_Cadiz harbour--Notice to quit--Local authorities--Wisdom--The Queen of
Spain--Docked--Under repair--Deserters--The honour of the flag--The
Neapolitan--The Investigator--Gibraltar--Official visits--Up the rock--A
legend--Neutrality again--Consular diplomacy--Blockaded--The
Tusoarora--Seven in pursuit._
During the stay of the Sumter at Cadiz, and her subsequent arrival at
Gibraltar, Captain Semmes made the entries in his Journal which will be
found in this chapter.
_Saturday, January 4th_.--Harbour of Cadiz--ancient Gades--with its
Moorish houses and feluccas, or latteen vessels. Some fine oranges
alongside--the product of this latitude, 36° 32' N., about the same
parallel with Norfolk, Virginia. It is one hundred and eighty-eight days
to-day since we ran the blockade at New Orleans, and of this time we
have been one hundred and thirty-six days at sea. We are informed this
evening that the question of our being admitted to _pratique_ (and I
presume also the landing of our prisoners) has been referred to Madrid
by telegram.
_Sunday, January 5th_.--Sky partially overcast, with a cool north wind.
Thermometer 56°. Early this morning the health officer came alongside,
and brought me the order from the Government to depart within
twenty-four hours, and a tender of such supplies as I might need in the
meantime. I replied as under:--
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Cadiz,
January 5, 1862.
SIR,--I have had the honour to receive, through the health officer of
the port, an order from the Government of Spain, directing me to proceed
to sea within twenty-four hours. I am greatly surprised at this
unfriendly order. Although my Government has not yet been favourably
recognised by Spain, it has been declared to be possessed of the rights
of belligerents in the war in which it is engaged; and it is the
practice of all civilized nations to extend the hospitality of their
ports to the belligerents of both parties alike--whether the
belligerents be _de facto_ or _de jure_. I am aware of the rules adopted
by Spain, in common with the other great powers, prohibiting belligerent
cruisers from bringing their prizes into her ports; but this rule I have
not violated. I have entered the harbour of Cadiz with my single ship,
and I demand only the hospitality to which I am entitled by the law of
nations--the Confederate States being one of the _de facto_ nations of
the earth, by Spain's own acknowledgment, as before stated. I am sorry
to be obliged to add, too, that my ship is in a crippled condition. She
is damaged in her hull, is leaking badly, is unseaworthy, and will
require to be docked and repaired before it will be possible for her to
proceed to sea. I am therefore constrained, by the force of
circumstances, most respectfully to decline obedience to the order which
I have received, until the necessary repairs can be made. Further, I
have on board forty-three prisoners, confined within a small space,
greatly to their discomfort, and simple humanity would seem to dictate,
that I should be permitted to hand them over to the care of their consul
on shore without unnecessary delay.
I have, &c. (Signed) R. SEMMES.
To his Excellency The Military Governor of the Port of Cadiz, Spain.
At 11.30, a boat with the Spanish flag anchored a short distance from
me, evidently a guard upon my movements. The Yankees have been at work,
no doubt, to bring all this about. The military governor is telegraphing
my reply back, and we shall see what the answer will be.
I was mistaken in the above. The order to proceed to sea was begotten in
the wise brains of the local authorities. My reply to it having been
telegraphed to Madrid, the authorities were overruled; and the Queen
despatched an order to permit me to land my prisoners, and to make such
repairs as I needed. So this business, which has troubled us a couple of
days, is at an end. This evening, just before dark, a Spanish
steam-frigate came down from the Navy Yard, and anchored near us.
_Monday, January 6th._--Last night I was aroused at 2.30 A.M., by a boat
from the shore, with a note from the military governor, requesting me to
delay proceeding to sea, that the _benevolent_ intentions of her
Majesty's Government in regard to me might be carried out. The "muddy
heads" on shore had received a despatch from Madrid, in reply to my
letter to them. Weather clear and bracing. Wind from the North.
Thermometer at noon 59.° The steam-frigate disappeared somehow during
the night. Protested, as under, against the presence of a health
guard-boat:--
C.S. Steamer "Sumter,"
Cadiz, January 6th, 1862.
SIR,--I have had the honour to receive your Excellency's note
of to-day, in which you inform me that the proceedings of the
local authorities of Cadiz, commanding me to proceed to sea
within twenty-four hours, have been overruled by the Government
at Madrid, and that the Queen had graciously permitted me
to land my prisoners, and to remain to put the necessary repairs
upon my ship. Do me the favour to communicate to her Majesty
my thanks for her prompt and friendly action in the premises.
In the meantime, allow me most respectfully to protest against
the presence of the guard-boat which has been placed in surveillance
upon my movements, as though I were an ordinary ship
of commerce. Compliance with the laws of quarantine should
be left with me as a matter of honour, and the presence of this
boat implies the suspicion that a ship of war of a friendly Power
could so far forget herself as to infringe the regulations of the
port--a suspicion as unworthy the health authorities of the port
of Cadiz as it is offensive to me.
I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
(Signed) R. SEMMES.
Señor Ignacio Mendez de Vigo,
Military Governor of the Port of Cadiz.
_Tuesday, January 7th_.--To-day I received a note from Senor
de Vigo, the military Governor, informing me that the Queen's
Government had consented to permit me to land my prisoners,
and to remain for repairs. He puts my remaining, however, on
the ground of necessity arising out of my crippled condition. Received
also a reply from the Yankee Consul to my note about the
prisoners: declined to receive it on account of its being improperly
addressed.[5] Landed all the prisoners. Received another
note from the Governor, requesting me to hurry my repairs, &c.
Sent to the Captain of the port on the subject. Referred by
him to Captain-General.
[Footnote 5:
CAPTAIN SEMMES, C.S.N., to U.S. CONSUL, CADIZ,
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Cadiz,
January 7, 1862.
Sir,--Your note of this morning having been sent off to me by a common
boatman, I could not learn the name of the writer without breaking
the envelope. Having done so, and ascertained it to be from yourself,
I decline to receive it, as being improperly addressed. My address
is as follows:--
COMMANDER H. SEMMES,
Confederate States Navy,
Commanding C.S. Steamer Sumter.
E.S. Eggleston, U.S. Consul.]
_Wednesday, January 8th_.--Complained to the Civil Governor of the
Paymaster and Surgeon having been called alongside the guard-boat
(whilst coming on board in a shore boat). Despatched a Lieutenant to San
Fernando to see the Captain-General about docking the ship. He returned
at nightfall, with word that the Captain-General would reply in the
morning.
_Thursday, January 9th_.--Visited by Engineer of docks at San
Fernando, to learn the extent of the repairs which we shall require, and
to take the dimensions of the ship, to ascertain whether she can enter
the only dock that is empty. A fine, clear day, with a pleasant wind
from the N. Bar. 30'34., the highest that I have ever seen. No answer
from the Captain-General yet (noon), as to our being docked. Besides the
six ships which Mr. Welles says have been in pursuit of me--viz., the
Powhattan, the Niagara, the San Jacinto, the Iroquois, the Keystone
State, and the Richmond--the Ino and the Dacotah are also employed in
this fruitless business. We are fairly in the hands of the
circumlocution office. I suppose they are telegraphing Madrid. The
greatest excitement prevails all over Europe to learn the result of the
English demand for the Commissioners. The general impression is, that
the Yankees will give them up, and that there will be no war. The packet
from New York is expected in England to-day. In the meantime, Great
Britain is calling home her ships of war; the Mediterranean fleet
arrived at Gibraltar on January 2nd, and threw the commercial community
into the greatest consternation. Received final permission this evening
from the Captain-General to enter dock.
_Saturday, January 11th_.--Visited the shore. Cadiz full of life and
bustle. Met Mr. Oliver; he is from the East. He says Russia is laying
deep schemes for uniting the whole Sclavonic race under her rule; and
that the _cotton_ pressure is felt at Constantinople, up the Danube,
and, in short, all over Eastern Europe. Received permission from the
Governor to land the marine who was sentenced by court-martial to be
discharged. News of the great fire in Charleston. Rumour that the
Yankees have given up the Commissioners. Can scarcely credit it as yet.
Yankee-dom can hardly have fallen so low.
_Sunday, January 12th_.--Landed the discharged marine. The news that
Messrs. Mason and Slidell have been given up appears to be confirmed.
The subtle diplomacy, notifying the Yankee Government _unofficially_,
that the ultimatum would be withheld a short time, to allow them time to
give up the prisoners _voluntarily_, was resorted to! The Yankee Consul
here gave a dinner on the occasion! The Cadiz papers comment very
unfavourably upon this back-down, and insist that notwithstanding, it is
the duty of the great Powers to interpose and put an end to the war. In
the afternoon we got under way, and passing through the fleet of
shipping, went up to the dock at Caracca, some eight miles east of the
city. The harbor is perfect, the water deep, and the buildings
extensive. The pilot who took me up, says he is the man to run me out by
the enemy, when I am ready--that he was in New Orleans sixty years ago,
and remained a year in Louisiana, where he learned to speak the
language, which he has not yet entirely forgotten.
_Monday, January 13th_.--At about 10 o'clock the dockyard people came on
board of us, and at 10.30 we were safely docked, and at noon the dock
pumped dry. We suffered very little damage from running ashore at
Maranham. We indented a small place under the forefoot, and knocked off
only a small portion of our false keel instead of the whole of it, as we
supposed. We are now knocking away bulk-heads, and removing magazine and
shell room to get at the shaft. At 1 P.M. called officially upon the
Naval-Commandant, and returned him my thanks for the handsome manner in
which he had docked my ship. I spoke of the back-down of the Yankees,
which he asserted would make them lose caste in Europe. The great fire
at Charleston was alluded to by him, whereupon I remarked that Europe
could see from this incident--(the work of incendiarism prompted and
paid for, no doubt, by the enemy)--the barbarous nature of the war waged
upon us, and told him we were in fact fighting the battles of Spain as
well as our own; for if the barbarians of the North succeeded in
overcoming the South (which, however, I pronounced an impossibility),
and destroying our slave property, in their wild fanaticism and
increasing madness, they would next make war on Cuba and Porto Rico. He
replied that this war could not continue much longer; there were people
and territory enough in North America to make two great governments, and
Europe would, no doubt united, soon interpose. I was treated with great
civility and kindness.
_Tuesday, January 14th_.--* * * Had an interview to-day with the
Naval-Commandant, who explained to me the orders he had received from
the Government in relation to my ship, which were to put upon her only
the _indispensable_ repairs, without essential alterations. I expressed
myself satisfied with this; told him I knew the solicitude of his
Government to avoid complication; and, that so far as depended upon me,
he might rely upon it that I would permit nothing to be done which might
involve it in any way. Proceeding with the necessary repairs. Some
thousand workmen, many of them convicts, are employed in this yard. They
have in dock, receiving her copper, a heavy steam frigate constructed
here, and another still larger on the stocks. Immense quantities of
timber are in the docks, and though the water is salt it is not attacked
by the worm, the ebb and flow of the tide preventing it. Timber which
has been forty years in these docks is perfectly sound. Five of my
seamen deserted yesterday--all foreigners, I am glad to say. The
Commandant has promised to put the police on the scent, but I have no
expectation I shall get them.
_Wednesday, January 15th_.--Having had the plank replaced in the bilge,
and re-coppered and overhauled the propeller, we were let out of dock at
1 P.M. These repairs were done with a very bad grace by the Spanish
officials, who seemed in a great hurry to get rid of us, lest the affair
of our being docked should compromise them! This I suppose was due to
official timidity, not to any want of good feeling, as the Commandant of
the yard expressed to me his regret at not being able to put me in
complete repair; personally offering to render me any service in his
power. Our engine not being ready for use, the Captain-General sent a
small steamer to tow me to Cadiz, where we anchored at about 4 P.M.
Whilst lying in the dock, a stampede took place amongst my crew, nine of
them having deserted. Two were brought back; the rest escaped. Some of
these men had behaved themselves very well, but none of them, of course,
had any attachment to the flag, not being natives, or, indeed, citizens
at all, and, sailor-like, they had got tired, and wanted a change. Some,
no doubt, shrank from the arduous and perilous duties of the service in
which they had engaged. They took refuge with the Yankee Consul, and it
was useless to ask to have them given up. The enemy is certainly good
at burning cities by means of negro incendiaries, and at enticing away
our seamen. Another lad ran away from a boat this evening. Have directed
no boat should leave the ship without an officer, and that the officer
be armed, and ordered to shoot any men who attempt to desert.
_Thursday, January 16th_.--Called my crew aft and had a talk with them
about the bad conduct of their shipmates who had deserted. Told them I
did not believe I had another man on board capable of so base an act;
that men who could run under such circumstances would run from their
guns; and that I did not want such, &c., &c.; and ended by telling them
that when funds arrived they should be permitted to go on liberty. * * *
At 9 P.M., the aide-de-camp of the Military Governor came on board,
bringing a pilot with him, with a peremptory order for me to go to sea.
I replied as under:--
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Cadiz, Jan. 16, 1862.
SIR,--I have the honour to inform you that whilst my ship was in the
dock at Caracca eight of my seamen deserted, and I am informed that they
are sheltered and protected by the United States Consul. I respectfully
request that you will cause these men to be delivered to me, and to
disembarrass this demand of any difficulty that may seem to attend it,
permit me to make the following observations:--[6]
* * * * *
3. It has been, and is, the uniform custom of all nations to arrest and
hand over to their proper officers, deserters from ships of war; and
this without stopping to inquire as to the nationality of the deserter.
[Footnote 6: The paragraphs omitted, contain merely a recapitulation of
the claim of the Confederate States to full belligerent rights.]
4. If this is the practice in peace, how much more necessary does such a
practice become in war; since, otherwise, the operations of war--remote,
it is true--but still the operations of war, would be tolerated in a
neutral territory.
5. Without a violation of neutrality, an enemy's consul in a neutral
territory, cannot be permitted to entice any seamen from a ship of the
opposite belligerents, or to shelter or protect the same; for, if he is
permitted to do this, then his domicile becomes an enemy's camp in a
neutral territory.
6. With reference to the question in hand, I respectfully submit that
the only facts which your Excellency can take cognizance of, are, that
these deserters entered the waters of Spain under my flag, and that they
formed a part of my crew. The inquiry cannot pass a step beyond, and
Spain cannot undertake to inquire, as between the United States Consul
and myself, to which of us the deserters in question more properly
belong. Such a course would be tantamount to an interposition between
two belligerents, and it would be destructive of the essential rights of
ships of war in foreign ports, as well in peace as in war.
7. I am inclined to admit that if a Spanish subject serving under my
flag should escape to the shore, and should satisfy the authorities that
he was held by me by force, and either without contract, or in violation
of contract, that he might be set at liberty, but such is not the
present case. The nationality of the deserters not being Spanish, Spain
cannot, as I said before, inquire into it. To conclude, the case which I
present is simply this:--Several of my crew, serving on board my ship
under voluntary contracts, have deserted, and taken refuge in the
consulate of the United States. To deprive me of the power, with the
assistance of the police, to recapture these men, would convert the
consulate into a camp, and the consul would be permitted to exercise the
right of a belligerent on neutral territories.
I have the honour to be, &c., &c.
(Signed) R. SEMMES.
Exmo. Sr. Don J. Mendez de Vigo,
Military Governor, Cadiz.
_Friday, January 17th._--Before I had turned out this morning the
Governor's aid again came on board, stating the order was made
peremptory, that I should go to sea in six hours, or I should be forced.
I called in person on the Governor, a not over bright official, and
endeavoured to make him understand how I was situated, but it seemed
impossible. He promised, however, to send a despatch to Madrid, to the
effect that I had no coals, and was awaiting funds to procure the same;
but, he added, if he received no despatch in the six hours he should
require me to depart. I returned on board, and gave the necessary orders
to get ready for sea. At 4 P.M., whilst I was weighing my anchor, the
General's aide came alongside, and said to me that the Madrid Government
had consented to let me remain twenty-four hours, that a despatch was
being written to me on the subject, to which the Governor desired that I
would reply in writing. I told the officer that, if his Government had
politely acceded to my request, permitting me to remain until my funds
arrived, I could have appreciated it; but that being restricted to
forty-eight hours, I declined to avail myself of the privilege, and
should go to sea; and that the General need not trouble himself to read
me the written despatch, as I had no other reply to make. I got under
way in a few minutes afterwards, and as I was passing out a boat was
seen pulling in great haste towards me, one of the crew holding up a
letter in his hand. I did not stop to receive it; I felt too indignant
at the manner in which I had been treated to be very civil. We passed
outside of the harbour a little before sunset, and held on to the light
until midnight, when we steamed for the Strait of Gibraltar.
_Saturday, January 18th._--* * * * We entered the Strait of Gibraltar at
about 5 A.M., passing the Tarifa Light, and with the bold shores of both
Africa and Europe in plain sight, in the bright moonlight--bright,
notwithstanding the passing clouds. We made the Gibraltar light about
daybreak, and saw at the same time a number of sail. We gave chase to
two that _looked_ American, which they proved to be, and which we
captured. The first was the barque Neapolitan, of Kingston,
Massachusetts, from Messina to Boston, laden with fruit and fifty tons
of _sulphur_. The whole cargo was stated by the master, in his
depositions, to belong to the Baring Bros., consigned to their agents in
Boston--a falsehood, no doubt. Without stopping to look into the _bona
fides_ of this claim of neutral ownership, it was enough that the
sulphur was contraband, and that the fruit belonged to the same owner; I
destroyed both ship and cargo. No papers as to the latter were produced.
The second vessel was also a barque, the Investigator, of Searsport,
Maine. She being laden with iron ore, the property of neutrals
(Englishmen), I released her on a ransom bond; she was bound to Newport,
Wales. One fourth of the vessel was owned in South Carolina, and the
share of the South Carolina owner was omitted from the ransom
bond--amount of bond being less one-fourth fifteen thousand dollars.
Having burned the Neapolitan, I steamed in for Gibraltar at 2.30 P.M.
Passed under Europa point at about dusk, and stood in, and anchored in
the bay at about 7.30 P.M. Boarded in a few minutes by a boat from an
English frigate, with an offer of service. Sent a boat alongside the
health ship.
_Sunday, January 19th_.--We found early this morning we had _pratique_.
A number of English officers and citizens came on board. At 10 I called
on board the frigate that had sent the boat on board of us last night,
but was informed that the Captain (who was absent) was not the
commanding officer present, and that the latter lived on shore. At 2
P.M. I landed at the arsenal and called upon the commanding naval
officer, who received me very politely. I asked the loan of an anchor,
having but one, and the Captain promised to supply me with one if there
should be no objection on the part of the law officers of the Crown!
Walked from the Captain's little oasis--scooped out as it were from the
surface of the Rock, with a nice garden-plot and trees, shrubbery,
&c.--down into the town, and called on Lieutenant-General Sir W.J.
Codrington, K.C.B., the Governor, an agreeable type of an English
gentleman of about fifty to fifty-five years of age. The Governor
tendered me the facilities of the market, &c., and in the course of
conversation said he should object to my making Gibraltar a _station_,
at which to be at anchor for the purpose of sallying out into the Strait
and seizing my prey. I told him that this had been settled as contrary
to law by his own distinguished judge, Sir William Scott, sixty years
ago, and that he might rely upon my taking no step whatever violative of
the neutrality of England, so long as I remained in her ports, &c. The
garrison is about seven thousand strong, and it being Sunday, the
parade-ground and streets were thronged with gay uniforms. Spain, with
her hereditary jealousy and imperiousness of character, is very formal
and strict about intercourse with the Rock. The Duke of Beaufort visited
us to-day.
_Monday, January 20th_.--Very fresh, threatening a gale. Ship reported
as having dragged her anchor. Ordered steam to be got up and the berth
shifted. Ran in nearer to the eastern shore into four fathom water and
where it was smoother.
_Tuesday, January 21st_.--The westerly wind is bringing a fleet of ships
into the bay. To-day Colonel Freemantle came on board to return my visit
on the part of the Governor, and to read to me, by the latter's
direction, a memorandum of the conversation which had passed between us
on Sunday. The points noted were--first, that we had agreed that I
should receive all necessary facilities for the repair (from private
sources) and supply of my ship, contraband of war excepted; and,
secondly, that I would not make Gibraltar a station at which to lie at
anchor, and sally out upon my enemy. I assented to the correctness of
the Governor's memorandum. The first Lieutenant and Paymaster ashore
making arrangements for the purchase of an anchor and chain. The house
of Peacock and Co. refused to supply us, because it would offend their
Yankee customers. They made arrangements with another party. The town of
Gibraltar, from the fact that the houses are built on the side of the
Rock, and stand one above the other, presents the beautiful spectacle
every night of a city illuminated. Colonel Freemantle politely requested
me to visit the various batteries, &c.
_Wednesday, January 22nd_,--Wind still from westward. Received on board
an anchor and chain. Received a letter from Captain Warden, on a point
of international law, to which I assented--to wit, that vessels should
have twenty-four hours' start.
_Thursday, January 23rd_.--Visited by Captain Warden, the Senior Naval
Officer. Received a letter from Hon. Mr. Yancey, who does not believe
that the blockade will be raised for three months. Ordered a survey upon
the ship.
_Friday, January 24th_.--Invited to dine with the 100th, a Canadian
regiment. Some of the officers went. Captain Palmer has been relieved by
De Camp.
_Saturday, January 25th_.--We hear a rumour that the Nashville has been
sold. Ships constantly arriving and departing.
_Sunday, January 26th_.--A charming, balmy day, resembling April in
Alabama. At 10, went on shore to the Catholic church; arrived as the
military Mass ended: many Catholics in the army. Small church, with
groined arches--remnant of Spanish times. After church took a delightful
stroll into the country, just above the Alameda. It is a labyrinth of
agave and flowers and shrubbery, among which the path zigzags up the
mountain-side; geraniums, and jonquils, and mignonette, and lilies are
wild. One is only surprised, after looking at the apparently barren face
of the rock, to find so much sweetness of Mother Earth. I clambered up a
couple of hundred feet, and from that height the bay, the coasts of
Spain, and sleeping Africa, robed in the azure hue of distance, and the
numerous sail, some under way, and others lying like so many cock-boats,
as seen from the height, at their anchors--the latteen craft speaking of
the far East, &c. Statue of General Elliot. A number of fine-looking
Moors in the streets, picturesque in their loose dresses and snowy
turbans. Gibraltar is, indeed, a city of the world, where one sees every
variety of costume, and hears all tongues. Spanish is the predominant
language among the commercial classes. Major-General Sir John Inglis
(the hero of Lucknow), of the English army, Governor of Corfu, having
arrived on his way to the Ionian Islands, visited us to-day to see our
ship, which he was kind enough to say had become "quite distinguished."
_Monday, January 27th_.--A general exodus of the shipping this morning
out of the Straits, within which they had been detained some ten days by
a head wind. The English mail steamer from Southampton arrived. Received
from her a _Times_ of the 20th, from which we learn that England had
protested against the barbarity of blocking up the harbour of
Charleston, by sinking a stone fleet. We feel some anxiety for the
safety of Messrs. Mason and Slidell, they having embarked on board the
English gunboat Rinaldo, at Princetown, on the 2nd instant, and not
having been heard of on the 10th, although bound to Halifax. A heavy
gale blew on the eve of their embarkation.
_Tuesday, January 28th._--Preparing the ship for sea, surveying
machinery, and impatiently awaiting news from London.
_Wednesday, January 29th._--Visited the shore, and went to the Military
Library and Reading Room, where I found the principal London journals.
Reported that the English Government will consult Parliament about
recognising us. Took a long stroll to the east end of the
Rock--exceedingly broken and picturesque. Came upon a Moorish
burying-ground, looking out upon Africa. Some of the marble slabs had
become almost disintegrated by the weather, so old were they. What a
history of human affections, hopes, aspirations, tribulations, and
disappointments lay buried here! New works, adding additional strength
to this renowned fortress, are still going on. * * * *
_Thursday, January 30th._--* * * * Visited, in company with Colonel
Freemantle, the famous fortifications, passing through the
galleries--three tiers, one above the other--in the north end of the
Rock. These are huge tunnels, extending from a third to half a mile,
with embrasures from space to space for cannon--the solid Rock forming
the casemates. From these galleries we emerged out on a narrow footway
cut in the rock, and stood perpendicularly over the sea breaking at our
feet, and had a fine view of the N.E. face of the Rock rising in a
magnificent mass some 1500 feet. From this point a tower, called the
Queen of Spain's Chair, was pointed out to me--on the height opposite,
to the northward. The legend connected with which is, that during one of
the sieges of 1752, the Queen of Spain came to this eminence to witness
the assault and capture of the place, and vowed she would not descend
therefrom until the flag of Spain should wave from the Rock. The assault
failed, and the Queen in performance of her vow refused to descend,
until the Governor of Gibraltar, hearing of the determination of her
Majesty, sent her word that he would at a given hour hoist the Spanish
ensign that she might descend. This was done, and the Queen was rescued
from her predicament without breaking her word.
Having finished our inspection of the Rock, we went through the town,
and passed out on to the neutral ground, from which I returned after a
four hours' ride completely broken down. On the south end, under a
perpendicular wall of rock, that in summer breaks the sun from an early
hour in the afternoon, is the Governor's summer residence, to which he
resorts for protection against the heat. We met his Excellency and lady,
who had come out to look at their summer home, &c. Colonel Freemantle
told me that the Spanish Consul, whom he pointed out as we passed the
Alameda, had stated that I was a Spaniard, or at least that my father
was--a native of Catalonia--that I spoke Catalan as well as English, and
that my name was a common one in that province.
_Saturday, February 1st._--Witnessed a review of about five thousand
troops in the Alameda. Drums draped with black, and the ornaments of the
officers covered with black crape in respect to the memory of the Prince
Consort.
_Sunday, February 2nd._--Received letters from N----, informing me, that
as my ship was unseaworthy, Mr. Yancey had determined to send me the new
one built at Liverpool, if I desired it.
_Wednesday, February 5th._--A United States merchant ship came in and
anchored. Ready for sea. Mr. Joyce came on board, and went afterwards
with the Engineer on shore to look at some coal. Mr. Joyce sent word
that he could not purchase any, there being a combination against us.
Sent the First Lieutenant to the Governor to represent the facts to him,
and to ask for a supply from the public stores. He replied he had no
coal under his control, that it belonged to the naval officer, but that
he did not think it could be supplied. Expressed his astonishment at the
combination of the merchants. Sent a number of men on shore on liberty.
_Friday, February 7th._--Liberty-men staying over their time. Two of
them have deserted and gone over to the U.S. Consul. One of them has
been badly beaten by the rest of the men. Eleven of them came on board
later. Visited by a Spanish Lieutenant, who had been directed by the
Spanish Naval Commander at Algeciras to see me and state that the U.S.
Consul had complained to the Spanish government that I had violated the
neutrality of Spain by capturing the barque Neapolitan within a mile and
a half of Ceutra, on the Morocco coast, and that the Government had
given the Admiral orders to see that both belligerents in the war should
respect Spanish neutrality. I stated to him in reply that any question
which the capture might present was a matter between our two
Governments, and that I did not recognise the right of the Spanish
Admiral to inquire into the matter. To this the Lieutenant assented. I
then said that I would take the pleasure of showing him, however, for
the information of the Admiral, that the truth had not been represented
to his Government by the United States Consul. I then called my clerk,
and showed him the deposition of the Master of the captured vessel, in
which it was stated that the capture was made within five miles of
Gibraltar! The officer seemed equally astonished and pleased, and
expressed his satisfaction.
_Saturday, February 8th_.--Early this morning the British frigate
Warrior came in, and anchored near us. Sent a Lieutenant on board to
make the usual complimentary call. Awaiting the arrival of a vessel with
coal, consigned to Mr. Joyce, who promises to supply us. My coxswain ran
off to-day, and I was pulled off by a drunken crew.
_Sunday, February 9th._--Did not go to church, but remained on board to
be present at muster. Eleven of my vagabonds still on shore. Some of
these, we learn, have gone to the United States Consul, and claimed his
protection. This official has been seducing them off by an emissary.
Wrote to the Governor charging this on the Consul, and wrote also to
Captain Warden, asking to be supplied with coal from the Government
dockyard.
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Bay of Gibraltar,
Feb. 10, 1862.
Sir,--I have the honour to state for the information of his Excellency
the Governor of Gibraltar, that I am informed and believe that the
United States Consul, at this place, has, by means of his emissaries,
tampered with, and seduced from their allegiance, several of the crew of
my ship who have visited the shore on liberty. The impropriety and
illegality of such conduct is so manifest that I take it for granted his
Excellency will interpose his authority for my protection. Great
Britain, having proclaimed a strict neutrality in the war now pending
between the United States and Confederate States, is under the
obligation, I respectfully suggest, not only to abstain herself, from
any un-neutral conduct, but to see that all persons whatsoever within
her dominions so abstain. No act of war, proximate or remote, should be
tolerated in her waters by the one belligerent against the other, or by
any citizen or resident against either belligerent. His Excellency will
doubtless concur with me in the justice and propriety of the rule thus
stated. To apply this rule to the present case. Being prompted by
motives of humanity to send my crew on shore, in small detachments, for
exercise and recreation, after a long confinement on shipboard, my
enemy, the United States Consul, sends his agents among them, and by
specious pretences persuades them to desert their ship, and take refuge
under his Consular flag. This Has been done in the case of the following
seamen:--Everett Salmon, John G. Jenkins, Thomas F. Kenny, and perhaps
others. Here is an act of war perpetrated against me in neutral
territory, and the consular residence, or office, has become _quoad hoc_
a hostile camp. And this conduct is the more objectionable in that the
nationality of most of these men is not American. His Excellency, as a
soldier, knows that no crime is regarded with greater detestation in the
present civilized age of the world, than the one here described. As
between contending armies in the field, an offender caught in the
perpetration of such an act, would be subjected to instant death; and
this, not only because the act is an act of war, but because it is a
dishonourable act of war. And can an enemy make use of neutral territory
to do that, which would subject him to an ignominious death, if he were
without such territory, and within reach of the opposite belligerent?
When my men come within his Excellency's jurisdiction I lose all control
over them, and must rely upon his comity to regain possession of them.
If they leave me of their own freewill, in the absence of the
recognition of my Government, and of treaty stipulation, perhaps I have
no remedy. But when I permit them to go on shore, and enter the
jurisdiction of a neutral and friendly power, I do so with the just
expectation that they will receive the shelter and protection of the
neutral flag; and that they will not be permitted to be run off by my
enemy; and to wheedle and entice a sailor from his ship, and that too
when, perhaps, he is half drunk, is little better than kidnapping him.
In the present case, the violation of the neutral jurisdiction is as
complete as if the Consul had seized my men by force; for he has
accomplished the same object; to wit, weakening his enemy by
stratagem--a stratagem practised by one belligerent against another. If
this act had been committed by a military or naval officer of the enemy,
transiently within the limits of Gibraltar, every one would have been
surprised at it, and would have exclaimed against it as a flagrant
violation of the law of nations. And is the offence of less magnitude
when committed by a Consul, who is peculiarly favored by the law of
nations, as an officer of peace, and one whose pursuits lie wholly in
the walks of commerce? Mr. Sprague, the United States consul, is a
gentleman whom I have heard favourably spoken of, and it is barely
possible I may do him injustice in imputing to him the conduct
described, but the evidence came to me in a very satisfactory shape, and
I shall be ready to produce it if the allegation be denied. Should the
proof be made out to his Excellency's satisfaction, I shall deem it my
duty to request that the Consul be suspended from his functions, and
that the question of withdrawing his Exequatur be referred to the
British Government.
I have, &c., &c.,
(Signed) R. SEMMES.
To Capt. J. Freeling, Col. Sec.
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Bay of Gibraltar.
Feb. 10th.
Sir,--I have the honour to inform you that I have made every effort to
procure a supply of coal, without success. The British and other
merchants of Gibraltar, instigated I learn by the United States Consul,
have entered into the un-neutral combination of declining to furnish the
Sumter with coal on any terms. Under these circumstances, I trust the
Government of her Majesty will find no difficulty in supplying me. By
the recent letter of Earl Russell (31st January, 1862), it is not
inconsistent with neutrality for a belligerent to supply himself with
coal in a British port. In other words, this article has been
pronounced, like provisions, innoxious; and this being the case, it can
make no difference whether it be supplied by the Government or an
individual (the Government being reimbursed the expense), and this even
though the market were open to me. Much more, then, may the Government
supply me with an innocent article, the market not being open to me.
Suppose I had come into port destitute of provisions, and the same
illegal combination had shut me out from the market, would the British
Government permit my crew to starve? Or, suppose I had been a sail ship,
and had come in dismasted, and the dockyard was the only place where I
could be refitted, would you have denied me a mast? and if you would not
deny me a mast, on what principle will you deny me coal, both articles
being declared by your Government innoxious? The true criterion is, not
whether the Government, or an individual may supply the article, but
whether the article itself be noxious or innoxious. The Government may
not supply me with powder--why? Not because I may have recourse to the
market, but because the article is noxious. A case in point occurred
when I was in Cadiz recently. My ship was admitted into a Government
dock, and there repaired; firstly, because the repairs were innocent,
and, secondly, because there were no private docks in Cadiz. So here,
the article is innocent, and there is none in the market (accessible to
me); why then may not the Government supply me?
In conclusion, I respectfully request that you will supply me with 150
tons of coal, for which I will pay the cash; or if you prefer it, I will
deposit the money with an agent, who can have no difficulty, I suppose,
in purchasing the same amount of the material from some one of the
hulks, and returning it to her Majesty's dockyard.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) R. SEMMES.
Captain E. Warden, Senior Naval Officer,
Gibraltar.
_Monday, February 10th_.--* * * * Received a visit
from Captain Cochrane, of the Warrior, son of the late Earl
of Dundonald, notorious in the war of 1812, and distinguished
in the South American service. Wrote the following
letter:--
C.S. Steamer Sumter,
Bay of Gibraltar, Feb. 10, 1862.
SIR,--I have the honour to inform you that I have this day
caused to be paid to the Spanish Consul at this port the amount
of the bill contracted by this ship under my command while in
the dock at Caracca.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) R. SEMMES.
To the Captain of the Port, Cadiz.
_Tuesday, February 11th._--* * * * Five men in confinement! The
d----seems to have got into my crew. I shall have to tighten the reins a
little.
_Wednesday, February 12th_.--* * * * Called on the Governor to have a
talk with him on the subject of my deserters. He took the ground that in
the absence of treaty stipulations he could not deliver a fugitive
unwilling to be returned. Whilst I was with him the Tuscarora was
announced by the telegraph. This ship came in and anchored near us about
12 noon, disguised with her mainyards down, so as to resemble a merchant
steamer. I saw Captain Warden on shore also. He informed me that the
question of my being coaled by the dockyards had been referred by
telegraph to London.
_Thursday, February 13th._--Blowing a levanter. In the morning a barque
dragged foul of the Tuscarora, and carried away her (the barque's)
foreyards. Later in the day the Tuscarora shifted her berth over to the
Spanish shore, near San Roque. Several vessels took shelter in the
harbour from the gale. Among them a French line-of-battle ship, and a
Spanish side-wheel man-of-war. Shut up in my little cabin by the wet
weather, I have time to brood gloomily over home and the war, and the
prospects of our dear South.
_Friday, February 14th._ * * *--At noon the Tuscarora got under way, and
stood over to Algeciras.
_Saturday, February 15th_.--Anniversary of the day of my resignation
from the navy of the United States; and what an eventful year it has
been! The Northern States have been making a frantic and barbarous war
upon thirteen states and nine millions of people; in face, too, of
Madison's words: "If there be a principle that ought not to be
questioned in the United States, it is that every nation has the right
to abolish an old Government and establish a new one. This principle is
not only recorded in every public archive, written in every American
heart, and sealed with the blood of a host of American martyrs, but it
is _the only lawful tenure_ by which the United States hold their
existence as a nation." And then what flood-gates of private misery have
been raised by this war--overwhelming families without number in utter
ruin and desolation.
Reduced my worthless sergeant to the ranks, and promoted a corporal in
his stead. The British Parliament met on the 6th, and we have in the
papers to-day the address to the Queen, and the speeches of the Earl of
Derby and Lord Palmerston. From the general tone of all these papers we
shall not be acknowledged at present. They say the quarrel is no
business of theirs, and we must fight it out. Astute Great Britain! she
sees that we are able to fight it out, and thus her darling object will
be accomplished without the expenditure of blood or money.
_Sunday, February 16th_.--* * * * Visited by the Captain of the Scylla
frigate.
_Monday, February 17th._--* * * * Visited the Warrior. The Governor
and suite and a number of naval and other officers, civilians, and
ladies visited her by appointment at the same time. The Warrior is a
marvel of modern naval architecture, and for a first experiment may be
pronounced a success. She is a monstrous, impregnable floating fortress,
and will work a revolution in shipbuilding. Wooden ships, as
battle-ships, must go out of use. With this single ship I could destroy
the entire Yankee fleet blockading our coast, and this is the best
illustration I can give for the necessity of this revolution in
shipbuilding. The British Government has declined to supply me with coal
from the dockyard, and I must make arrangements to get it from Cadiz.
The London, ship-of-the-line steamer, arrived.
_Tuesday, February 18th_.--* * * * The Southampton mail steamer arrived,
bringing news from London to the 12th. The news of the defeat and death
of General Zollicoffer is confirmed.
_Wednesday, February 19th._--Called on Captain Warden, and had a
conversation with him on the subject of our blockade by the Tuscarora.
Called his attention to the prevention of signals, the Tuscarora
communicating with Gibraltar by boats. Gave notice if the Tuscarora came
in I should claim precedence of departure, &c. The Warrior went to sea.
Judging from the tone of the English journals there is no prospect of
our immediate recognition. Sent to Cadiz-for coal.
_Thursday, February 21st._--* * * * The newspapers state that there are
seven Yankee ships in pursuit of us--four steamers and three sail-ships.
Three of the steamers were at Teneriffe on the 11th of January. A report
has reached us that our Paymaster and ex-Consul Tunstall are prisoners
in Tangier! Received a letter from Captain Warden, informing me that the
Governor had prohibited all vessels in the harbour from making signals,
and had prohibited the Tuscarora from communicating with the harbour by
boats so long as she remained in Spanish waters, &c.
_Saturday, February 22nd_.--The report is confirmed of the illegal
imprisonment in Tangier of Paymaster Myers and Mr. Tunstall.