THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996 TAG: 9607120209
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Olde Town Journal
SOURCE: ALAN FLANDERS
LENGTH: 102 lines
Those who have seen the recent blockbuster movie ``Independence Day'' where alien space ships destroy the White House and the Capitol may have an idea of the fear and panic that spread through Washington in the spring of 1862 when some folks feared the same would happen at the hands of a Confederate ship.
Eyewitnesses recall throngs of elated people on both sides of the Elizabeth River cheering wildly on March 8, 1862. But things were mighty different on the banks of the Potomac.
On its maiden voyage, the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia had destroyed two Federal wooden warships, the USS Cumberland and Congress.
That day, no one either in Gosport shipyard, where she was built, or in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, knew her full potential.
But Confederate veterans loved to brag long after the war that Abraham Lincoln himself thought she could sail up the Potomac, shell Washington and even ``blow the dome off the Capitol.''
As improbable as that might seem, according to official records, that's just what President Lincoln and many of his senior Cabinet members feared would happen when news of the Virginia's victories reached Washington on March 9, 1862.
Adm. J.A. Dahlgren, commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, noted that fateful day in his diary:
``Sitting in my office about ten thirty, when I should have been in church, the President was announced at the door.''
According to Dahlgren, President Lincoln blurted out, ``Frightful News!'' After stating that the other ships at Hampton Roads, the USS Minnesota and Roanoke, were helpless, ``the President did not know whether we might not have a visit (from CSS Virginia) here (Washington), which would indeed cap the climax,'' Dahlgren added in his diary.
The most detailed account of that frightening morning when sentries were posted down the Potomac to ``keep a lookout for the Virginia'' comes from the personal account of Lincoln's secretary of Navy, Gideon Welles.
``Although my Department and the branch of the Government entrusted to me were most interested and responsible, the President ever after gave me the credit of being, on that occasion, the most calm and self-possessed of any member of the Cabinet,'' Welles wrote. ``The President himself was so excited that he could not deliberate or be satisfied with the opinions of non-professional men (civilians), but ordered his carriage and drove to the navy yard (Washington Navy Yard) to see and consult with Admiral Dahlgren and other naval officers.''
In his account, Welles admits that his ``calmness'' is based on his faith that the Federal ironclad USS Monitor was capable of battle with the Virginia. Welles wrote that when he brought up the Monitor to Lincoln during the emergency Cabinet meeting, Secretary of War Stanton's ``mingled look of incredulity and contempt cannot be described.'' Welles further added that, ``To me there was throughout the whole day something inexpressibly ludicrous in the wild, frantic talk, action, and rage of Stanton as he ran from room to room, sat down, and jumped up after writing a few words, swung his arms, scolded, and raved.
``He could not fail to see and feel my opinion of him and his bluster, that I was calm and unmoved by his rant, spoke deliberately, and was not excited by his violence. The Merrimac, he said, would destroy every vessel in the service. Likely the first movement of the Merrimac would be to come up the Potomac and disperse Congress, destroy the Capitol and public buildings; or she might go to New York and Boston and destroy those cities.''
As a matter of fact, Stanton did panic, sending word to coastline governors and mayors to prepare for attack and ordering Adm. Dahlgren to ready 60 canal boats filled with rocks to wait for his order to close the Potomac River. After a sharp exchange between Welles and Stanton regarding the War Department's power over the Navy, Welles admitted that he had countered Stanton's order and the boats had not been prepared. When both turned to their boss for a final decision, Lincoln sided with his Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, which, to say the least, infuriated Secretary of War Stanton.
Fortunately for Lincoln's war effort, just as the ``civil'' war between his two primary Cabinet members was ready to boil over, news arrived that USS Monitor had fought to a draw with CSS Virginia. Hampton Roads had been saved.
Naturally, the last word was the president's. Dismissing the Cabinet on March 10, 1862, President Lincoln went to the home of Monitor's commanding officer, Lt. John L. Worden, who had been temporarily blinded during the battle. When told that the president was standing at his bedside, Worden said, ``You do me great honor.''
Upon which Lincoln replied, ``It is not so. It is you who honor me and your country, and I will promote you.'' With that, Worden was made captain. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
The local milita guards the White House in 1862 against an expected
imminent attack by Confederate forces.
Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles had faith that the Federal ironclad
USS Monitor was capable of battle with the Virginia and protecting
the capital.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said the Confederate ship would
destroy every vessel in the service, come up the Potomac and destroy
the Capitol.
President Lincoln told his advisers that the the USS Minnesota and
Roanoke, were helpless and the CSS Virginia might come to the
capital and destroy it.
The U.S. Capitol's only defense in 1862 was a picket fence that was
actually constructed to keep our wandering cattle. Note the
unfinished dome that was reported to be a target of the CSS
Virginia. by CNB