John Ancrum Winslow--His Early Life and Training--The Famous Battle
Between the _Kearsarge_ and _Alabama_.
A few weeks ago I had as guests at my house two young men who were
graduates of the West Point Military Academy in 1889. One was my son, at
present an instructor in the Academy, and the other was E. Eveleth
Winslow, of the corps of engineers, who had the honor of being graduated
at the head of his class. During the course of the conversation I asked
Captain Winslow whether he was a relative of the late Commodore John
Ancrum Winslow, commander of the _Kearsarge_ in her famous fight with
the _Alabama_.
"He was my grandfather," replied my friend, with a glow of pride.
It was a pleasant bit of information, but it made me realize how the
years are passing. It seems but a short time ago that the country was
electrified by the news of the great battle, off Cherbourg, France,
which sent to the bottom of the ocean the most destructive cruiser the
Southern Confederacy ever launched. And here was the grandson of the
hero of that fight, already thirty years of age, with the hair on his
crown growing scant. _Tempus fugit_ indeed.
The name Winslow is a distinguished one in the annals of our country,
and especially in Massachusetts, the State from which Captain Winslow
hails. He is the ninth generation from John Winslow, brother of Edward
Winslow, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the founder, as may
be said, of Plymouth Rock itself. John A. Winslow, the subject of this
sketch, however, was a Southerner by birth, being a native of
Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was born November 19, 1811. His
mother belonged to the famous Rhett family of the fiery State of South
Carolina. The father had gone to Wilmington from Boston, to establish a
commercial house, four years before the birth of the son, who was sent
North to be educated. At the age of sixteen he entered the navy, and saw
a good deal of dangerous service in the extirpation of the West Indian
pirates. The exciting experience was exactly to the liking of young
Winslow, whose life more than once was placed in great peril.
After an extended cruise in the Pacific, he returned east in 1833, and
was promoted to past midshipman. His service was of an unimportant
character for a number of years, the rank of lieutenant coming to him
in 1839. His conduct was so gallant in the war with Mexico that he was
publicly complimented by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, a younger brother
of the Lake Erie hero, and given the choice of vessels belonging to the
fleet.
A curious incident is mentioned by his biographer. He went with the
division which set out to capture Tampico, but the city surrendered
without a fight upon the approach of the boats. He remained several
weeks and then went back to the fleet at Vera Cruz. One of the vessels
had been capsized in a squall, and the captain was occupying Winslow's
room, and continued to share it until other arrangements could be made.
The name of this visitor was Raphael Semmes, afterward the commander of
the _Alabama_. The history of our navy is full of such strange
occurrences. When the furnace blast of secession swept over the country,
the most intimate friends--in many cases brothers--became the deadliest
of enemies. For a time two flags were flung to the breeze in the United
States, and the men who fought under each were among the bravest of the
brave, for they were all _Americans_.
In 1855 Winslow was made a commander and was engaged in various duties
until the breaking out of the Civil War. He hurried to Washington and
applied for active service. Captain Foote was busy fitting out a
flotilla at St. Louis, and Winslow was sent to join him. The work
involved great labor and difficulty, and Winslow's aid was invaluable,
although far from congenial. The task of blazing away at the guerrillas
in the bushes and woods along shore, of raking the muddy rivers and
streams for torpedoes, and of managing the awkward, nondescript craft,
was not to the liking of the naval officer, accustomed to the free air
of the deep, blue ocean. Finally his request to be transferred to sea
service was granted, and in the early part of 1863 he was placed in
command of the _Kearsarge_.
This sloop of war had a crew of 163 men, carried two 11-inch pivot guns,
four short 32-pounders and one rifled 30-pounder, the total shot weight
of the seven guns being 430 pounds. In this place it may be well to give
the statistics of the _Alabama_, since the two vessels were so
intimately associated in history. The Confederate cruiser carried one
100-pounder Blakely gun, one 8-inch shell gun and six long 32-pounders,
the eight guns having a total of 360 pounds shot weight, while the crew
consisted of 149 men, of mixed nationalities, nearly all of them being
Englishmen.
England at that time was less friendly to the United States than she
has since become, and she gave most unfair help to the Southern
Confederacy by aiding to fit out and man cruisers for it. When the war
was over she was compelled to pay a good round sum for her dishonest
course, and was taught a lesson she is not likely soon to forget. These
cruisers wrought immense havoc among our shipping, and Commander Winslow
was sent into European waters in quest of them. He was specially anxious
to meet the _Florida_, and followed her from the coast of South America
to that of England and France. The governments of those two countries
threw every possible obstacle in his way. The French pilots were
forbidden to serve the _Kearsarge_, and Captain Winslow had to be his
own pilot--something he was well able to do because of his familiarity
with the coasts.
Finding the _Florida_ in Brest, he blockaded the port. It was in the
depth of winter and the shore was dangerous, but Winslow did his duty so
well that the _Florida_ dared not poke her nose outside, until he was
compelled, because of shortness of provisions, to steam over to Cadiz to
obtain them. He made all haste to return, but when he arrived the
_Florida_ had slipped out and was gone.
There was no telling to what part of the world she had fled, and Captain
Winslow sailed to Calais, where he learned that the rebel
_Rappahannock_ was awaiting a chance to put to sea. He held her there
for two months, when a French pilot purposely ran the _Kearsarge_ into
the piers along shore. It was done by prearrangement with the officers
of the _Rappahannock_, in order to give the latter a chance to put to
sea. The indignant Winslow drove all the French pilots off his ship, and
by vigorous work got her off by daylight the next morning. Meanwhile the
_Rappahannock_, which had greatly overstayed her time, was ordered by
the French authorities to leave. Winslow heard of this, and, without
waiting for some of his men and officers who were on shore, he moved out
of the harbor. When the commander of the _Rappahannock_ saw the
_Kearsarge_ once more off the port of Calais, he knew it was all up and
dismantled his ship.
There was one Confederate scourge that had been roaming the seas for
months which Captain Winslow was anxious, above all others, to meet;
that was the _Alabama_, commanded by his former room-mate, Captain
Raphael Semmes. The _Kearsarge_, like many other vessels of the United
States, had been hunting here and there for the ocean pest, but it
seemed impossible to bring her to bay.
On Sunday morning, June 12, 1864, the _Kearsarge_ was lying off the town
of Flushing, Holland, with many of the officers and men ashore, and
with everything wearing the appearance of a protracted rest for the
crew. Some hours later, however, a gun was fired as a signal for every
member of the ship's company to come aboard at once. The cause of this
sudden awaking was a telegram from Minister William L. Dayton, at Paris,
notifying Captain Winslow that the _Alabama_ had arrived at Cherbourg.
On Tuesday, Winslow appeared off the fort, and saw the cruiser within,
with her Stars and Bars floating defiantly in the breeze. Had Captain
Winslow followed, he would have been compelled by law to remain
twenty-four hours after the departure of the _Alabama_, so he took a
station outside, determined that the cruiser should not escape him
again.
In this case, however, the precaution was unnecessary, for Semmes had
made up his mind to fight the National vessel. He had been charged with
cowardice in running away from armed ships, and he had destroyed and
captured so many helpless merchantmen that he felt something was due to
retrieve his reputation. A comparison of the crews and armaments of the
_Kearsarge_ and _Alabama_ will show that they were pretty evenly
matched, though the slight numerical superiority of the Union ship was
emphasized by the fact that her men were almost wholly American, while
those of Semmes, as already stated, were nearly all English.
Shortly after the arrival of Captain Winslow the following challenge was
brought out to him:
Confederate Steamer _Alabama_,
Cherbourg, June 14, 1864.
Sir:--I hear that you were informed by the United States
Consul that the _Kearsarge_ was to come to this port solely for the
prisoners landed by me, and that she was to depart in twenty-four
hours. I desire you to say to the United States Consul that my
intention is to fight the _Kearsarge_ as soon as I can make the
necessary arrangements. I hope these will not detain me more than
till to-morrow evening, or next morning, at the farthest. I beg she
will not depart before I am ready to go out.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant
R. Semmes, _Captain_.
This note, though couched in seemingly courteous language, contained the
most aggravating sort of sting, in the hope expressed that the
_Kearsarge_ would not leave until the _Alabama_ was ready to go out, and
the intimation--undoubtedly false--that the sole business of the Union
vessel was to take charge of the prisoners brought thither by the
Confederate. Captain Winslow had not spent months in hunting over the
globe for such a chance as this to let it slip.
The _Alabama_ was among friends. She had the sympathies of the
thousands, who hoped to see the Yankee ship sunk by the fearful
commerce-destroyer. Excursion trains were run from Paris and other
points to Cherbourg, and among the vast multitude who gathered on shore
on that warm, hazy Sunday morning--June 19--to witness the coming
battle, it may be doubted whether there were a score who wished to see
the _Kearsarge_ win.
The respective captains were brave men and good officers. Both had
declared that, if they ever met, the battle would not end until one of
the ships went to the bottom, and each knew that the other would keep
his word. Such a thing as surrender was not thought of by either.
Semmes was confident of his ability to sink the _Kearsarge_. Being a
Roman Catholic, and unable to attend service, he requested a friend to
go to mass and have it offered up for him, which was done. His
accumulated sixty chronometers were sent ashore, and the motto displayed
by his ship was "_Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera_," meaning, "Help yourself
and God will help you," another version of the old adage, "God helps
them that help themselves."
The church chimes were sending out their mellow notes on the warm summer
air when the _Alabama_ began slowly steaming out of the harbor. She was
cheered by the sympathetic thousands, who heard the drums beating to
quarters, and fervently prayed that their favorite might return
victorious.
Winslow neglected nothing in the way of preparation. While calmly
confident, his experience had taught him that such a contest is often
decided by a chance shot, and he knew that the doom of one of the ships
would be sealed before the set of sun. Having done all he could, he
committed everything to the God of battles, content to abide by His
will, whatever it might be.
It was about ten o'clock that Winslow, with his glass pointed toward
shore, saw the head of the _Alabama_ coming round the point of the mole,
some three miles distant. He immediately beat to quarters. The
_Couronne_ accompanied the _Alabama_ to the limits of French waters, and
then turned back. The English yacht _Deerhound_ had hurried down from
Caen, upon being telegraphed of the impending fight, and the owner, with
his family on board, followed the _Alabama_ at the risk of receiving a
stray shot that would wind up the career of the pleasure craft and all
on board.
Some time before Captain Winslow had arranged his sheet chains for a
distance of fifty feet amidships and over the side of his vessel,
extending six feet down. They were intended as an additional protection
to his machinery, and the practice is common among warships. The chains
were secured by marline to eyebolts protected with one-inch boards. This
natural precaution was the foundation for Captain Semmes' charge that
the _Kearsarge_ was partly armored. During the fight this part of the
ship was hit only twice, so that the protection, if it be considered
such, bore an unimportant part in the battle itself.
Captain Winslow was determined that no question about neutral waters
should be raised. Accordingly, as the _Alabama_ approached, he steamed
out to sea, as if running away from his antagonist. Another object he
had in mind was to prevent the _Alabama_, in case she was crippled, from
escaping by running into the harbor.
When the _Kearsarge_ had reached a point some seven miles from land, she
swung around and made directly for the _Alabama_, although such a course
exposed her to the raking broadsides of the enemy. Reading his purpose,
Semmes slowed his engines and sheered off, thus presenting his starboard
battery to the _Kearsarge_. When the vessels were about a mile apart,
the jets of fire and smoke from the side of the _Alabama_, followed by
the reverberating boom of her cannon, showed that she had fired her
first broadside. It did only trifling damage to the rigging of the
_Kearsarge_. A second and part of a third broadside were delivered, with
no perceptible effect. All the time, under a full head of steam, Winslow
was rushing toward his enemy for the death grapple. Still in peril of
being raked, he now sheered when half a mile distant and fired his
broadside of five-second shells, at the same time endeavoring to pass
under the _Alabama's_ stern, but Semmes defeated the manoeuvre by also
sheering his vessel. The effort of each was now to keep his starboard
broadside presented to the other, the attempt causing the two ships to
describe an immense circle, the diameter of which steadily decreased,
until it was barely a third of a mile.
Ten minutes after the opening of the battle the spanker gaff of the
_Alabama_ and the ensign were brought down by the fire of the
_Kearsarge_, whose crew burst into cheers, but the Confederates quickly
hoisted the colors to their mizzen. When the two ships were within a
third of a mile of each other the fire became terrible; but from the
first that of the _Kearsarge_ was more accurate and did vast damage.
This was impressively shown by the fact that although the _Kearsarge_
fired only 173 shots during the fight, nearly every one struck the
_Alabama_, which fired 370, of which only 28 landed.
One of the _Alabama's_ 60-pound Blakely shells passed through the
bulwarks of the _Kearsarge_, and, bursting on the quarter deck, wounded
three men, of whom William Gowin was mortally hurt. When carried to the
surgeon, the intensely suffering man smiled. "We are whipping the
_Alabama_," he said, "and I am willing to give my life for such a
victory."
Another Confederate shell burst in the hammock nettings and started a
fire, which was easily extinguished. A third lodged in the sternpost,
but failed to explode. Had it done so, its effect would have been
terrific. The damage done by the other shells was insignificant.
A far different story was told on the Confederate cruiser. Winslow's
instructions to his gunners were to fire slowly and to make every shot
tell, and they did so. The men on the _Alabama_ stripped to their shirts
and drawers and fired rapidly, as if the only thing to do was to work
the guns without taking pause to aim. Crashing planks and timber and
exploding shells seemed to be all about them. A single shot from the
_Kearsarge_ killed and wounded eighteen men and disabled a gun. Another
burst in the coal bunks and cluttered up the engine room. Death and
destruction raged on every hand, and still the terrible _Kearsarge_
kept working nearer, the dearest wish of Winslow being to get to close
quarters.
The ships had described seven circles about each other and were starting
on the eighth, when Winslow, all alive and eagerness, saw the _Alabama_
set her fore trysail and two jibs and start for shore. That meant that
it was all up with her, and her captain's only hope now was to get into
the harbor of Cherbourg. Winslow ran across her bow and was on the point
of raking her, when the _Alabama's_ flag came down. Uncertain whether
this was an accident, and suspecting a ruse by which the enemy expected
to reach shore, now only two miles off, Winslow stopped firing, but held
himself ready to open again. A white flag was displayed, and he began
preparations to render assistance to his defeated antagonist. Just then,
however, the _Alabama_ fired again, upon which Winslow answered with
several shots, when the white flag was run up for the second time.
The doom of the _Alabama_ had overtaken her at last. She was fast
settling, and while the only two serviceable boats of the _Kearsarge_
were hurrying to the relief of the crew, the famous cruiser threw her
prow high in air and slid stern foremost into the depths of the
Atlantic.
In the midst of the wild confusion a boat from the _Alabama_, under
charge of the English master's mate, came alongside, announcing that the
_Alabama_ had surrendered and begging for help. On the promise of this
man to return, Winslow allowed him to go back to the aid of the drowning
crew, but instead of keeping his pledge, he took refuge on the yacht
_Deerhound_, which was circling about and doing all it could for the
struggling wretches in the water. Among those picked up was Captain
Semmes, who had flung his sword into the sea and leaped overboard as his
ship was going down. He was suffering from a painful wound in the hand,
and when helped on board of the _Deerhound_ was in an exhausted
condition. The captain of the yacht, after picking up thirty-nine men,
including a number of officers, instead of delivering them to Captain
Winslow, as he was in honor bound to do, edged away from the scene, and,
putting on all steam, did not pause until he reached Southampton. The
_Kearsarge_ picked up the men that remained and took them into
Cherbourg.
In this famous battle the _Kearsarge_ had only 1 killed and 2 wounded,
while Semmes lost 40 killed and 70 taken prisoners. The Confederate
commander and his sympathizing British friends offered all sorts of
excuses for his defeat. Some of them were ingenious, but none was the
true one. The cause of the sinking of the _Alabama_ was the same as that
which gave us so many wonderful naval victories in the War of 1812. Our
vessels were manned by Americans, while the _Alabama_ was really an
English ship, armed with English guns and manned and fought by an
English crew: there's the truth in a nutshell.
Captain Winslow received the promotion to the grade of a commodore which
he had so gallantly won. He died in 1873. It was a source of regret
throughout the country that on the night of February 2, 1894, the
_Kearsarge_ was wrecked off Roncador Reef, while on a voyage from
Port-au-Prince, Hayti, to Bluefields, Nicaragua. None of her crew was
drowned, but the vessel itself was lost, despite every effort to save
her.