Harper's Round Table, September 3, 1895

Copyright, 1895, by Harper & Brothers. All Rights Reserved.

All hands to muster! rang out from the harsh throats of the boatswain's mates of the U.S.S. Kearsarge , and the crew came tumbling aft to the quarter-deck. They were as fine-looking a set of bluejackets as one would care to see, the cream of the navy and the naval reserve.
The new Kearsarge was cruising off the coast of Great Britain for the purpose of intercepting one of the enemy's finest cruisers, which was known to have recently left England, and was on the way to join her sister ships in her own country.
Every one aboard the American ship was wild to meet the enemy, and the Kearsarge 's crew had not a fear that the fight would result differently from the one fought by her namesake forty-five years before.
The lookout had just reported smoke to the eastward, from which direction the enemy was expected. When all hands were up and aft, the Captain addressed his men upon the impending conflict.
Men, he said, we are here to fight the most formidable of our enemy's cruisers. She is equal in every respect to the mighty ship upon which we stand. There are no chances in our favor. The battle will depend upon your coolness and courage.
Men of the main battery, upon you depends the result of the action. Your target is the armored sides and turrets.
Men of the secondary battery, your nerve and endurance are to be put to the crucial test. Your guns must be directed at the unarmored gun parts and torpedo tubes.
Remember, all of you, a lucky shot may turn the tide of battle.
Officers and men, upon you depends whether the new Kearsarge shall win a name as lasting and illustrious as did the noble ship from which that name was inherited.