e of this picture suggests not only the unequal character of the
fight which the wooden ship "Cumberland" fought against the iron-clad
"Merrimac," the first iron-clad that ever sailed in American waters, but
also recalls to mind the contrast between the steel-armored battleships
of the navies of the world of to-day and the wooden hulks which
prevailed up to that time. It is a long span of time from the battle of
brave Captain Reid in the harbor of Fayal in 1814 to the year 1861, but
during that half century little progress had been made in supplying the
ships of our navy with protecting devices, as there had likewise been
little occasion for naval warfare. In fact, outside of the Mexican War
and fights with the Indians, the country was at peace with itself as
well as with the outside world, and it was not until the great struggle
for the preservation of the Union called the whole country to arms, both
on sea and land, that the opportunity was again presented for the
shedding of additional lustre on our naval history.

The most thrilling and startling of all the events on the sea, during
this sanguinary conflict, followed when, at noon on March 8, 1862, a
novel craft, such as had never been seen before, was cut loose from her
moorings in Norfolk, and, after having steamed down the Elizabeth River,
was seen to head boldly for Newport News, where lay the United States
frigate "Congress" of fifty guns, under the command of Lieutenant Joseph
B. Smith, and the twenty-four gun sloop of war "Cumberland," in charge
of Lieutenant George U. Morris during the temporary absence of its
commander, William Radford, two of the fleet of national ships, all
riding at anchor in fancied security, without a thought of the death and
destruction which the appearance of the stranger portended. It was an
odd-looking craft--the "Merrimac," as it is generally called--more like
a house afloat than a war ship, and the officers of the Federal ships
were at first inclined to belittle its importance. The undertaking of
the "Merrimac" itself (or "Virginia," as she was called by the
Confederates) was one of great courage, the vessel in its last stages
having but just been converted into an iron-clad, in great haste, out of
the hulk of a sunken old style man-of-war (the "Merrimac"), which had
been raised by the Confederates. The experiment was a new one; the men
had not been drilled; its armament had never been tested, and its
commander, Commodore Buchanan