The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-12
THE
museum.

The Century for April contains several arti-
cles about the Alabama and the Kearsarge,
written by men who sailed in these vessels.
The history of the Alabama, on the whole,
as written by Mr.. P. D. Haywood, one of her
crew, and by Capt. I. M. Kell, her executive
officer, is far from creditable. Her crew
were mostly Englishmen. 1t does not appear
that, outside Of her higher officers, there was
an American citizen on board. Haywood
himself says: II had never been on a ship
with such a bad lot. y = They were
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 a rough, mutinous set" With this
crew the Alabama sailed the wide seas
for twenty-five months, preying on un-
armed merchantmen and whalers. Her career
differed in no way practically from that of a
pirate. She f1ooted" and burned defenseless
ships. She decoyed them near her with false
signals, halls and flags. She avoided all our
men war, and never fought until her battle
with the Kearsarge, unless her unchivalrous
treatment of the little Hatteras can be digni.
fed into a fight. The facts, however, as told
by her own crew, show that the sinking of
the Hatteras was rather a shameful affair.
Haywood says the Hatteras Cooked more like
a fimsy river steamer than a war vessel" He
says: 1--WE saw through the dusk the bow Of
a small steamer coming toward us. y = y
She came within one hundred yards of us be-
fore hailing. We answered, This is her Brit
annie Majesty's steamer Petrelv The an
swer came back, This is the United
States steamer Hatterasv! At the same
moment we answered, This is the confeder-
ate steamer Alabama In fact, before they
could well make out our hail, we gave her the
whole broadside Of our starboard batteries.
We were not more than fifty yards away, and
we heard the crash of the shot. She at once
returned our ire-but it was evident her
armament vas light. After ten minutes
rapid firing some one called out, the enemy
is sinking, and we were ordered to stop firing,
as the vessel had surrendered" Other than
her battle with the Kearsarge, this was the
only one the Alabama ever fought. The least
said Of such a "victory" the better. In the
light of it, any complaint or criticism by the
officers Of the Alabama of the United States
officers and crew of the Kearsarge
sounds querulous. On the 10Th of June, 1864,
the Alabama went out Of Cherbourg harbor
to fight the Kearsarge. This was the first
and only war vessel the Alabama ever en-
gagged. These vessels were about equal in
size, speed, armament and crew, Showing a
likeness rarely seen in naval battles" The
officers and crew Of the Kearsarge were
American citizens. It was a gallant fight,
and this fight is the only one thing that is at
all creditable in the whole career of the Ala
bama. 1t was her first fight, and it was her
last. She 'fought bravely and obstinately
until she could no longer fight or float" The
Kearsarge sent her to the bottom in an hour.
One Of the English crew, an old tar who had
been in the royal navy before he took service
on the Alabama, said: eve was whipped
because she was a better ship, better man.
ned; had better guns, better served; that's
about the size Of it." The Alabama was
practically an English ship, built and mostly
manned by Englishmen. And, under the
laws of nations, the highest international
court ever convened adjudged that England
should pay the damages she had wrought.
She rests on the bottom of the sea, and moth
ing so became her in her life as the leaving Of
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