Dewey and Other Naval Commanders Part 16

Out of the misty light burst the _Stonewall Jackson_ and rammed the _Varuna_ on the port side, repeating the blow with a viciousness that stove in the vessel below the water line; but the _Varuna_ swung the ram ahead until her own broadside guns bore, when she planted several 5-inch sh.e.l.ls into the _Stonewall Jackson_, which set her on fire and caused her to drift ash.o.r.e.

But the _Varuna_ had been mortally hurt and was sinking fast. To quote the words of Commodore Boggs: "In fifteen minutes from the time the _Varuna_ was struck by the _Stonewall Jackson_, she was on the bottom, with only her topgallant forecastle out of the water."

But those were exceedingly lively minutes for the _Varuna_ and the other craft in her neighborhood. Commander Boggs turned her prow toward sh.o.r.e and crowded all steam, firing his guns as the water rose about the trucks. When the last sh.e.l.l left the side of the sinking vessel the current had reached the mouth of the piece, and some of it was blown out like mist with the shrieking missile.

The moment the bow of the _Varuna_ struck the bank a chain cable was fastened around the trunk of a tree, so as to prevent her from sliding into deep water as she went down and taking the wounded and dead with her. This was a precaution which would not have occurred to every man in the situation of Commander Boggs.

The daring conduct of this officer brought a tribute from one of our poets, which contains the stanzas:

"Who has not heard of the dauntless _Varuna_?

Who shall not hear of the deeds she has done?

Who shall not hear while the brown Mississippi Rushes along from the snow to the sun?

"Five of the rebels like satellites round her, Burned in her orbit of splendor and fear, One like the Pleiad of mystical story Shot terror-stricken beyond her dread sphere."

When Boggs' native city heard of his gallant conduct it voted him a sword, and the State of New Jersey did the same. He came North and was appointed to the command of the blockading squadron off Wilmington. He would have preferred active service, and finally his health broke down under the exposure and fatigue to which he was subjected, and he was compelled to return home to recruit. Upon his recovery, he was appointed to duty in New York, but the war ended without his having another opportunity to distinguish himself in the service of his country. He died a few years after the close of hostilities.

CHAPTER XXVI.

John Ancrum Winslow--His Early Life and Training--The Famous Battle Between the _Kearsarge_ and _Alabama_.

A few weeks ago I had as guests at my house two young men who were graduates of the West Point Military Academy in 1889. One was my son, at present an instructor in the Academy, and the other was E. Eveleth Winslow, of the corps of engineers, who had the honor of being graduated at the head of his cla.s.s. During the course of the conversation I asked Captain Winslow whether he was a relative of the late Commodore John Ancrum Winslow, commander of the _Kearsarge_ in her famous fight with the _Alabama_.

"He was my grandfather," replied my friend, with a glow of pride.

It was a pleasant bit of information, but it made me realize how the years are pa.s.sing. It seems but a short time ago that the country was electrified by the news of the great battle, off Cherbourg, France, which sent to the bottom of the ocean the most destructive cruiser the Southern Confederacy ever launched. And here was the grandson of the hero of that fight, already thirty years of age, with the hair on his crown growing scant. _Tempus fugit_ indeed.

The name Winslow is a distinguished one in the annals of our country, and especially in Ma.s.sachusetts, the State from which Captain Winslow hails. He is the ninth generation from John Winslow, brother of Edward Winslow, Governor of Ma.s.sachusetts Bay Colony, and the founder, as may be said, of Plymouth Rock itself. John A. Winslow, the subject of this sketch, however, was a Southerner by birth, being a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was born November 19, 1811. His mother belonged to the famous Rhett family of the fiery State of South Carolina. The father had gone to Wilmington from Boston, to establish a commercial house, four years before the birth of the son, who was sent North to be educated. At the age of sixteen he entered the navy, and saw a good deal of dangerous service in the extirpation of the West Indian pirates. The exciting experience was exactly to the liking of young Winslow, whose life more than once was placed in great peril.

After an extended cruise in the Pacific, he returned east in 1833, and was promoted to past midshipman. His service was of an unimportant character for a number of years, the rank of lieutenant coming to him in 1839. His conduct was so gallant in the war with Mexico that he was publicly complimented by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, a younger brother of the Lake Erie hero, and given the choice of vessels belonging to the fleet.

A curious incident is mentioned by his biographer. He went with the division which set out to capture Tampico, but the city surrendered without a fight upon the approach of the boats. He remained several weeks and then went back to the fleet at Vera Cruz. One of the vessels had been capsized in a squall, and the captain was occupying Winslow's room, and continued to share it until other arrangements could be made.

The name of this visitor was Raphael Semmes, afterward the commander of the _Alabama_. The history of our navy is full of such strange occurrences. When the furnace blast of secession swept over the country, the most intimate friends--in many cases brothers--became the deadliest of enemies. For a time two flags were flung to the breeze in the United States, and the men who fought under each were among the bravest of the brave, for they were all _Americans_.

In 1855 Winslow was made a commander and was engaged in various duties until the breaking out of the Civil War. He hurried to Washington and applied for active service. Captain Foote was busy fitting out a flotilla at St. Louis, and Winslow was sent to join him. The work involved great labor and difficulty, and Winslow's aid was invaluable, although far from congenial. The task of blazing away at the guerrillas in the bushes and woods along sh.o.r.e, of raking the muddy rivers and streams for torpedoes, and of managing the awkward, nondescript craft, was not to the liking of the naval officer, accustomed to the free air of the deep, blue ocean. Finally his request to be transferred to sea service was granted, and in the early part of 1863 he was placed in command of the _Kearsarge_.

This sloop of war had a crew of 163 men, carried two 11-inch pivot guns, four short 32-pounders and one rifled 30-pounder, the total shot weight of the seven guns being 430 pounds. In this place it may be well to give the statistics of the _Alabama_, since the two vessels were so intimately a.s.sociated in history. The Confederate cruiser carried one 100-pounder Blakely gun, one 8-inch sh.e.l.l gun and six long 32-pounders, the eight guns having a total of 360 pounds shot weight, while the crew consisted of 149 men, of mixed nationalities, nearly all of them being Englishmen.

England at that time was less friendly to the United States than she has since become, and she gave most unfair help to the Southern Confederacy by aiding to fit out and man cruisers for it. When the war was over she was compelled to pay a good round sum for her dishonest course, and was taught a lesson she is not likely soon to forget. These cruisers wrought immense havoc among our shipping, and Commander Winslow was sent into European waters in quest of them. He was specially anxious to meet the _Florida_, and followed her from the coast of South America to that of England and France. The governments of those two countries threw every possible obstacle in his way. The French pilots were forbidden to serve the _Kearsarge_, and Captain Winslow had to be his own pilot--something he was well able to do because of his familiarity with the coasts.

Finding the _Florida_ in Brest, he blockaded the port. It was in the depth of winter and the sh.o.r.e was dangerous, but Winslow did his duty so well that the _Florida_ dared not poke her nose outside, until he was compelled, because of shortness of provisions, to steam over to Cadiz to obtain them. He made all haste to return, but when he arrived the _Florida_ had slipped out and was gone.

There was no telling to what part of the world she had fled, and Captain Winslow sailed to Calais, where he learned that the rebel _Rappahannock_ was awaiting a chance to put to sea. He held her there for two months, when a French pilot purposely ran the _Kearsarge_ into the piers along sh.o.r.e. It was done by prearrangement with the officers of the _Rappahannock_, in order to give the latter a chance to put to sea. The indignant Winslow drove all the French pilots off his ship, and by vigorous work got her off by daylight the next morning. Meanwhile the _Rappahannock_, which had greatly overstayed her time, was ordered by the French authorities to leave. Winslow heard of this, and, without waiting for some of his men and officers who were on sh.o.r.e, he moved out of the harbor. When the commander of the _Rappahannock_ saw the _Kearsarge_ once more off the port of Calais, he knew it was all up and dismantled his ship.

There was one Confederate scourge that had been roaming the seas for months which Captain Winslow was anxious, above all others, to meet; that was the _Alabama_, commanded by his former room-mate, Captain Raphael Semmes. The _Kearsarge_, like many other vessels of the United States, had been hunting here and there for the ocean pest, but it seemed impossible to bring her to bay.

On Sunday morning, June 12, 1864, the _Kearsarge_ was lying off the town of Flushing, Holland, with many of the officers and men ash.o.r.e, and with everything wearing the appearance of a protracted rest for the crew. Some hours later, however, a gun was fired as a signal for every member of the ship's company to come aboard at once. The cause of this sudden awaking was a telegram from Minister William L. Dayton, at Paris, notifying Captain Winslow that the _Alabama_ had arrived at Cherbourg.

On Tuesday, Winslow appeared off the fort, and saw the cruiser within, with her Stars and Bars floating defiantly in the breeze. Had Captain Winslow followed, he would have been compelled by law to remain twenty-four hours after the departure of the _Alabama_, so he took a station outside, determined that the cruiser should not escape him again.

In this case, however, the precaution was unnecessary, for Semmes had made up his mind to fight the National vessel. He had been charged with cowardice in running away from armed ships, and he had destroyed and captured so many helpless merchantmen that he felt something was due to retrieve his reputation. A comparison of the crews and armaments of the _Kearsarge_ and _Alabama_ will show that they were pretty evenly matched, though the slight numerical superiority of the Union ship was emphasized by the fact that her men were almost wholly American, while those of Semmes, as already stated, were nearly all English.

Shortly after the arrival of Captain Winslow the following challenge was brought out to him:

Confederate Steamer _Alabama_, Cherbourg, June 14, 1864.

Sir:--I hear that you were informed by the United States Consul that the _Kearsarge_ was to come to this port solely for the prisoners landed by me, and that she was to depart in twenty-four hours. I desire you to say to the United States Consul that my intention is to fight the _Kearsarge_ as soon as I can make the necessary arrangements. I hope these will not detain me more than till to-morrow evening, or next morning, at the farthest. I beg she will not depart before I am ready to go out.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant

R. Semmes, _Captain_.

This note, though couched in seemingly courteous language, contained the most aggravating sort of sting, in the hope expressed that the _Kearsarge_ would not leave until the _Alabama_ was ready to go out, and the intimation--undoubtedly false--that the sole business of the Union vessel was to take charge of the prisoners brought thither by the Confederate. Captain Winslow had not spent months in hunting over the globe for such a chance as this to let it slip.

The _Alabama_ was among friends. She had the sympathies of the thousands, who hoped to see the Yankee ship sunk by the fearful commerce-destroyer. Excursion trains were run from Paris and other points to Cherbourg, and among the vast mult.i.tude who gathered on sh.o.r.e on that warm, hazy Sunday morning--June 19--to witness the coming battle, it may be doubted whether there were a score who wished to see the _Kearsarge_ win.

The respective captains were brave men and good officers. Both had declared that, if they ever met, the battle would not end until one of the ships went to the bottom, and each knew that the other would keep his word. Such a thing as surrender was not thought of by either.

Semmes was confident of his ability to sink the _Kearsarge_. Being a Roman Catholic, and unable to attend service, he requested a friend to go to ma.s.s and have it offered up for him, which was done. His acc.u.mulated sixty chronometers were sent ash.o.r.e, and the motto displayed by his ship was "_Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera_," meaning, "Help yourself and G.o.d will help you," another version of the old adage, "G.o.d helps them that help themselves."

The church chimes were sending out their mellow notes on the warm summer air when the _Alabama_ began slowly steaming out of the harbor. She was cheered by the sympathetic thousands, who heard the drums beating to quarters, and fervently prayed that their favorite might return victorious.

Winslow neglected nothing in the way of preparation. While calmly confident, his experience had taught him that such a contest is often decided by a chance shot, and he knew that the doom of one of the ships would be sealed before the set of sun. Having done all he could, he committed everything to the G.o.d of battles, content to abide by His will, whatever it might be.

It was about ten o'clock that Winslow, with his gla.s.s pointed toward sh.o.r.e, saw the head of the _Alabama_ coming round the point of the mole, some three miles distant. He immediately beat to quarters. The _Couronne_ accompanied the _Alabama_ to the limits of French waters, and then turned back. The English yacht _Deerhound_ had hurried down from Caen, upon being telegraphed of the impending fight, and the owner, with his family on board, followed the _Alabama_ at the risk of receiving a stray shot that would wind up the career of the pleasure craft and all on board.

Some time before Captain Winslow had arranged his sheet chains for a distance of fifty feet amidships and over the side of his vessel, extending six feet down. They were intended as an additional protection to his machinery, and the practice is common among warships. The chains were secured by marline to eyebolts protected with one-inch boards. This natural precaution was the foundation for Captain Semmes' charge that the _Kearsarge_ was partly armored. During the fight this part of the ship was. .h.i.t only twice, so that the protection, if it be considered such, bore an unimportant part in the battle itself.

Captain Winslow was determined that no question about neutral waters should be raised. Accordingly, as the _Alabama_ approached, he steamed out to sea, as if running away from his antagonist. Another object he had in mind was to prevent the _Alabama_, in case she was crippled, from escaping by running into the harbor.

When the _Kearsarge_ had reached a point some seven miles from land, she swung around and made directly for the _Alabama_, although such a course exposed her to the raking broadsides of the enemy. Reading his purpose, Semmes slowed his engines and sheered off, thus presenting his starboard battery to the _Kearsarge_. When the vessels were about a mile apart, the jets of fire and smoke from the side of the _Alabama_, followed by the reverberating boom of her cannon, showed that she had fired her first broadside. It did only trifling damage to the rigging of the _Kearsarge_. A second and part of a third broadside were delivered, with no perceptible effect. All the time, under a full head of steam, Winslow was rushing toward his enemy for the death grapple. Still in peril of being raked, he now sheered when half a mile distant and fired his broadside of five-second sh.e.l.ls, at the same time endeavoring to pa.s.s under the _Alabama's_ stern, but Semmes defeated the manoeuvre by also sheering his vessel. The effort of each was now to keep his starboard broadside presented to the other, the attempt causing the two ships to describe an immense circle, the diameter of which steadily decreased, until it was barely a third of a mile.

Ten minutes after the opening of the battle the spanker gaff of the _Alabama_ and the ensign were brought down by the fire of the _Kearsarge_, whose crew burst into cheers, but the Confederates quickly hoisted the colors to their mizzen. When the two ships were within a third of a mile of each other the fire became terrible; but from the first that of the _Kearsarge_ was more accurate and did vast damage.

This was impressively shown by the fact that although the _Kearsarge_ fired only 173 shots during the fight, nearly every one struck the _Alabama_, which fired 370, of which only 28 landed.

One of the _Alabama's_ 60-pound Blakely sh.e.l.ls pa.s.sed through the bulwarks of the _Kearsarge_, and, bursting on the quarter deck, wounded three men, of whom William Gowin was mortally hurt. When carried to the surgeon, the intensely suffering man smiled. "We are whipping the _Alabama_," he said, "and I am willing to give my life for such a victory."

Another Confederate sh.e.l.l burst in the hammock nettings and started a fire, which was easily extinguished. A third lodged in the sternpost, but failed to explode. Had it done so, its effect would have been terrific. The damage done by the other sh.e.l.ls was insignificant.