almost
impossible to paint in words the scene which the great artist has here
perpetuated with his brush. The water is incomparable and the effect of
the shipping as a background, the bright afternoon sun, with the stars
and stripes on the "Cumberland," and the stars and bars, the emblem of
the Confederacy, on the stern of the death-dealing Southern monster, the
crowded deck of the "Cumberland," in contrast with the apparently
unmanned craft of the enemy, all add to the thrilling and vivid effect
of the extraordinary combat itself.

When the news of the destruction wrought by the "Merrimac" reached the
North the general consternation was indescribable. At a hastily called
Cabinet meeting the then Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, is
reported to have said: "The 'Merrimac' will change the whole character
of the war; she will destroy every naval vessel; she will lay all
seaboard cities under contribution; not unlikely we may have a shell or
cannon ball from one of her guns in the White House before we leave this
room." But the fate of the "Merrimac" was sealed, for while she was
being moulded out of the old Federal hulk into the terrifying ram, with
great ingenuity, by Constructor John L. Porter, with the assistance of
Chief Engineer William P. Williamson, after some rough drawings prepared
by Lieutenant John N. Brook, who originated the idea of her
construction, all then of the Confederate navy--through a strange
coincidence a genius had been at work in the North perfecting the
world-renowned little "Monitor," which was soon to meet the formidable
Southern iron-clad in battle, the history of which is suggested by the
next painting of the series. It is also strange that in two of the most
noted dramas in the records of our navy, the one above recounted, and
that, already referred to, in which Lieutenant Hobson later bore so
heroic a part, the most conspicuous objects were vessels which were both
known as the "Merrimac." The valor of Lieutenant Morris, in the part
which he bore in the defence of the "Cumberland," has been immortalized
not only through this canvas, but also through a special message of
Abraham Lincoln to Congress under date of December 10, 1862, as follows:

"In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I most cordially
recommend that Lieutenant-Commander George U. Morris, United States
Navy, receive a vote of thanks of Congress for the determined valor
and heroism displayed in his de