the most trying nature to the officers and crew, who were nearly
smothered by gas. The boat would have foundered had not the weather been
unusually favorable, but she reached Hampton Roads on the night of March
8 and took a position beside the _Minnesota_, ready and eager for the
terrific fray of the morrow. The _Monitor_ carried two 11-inch Dahlgren
guns and fired solid shot.

[Illustration: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE "MERRIMAC" AND "MONITOR."]

When the _Merrimac_ steamed back the _Monitor_ moved out from her
position and boldly advanced to meet her. The huge monster and smaller
craft, whose appearance suggested the apt comparison of a cheese box on
a raft, silently drew near each other until within a hundred yards, when
the smaller opened with a shot to which the larger replied. The battle
was now between two ironclads. If the shots of the _Monitor_ glanced
harmlessly off of the _Merrimac_ those of the latter were equally
ineffective against the _Monitor_. The latter had the advantage of being
so much smaller that many of the shells of the _Merrimac_ missed her
altogether. Those which impinged against the pilot house or turret did
no harm, while the lesser boat was able to dart here and there at will,
dodging the _Merrimac_ and ramming her when she chose, though such
tactics accomplished nothing. All attempts to run down the _Monitor_
were vain. The novel battle continued for four hours, when the
_Merrimac_, unable to defeat her nimble antagonist, steamed back to
Norfolk and the strange contest--the first between ironclads--was over.

The _Monitor_ had proven her inestimable value and was held in reserve
by the Government for future emergencies. But the first battle between
the two proved the last. Some months later, when the Union troops
advanced upon Norfolk, the _Merrimac_ was blown up to prevent her