Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-07-08
DESTRUCTION or THE ALABAMA.
Naval Combat Off Cherbourg.
Fierce Conflict between the U. s. Steamer
kearsage and the Alabama.
The Pirate Sunk and Part Of Her
Crew Captured.
ESCAPE OF CAPT. SEMMES.
He is Rescued by an English Yacht and Taken
to southampton.


to Southampton.
FULL PARTICULARS.
BY the arrival of the City of Baltimore
and New York at this port Tuesday, we
have the highly important news of the to-
tai destruction of the rebel pirate Alabama,
in a fight with the United States steamer
Kearsage, Captain Winslow, off Cherbourg,
France, on Sunday, June 10.
The following are the particulars OF the
fight:
BEGINNING OF THE FIGHT.
On the morning of Sunday, June 10Th, at
1890 the Alabama was observed steaming
out of Cherbourg harbor toward the steam
er Kearsage. At 1l:l0 the Alabama COM
menced the action by firing with her star
board battery at distance of about mile.
! The Kearsage also opened fire Immediate
ly with her starboard guns, and sharp en-
/ gagement, with rapid firing from both sides,
was kept up, both shot and shell being dis
, charged. In the manGuvering both vessels
made seven complete circles at distance of
from quarter to half mile.
( At twelve o'clock the firing from the
| Alabama was observed to slackCn, and she
appeared to be making head sail and shap-
] ing her course for land, which was distant
! about nine miles. At 1890 the Confederate
| vessel was in disabled and sinking state.
! The encounter was witnessed by the En-
| glish steam-yacht Deerhound, which made
/ towards the Alabama at this moment, and
! in passing the Kearsage was requested to
\ assist i'm saving the crew of the Alabama.
h When the Deerhound was still at distance
4 of two hundred yards the Alabama sank,
and the Deerhound then lowered her boats,
and with the assistance OF those from the
sinking vessel succeeded in saving about
forty men, including Captain Semmes and
thirteen officers.
ADDITIONAL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF CAP
TAIN sEMMEs AT SOUTHAMPTON.
A letter to the London Times, dated at
Southampton, England, June 81, says:
''The English steam-yacht Deerhound,
belonging to Mr.. John Lancaster, of Hind
ley Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, arrived here
last night and landed Captain Semmes (com-
mander of the late Confederate steamer
Alabama), thirteen officers, and twenty-siX
men, whom she rescued from drowning af-
ter the action off Cherbourg yesterday,
which resulted in the destruction of the
world-renowned Alabama. From inter-
views held this morning with Mr.. Lancas-
ter, with Captain Jones (master of the Deer
hound), and with some of the Alabama's
officers, and from information CLEANED in
other quarters, am enabled to furnish you
with some interesting particulars connectt d
with the fight between the Alabama and
the Kearsage.
'On arriving at Cherbourg at 10 o'clock
on Saturday night, by railway from Caen,
Mr.. Lancaster was informed by the captain
of his yacht which was lying in harbor
awaiting his arrival, that it was reported
that the Alabama and the Kearsage were
going out to fight each other in the morn
ing. Mr.. Lancaster, whose wife, niece and
family were also on board his yacht, at once
determined to go out in the morning and
see the combat.
''The Alabama left Cherbourg harbor
about ten o'clock on Sunday morning, and
the Kearsage was then several miles out to
seward with her steam up ready for action.
The French plated ship of war Couronne
followed the Alabama out of harhor, and
stopped when the vessels were league off
the coast, her object being to see that there
was no violation of the law of nations by
any fight taking place within the legal dis
tance from land.
''One of the officers of the Alabama names
the hour of lilo as the commencement of
the action, and 12:40 as the period of its
cessation, making its duration an hour and
half; while the time observed on board the
Deerhound, which is most likely to be ac-
curate, that vessel being free from the ex-
element and confusion necessarily existing
on board the Alabama, limited the action to
an hour, the last shot being fired at 1910.
The distance between the two contending
vessels when the Alabama opened fire was
estimated on board the Deerhound at about
mile, while the Alabama's officer tells me
that she was mile and half away from
the Kearsage when she fired the first shot.
b "Be this as it may, it is certain that the
Alabama commenced the firing, and as it is
known that her guns were pointed tor
range of two thousand yards, and that the
second shot she fired, in about half min
ute after the first went right into the Kear-
. sage, that may be taken as the real dis
tance between the two ships. The firing
became general from both vessels at the
distance of little under mile, and was
well sustained on both sides, Mr.. Lancas-
ter's impression being that at no time dur
ing the action were they less than quar-
ter of mile from each other. Seven COM
plete circles were made in the period over
which the fight lasted. 1t was estimated
on board the Deerhound that the Alabama
fired in all about one hundred and fifty
rounds, some single guns, and some in
broadsides of three or four, and the Kear-
sage about one hundred, the majority of
which were eleven-inch shells. The Ala
bama's were principally Blakely's pivot
guns. In the early part of the action the
relative firing was about three from the AL
ALBANIA to one from the Kearsage, but as it
progressed the latter gained the advantage,
having apparently much greater power of
steam. She appeared to have an advantage
over the Alabama of about three knots an
hour, and steam was, seen rushing out of
her blowpipe all through the action, while
the Alabama seemed to have very little
steam on. 4Be.i y aeivgisi 4 l3'Ysp. i
SAT length the Alabama's rudder was dis
abled by one of her opponents heavy shells,
and they hoisted sails; but it was soon re-
ported to Captain Semmes by one of his Of
ticers that his ship was sinking. With