 |
| Naval battle off Cherbourg. |
This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
[436]
chief, if worsted in the fight, should not fall into Captain Winslow's hands.
Fearing the question of jurisdiction, Winslow steamed to sea about seven miles from the breakwater at Cherbourg, followed by Semmes at a distance of about a mile.
The Alabama was accompanied by the French ironclad frigate Couronne to a point beyond the territorial waters, and then went back.
Then the Kearsarge rounded to, and made for the Alabama. when within twelve hundred yards of her, the latter opened fire.
The Kearsarge
received two or three broadsides without returning a shot, when she suddenly retorted with telling effect.1 Winslow attempted to close and board his antagonist, but Semmes fought shy. His ship sheered off and steamed ahead, firing rapidly and wildly, while the Kearsarge delivered her fire slowly and with deliberate aim. For an hour they fought, the steamers moving in a circle, and thus each kept its starboard side from which it was firing, bearing upon the starboard side of the other.
In the course of the conflict they described seven circles, as denoted in the annexed diagram and were drifted by the tide about four miles from the place of the beginning of the fight, before it was ended.
at a little past twelve o'clock, at noon, when the combat had continued an hour, the Alabama was at the mercy of her adversary.
She had received several 11-inch shells, one of which disabled a gun and eighteen men. Another had entered her coal-bunker, and by the effects of its explosion had so blocked up the engine room as to compel a resort to sails; and her sides were shattered and pierced with holes.
The Kearsarge was then in a position to fire grape-shot effectually.
A few more guns brought down the Alabama's flag, but Winslow could not tell whether it had been shot away or hauled down.
A white flag was then displayed over her stern; so, respecting it, the firing of the Kearsarge ceased.
In the space of two, minutes the Alabama treacherously opened two guns upon her adversary, and attempted to run to the protection of neutral waters, not more than three miles distant. This
1 the two vessels were fairly matched in dimensions, equipment, and men. The extreme length of the Alabama was 220 feet; length on water line, 210; beam, 82; depth, 17; two engines of 300 horse power each, and tonnage 1,150. the extreme length of the Kearsarge was 214 1/2 feet; length on water line, 198 1/2 feet; beam, 83; depth, 16 feet; two engines 400 horse power each, and tonnage 1,030. the Alabama carried one 7-inch Blakely rifled cannon; one 8-inch smooth-bore 58-pounder, and six 82-pounders. The Kearsarge had two 11-inch smooth-bore guns; one 30-pounder rifled cannon, and four 32-pounders. The Kearsarge used 5 guns, the Alabama 7. the Kearsarge had 162 officers and men: the Alabama about 150. the gunners of the latter were trained artillerists from the British ship-of-war excellent.
Scanned printed text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.