Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1864-07-16
Scnmcs, the Hero ofthc .Aini,i mt

Semmcs, the Hero oftl,c .Aini,i mt.
From tic LoDdon Daily Nc,rs ~ JuHe ih.
1t will hardly lie denied by the most fer
vid admirers of the late Alabama 5 daring
and brilliant career that her surviving
commander is more fortunate not only than
the brave captains who lived before Aga
mcmnon, but than many who have lived
and fought in modern times. II many gal
liant soldiers and sailors in the mythical age
died unwcpt, for want of reporter,
your modern hero of hundred escapes and
of half an hours ducking after his first and
last fair fight, seems likely to be drowned
after all in torrents OF sympathetic ink
There was, perhaps, q little difficulty in ma
King any thing very hcroictout of the Ala
bamas career while she lived Running
away from mcn-of.war and burning unarm-
cd and dcfcnccleSs merchantmen may bc Il
profitable and useful business, but courage
is not precisely the quality one admires in
the hawk or the hound when the victory is
II partridge or Il bare.
Without reference to FcdcralS or COrird
crates, let US as Englishmen do justice to
smart and skiful scamanship, wherever we
! find it. But let not the nation that once
owned a Nelson sink TO pa! wing equal homage
| to n sunk Alabama and u surviving Victory.
To worship success is lau CUuuSh; 10 wur-
ship the remains oi runaway smagglrr amt
Il nimblc-hcclcd buCancer because he has
come to Il legitimate end, is something very
different from honest sympathy with dc
feat There are British naval officers per.
forming ut the hour splendid, hut unrccurd-
ed services who will never receive the
honors paid to the captain of the Alabama
for having accepted the challenge "t the
captain Of TIE kcarsargc not its conSr-
qucnces.
! The skcptic who called history matter
Ot.tact romance, should have lived III our
I day, when IA naval action is fought oil Cher
bourg on Sunday, and reported To the
London and Paris c"spapcrs ON the Mon
day morning, no two reports agreeing in
any simple fact, except III the result. In
/ our enlightened epoch OF incesSant, instan-
tancOus. and universal intcrcnmmuncatiun
/ the difficulty of getting ut the simple facts
! OF any passing incident in which conflicting
| sympathics are concerned, increases in pro
! portion to the Increasing cclcrity and Ger
lainty with which the materials of history
are gathered. Some allowance, no doubt,
may bc made for cye.wi,nessrs on shore of
II naval engagement seven miles out at sea
! Their powerful glasses are liable to that
peculiar inaccuracy of sight which distance
excitement and smoke produce. 4 French
! gentleman, for instance, who from Cher
/ bourg brcakwater looked ON at the Amcri-
can duel ON Sunday last, wrote u graphic
/ letter to the Debdts with IL postscript To the
effect that he had Just discovered that the
/ account in his letter WAS entirely wrong.
MIR. John Lancaster, the owner of the Deer
hound yacht, who, in more than the French
sense OF the words, assisted at the engage
mcnt. published ON the following morning
IN account, which materially differs in the
most important points from the official re-
port furnished to Mr.. Mason by Captain
! Scmmes, and published yesterday.
AT 1870 1--WE quote Mr.. Lancastcr's cX-
tract the log of the Deerhound) observed the
Alabama to DC disabled and In II sinking
state. We Immediately made towards her.
/ and on passing the KcarSarge were request.
ed to assist in saving the Alabama'S crew
At 1880, when within n distance Of 200
yards the Alabama sank We then lower
ed our two boats, and with the assistance
of the Alabuma's whaleboa, and dingy, sue
cceded in saving about forty men, inciuding
Captain Semmes and thirteen officers"
Now what says Captain Semmes
There was no appearance OF any boat
"
went down. Ultimately, however, the steam
yacht Decrhound, owned by gentleman oi
Lancashire, England, Mr. John Lancaster
who was himself on board, steamed up in
the midst OF my drowing men, and rescued IA
number OF both officers and men from the
water About this time the kearSargc sent
one, and then, tardily another boat. Ac.
companying YOU will iinG lists uf the killed
and wounded and of those who were picked
up 10y the Dcerhound the remainder, there
Is reason To hope, were picked up the enemy
aud hy couple OF French pilot boats,
which were also fortunately near the scene
OF action
The odious imputation of inhumanity
contained In this passage is not only alto
grther wanting in NJ. Lancuster's account,
II Is implicitly and explicitly conludictcd
Toy Mr, Lancasler's assertion that he Was re-
qucsted 10y the Captain of the kearsarge to
assist In saving the Aahamas crvw. Then
again, as Ia the relative tonnage aud arma,
mcnt of the two ships Captain semmrs
writes to Mr., Mason
THE enemy Mas heavier than myself.
both in ship, battery, aud crew but | did
not know until the action Was over that sho
Mas non'elah, Her midship srcliun
on both sides Was thoroughly iron coated
ihIs having bcon donr With chain eonslTuC
icd ioi the pnTposr, placed pyTpendlVulafy
lram the rail- "a the Waters edge, the Nhol,
covered over by thin ouier planklnF
which gave 40 indication o., ,hs srnoT Ia
A letter hieh Ne publish ,his morains
nom gentleman Jusl Igtugnsd lrpm q yisll
" the kssfsafge Al ChsFbouFg, aales that
the AlasAiaa AL sight g'1li., lhs ksar'