The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1862-12-18


: ing of shaver, nor of the French fas
/ which eo,elel Ike cradle Of that Repnb
: lie; we are aware that such argument
q are out Of season, that it is fashionable a
! the present day to smile at them, and tia
, heattraction off bad cause exercises til.
same powerful influence over grea
number Of our contemporaries which The
words liberty and justice had upon the
hearts of our Fathers. ertn =
Excitement At the Navy Yard--A
Fleet After the lnbnmn--Sk tc es
~ the ColnnlandGrs Of tho San Ia.
cinto and Of the Alabama.
from the N. Y .Tribun~, l2th.l
| Yesterday afternoon the Brooklyn Ma.
w Yard presented scene of great OK
citement News came over that the San
Jacnto had been hoodwinked by the AL
ALBANIA, and naval officers were 80 much
exercised by the intelligence that the
thousands who obtained admittancc to the
yard. Thursday being the regular visiting
day, mistook the cause of fnrore, and
thronged to the wharf, where Capt. Wor-
den of the Monitor was working hard to
get off his new iron-clad, the Montauk.
FLEET AFTER THE ALABAMA.
1t is not worth while to conceal the
! fact that whole fleet of steamers are az
ter the Alabama. The Vanderbilt sailed
yesterday from the Lights !" direct 10
FayaL and runs fair chance of falling
in with the pirate on the way. She is
| supposed to meet there two United States
steam men-of-war, detached ir, In i for
eign squadron, and the three will tLcn
take a different course The names or
the steamers cannot be given. AT the
Brooklyn Navy Yard at present there are
two splendid regular navy steam frigates,
and one "ten knot steamer" al of which
will be off in o few days. At Boston an
other fast steamer is ready to leave. One
left Philadelphia on Thursday, another
started from Portsmouth, N. H., on
Monday, and FIVE have taken their de-
parture from this and other ports wi hin
u few days. OF them all, however. only
one, the Stettin. prize steamer, built ex-.
pressly to run the blockade, and suisse
auently captured by our ships, is proba-
4 bly, fast enough W catch the Alabama
THE COMMANDER OF THE SAN JACINTo.
Commander William Rockendorf is
Captain of the San Jacinto. He is ma
tive of the city of Philadelphia, and be-
longs to tn. old navy. He entered the
service on the 18th of February. 1892,
and has consequently been thirty years
an officer, He has been eighteen years
at sea, and was four years and ten months
unemployed. lis service record en-
braces adventures on every station, and
his character highly esteemed
WHO'S sEMnEs?
Biographers have sometimes mistaken
the notorious Captain Of the Alabama for
less celebrated namesakc. The pirate is
not Alexander4 but Rafael Semmes.
He is Baltimorean, or native of Ma.
ryland at least. He was the fifty eighth
commander in the United States navy
when he resigned. Capt. Radtord, now
commander of the Brooklyn navy yard,
had been year in The service before
him. Capt Dahlgren, Chief of che Ord
nance Bureau, was a MILDLY with him
Capt. Rowan, appointed to command our
great harbor battery; Capt. Boggs, Of the
Varrna; Commodore Goldsborough, of
the Minnesota; Capt. Meade, now on
board the North Carolina; Capt. dayton,
of the Passaic, and other distinguished
men We're his schoolmates. He was a
midshipman on board the old Lexington,
and commanded tie brig Somers when
she made her famous "capsize."
HIS RIGaT HANDMAH.
John N. Maffit, who is reported to be
bis second in command, is an Irishman,
whose father was pious clergyman. In
1882 he was admitted to the navy, was
classmate with Mr.. Ronckendorf. He
was last commander of the steam gun
boat Crusader, one Of Cromwelps vessels,
bought BY the navy. His appointment
was credited to Georgia, which he called
the native State OF his naturalization.
On board the little brig Dolphin, he cap
tured the brig Echo, with the cargo Of
negroes, which was subsequently sent to
Africa in the Niagara. He is personally
brave, even 10 rashness, and is very able
seaman.
/ THE SAN JACTNTo.
This is the vessel on board which Can.
tain Wilkes overhauled the Trent. She
is slow, and cannot make over seven
miles IN hour, generally. She is q first
class screw steam sloop of the old navy.
was built at the navy yard At Brooklyn in
1850, and was attached to the squadron
in China, which attacked the Barrier
/ Forts. The St. Louis and LevaLt, the
former under Admiral Foote, the hero OF