THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KEARSAGE ' AND THE ALABAMA.'
Sin,—In your review, in the Spectator of July 5th, of Sir G. F. Bowen's " Thirty Years of Colonial Government," attention is properly directed to the conversation he had with the Captain of the Kearsage,' who fought and destroyed the notorious Alabama,' that while " its commander, Semmes, was seen floating in the sea he could easily have been captured ; but it was thought better to let him be saved by a passing British vessel, since, if taken to America, he would probably have been hanged, and the officers of the Kearsage ' wished to save a gallant enemy from such a fate." The ante- cedents of the Alabama' and the results to this country and America, are so historically important, that all that can be -contributed to the knowledge of the circumstance is most desirable. The so-called " passing British vessel " was the steam-yacht 'Deerhound,' a fine three-masted vessel steaming twenty knots per hour, the owner the late Mr. John Lancaster, of Hindley Hall, near Wigan, and formerly M.P. for Wigan.
Some years since, I was staying at the country seat of a nobleman, and Mr. Lancaster was one of the guests. Being aware of the part he took in this affair, I got him to relate the circumstances to the company. The story was so interesting, that I afterwards wrote it down, and with your permission I send you the copy of it. I may premise that a good deal of the information was elicited by replies to questions asked as the story was unfolded, but for convenience' sake it is given in continuous narrative. It will be noticed that the indignation -shown in England at the time by the continued firing of the Kearsage ' after the Alabama' struck her flag, was, by the statement of Captain Semmes to Mr. Lancaster, " hot from the fight," much misplaced.
" Mr. Lancaster, before and during dinner, told us of the battle between the Confederate steamer Alabama' and the -United States steamer the Kearsage,' in June, 1864, off Cherbourg. He said he had been cruising off the coast of Spain in his steam-yacht, the Deerhound,' and had landed at Granville with his wife, four children, and a niece, and after spending the day there, went by rail to Cherbourg, and sent the Deerhound' to Cherbourg Harbour to wait his arrival. He was told by the head people of the port that the Alabama' was lying there, and that there was going to be a battle between it and another steamer. The day was Sunday. At breakfast it was the topic of conversation, and on its being asked whether they would like to see it, little thinking of the part they were to play in it, Mrs. Lancaster was strongly against going, partly because it was Sunday, but chiefly on account of the natural timidity of danger. As they were not all agreed, he said he would put it to the vote, when to go ' was carried by a majority of one,—a little girl of nine years whom her brother, being eager to go, prompted to say Yes.' So orders were given to get up steam, and after breakfast they started out to sea and waited till the 'Alabama' came out. They could see at a distance, in the direction of England, the smoke of a steamer making her way towards the French coast. The Alabama' steered towards her, and they stopped about nine miles from shore. A French man- of-war stood sentinel three miles, out, which three miles was the boundary according to international law. It was a very pretty sight indeed •to see the two vessels manceuvring to get the best positions. At last the Alabama' fired, and her shell went over the Kearsage." He (Mr. Lancaster) judged the vessels to be about one and a quarter miles from each other ; and after the action he asked Captain Semmes, of the
Alabama,' the distance they were apart when this first shot was fired. He replied : The gun was set for 2,000 yards.' The guns of the Alabama' would carry further than those of the
Kearsage,' and they kept firing without the '..Kearsage ' replying. The Kearsage ' manceuvred to get as little harm as possible while nearing the Alabama.' Being a faster vessel by two knots, Mr. Lancaster saw the greater advantage of speed in war-vessels. She was enabled to near' while getting lets damage. At last the Kearsage ' opened fire, and her shell went through the Alabama,' for the smoke came out of her decks, showing it had exploded inside. Her guns, being heavier than the 'Alabama's,' had full effect, and shells were sent into her, particularly at the stern, bursting inside, as he could see by the smoke. After half-an-hour's action, the
Alabama' was evidently lower in the water. While the fight was going on, Mr. Lancaster could not help being amused at his wife, so timid at breakfast and unwilling to go, who became so excited and interested, and begged him : Cannot we go a little nearer?' After about an hour and a quarter's cannonade, the Alabama' settled down at the stern, and when her decks were near the water, she struck her flag ; but the Kear- sage ' kept on firing. On our asking Mr. Lancaster why she did so, he said he inquired of Captain Semmes afterwards, who said: Because, seeing two of her sails still np, he thought they supposed it was an enticement for them to come near, and if this had been done, the Alabama' would have boarded her ; so till they struck the sails the firing did not cease.' After this the Deerhound' bore down on the Kearsage,' and he (Mr. Lancaster) asked the Captain if he could give them any assist- ance, but he replied : No ; but for God's sake go to the Alabama,' and do what you can for them.' So he steamed towards her, and lowered his boats, and picked up all he could; and when they had got on board all they could find in the water (about forty in all), the Alabama' settled down and sank. They picked up Captain Semmes in the water like a drowned rat,' thoroughly exhausted. He (Mr. Lancaster) asked Semmes :
Did the Kearsage ' lower her boats.' He said : No ; I sup- pose they are all disabled.' The Kearsage ' had two tremen- dous holes in her funnel 'that you could creep through,' and also in her side, but steamed away after all was over. As soon as all were on board, he asked Captain Semmes to what part of France he wanted to be taken. He could not help smiling at his reply Oh ; any part of Great Britain.' So he steamed for Southampton, and stopped at Cowes, arriving there between 6 and 7 o'clock. The action took place soon after 1. At Cowes, on the events of the day becoming known, there was great excitement, and the members of the Yacht Club wanted to have a Times' reporter telegraphed for ; but he would not hear of it until the news was reported to the
English Government. So he communicated with the authorities. But the following morning the reporter came, and the news of the destruction of the notorious 'Alabama' created the most intense excitement. Earl Russell, being Foreign Minister, sent for him, and asked him all about the affair, and seeing that there was no breach of neutrality, expressed great satisfaction.
"Mr. Lancaster was told by Captain Semmes that be had about one hundred and fifty men aboard, about one-third being English, one-fourth Norwegians, the rest Americans. The Norwegians who survived were very fine men. Semmes told him that the cause of the fight was, that the ' Alabama' was then so watched everywhere that she could not escape. She was quite out of repair, could not properly steam, as she wanted new tubes to her boilers, and having consulted with the representatives of the Confederate States at Paris, they put in for some repairs at Cherbourg, and finding they could go nowhere, the only chance left was to fight, and perhaps win."
CHARLES CLEMENT WALKER.
Lilleshall Old Hall, Shropshire.
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