In truth, she went down so quickly that very little damage was done to her.

The Confederates raised her, fastened a huge iron snout or prow at the front, cut down her deck and encased her with railroad iron, which sloped at an angle of forty-five degrees, and was smeared on the outside with grease and tallow.

Her enormous weight made her draw more than twenty feet of water and when she was moving slowly through the bay or river her appearance suggested the mansard roof of a vast house.

From what has been said it will be noted that the _Merrimac_ was a genuine ironclad, something which had never been heard of before.
[Illustration: BLOCKADE RUNNER--THE "MONITOR"-- CAPTAIN ERICSSON.] Regular news of the building of the _Merrimac_ (called the _Virginia_ by the Confederates) was telegraphed to Washington by friends of the Government.

The authorities felt some uneasiness, but were far from suspecting the terrible power for destructiveness possessed by the monster.