Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-08-11

gAgt
rest wers brought play but the gun ~ question was
never regarded aught than failure, and tho
Department Of the United States navy mas gwen up -
manufacture.
The Chain plating efthe Kearsarge
Great stress has been laid upon the chain plating of the
Kearsarge and it is assumed by interested pares tna
but Tor this armor the contest would nave reu .i.,a
rently pamphlet lately pub ished IN this Guy entitled
The Career of the Alabama makes the following state
ments:
1.-THE Federal Government fitted out the Kearsarge
vessel Of great speed nc plated
with iron chains u Ss n the p5es EsdsTa Govern
Both statements absolutely incorrect as WIN
shortly be seem ,,a hall s,,pck
against the Kearsarge's side, and harmessy @
bursting outside and doing damage 70 the Feaeal
Another advantage Hng from this was that SANK e
very low in the water SO low fact that the heads o. he
who the boats were on the level OF ths Near
As before observed ths sides of the Kearsarge were
TAILED all over with chain cables" Up Al
The author OF the pamphlet in question has Judcousiy
RETAINED from giving his name. greater NUMBER .,
uDbushing misrepresentation never were cohaheu
in equal space, ,,
In his official report to the Confederate Envoy, Mr.
Mason Capt Semmes makes the following statement:
AT the end of the engagement it discovered by tfose
of officers who alongside the enemy ship win
the wounded that her mdshp section on both des was
thoroughly oaed this having been done with cna
constructed Tor the purpose, u placed precautionary o
The rail TO the waters edge the whole covered over by ah
outer plaukpg which indication OF the amor Do
meath This pankng had been ripped of in ev ~ direction "
by shot and she'll chain broken and ndented IN many
places and forced partly into the ships side she was most
ectu lily guarded however, in this section from pehe'a
ton" .
The enemy was heavier than myself both in ship battery
and crew " but did not know until the action was over
that she was also iron-clad
Those of our officers who went alongside the enemys
ship with our wounded" As soon as Captain Semmes
the Deerhound the yacht steamed off al full speed
towards southampton, and Semmes wrote his report OF
the fight either in England on board the English vesse
Probably the former for he dates his communication to
Mr.. Msson-t Southampton, June 81, 1864 " How did
he obtain intelligence from those OF his officers VINO
went alongside the enemys ship and who would naturally
be detained prisoners of war 1t impossible lot
anybody to reach Southampton in the time specified
nevertheless he d obtain such information One OF his
ofcers-Georger Fullam, Englishman unfortunately
to the Kearsarge in boat at the close OF the action
representing the Alabama to be sinking and that II the
Kearsage did not hasten get out boats to save life the
crew must go down with her Not a moment was to be
lost aud he offered to back to his own vessel TO prng
off prisoners pedgng his honor to return when the object
accomplished After picking up several men strug-
Cling in the water he teered directly for the Deerhound,
and reaching her actually cast his boat adrft 1t was
subsequently picked up by the Kearssge Fulams name
appears amongst the list OF saved by the Deerhound
and he, with others Of the Alabamas officers who had
received similar permission from their captors and had
similarly broken their rOth of gave the above IN
formation to their veracious captain
The chain plating Of the Krarsarge decided upon in
this wise The vessel lay of Faya towards the latter part
of April 1863 the look out for notorious blockade
runner named the Juno The Kearsarge being short of
coal and fearing some attempts at opposition on the part
Of her prey the first officer Of the sloop Lieutenant Com
mander James s. Thornton suggested to Capt WinsoW
the ACCESSIBILITY Of hanging her spare anchorcabs over her
sides to protect her mdship section Mr. Thornton
had served board the flagship of Admiral FaraRut the
Hartford she and the rest of the Federal feet
the forts of the Mississippi to reach New Orleans aud ne
made the suggestion at Faya through having the adj
vantage gained by it that occasion / now copy the
following extract from the logbook of the kearsarge:
"HoRTA BAY FAYAL MAY Let, 1863
From to Nerd. Wind (. e (F2l Weather b. G.
Strapped loaded and fused Is uso IL XIinch shell
i Ctamn needs
kedge anchor + M. SToDDARn, Acting Master"
This operation Of chalnarmoring took three days, and
was effected without assistance FROM the shore and at
expense of material OF srgentyfve dollars, (fl5) In
order to make the addition less ghty the chains
boxed over with inchdeal boards forming box,
hch stood out st right angles from the vessels sides
This box would naturally excite curiosity in every port
where the Kesrssrge touched and no mystery was made
as to what the boarding covered Captain Semmes
perfectly cognzant Of the entire affair notw thstandng
his shameless assertion of ignorance for he spoke about
10 bis officers and several days prior TO the 18th
of June declaring that the chains were only attached to
gettsr with rope-yarns and would drop into the water
when sruck with the frat shot informed by his
ovn wounded men lying in the naval hospital at Cher
bours Whatever ngnt pc the value Tor defence OF this
chan.patng only struck once during the engage
m4nt 40 far a. could discover by long ara close inspec
ton Some Of the officers of the Kearsarge asserted 10
me that il struck twice whilst others deny that de-
carston in spot, however, 32pounder shot broke
IN the deal covering and smashed single link twothirds
of which fell into the water. The remainder ID in my
and proves to be Of the ordinary 81 inch chain
Had the cable been struck by the red l20p0under IN
stead of by 80 the result might have been dferent but
In any case the damage would have amounted to nothing
serious for the vessels eide hit Se feet above the
water line and nowhere in the cniy Of the boilers
machinery Captain Semmes evidently regarded this pro
lection OF the chains little worth, for he might have
adopted the plan before engaging the Kearsarge;
but he confined himself to taking board $50 tons Of
coal as a protection to his boilers which, in addition to
tLe 200 tone already his bunkers would bring him
pretty low 10 the water The Kearsarge, the contrary
wa deficient in her coal and she took what necessary
| on board during my stay at Cherbourg
The quantity 0f chain used each side of the vessel in
THE much aked-of srmoriDg is dhy 40 athoms and it
covers space amdshps Of forty nine feet i4ches ia
length By ak feet inches in depth The chain which
single double na and ia stopped to eye bolts with
rupe-yarn and by iron dogs IL it -asGnabe to suppose
that this plating Of 40 inch iron he thickness Of the
Inks 81 the chain could oer sny serious stance t. the
heavy FOUNDER aud the seven.ncR Bakey rifle Of the
Alabama the parAvey close range Of hun
drsd yafds What then becomes OF the mistaken remark
OF the Times that the kearsaTge provided it
turned out with special cOntrivances for protection"
Semmrss declaration that she irOn.cad p THE
Career Of the Alabama in referring TO this chain plating
says Another adj antage sccuing from this Was that
sank her very low in the water low in fact that the
heads of the who the boats were on the vel
Of the Kearssrges deck" tits simply ridiculous to sup.
p6se that the weight Of two hundred aud forty fahos
OF chain could have any such effect upon vessel Of one
thousand tons burden whilst in addition, the cable itself
was part the Ordinary gear OF the shp Further the
KeararPe was deficient seventy tons Of coal Il her
proper amply at the time of actio, while the Alabama
| lad three hundred aud fifty tons on board,
TIE objection that the Alabama was short-hsnded does
not appear to he out by the facts Of the while
on the other hand greater number ~ men than