. Civil War stories . and wild, getting better near the close; that ofthe Kearsarge was deliberate, accurate, and al-most from the beginning productive of dismay,destruction, and The Kearsarge gunnershad been cautioned against firing without directaim, and had been advised to point the heavyguns below rather than above the water-line, andto clear the deck of the enemy with the lighterones. Though subjected to an incessant stormof shot and shell, they kept their stations andobeyed instructions. The effect upon the enemy was readily per-ceived, and nothing could restrain the enthusiasmof
. Civil War stories . and wild, getting better near the close; that ofthe Kearsarge was deliberate, accurate, and al-most from the beginning productive of dismay,destruction, and The Kearsarge gunnershad been cautioned against firing without directaim, and had been advised to point the heavyguns below rather than above the water-line, andto clear the deck of the enemy with the lighterones. Though subjected to an incessant stormof shot and shell, they kept their stations andobeyed instructions. The effect upon the enemy was readily per-ceived, and nothing could restrain the enthusiasmof our men. Cheer succeeded cheer; caps werethrown in the air or overboard; jackets were dis-carded ; sanguine of victory, the men were shout-ing as each projectile took effect: That is a 1 Captain Semmes in his official report says: The firing nowbecame very hot, and the enemys shot and shell soon began to tellupon our hull, knocking down, killing, and disabling a number ofmen in different parts of the ship.—J. M. ALABAMA5 AND KEARSARGE 169 good one! Down, boys I Give her anotherlike the last! Now we have her! and so on,cheering and shouting to the end. After exposure to an uninterrupted cannonadefor eighteen minutes without casualties, a sixty-eight-pounder Blakely shell passed through thestarboard bulwarks below the main rigging, ex-ploded upon the quarter-deck, and wounded threeof the crew of the after pivot-gun. With theseexceptions, not an officer or man received seriousinjury. The three unfortunates were speedilytaken below, and so quietly was the act done, thatat the termination of the fight a large number ofthe men were unaware that any of their comradeswere wounded. Two shots entered the portsoccupied by the thirty-twos, where several menwere stationed, one taking effect in the hammock-netting, the other going through the oppositeport, yet none were hit. A shell exploded in thehammock-netting and set the ship on fire; thealarm calling for fire-quarters was sounded
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