wounded.
This was all the damage sustained by this vessel among her men. Two Yankee prisoners aboard of her were struck by the balls of their friends, one of them killed and the other severely wounded.
The former was standing in the door of the wardrobe at the time the
Beaufort was alongside the
Congress, and one of the shower of balls sent by the enemy on shore from their Minnie muskets, struck him on the forehead, penetrating his brain and killing him almost instantly.
On the
Teaser, one man was wounded very slightly.
On the
Patrick Henry, four men were killed and three wounded. While the loss of the enemy is counted by hundreds, ours, as will be soon from the above, amounts to only seven killed and 17 wounded.
This loss on our part, as small as it is, was not the work of the enemy's shots from their vessels, but the result, for the most part, of the fire of muskets from shore.
During the contest the mainmast of the
Raleigh was carried away.
The flag-staffs of the
Virginia were also cut down.
The report that the
Congress was fired by the
Federals to prevent her falling into our hands, is without a shadow of truth.
She was fired by hot shot from the
Virginia, for firing into our boats while she had a flag of truce at the times flying, after she had struck her colors and surrendered to us.
Among the prisoners taken off the
Congress was the slave
Sam, the property of —
Drummond,
Esq., of this city, who escaped to the enemy some time in October last.
He is now safe, having reached his home sooner, and under different circumstances, than he anticipated.
On the arrival of the
Virginia at the yard, her men were mustered and addressed by the
commanding officer in terms of praise for their noble bearing during the engagement.
They responded with hearty cheers, and expressed a desire to again re-enact the scenes through which they had just passed, whenever opportunity presented.
The injury sustained by the
Patrick Henry was not as great as at first supposed — being so trifling that a few hours' repairs were sufficient to place her in readiness for action.
The officers of the
Virginia are represented as having acted with the utmost courage and bravery during the contest it is related of
Captain Buchanan that during the thickest of the fight he remained on the deck of the
Virginia, and that be discharged musket after musket at the enemy as they were handed up to him. It was while thus exposed that he received the wound of which mention is made above.
It is said that all of the batteries on Newport News were silenced except one, and that our shot and shell were thrown with such unerring aim and precision among the enemy that great numbers of them were killed and wounded.
