preparation could make the Patrick Henry as well fitted for war as a vessel of the same size built especially for the military marine service; but the best that could be done to make her efficient was done, and not without success, as the part the vessel took in the closely following battle of Hampton Roads conclusively demonstrates.

On the 7th of March, 1862, the James river squadron, consisting of the Patrick Henry, 12, Commander J.R. Tucker; Jamestown, 2, Lieutenant Commanding J.N. Barney, and Teaser, 1, Lieutenant Commanding W.A. Webb, proceeded down the river, and anchored at nightfall off Day's Neck Point, some six miles distant from Newport News. This movement was effected in order to be near at hand when the Virginia made her expected attack on the Federal forces.

The 8th of March, 1862, was a bright, placid, beautiful day—more like a May than a March day. About 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the Virginia came steaming out from behind Craney Island, attended by the gunboats Beaufort and Raleigh. As soon as the Virginia was seen, the James river squadron got underway under all the steam the boilers would bear, and proceeded to join her in her attack on the enemy. As Tucker's small squadron approached the Newport News batteries he formed it in line ahead, the Patrick Henry, 12, leading; next the Jamestown, 2, and lastly the Teaser, 1; this order being maintained until the batteries were passed. The batteries were run with less loss than was anticipated; the enemy probably expected the Confederate vessels to pass in the usual channel, about eight hundred yards from the guns of the Federal works, but by Tucker's directions the Patrick Henry was run by much nearer the batteries, and the Jamestown and Teaser followed her closely. Probably in consequence of this deviation from the middle of the channel the Federal guns were not well aimed, and most of the shot from the batteries passed over the Confederate vessels. As the James river squadron ranged up abreast of the first battery, the vessels delivered their fire, and the flash from their guns had scarcely vanished when the Federal works were wrapped in smoke, and their projectiles came hissing through the air. The Patrick Henry was struck several times during the passage; one shot passing through the crew of No. 3 gun, wounding two men and killing one, a volunteer from the army, who had come on board to serve only for the fight. His last words as he fell were, "Never mind me, boys!"

Whilst the James river squadron was passing the batteries, the Virginia had rammed and sunk the Cumberland, a ship which was fought most gallantly to the bitter end, going down with her colors flying and her guns firing, like the celebrated French ship Vengeur.

Having run by the batteries with no material damage, the James river squadron joined the Virginia and afforded her valuable aid in the battle she was waging. Whilst the forward guns of the Patrick Henry were engaging one enemy, the after guns were firing at another, and the situation of the Confederate wooden vessels at this time seemed well nigh desperate. The Newport News batteries were on one side, on the other the frigates Minnesota, St. Lawrence and Roanoke were coming up from Old Point Comfort, and in front the beach was lined with field batteries and sharpshooters. Fortunately for the wooden vessels, both Confederate and Federal, the Minnesota, St. Lawrence and Roanoke grounded, and the smaller vessels which accompanied them returned to Old Point Comfort. The Minnesota, though aground, was near enough to take part in the action, and opened a heavy fire on the Confederate squadron.

The frigate Congress, early in the action, had been run aground, with a white flag flying. Tucker, as soon as he saw that the Congress had shown a white flag, gave orders that no shot should be fired at her from the Patrick Henry, and he steadily refused to let any gun be aimed at her, notwithstanding that the Confederate gunboats Raleigh, Teaser and Beaufort had attempted to take possession of the surrendered vessel, and had been driven off by a heavy artillery and infantry fire from the Federal troops on the beach. After the Confederate gunboats had been forced to retire from the Congress, Flag-Officer Buchanan hailed the Patrick Henry and directed Commander Tucker to burn that frigate. The pilots of the Patrick Henry declared they could not take her alongside of the Congress on account of an intervening shoal, which determined Tucker to approach as near as the shoal would permit and then send his boats to burn the Federal frigate. The boats were prepared for the service, and the boats' crews and officers held ready whilst the Patrick Henry steamed in towards the Congress.

This movement of the Patrick Henry placed her in the most imminent peril; she was brought under the continuous and concentrated fire of three points; on her port quarters were the batteries of Newport News, on her port bow the field batteries and sharpshooters on the beach, and on her starboard bow the Minnesota. It soon became evident that no wooden vessel could long float under such a fire; several shots struck the hull, and a piece of the walking-beam was shot away. As the sponge of the after pivot gun was being inserted in the muzzle of the piece, the handle was cut in two by a shot from the enemy; half in prayer and half in despair at being unable to perform his duty, the sponger exclaimed, "Oh, Lord! how is the gun to be sponged?" He was much relieved when the quarter-gunner of his division handed him a spare sponge. This state of things could not last long; a shot from a rifled gun of one of the field batteries on the beach penetrated the steam-chest, the engine-room and fire-room were filled with steam, four of the firemen were scalded to death and several others severely injured; the engineers and firemen were driven up on deck, and the engines stopped working: the vessel was enveloped in a cloud of escaped steam, and the enemy, seeing that some disaster to the boiler had occurred, increased his fire. At the moment, until the chief engineer made his report, no one on the spar-deck knew exactly what had happened, the general impression being that the boilers had exploded. It is an unmistakable evidence of the courage and discipline of the crew that the fire from the Patrick Henry did not slacken, but went on as regularly as if nothing unusual had occurred. As the vessel was drifting towards the enemy in her disabled condition, the jib was hoisted to pay her head around, and the Jamestown, Lieutenant Commanding Barney, gallantly and promptly came to her assistance and towed her out of action.

The engineers soon got one boiler in working order. The other was so badly damaged that they were unable to repair it for immediate use, and with steam on one boiler alone the Patrick Henry was again taken into action. The closing in of night put an end to the conflict, as in the dark it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe. The victory remained without dispute with the Confederate squadron, and was witnessed, as was the combat between the Virginia and the Monitor on the day following, by multitudes of spectators from Norfolk and the neighboring camps of the Confederate troops, as well as by many on the Federal side of the Roads.

It has been stated that the total Federal loss in this battle was nearly four hundred. The numerical strength of the Confederate force engaged was about six hundred, of which the total loss was about