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Report of Captain Winslow, U.S. Navy, commanding U.S.S. Kearsarge.
U. S. S. KEARSARGE, Cherbourg, France, June 19, 1864 |
SIR: I have the honor
to inform the Department that the day subsequent to the arrival
of the Kearsarge off this port, on the 14th instant, I
received a note from Captain Semmes, begging that the Kearsarge
would not depart, as he intended to fight her and would not
delay her but a day or two.
According to this notice, the Alabama left the port of
Cherbourg this morning at about 9:30 o'clock.
At 10:20 a. m. we discovered her steering toward us. Fearing the
question of jurisdiction might arise, we steamed to sea until
a distance of 6 or 7 miles was attained from the Cherbourg breakwater,
when we rounded to and commenced steaming for the Alabama.
As we approached her within about 1,200 yards she opened fire,
we receiving two or three broadsides before a shot was returned.
The action continued, the respective steamers making a circle
round and round at a distance of about 900 yards from each other.
At the expiration of an hour the Alabama struck, going
down in about 20 minutes afterwards, and carrying many persons
with her.
It affords me great gratification to announce to the Department
that every officer and man did his duty, exhibiting a degree of
coolness and fortitude which gave promise at the outset of certain
victory.
I have the honor to be, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
JNO. A. WINSLOW, Captain, |
Hon. GIDEON WELLES,
Source: Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the
Rebellion. Series 1, vol.
3 (Washington Government Printing Office, 1896): 59.
Supplementary
report of Captain Winslow, U. S. Navy, commanding U. S. S. Kearsarge, of the
engagement between that vessel and the C. S. S. Alabama.
U. S. S. KEARSARGE, English Channel, July 30, 1864 |
JNO. WINSLOW Captain |
Hon. GIDEON WELLES,
Secretary of the Navy,
Washington, D. C.
Source: Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series 1, vol. 3 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1896): 79-81.
Report
of Captain Semmes, C.S. Navy, commanding C.S.S. Alabama.
SOUTHAMPTON, June 21, 1864.
SIR: I have the honor to inform you, in accordance with my
intention as previously announced to you, I steamed out of the
harbor of Cherbourg between 9 and 10 o'clock on the morning of
June 19 for the purpose of engaging the enemy's steamer Kearsarge,
which had been lying off and on the port for several days previously.
After clearing the harbor we descried the enemy, with his head
offshore, at a distance of about 9 miles. We were three-quarters
of an hour in coming up with him. I had previously pivoted my
guns to starboard, and made all my preparations for engaging the
enemy on that side. When within about a mile and a quarter of
the enemy he suddenly wheeled, and bringing his head inshore presented
his starboard battery to me. By this time we were distant about
1 mile from each other, when I opened on him with solid shot,
to which he replied in a few minutes, and the engagement became
active on both sides. The enemy now pressed his ship under a full
head of steam, and to prevent our passing each other too speedily,
and to keep our respective broadsides bearing, it became necessary
to fight in a circle, the two ships steaming around a common center
and preserving a distance from each other of from a quarter to
half a mile. When we got within good shell range, we opened on
him with shell. Some ten or fifteen minutes after the commencement
of the action our spanker gaff was shot away and our ensign came
down by the run. This was immediately replaced by another at the
mizzenmast-head. The firing now became very hot, and the enemy's
shot and shell soon began to tell upon our hull, knocking down,
killing, and disabling a number of men in different parts of the
ship. Perceiving that our shell, though apparently exploding against
the enemy's sides, were doing but little damage, I returned to
solid shot firing, and from this time onward alternated with shot
and shell. After the lapse of about one hour and ten minutes our
ship was ascertained to be in sinking condition, the enemy's shell
having exploded in our sides and between decks, opening large
apertures, through which the water rushed with great rapidity.
For some few minutes I had hopes of being able to reach the French
coast, for which purpose I gave the ship all steam and set such
of the fore-and-aft sails as were available. The ship filled so
rapidly, that before we had made much progress the fires were
extinguished in the furnaces, and we were evidently on the point
of sinking. I now hauled down my colors to prevent the further
destruction of life, and dispatched a boat to inform the enemy
of our condition. Although we were now but 400 yards from each
other, the enemy fired upon me five times after my colors had
been struck, dangerously wounding several of my men. It is charitable
to suppose that a ship of war of a Christian nation could not
have done this intentionally. We now turned all our exertions
toward the wounded and such of the boys as were unable to swim.
These were dispatched in my quarter boats, the only boats remaining
to me, the waist boats having been torn to pieces.
Some twenty minutes after my furnace fires had been extinguished,
and the ship being on the point of settling, every man, in obedience
to a previous order which had been given to the crew, jumped overboard
and endeavored to save himself. There was no appearance of any
boat coming to me from the enemy until after the ship went down.
Fortunately, however, the steam yacht Deerhound, owned
by a gentleman of Lancashire, England (Mr. John Lancaster), who
was himself on board, steamed up in the midst of my drowning men
and rescued a number of both officers and men from the water.
I was fortunate enough myself thus to escape to the shelter of
the neutral flag, together with about forty others, all told.
About this time the Kearsarge sent one and then, tardily,
another boat.
Accompanying you will find lists of the killed and wounded, and
of those who were picked up by the Deerhound. The remainder
there is reason to hope were picked up by the enemy and by a couple
of French pilot boats, which were also fortunately near the scene
of action. At the end of the engagement it was discovered by those
of our officers who went alongside the enemy's ship with the wounded
that her midship section on both sides was thoroughly iron-coated,
this having been done with chains constructed for the purpose,
placed perpendicularly from the rail to the water's edge, the
whole covered over by a thin outer planking, which gave no indication
of the armor beneath. This planking had been ripped off in every
direction by our shot and shell, the chain broken and indented
in many places, and forced partly into the ship's side. She was
most effectively guarded, however, in this section from penetration.
The enemy was much damaged in other parts, but to what extent
it is now impossible to tell. It is believed he was badly crippled.
My officers and men behaved steadily and gallantly, and though
they have lost their ship they have not lost honor. Where all
behaved so well it would be invidious to particularize; but I
cannot deny myself the pleasure of saying that Mr. Kell, my first
lieutenant, deserves great credit for the fine condition in which
the ship went into action, with regard to her battery, magazine,
and shell rooms; also that he rendered me great assistance by
his coolness and judgment as the fight proceeded.
The enemy was heavier than myself, both in ship, battery, and
crew; but I did not know until the action was over that she was
also ironclad. Our total loss in killed and wounded is 30, to
wit, 9 killed and 21 wounded.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
R. SEMMES, Captain. |