, 1863-10-13

| eaP'nn eAeeQl1R apartment, Ia which, b
lice the narrow bunk with drawers bene.t1
there Ia bs1ely room for strong bo1, chsi
and Washktand,
On the opposite side, door opens Into
eih1ar little cabin, occupied By tie Captain
secretary: "Take seat IT you can find oue.
fa1d Re Csptain. good -humoredIy apoiogf.ln
for ,he scsnty scco .modatien; *oqfs IL
working thtp, ard We hare not much r5o; 70
10 fpaIt for ea:e or pleasare-" a. first sigt
Capt Semtrea does not come up to the iie
which every one lnVoluntasity forus Of n
celebrate d character. He has nothing OF III
pinte abaut btm-little even Of the ordiosr
te, captain. He is rather below tho mI1dl
s:a'u,e, with spare. bony frame, His fse :
is carewern aud snnburnt, the features etrih
iDg-A bread brow, with iron.graY lock
str4ggilng orer It, grey eyes, now utld al
dreamy, then dashipg with dre as be warm
IN congt5sa'ion, . prominent nose, thin, co q
@ R.eeseo nps, and vel, developed chin. He
moustAche, twisted a Ii Napoleon, above III
co1Iers OF lis mouth. Ho was dreaaed In a,
old stained grey uniform, ths surtous. witj
battered shopider-straps and faded gold trin
mtpgas buttoued close up to the throat. Il
!ooK, manners aud dress. he had more Of th,
u nn.asy ~ .aan ths naval officer about him. 81
1s % years ot sEe, but looks scme what older
| inc most Of the crew are regular British
| tsfs Many Of them have eervtd in the Eng
Aen navy, They are not only traiued to til
guns. but are drilled as maziaes. They are ali
most fofmldab1y armed with rifles, revolver;
aeo ; G;atnaaeses, and are very expert In the use
e. ~ these WeapoDs. They ray that the Van.
derbi)t or other ship Of equal weight and ar,
mament nay run the Alabama do IN or sink
her With their gurs, but II they attemnf IN
!ay aiongefde and board her, mona of the men
VIII reach her Gecks.
We gre Indebted to the commander and off,
GERS OF the Alabama for the follow wing Detailed
and interesting narrative Of her proceedings.
IRON the time che was commissioned, tHelye
months ago, until now:
It was tie 18th Of August 1859, that we 1eft
Liverpool IN the chartered 6tea1ner Bsha ma.
to the Western Isles, where We vera to meet
tho Alabama, which had gone ont before Us
70 70 receive her armament, officers, and crew,
ior service. Our party consisted chiefly OF
the former officers CT thesumter-the gallant
little vessel which created go much terror
among the Yankee bottoms on the American
coaSt, and although pursued By all the Fede-
.. rsf aeet, & crossed me Atlantic Il inter with
the gnns OF Gibraltar. There, however. she
Was b1ockaded, md was sold on account Of
the Confederate States Government. She
ras repnrcnasrd privately, and her hull was
1etltted, and Is now no doubt afoat under
another naine, hut still bearing proudly the
Southern flag, Her officers followed their
captain, ready to obey his order, for al[ ad-
mtred him as a 'tskillfu1 seaman, good tac-
ticlap, an excellent dlplomatist, and bravo
when the Alabama, or 200. as she was then
named, vas pul chased. aad Capt. Semmes at
once prepared to take command of har. m
der commission from President Davis. with
the object ct doing as much damage as possi-
ble to the enemy Is commerce on the sea.
TIE sH1P AND HER CREW.
At Porta Prnya. in the island Of Terceira
tAzores), We found our ship taking in guns,
ammunition, &C., which hnd been brought to
pleased us all. She is fluo ehtp, OF l.010
tons; the length Of keel, 2l0 feet; breadth Of
beam, 81 feet; depth Of hold, II feet inches:
has two engines combined of 800 horse power,
and three furnaces, each below tho water.
h1ei The diameter Of the propeller is a feet,
pitch; and Is capable OF running II knots.
She mounts guns-one 1i1ed finch Btake,
ley'f patent, and one 8 inch shell orsolid-shot
gun {pivots}. and si1 33.pounders, OF 1 eco
cnt tbroadsides). Her motto is: Aia1 tot ct
Dlcn t'didera,
at this time only eighty; and the terms which
forth the remark from Cspt. Semmes. Hiatt
the modern sailor has greatly changed III char
acter; for he uow stickte6 tor pay like q
sharper, and seems to hare lost bis former
olnafY Eeamen get as much as e. 10 per
MONTH petty cficerB, e5 to eG; dremen, G7,
All the officers hold commissions from the
Confederate States Government, aud receive
pay according to the regular scale, Varying
from ESQ to $500 per annum.
TIE CRUISE.
On Aug. ~, the command Of the Alabama
was formally handed over by Capt Bullock
(who bad brought her out from Lieerpool) to
Capt. semmee, and the "stars and bars" Were
aDug to the wind amid the cheers Of all
hands. The Captain called all the crew and
explained to them the 1tsks and dangers theT
would have to undergo, and the inducement
ofprfxe money; furthermore, he said he did
not Intend to rush headlopg into battle with
= whole fleet Of the enemy, but that he did
not intend to run away II he met with any,
and that he would give battle to the last, 50
He did not wish to dscaiSe or II eatice I'll w any q oSe
to 70, and they were free to judge for them.
feayes, either to stay in tho Alabama or re-
turn with the Bahama to Lverpool. This
speech had good effect and WAS loudly
cheered, and very few LETT with the BihamaE,
u hfch then parted company with US.
After leaving Terceira, several days we're
devoted to putting our ship Ii order and
drilling the crew, who were mostly good sea-
men. but unacguaiuted with naval discipline.
On the 5th Of September, We caught our first
prise, ths ockmulgee, Of the Azores, and
ten days, capturing and destroying several
thfpB Of the enemy. From the Azores we
proceeded to the Banks Of Newfoundland, aad
cruised thence In the direction Of New York,
capturing and destroy ing several other yalu-
able ships. Among our seizures were the
Starlight, on board Of which ne found somo
dispatches for Secretary Seward; the Toaa.
wanda, bound from New York to Liverpool,
with IS passengers, 40 Of whom were women;
aud the 7. B. Wales, from Calcutta. with an
American Consul and his lady On board. We
provided for them rs we'll as possible-t1o Of
The Ta1d'roon officers giving up their rooms
for them
Tie Consul, however, got 50 troublesome
e1d interncddling that Capt. Se;nmes had to
tell him that be was only tolerated there on
account of bis lady; bns If he again spoke to
the men or his crew, he would be put in
threat had It's intended effect on the Yankee.
The fate Of the vessels captured Was to be de-
stro5ed by fire, and the night effect OF this
spectacle at sea was sometimes very striking.
One Of the doomed vessels, the Legi Star
buck, was set fire to at O'Clock in the even
Witnessed BY us. Af.er the decks took fire,
the flames spraug to the rigging, running
from ya:d to yard, until they reached the
royal truck, leaving half the canvas-head
burnt away; and forming one mass Of glitter.
Ing stars. In few minutes afterward the
powder, charges exploded, tearing the vessel
into thousand pieces.
When within about $50 miles OF New York,
finding ne had but four days coal On board,
Capt. Semmes bore of for the Island Of Mar.
Unique, where he bud ordered coal.ship to
rendezvous. On the way VIC captured and
destroyed two very valuable ships. We
reached Martinique on the 18th November,
where wa were received with enthusinsm by
the inhabitants; but finding that our coal ship
Ind been there a week or Ten days, mud that
the object Of her visit Was well known, Capt,
seDmes sent her ont to sea sgafu, appointing
for che had not been gone tWenty-four hours
when the United States frigate San Jaclnto
arrived. Immediately she was seen, all our
hands were called to quarters ready for action,
thinking the enemy would put her threat into
force Of running into us wherever he would
find us; but, as usual, It turned out to be
their mode Of gaining q victory.
The San Jacinto kept moginG IN and ont 80
long that the Governor of the Island boarded
her, and ordered her either to come to an
chor OF. proceed to Sea, thrae miles clear Of
tne land, which she obeyed, and Lay to, block:
to 60 out and fight her; but was advised
against this.by ths French officer who came
on board Of US, who said she Was too heavy,
as she carried twelve a-inch broadslde guns.
and two II inch pivots, with crew Of $50
men. The Governor said that IT We desired
OF his fort, aud he would protect Us against
Admiral Wilkes and his feet; but as the bark
with Goals was sent of the day before, we con-
c1uded it was best to 60 to sea scat 8o'clock
that night We got ready for action, and
steamed out Of the harbor, without any mo-
Iestatfon from the enemy, who Was keeping
watch and ward marine league of,
We coaled at the Island Of BlanquiE1e, on
the coast Of Venezuela, the new rendezvous
appointed; and here We found United
STATED HhaliuR schooner, Int forehnra to can.