The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-09-30
WAR STORIES.
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From the London Tines June y. l-;;l
sarge.

Fat!!om- ,;eep in Norman waters
lies thr good Ship Alabama, the sw:f;
sca-rovcr jus, 80 many tons Of broken
up iron and wood, and wcaring away
in the huge depository of that gen
uinc old original mariucstore dealer
Fathcr Neptune. Should any raint.r
c9uc4ive ; phantasy Of the occan, akin
to that a! !;atIet in "Napplcor Midi
night 1cvew, the famous Cnafc'!-
crate cruiser would b. one Of the first
ships his imagination cou,d summon
from the depths "c he sea and
amongst the spectral fleet Of high
bcakc,! Danish gaIlcy~ Of antique
Spanish caravclS, If bluff and burly
British thrcc-dcckcr- and slucy Hrit-
ish frigatcs, there would be room for
this quick and cunning craft that
raced 50 swiftly and roamcd the deep
SO long The waves wash to and fro
about her as if in mockcry Of the dead
mass that could once almost outstrip
the wind, and fish swim in and out
the port holes and around the muzz,cs
Of the guns that will never again burn
powder. For yc. q day or SO to conc,
eorpscs Of brave men killed in battle,
or miscrably drowned, will float to
and fro on the summer waves strange
and horrible sight perchance t. French
fishers busy with their nets or English
yachtsmen taking their pleasure in
the channel. The skipper, a wounded
man, is safc on English ground, but
many Of his strange crew will never
more tread the deck or answer to the
boats Sain s call.
r. Alabama could have found no
n.r- Dtllng grave for she lived on the
waters-thcir child and playmate.
She hailed from no Southern halbnr.
she was warned from many a ncutra!
port, aud went away to Der wild work,
amid the loneliness Of the watcry
waste. 1t was we'll then that she was
not destined to be laid up in ordinary
or daubcd with dock yard drab at Char
lesion or Savannah, while idle gossips
wandered over her and talked glibly
about her deeds Beaten in fair
fight, she went down in the open sea,
whilst her crew, leapirg from the sink
ing ship, swan manfully for their
lives. Her career was q strange one.
She was an outlaw. Men called her
''corsair,' and spoke Of Semmcs, the
'pirate captain, as though he had
been some ruftianly Blackboard, sail
ing under the black flag or with skull
and cross. bones for his grisly ensign.
To-day we do not care to quote Puifen-
dorff, Grotius or Wheaton. We do
not concern ourselves with legal quib
bles. We decline to take lawyer $
view of her. She was good ship,
we'll handled and we'll fought, and to
q nation Of sailors this means great
deal.
Since Phillip Brook captured the
Chesapeake there has been no more
chivalrio encounter between single
ships than that of Sunday last off
Cherbourg, not very far from the old
battle ground Of Cape LaHague. The
contest did not take either crew by
surprise. It was deliberate chal-
'ienge deliberately accepted. Semmes
might have stuck to Cherbourg dock
or trusted for speed for his escape,
but he resolved to fight it out. So,
on bright June morning, while the
French folks were quietly at church
he steamed gallantly to sea and tack.
led his ready antagonist. The kcar-
sarge had moro men, carried heavier
metal and was chain plated under her
outside planking. OF the latter fact
Semmes is said to have been ignorant,
but, at any rate, he knew that hard
days work was before him, and he
lost no time in graphing with his
work. The story reads like page
from the NAVAL Chronicle but with
some new features, that remind US
How much the conditions of maritime
warfare have changed. For instance,
we sec that it was at first an artillery
duel at long range, the steamers
wheeling round and round as falcons
careless of tho wind.
Ere long they came to close quar-
tiers while the English yacht cruising
in the offing watched the fight.
Twice the Alabama was struck
heavily; the shots carried away the
blade Of her fan, shattered her rudder
and disabled gun. The water rush
"A :.Io Ala a.s.:.o .aaxo aud oha &llod