Somewhere in the shift¬
ing sands of Cape llat-
teras lies the
Wreck oi the Monitor
Buried somewhere in the fluid, shift¬
ing quicksands of Diamond Shoals, off
Cape Hattcras. is ihe wreck of a
famous ship, ft is the "Monitor," one of
the first iron-clad warships ever built,
and she went down while being towed
past the Cape. The following account
of the loss (and the illustration) are
taken from Harper's Weekly of Janu¬
ary 24, 1X63. ft was written by a
survivor:
From ten to eleven p.m. the water
still gained rapidly, ft was now known
for certain that she had sprung a leak.
The storm was at its height, the waves
striking and passing over the “Moni¬
tor," burying her completely for the
instant, while for a few seconds
nothing could be seen of her from the
Rhode Island" but the upper part of
her turret surrounded by foam.
She was now found to be fast sink¬
ing, and a consultation was held as to
whether it was best to abandon her or
not. The engineer, entering at this mo¬
ment, reported that the water in the
ward-rooms was waist-deep; that it was
still gaining rapidly, and that in less
than two hours she must go down.
This decided Captain Bankhead to
save the lives of his men rather than
lose both. Signals of distress were now
ordered to be made to the "Rhode
Island"; and while these were pre¬
paring Captain Bankhead shouted,
"Who'll cut the hawser?" "I will," an¬
swered Mr. Stoddcr, the Master; and
taking a hatchet, he. at the imminent
peril of being washed overboard, suc¬
ceeded in severing the hawser, the
waves passing over him at every mo¬
tion of the vessel. One poor fellow,
whose name is not known, assisted,
but he was dashed off and drowned.
Several of the crew and some of the
officers also found a watery grave
about this time, by being washed
overboard, ft was death to stand on
the deck without having a firm hold,
and even then the danger was very
great. One by one the gallant fellows
disappeared from the deck and were
seen no more. Many had very narrow
escapes. Lieutenant Green was carried
off by a wave, and thrown upon deck
by its returning.
Between eleven and twelve p.m. the
launch of the "Rhode Island" was
manned, and started for the "Monitor."
About this time the hawser, which now
hung loose, became entangled in one of
the paddle-wheels of the "Rhode Is¬
land." so that it could not be worked,
thus rendering the vessel unmanage¬
able. She drifted toward the "Moni¬
tor." and there was great danger of a
collision before the hawser could be
extricated. The launch was between
the two steamers, and before she could
clear them the whole of one of her
sides was crushed in, just escaping the
water-line. The gallant fellows in
her had a narrow escape from a hor¬
rible death; but nothing daunted, they
struck boldly out for the "Monitor"
with their broken boat, and safely re¬
turned with fourteen or fifteen of the
"Monitor's” crew, though in a sinking
condition, and landed them all safely
upon the deck of the "Rhode Island."
In the mean time the two vessels had
approached so near each other that
five or six of the crew of the "Monitor"
seized the ropes hanging from the side
of the "Rhode Island." and started to
climb up her side; but only three
reached there. The others are sup¬
posed to have been struck by the
"Monitor," when they fell, crushed to
death, or perished in the sea.
One of the "Rhode Island's" cutters
was now manned and started off about
the same time that the launch left the
"Monitor." They approached each
other, and there was seemingly no
chance of preventing a collision,
when Dr. G. M. Weeks, of the "Moni¬
tor,” Ensign Taylor, of the "Rhode
Island," and one of the sailors, sprang
to the side to part them. The force
of the blow was thus broken and the
boats saved from destruction.
Between twelve and one a.m. the
cutter, after narrowly escaping a col¬
lision, started for the side of the "Moni¬
tor" to rescue others. Arriving there.
Captain Bankhead held the rope while
his men got into it. the boat dashing
on the deck several times and being
( Continued on page 27)
THE STATE, JULY 20. 1963
9
