Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1886-05-07
THE ALABAMA'S CAREER.
STORY or THE CONFEDERATE PRI-
VATEERs CRUISE AND coMBATs.


an Old Tar - semmes' Exhortation-
Sinking the Hatteras-when the Ala
bama Met the Kearsarge.
In The Century the story Of the cruise
and combats Of the Confederate steamer
Alabama is retold briefly, and in an ex-
tremely interesting way. The contributors
TO the account are DR.. J. NJ. Browne, sur
geon Of the Kearsarge Capt j. NJ. Kell, ex-
ecutive officer Of the Alabama, and Mr.. p.
d. Haywood, one Of the Alabama's crew.
This looks at first like two on one side and
one on the other, but Mr. Haywood seems
more like an observer Of the American do
nestle quarrel than like an advocate His
few pages, which ara Of unusual interest,
and apparently OF no little historic value,
let in a striking light upon the Alabama's
cruise
Mr.. Haywood, who was dragged out Of
the water when the ship went down, by "a
brawny fellow In petticoats and top boots,
belonging 70 French pilot boat that came
70 the rescue OF the swimmers, says that
what astonished him when he reached Cher
bourg was 70 find Englishmen there plying
him with questsons designed TO depreciate
the Kearsarge's victory:
REMARK OF A GRIM OLD TAR.
"One grim old tar, who had been quarter
master in the royal navy, and was saTed
with me, said TO the point we was whipped
because she was u better ship, better
manned, had better guns, better served
that's about the size OF it, and be walked
away have seen somewhere an account
Of the taking Of the Hatteras, that made II
q daring achievement To sneak up TO an
enemy under false hail and pour In a
broadside Of metal much heavier than she
could return-mrely no English sailor viii
see any thing TO the national credit in thiS
The poor show we made with the Kearsarge,
however, disposed Of the glory we achieved
In burning defenceless merchantmen"
When Haywood signed In Liverpool the
articles that made him one Of the crew Of
the 900" afterward the Alabama, the ship
ping master warned him against Yankee
spies, and assured him that Great Britain
would soon declare war against the United
States:
Next day went aboard, and liked the
look Of the vessel Everything 70 q prac-
ticed eye, indicated the character Of the
ship No platforms were laid, but the
places for the pivot guns were plainly
marked; her magazines we're finished and
shot boxes were lying about"
At Terceira an Eeglish bark brought her
the captain came by another vessel Then,
leaving Angra on q Sunday morning, the
Britons for the first time saw the flag they
we're TO fight under, and heard the first OF
6emmes' sxhortations:
HE told Us, among other things, that
Providence would bless our endeavors 10
free the south from the Yankee, etc. A
boatswains mate behind me growled, 'Yass,
Providence likely 20 bless this yer
crew. During the night some one orna-
mented bread bag with terrific skull and
crossbones, and managed to fasten IL TO one
OF the mizzen braces. In the morning the
master alarms was hunting for the delin-
quent, but the men only laughed at him,
and suggested that Chucks, the maxine,
had been at his tricks had been looking
over the crew, and made up my mind that,
on the whole, had never been on q ship
with such bad lot They were all sailors
from clsw TO earing--no haymakers among
them-but they we're mostly OF that class,
found in seaport towns all over the world,
that ship for the run from port TO port,
and not for the voyage, and are always
ROACH, mutinous set They did not seem 10
cure for the ships officers, and were deter
mined to stand no 'man-o'-war dickey' from
them
The wonder Is that Capt Semmes accom-.
plished so much. Mr.. Haywood acknowl.
edges his Judgment and resolution" as
shown by twenty two months Of success,
and in First Lieut. Kell he had an fine ex.
ecutive officer. Hazing and fighting
were not uncommon Prisoners were
always well treated, except that "the wan.
ton destruction Of the clothes and effects Of
captured sailors was simply disgraceful"
OF the fight with the Hatteras, Mr.. Hay
woods opinion has already been given
But when the Alabama met the Kearsarge
there was a different sort of battle. This
combat, the first ever fought between
screw-propelled war vessels in the open seas,
was duel Of ships evenly matched in size, |
l,0l0 tons TO 1851 tons, but repeating the
familiar story Of fifty years before with |
the American vessel throwing a heavier
weight Of metal than the British from a |
smaller number of guns, with greater
precision The advantage in fertility Of
device was also with the Union ship For
example, over a year before, Capt Winslow,
at the suggestion OF Lieut. Commander |
Thornton, had the ships sheet chain hung
outside over her boilers This protective |
device was equally open TO the Alabama,
bat nobody thought OF it Again, Mr. Hay |
wood thinks that Semmes was somewhat
"furried, and commenced firing too soon,"
when far away, in the hope 10 disable his |
antagonist by broadsideL Winslow
reserved his fire with a result thus described: |
The enemy circlsd around rs and did not
return our fire until within seven or eight |
hundred yards, and then she let us have It |
The first shot that struck us made the ship |
reel and shake all over"
Capt Kell considers that the glory Of the |
victory was tarnlshed by the Kearsarge's |
firing several shots after the Alabama's |
colors were struck; but this was due, as
Surgeon Browne explains, 20 the renewal OF |
firing from the Alabama, either through |
disobedienoe Of Capt Semmes' orders or |
failure to understand them New York |
Sun.
N...I H.. e. n.Ia