Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States Part 45

At the battle of the Nile, fought by Lord Nelson, in 1798, with Admiral Brueyes, the flag-ship of the French fleet, _L'Orient_, took fire and blew up, after having surrendered. Admiral Ganteaume, the third in command of the fleet, was on board the ill-fated ship, and being blown into the water by the explosion of the magazine, was picked up by one of his boats and conveyed to a French brig of war, in which he escaped to Alexandria. This escape, after surrender, was regarded as valid by Lord Nelson. The disaster is thus described by the historian. After giving the position of the French fleet, at anchor in the Bay of Aboukir, and describing the mode of attack by the English fleet, the narrator proceeds:--

"It was at nine P. M., or a few minutes after, that the _Swiftsure's_ people discovered a fire on board of the _Orient_, and which, as it increased, presently bore the appearance of being in the ship's mizzen chains. It was, in fact, on the p.o.o.p-deck, and in the admiral's cabin, and its cause we shall hereafter endeavor to explain. As many of the _Swiftsure's_ guns as could be brought to bear were quickly directed to the inflamed spot, with, as was soon evident, dreadful precision. After spreading along the decks, and ascending the rigging with terrific and uncontrollable rapidity, the flames reached the fatal spot, and at about ten P. M., the _Orient_ blew up with a most tremendous explosion."

The historian then describes the terrible night-scene that followed; how it put an end, for the time, to the action, and the efforts which were made by the English boats to save life. We have only to do, however, with Admiral Ganteaume. This gentleman describes his escape as follows:--

"It was by an accident, [he is writing to the Minister of Marine,]

which I cannot yet comprehend, that I escaped from the midst of the flames of the _Orient_, and was taken into a yawl, lying under the ship's counter. Not being able to reach the vessel of General Villeneuve, [the second in command,] I made for Alexandria. At the beginning of the action, Admiral Brueyes, all the superior officers, the first commissary, and about twenty pilots, and masters of transports, were on the p.o.o.p of the _Orient_, employed in serving musketry. After the action had lasted about an hour, the admiral was wounded in the body, and in the hand; he then came down from the p.o.o.p, and a short time after was killed on the quarter-deck. The English having utterly destroyed our van, suffered their ships to drift forward, still ranging along our line, and taking their different stations around us. One, however, which attacked, and nearly touched us, on the starboard side, being totally dismasted, ceased her fire, and cut her cable to get out of reach of our guns; but obliged to defend ourselves against two others, who were furiously thundering upon us on the larboard quarter, and on the starboard bow, we were again compelled to heave in our cable. The 36 and 24-pounders were still firing briskly, when some flames, accompanied with an explosion, appeared on the after-part of the quarter-deck," &c.

Admiral Ganteaume does not mention the striking of the colors of this ship, and the fact has been disputed. But Lord Nelson believed that she had struck, and that is all we need for our purpose, which is to show that, with the belief of this fact, he did not pretend to regard Admiral Ganteaume as a prisoner. In 2 Clarke's "Life of Lord Nelson," p. 135, occurs the following pa.s.sage:--

"In a letter to his Excellency, Hon. W. Wyndham, at Florence, dated the 21st of August, 1798, Sir Horatio had said, that on account of his indifferent health and his wound, he thought of going down the Mediterranean as soon as he arrived at Naples, unless he should find anything very extraordinary to detain him; and this determination had been strongly impressed on his mind by some of his friends, who doubted the effect of his going into winter-quarters at Naples [where the modern Anthony would find his Cleopatra, in the person of the then charming Lady Hamilton] might have on a mind by no means adapted to cope with the flattery of the Sicilian Court. He also informed Mr.

Wyndham, that _L'Orient certainly struck her colors_, and had not fired a shot for a quarter of an hour before she took fire."

Admiral Ganteaume resumed his duties as a naval officer immediately after his escape, repairing to Cairo, where Napoleon then was, to put himself under the orders of the Great Captain. He returned with his distinguished chief to France, in the frigate _Le Muiron_. The British Government did not demand him of the French Government as a prisoner of war. This case was almost precisely similar with my own. Both ships struck their colors; both ships were destroyed before the enemy could take possession of them, and both commanders escaped; the only difference being that Admiral Ganteaume escaped in one of his own boats, to one of his own brigs of war, and thence to Alexandria, and I escaped by swimming to a neutral ship, and to the cover of a neutral flag; which, as before remarked, was the same thing as if I had swum to neutral territory. Mr. Lancaster could no more have thrust me back into the sea, or handed me over to the _Kearsarge_, than could the keeper of the Needles light, if I had landed on the Isle of Wight.

I have presented several contrasts in these pages; I desire to present another. The reader has seen how Mr. Seward, a civilian, insisted that beaten enemies, who were struggling for their lives in the water, should be permitted to drown, rather than be rescued from the grasp of his naval commander by a neutral. I desire to show how a Christian admiral forbade his enemies to be fired upon, when they were engaged in rescuing their people from drowning; even though the consequence of such rescue should be the escape of the prisoners. I allude to Lord Collingwood, a name almost as well known to American as to English readers; the same Lord Collingwood, who was second in command to Nelson at the famous battle of Trafalgar. This Admiral, from his flag-ship, the _Ocean_, issued the following general order to the commanders of his ships:--

"OCEAN, September 19, 1807.

"In the event of an action with the enemy, in which it shall happen that any of their ships shall be in distress, by taking fire, or otherwise, and the brigs and tenders, or boats which are attached to their fleet, shall be employed in saving the lives of the crews of such distressed ships, they shall not be fired on, or interrupted in such duty. But as long as the battle shall continue, his Majesty's ships are not to give up the pursuit of such, as have not surrendered, to attend to any other occasion, except it be to give their aid to his Majesty's ships which may want it."--_Collingwood's Letters_, 235.

But the American war developed "grand moral ideas," and Mr. Seward's, about the drowning of prisoners, was one of them.

CHAPTER LV.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE BRITISH STEAM-YACHT DEERHOUND--MR. SEWARD'S DESPATCH, AND MR. LANCASTER'S LETTER TO THE "DAILY NEWS"--LORD RUSSELL'S REPLY TO MR. ADAMS ON THE SUBJECT OF HIS COMPLAINT AGAINST MR.

LANCASTER--PRESENTATION OF A SWORD TO THE AUTHOR, BY THE CLUBS IN ENGLAND--PRESENTATION OF A FLAG BY A LADY.

The howl that went up against Mr. Lancaster, the owner of the _Deerhound_, for his humane exertions in saving my crew and myself from drowning, was almost as rabid as that which had been raised against myself. Statesmen, or those who should have been such, descended into the arena of coa.r.s.e and vulgar abuse of a private English citizen, who had no connection with them or their war, and no sympathies that I know of, on the one side or the other. Mr. Welles, in one of those patriotic effusions, by which he sought to recommend himself to the extreme party of the North, declared among other things, that he was "not a gentleman!" Poor Mr. Lancaster, to have thy gentility questioned by so competent a judge, as Mr. Gideon Welles! If these gentlemen had confined themselves to mere abuse, the thing would not have been so bad, but they gave currency to malicious falsehoods concerning Mr. Lancaster, as truths. Paid spies in England reported these falsehoods at Washington, and the too eager Secretary of State embodied them in his despatches. Mr. Adams and Mr. Seward have, both, since ascertained that they were imposed upon, and yet no honorable retraxit has ever been made. The following is a portion of one of Mr. Seward's characteristic despatches on this subject. It is addressed to Mr.

Adams:--

"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 21st of June, No. 724, which relates to the destruction of the pirate-ship _Alabama_, by the _Kearsarge_, off Cherbourg. This event has given great satisfaction to the Government, and it appreciates and commends the bravery and skill displayed by Captain Winslow, and the officers and crew under his command. Several incidents of the transaction seem to demand immediate attention. The first is, that this Government disapproves the proceedings of Captain Winslow, in paroling and discharging the pirates who fell into his hands, in that brilliant naval engagement, and in order to guard against injurious inferences which might result from that error, if it were overlooked, you are instructed to make the fact of this disapprobation and censure known to her Majesty's Government, and to state, at the same time, that this Government, adhering to declarations heretofore made, does not recognize the _Alabama_ as a ship of war of a lawful belligerent power."

Mr. Seward, when this despatch was penned, had hopes that the "pirates"

would be given up to him, and the _caveat_, which he enters, may give some indication of the course the Yankee Government intended to pursue toward the said "pirates," when they should come into its possession. It did not occur to the wily Secretary, that, if we were "pirates," it was as competent for Great Britain to deal with us as the United States; and that, on this very ground, his claim for extradition might be denied,--a pirate being _hostis humani generis_, and punishable by the first nation into whose power he falls. But these _mistakes_ were common with Mr.

Seward.

Laying aside, therefore, all his trash and nonsense about piracy, let us proceed with that part of his despatch which relates to Mr. Lancaster:--

"Secondly, the presence and the proceedings of a British yacht, the _Deerhound_, at the battle, require explanation. On reading the statements which have reached this Government, it seems impossible to doubt that the _Deerhound_ went out to the place of conflict, by concert and arrangement with the commander of the _Alabama_, and with, at least, a conditional purpose of rendering her aid and a.s.sistance. She did effectually render such aid, by rescuing the commander and part of the crew of the _Alabama_ from the pursuit of the _Kearsarge_, and by furtively and clandestinely conveying them to Southampton, within British jurisdiction. We learn from Paris that the intervention of the _Deerhound_ occurred after the _Alabama_ had actually surrendered. The proceeding of the _Deerhound_, therefore, seems to have been directly hostile to the United States. Statements of the owner of the _Deerhound_ are reported here, to the effect that he was requested by Captain Winslow to rescue the drowning survivors of the battle, but no official confirmation of this statement is found in the reports of Captain Winslow. Even if he had made such a request, the owner of the _Deerhound_ subsequently abused the right of interference, by secreting the rescued pirates, and carrying them away beyond the pursuit of the _Kearsarge_. Moreover, we are informed from Paris, that the _Deerhound_, before going out, received from Semmes, and that she subsequently conveyed away to England, a deposit of money, and other valuables, of which Semmes, in his long piratical career, had despoiled numerous American merchantmen."

There was not one word of truth in this c.o.c.k-and-a-bull story, of concert between Mr. Lancaster and myself, as to his going out to witness the combat, as to his receiving money or anything else from the _Alabama_, or as to any other subject whatever. We had never seen each other, or held the least communication together, until I was drawn out of the water by his boat's crew, and taken on board his yacht, after the battle.

It was quite natural that Mr. Seward's Yankee correspondents in London and Paris, and Mr. Seward himself, should suppose that money and stealings had had something to do with Mr. Lancaster's generous conduct. The whole American war, on the Yankee side, had been conducted on this principle of giving and receiving a "_consideration_" and on "_stealings_." Armies of hired vagabonds had roamed through the Southern States, plundering and stealing--aye, as the reader has seen, stealing not only gold and silver, but libraries, pianos, pictures, and even the jewelry and clothing of women and children! The reader has seen into what a mortal fright the lady-pa.s.sengers, on board the captured steamship _Ariel_, were thrown, lest the officers and crew of the _Alabama_ should prove to be the peers of Yankee rogues, epauletted and unepauletted. These men even laid their profane hands on the sacred word of G.o.d, _if it would pay_. Here is a _morceau_, taken from the "Journal of Commerce" of New York, a Yankee paper, quite moderate in its tone, and a little given, withal, to religious sniffling. It shows how a family Bible was stolen from a Southern household, and sold for a "consideration" in the North, without exciting so much as a word of condemnation from press or people:--

"_An Old Bible Captured from a Rebel._--H. Jallonack, of Syracuse, New York, has exhibited to the editor of the 'Journal' of that city a valuable relic--a Protestant Bible, printed in German text, 225 years ago, the imprint bearing date 1637. The book is in an excellent state of preservation, the printing perfectly legible, the binding sound and substantial, and the fastening a bra.s.s clasp. The following receipt shows how the volume came in Mr. Jallonack's possession:--

"'NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 1862.

"'Received of Mr. H. Jallonack $150 for a copy of one of the first Protestant Bibles published in the Netherlands, 1637, with the proclamation of the King of the Netherlands. This was taken from a descendant Hollander at the battle before Richmond, in the rebel service, by a private of the Irish Brigade.

"'JOSEPH HEIME, M. D., 4 Houston Street.'"

"Semmes, in his long piratical career," scarcely equalled these doings of Mr. Seward's countrymen. He certainly did not send any stolen Bibles, published in the Netherlands or elsewhere, to the _Deerhound_, to be sold to pious Jallonacks for $150 apiece.

But to return to Mr. Lancaster, and the gross a.s.sault that was made upon him, by the Secretary of State. Mr. Lancaster, being a gentleman of ease and fortune, spent a portion of his summers in yachting, as is the case with a large number of the better cla.s.ses in England. Being in France with his family, he ordered his yacht, the _Deerhound_, to meet him, at the port of Cherbourg, where it was his intention to embark for a cruise of a few weeks in the German Ocean. A day or two before the engagement between the _Alabama_ and the _Kearsarge_, a steam yacht, under British colors, was reported to me, as having anch.o.r.ed in the harbor. Beyond admiring the beautiful proportions of the little craft, we paid no further attention to her; and when she steamed out of Cherbourg, on the morning of the engagement, we had not the least conception of what her object was. With this preface, I will let Mr. Lancaster tell his own story. He had been a.s.saulted by a couple of Yankee correspondents, in the London "Daily News," a paper in the interests, and reported to be in the pay of the Federal Government. He is replying to those a.s.saults, which, as the reader will see, were the same that were afterward _rehashed_ by Mr. Seward, in the despatch already quoted.

"THE DEERHOUND, THE ALABAMA, AND THE KEARSARGE.

"TO THE EDITOR OF THE 'DAILY NEWS.' SIR:--As two correspondents of your journal, in giving their versions of the fight between the _Alabama_ and the _Kearsarge_, have designated my share in the escape of Captain Semmes, and a portion of the crew of the sunken ship as 'dishonorable,' and have moreover affirmed that my yacht, the _Deerhound_, was in the harbor of Cherbourg before the engagement, and proceeded thence, on the morning of the engagement in order to a.s.sist the _Alabama_, I presume I may trespa.s.s upon your kindness so far as to ask an opportunity to repudiate the imputation, and deny the a.s.sertion. They admit that when the _Alabama_ went down, the yacht, being near the _Kearsarge_, was hailed by Captain Winslow, and requested to aid in picking up the men who were in the water; but they intimate that my services were expected to be merely ministerial; or, in other words, that I was to put myself under the command of Captain Winslow, and place my yacht at his disposal for the capture of the poor fellows who were struggling in the water for their lives.

"The fact is, that when we pa.s.sed the _Kearsarge_, the captain cried out, 'For G.o.d's sake, do what you can to save them,' and that was my warrant for interfering, in any way, for the aid and succor of his enemies. It may be a question with some, whether, without that warrant, I should have been justified in endeavoring to rescue any of the crew of the _Alabama_; but my own opinion is, that a man drowning in the open sea cannot be regarded as an enemy, at the time, to anybody, and is, therefore, ent.i.tled to the a.s.sistance of any pa.s.ser-by. Be this as it may, I had the earnest request of Captain Winslow, to rescue as many of the men who were in the water, as I could lay hold of, but that request was not coupled with any stipulation to the effect that I should deliver up the rescued men to him, as his prisoners. If it had been, I should have declined the task, because I should have deemed it dishonorable--that is, inconsistent with my notions of honor--to lend my yacht and crew, for the purpose of rescuing those brave men from drowning, only to hand them over to their enemies, for imprisonment, ill-treatment, and perhaps execution.

"One of your correspondents opens his letter, by expressing a desire, to bring to the notice of the yacht clubs of England, the conduct of the commander of the _Deerhound_, which followed the engagement of the _Alabama_ and _Kearsarge_. Now that my conduct has been impugned, I am equally wishful that it should come under the notice of the yacht clubs of England, and I am quite willing to leave the point of honor to be decided by my brother yachtsmen, and, indeed, by any tribunal of gentlemen. As to my legal right to take away Captain Semmes and his friends, I have been educated in the belief that an English ship is English territory, and I am, therefore, unable, even now, to discover why I was more bound to surrender the people of the _Alabama_ whom I had on board my yacht, than the owner of a garden on the south coast of England would have been, if they had swum to such a place, and landed there, or than the Mayor of Southampton was, when they were lodged in that city; or than the British Government is, now that it is known that they are somewhere in England.

"Your other correspondent says that Captain Winslow declares that 'the reason he did not pursue the _Deerhound_, or fire into her was, that he could not believe, at the time, that any one carrying the flag of the royal yacht squadron, could act so dishonorable a part, as to carry off the prisoners whom he had requested him to save, from feelings of humanity.' I was not aware then, and I am not aware now, that the men whom I saved _were, or ever had been his prisoners_.

Whether any of the circ.u.mstances which had preceded the sinking of the _Alabama_ const.i.tuted them prisoners was a question that never came under my consideration, and one which I am not disposed to discuss even now. I can only say, that it is a new doctrine to me, that _when one ship sinks another, in warfare, the crew of the sunken ship are debarred from swimming for their lives, and seeking refuge wherever they can find it_; and it is a doctrine which I shall not accept, unless backed by better authority than that of the master of the _Kearsarge_. What Captain Winslow's notion of humanity may be is a point beyond my knowledge, but I have good reason for believing that not many members of the royal yacht squadron would, from 'motives of humanity' have taken Captain Semmes from the water in order to give him up to the tender mercies of Captain Winslow, and his compatriots. Another reason a.s.signed by your correspondent for that hero's forbearance may be imagined in the reflection that such a performance as that of Captain Wilkes, who dragged two 'enemies' or 'rebels' from an English ship, would not bear repet.i.tion. [We have here the secret of the vindictiveness with which Mr. Seward pursued Mr. Lancaster. It was cruel of Lancaster to remind him of the 'seven days' of tribulation, through which Lord John Russell had put him.]

"Your anonymous correspondent further says, that 'Captain Winslow would now have all the officers and men of the _Alabama_, as prisoners, had he not placed too much confidence in the honor of an Englishman, who carried the flag of the royal yacht squadron.' This is a very questionable a.s.sertion; for why did Captain Winslow confide in that Englishman? Why did he implore his interference, calling out, 'For G.o.d's sake, do what you can to save them?' I presume it was because he would not, or could not save them, himself. The fact is, that if the Captain and crew of the _Alabama_ had depended for safety altogether upon Captain Winslow, _not one half of them would have been saved_. He got quite as many of them as he could lay hold of, time enough to deliver them from drowning.

"I come now to the more definite charges advanced by your correspondents, and these I will soon dispose of. They maintain that my yacht was in the harbor of Cherbourg, for the purpose of a.s.sisting the _Alabama_, and that her movements before the action prove that she attended her for the same object. My impression is, that the yacht was in Cherbourg, to suit my convenience, and pleasure, and I am quite sure, that when there, I neither did, nor intended to do anything to serve the _Alabama_. We steamed out on Sunday morning to see the engagement, and the resolution to do so was the result of a family council, whereat the question 'to go out,' or 'not to go out,'

was duly discussed, and the decision in the affirmative was carried by the juveniles, rather against the wish of both myself, and my wife. Had I contemplated taking any part in the movements of the _Alabama_, I do not think I should have been accompanied with my wife, and several young children.

"One of your correspondents, however, says that he knows that the _Deerhound_ did a.s.sist the _Alabama_, and if he does know this, he knows more than I do. As to the movements of the _Deerhound_, before the action, all the movements with which I was acquainted, were for the objects of enjoying the summer morning, and getting a good and safe place from which to watch the engagement. Another of your correspondents declares, that since the affair, it has been discovered, that the _Deerhound_ was a consort of the _Alabama_, and on the night before had received many valuable articles, for safe-keeping, from that vessel. This is simply untrue. Before the engagement, neither I nor any member of my family had any knowledge of, or communication with Captain Semmes, or any of his officers or any of his crew. Since the fight I have inquired from my Captain whether he, or any of my crew, had had any communication with the Captain or crew of the _Alabama_, prior to meeting them on the _Deerhound_ after the engagement, and his answer, given in the most emphatic manner, has been, 'None whatever.' As to the deposit of chronometers, and other valuable articles, the whole story is a myth.

Nothing was brought from the _Alabama_ to the _Deerhound_, and I never heard of the tale, until I saw it, in an extract from your own columns.

"After the fight was over, the drowning men picked up, and the _Deerhound_ steaming away to Southampton, some of the officers who had been saved began to express their acknowledgments for my services, and my reply to them, which was addressed, also, to all who stood around, was 'Gentlemen, you have no need to give me any special thanks. I should have done exactly the same for the other people, if they had needed it.' This speech would have been a needless, and, indeed, an absurd piece of hypocrisy, if there had been any league or alliance between the _Alabama_ and the _Deerhound_. Both your correspondents agree in maintaining that Captain Semmes, and such of his crew as were taken away by the _Deerhound_, are bound in honor to consider themselves still as prisoners, and to render themselves to their lawful captors as soon as practicable. This is a point which I have nothing to do with, and therefore I shall not discuss it. My object, in this letter, is merely to vindicate my conduct from misrepresentation; and I trust that in aiming at this, I have not transgressed any of your rules of correspondence, and shall therefore be ent.i.tled to a place in your columns.

JOHN LANCASTER."

"Mark how a plain tale shall put him down." There could not be a better ill.u.s.tration of this remark, than the above reply, proceeding from the pen of a gentleman, to Mr. Seward's charges against both Mr. Lancaster and myself. Mr. Adams having complained to Lord Russell, of the conduct of Mr.

Lancaster, the latter gentleman addressed a letter to his lordship, containing substantially the defence of himself which he had prepared for the "Daily News." In a day or two afterward, Lord Russell replied to Mr.

Adams as follows:--

FOREIGN OFFICE, July 26, 1864.

SIR:--With reference to my letter of the 8th inst., I have the honor to transmit to you, a copy of a letter which I have received from Mr.

Lancaster, containing his answer to the representations contained in your letter of the 25th ult., with regard to the course pursued by him, in rescuing Captain Semmes and others, on the occasion of the sinking of the _Alabama_; and I have the honor to inform you, that I do not think it necessary to take any further steps in the matter. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, your most obedient, humble servant.

RUSSELL.

The royal yacht squadron, as well as the Government, sustained their comrade in what he had done, and a number of officers of the Royal Navy and Army, approving of my course, throughout the trying circ.u.mstances in which I had been placed--not even excepting the hurling of my sword into the sea, under the circ.u.mstances related--set on foot a subscription for another sword, to replace the one which I had lost, publishing the following announcement of their intention in the London "Daily Telegraph":--

JUNIOR UNITED SERVICE CLUB, S. W.

June 23, 1864.