The Virginia's Great Fig lit on Water. 319
to induce Congress to pay prize money to Captain Worden and the crew of the Monitor for their services in destroying the Virginia. A bill was passed in one branch of the Forty-second Congress making such an appropriation, but it failed to se- cure action in the other house. Eight years later the claim was revived, the bill authorizing an appropriation of $200,000. The whole subject of the Virginia's operations in Hampton Roads was carefuly investigated by the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House, and on the 3ist of May, 1864, Mr. Ballentine, for the committee, submitted a very exhaustive report, which was adopted, rejecting the claim. The committee, in submit- ting the result of their labors, concluded their report in the following language: "Holding to these views, we respectfully report adversely to the passage of the bill." This report can be found in the Congressional Record of May, 1884, and also in Volume XIII. , Southern Historical Society Papers, pub- lished in 1885.
The Virginia was 262 feet 9 inches long and she drew 22 feet when ready for action. Her shield was 167 feet 7 inches in length, and was covered with two layers of iron that was rolled at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. The plates were 8 inches wide, 2 inches thick, and about 20 feet long. Their capacity for resistence was tested by Lieutenant John M. Brooke, of the ordinance department at Richmond. The first layer ran fore and aft, and the top layer was placed up and down. The timber backing was 22 inches thick and the iron armor 4 inches. Her shutters were of hammered iron 4 inches thick, and her pilot-houses were of cast iron 12 inches thick, with 4 holes each for observation. They were placed at each end of her shield. The pitch of the gun deck was 7 feet, and the iron grating above, forming a deck, was 2 inches thick. There were three hatchways in the top of the grating, with pivot shutters. The casualties on the Virginia occurred in the first day's fight. There were none the second day. Her armor was not pierced at any time, and but six of her outer plates were cracked. None of the lower ones were injured. Two of her guns were broken at the muzzle the first day, and two men killed, the damage being done by shot coming in unprotected portholes. Her armor showed that more than a hundred shots
