The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1877-09-13
ADMIRAL SEMMES.
The Naval Fight Fsstween the Alabama
and the EearssAges

The Naval Fight Between the AIabaua
and the Eearsages
The circumstances of the fight between
the Kearsage and the Alabama are too
we'll known to need repetition. The
gentleman already referred to was wit
ness of this fight, but did not take part
in it, being at the time on board French
tug. He says Admiral Semmes made q
great mistake in going out of Cherbourg
to meet the Kearsage at all. He said the
immediate cause of his going out was
threat of WinslOW to go into port with
the United States flag flying Over the
inverted confederate flag, and to sail
around the Alabama as an insult.
Semmes sent back word that if he would
not do that ne would go out and fight
him. The Alabama had been at sea tive
years, and her copper hung in "elbows y
all over her bottom, which was also very
dirty. When in good condition she
could sail twelve or fourteen knots an
hour, but at that time she could not
have made over siz knots at the best.
Besides this, the powder that she used
was some that had been condemned by
the British government, and to make 1t
worse, a portion of the cOndensing aP-
paratus of the vessel used for producing
lICsl WdlEE was III NOAl tetCI ~ AEAA EaCA nag
azine, so that much of her powder was
wet. The result was that the heaviest
shells fred by the Alabama failed to per
fOrate the sides of the Kearsage, and
some of them were seen to drop in the
water before reaching her enemy, al
though the vessels were at the time not
over three hundred yards apart.
The same gentleman expressed his
opinion that Admiral Semmes, in his
book describing the cruise OF the Ala
bama, does himself great injustice when
he ascribes his failure to disable the
Kearsage to the fact that the latter hung
chain cables upon Der sides. These
cables were only placed upon her bows,
and had the powder of the Alabama been
in good condition, he expresses it as his
opinion that she would have sunk the
| Kearsage in spite of all such protection.
| One of the shells of the Alabama, which
! lodged in the stern-pOst of the kearsage,
| did not explode, and is now in this city.
| If it had exploded it would undoubtedly
/ have destroyed WinslOw's vessel.
Semmes displayed the greatest GOODNESS
! in the handling of his vessel during the
whole of the fight with the kearsage,
! and when the Alabama was about to
| sink he was the last man to leave her.
! A sailor named Mars, who had shown
very great bravery during the combat
and who had picked up shell from the
| Kearsage that fell on the deck OF the
| Alabama and thrown it OverbOaTd--lt
| exploded before 1t reached the water
brought a Iife-preserver to Semmes, anC
insisted that he should put it on. sem
mes refused to do so, and told the sailOl
that his lite was worth as much to hin
/ l1u and fhnA he
! it on himself. He had in his hands some
| valuable papers, among them the bonds
of a number of ships that had been cap
tured, and these he gave to Mars
| directing him to save them at all hazards
| Subsequently some of the officers and
| sailors persuaded Semmes to use life
| preserver. Mars was picked up by one
of the boats of the Kearsage, but jumped
! overheard He was picked up second
! time by another of the Kears8ge's boats
| and a second time leaped into the water
and was finally rescued by a French
boat, saving the papers which bad been
committed to his care.
! Semmes was a very strict disciplinarian
! This was especially necessary in the ser
| vice in which the Alabama wss engaged
| The line between that kind of service and
| piracy was so narrow that but for the
| strictest discipline the crew OF the con
| federate steamer would have been guilty
| Of all sorts of exCesses. When an Amer
ican vessel was captured, if it had OF
| board an American cargo, it was burned
If the cargo belonged to foreigners, the
/ captain was made to sign a bond for the
value OF the vessel. No officer or mem
her OF the crew Of the Alabama was al
lowed to take any article from prize
The gentleman who describes this service
saws that he was once very severely pun
ished by the captain of the Georgia 70
taking from the cabin Of a vessel tina
was captured a sewing bird, worth only
a Jew ceuts.---Z. /. ". IN N J. Tribune