Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-02-14

THE OLD KEARsARGE.
from the Mosquito Coast of Central
America. Between the coast and the
reef lies old Providence Island, only
seventy-tive or eighty miles to leeward
of the reef. 1t is believed at
the Navy Department that the
officers and crew would be
able to reach Old Providence without
difficulty in case they were in danger of
their lives on the reef, and it is be-
ieved they would be safe on the reef
except in event OF rough weather.
Nothing is known at the department as
to whether the Kearsarge has gone to
pieces. If she still holds together she
may not break up for some time unless
rough weather comes up, although the
tides and currents about the reef are
swift and dangerous.
Immediately upon receipt of the news
Of the wreck the Navy Department sent
Il cable dispatch to Lieut.. Brainard at
Colon, ordering him to charter steam
er and proceed at once to the relief of
the shipwrecked crew. The Roncador
Reef is we'll known to mariners in those
waters as dangerous impeachment to
navigation. Efforts have been recently
made to secure the erection of light
house on this point. Some time ago,
when Warner Miller and officers Of the
Nicaragua Canal Company were on
their way to Nicaragua they were
wrecked on this same point.
Admiral Stanton was on the Kear-
sarge. When the New York and De-
troit were dispatched to Rio she was
made the flagship Of the North Atlantic
squadron, and Admiral Stanton, after
the secretary of the navy had acted on
In Of 10 Into oF I'll T..
Bay, was ordered to proceed to Port au
Prince and transfer his flag to the Kear-
sarge and assume command on the sta
ton.
The kearsarge took part in and
won the most desperate naval duel of
the civil war. The fight occurred off
the coast of France, the Kearsarge sink
ing the Confederate privateer Alabama
in ! hour and 10 minutes, during which
700 solid shot were exchanged by the
two vessels. The Alabama was built in
England and was a wooden ship of
steam and sail She waged war of ex-
termination on the merchant service of
the United States, and although several
attempts were made to destroy her
they were invariably unsuccessful.
Finally, early in the summer of 1864,
Capt. j. A. Winslow, of the Kearsarge,
was ordered to hunt down and sink the
privateer. After a voyage through the
South Atlantic and Indian oceans, during
which the Alabama captured sixty-sev-
ell merchantmen and destroyed nearly
as many more, the vessel entered the
French harbor Of Cherbourg. There she
was found by the Kearsarge Under the
neutrality laws the Kearsarge could not
attack the plivateer in the harbor of a
friendly nation, and six hours were re-
CURED to elapse before one vessel could
follow hostile vessel from a friendly
harbor. The kearsarge therefore re-
manned outside the six-mile limit,
awaiting the hour when the Alabama
should put to sea- On Sunday, June
10, the Alabama left the har-
Dor. She was commanded by Capt
Raphael Semmes. An English Yacht
and a fleet Of smaller craft
steamed out to witness the struggle,
while the highlands along the coast
were crowded with spectators. In pre-
pairing for the engagement, Capt. Wins
low had protected the kearsarge with
heavy chains that hung in festoons on
the sides of the vessel. AS the Ala
bama left the harbor both ships were
stripped for action. They were of
about the same size and armament and
carried about the same number Of men.
The kearsarge opened the duel, the
guns Of the Alabama replying almost
instantly. Broadside after broadside
we're exchanged, the vessels sailing in a
circle and the guns being worked with
all the rapidity possible. The Ala
bama's mainmast was shot away almost
at the first fire. Then the Long Tom
amidship was struck by a solid shot
and dismounted, many of the gun crew
being killed Shot after shot was
thrown into the hull Of the privateer,
and at the end Of an hour she was in a
sinking condition. Then her coIors
were struck and white flag was dis
played at her stern. Capt. Semmes and
his officers were rescued by their
friends on the English yacht, but a
large number of the crew of the
which sunk in few minutes after her
flag was hauled down.
1t is conlectured that the Kearsarge
went aground on the reef at night and
foundered. Lieut.. Brainard seems to
have got aboard small boat and sue
ceedcd IN getting to Colon in six DAYS.
The relief can reach the ship where
wrecked men are III less time than that.
The officers aboard the kearsaree at
the time Of her loss were Rear Admiral
Oscar +. Stanton; Commanding Officer
+. Heyerman; Lieuts. Charles 4. Forse,
Charles II. Lyman, Burls T. Walling,
John Hood and Frederick r. BrajDard;
Ensigns Herbert Gates and Thorn
as L. McGruder; Naval Cadets
Leon S. Thompson, Thomas /. Stitt,
Thomas S. Borden, B. j. Mccormick,
Walter Ball and David A. Mallon: Past
Assistant Surgeon George B. Lumsder,
Assistant Surgeon Merritt w. Barnun
Paymaster James A. Ring, Chief En-
gineer Burdette c. Gowing, FRS
Lieut.. of Marines Clarence T.. l.. A. II
gate. The crew was composed of ?
sailors and marines. She s,1f+
BROOKLYN navy ward on Decembt
HE-"Give me a kiss, won't YOU -,