g a port. At a little past two the
mailed frigate had approached the "Cumberland" within grape-shot
distance. Fire was opened upon her with the heaviest guns; and
officers and men watched breathlessly the course of their shot, and
cried aloud with rage, or groaned in despair, as they saw them fall
harmlessly from the iron ship. Still they had no thought of surrender.
The fire of the "Cumberland" was received silently by the "Merrimac;"
and she came straight on, her sharp prow cutting viciously through the
water, and pointed straight for her victim. A second broadside, at
point-blank range, had no effect on her. One solid shot was seen to
strike her armored sides, and, glancing upward, fly high into the air,
as a baseball glances from the bat of the batsman; then, falling, it
struck the roof of the pilot-house, and fell harmlessly into the sea.
In another instant the iron ram crashed into the side of the
"Cumberland," cutting through oaken timbers, decks, and cabins. At the
same time all the guns that could be brought to bear on the Northern
frigate were discharged; and shells crashed through her timbers, and
exploded upon her decks, piling splinters, guns, gun-carriages, and
men in one confused wreck. Had not the engines of the ram been
reversed just before striking the frigate, her headway would have
carried her clear to the opposite side of the doomed ship, and the
"Cumberland," in sinking, would have carried her destroyer to the
bottom with her. As it was, the "Merrimac," with a powerful wrench,
drew out of the wreck she had made, loosening her iron prow, and
springing a serious leak in the operation. She drew off a short
distance, paused to examine the work she had done, and then, as if
satisfied, started to complete the destruction of the "Congress."

And well might the men of the "Merrimac" be satisfied with their
hour's work. The "Cumberland" was a hopeless wreck, rapidly sinking.
Her decks were bloodstained, and covered with dead men, and scattered
arms and legs, torn off by the exploding shells. And yet her brave
crew stuck to their guns, and fought with cool valor, and without a
vestige of confusion. They had had but a few moments to prepare for
action; and the long rows of clothes, drying in the rigging, told how
peaceful had been their occupation before the "Merrimac" appeared upon
the scene. Yet now that the storm of battle had burst, and its issue
was clearly against them, these men stood to their guns, al