The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1864-08-05
A Scotch View of the Alabama Affair.
GRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF SHINES AND HIS
PIhATICAL CREW.

| GRAPHIC PORTRAIT or SHINES AND HIS
PIhATICAL CREW.
The circumstances connected with the sink
| Ing of the Alabama-circumsisnc which
the commander of the kearsarge, II. i.s sail
or-like bruSqueness, has shorn Of much Of
the false glory impnied 70 the" the pro
Confederate press Of this &C Ia are well
known 10 the reading public; e.,o are the
| fulsome batteries and nIsraone compliments
paid to Capt. Senmes and wh. was descrih-
ed as " his gallant and heroic crew" Tie
captain has had applied TO hin by Certain
organs Of opinion, ard even by officials in
Her Majesiy's service and : =, terms Of the
most extravagant praise, " chivalrOus, no
ble,"" heroic,"" gallant" &c, being among
the number-and his crew have shared il
the honor thus heaped upon h:m. This TO
pirate, VINO, during the past i~o Years has
burned and sunk hundreds Of British and
other merchant vessels, and DESTROYED prop
erty 10 the value OF between t30O0 600 and
ti.0oO,OO0, and has Rertr oao, cttuckea az
come IN the w1y Of resSel Of has O,rR cal
iber, eJospf uRde, false ooloES, AMI viii a E,s
IN The mouth Of has officials, is rather more
than honest and brave men are disposed 10
bear.
ii amounts 10 an ornameniing md decor
ating of vice al The expense of virtue; IL
suggests contnuniing of Chieanery, deceit.
snd pluni-r OF the worst description with
trae courage and genuine spirit and worth /;
ii, in word, gives glory 10 men who, had
they attempted TO do on land what they have
done on sea, would have been hunted 10
death as highwaymen and nurderers OF The
most insuf-rable kind and not entitled 10
hive. That We are not using language one
whit too strong, let those VINO are disposed
TO make themselves acquainted with al the
facts read The Cruise Of the Alabama from
her departure from Liverpool until her ar
rival a: the Cape of Good Hope pamphlet
Just published d" by an officer On board, an
officer, let Is say, who is keen Confederate,
who loved and glories in his work, who has
the highest admiration Of Capt. Semmes,
and who viii, therefore ret be suspected cf
willingly dong him, his crew, or his cause
injustice.
Thai pamphlet We have read with the u
most loathing-loathing that a vile, living,
drunken, dehauched and frequently mutin-
Gus crew, such as that of the Alabama, a.
here described. should excite tie sympathy
and command the regards Of portion OF
the British people; loalhing that scherling.
skulking, deeeiving and INSCRIPTIONS fellow
such as Capt. Semmes is here shown to be
most a1prOvlnsly, no dOubt-sheuld IN a
disordered state of the public mind, be char
acterized as either spirited or brave, not 20
talk of " "chivalrous or noble !" and ioath-
ing, too, that a, a time ike the present,
Ill .l Il l.. 81.
porters of the Alabama and adopted by 9TH
er nations, ocr whole mercantile marine
might be swept of the face of the seas, there
should be focnd N Britain men ready TO vim
dica,e her conduct and the stratagems BY
which she succeeded in almost every instance
in capturing her prize.
The fact is, If We are 10 believe this PAM
phlet, every one Of the hundreds Of unpro-
tected merchant vessels captured, buIEed
and sunk by Can't. Semmes during h's two
years cruise, was captured by deceit, by
hois,ing false flags, chiefly t'ose OF ureat
Britain, and by telling the mos' atroclous
, lies: and in not a single instance, as we
have already said. did The heroic =. :aiE
a,,ac. a 1sss.l. large or small, with or with
ON, ,nns ,;ll his ,nds had ia entrapped
and deceived il by falsest rep <, tions as
TO his own character anc aim a.. Us ex-
nress a hope that The honorable epi,hets OF
In nluek. "spirit,"" courage" and chivalry, :"
which We are always happy TO apply when
and where they are really ueritel, viii never
again be associated with decep.ions so IA
grant, GINNING so despioah'-. and cOndust
altogether so foreign to what becomes ga
laut or true men even when engaged in an
Unworthy yscause-Caleaonian W. Mcrcs.:. "a: Ed
iabarga, lScoflandj June %