Identifier: ournavyintimeofw00matt (find matches)
Title: Our navy in time of war (1861-1898)
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: Matthews, Franklin, 1858-1917. (from old catalog)
Subjects: United States. Navy Spanish-American War, 1898
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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calledthe Fingal. The usual house with sloping sides wasbuilt on the hull, and armor, such as was put on theother rams, was bolted to eighteen inches of woodbacking. The armor was not of good quality, and thedeck house was not built so strongly as those of someof the other rams. She had four fine guns, and wascommanded by Lieutenant William A. AYebb. Ad-miral Dupont had sent two of his monitors, the Wee-hawken and Valiant, down to the mouth of the Wil-mington River, below the Savannah River, throughwhich the Atlanta would try to go to sea. On June 17, 1863, the Atlanta put out to meetthe Xorthern ships. Two excursion steamers, loadeddown with citizens of Savannah, went along to see thefight. The Weehawken and ^Nahant started out fordeep water, and Avaited for the Atlanta. When a mileand a half away the Atlanta opened fire on the Wee-hawken. The Weehawken did not reply until shewas within three hundred yards of the Atlanta. Thefirst shot from the Weehawken went throui-h the At- li iii^
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) 132 OUR NAVY IN TIME OF WAR. lantas deck lioust^, and the splinters of iron and woodwounded sixteen men. The second shot from theWeehawken struck the ))ilot house and Avrecked it,wounding the two j^ilots and the two hehnsmen in-side. The third shot hit one of the shutters to a port-hole and partly tore open the side of the deck house.The Atlanta fired eight shots during the fight, and theWeehawken five. After the fifth shot had been firedby the AVcehawken, Lieutenant Webb saw that theAtlanta was beaten, and hauled down his flag, whilethe excursionists, who had come out to see a greatvictory, went home as fast as they could, and verymuch downhearted after a fight Avhicli had lasted onlyfifteen minutes. Duponts failure at Charleston caused the NavyDepartment to make a change of commanders there.IJupont was a splendid man, highly educated, veryearnest and loyal, a well-trained sailor and fighter,charming in his manner, and kind to his men, but hewas unable to repeat at Charleston the s

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