navy

for the Confederacy as fast as they could work. Nearly all the Confederate vessels of any service were constructed in Eng

lish dockyards.

The first privateer which became formidable to the commerce of the North was the Florida, called in her early history the Oreto. The Florida was built at Birkenhead, nominally for the use of Italy. The American minister had learned her real destination, and warned the British government against letting her go. The Florida sailed for Nassau (Bahamas) under the British flag, with every preparation for the reception of guns and munitions of war, which were brought on another vessel, and taken to Grand Key (an uninhabitable island of the Bahamas), and equipped for the work of a cruiser. The British flag was hauled down and the Confederate flag hoisted. Within three months she had burnt thirteen vessels, and taken two for use as Confederate cruisers. After roving the sea for more than two years, she was captured by the United States cruiser Wachusett in the neutral harbor of Bahia, Brazil. Both vessels had permission to remain in the harbor for forty-eight hours to coal and for repairs. The Wachusett crashed into the Florida and opened fire upon her, which compelled her to surrender. She was towed out to sea. The capture of the Florida was a violation of the rights of neutral nations.

The Government disavowed the act of Collins, commander of the Wachusett, and offered apologies to Brazil. The vessel and crew were to be returned to Bahia, but she was sunk by an "unforeseen accident," near Hampton Roads.

THE ALABAMA. Of all the Confederate cruisers, the Alabama was by far the most famous. She was built at Birkenhead, near Liverpool, by the house of Laird, expressly for Confederate service. While under process of construction she was called the "290." It was not until she had put to sea and hoisted the Confederate flag, and Captain Semmes appeared on her deck in full Southern uniform, that she took the name Alabama.

During her career she captured sixty-six Northern vessels. Her plan was always the same. Hoisting the British flag, and decoying her intended victim within reach, she would suddenly raise the Confederate colors, and capture her prize. An American captain saw far off in the night the burning flames of a vessel. Hastening to rescue the crew of the burning ship, he was made prisoner by the Alabama, which still remained in the same waters as the ship which he had burned.

The Alabama did not do much fighting. She preyed upon merchant vessels that could not fight. Only twice did she engage in any conflict. The first time was with the Hatteras, a small blockading ship, which was sunk in a short time. The second encounter took place off the coast of Cherbourg, France, June 19, 1864, with the United States warship Kearsarge, whose size and armament were about equal to her own. In an hour the Alabama was completely shattered, and went down with many of her crew killed and wounded. No one was killed on board the Kearsarge-though three men were wounded, one mortally. Captain Semmes and thirty-eight others were picked up by the British ship Deerhound, that had been hovering around to wit

ness the battle. Instead of communicating with Captain John A. Winslow, of the Kearsarge, after the rescue, the Deerhound pursued a hasty flight to England. The destruction of the "terror to American commerce" caused great rejoicing in the North, but the escape of her commander took from the victory a reason for the happiest applause.

MERRIMAC AND MONITOR, BATTLE BETWEEN, MARCH 9, 1862. After the abandonment of Norfolk by the Federals, the Confederates took possession of the navy yard, and began to make use of what had not been consumed by the flames. Among the ships burned was the frigate Merrimac. The lower part of her hull and engines and boilers were practically unhurt. The vessel was raised, and rebuilt as an ironclad. Her sloping sides were covered with a double coating of iron plates, each two inches thick. A cast-iron ram projecting four feet was attached to the bow of the vessel, which was rechristened the Virginia, by the Confederates.

The news of the construction of this formidable ironclad led the Government to exert every effort to complete the Monitor in season to meet the first movements of the Merrimac. Corresponding efforts were made by the Confederates to have the latter vessel completed first, to make a raid upon the wooden vessels of the United States which were blockading the Chesapeake. This extra effort resulted in preparing the Merrimac for use one day in advance of her little antagonist.

In the harbor off Fortress Monroe at that time, were the Union frigates Minnesota, Roanoke, St. Lawrence, and several

gunboats. Off Newport News, seven miles above, which was strongly fortified by a Federal garrison, were anchored the frigate Congress and the sloop Cumberland. These vessels carried heavy batteries and were excellent vessels of their kind, but were not calculated to stand against an ironclad. Realizing that he could not be harmed by these war vessels, the commander of the Merrimac, on the 8th day of March, 1862, steamed leisurely into the midst of the Union vessels and began the work of destruction. Steering straight for the Cumberland and Congress, he struck the former vessel in the side at right angles, and made a great opening into which the water poured. The brave crew of the Cumberland continued the unequal contest with as much heroism as was ever seen in naval battle. Driven from the lower deck by the water, they continued to operate the pivot guns on the upper deck, until the vessel went down with colors still flying. The Congress grounded; and, in her helpless condition, she was compelled to surrender, and was consigned to the flames by the Confederates. The ebb tide and approaching night prevented the Merrimac from making an attack on the remaining Union vessels, so she retired to Sewell's Point, a few miles away, to anchor for the night, with the expectation of completing the work in the morning. It is probably no exaggeration to say that the Confederate ironclad could have destroyed all the wooden vessels at that time in the Federal navy, had they been within reach, and unsupported by fort or monitor.

At 9 P. M. the Monitor made its appearance. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded the fleet. The pygmy aspect of the "cheese

box," as the Monitor was called, did not inspire much confidence among those who had seen the destruction of the Cumberland and the Congress. She took a station amid wreck and disaster, near the Minnesota, which was aground. On Sunday morning, March 9, the Merrimac moved from anchor to attack the Minnesota. The little Monitor moved

forward to meet her,

while the wooden vessels turned and fled. Then commenced one of the greatest naval combats recorded in history. It revolutionized the navies of the world, and introduced a class of ironclads in place of the vulnerable wooden vessels.

The conflict was long, furious, and at close quarters; neither vessel was very seriously injured. The Merrimac withdrew, however, to Norfolk in a leaking condition, while the Monitor remained in possession of the field. The former guarded the James river, the latter protected the Chesapeake. On the evacuation of Norfolk by the Confederates, in May, 1862, the Merrimac was destroyed. The Monitor went down in a storm at sea while on her way to Charleston, and only a few of her crew were saved.

The Monitor was designed by Captain John Ericsson, who was a native of Sweden. He served in the army and navy of that country, pursued the profession of an engineer in England, and came to America in 1839. The Monitor consisted of a small iron hull 124 feet long, 34 feet wide. On the top of the hull was a boat-shaped raft, covered with iron plates. On the top of the deck there was mounted a turret, 20 feet in diameter and nine feet high, covered with eight one-inch iron plates riv