'748  NE'G) TIA TiONS FOR THE BUILDING OF THE "MONITOR."



and. placing mnlyself within the loop, was hauled ot
boanr.  I assisted in helping the others out of th
boat, when it again went btack to the Mosetoc  it
did tiot reach it, however, and after drifting aboit
on the oeeat several days it was Iieked uip by
a pasSing -essel atinl earried to Philadet'lphia. ;,
  It was hialf-past 12, the night of the I1 at of
i' t h unber. 1 St;2, when I stoosd on the for,'eastte of
the lkhtslr hdlasdv, watching the red and white lights
that huing fraoit the petittatit-staff above the ttIrrJt,

  :, Afte r nialaig two trilp there v.-   still four (tl-
cwre and twl-eie uten on the  o      lUor I andthe gallant
bat' i-rw,. dlthiiugh well-nlgti euhanat.. ldy ticir
labors. tartial for the thiret titme o- t. perimlos tript but
it t-ete re tvW-tthem. torwhilestlonu ltotrdlhtte atea or
were anxioatuly watching the light iii the tiurret itidl
-anlIy lpa-eg Iltto thte da.rkns for a glipse- of the



fittl which ttow atit.l then were s   itIs we would
perhaps botit rise tnt the sea together, tititil ait last,
just a    ithe onot i had passed below  t1h  horizotn,
they were lost, mid tht 1Uoaitfor, whose history is
fatiniliar to us all, wats seet in) tttmore.
  Thie RAslmc Isloawt cruised tboutit the setic of the
disas-ter the remainider of the- nightt and the next
foretto...i itt hope of fldi.tig the boat that hal1 beet,
lost; theit she retirlne    direct to Fort AlMotro,
where we arrived the ntext day.

reueitig hoot. tht light tidditetly dlisatlsppanr4 atid for-
t-i  fr r atfter watchlug for a tong titti to try mit 110d
it agin, thby were forced to thtt  -utlisioth  thtat tbe
Itouitalu h1d gone to the bottom with alt tth t r tittitnd
ott board. The iPsistbin of the Rh.1fe laasttf itt ttis
time wsit about eight or ten mii-i' f theb rust directly
east tfCatpe Hatteras.-i. IR. S14tLt.



NEGOTIATIONS FOR THIE BUILDING OF THE "MONITOR."



IN ls77, at the request of ex-Seeretary tideon
   Welles, C7. S. Bushitell, of New Haveet. otte of
the associate owners of the Ifonifor, embodied, in
a letter to the former, his retolleetions of the
negotiations whielt ledI to the building of that ves-
sel. That letter immediately followiiigand letters
of comment by Captain Ericsson atid ex-Seeretary
Welles. have been sett to the editors for tiubliea-
tion, by the  Reverend   Samuel C. Buslitell, sot
of the btilder:

  "IINoSt.BALE GIDEtON WELLRs. DEAR SIR: Sol-te
tIme since. duritiga short eonversatIon iii regard to the
little tirst  oaitar. you expreed a d-sir- to hearti fritto
me -ttt.e of the unwritten details of her idtary; pr-
tieluarly. how the planI of the boat came to be pre-
senied to the Goernument and the m.anner in w hIh the
e ,intt'aat for her construction was dseenret.
-"Youndoubtlesa reu einier hattiliug tue In Atigust, 155t,
at Willard's Hotel inV WashIugto,., D. C.. the draft of a
tuill which you desreid Congress s;holtal ass, in ref-
erence t.. obtaliugsome kind of iron-clad vs-se-I tt
meet the fornthdible preparatitts the Hebels. wert' t t.i.k-
ing at Norfolk, Mobile. and New Orlea-s. At that tiI-e
you stated that vu had alreaady called the atteution of
Congress to this m;tter. bnt without effect.
"I te-uaentetd this bill to the    Ja- nornbleJItmesE. Eug-
ith, member of Congress frotn tity district, who fortu-
nately wason th- Nav-al (sttuittee and intiringly tirgesI
the a"tter ott their atteitlotn. The ehairman of the
co.mittee, A. H. Rie, tf Mlassahusetts, I also coiper-
atl m ost heartily, so that In about thirty tnys.'t it I
retnemler correctly, the  ill pased both tuse, antI
was inmetdiaty-ly igio-d by Prersidnt LIA...u... Tht' bill
requIred all ptaus of iroD-tIaa ve-esels tots' ln-untted t,
a board of ---al tf ers apptinted by yorself. The
boarit consi    if Admirals SPmith and Pttnlding and
CaPttatn Davis, who examlned hundred  otf pIlne. groat
atod ttad. nod atttug others that of a plated tro, gun-
boat calted the (ioleao, contrived lty  amuel H. Pik,
now a .ott'ttrttetor in the Navy De-parttent. 'Ihe parttal
protec tion If Ir.tt bars proposed for her seeted 5o btir-
densotne that toany a" -al feers wrarned me argainst
the W'tasittllity tf the Gala' ta-tag able to carry the
addititual w eight of Iter armt...ie..t.
-'  H. Delthuater. of Nt'w York. adSest-t ue tot consult
with the eugineer, Captain John Erhcso,-. o-tbem atter.
  .4 Mr. Bsstiajelt'a reeatlt-etit,n .,t ttie lairs Is Inexact. Tlhe
bUt (Senate. 3(1) was, intr et,,ee l J.,1- lgtl,, Ia te Setate, by
Mr. oritt. of lw  as tIme latta--e at the Department."
tCoagr ssional lol.1 tt  3e71i1t tpti      p ("ugrean. II 205,
34). It became a law August 3dt.- Etrto-s.
  As Mr. Welles laiata oat In his letter (see hei.w). this



This I pro t eeded at tnee t do,, ani tin supplytinig him
with the data necsary for his etteulatlous trInstmntly
gained the answ-r, ' She will easily carry the 1uad you
lpnpo-e  and  ttind a t"i-iuh  tot - It fired frot.i a
'slctttsiule tllsitae-.' At the close of thIs flitteriew,
tCatain Erlessoit asked ft i 1 hsl time Just theit t, ex-
atnite the plan of a floating battery ablIotutely itpreg-
nable to the heaviest shit or hell. I replied that tit,,
arobli   had beet occupying me for the last three
ittoltths, atttt that, conaiseritg the tiune retjtiirt'd for conl-
structioi, the Gtcaks was the i-est r,-..lt that I had been
atIle to attain. lIe then plta''-d before me the hIatt of the
Moitor, explained h,,w quickly mtid p swerfully she
tould be buidlt, and exhibited with  lara't-eristie pride
a medail andi ltter of thanks nreeived from Naitpolhoit 111.
For it pptpears tlust Erlt'asui h.ail invetted the battery
aIt,-n Frattee antid nasa were ait war, ai-d ittt of hbo-
tility ti  iutiia bad pret-uited it to Fratte, bolting
thereby to aid the defeat tf Sw'lett's hereditary foe.
The Invention, however, -atiwe luto late to be of servle,
aud was preseriedi for another Isatte.
"- You no doubtt nmntber tity dieighit with the- pltlt of
the 3foa-iisr whten firt Captain Eri-.soti iotirustedl it ttt
itty care; how I followed yolu to Hartfotlr Il astsUmided
yutu by , ayhitg thist the country w.a safe bet'ause I had
found a battery which would tbiake uis master of the
aiitaitou so far as the oc-ean w.as concernled. Y ou were
   eh plleasd. and urged Itte to lose -io time It, present-
iig the Plaln to tthe Naval Board at Washingtoti. I  
-ured ait once the eouperatton of wise and able as-soiates
in the person of the late Honorable Johtt A. Griswold of
[Troy] N. Y., aid John P. Winslow of Troy, both of
them friends of (Governor Seward ant large manufac-
turers of iron plate, etc. Governor Seward furitsbel
   sith a strong ht-tter of Introdnetlon ts Presidetit
L       wnettlit who was at onte greatly Ideased with theI sim-
plictty of the llan antd agre-d to accompany Us to the
Navy Department at 11 A. m. the fillowing day, and aid
it as best he could. He was on hand prtiptilty ait It
olock - the day Ixtort yoiu rettirned from  Hartford.
Caitain Fox. together with a part otf the NiivaIl Board.
was present. t All were suritriseit at the attvt'tty of t hi
plot. Sonic advised trying it; others riidhuhid It. Thte
e-snterence was finally closed for that day ly M1r. Lut-
e-tl.s rt'emarking. 'All I have to say IS what the girl
aid whmn she puit b-r foot into th,- stoekIng. " It strike-
tte theres Hsomethingltt it."' The folloitlydn Admt-lral
Ynith eonveard the Wltil' boarl wh,-tt Itreseateul as
iest 1 ettuld the plan and ItH merits, arefully tiotlag the

-ass n error af Mr. Bl-lhiiell '. The chairman sit the Navai
t'iniiittee was Cbhries B. Silgatiek  .,t Syracane. New
Yirk. Mr Ricetme sceoni t   - ttli esmtilte.- Lsroas.
    The time was actually Hitteen lay.-EulTo.tI.
   as-eta naval acers were also preseut ttuITiciaUy-
                                            Nt'tTO55.