THE ALABAMA AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE--LEAVES ON HER RETURN TO
EUROPE--CAPTURE OF THE ROCKINGHAM AND OF THE TYCOON--CROSSES THE EQUATOR
INTO THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, AND ARRIVES AND ANCHORS AT CHERBOURG ON THE
11TH OF JUNE, 1864--THE COMBAT BETWEEN THE ALABAMA AND THE KEARSARGE.
We entered Table Bay on the 20th of March, and on the next day we had the
usual equinoctial gale. The wind was from the south-east, and blew very
heavily for twenty-four hours. We let go a second anchor, and veered to
ninety fathoms on the riding-chain. The usual phenomena accompanied this
south-east gale, viz., a clear sky and a high barometer. The D----l kept
his table-cloth spread on the top of the mountain during the whole of the
gale, and it was wonderful to watch the unvarying size and shape of this
fleecy cloud, every particle of which was being changed from moment to
moment. Some boats visited us, notwithstanding the gale, and brought us
off some of the delightful grapes and figs of the Cape. We were in the
midst of the fruit season. Our old friend, Mr. William Anderson, of the
firm of Anderson, Saxon & Co., who had acted as our agent, on the occasion
of our former visit, so much to our satisfaction, also came off to arrange
for further supplies. There was no occasion any longer for him to draw
upon our public chest, the proceeds of the merchandise shipped by him to
Europe, on our account, being sufficient to pay all bills.
The gale having moderated the next day, lighters came alongside, and we
began coaling, and receiving such supplies of provisions as we needed.
Visitors again thronged on board, and the energies and address of
Bartelli were freshly taxed. For a phlegmatic, impassible people, the
English are, perhaps, the greatest sight-seekers in the world; and the
Cape of Good Hope, being, as before remarked, a relay station on the
principal highway of travel, is always filled with new-comers. Military
and naval officers, governors, judges, superintendents of boards of trade,
attorney-generals, all on their way to their missions in the Far East,
came to see the _Alabama_. Though we were sometimes incommoded by the
crowd, in the midst of our coaling and provisioning ship, scraping masts
and tarring down rigging, we received everybody politely, and answered
patiently their curious questions. When we were here last, we had had
occasion to notice an American bark called the _Urania_, a trader between
Boston and the Cape, which took every opportunity to display a very large
and very bright "old flag," during our stay. The _Urania_ had made a
voyage to Boston and back, during our absence, and now came in, tricked
out so finely in her "bran-new" English flag that we hardly knew her!
In three days we were ready for sea. On the morning of the 25th, we got up
steam, and moved out of Table Bay for the last time, amidst lusty cheers,
and the waving of handkerchiefs from the fleet of boats by which we were
surrounded. As we were going out, it so happened that a Yankee steamer was
coming in. The _Quang Tung_, a fast steamer, recently built for the China
trade, and now on her way to the Flowery Land, not dreaming that the
_Alabama_ was at the Cape, had made Table Mountain that morning, and now
came steaming into the harbor. Both ships being within the marine league,
we could not touch her, which was a sore trial, for the _Quang Tung_ was a
beauty, and passed so close under our guns, that the Confederate and
United States flags nearly touched each other; the crews of the two ships
looking on in silence. Half an hour more, and the capture of the
_Sea-Bride_ would have been repeated, to the gratification of our many
friends at the Cape. Reaching the offing, we permitted our fires to go
down, and put the ship, as usual, under sail. My intention now was, to
make the best of my way to England or France, for the purpose of docking,
and thoroughly overhauling and repairing my ship, in accordance with my
previously expressed design.
I had been so much occupied with business and visitors, at the Cape, that
I had not even had time to read the newspapers. But my friends had brought
me off a bountiful supply for sea, and I now had a little leisure to look
at them. The news was not encouraging. Our people were being harder and
harder pressed by the enemy, and post after post within our territory was
being occupied by him. The signs of weakness, on our part, which I
mentioned as becoming, for the first time, painfully apparent, after the
battle of Gettysburg, and the surrender of Vicksburg, were multiplying.
The blockade of the coast, by reason of the constantly increasing fleets
of the enemy, was becoming more and more stringent. Our finances were
rapidly deteriorating, and a general demoralization, in consequence,
seemed to be spreading among our people. From the whole review of the
"situation," I was very apprehensive that the cruises of the _Alabama_
were drawing to a close. As for ourselves, we were doing the best we
could, with our limited means, to harass and cripple the enemy's commerce,
that important sinew of war; but the enemy seemed resolved to let his
commerce go, rather than forego his purpose of subjugating us; rendering
it up a willing sacrifice on the profane altar of his fanaticism, and the
devilish passions which had been engendered by the war. Probably, if the
alternative had been presented to him, in the beginning of the war, "Will
you lose your commerce, or permit the Southern States to go free?" he
would have chosen the latter. But he seemed, in the earlier stages of the
war, to have had no thought of losing his commerce; and when it became
apparent that this misfortune would befall him, he was, as before
remarked, too deeply engaged in the contest to heed it.
Among the speeches that met my eye, in the English papers, was another
from my friend, Mr. Milner Gibson, President of the Board of Trade--him of
the "ham and eggs," whom I quoted some chapters back. Mr. Gibson had risen
above ham and eggs, this time, and was talking about English and American
shipping. As President of the Board of Trade, he was good authority, and I
was glad to learn from him, the extent to which, in conjunction with other
Confederate cruisers, I had damaged the enemy's commerce. His speech was
delivered at Ashton-under-Lyne, on the 20th of January, 1864, and among
other things he said:--
"The number of British ships entering in, and clearing out with
cargoes in the United Kingdom, has increased in the present year to
an amount of something like fourteen million of tons and upward,
against seven million tons of foreign shipping; thus showing, that
with a great increase altogether, British shipping has kept gradually
in advance of foreign shipping in the trade with the United Kingdom.
But it would not be fair to take credit for this improvement in
shipping, as due to any policy in this country. I am afraid that some
of it is due to the transference of the carrying-trade from American
ships to British ships. And why this transference from American ships
to British ships? No doubt, partially in consequence of the war that
prevails in America, there may not be the same power in manning and
fitting out merchant vessels. But I am afraid there is something more
than that. There is the fear among the American merchant shipping of
attacks by certain armed vessels that are careering over the ocean,
and that are burning and destroying all United States merchant ships
that they find upon the high seas. The fear, therefore, of
destruction by these cruisers, has caused a large transfer of
American carrying to British ships. Now the decrease in the
employment of American shipping is very great in the trade between
England and the United States. It is something like 46 or 47 per
cent. I mention these facts to show you that it is right that the
attention of this great commercial nation should be seriously turned
to those laws which govern the action of belligerents upon the high
seas--(hear! hear!)--for if some two or three armed steamers, which a
country with no pretensions to a navy, can easily send upon the
ocean, armed with one or two guns, can almost clear the seas of the
merchant shipping of a particular nation, what might happen to this
country, with her extensive commerce over the seas, if she went to
war with some nation that availed herself of the use of similar
descriptions of vessels. (Hear! hear!)"
Though the subject was done up in a new form, it was still "ham and
eggs"--British interests--as the reader sees. Mr. Milner Gibson was not
over-stating the damage we had done the enemy. He was unfriendly to us,
and therefore inclined to under-state it. According to his statistics, we
had destroyed, or driven for protection under the English flag, in round
numbers, one half of the enemy's ships engaged in the English trade. We
did even greater damage to the enemy's trade with other powers. We broke
up almost entirely his trade with Brazil, and the other South American
States, greatly crippled his Pacific trade, and as for his East India
trade, it is only necessary to refer the reader to the spectacle presented
at Singapore, to show him what had become of that.
I threw my ship, now, into the "fair way," leading from the Cape of Good
Hope, to the equatorial crossing, east of our old trysting-place, Fernando
de Noronha; shortening sail, from time to time, and see-sawing across the
highway, to give any Yankee ships that might be travelling it, the
opportunity to come up with me. I held myself in check, a day or two, in
the vicinity of St. Helena, experiencing all the vicissitudes of weather,
so feelingly complained of by the "Great Captive" on that barren rock.
Leaving St. Helena, we jogged along leisurely under topsails, the stream
of commerce flowing past us, but there being no Yankee ships in the
stream.
"Howl, ye ships of Tarshish,
For your strength is laid waste."
On the 22d of April, having reached the track of the homeward-bound
Pacific ships of the enemy, we descried an unlucky Yankee, to whom we
immediately gave chase. The chase continued the whole night, the moon
shining brightly, the breeze being gentle, and the sea smooth. The Yankee
worked like a good fellow to get away, piling clouds of canvas upon his
ship, and handling her with the usual skill, but it was of no use. When
the day dawned we were within a couple of miles of him. It was the old
spectacle of the panting, breathless fawn, and the inexorable stag-hound.
A gun brought his colors to the peak, and his main-yard to the mast. The
prize proved to be the ship _Rockingham_, from Callao, bound to Cork for
orders. Her cargo consisted of guano from the Chincha Islands, and there
was an attempt to protect it. It was shipped by the "Guano Consignment
Company of Great Britain." Among the papers was a certificate, of which
the following is the purport: One Joseph A. Danino, who signs for Danino &
Moscosa, certifies that the guano belongs to the Peruvian Government; and
Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Lima, certifies that the said Joseph A.
Danino appeared before him, and "voluntarily declared, that the foregoing
signature is of his own handwriting, and also, that the cargo above
mentioned is truly and verily the property of the Peruvian Government."
This was about equal to some of the Yankee attempts, that have been
noticed, to cover cargoes. With the most perfect unconcern for the laws of
nations, no one swore to anything. Mr. Danino certified, and the Consul
certified that Mr. Danino had certified. _Voila tout!_ We transferred to
the _Alabama_ such stores and provisions as we could make room for, and
the weather being fine, we made a target of the prize, firing some shot
and shell into her with good effect; and at five P. M. we burned her, and
filled away on our course.
A few days afterward--on the 27th of April--being in latitude 11 deg.
16' S. and longitude 32 deg. 07' W., the weather being fine, and the wind
light from the south-east, we descried, at three P. M., a large ship
standing directly for us. Neither ship changed tack or sheet until we were
within speaking distance. Nor had we shown the stranger any colors. We now
hailed, and ordered him to heave to, whilst we should send aboard of him,
hoisting our colors at the same time. We had previously seen the Yankee
colors in the hands of one of his seamen, ready to be hoisted. The whole
thing was done so quietly, that one would have thought it was two friends
meeting. The prize proved to be the _Tycoon_, from New York, for San
Francisco. She had the usual valuable and assorted cargo. There was no
claim of neutral property among the papers. The ship being only thirty-six
days from New York, we received from her a batch of late newspapers; and a
portion of her cargo consisting of clothing, the paymaster was enabled to
replenish his store-rooms with every variety of wearing apparel. We
applied the torch to her soon after nightfall.
On the 2d of May, we recrossed the equator into the northern hemisphere,
took the north-east trade-wind, after the usual interval of calm, and the
usual amount of thunder, lightning, and rain, and with it, ran up to our
old toll-gate, at the crossing of the 30th parallel, where, as the reader
will recollect, we halted, on our outward passage, and _vised_ the
passports of so many travellers. The poor old _Alabama_ was not now what
she had been then. She was like the wearied fox-hound, limping back after
a long chase, foot-sore, and longing for quiet and repose. Her commander,
like herself, was well-nigh worn down. Vigils by night and by day, the
storm and the drenching rain, the frequent and rapid change of climate,
now freezing, now melting or broiling, and the constant excitement of the
chase and capture, had laid, in the three years of war he had been afloat,
a load of a dozen years on his shoulders. The shadows of a sorrowful
future, too, began to rest upon his spirit. The last batch of newspapers
captured were full of disasters. Might it not be, that, after all our
trials and sacrifices, the cause for which we were struggling would be
lost? Might not our federal system of government be destroyed, and State
independence become a phrase of the past; the glorious fabric of our
American liberty sinking, as so many others had done before it, under a
new invasion of Brennuses and Attilas? The thought was hard to bear.
We passed through our old cruising-ground, the Azores, sighting several of
the islands which called up reminiscences of the christening of our ship,
and of the sturdy blows she had struck at the enemy's whaling fleet, in
the first days of her career. Thence we stretched over to the coasts of
Spain and Portugal, and thence to the British Channel, making the Lizard
on the 10th of June, and being fortunate enough to get a channel pilot on
board, just as night was setting in, with a thick south-wester brewing. By
eleven P. M., we were up with the "Start" light, and at ten the next
morning, we made Cape La Hague, on the coast of France. We were now
boarded by a French pilot, and at thirty minutes past noon, we let go our
anchor in the port of Cherbourg.
This was to be the _Alabama's_ last port. She had run her career, her
record had been made up, and in a few days more, she would lay her bones
beneath the waters of the British Channel, and be a thing of the past. I
had brought back with me all my officers, except the paymaster, whom I had
discharged at the island of Jamaica, as related in a former chapter, and
the young engineer, who had been accidentally killed at Saldanha Bay. Many
changes had taken place, of course, among my crew, as is always the case
with sailors, but still a large proportion of my old men had come back
with me. These were faithful and true, and took more than an ordinary
interest in their ship and their flag. There were harmony and mutual
confidence between officers and men. Our discipline had been rigid, but
mercy had always tempered justice, and the sailors understood and
appreciated this. I had been successful with the health of my men beyond
precedent. In my two ships, the _Sumter_ and _Alabama_, I had had, first
and last, say five hundred men under my command. The ships were small and
crowded. As many as two thousand prisoners were confined, for longer or
shorter periods, on board the two ships; and yet, out of the total of
twenty-five hundred men, _I had not lost a single man by disease_. I had
skilful and attentive surgeons, I gave them _carte blanche_ with regard to
medicines and diet, and my first lieutenant understood it to be an
important part of his duty to husband the strength of his men. The means
which were resorted to by all these officers, for preserving the health of
the crew, have been detailed. The reader has seen, not only how their
clothing was changed as we changed our latitude, but how it was changed
every evening, when we were in warm climates. He has seen how sedulously
we guarded against intemperance, at the same time that we gave the sailor
his regular allowance of grog. And last, though by no means least, he has
seen how we endeavored to promote a cheerful and hilarious spirit among
them, being present at, and encouraging them in their diversions.
Immediately upon anchoring, I sent an officer to call on the Port Admiral,
and ask leave to land my prisoners from the two last ships captured. This
was readily granted, and the next day I went on shore to see him myself,
in relation to docking and repairing my ship. My arrival had, of course,
been telegraphed to Paris, and indeed, by this time, had been spread all
over Europe. The Admiral regretted that I had not gone into Havre, or some
other commercial port, where I would have found private docks. Cherbourg
being exclusively a naval station, the docks all belonged to the
Government, and the Government would have preferred not to dock and repair
a belligerent ship. No positive objection was made, however, and the
matter was laid over, until the Emperor could be communicated with. The
Emperor was then at Biarritz, a small watering-place on the south coast,
and would not be back in Paris for several days. It was my intention, if I
had been admitted promptly into dock, to give my crew a leave of absence
for a couple of months. They would have been discharged, and dispersed, in
the first twenty-four hours after my arrival, but for this temporary
absence of the Emperor. The combat, therefore, which ensued, may be said
to be due to the Emperor's accidental absence from Paris.
When the _Alabama_ arrived in Cherbourg, the enemy's steamer _Kearsarge_
was lying at Flushing. On the 14th of June, or three days after our
arrival, she steamed into the harbor of Cherbourg, sent a boat on shore to
communicate with the authorities, and, without anchoring, steamed out
again, and took her station off the breakwater. We had heard, a day or two
before, of the expected arrival of this ship, and it was generally
understood among my crew that I intended to engage her. Her appearance,
therefore, produced no little excitement on board. The object which the
_Kearsarge_ had in view, in communicating with the authorities, was to
request that the prisoners I had sent on shore might be delivered up to
her. To this I objected, on the ground, that it would augment her crew,
which she had no right to do, in neutral waters, and especially in the
face of her enemy. Captain Winslow's request was refused, and the
prisoners were not permitted to go on board of him. I now addressed a note
to Mr. Bonfils, our agent, requesting him to inform Captain Winslow,
through the United States Consul, that if he would wait until I could
receive some coal on board--my supply having been nearly exhausted, by my
late cruising--I would come out and give him battle. This message was duly
conveyed, and the defiance was understood to have been accepted.
We commenced coaling ship immediately, and making other preparations for
battle; as sending down all useless yards and top-hamper, examining the
gun equipments, and overhauling the magazine and shell-rooms. My crew
seemed not only willing, but anxious for the combat, and I had every
confidence in their steadiness and drill; but they labored under one
serious disadvantage. They had had but very limited opportunities of
actual practice at target-firing, with shot and shell. The reason is
obvious. I had no means of replenishing either shot or shell, and was
obliged, therefore, to husband the store I had on hand, for actual
conflict. The stories that ran the round of the Federal papers at the
time, that my crew was composed mainly of trained gunners from the British
practice-ship _Excellent_, were entirely without foundation. I had on
board some half dozen British seamen, who had served in ships of war in
former years, but they were in no respect superior to the rest of the
crew. As for the two ships, though the enemy was superior to me, both in
size, stanchness of construction, and armament, they were of force so
nearly equal, that I cannot be charged with rashness in having offered
battle. The _Kearsarge_ mounted seven guns:--two eleven-inch Dahlgrens,
four 32-pounders, and a rifled 28-pounder. The _Alabama_ mounted
eight:--one eight-inch, one rifled 100-pounder, and six 32-pounders.
Though the _Alabama_ carried one gun more than her antagonist, it is seen
that the battery of the latter enabled her to throw more metal at a
broadside--there being a difference of three inches in the bore of the
shell-guns of the two ships.
Still the disparity was not so great, but that I might hope to beat my
enemy in a fair fight. But he did not show me a fair fight, for, as it
afterward turned out, his ship was iron-clad. It was the same thing, as if
two men were to go out to fight a duel, and one of them, unknown to the
other, were to put a shirt of mail under his outer garment. The days of
chivalry being past, perhaps it would be unfair to charge Captain Winslow
with deceit in withholding from me the fact that he meant to wear armor in
the fight. He may have reasoned that it was my duty to find it out for
myself. Besides, if he had disclosed this fact to me, and so prevented the
engagement, the Federal Secretary of the Navy would have cut his head off
to a certainty. A man who could permit a ship of war, which had
surrendered, to be run off with, by her crew, _after they had been
paroled_--see the case of the _Mercedita_ described in a former
chapter--and who could contrive, or connive at the sinking of the
_Florida_, to prevent the making of a reparation of honor to Brazil, would
not be likely to be very complacent toward an officer who showed any signs
of _weakness_ on the score of _honor_ or _honesty_. Judging from the tone
of the Yankee press, too, when it came afterward to describe the
engagement, Winslow seemed to have gauged his countrymen correctly, when
he came to the conclusion that it would not do to reveal his secret to me.
So far from having any condemnation to offer, the press, that chivalrous
exponent of the opinions of a chivalrous people, was rather pleased at the
"Yankee trick." It was characteristic, "cute," "smart."
"Appleton's Encyclopedia of the War," much more liberal and fair than some
of its congeners, thus speaks of Winslow's device:--"Availing himself of
an ingenious expedient for the protection of his machinery, first adopted
by Admiral Farragut, in running past the rebel forts on the Mississippi in
1862, Captain Winslow had hung all his spare anchor cable over the midship
section of the _Kearsarge_, on either side; and in order to make the
addition less unsightly, the chains were boxed over with inch deal boards,
forming a sort of case, which stood out at right-angles to the side of the
vessel." One sees a twinge of honesty in this paragraph. The boxing stood
out at right-angles to the side of the ship, and therefore the _Alabama
ought to have seen it_. But unfortunately for the _Alabama_, the
right-angles were not there. The forward and after ends of the "boxing,"
went off at so fine a point, in accordance with the lines of the ship,
that the telescope failed to detect the cheat. Besides, when a ship is
preparing for a fight, she does not care much about _show_. It is a fight,
and not a review that she has on hand. Hence, we have another twinge, when
the paragraphist remarks that the boxing was resorted to, to make the
armor appear "_less unsightly_!" And, then, what about the necessity for
_protecting the machinery at all_? The machinery of all the enemy's new
sloops was below the water-line. Was the _Kearsarge_ an exception? The
plain fact is, without any varnish, the _Kearsarge_, though as effectually
protected as if she had been armored with the best of iron plates, was to
all appearance a wooden ship of war. But, to admit this, would spoil the
_eclat_ of the victory, and hence the effort to explain away the cheat, as
far as possible.
In the way of crew, the _Kearsarge_ had 162, all told--the _Alabama_, 149.
I had communicated my intention to fight this battle to Flag-Officer
Barron, my senior officer in Paris, a few days before, and that officer
had generously left the matter to my own discretion. I completed my
preparations on Saturday evening, the 18th of June, and notified the
Port-Admiral of my intention to go out on the following morning. The next
day dawned beautiful and bright. The cloudy, murky weather of some days
past had cleared off, and a bright sun, a gentle breeze, and a smooth sea,
were to be the concomitants of the battle. Whilst I was still in my cot,
the Admiral sent an officer off to say to me that the iron-clad frigate
_Couronne_ would accompany me a part of the way out, to see that the
neutrality of French waters was not violated. My crew had turned in early,
and gotten a good night's rest, and I permitted them to get their
breakfasts comfortably--not turning them to until nine o'clock--before any
movement was made toward getting under way, beyond lighting the fires in
the furnaces. I ought to mention that Midshipman Sinclair, the son of
Captain Terry Sinclair, of the Confederate Navy, whom I had sent with Low,
as his first lieutenant in the _Tuscaloosa_, being in Paris when we
arrived, had come down on the eve of the engagement--accompanied by his
father--and endeavored to rejoin me, but was prevented by the French
authorities. It is opportune also to state, that in view of possible
contingencies, I had directed Galt, my acting paymaster, to send on shore
for safe-keeping, the funds of the ship, and complete pay-rolls of the
crew, showing the state of the account of each officer and man.
The day being Sunday, and the weather fine, a large concourse of
people--many having come all the way from Paris--collected on the heights
above the town, in the upper stories of such of the houses as commanded a
view of the sea, and on the walls and fortifications of the harbor.
Several French luggers employed as pilot-boats went out, and also an
English steam-yacht, called the _Deerhound_. Everything being in readiness
between nine and ten o'clock, we got under way, and proceeded to sea,
through the western entrance of the harbor; the _Couronne_ following us.
As we emerged from behind the mole, we discovered the _Kearsarge_ at a
distance of between six and seven miles from the land. She had been
apprised of our intention of coming out that morning, and was awaiting us.
The _Couronne_ anchored a short distance outside of the harbor. We were
three quarters of an hour in running out to the _Kearsarge_, during which
time we had gotten our people to quarters, cast loose the battery, and
made all the other necessary preparations for battle. The yards had been
previously slung in chains, stoppers prepared for the rigging, and
preventer braces rove. It only remained to open the magazine and
shell-rooms, sand down the decks, and fill the requisite number of tubs
with water. The crew had been particularly neat in their dress on that
morning, and the officers were all in the uniforms appropriate to their
rank. As we were approaching the enemy's ship, I caused the crew to be
sent aft, within convenient reach of my voice, and mounting a
gun-carriage, delivered them the following brief address. I had not spoken
to them in this formal way since I had addressed them on the memorable
occasion of commissioning the ship.
"OFFICERS AND SEAMEN OF THE ALABAMA!--You have, at length, another
opportunity of meeting the enemy--the first that has been presented
to you, since you sank the _Hatteras_! In the meantime, you have been
all over the world, and it is not too much to say, that you have
destroyed, and driven for protection under neutral flags, one half of
the enemy's commerce, which, at the beginning of the war, covered
every sea. This is an achievement of which you may well be proud; and
a grateful country will not be unmindful of it. The name of your ship
has become a household word wherever civilization extends. Shall that
name be tarnished by defeat? The thing is impossible! Remember that
you are in the English Channel, the theatre of so much of the naval
glory of our race, and that the eyes of all Europe are at this
moment, upon you. The flag that floats over you is that of a young
Republic, who bids defiance to her enemies, whenever, and wherever
found. Show the world that you know how to uphold it! Go to your
quarters."
The utmost silence prevailed during the delivery of this address, broken
only once, in an enthusiastic outburst of _Never! never!_ when I asked my
sailors if they would permit the name of their ship to be tarnished by
defeat. My official report of the engagement, addressed to Flag-Officer
Barron, in Paris, will describe what now took place. It was written at
Southampton, England, two days after the battle.
SOUTHAMPTON, June 21, 1864.
SIR:--I have the honor to inform you, that, in accordance with my
intention as previously announced to you, I steamed out of the harbor
of Cherbourg between nine and ten o'clock on the morning of the 19th
of June, for the purpose of engaging the enemy's steamer _Kearsarge_,
which had been lying off, and on the port, for several days
previously. After clearing the harbor, we descried the enemy, with
his head off shore, at the distance of about seven miles. We were
three quarters of an hour in coming up with him. I had previously
pivotted my guns to starboard, and made all preparations for engaging
the enemy on that side. When within about a mile and a quarter of the
enemy, he suddenly wheeled, and, bringing his head in shore,
presented his starboard battery to me. By this time, we were distant
about one mile from each other, when I opened on him with solid shot,
to which he replied in a few minutes, and the action became active on
both sides. The enemy now pressed his ship under a full head of
steam, and to prevent our passing each other too speedily, and to
keep our respective broadsides bearing, it became necessary to fight
in a circle; the two ships steaming around a common centre, and
preserving a distance from each other of from three quarters to half
a mile. When we got within good shell range, we opened upon him with
shell. Some ten or fifteen minutes after the commencement of the
action, our spanker-gaff was shot away, and our ensign came down by
the run. This was immediately replaced by another at the
mizzen-masthead. The firing now became very hot, and the enemy's
shot, and shell soon began to tell upon our hull, knocking down,
killing, and disabling a number of men, at the same time, in
different parts of the ship. Perceiving that our shell, though
apparently exploding against the enemy's sides, were doing him but
little damage, I returned to solid-shot firing, and from this time
onward alternated with shot, and shell.
After the lapse of about one hour and ten minutes, our ship was
ascertained to be in a sinking condition, the enemy's shell having
exploded in our side, and between decks, opening large apertures
through which the water rushed with great rapidity. For some few
minutes I had hopes of being able to reach the French coast, for
which purpose I gave the ship all steam, and set such of the
fore-and-aft sails as were available. The ship filled so rapidly,
however, that before we had made much progress, the fires were
extinguished in the furnaces, and we were evidently on the point of
sinking. I now hauled down my colors, to prevent the further
destruction of life, and dispatched a boat to inform the enemy of our
condition. Although we were now but 400 yards from each other, the
enemy fired upon me five times after my colors had been struck. It is
charitable to suppose that a ship of war of a Christian nation could
not have done this, intentionally. We now directed all our exertions
toward saving the wounded, and such of the boys of the ship as were
unable to swim. These were dispatched in my quarter-boats, the only
boats remaining to me; the waist-boats having been torn to pieces.
Some twenty minutes after my furnace-fires had been extinguished, and
when the ship was on the point of settling, every man, in obedience
to a previous order which had been given the crew, jumped overboard,
and endeavored to save himself. There was no appearance of any boat
coming to me from the enemy, until after my ship went down.
Fortunately, however, the steam-yacht _Deerhound_, owned by a
gentleman of Lancashire, England--Mr. John Lancaster--who was himself
on board, steamed up in the midst of my drowning men, and rescued a
number of both officers and men from the water. I was fortunate
enough myself thus to escape to the shelter of the neutral flag,
together with about forty others, all told. About this time, the
_Kearsarge_ sent one, and then, tardily, another boat. Accompanying,
you will find lists of the killed and wounded, and of those who were
picked up by the _Deerhound_; the remainder, there is reason to hope,
were picked up by the enemy, and by a couple of French pilot boats,
which were also fortunately near the scene of action. At the end of
the engagement, it was discovered by those of our officers who went
alongside of the enemy's ship, with the wounded, that her mid-ship
section, on both sides, was thoroughly iron-coated; this having been
done with chains, constructed for the purpose, placed
perpendicularly, from the rail to the water's edge, the whole covered
over by a thin outer planking, which gave no indication of the armor
beneath. This planking had been ripped off, in every direction, by
our shot and shell, the chain broken, and indented in many places,
and forced partly into the ship's side. She was effectually guarded,
however, in this section, from penetration. The enemy was much
damaged, in other parts, but to what extent it is now impossible to
say. It is believed he is badly crippled. My officers and men behaved
steadily and gallantly, and though they have lost their ship, they
have not lost honor. Where all behaved so well, it would be invidious
to particularize, but I cannot deny myself the pleasure of saying
that Mr. Kell, my first lieutenant, deserves great credit for the
fine condition in which the ship went into action, with regard to her
battery, magazine and shell-rooms, and that he rendered me great
assistance, by his coolness, and judgment, as the fight proceeded.
The enemy was heavier than myself, both in ship, battery, and crew;
but I did not know until the action was over, that she was also
iron-clad. Our total loss in killed and wounded, is 30, to wit: 9
killed, and 21 wounded.
It was afterward ascertained, that as many as ten were drowned. As stated
in the above despatch, I had the satisfaction of saving all my wounded
men. Every one of them was passed carefully into a boat, and sent off to
the enemy's ship, before the final plunge into the sea was made by the
unhurt portion of the crew. Here is the proper place to drop a tear over
the fate of a brave officer. My surgeon, D. H. Llewellyn, of Wiltshire,
England, a grandson of Lord Herbert, lost his life by drowning. It was his
privilege to accompany the wounded men, in the boats, to the _Kearsarge_,
but he did not do so. He remained and took his chance of escape, with the
rest of his brethren in arms, and perished almost in sight of his home,
after an absence of two years from the dear ones who were to mourn his
loss. With reference to the drowning of my men, I desire to present a
contrast to the reader. I sank the _Hatteras_ off Galveston, in a _night_
engagement. When the enemy appealed to me for assistance, telling me that
his ship was sinking, I sent him all my boats, and saved every officer and
man, numbering more than a hundred persons. The _Alabama_ was sunk in
_open daylight_--the enemy's ship being only 400 yards distant--and ten of
my men were permitted to drown. Indeed, but for the friendly interposition
of the _Deerhound_, there is no doubt that a great many more would have
perished.
Captain Winslow has stated, in his despatch to his Government, that he
desired to board the _Alabama_. He preserved a most respectful distance
from her, even after he saw that she was crippled. He had greatly the
speed of me, and could have laid me alongside, at any moment, but, so far
from doing so, he was shy of me even after the engagement had ended. In a
letter to the Secretary of the Federal Navy, published by Mr. Adams, in
London, a few days after the engagement, he says:--"I have the honor to
report that, toward the close of the action between the _Alabama_ and this
vessel, all available sail was made on the former, for the purpose of
regaining Cherbourg. When the object was apparent, the _Kearsarge_ was
steered across the bow of the _Alabama_, for a raking fire, but before
reaching this point, the _Alabama_ struck. Uncertain whether Captain
Semmes was not making some _ruse_, the _Kearsarge_ was stopped." This is
probably the explanation of the whole of Captain Winslow's strange conduct
at the time. He was afraid to approach us because of some _ruse_ that we
might be practising upon him. Before he could recover from his
bewilderment, and make up his mind that we were really beaten, my ship
went down. I acquit him, therefore, entirely, of any intention of
permitting my men to drown, or even of gross negligence, which would be
almost as criminal. It was his _judgment_ which was entirely at fault. I
had known, and sailed with him, in the old service, and knew him _then_ to
be a humane and Christian gentleman. What the war may have made of him, it
is impossible to say. It has turned a great deal of the milk of human
kindness to gall and wormwood.
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