Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/446

 432 HAMPTON HAMPTON ROADS ent form were laid out by William III., and comprise 44 acres. They are in the formal Dutch style, with elevated terraces, long shady arcades, and a curious maze or labyrinth. The palace consists of three quadrangles, two of which were erected by Cardinal Wolsey, who presented them when finished to Henry VIII. The great eastern and southern fronts were erected by Sir Christopher Wren. This pal- ace contains a fine collection of pictures, inclu- ding the famous cartoons of Raphael, open to the public free of charge, and is occupied in part by persons of rank in reduced circum- stances. Edward VI. was born here, and here his mother Queen Jane Seymour died. Charles I. was for some time imprisoned here. HAMPTON. I. Wade, an American soldier, born in South Carolina in 1755, died at Colum- bia, S. C., Feb. 4, 1835. During the revolu- tionary war he served under Sumter and Ma- rion, and he was elected to congress in 1794, and again in 1802. In 1808 he was appointed a colonel in the United States army, and placed in command of one of the new regiments raised in apprehension of a war with Great Britain. In 1809 he was made brigadier general, and subsequently was placed in command at New Orleans, but in 1812 was superseded by Wil- kinson. In 1813 he was raised to the rank of major general, and was soon after placed in command of the army on Lake Champlain. He did not succeed, and resigned his commis- sion in 1814, and returned to South Carolina. He acquired a large fortune by speculations in land, and at his death was supposed to be the most wealthy planter in the United States, be- ing, as it was said, the owner of more than 3,000 slaves. II. Wade, a confederate soldier, grandson of the preceding, born at Columbia, S. C., in 1818. He graduated at the university of South Carolina, studied law, and was suc- cessively a member of the house and of the senate in the state legislature. At the com- mencement of the civil war he entered the con- federate service, and commanded the Hampton legion of cavalry at the battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded. He was made briga- dier general, served in the Chickahominy cam- paign, and was again wounded in the battle of Seven Pines. He afterward commanded a cavalry force in the army of northern Virginia, and was again wounded at Gettysburg. In 1864 he was made lieutenant general, and commanded a body of cavalry in Virginia. He was afterward sent to South Carolina, and in February, 1865, commanded the rear guard of the confederate army at Columbia. Large quantities of cotton had been stored here, and upon the approach of the Union army under Gen. Sherman, this was piled in an open square ready to be burned. Fire was set to it, which resulted in a conflagration by which a great part of the city was destroyed. A sharp discussion subsequently arose between Hamp- ton and Sherman, each charging the other with the wilful destruction of Columbia. The fact appears to be that, as far as either was con- cerned, the conflagration was purely acciden- tal. (See COLUMBIA, and CONFLAGRATION.) HAMPTON ROADS, an arm of Chesapeake bay, lying between Hampton and Norfolk, Va., form- ing the estuary of James river. It has a depth of from five to seven fathoms. The channel is commanded by Fortress Monroe, situated on a point of land on the N. shore near the en- trance. A naval action took place here, March 8, 1862, between the confederate ironclad Vir- ginia and the Union frigates Cumberland, Con- gress, and Minnesota ; and another on the 9th between the Virginia and the turret ship Moni- tor. In April, 1861, the steam frigate Merri- mack, lying at Norfolk, was seized by the con- federates, set on fire, and then scuttled and sunk. She was subsequently raised, her hull plated with railroad-iron bars, and named the Virginia. Early in March, 1862, there were ly- ing in Hampton roads the United States frigates Cumberland and Congress, the ship St. Law- rence, and the steam frigates Minnesota and Roanoke, the last named being partially disa- bled by the breaking of her shaft. On the morning of the 8th the Virginia, attended by two small steamers, came down from Norfolk, passed the Congress, receiving a harmless broad- side, which was effectively returned, and steer- ed directly for the Cumberland, which she struck with her iron-plated bow, making a large hole, and then opened fire from her battery. The Cumberland sank in 45 minutes after be- ing struck. The Congress endeavored to es- cape into shoal water, where the Virginia could not follow, but ran aground, while the Virginia took up a position close under her stern, and poured in a heavy fire, by which the frigate was soon disabled and set on fire. In eight hours the flames reached the magazine, and the vessel was blown up. The St. Lawrence and Roanoke had meanwhile got off and gone down the bay. The Minnesota lay fast aground, and was at- tacked by the three confederate vessels; but the draft of the Virginia would not permit her to come within a mile, and only one shot from her struck the Minnesota. As night came on, the confederate vessels withdrew. Besides the two frigates, the Union loss was 286 ; of whom the Cumberland lost 121 killed or drowned, the Congress 100 killed, 26 wounded, and 20 pris- oners, and the Minnesota 3 killed and 1 6 wound- ed. On the Virginia there were 2 killed and 8 wounded ; on the other confederate steamers, 4 killed and several wounded. Early the next morning the Virginia again approached the Minnesota, which was still fast aground. But in the mean while the Union ironclad Monitor, the first turreted vessel ever brought into ac- tion, had arrived from New York, and inter- posed between the Virginia and the Minne- sota. The vessels opened fire, but without giving or receiving damage, the armor of each affording perfect protection. The Virginia now again assailed the Minnesota, and received a full broadside at almost point-blank range, which