Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1864-07-15
THE PIRATE ALABAMA.

/ The PIRATE ALABAMA
i Minister Datron's Son-Th ssAlabma'' air.y
ly Whipped--A Clear Case of Intervention.
PANS. Tuesday, june FL. 1s64-This time we
| have bit OF exciting war news to send you from
! this side of the water The sinking Of the Abr-
6onla by the Kearsoge off the port Of Cherbourg,
occupies, for the moment, the thoughts and the
conversation ofeverybody for it is rare that so
many circumstances combine To give interest TO,
any one event. The joy of our loyal people here
is, as might be expected something beyond de-
scription; [ need hardly tell you that for the Sc
cessionistS and their European sympathisers the
! blow was terrible, and provoked louder and more
| prolonged swearing probably than any event of
this eveDtfa war | shall attempt to give YOU all
the Important details relating to this exciting
drama
In one of the many conversations the American
Minister has been obliged to hold with the French
Government on the subject of the asylum which
is furnished to the Rebels 10 the French naval
ports Mr. Dayton am told said to the Foreign
Minister that all that was wanting to complete
the hospitality of France toward the Rebels was
to give refuge to the AIGbdnla; that then they
would have given aid and protection to the whole
! Confederate navy, and he terminated by saying
that this vessel, knowing how Its mates had been.
| received In France would, no doubt soon enter a
I
been accorded to others. To this the Foreign
Minister is said to have replied with great energy
that It would not be permitted, that he would not
allow the alabama to come in, ard that their
ports should not be made place of common re-
sort forthese vessels,
This was three months ago. At that time, al
though watching with interests the course Of the
AJabaaaa, we did not anticipate SO early visit
from her Only fortnight ago Mr. Forbes, of
New York, arrived from Shanghai, and grasified
us all by assuring us that we would never see the
! AJabd1na again in European waters, for that She
was badly used up By her long and active service,
and from this fact and the fact that the maratime
interdictions against her In the East had been
made very severe she would probably be sold
/ there. We were therefore not little astonished
to find the ALabdnd in the port of Cherbourg,
and thar she made the run from the East in the
remarkable short time, for vessel in her condi1
ton, ofa hundred days. So impossible did it
SEEM tllatwhen sheentered the.port Of Cherbeurg
last Friday week, both the American Yice-C Consul
at that place and the Maritime Pretect telegraphed
to Paris that it was the florida.
Immediately the American Minister at Paris
telegraphed "a Captain WinsloE, of the KeaT-
sarge then lying in one of the ports of Holland,
and TO the old sailing frigate ST. LOUIS supposed
TO be at Gadz, TO repair Immediately to Cherbourg
to catch the pirate, if possible. The Kearsqrge
arrived at at once, but the ST Loais had rot yet
had time TO arrive at the moment of the fgkt.--
The American Minister also protested at once to
the French Government against the admission cf
che Alabama and reminded the Foreign Secretary
of his previous promise In regard to the vessel
The America Minister could with more Justice
protest theoretically IN view of the fact that the
alabama did not come into French port under
stress ofweather she seemed to have struck
straight line from the Cape to Cherboprg; she did
not turn either 10 the RIG ght or to the left she did
not attempt 90 into eitherthe ports of England,
or of Holland, or of Belgium, or of Spain, or Of
Portugal as she might have done with the same
facility.
Mr. dayton, therefore, made most apt aud
most forcible point in declaring 10 the Foreign
Minister that, by his indulgence, the Rebels toere
using FcencB ports sractly as II they acre their
osea, that they paid no regard to the stress OF
weather clause, and that such had been the hospi-
tality shown them in France that they were fast
learning to make it their only rendezyous. -
The result of this protest was that Semnes, af-
ter the thing had gone throughthe circumlocution'
Office, received notice from the Marine Prefeet
to leave as soon as he had proysioned and opaiea,
and not to wait for repairs, he had expected to
do As soon as this order was sent to Semmes,
Mr.. Dayton sent his son, Mr. William Dayton,
Jr., with instructions to Captain Wilson to make
preparations for a fight, for that Semmes had been
ordered out and would be obliged to CO. $500 ~
Captain Semmes, finding that he had no alter
native determined to put the best face on the mat
ter, and to make as much capital for himself as
possible He, therefore, wrote a letter to the
Maritime Prefeet, requesting him to inform Cap-
tain WinsloW that he considered the latters cph-
duct in pretending to lie off and blockade him in q
neutral port as an insult 4 and that he intended
to come out and drive him off. Winslpw replied,
e Let him come out and try it. Both parties
made their preparations accordingly. Semmes,
whose business it was to run and not to fight was
so hadgered and worried by the taunts Of our side,
by the pats on his back of his friends and sympa-
bx, tho restrictions .nf tha Era,oh
thorities that less brave InaR than he would have
been driven by desperation TO fight and Captain
Winslow, who properly estimated all these circHm
stances felt perfectly sure that Semmes was going
to fight Semnles left all his yaluables in the
hands of the Bragilian Consular Agent on shore,
and after inviting his friends to come ent and see
the fight, Fent to sea-
Tou viii see SO many accounts of the fight that
need not dwell at length on that part Of the at-
fair Mn. William Dayton. Jr., and Antoine the
weIl-known Messenger Of the American Legation,
however saw the fight. They were on board the
KedrSdde before and after the action, and their :
account differs from most of those published, and
very much from the 0ne-Slded accounts OF tho
Nolateur and the other Secession prints to whom
the affair has been very bitter pill According
to MIR Dayton, Jr account the action lasted
about an hour and o half The Kearedrge, H.
though hit in several places received no vital shot
The Eearsarga had but three men touched, and
these not mortally. It not tgue that at any q
part of the fight the Alabama had the advantage;
Ehe maneuvering ahd firing Of the Ksarsdr0e
we're both superior to those DC the AltsbuRaq4
There is no evidence that Capt Semmes tried toi
BOARD the Kearsafqf as the Secession prints say
Toward the end Of the fight Captain Winslows
iu planting d shot in the machinery Of
he ABabaDaa, which disabled her he then had
hings all his own way, running close to heg he
(Cono9ssdod or 2d rdge