Proposed Correction to "On This Day" historical fact published March 9, 2016

[David Lockmiller]

I sent the following email today requesting correction be made by the NYTimes:

Subject: Correction needed for the historical comment published “ON THIS DAY” March 9, 2016

The New York Times wrote:
On March 9, 1862, during the Civil War, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va.

It is historical fact that the Monitor chased the Virginia (formerly Merrimac) from the “field of battle” after inflicting severe damage upon the rebel ironclad on Sunday, March 9, 1862. After retreating to the safety of its home base at Norfolk, the Virginia never returned to battle the Monitor. For reference, see the accounts of this historic naval battle by Gustavus V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Captain John S. Worden, commander of the Monitor, and his second in command, Lieutenant Greene, in the book entitled “Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration,” by L. E. Chittenden, his Register of the Treasury, (Harper & Brothers Publishers), 1891, at pages 222-234.

A particularly relevant portion of Lieutenant Greene’s account reads as follows:
“I kept the Monitor either moving around the circle or around the enemy, and endeavored to place our shots as near her amidships as possible, where Captain Worden believed he had already broken through her armor. We knew that she could not sink us, and I thought I would keep right on pounding her as long as she would stand it. There is really nothing new to be added to Captain Worden’s account. We could strike her wherever we chose; weary as they must have been, our men were full of enthusiasm, and I do not think we wasted a shot.” (Page 232)