Frederick Milnes Edge

“ He had ample time for protecting his vessel and crew in all possible manners; he, not the Kearsarge was the aggressor; and but for his forcing the fight, the Alabama might still be riding inside Cherbourg breakwater. Notwithstanding the horrible cause for which he is struggling, and the atrocious depredations he has committed upon helpless merchantmen, we can still admire the daring he evinced in sallying forth from a secure haven and gallantly attacking his opponent ”

“ That an English yacht, one belonging to the Royal Yacht Squadron, and flying the White Ensign, too, during the conflict, should have assisted the Confederate prisoners to escape after they had formally surrendered themselves, according to their own statement, by firing a lee-gun, striking their colours, hoisting a white flag, and sending a boat to the Kearsarge—some of which signals must have been witnessed from the deck of the Deerhound, is most humiliating to the national honour. ”

“ Among the incidents of the fight, some of our papers relate that a 11-inch shell from the Kearsarge fell upon the deck of the Alabama, and was immediately taken up and thrown overboard. Probably no fight ever occurred in modern times in which somebody didn’t pick up a live shell and throw it out of harm’s way; but we may be permitted to doubt in this case—5-second fuses take effect somewhat rapidly; the shot weighs considerably more than a hundred-weight, and is uncomfortably difficult to lay hold of. ”

“ The Kearsarge, in size, is by no means the terrible craft represented by those who, for some reason or other, seek to detract from the honour of her victory; she appeared to me a mere yacht in comparison with the shipping around her, and disappointed many of the [Pg 9] visitors who came to see her. The relative proportions of the two antagonists were as follows:—
The Alabama was a barque-rigged screw propeller, and the heaviness of her rig, and, above all, the greater size and height of her masts would give her the appearance of a much larger vessel than her antagonist. ”

“ The masts of the latter are disproportionately low and small; she has never carried more than top-sail yards, and depends for her speed upon her machinery alone. It is to be questioned whether the Alabama, with all her reputation for velocity, could, in her best trim, outsteam her rival. The log book of the Kearsarge, which I was courteously permitted to examine, frequently shows a speed of upwards of fourteen knots the hour, and her engineers state that her machinery was never in better working order than at the present time. ”

“ The movements of the yacht early on Sunday morning were as before shown, most suspicious; and had Captain Winslow followed the advice and reiterated requests of his officers when she steamed off, the Deerhound might now have been lying not far distant from the Alabama. Captain Winslow however, could not believe that a gentleman who was asked by himself “to save life” would use the opportunity to decamp with the officers and men who, according to their own act, were prisoners-of-war. ”

“ An English gentleman’s yacht playing tender to a corsair! No one will ever believe that Deerhound to be thorough-bred.
CONCLUSION.
Such are the facts relating to the memorable action off Cherbourg on the 19th of June, 1864. The Alabama went down riddled through and through with shot; and, as she sank beneath the green waves of the Channel, not a single cheer arose from the victors. The order was given, “Silence, boys,” and in perfect silence this terror of American commerce plunged to her last resting place. ”

“ The Times informs us that Capt. Semmes asserts, “he owes his best men to the training they received on board the ‘Excellent;’” and trained gunners must naturally be superior to the volunteer gunners on board the Kearsarge. [Pg 11] Each vessel fought all her guns, with the exception in either case of one 32-pounder, on the starboard side; but the struggle was really decided by the two 11-inch Dahlgren smooth-bores of the Kearsarge against the 7-inch Blakely rifle and the heavy 68-pounder pivot of the Alabama. ”

“ I was informed by some of the paroled prisoners on shore at Cherbourg that Captain Semmes fired rapidly at the commencement of the action “in order to frighten the Yankees,” nearly all the officers and crew being, as he was well aware, merely volunteers from the merchant service. [10] At the expiration [Pg 29] of twenty minutes after the Kearsarge discharged the first broadside, continuing the battle in a leisurely, cool manner, Semmes remarked: “Confound them; they’ve been fighting twenty minutes, and they’re as cool as posts.” ”

“ I have not seen engines more compact in form, nor, apparently, in finer condition; looking in every part as though they were fresh from the workshop, instead of being, as they, are, half through the third year of the cruise. ”

“ At the end of the engagement, it was discovered by those of our officers who went alongside the enemy’s ship with the wounded, that her midship section on both sides was thoroughly iron-coated; this having been done with chain 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 armour 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. ”

“ We are arming our ironclads with 9-inch smooth-bores and 100-pounder rifles, whilst the Americans are constructing their armour-ships to resist the impact of 11 and 15-inch shot. By next June, the United States will have in commission the following ironclads:
These, too, without counting six others of “second class,” all alike armed with the tremendous 15-inch, and built to cross the Atlantic in any season. But it is not in ironclads alone that America is proving her energy ”

“ Further, the supply of coal on board the Kearsarge at the time of action was only 120 tons, while the Alabama had 350 tons on board.
The objection that the Alabama was short-handed does not appear to be borne out by the facts of the case; while, on the other hand, a greater number of men than were necessary to work the guns and ship would be more of a detriment than a benefit to the Kearsarge. ”

“ The Alabama fired a second broadside and part of a third while her antagonist was closing; and at the expiration of ten or twelve minutes from the Alabama’s opening shot, the Kearsarge discharged her first broadside. The action henceforward continued in a circle, the distance between the two vessels being about seven hundred yards; this, at all events, is the opinion of the Federal commander and his officers, for their guns were sighted at that range, and their shell burst in and over the privateer. The speed of the two vessels [Pg 26] during the engagement did not exceed eight knots the hour. ”

“ At 12.10, a boat with an officer from the Alabama came alongside and surrendered his vessel, with the information that she was rapidly sinking, and a request for assistance. Sent the Launch and 2d Cutter, the other boats being disabled by the fire of the enemy. The English yacht before mentioned, coming within hail, was requested by the Captain (W.) to render assistance in saving the lives of the officers and crew of the surrendered vessel. ”

“ At 2.24, the Alabama went down in forty fathoms of water, leaving most of the crew struggling in the water. Seventy persons were rescued by the boats, two pilot boats and the yacht also assisted. One pilot boat came alongside us, but the other returned to the port. The yacht steamed rapidly away to the Nd. without reporting the number of our prisoners she had picked up.
“ (Signed) James S. Wheeler, Actg. Master.”
[10] According to the statement of prisoners captured, the Alabama fired no less than three hundred and seventy times (shot and shell) ; more than twice the number of the Kearsarge. ”

“ Five days, however, had elapsed since Captain Semmes sent his challenge to Captain Winslow through the Confederate agent, Monsieur Bonfils; surely time sufficient for him to make all the preparations which he considered necessary. Meanwhile the Kearsarge was cruising to and fro at sea, outside the breakwater.
[Pg 23] The Kearsarge reached Cherbourg on the 14th, and her Captain only heard of Captain Semmes’ intention to fight him on the following day. Five days, however, elapsed before the Alabama put in an appearance, and her exit from the harbour was heralded by the English yacht Deerhound. ”

“ The telegram was addressed to one of the gentleman’s constituents by his son, a sailor on board the Alabama, and was dated “C. S. S. Alabama, Cherbourg, June 14th,” the sender stating that they were about to engage the Kearsarge on the morrow, or next day. I have not a copy of this telegram, but “The Career of the Alabama” gives a letter to the like effect from the surgeon of the privateer, addressed to a gentleman of this city. The letter reads as follows:
“Cherbourg, June 14, 1864.
Dear Travers—Here we are. I send this by a gentleman coming to London. An enemy is outside. ”

“ The latter vessel had 22 officers on board, and 140 men: the Alabama is represented to have had only 120 in her crew, (Mr. Mason’s statement,) but if her officers be included in this number, the assertion is obviously incorrect, for the Kearsarge saved 67, [5] the Deerhound 41, and the French pilot-boats 12, and this, without mentioning the 13 accounted for as killed and wounded, [6] and others who went down with the ship. When the Alabama arrived at Cherbourg, her officers and crew numbered 149. ”