Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-10-29
Mere Of she Alabama.

/ tlo capture Of their vessels by several Yanket
captains. The fol owing is additional infoTma
ten communicated by them to the Northern
| press:
/ DESCRIPTION OF THE REBEL STEAM PRoPEL
LER ALABAMA.
The Alabama was built at Liverpool or Bir
kenhsad, and left the latter port in August last
is about 1900 tons burthen; draught abOu
fifteen feet; engines by Laird aud Sons, OF Bjr
ksahead, 1862 She is a wooden vessel, pro
peUed by screw, copper bottom, about 2l(
/ feet long, rather narrow, painted black outside
and drsb inside; has . round stern, bift head
very htta shear, flush deck fore aud aft a
bridge forward OF the smoke stack carries two
lsrge black boats on cranes amidEhiPS forward
of the main rigging two black quarter boats
between the main and mizsn masss, one small
black boat over the stern, on cranes the spare
spars on q g8iiows between the bridge and
farernsst. show above tire rail Sne carr ed
three lopg thirty-t@o Founders on 3 side, and is
pierced for two more amidshipB; has g one hun
dred pound Tihsd pivot gun forward Of the
bridge, and sixty-eight-pound pivot on the
main deak; has tracks laid forward for pivot
bow gun, and tracks aft for pivot stern chaser
ali OF which she will take on board to com
plete her armament. Her guns are Of the
BAk.lg pattern, and manufactured by Wesley
s. Preston Liverpool 1862 She is bark
ngCs0; has very long, bright lower mssts, and
black masthead; yards black, long yard arms,
short poles, (say one or two feet) with small
d0gvanss On each, and pendant 10 the main
sJuddirg sail. bo0ms On the fore aud main, and
has wus rigging. Carries on her fJremast q
square loTessil; large trysail with two reefs and
o0uEes tOpssil with two reefs, top-gallant sail
and royal On the maiDmast q large tTysail,
with two reefs and a bonnet. No square main
sad bent, topsail two reefs, top-gallant sail and
royal. 0a the mizzsnmast a very large spanker
sad snort three-cornered gait tOpsail, has a fore
aud fore topmast sssyssii and jlb has had no
stsyssil to the main or mizzen mast bent or
royal yards sl0ft. Is represented 20 go thirteen
knots undeT canvass and fifteen under steam.
Can get steam in twenty minutes, but seldom
uses il except in a chase or in an eIcee iingIy
great emergency. She carrss ali national flags,
but usually sets the ST.. Georges cross on sp-
preaching a We sci Her present complement OF
men is one hundred and twenty, al told, but Is
E-IisUs 90 ship more. Keeps q man 81 tho mast
head from daylight till sunset Her sails are Of
hemp canvass, made very reaching; t0Psails
have twenty cloths on tie hesd sud thirty on
the foot. General appearance Of the hull and
sails decidedly Eoglish Sheis generally uHder
two topsai's, fore and main trysails, fore and
f5ra;opmast stsysaiis sometimes topgsilaut sails
and i'h, bat seldom any sails on the mizzen
except whii IL charge OF vessel She is very
slow in stays; generally wears ship. She vas
built expressly for the business. She is engaged
70 destroy, fight or run. as the character Of her
opponents may be She took her armament AID
crew and most Of her officers on board near
IeTceira, Western Islands, from an English yes
sci Her crew are principally English; the
officers cIivalEy Of the South. All the water
consumed on board is condensed. She has eight
months provisions, beside what is being plum
lgred aud hss about four hundred tons Of coal
on board.
Il Is very evident, from all we Learn from Cap
-aiG H2zar, that the Alabama will if not fallen
IN with, captured and destroyed, become the ter
r5T Of the Ocoen Her speed appears to be uu-
eqUsilsl both under steam snd sail Her s8il
ing qualities as Iep0r.sd are superior to the speed
1f uIue-teuth5 of our steamers in the navy. and
Under steam and canvass combined il viii take
The Vanderbilt or vessels Of q similar class "a
dc anything with her in q chase. Her battery
is very formidable, equal to many Cf our sceR
5l0ops-0fHsr of the second class, aud vastly sU-
perior to any Of our similar vessels. She is IL
q j respects an ugly Customer, aud enc that viii
destroy millions CT property bsfoIe she Is caught
at all
ia ell cases where Captain Senmes captures
2 vessel, he sends an armed boat on board aud
bems, with his papers. Ga his arrival he is
u-hered IN the presence of the pirate Semmes
who receives him in the most pompous and
OveIbeanng msnneT He is questioned as tC
the rsme of t6s ship, where from, where bound
and thg character Of her cargo Captain HageT
10 reply 30 the latter question, said that SEINE o.
hi5 cargo WAS on English account. On his Civ
ing this reply Semmes scroWIed At hm and re-
marked % Do you take me for damned fool
Where are the proofs that part OF your cargo Is
ON E1glish account. TIE papers, unfortunately
nal having the consul seal attached, were no
I considered proof and the Bnllian. aud her cargo
we've in consequence seized BY Semmes as 5
prize.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE or sENNIEs.
Captain Hsger says, that, however mucl
Sammss may have hsd the appearance Of gen
ileman when 81 officer Of the United States
navy he has entirely changed now. He sport.
a huge moustsche, the ends of which are wSxsC
la a manner TO throw that Of Victor Emanue
entirely in the shsde, and it is evident that i
occupies much Of his attention. His steward
Uazes it every day carefully, aud so prominent
is is that the sailors of the Alabama term hin
/ Old B8eswax" His whole srpeaTRuce is ths
/ of IS c5Fsi8r, and the Transformation appears t
/ os comp etc from Commander Raphael Ssmues
/ United States navy, 10 a combination of Laf ste
U
/ tie world has ever known.
/ The officers Of the Alabama are reported ?,
/ very dainty gentlemen. In Plundenug a slip
/ they take nothing but articles that suit them
! l. repleuishing their stores, they invariably re-
/ iect brown sugar, taking nothing but the bes
/ lo6E With kid gloves it is the same they re-
! fuse colors, and viii have nothing but the pur,
s5its Aud 80 it is with them all the way
| through They appropriate everything they tiuC
/ worth having, and destroy the reEt, and are pi
rates IN every sense Of the word, except thE
/ they do net take life--oT, rather, they have no
yet done 50.
When Captain Hagar left the Alabama, there
we're between forty and fifty of the crews Of th,
/ dil rent vessels she had destroyed btll OF
! board Tney were confined bslcW in irons, il
the most miserable condition. They were gheT,
every drop OF rain fell on them, and eve se'
tta. came aboard the vessel washed ov hem
and the poor fellows were in = terrlb flight
/ having lest eryihing, with the vessels they
/ belonged 30, the pirates permitting no baggage
except the very smallest quantity, to be bfOugh
away from the prizes 5eioTe they were destroyed
/ Thew had the satisfaction Of knowing, however
/ tbatit could not be long before they would b'
! released for Sammss could not afford to have
his ship filed up with prisoners.
The plan that Ssmmes has adopted to briBe
fish 70 his not IS as follows: 1t will be seen al
glance that the position be as last reported il
/ was in tie track Of many vessels bound to sBC
from Europe This is the position he has eboseI
to DO she greatest possible amount Of destruc
tion; sud be certainly has been most success
fuL Whenever be captures ship, after taking
from ker al that he and his officers want, hl
lays By heT until dark, and then sets her on 6re
TIE light Of the burning ship can be seen many
miles, and every ether ship within seeing dis
tance stands toward the light, thinking to Tescu,
a number Of poor fellows from destruction. TIT
pirate keeps ia The immediate vicinity, sSaitins
the prey that is sure TO come, and the mex
morning thes poor fellows, who have, to serv
tde cause Of humanity, gone many miles cut 0
tbaiT course, iiud themselves under the guns 0
the Alabama, with the certainty that before An
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