The daring Commander of the _Merrimac_, while McClellan was encamped
before Yorktown, had appeared in Hampton Roads and challenged the whole
Federal fleet again to fight. The _Monitor_ had taken refuge under the
guns of Fortress Monroe and refused to come out. The ugly duckling of
the Confederacy, in plain view of the whole Federal fleet and witnessed
by French and English vessels, captured three schooners and carried them
into port as prizes of war.

When Norfolk was abandoned, the iron-clad drew so much water she could
only ascend the James by lightening her until her wooden sides showed
above the water line. She was therefore set on fire and blown up on
Johnston's retreat uncovering the banks of the James to the artillery of
McClellan.

The Federal fleet could now dash up the James.

They did this immediately on the news of the destruction of the
Confederate iron-clad.

On May fifteenth, the _Galena_, the _Aroostook_, the _Monitor_, the
_Port Royal_, and the _Stevens_ steamed up the river without opposition
to Drury's Bluff within twelve miles of the Capital of the South. A
half-finished fort mounting four guns guarded this point. The river was
also obstructed by a double row of piles and sunken vessels.

If the eleven-inch guns of the _Monitor_ could be brought to bear on
this fort, it was a problem how long the batteries could be held in
action.

The wildest alarm swept Richmond. The railroads were jammed with frantic
people trying to get out. The depots were piled with mountains of
baggage it was impossible to move. A mass meeting was held on the night
the fleet ascended the river which was addressed by Governor Letcher and
Mayor Mayo.

The Governor ended his speech with a sentence that set the crowd wild
with enthusiasm.

"Sooner than see our beloved city conquered to-day by our enemies we
will lay it in ashes with our own hands!"

The Legislature of Virginia showed its grit by passing a resolution
practically inviting the President of the Confederacy to lay the city in
ruins if he deemed wise:

"_Resolved_, That the General Assembly hereby expresses its desire
that the Capital of the State be _defended to the last extremity_,
if such defense is in accordance with the views of the President
of the Confederate States, and that the President be assured that
whatever destruction and loss of property of the State or of
individuals shall thereby result, will be cheerfully submitt