THE "MERRIMAC" AND THE "MONITOR."
It was some weeks before Vincent was able to walk unaided. His
convalescence was somewhat slow, for the shock to the system had been a
severe one. The long railway journey had been injurious to him, for the
bandage had become somewhat loose and the broken pieces of bone had
grated upon each other, and were much longer in knitting together than
they would have been had he been treated on the spot.
As soon as he could walk he became anxious to rejoin his troop, but the
doctor said that many weeks must elapse before he would be able to
undergo the hardships of a campaign. He was reconciled to some extent to
the delay by letters from his friends with the troop and by the perusal
of the papers. There was nothing whatever doing in Virginia. The two
armies still faced each other, the Northerners protected by the strong
fortifications they had thrown up round Washington--fortifications much
too formidable to be attacked by the Confederates, held as they were by
a force immensely superior to their own, both in numbers and arms.
The Northerners were indeed hard at work, collecting and organizing an
army which was to crush out the rebellion. General Scott had been
succeeded by McClellan in the supreme command, and the new general was
indefatigable in organizing the vast masses of men raised in the North.
So great were the efforts that, in a few months after the defeat of Bull
Run, the North had 650,000 men in arms.
But while no move had at present been made against Virginia there was
sharp fighting in some of the border States, especially in Missouri and
Kentucky, in both of which public opinion was much divided, and
regiments were raised on both sides.
Various operations were now undertaken by the Federal fleet at points
along the coast, and several important positions were taken and
occupied, it being impossible for the Confederates to defend so long a
line of seacoast. The South had lost rather than gained ground in
consequence of their victory at Bull Run. For a time they had been
unduly elated, and were altogether disposed to underrate their enemies
and to believe that the struggle was as good as over. Thus, then, they
made no effort at all corresponding to the North; but as time went on,
and they saw the vastness of the preparations made for their conquest,
the people of the Southern States again bestirred themselves.
Owing to the North having the command of the sea, and shutting up all
the principal ports, they had to rely upon themselves for everything,
while the North could draw arms and ammunition and all the requisites of
war from the markets of Europe. Foundries were accordingly established
for the manufacture of artillery, and factories for muskets, ammunition,
and percussion caps. The South had, in fact, to manufacture everything
down to the cloth for her soldiers' uniforms and the leather for their
shoes; and, as in the past she had relied wholly upon the North for such
goods, it was for a time impossible to supply the troops with even the
most necessary articles.
The women throughout the States were set to work spinning and weaving
rough cloth and making uniforms from it. Leather, however, cannot be
produced all at once, and indeed, with all their efforts, the
Confederate authorities were never, throughout the war, able to provide
a sufficient supply of boots for the troops, and many a battle was won
by soldiers who fought almost barefooted, and who reshod themselves for
the most part by stripping the boots from their dead foes. Many other
articles could not be produced in the Southern States, and the
Confederates suffered much from the want of proper medicines and
surgical appliances.
For these and many other necessaries they had to depend solely upon the
ships which succeeded in making their way through the enemy's cruisers
and running the blockade of the ports. Wine, tea, coffee, and other
imported articles soon became luxuries beyond the means of all, even the
very wealthy. All sorts of substitutes were used; grain, roasted and
ground, being chiefly used as a substitute for coffee. Hitherto the
South had been principally occupied in raising cotton and tobacco,
depending chiefly upon the North for food; and it was necessary now to
abandon the cultivation of products for which they had no sale, and to
devote the land to the growth of maize and other crops for food.
By the time that the long period of inaction came to a close, Vincent
had completely recovered his strength, and was ready to rejoin the ranks
as soon as the order came from Colonel Stuart, who had promised to send
for him directly there was a prospect of active service.
One of Vincent's first questions, as soon as he became convalescent, was
whether a letter had been received from Tony. It had come, he was told,
among the last batch of letters that crossed the frontier before the
outbreak of hostilities, and Mrs. Wingfield had, as he had requested,
opened it. As had been arranged, it had merely contained Tony's address
at a village near Montreal; for Vincent had warned him to say nothing in
the letter, for there was no saying, in the troubled times which were
approaching when Tony left, into whose hands it might fall.
Vincent had, before starting, told his mother of the share he had taken
in getting the negro safely away, and Mrs. Wingfield, brought up, as she
had been, to regard those who assisted runaway slaves to escape in the
same light as those who assisted to steal any other kind of property,
was at first greatly shocked when she heard that her son had taken part
in such an enterprise, however worthy of compassion the slave might be,
and however brutal the master from whose hands he had fled. However, as
Vincent was on the point of starting for the war to meet danger, and
possibly death, in the defense of Virginia, she had said little, and
that little was in reference rather to the imprudence of the course he
had taken than to what she regarded in her own mind as its folly, and
indeed its criminality.
She had, however, promised that as soon as Tony's letter arrived she
would, if still possible, forward Dinah and the child to him, supplying
her with money for the journey, and giving her the papers freeing her
from slavery which Vincent had duly signed in the presence of a justice.
When the letter came, however, it was already too late. Fighting was on
the point of commencing, all intercourse across the border was stopped,
the trains were all taken up for the conveyance of troops, and even a
man would have had great difficulty in passing northward, while for an
unprotected negress with a baby such a journey would have been
impossible.
Mrs. Wingfield had therefore written four times at fortnightly intervals
to Tony, saying that it was impossible to send Dinah off at present, but
that she should be dispatched as soon as the troubles were over, upon
receipt of another letter from him saying that his address was
unchanged, or giving a new one. These letters were duly posted, and it
was probable that one or other of them would in time reach Tony, as
mails were sent off to Europe, whenever an opportunity offered for them
to be taken by a steamer running the blockade from a Southern port.
Dinah, therefore, still remained at the Orangery. She was well and
happy, for her life there was a delightful one indeed after her toil and
hardship at the Jacksons'; and although she was anxious to join her
husband, the knowledge that he was well and safe from all pursuit, and
that sooner or later she would join him with her child, was sufficient
to make her perfectly contented.
During Vincent's illness she had been his most constant attendant; for
her child now no longer required her care, and passed much of its time
down at the nursery, where the young children of the slaves were looked
after by two or three aged negresses past active work. She had therefore
begged Mrs. Wingfield to be allowed to take her place by the bedside of
her young master, and, after giving her a trial, Mrs. Wingfield found her
so quiet, gentle, and patient that she installed her there, and was able
to obtain the rest she needed, with a feeling of confidence that Vincent
would be well attended to in her absence.
When Vincent was well enough to be about again, his sisters were
surprised at the change that had taken place in him since he had started
a few months before for the war. It was not so much that he had grown,
though he had done so considerably, but that he was much older in manner
and appearance. He had been doing man's work,--work requiring vigilance,
activity, and courage,--and they could no longer treat him as a boy. As
he became stronger he took to riding about the plantation; but not upon
Wildfire, for his horse was still with the troop, Colonel Stuart having
promised to see that the animal was well cared for, and that no one
should ride upon it but himself.
"I hope you like Jonas Pearson better than you used to do, Vincent,"
Mrs. Wingfield said a day or two before he started to rejoin his troop.
"I can't say I do, mother," he replied shortly. "The man is very civil
to me now--too civil, in fact; but I don't like him, and I don't believe
he is honest. I don't mean that he would cheat you, though he may do so
for anything I know; but he pretends to be a violent Secessionist,
which, as he comes from Vermont, is not natural, and I imagine he would
sing a different tune if the bluecoats ever get to Richmond. Still I
have nothing particular to say against him, except that I don't like
him, and I don't trust him. So long as everything goes on well for the
Confederacy I don't suppose it matters, but if we should ever get the
worst of it you will see that fellow will be mischievous.
[Illustration: Map--THE COUNTRY BETWEEN RICHMOND AND FORT MONROE.]
"However, I hear that he has obeyed your orders, and that there has been
no flogging on the estate since I went away. In fact, as far as I can
see, he does not keep anything like such a sharp hand over the slaves as
he used to do; and in some of the fields the work seems to be done in a
very slovenly way. What his game is I don't know; but I have no doubt
whatever that he has some game in his mind."
"You are a most prejudiced boy," Mrs. Wingfield said, laughing. "First
of all the man is too strict, and you were furious about it; now you
think he is too lenient, and at once you suspect he has what you call a
game of some sort or other on. You are hard to please, indeed."
Vincent smiled. "Well, as I told you once before, we shall see. I hope I
am wrong, and that Pearson is all that you believe him to be. I own that
I may be prejudiced against him, but nothing will persuade me that it
was not from him that Jackson learned that Dinah was here, and it was to
that we owe the visit of the sheriff and the searching the plantation
for Tony. However, whatever the man is at heart, he can, as far as I
see, do you no injury as long as things go on as they are, and I
sincerely trust he will never have an opportunity of doing so."
During the winter Vincent had made the acquaintance of many of the
Southern leaders. The town was the center of the movement, the heart of
the Confederacy. It was against it, as the capital of the Southern
States, that the efforts of the Northerners were principally directed,
and to it flocked the leading men from all parts of the country.
Although every Virginian family had some of its members at the front,
and a feeling of anxiety reigned everywhere, a semblance of gayety was
kept up. The theater was opened, and parties and balls given in order to
keep up the spirits of the people by the example of those of higher
rank.
These balls differed widely in appearance from those of eighteen months
before. The gentlemen were almost all in uniform, and already calicoes
and other cheap fabrics were worn by many of the ladies, as foreign
dress materials could no longer be purchased. Mrs. Wingfield made a
point of always attending these entertainments with her daughters, which
to the young people afforded a cheerful break in the dullness and
monotony of their usual life; for owing to the absence of almost all the
young men with the army, there had been a long cessation of the pleasant
interchange of visits, impromptu parties, and social gatherings that had
formed a feature in the life of Virginia.
The balls would have been but dull affairs had only the residents of
Richmond been present; but leave was granted as much as possible to
officers stationed with regiments within a railway run of the town, and
as these eagerly availed themselves of the change from the monotony of
camp life, the girls had no reason to complain of want of partners.
Here, and at the receptions given by President Davis, Vincent met all
the leaders of the Confederacy, civil and military. Many of them had
been personal friends of the Wingfields before the Secession movement
began, and among them was General Magruder, who commanded the troops
round Richmond.
Early in the winter the general had called at the Orangery. "We are
going to make a call upon the patriotism of the planters of this
neighborhood, Mrs. Wingfield," he said, during lunch time. "You see our
armies are facing those of the Federals opposite Washington, and can
offer a firm front to any foe marching down from the North; but
unfortunately they have command of the sea, and there is nothing to
prevent their embarking an army on board ship and landing it in either
the James or the York rivers, and in that case they might make a rush
upon Richmond before there would be time to bring down troops to our
aid. I am therefore proposing to erect a chain of works between the two
rivers, so as to be able to keep even a large army at bay until
re-enforcements arrive; but to do this a large number of hands will be
required, and we are going to ask the proprietors of plantations to
place as many negroes as they can spare at our disposal."
"There can be no doubt as to the response your quest will meet with,
general. At present we have scarcely enough work for our slaves to do. I
intend to grow no tobacco next year, for it will only rot in the
warehouse, and a comparatively small number of hands are required to
raise corn crops. I have about a hundred and seventy working hands on
the Orangery, and shall be happy to place a hundred at your disposal for
as long a time as you may require them. If you want fifty more, you can
of course have them. Everything else must at present give way to the
good of the cause."
"I thank you much, Mrs. Wingfield, for your offers, and will put your
name down the first on the list of contributors."
"You seem quite to have recovered now," he said to Vincent a few minutes
afterward.
"Yes; I am ashamed of staying here so long, general. But I feel some
pain at times; and as there is nothing doing at the front, and my doctor
says that it is of importance I should have rest as long as possible, I
have stayed on. Major Ashley has promised to recall me as soon as there
is a prospect of active work."
"I think it is quite likely that there will be active work here as soon
as anywhere else," the general said. "We know pretty well what is doing
at Washington, and though nothing has been decided upon, there is a
party in favor of a landing in force here; and if so, we shall have hot
work. What do you say? If you like, I will get you a commission and
appoint you one of my aids-de-camp. Your knowledge of the country will
make you useful, and as Ashley has specially mentioned your name in one
of his dispatches, you can have the commission by asking for it.
"If there is to be fighting round here, it will be of more interest to
you defending your own home than in taking part in general engagements
for the safety of the State. It will, too, enable you to be a good deal
at home; and although, so far, the slaves have behaved extremely well,
there is no saying exactly what may happen if the Northerners come among
us. You can rejoin your own corps afterward, you know, if nothing comes
of this."
Vincent was at first inclined to decline the offer, but his mother and
sisters were so pleased at having him near them that he finally accepted
with thanks, being principally influenced by the general's last
argument, that possibly there might be trouble with the slaves in the
event of a landing in the James Peninsula by the Northerners. A few days
later there came an official intimation that he had received a
commission in the cavalry, and had at General Magruder's request been
appointed to his staff, and he at once entered upon his new duties.
Fortress Monroe, at the entrance of Hampton Roads, was still in the
hands of the Federals, and a large Federal fleet was assembled here, and
was only prevented from sailing up the James River by the _Merrimac_, a
steamer which the Confederates had plated with railway iron. They had
also constructed batteries upon some high bluffs on each side of the
river. In a short time 5000 negroes were set to work erecting batteries
upon the York River at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, and upon a line of
works extending from Warwick upon the James River to Ship Point on the
York, through a line of wooded and swampy country intersected by streams
emptying themselves into one or other of the rivers.
This line was some thirty miles in length, and would require 25,000 men
to guard it; but Magruder hoped that there would be sufficient warning
of an attack to enable re-enforcements to arrive in time to raise his
own command of about 10,000 men to that strength. The negroes worked
cheerfully, for they received a certain amount of pay from the State;
but the work was heavy and difficult, and different altogether to that
which they were accustomed to perform. The batteries by the sides of the
rivers made fair progress, but the advance of the long line of works
across the peninsula was but slow. Vincent had, upon receiving his
appointment, written at once to Major Ashley, sending his letter by Dan,
who was ordered to bring back Wildfire. Vincent stated that, had he
consulted his personal feeling, he should have preferred remaining in
the ranks of his old corps; but that, as the fighting might be close to
his home, and there was no saying what might be the behavior of the
slave population in the event of a Northern invasion, he had, for the
sake of his mother and sisters, accepted the appointment, but as soon as
the danger was over he hoped to rejoin the corps and serve under his
former commander.
Dan, on his return with Wildfire, brought a letter from the major saying
that, although he should have been glad to have had him with him, he
quite agreed with the decision at which he had, under the circumstances,
arrived. Vincent now took up his quarters at the camp formed a short
distance from the city, and much of his time was spent in riding to and
from the peninsula, seeing that the works were being carried out
according to the plan of the general, and reporting upon the manner in
which the contractors for the supply off food to the negroes at work
there performed their duties. Sometimes he was away for two or three
days upon this work; but he generally managed once or twice a week to
get home for a few hours.
The inhabitants of Richmond and its neighborhood were naturally greatly
interested in the progress of the works for their defense, and parties
were often organized to ride or drive to Yorktown, or to the batteries
on the James River, to watch the progress made. Upon one occasion
Vincent accompanied his mother and sisters, and a party of ladies and
gentlemen from the neighboring plantations, to Drury's Bluff, where an
intrenched position named Fort Darling had been erected, and
preparations made to sink vessels across the river, and close it against
the advance of the enemy's fleet, should any misfortune happen to the
_Merrimac_.
Several other parties had been made up, and each brought provisions with
them, General Magruder and some of his officers received them upon their
arrival, and conducted them over the works. After this the whole party
sat down to a picnic meal on the ground, and no stranger could have
guessed that the merry party formed part of a population threatened with
invasion by a powerful foe. There were speeches and toasts, all of a
patriotic character, and General Magruder raised the enthusiasm to the
highest point by informing them that in a few days--the exact day was a
secret, but it would be very shortly--the _Merrimac_, or, as she had
been rechristened, the _Virginia_, would put out of Norfolk Harbor, and
see what she could do to clear Hampton Roads of the fleet that now
threatened them. As they were riding back to Richmond the general said
to Vincent:
"I will tell you a little more than I told the others, Wingfield. I
believe the _Merrimac_ will go out the day after to-morrow. I wish I
could get away myself to see the affair; but, unfortunately, I cannot do
so. However, if you like to be present, I will give you three days'
leave, as you have been working very hard lately. You can start early
to-morrow, and can get down by train to Norfolk in the evening. I should
advise you to take your horse with you, and then you can ride in the
morning to some spot from which you will get a fair view of the Roads,
and be able to see what is going on."
"Thank you very much, sir," Vincent said. "I should like it immensely."
The next morning Vincent went down to Norfolk. Arriving there, he found
that, although there was a general expectation that the _Merrimac_
would shortly go out to try her strength with the enemy, nothing was
known of the fact that the next morning had been fixed for the
encounter; the secret being kept to the last, lest some spy or adherent
of the North might take the news to the fleet. After putting up his
horse Vincent went down to the navy yard, off which the _Merrimac_ was
lying.
This ship had been sunk by the Federals when, at the commencement of
hostilities, they had evacuated Norfolk. Having been raised by the
Confederates, the ship was cut down, and a sort of roof covered with
iron was built over it, so that the vessel presented the appearance of a
huge sunken house. A ram was fixed to her bow, and she was armed with
ten guns. Her steam-power was very insufficient for her size, and she
could only move through the water at the rate of five knots an hour.
"She is an ugly-looking thing," a man observed to Vincent, as he gazed
at the ship.
"Frightfully ugly," Vincent agreed. "She may be a formidable machine in
the way of fighting, but one can scarcely call her a ship."
"She is a floating battery, and if they tried their best to turn out the
ugliest thing that ever floated they could not have succeeded better.
She is just like a Noah's ark sunk down to the eaves of her roof."
"Yes, she is a good deal like that," Vincent agreed. "The very look of
her ought to be enough to frighten the Federals, even if she did nothing
else."
"I expect it will not be long before she gives them a taste of her
quality," the man said. "She has got her coal and ammunition on board,
and there's nothing to prevent her going out this evening if she wants
to."
"It will be worth seeing when she does go out to fight the Northerners,"
Vincent said. "It will be a new experiment in warfare, and, if she turns
out a success, I suppose all the navies in the world will be taking to
cover themselves up with iron."
The next morning, which was the 8th of March,--a date forever memorable
in naval annals,--smoke was seen pouring out from the funnels of the
_Merrimac_, and there were signs of activity on board the _Patrick
Henry_, of six guns, and the _Jamestown_, _Raleigh_, _Beaufort_, and
_Teazer_, little craft carrying one gun each, and at eleven o'clock they
all moved down the inlet on which Norfolk is situated. The news that the
_Merrimac_ was going out to attack the enemy had now spread, and the
whole population of Norfolk turned out and hastened down toward the
mouth of the inlet on horseback, in vehicles, or on foot, while Vincent
rode to the batteries on Sewell's Point, nearly facing Fortress Monroe.
He left his horse at a farmhouse a quarter of a mile from the battery;
for Wildfire was always restless under fire, and it was probable that
the batteries would take a share in the affair. At one o'clock some of
the small Federal lookout launches were seen to be at work signaling, a
bustle could be observed prevailing among the large ships over by the
fortress, and it was evident that the _Merrimac_ was now visible to them
as she came down the inlet. The _Cumberland_ and _Congress_ men-of-war
moved out in that direction, and the _Minnesota_ and the _St. Lawrence_,
which were at anchor, got under way, assisted by steam tugs.
The _Merrimac_ and the fleet of little gunboats were now visible from
the battery, advancing against the _Cumberland_ and _Congress_. The
former opened fire upon her at a distance of a mile with the heavy pivot
guns, but the _Merrimac_, without replying, continued her slow and
steady course toward them. She first approached the _Congress_, and as
she did so a puff of smoke burst, from the forward end of her
pent-house, and the water round the _Congress_ was churned up by a hail
of grape-shot. As they passed each other both vessels fired a broadside.
The officers in the fort, provided with glasses, could see the effect of
the _Merrimac's_ fire in the light patches that showed on the side of
the _Congress_, but the _Merrimac_ appeared entirely uninjured. She now
approached the _Cumberland_, which poured several broadsides into her,
but altogether without effect.
The _Merrimac_, without replying, steamed straight on and struck the
_Cumberland_ with great force, knocking a large hole in her side, near
the water line. Then backing off, she opened fire upon her.
For half an hour the crew of the _Cumberland_ fought with great bravery.
The ships lay about three hundred yards apart, and every shot from the
_Merrimac_ told on the wooden vessel. The water was pouring in through
the breach. The shells of the _Merrimac_ crushed in through her side,
and at one time set her on fire; but the crew worked their guns until
the vessel sank beneath their feet. Some men succeeded in swimming to
land, which was not far distant, others were saved by small boats from
the shore, but nearly half of the crew of 400 men were either killed in
action or drowned.
The _Merrimac_ now turned her attention to the _Congress_, which was
left to fight the battle alone, as the _Minnesota_ had got aground, and
the _Roanoke_ and _St. Lawrence_ could not approach near enough to
render them assistance from their draught of water. The _Merrimac_
poured broadside after broadside into her, until the officer in command
and many of the crew were killed. The lieutenant who succeeded to the
command, seeing there was no prospect of help, and that resistance was
hopeless, hauled down the flag. A gunboat was sent alongside, with
orders that the crew should leave the _Congress_ and come on board, as
the ship was to be burned. But the troops and artillery lining the shore
now opened fire on the little gunboat, which consequently hauled off.
The _Merrimac_, after firing several more shells into the _Congress_,
moved away to attack the _Minnesota_, and the survivors of the 200 men
who composed the crew of the _Congress_ were conveyed to shore in small
boats. The vessel was set on fire either by her own crew or the shells
of the _Merrimac_, and by midnight blew up.
Owing to the shallowness of the water the _Merrimac_ could not get near
enough to the _Minnesota_ to use her own small guns to advantage, and
the gunboat was driven off by the heavy ten-inch gun of the Federal
frigate, and, therefore, at seven o'clock the _Merrimac_ and her
consorts returned to Norfolk. The greatest delight was felt on shore at
the success of the engagement, and on riding back to Norfolk Vincent
learned that the ram would go out again next morning to engage the rest
of the Federal fleet.
She herself had suffered somewhat in the fight. Her loss in men was only
two killed and eight wounded; but two of her guns had the muzzles shot
off, the armor was damaged in some places, and, most serious of all, she
had badly twisted her ram in running into the _Cumberland_. Still it
appeared that she was more than a match for the rest of the Federal
fleet, and that these must either fly or be destroyed.
As the general had given him three days' leave, Vincent was able to stay
to see the close of the affair, and early next morning again rode down
to Sewell's Point, as the _Merrimac_ was to start at daybreak. At six
o'clock the ironclad came out from the river and made for the
_Minnesota_, which was still aground. The latter was seen to run up a
signal, and the spectators saw an object which they had not before
perceived coming out as if to meet the ram. The glasses were directed
toward it, and a general exclamation of surprise was heard.
"What is the thing? It looks like a raft with two round turrets upon it,
and a funnel." A moment's consideration, and the truth burst upon them.
It was the ship they had heard of as building at New York, and which had
been launched six weeks before. It was indeed the _Monitor_, which had
arrived during the night, just in time to save the rest of the Federal
fleet. She was the first regular ironclad ever built. She was a turret
ship, carrying two very heavy guns, and showing only between two and
three feet above the water.
The excitement upon both shores as these adversaries approached each
other was intense. They moved slowly, and not until they were within a
hundred yards distance did the _Monitor_ open fire, the _Merrimac_
replying at once. The fire for a short time was heavy and rapid, the
distance between the combatants varying from fifty to two hundred yards.
The _Monitor_ had by far the greatest speed, and was much more easily
turned than the Confederate ram, and her guns were very much heavier,
and the _Merrimac_, while still keeping up the fight, made toward the
mouth of the river.
Suddenly she turned and steamed directly at the _Monitor_, and before
the latter could get out of her way struck her on the side; but the ram
was bent, and her weak engines were insufficient to propel her with the
necessary force. Consequently she inflicted no damage on the _Monitor_,
and the action continued, the turret ship directing her fire at the iron
roof of the ram, while the latter pointed her guns especially at the
turret and pilot-house of the _Monitor_. At length, after a battle which
had lasted six hours, the _Monitor_ withdrew, one of the plates of her
pilot house being seriously damaged and her commander injured in the
eyes.
When her foe drew off the _Merrimac_ steamed back to Norfolk. There were
no men killed in either battle, and each side claimed a victory; the
Federals upon the ground that they had driven off the _Merrimac_, the
Confederates because the _Monitor_ had retreated from the fight. Each
vessel, however, held the strength of the other in respect; the
_Monitor_ remaining as sentinel over the ships and transports at
Fortress Monroe, while the _Merrimac_ at Norfolk continued to guard the
entrance into the James River.
As soon as the fight was over Vincent Wingfield, greatly pleased that he
had witnessed so strange and interesting a combat, rode back to Norfolk,
and the same evening reached Richmond, where his description of the
fight was received with the greatest interest and excitement.