"And so the poor old Sumter is to be laid up. Well! we have done the country some service, having cost the United States at least a million of dollars, one way or another!"
And so she unquestionably bad. Eighteen vessels captured; seven burned, with all their cargo on board; and two released on heavy ransom bonds, represent in themselves no inconsiderable amount of damage. Add to this the amount really expended in pursuit of her; the enormously increased rates of insurance; the heavy losses from reluctance to entrust goods in United States bottoms, or to send ships themselves to sea under the United States colours, and we have an aggregate of loss that a million of dollars can hardly cover.
Her career was now over; but she was ere long to find a successor under the same command, beside whose exploits her own were to sink almost into insignificance. The events of the few months that elapsed between the final abandonment of the Sumter and the Alabama's start on her adventurous career, may best be gathered from Captain Semmes' own official report to the Secretary of the Navy at Richmond.
Nassau, New Providence, June 15 to 20, 1862.
SIR,—I have the honour to inform you of my arrival at this place, on the 8th instant, in twenty days, from London. I found here Lieutenants Maffit and Sinclair, and received from the former your letter of May 29th, enclosing a copy of your despatch to me of May 2d. As you might conclude from the fact of my being here, the original of the latter communication had not reached me; nor, indeed, had any communication whatever from the department. As you anticipated, it became necessary for me to abandon the Sumter, in consequence of my being hemmed in by the enemy in a place where it was impossible to put the necessary repairs upon her-to make her fit to take the sea. For some days after my arrival at Gibraltar, I had hopes of being able to reach another English or a French port, where I might find the requisite facilities for repair, and I patched my boilers, and otherwise prepared my ship for departure. In consequence of a combination of the coal merchants against me, however, I was prevented from coaling; and, in the meantime, the enemy's steamers, Tuscarora and Kearsarge, and the sailing sloop Ino, too, arrived and blockaded me. Notwithstanding the arrival of these vessels, I should have made an effort to go to sea, but for the timely discovery of further defects in my boilers, which took place under the following circumstances:—An English steamer, having arrived from Liverpool with an extra quantity of coal on board, offered to supply me. I got steam up to go alongside of her for the purpose, when, with a very low pressure, my boilers gave way in so serious a manner as to extinguish the fires in one of the furnaces. I was obliged, of course, to "blow off;" and upon a re-examination of the boilers, by a board of survey, it was ascertained that they had been destroyed to such an extent as to render them entirely untrustworthy. It was found, indeed, to be necessary either to supply the ship with new boilers or to lift the old ones out of her, and renew entirely the arches and other important parts of them, which could only be done in a machinist's shop, and with facilities not to be found at Gibraltar. In this state of things, it became necessary, in my judgment, either to lay the ship up, or to sell her. Of course, the remaining by her of myself, my officers and crew, in her disabled and useless condition, was not to be thought of. Still, I felt that the responsibility was a grave one; and deeming it more respectful to the department that it should be assumed by some one higher in authority than myself, I reported the facts to the Hon. James M. Mason, our commissioner in London, and requested him to assume the power.[7]
[Footnote 7: The following is the letter here referred to:—
C.S. Steamer Sumter, Bay of Gibraltar,
March 3rd, 1862.
SIR,—I had the honour to address you a note a day or two ago, requesting you to assume the responsibility of giving me an order to lay the Sumter up, that my officers and myself may return to the Confederate States, to take a more active part in the war. I now enclose you a copy of a letter addressed to me by the wardroom officers of this ship on the same subject, by which you will perceive that there is no difference of opinion between us as to the policy and propriety of the step indicated. Each succeeding mail is bringing us intelligence that the enemy is pressing us on all sides, and it would seem that we shall have occasion for every arm and all our energies and resources to defend ourselves. The most that we could hope to accomplish by remaining where we are would be, perhaps, to occupy the attention of an additional steamer of the enemy. One steamer will always remain to watch the ship, in whatever condition she may be; and probably no more than two would continue the blockade if the officers remained by her. The enemy, having some 300 armed ships afloat, one ship would seem to make no appreciable difference in his offensive force. I would not press this matter upon you so earnestly if there was any certainty of my hearing from the Secretary of the Navy in any reasonable time; but my despatches are liable to capture, as are his despatches to me, and many months may therefore elapse before I can receive his orders. I can readily understand how, under ordinary circumstances, you might hesitate about giving me this order, but there are frequent occasions in which responsibility must be assumed, and I respectfully suggest that this is one of them. To lay the Sumter up without an order from the naval department involves responsibility either in you or in me; and, as I stated to you in my last note, it appears to me that the responsibility may be assumed by you with more propriety than by myself, as you are a high functionary of the Government, while I am a mere subordinate of a department. The question of expense, too, is to be considered—the expenses of the ship, with the utmost economy, being, in round numbers, 1000 dollars per month. Should you decide upon giving me the order, do me the favour to telegraph me as follows, viz.:—"Your request is granted—act accordingly." Address me also by mail, as it will take some days to wind up affairs, and I shall have ample time to receive your letter before leaving for London.
Respectfully, &c. &c. (Signed) R. SEMMES
Hon. Jas. Mason, Com., &c., London.]