The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter / From the Private Journals and Other Papers of Commander R. Semmes, C.S.N., and Other Officers

by Raphael Semmes

CHAPTER XXIX.

Two more!—The Gildersliene and Justina—Case of the Jabez Snow—The barque Amazonian—Relieved of prisoners—A hint—The Talisman—Under false colours—The Conrad—A nobler fate—Re-christened—The Tuscaloosa commissioned—Short of provisions.

The 25th May witnessed the capture of the ship Gildersliene and the barque Justina. The latter having a neutral cargo, was ransomed on a bond for 7000 dollars; the former condemned and burned, after an investigation terminating in the following decision:—

CASE OF THE GILDERSLIENE.

Ship under the United States colours and register. Charter-party with Messrs. Halliday, Fox, and Co., of London, who describe themselves as merchants and freighters, to make a voyage to Calcutta and back to London or Liverpool. Cargo taken in at Sunderland, and consisting of coal, said to be shipped for the "service of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company," but not even averred to be on "their account and risk." No certificate or other evidence of property; ship and cargo condemned. Master knows nothing of property except what appears by the papers.

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Friday, May 29th.—We had another chase last night from about 2 A.M., but with better success than the two previous nights, since at 7.30 A.M. we came up with and captured the ship Jabez Snow, of Rockport, Maine. Just at daylight, being within about four miles of her, we hoisted our own colours, and fired a gun. She did not show any colours in return, and stood a second gun before heaving to; she finally showed her colours. Got on board from the prize a quantity of provisions and cordage; transhipped the crew, and about sunset set her on fire. Found a letter on board, the writer of which referred to American ships being under a cloud "owing to dangers from pirates, more politely styled privateers," which our kind friends in England are so willing "should slip out of their ports to prey on our commerce." This letter was dated Boston, November 25th, 1862.

CASE OF THE JABEZ SNOW.

Ship under United States colours, cargo coals, from Cardiff for Monte Video. On the face of the bill of lading is the following: "We certify that the cargo of coals per Jabez Snow, for which this is the bill of lading, is the bonâ fide property of Messrs. Wilson, Holt, Lane, & Co., and that the same are British subjects and merchants; And also that the coals are for their own use.

"JNO. POWELL & SONS."

As this certificate was not sworn to, it added no force to the bill of lading, as every bill of lading is an unsworn certificate of the facts it recites. There being no legal proof among the papers to contradict the presumption that all property found under the enemy's flag is enemy's property, and as the Master, who was the charterer and agent of the ship, and whose duty it was to know about all the transactions in which he was engaged, swore that he had no personal knowledge of the owner of the cargo, except such as he derived from the ship's papers, the cargo, as well as the ship, is condemned as prize of war. The following significant extract from a letter of the Master to his owners, dated Penrith Roads, April 19th, 1863, was found on board, though not produced by the Master:—

"I have my bills of lading certified by the Mayor, that the cargo is bonâ fide English property. Whether this will be of any service to me in the event of my being overhauled by a Southern pirate, remains to be proved."

The certificate above recited seems, therefore, to have been procured by the Master to protect his ship from capture, and not to have been a spontaneous act of the pretended neutral owners to protect the cargo. The cargo and advance freight were insured against war-risk, the ship paying the premium. No effort was made by Wilson, Holt, Lane, & Co., to protect the cargo, and they were the proper parties to make the oath. The agent who shipped the coal for this firm, and who wrote the above-quoted certificate, could only know, of course, that he had shipped them by order of his principal. Why, then, did Wilson, Holt, Lane, & Co., decline to make the necessary oath to protect the cargo? They should have taken the necessary steps to protect either themselves or the insurers, but they did no such thing. It would seem, probably, that they were the agents of some American house, and that they could not, in conscience, take the oath required by law.

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The next prize was the Amazonian, of Boston, from New York to Monte Video, captured, after a long chase, on the 2d of June, but not until two blank shots had failed to bring her to, and the stronger hint of a round from the rifled gun had convinced her of the impossibility of escape.

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CASE OF THE BARQUE AMAZONIAN.

Ship under United States colours; has an assorted cargo on board, and is bound from New York to Monte Video. There are two claims of neutral property—one for twenty cases of varnish and fifty casks of oil, claimed as shipped on "account of Messrs. Galli & Co., French subjects." This claim is sworn to by a Mr. Craig, before a notary. It does not aver that the property is in Messrs. Galli & Co., but simply that it was shipped "on their account." There is no outside evidence of the truth of this transaction, as the master knows nothing about it.

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Right glad was the Alabama to fall in, on the day after this last capture, with an English brigantine, the master of which proved willing, in consideration of a gift from Captain Semmes of one of his noble collection of captured chronometers, to relieve him of the crowd of prisoners with which he was encumbered. To the number of forty-one they were forthwith transferred, along with a stock of provisions sufficient for a fortnight's consumption; and the Alabama breathed freely again, relieved of her disagreeable charge.

It may not be an uninstructive, and it is most assuredly an amusing comment, upon the claims of neutrality so loudly insisted upon, to quote the following extract from a New York letter, captured on board one of the recent prizes. It is dated April 7th, and addressed to a correspondent in Buenos Ayres:—

"When you ship in American vessels, it would be as well to have the British Consul's certificate of English property attached to the bill of lading and invoices; as in the event of falling in with the numerous privateers, it would save both cargo and vessel, in all probability. An American ship, recently fallen in with, was released by the Alabama on account of a British Consul's certificate showing the greater part of the cargo to be English property. If you ship in a neutral vessel, we save five per cent, war insurances."

Another prize. The Talisman, a fine ship of 1100 tons, under United States colours and register, with no claim of neutral property in cargo; and before the glare of her funeral pyre had faded from the horizon, another hove in sight, so evidently American, that notwithstanding the English ensign flying at her peak, she was at once brought to and boarded. And American she proved to be in her origin; but her owners had been wise, and, so far as her papers went, she had been regularly transferred to the protection of the British flag—humiliating, perhaps, to the proud "Yankee nation," but effective as a precaution against capture; though, had the Confederate cruiser been able to send her into port for adjudication, the transfer might very possibly, when the evidence came to be sifted, have proved but a "bogus transaction" after all.

So the "Englishman" had to be released, consenting, however, to relieve the Alabama of a prisoner and his wife, recently captured on board the Talisman. A week passed away, and then came another instance of a similar transfer under the strong pressure of fear, the whilom Yankee barque Joseph Hall, of Portland, Maine, now seeking a humiliating safety as the "British" Azzopadi, of Port Lewis, Isle of France!

Alas! for the Stars and Stripes, the Azzopadi was not hull down on the horizon ere the once-renowned Yankee clipper Challenger lay humbly, with her maintopsail to the mast, in the very place in which her countryman had just been performing a similar penance, claiming, as the British-owned Queen of Beauty, a similar immunity.

At last, however, as the impatient crew of the Alabama were beginning to think that their enemy's flag had finally vanished from the face of the ocean, an adventurous barque hove in sight, with the old familiar bunting at her peak. She proved to be the Conrad, of Philadelphia, from Buenos Ayres for New York, partly laden with wool, the ownership of which was, as usual, claimed as neutral. On investigation, the claim proved an evident-fabrication, the facts of the case being as follows:—

CASE OF THE CONRAD.

Ship under American colours and register. A Mr. Thomas Armstrong, who describes himself as a British subject doing business at Buenos Ayres, makes oath before the British Consul that a part of this wool belongs to him and a part to Don Frederico Elortando, a subject of the Argentine Republic. This may or may not be true, but the master is unable to verify the document, he not having been present when it was prepared, and not knowing any thing about it. There is, besides, so strong a current of American trade with Buenos Ayres, that the presumption is, from the very fact that this wool was going to New York in an American barque, under the imminency of capture, which our presence in these seas—well known at Buenos Ayres when the barque sailed—must have shown, that the property is American, and that the certificate is an attempt to cover it; Mr. Armstrong probably being a brother or a partner in the transaction with some American house. Ship and cargo condemned.

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FURTHER EXAMINATION OF CASE OF CONRAD.

From an examination of the correspondence in this case, brought on board after the ship's papers had been examined, it appeared that Mr. Armstrong, the party shipping a part of the cargo, swears before his consul that he and one Don Frederico Elortando, are the owners of the property, and swears before the United States Consul that he is the sole owner of the property. Both of these oaths cannot be true. It further appears that, whilst the property in the bill of lading is consigned to Simon de Visser, Esq., in the letters of Messrs. Kirkland and Von Sachs it is spoken of as consigned to them. The letters make no mention of any joint-ownership with Armstrong, but treat the consignment as his sole property. But though, like so many of her countrymen, condemned, the Conrad was not to die. A nobler fate was in store for her—no less a destiny than that of carrying the proud young flag to which she had succumbed, and taking the sea, under a new name, as the consort of her captor. Accordingly, Acting-Lieutenant Low was appointed to the command, assisted by Acting-Master Sinclair and two master's mates. The two rifled pounders captured in the Talisman were mounted on board, a due complement of rifles, revolvers, ammunition, &c., supplied, and then the transformed barque fired her first gun, ran up the Confederate ensign to her peak, and amid a burst of cheering from her own crew and that of her consort, made a fresh start in life as the Confederate States sloop-of-war Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama was now bound for the Cape of Good Hope, where her faithful tender, the Agrippina, was again to meet her. On the 27th of June, however, when in lat. 20.01 S., long. 28.29 W., it was discovered that a great portion of the supposed month's supply of bread had been destroyed by weevils, and that there was not enough left for the run. A visit to some port nearer at hand thus became inevitable, and the ship's course was accordingly shaped for Rio Janeiro.