Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. See note on “Paul Revere.”
The battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, during which the _Cumberland_ was
sunk by the Confederate ram _Merrimac_, was fought March 9, 1862. Morris
(George Upham, 1830-1875), who was temporarily commanding the
_Cumberland_, entered the navy early in life as a midshipman, and served
until the year before his death. He took part in a number of engagements
during the Rebellion, and was wounded at Fort Darling. An incident of
the _Cumberland-Merrimac_ battle is described by George H. Boker (see
“The Black Regiment”) in a poem entitled