Com. Tatnall reports as follows to the Rebel Secretary of War :
“We observed from the Merrimac that the flag was not flying on Sewell’s Point Battery, and that it appeared to have been abandoned. I dispatched Lieut. J. P. Jones, the Flag Lieutenant, to Craney Island, where the Confederate flag was still flying, and he there learned that a large force of the enemy had landed on Bay shore, and were marching rapidly on Norfolk ; that Sewell’s Point Battery was abandoned, and our troops were retreating. I then despatched the same officer to Norfolk, to confer with Gen. Huger and Captain Lee. He found the Navy Yard in flames, and all the other officers had left by railroad—that the enemy was within a half a mile of the city, and that the Mayor was treating for its surrender.
On returning to the ship he found that Craney Island and all the other batteries on the river had been abandoned.
It was now seven o’clock in the evening, and this unexpected confirmation rendered prompt measures necessary for the safety of the Virginia.
The pilots had assured me that they could take the ship, with a draft of eighteen feet, to within forty miles of Richmond.
This, the chief pilot, Mr. Parrish, and his chief assistant, Mr. Wright, had asserted again and again and on the afternoon of the seventh, in my cabin, in the presence of Com. Hollins and Capt. Sterrett, in reply to a question of mine, they both emphatically declared their ability to do so.
Confiding in these assurances, and after consulting with the First and Flag Lieutenants, and learning that the officers, generally, thought it the most judicious course, I determined to lighten the ship at once, and run up the river for the protection of Richmond.
All hands having been, called on deck, I stated to them the condition of things, and my hope that, by getting up the river before the enemy could be made aware of our designs, we might capture his vessels which had ascended it, and render efficient aid in the defense of Richmond ; but to effect this would require all their energy in lightening the ship. They replied with three cheers, and went to work at once. The pilots were on deck and heard this address to the crew.
Being quite unwell, I had retired to bed. Between 1 and 2 o’clock in the morning, the first lieutenant reported to me that, after the crew had worked for five or six hours, and lifted the ship so as to render her unfit for action, the pilots declared their inability to carry eighteen feet above the Jamestown Flats, up to which point the shore on each side was occupied by the enemy.
On demanding from the chief pilot, Mr. Parrish, an explanation of this palpable deception, be replied that eighteen feet could be carried after the prevalence of easterly winds, and that the wind of the last two days had beep westerly.
I had no time to lose. The ship was not in condition for battle, even with an enemy of equal force, and their force was overwhelming. I therefore determined, with the concurrence of the First and Flag Lieutenants, to save the crew for future service by landing them at Craney Island, the only road for retreat open to us, and to destroy the ship to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy. I may add that, although not formally consulted, the course was approved by every commissioned officer in the ship.
There is no dissenting opinion. The ship was accordingly put on shore as near the main land in the vicinity of Craney Island and the crew landed. She was then fired, and after burning fore and aft for upwards of an hour, blew up a little before five on the morning of the 11th.
The Weekly Ottumwa Courier, Ottumwa, IA