What one of the Merrimac’s Crew says of her Fight with the Monitor

From the New York Herald, 19^th.

James Thompson a sailor by vocation, a citizen of Massachusetts, and formerly a resident of this city, arrived here on Saturday night last from Norfolk, and furnishes us with a very interesting statement of affairs in rebeldom.  He was one of the crew of the Merrimac during the fight with the Monitor, having been impressed into the rebel navy, and had also been one of the crew of the rebel gunboat Lady Davis during the cruisings of that vessel off Charleston and the coast. * * * *

Having sunk the two vessels we steamed up James River, the rebel officers being in high glee, and came to an anchor about five miles from the scene of action.  Here we remained all night.  On the morning of the 9^th we prepared to go down again, the rebel officers thinking to complete the work of destruction by sinking all the vessels in the Roads.  When daylight had revealed the situation of affairs, the officers of the Merrimac discovered what they at first thought was a small tug boat, steaming towards us.  We hailed her but receiving no reply, let fly at her from one of our bow guns; but she very imprudently took no notice of the messenger we had sent and kept steaming on.  Then our officers began to be fearful of the “little cheese box,” and were fairly “trembling in their shoes” for the result of a contest with her. – They soon found out what she was.  Soon the little Monitor sent us her compliments in the shape of a round shot, which struck a gun on our starboard side, broke it completely in two, killed two and wounded four of the crew.  The firing was then kept up for about three hours, the vessels being very often side by side.  After an hour’s firing the Merrimac thought to try the virtue of her plough on her antagonist, and struck her with it amidships.  The effect produced was very unsatisfactory to the rebel, however.  The Monitor then turned on her giant compeer and struck her rudder, producing great consternations on board, but not rendering the rudder unserviceable.  Every time the two guns from the Monitor were discharged, each of the two shots seemed to strike us in nearly the same spot, bursting in the timbers of the Merrimac, loosening the bolts of the iron plates, and timbers, and doing us very great damage generally.  It was noticeable also that her shots struck us near the water line, and caused our vessel to leak badly.

Mr. Thompson also corroborates what we published some time since from the Richmond Dispatch, that the iron plates on the Merrimac were welded together in many instances by the heat and force of the Monitor’s shot.  The Merrimac’s crew, during the engagement, were made to swear that if a large number of rebels on board were killed, they would not reveal the fact to any one on their arrival at Norfolk.  Seeing that the tide of battle was against us, we were ordered to “’bout ship” and put back to Norfolk.  We had not proceeded far when we grounded, and orders had been already given to scuttle the ship, when we made another effort to get off the shoal, and succeeded, and we made our way up to Norfolk slowly, arriving there at six P. M., with about six feet of water in the hold.  The rebel steamer Patrick Henry, which bore down to the Monitor during the fight, was driven back by a shot and having steam turned on her from the Monitor’s boiler.  She had six men scalded and two badly wounded.  After reaching Norfolk she was put upon the dry dock for repairs, and for five weeks men were working on her night and day, giving her a thorough overhauling.  When destroyed she was in excellent condition, and her loss, Mr. Thompson thinks, will prove incalculable to the rebels.  While these repairs were going on great fear was expressed that the Monitor might come up Elizabeth river and shell the city.  If she had done so no resistance could or would have been offered (as the authorities and people were frightened at the very name of her,) and the evacuation of the batteries and the city was already decided on in the event of her visit.  Commodore Buchanan was badly wounded in the thigh, and was taken, immediately on our arrival, to the hospital, where, at last accounts, he still remains.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 24, 1862, p. 2