A Fortress Monroe dispatch to the Philadelphia Inquirer says :

“It is not improper to state, while the eyes of the whole North are upon the Monitor, that her officers and crew are aware of the responsibility resting upon them, and that the greatest vigilance is constantly exercised. The round iron tower floats in such a position as to command the exit from Elizabeth river, and from a slender tube at one end of the ‘Yankee Cheese Box’ a jet of steam issues continually. The crew pace the iron clad deck, almost on a level with the surface of the water, and the glance of the watch sweeps the shores of Virginia from the unromantic ‘Pig Point’ to the rebel batteries at Craney island.

The victory won on the waters of Hampton Roads on Saturday and Sunday last, is one which for eclat, is without a parallel in the annals of naval achievements. One vessel has, in open encounter, destroyed two, perhaps three of the choicest vessels of the enemy, with very slight injury to herself! The Virginia was indeed zealously supported by the Patrick Henry and other slight steamers; but the brunt of the fight fell on her—the blows which won the victory came from her. Some account of this vessel will be interesting in this hour of her fame.

The Virginia—known then as the Merrimac—was burned to the water’s edge by the enemy, and sunk, at the time of the capture by our forces, of the Portsmouth Navy Yard, on the 20th April last. The hull was subsequently raised, and built upon, after a plan conceived and suggested by Lieutenant John M. Brooke, of the Confederate States Navy. This plan was an entire novelty in the history of naval architecture. It provided for the submerging of as much of the structure as possible, including both bow and stern, and making the rest invulnerable to the shot of the enemy, by an iron covering. Armed with the largest guns herself, and with the bow so contrived as to make her very formidable as a ram, the Virginia was sent cut to try her prowess upon the enemy.

A Naval Engagement—Attack made on U. S. Vessels By the Steamers Merrimac, Yorktown and Jamestown—U. S. Frigate Cumberland Sunk—Capture of the Frigate Congress—Reported Damage to other Vessels—Arrival of the Iron-Clad Steamer Monitor—Second Engagement—The Merrimac in a Sinking Condition.

The Baltimore Sun of this morning says:

The steamer Adelaide, Capt. Cannon, arrived at half-past nine o’clock yesterday morning, from Old Point; having left the latter place at eight o’clock on Saturday night. She brought the important intelligence of an engagement between several United States and Confederate vessels in Hampton Roads, between the mouth of James river and Sewall’s Point. The news, soon after the arrival of the Adelaide yesterday morning, created quite a sensation, and an endless variety of exaggerated reports were put In circulation.

It appeared, after careful inquiry, that passengers who came up in the Adelaide, and seemed to be intelligent, stated that the Confederate steamer Merrimac came out at one o’clock on Saturday afternoon, while the Federal frigates Congress and Cumberland were lying off Newport News point. She headed for these vessels, and was soon within range of the Congress, which opened a broadside on her without any perceptible effect. She passed the Congress, when the Cumberland opened a broadside on her, but that likewise had no Injurious effect, and In a few minutes more the Merrimac struck the Cumberland amidship, and so crushed in her aide that she sunk in a few minutes.

It was reported that one hundred and fifty of those on board were known to have been saved, but how many were lost was not known. The Merrimac next turned her attention to the Congress, which had not ceased to fire on her, and after a short engagement captured her and all on board. The officers and crew of the Congress were sent to Pig’s Point, and the Congress was immediately manned by Confederates.