THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503120326
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
All it took was a whistle from the boatswain's pipe Saturday for the calendar to flip back to 1862.
And the Monitor and the Virginia were at it again.
Those two Civil War ships clashed 133 years ago in what is considered Hampton Roads most famous fight: the Battle of the Ironclads. It marked the beginning of modern naval engineering, the first time ironclad warships squared off.
But this time was all in fun as the Norfolk Historical Society and Nautical Adventures joined forces in a re-enactment and encampment at Fort Norfolk.
Minutes before 1 p.m., the taunt went out: ``You're dead meat.'' The battle was on.
Aboard the Virginia - don't call it the Merrimack - the crew scrambled to load the guns.
``Give it to 'em, all three,'' ordered Bill Whorton, captain of the confederate vessel.
A few seconds passed.
``Fire!'' he shouted. ``Fire! Don't hold back!''
Black smoke and the smell of gunpowder drifted through the wardroom. The gunners never stopped moving, working to cram about one-quarter pound of gunpowder into each gun before firing.
``Incoming starboard,'' Whorton yelled from the pilothouse. ``Watch yourself.''
Boom. A jolt. The ship rocked.
``Fire anything you got on port,'' he yelled.
``We got a hang fire,'' shouted acting engineer Blane Piper. ``Watch it.''
From the aft, gunners cheered as the gun finally fired.
``We're right beside 'em,'' the captain shouted minutes later. ``We can hit the flag with this one. This is a flag shot. Fire forward to aft and we'll take their flag out.''
About 10 seconds went by.
``You missed,'' he said.
Acting engineer Piper is a 50-year-old veteran Navy radioman who runs a Civil War store in Fredericksburg. Piper has been part of the Confederate Navy for two years and has been doing re-enactments for 15. ``The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys,'' he shouted over the pounding gunfire. ``We're having the time of our lives.''
Gunners have come away bleeding from mock battles before, when unburned gunpowder comes back at them, he said. Aboard the actual ships, the concussions from the other ship's gunfire were enough to cause ear and nosebleeds.
When the Virginia sailed later Saturday, Ian Frye, 16, a ninth-grader at Booker T. Washington High School, was aboard as a gunner.
Frye, who wore a Richmond, or charcoal gray, wool sailor's uniform, said he learned about the battle in history class. But participating makes it more real. ``When I go out, I learn a little bit more,'' he said.
The battle in 1862 took about four hours and occurred within five miles of Saturday's strife. The replica ships are about a fifth the size of the actual warships. The Virginia carried a crew of about 300 and the Monitor about 60, historians say.
The models were built by Norfolk residents William Horton and Mike Harrison. Ron Hess of Norfolk built the cannons.
The ironclad battles were far from the only weekend attraction.
Among the other activities were fiddlers, history lectures, glass blowers, candle makers and musicians playing fife and drums.
Tom Apple, 33, was there marketing period reproductions as a sutler: a merchant who followed the armies. In his 20th-century life, he is a civilian with the Navy's inflatable-life-raft program. On Saturday, he wore a brown slouch hat and a confederate uniform that he made from brown wool jean material.
``It's a window into the past,'' said the nearly 20-year veteran re-enactor. ``When you're eating period food, living in a tent for a weekend, it's sort of like a vacation in the past. There's only so much you can get from reading a book. By re-enacting living history events, you become a participant.''
Well before the next planned battle, crowds lined the parapet overlooking the water. That is where Ken Wiley sat fielding the questions of his sons and their two friends.
``Which one won, or did they just tie?'' one of the children asked.
``They just tied,'' was Wiley's response.
``This is a great history lesson,'' said Wiley, who gives tours of the fort on Sundays. ``When they see all the guns go off and the smoke and noise, it gets their attention. Then you can give them a few facts. Hopefully some of it sinks in.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Blane Piper, who runs a store in Fredericksburg, holds his ears in
anticipation of a cannon blast.
Photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Smoke from cannon fire drifts across the water as replicas of the
Union ironclad Monitor, foreground, and the confederate Virginia,
background, engage in a mock battle off Fort Norfolk. The two Civil
War ships clashed 133 years ago, in 1862, in what is considered the
area's most famous fight: the Battle of the Ironclads.
Graphic
Hours for the re-enactment activities are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
today. Mock battles will take place at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. All
activities are free and open to the public.
by CNB