THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603100044
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
In the cramped hull, men coughed and choked on the smoke of exploding black powder. Commanders bellowed across the lower deck. Blood spurted from the hand of one crew member, cut while loading a cannon.
And Keith Southall of Petersburg imagined what it was like on the Confederate ironclad vessel Virginia, also known as the Merrimack, on March 9, 1862.
``I'm sure this was very close to the real experience,'' said Southall, a Confederate re-enactor who has been a member of the crew of the Virginia's replica since it was built in 1988. ``When the Monitor fires at us, we can actually feel the concussion of the blast.''
Southall was breathless, and his bearded cheeks burned red from the wind as he stood on the dock at historic Fort Norfolk Saturday. It was a lot colder this day than it was when the famous ``Battle of the Ironclads'' was fought 134 years ago, he said, but many of the emotions were the same.
``As soon as you step aboard and you start cocking cannons, you lose it,'' said Bob Adams of Virginia Beach, another Virginia crew member. ``Sparks are flying everywhere; the noise is unbelievable. All of the excitement is very real.''
Thousands of Hampton Roads residents and re-enactors from all over the East Coast joined the excitement Saturday as the Virginia met the Monitor again, not once, but three times.
The acrid smell of spent black powder and the boom of cannons from both ships, built one-fifth the size of the originals, were visible from Fort Norfolk, on the Elizabeth River waterfront.
The bitter cold probably kept some at home who had planned to attend, said Amy Yarsinske, event director for the Norfolk Historical Society. And some of the re-enactors who had made reservations to participate were stopped by snow in the north, but sent word they would be here by today, the final day of the celebration to mark the battle's anniversary.
``We've had no cancellations,'' she said.
``We just have some people trying to get past the snow.''
The Virginia had been built in Boston as a wooden-hulled steam frigate called the Merrimack. It was scuttled by the Union Navy and later raised by the Confederacy and converted at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard into the first ironclad vessel in naval history.
Its mission was to break the Union siege of Hampton Roads.
On March 8, the 275-foot boat with its crew of 350 sailed into the harbor, sank the U.S.S. Cumberland and ran the Congress aground, setting that ship afire until it exploded in the night.
And in the light of the explosion, said Bill Wharton, a Norfolk man who built the replica of the Confederate vessel, Southern sailors and marines aboard the Virginia thought they saw the ghostly outline of another ironclad ship, one they had heard might be sailing down from New York.
When March 9 dawned clear and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-50s, the rumors were confirmed.
The 172-foot Monitor, with its crew of 70 and guns that swiveled in every direction, had arrived to meet the Virginia.
``This is our time travel,'' Wharton said. ``The adrenalin starts pumping; you are there.''
``I was the powder monkey,'' said Larry Warren Jr. of Virginia Beach, a ruddy-faced 14-year-old. ``I would have carried around the bag of powder and scooped it up at each cannon. A lot of young kids my age found their way into the Confederate Navy.''
Wharton said the original Monitor was out-sized and out-gunned by the Virginia. The Confederate vessel had 10 cannon of various sizes; the Monitor had two 11-inch guns. But the Monitor could easily out maneuver the Southern vessel.
``It took the Virginia almost an hour to turn around,'' he said. ``They actually had tugboats out there on the water the day of the battle to help the Virginia turn.''
The Battle of Hampton Roads lasted for three days - at the mouth of the James River, not in the Elizabeth, where it was recreated this weekend - but the two ironclad vessels met only on the 9th, Wharton said.
The battle was considered a draw. But both sides celebrated when it was over.
On the following day, March 10, the Virginia tried again to persuade the Monitor to fight, but the Union ship stayed at the side of the warship it had been charged with defending.
The replica of the Monitor that sails this weekend was built by Mike Harris, owner of Willoughby Marina.
Re-enactors and tradesmen with period wares will be at Fort Norfolk through most of the day today. ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA color photos/The Virginian-Pilot
Replicas of the C.S.S. Virginia, left, originally named the
Merrimack, and the U.S.S. Monitor meet in the Elizabeth River on
Saturday to re-enact the battle of 1862.
Above: Chris Fisher, right, in an assistant sergeant's uniform,
talks to visitors at the re-enactment of the Battle of Hampton Roads
at Fort Norfolk on Saturday. In the foreground, Jim Dullen and Ron
Pierce play the roles of injured or dead Confederate soldiers. The
re-enactment continues through today.
MOTOYA NAKAMURA photos/The Virginian-Pilot
Thousands of Civil War re-enactors traveled 134 years back in time
Saturday as they mounted the Battle of Hampton Roads at Fort
Norfolk. A replica of the battleship Monitor will meet the Merrimack
on the Elizabeth River today, reliving the famous ``Battle of the
Ironclads,'' at 1 and 3 p.m.
Civil War re-enactors demonstrate cooking techniques of the era for
visitors at Fort Norfolk on Saturday. History buffs and tradesmen
selling period wares will be at the fort through most of the day
today.
by CNB