mate Pullman with the request. No boats appearing, I had one of our quarter-boats lowered, which was slightly injured, and I ordered the wounded placed in her. Dr. Galt, the surgeon who was in charge of the magazine and shell-room division, came on deck at this moment and was at once put in charge of the boat, with orders to “take the wounded to the Kearsarge.” They shoved off just in time to save the poor fellows from going down, in the ship.
I now gave the order for every man to jump overboard with a spar and save himself from the sinking ship. To enforce the order, I walked forward and urged the men overboard. As soon as the decks were cleared, save of the bodies of the dead, I returned to the stern-port, where stood Captain Semmes with one or two of the men and his faithful steward, who, poor fellow! was doomed to a watery grave, as he could not swim. The Alabama’s stern-port was now almost at the water’s edge. Partly undressing, we plunged into the sea, and made an offing from the sinking ship, Captain Semmes with a life-preserver and I on a grating.
The Alabama settled stern foremost, launching her bows high in the air. Graceful even in her death-struggle, she in a moment disappeared from the face of the waters. The sea now presented a mass of living heads, striving for their lives. Many poor fellows sank for the want of timely aid. Near me I saw a float of empty shell-boxes, and called to one
will never do in this nineteenth century for us to go down, and the decks covered with our gallant wounded.” The order was promptly executed, after which the Kearsarge deliberately fired into us five shot.* I ordered the men to stand to their quarters and not flinch from the shot of the enemy; they stood every man to his post most heroically. With the first shot fired upon us after our colors were down, the quartermaster was ordered to show a white flag over the stern, which order was executed in my presence. When the firing ceased Captain Semmes ordered me to despatch an officer to the Kearsarge to say that our ship was sinking, and to ask that they send boats to save our wounded, as our boats were disabled. The dingey, our smallest boat, had escaped damage. I despatched Master’s-
* In Captain Winslow’s letter (dated Cherbourg, June 2lst, 1864) to the Secretary of the Navy, he says: “ Toward theclose of the action between the Alabama and this vessel, all available sail was made on the former for the purpose of again reaching Cherbourg. When the object was apparent the Kearsarge was steered across the bow of the Alabama for a raking fire; but before reaching this point the Alabama struck. Uncertain whether Captain Semmes was using some rase, the Kearsarge was stopped ” — and, I may add, continued his fire, for by his own words he thought Captain Semmes was making some ruse. The report that the Alabama fired her guns after the colors were down and she had shortened sail is not correct. There was a cessation in the firing of our guns when we shifted our battery to port, after which we renewed the action.
Almost immediately afterward the engineer reported the fires put out, when we ceased firing, hauled down the colors, and shortened sail. There was no gun fired from the Alabama after that. Captain Winslow may have thought we had surrendered when we ceased firing and were in the act of shifting the battery; but the idle report that junior officers had taken upon themselves to continue the action after the order had been given to cease firing is not worthy of notice. I did not hear the firing of a gun, and the discipline of the A labama would not have permitted it.—J. Mcl. K.
In the letter from which Captain Kell quotes, Captain Winslow does not speak of “ continuing his fire.”
But in his detailed report (dated July 30tli, 1864) Captain Winslow says of the Alabama, after she had winded and set sail: “Her port broadside was presented to us, with only two guns bearing, not having been able, as I learned afterward, to shift over but one. I saw now that she was at our mercy, and a few more guns well directed brought down her flag. I was unable to ascertain whether it had been hauled down or shot away; but a white flag having been displayed over the stern our fire was reserved. Two minutes had not more than elapsed before she again opened on us with the two guns on the port side. This drew our fire again, and the Kearsarge was immediately steamed ahead and laid across her bows for raking. The white flag was still flying, and our fire was again reserved. Shortly after this her boats were seen to be lowering, and an officer in one of them came alongside and informed us the ship had surrendered and was fast sinking.”
around on the deck until one of the men picked it up and threw it overboard. Our decks were now covered with the dead and the wounded, and the ship was careening heavily to starboard from the effects of the shot-holes on her water-line.
Captain Semmes ordered me to be ready to make all sail possible when the circuit of fight should put our head to the coast of Prance; then he would notify me at the same time to pivot to port and continue the action with the port battery, hoping thus to right the ship and enable us to reach the coast of Prance. The evolution was performed beautifully, righting the helm, hoisting the head-sails, hauling at the fore try-sail sheet, and pivoting to port, the action continuing almost without cessation.
This evolution exposed us to a raking fire, but, strange to say, the Kearsarge did not take advantage of it. The port side of the quarter-deck was so encumbered with the mangled trunks of the dead that I had to have them thrown overboard, in order to fight the after pivot-gun. I abandoned the after 32-pounder, and transferred the men to fill up the vacancies at the pivot-gun under the charge of young Midshipman Anderson, who in the midst of the carnage filled his place like a veteran. At this moment the chief engineer came on deck and reported the fires put out, and that he could no longer work the engines. Captain Semmes said to me, ‘ ‘ Go below, sir, and see how long the ship can float.” As I entered the ward-room the sight was indeed appalling. There stood Assistant-Surgeon Llewellyn at his post, but the table and the patient upon it had been swept away from him by an 11-ineh shell, which opened in the side of the ship an aperture that was fast filling the ship with water.
It took me but a moment to return to the deck and report to the captain that we could not float ten minutes. He replied to me, “Then, sir, cease firing, shorten sail, and haul down the colors; it
for us, presenting her starboard bow. At a distance of a mile we commenced the action with our 100-pounder pivot-gun from our starboard bow. Both ships were now approaching each other at high speed, and soon the action became general with broadside batteries at a distance of about five hundred yards. To prevent passing, each ship used a strong port helm. Thus the action was fought around a common center, gradually drawing in the circle. At this range we used shell upon the enemy. Captain Semmes, standing on the horseblock abreast the mizzen-mast with his glass in hand, observed the effect of our shell. He called to me and said: “Mr. Kell, use solid shot; our shell strike the enemy’s side and fall into the water.” We were not at this time aware of the chain armor of the enemy, and attributed the failure of our shell to our defective ammunition. * After using solid shot for some time, we alternated shell and shot. The enemy’s 11-inch shells were now doing severe execution upon our quarter-deck section. Three of them successively entered our 8-inch pivot-gun port: the first swept off the forward part of the gun’s crew; the second killed one man and wounded several others; and the third struck the breast of the gun-carriage, and spun
* On the coast of Brazil we had had some target practice at one of our prizes. Many of our fuses proved defective. Upon visiting the target I found that one of the 100-pound shells had exploded on the quarter-deck, and I counted fifteen marks from its missiles, whichjustifies me in asserting that had the 100-pound shell which we placed in the stem-post of the Kearsarge exploded, it would have changed the result of the fight. I at once examined every fuse and cap, discarding the apparently defective, and at the same time made a thorough overhauling of the magazine, as I thought; but the action with the Kearsarge proved that our entire supply of powder was damaged. The report from the Kearsarge’s battery was clear and sharp, the powder burning like thin vapor, while our guns gave out a dull report, with thick and heavy vapor.—J. Mcl. K.
CHART OF THE ACTION OFF CHERBOURG.
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