WORDEN, John L. (1818-1897), Naval officer, commanded the ironclad Monitor . Autograph document signed ("John L. Worden U.S. Navy"), n.p., n.d. 1 page, 8vo, integral blank, two small file holes in blank upper margin, otherwise in fine condition.
WORDEN, John L. (1818-1897), Naval officer, commanded the ironclad Monitor . Autograph document signed ("John L. Worden U.S. Navy"), n.p., n.d. 1 page, 8vo, integral blank, two small file holes in blank upper margin, otherwise in fine condition. COMMANDER WORDEN'S NARRATIVE OF THE CELEBRATED DUEL BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC (C.S.S. VIRGINIA) A succinct account of one of the most celebrated naval battles of the Civil War, the epic encounter between the Union Monitor commanded by Worden, and the C.S.S. Virginia , on 10 March 1862. In a neat hand, Worden pens: "The U.S. Iron Clad 'Monitor,' under my command, arrived at Hampton Roads on the night of March the 9th 1862, after an eventful passage from New York. The next morning at about 8 O.C. she engaged the Rebel Iron Clad 'Merrimac' at close quarters, and continued the engagement until about noon, when the 'Merrimac' retired towards Norfolk in a crippled condition...." Worden's laconic reference here to the Monitor's "eventful passage" from New York is a classic military understatement. On its maiden voyage after launch from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Ericsson's revolutionary ironclad steered "like a drunken man." After further modifications, the Monitor was finally towed from Brooklyn on March 6, heading south. A severe storm nearly capsized the vessel, whose ventilation system failed, filling the interior with toxic smoke. Hand pumps had to be employed in a desperate attempt to keep her afloat in heavy seas. The battered vessel reached Hampton Roads in the afternoon of March 9. Earlier that day, in a devastating sortie, the Confederate ironclad Merrimac (C.S.S. Virginia ) had wreaked havoc on the wooden-hulled Union warships and transports anchored there, sinking the Cumberland , running the Congress aground and damaging other ships while Union shot and shell ricocheted harmlessly off her armored hull. The Merrimac returned to Hampton Roads early the next morning. The Monitor immediately drew into close range and opened an epic encounter between the two iron-clad vessels that lasted some three hours. Neither vessel was able to seriously damage the other, but a shot from the Merrimac scored a direct hit on the pilot house of the Monitor , blinding Worden and causing the Monitor to move into shallow water. The Merrimac turned away, thinking it had put the Union vessel out of commission. Worden and many of the Union spectators had the impression that the Merrimac --as Worden states in this account--had been "crippled" by the heavy Union cannonade. This did not prove to be the case, and the Merrimac made several more, mostly inconsequential forays into Hampton Roads before being deliberately scuttled as part of the Confederate evacuation of the Norfolk area. The famous duel between the two ironclad, though, opened an entirely new era in naval warfare. RARE. Only two other contemporary accounts of the battle have sold at auction in the last 40 years.
WORDEN, John L. (1818-1897), Naval officer, commanded the ironclad Monitor . Autograph document signed ("John L. Worden U.S. Navy"), n.p., n.d. 1 page, 8vo, integral blank, two small file holes in blank upper margin, otherwise in fine condition.
WORDEN, John L. (1818-1897), Naval officer, commanded the ironclad Monitor . Autograph document signed ("John L. Worden U.S. Navy"), n.p., n.d. 1 page, 8vo, integral blank, two small file holes in blank upper margin, otherwise in fine condition. COMMANDER WORDEN'S NARRATIVE OF THE CELEBRATED DUEL BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC (C.S.S. VIRGINIA) A succinct account of one of the most celebrated naval battles of the Civil War, the epic encounter between the Union Monitor commanded by Worden, and the C.S.S. Virginia , on 10 March 1862. In a neat hand, Worden pens: "The U.S. Iron Clad 'Monitor,' under my command, arrived at Hampton Roads on the night of March the 9th 1862, after an eventful passage from New York. The next morning at about 8 O.C. she engaged the Rebel Iron Clad 'Merrimac' at close quarters, and continued the engagement until about noon, when the 'Merrimac' retired towards Norfolk in a crippled condition...." Worden's laconic reference here to the Monitor's "eventful passage" from New York is a classic military understatement. On its maiden voyage after launch from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Ericsson's revolutionary ironclad steered "like a drunken man." After further modifications, the Monitor was finally towed from Brooklyn on March 6, heading south. A severe storm nearly capsized the vessel, whose ventilation system failed, filling the interior with toxic smoke. Hand pumps had to be employed in a desperate attempt to keep her afloat in heavy seas. The battered vessel reached Hampton Roads in the afternoon of March 9. Earlier that day, in a devastating sortie, the Confederate ironclad Merrimac (C.S.S. Virginia ) had wreaked havoc on the wooden-hulled Union warships and transports anchored there, sinking the Cumberland , running the Congress aground and damaging other ships while Union shot and shell ricocheted harmlessly off her armored hull. The Merrimac returned to Hampton Roads early the next morning. The Monitor immediately drew into close range and opened an epic encounter between the two iron-clad vessels that lasted some three hours. Neither vessel was able to seriously damage the other, but a shot from the Merrimac scored a direct hit on the pilot house of the Monitor , blinding Worden and causing the Monitor to move into shallow water. The Merrimac turned away, thinking it had put the Union vessel out of commission. Worden and many of the Union spectators had the impression that the Merrimac --as Worden states in this account--had been "crippled" by the heavy Union cannonade. This did not prove to be the case, and the Merrimac made several more, mostly inconsequential forays into Hampton Roads before being deliberately scuttled as part of the Confederate evacuation of the Norfolk area. The famous duel between the two ironclad, though, opened an entirely new era in naval warfare. RARE. Only two other contemporary accounts of the battle have sold at auction in the last 40 years.
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.jpg "Quelle: Christie's")
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