Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/478

440 vessels. The U. S. frigate &quot; Merrimac&quot; had been scuttled by the Federals on the first evacuation of Norfolk, but the Confederates raised her, and with ingenuity which confounded their adversaries, converted her into a ship of war, roofed and ribbed with iron, and floating deep in water. Dropping down the Elizabeth river into Hampton Roads March 8th, this strange ironclad, now called the &quot; Virginia&quot; and commanded by Captain Buchanan, destroyed the U. S. sloops &quot;Cumberland &quot; and &quot;Congress,&quot; stuck the &quot;Minnesota&quot; aground in shallow water where she could not be reached, and ran off the other two Federal frigates. This gallant vessel next day attacked the newly arrived &quot; Monitor&quot; with daring gallantry, but being unable to break through the invulnerable armor by which she was protected, withdrew disabled to her former moorings.

The Confederacy will always be accorded the credit of having produced, in an extremity, with rough materials, and in a short time, a revolution in navies and maritime war. The ironclad ram now entered conspicuously upon the attention of all governments.

Another cheering event occurred which gratified the Confederate administration as a valuable auxiliary brought into action through the agencies which had been early established in Europe. The construction of the &quot;Oreta&quot; at Liverpool had been contracted for by the Confederate authorities in strict compliance with the laws respecting the obligations of neutral governments, but the building of the ship had been objected to by the United States government, and its movements were subjected to the closest scrutiny. At length, on March 23rd, the &quot;Oreta,&quot; without anything aboard which could prove her to be a war vessel, sailed from Liverpool, arrived safely at Nassau, and was taken charge of by Captain Maffit, who had escaped with a cargo of cotton from the South. Under his command the name of the vessel was changed to &quot;The Florida,&quot; and it became a