Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 12.djvu/45

Rh works at Richmond. The vessel was not constructed a day too soon, for the United States authorities were hurrying up the Monitor. Professor Soley says:

It was a race of constructors ; and in spite of the difficulties at the South, and the comparative facilities at the command of the department at Washington, the Confederates were the winners. The secret of their success lay in promptness of preparation.