Naval battles of America; great and decisive contests on the sea from colonial times to the present, including our glorious victories at Manila and Santiago; . The moment the Kearsarge came round the Alabamasheered, presenting her starboard battery, and slowed herengine. Winslows intention was to run his adversary down, ifopportunity presented, and he therefore kept on hiscourse. When about a mile distant the Alabama fireda broadside, which did only very trifling damage to theKearsarges rigging. Winslow now increased his speed,intending to strike his enemy with full force, and in thenext ten m
Naval battles of America; great and decisive contests on the sea from colonial times to the present, including our glorious victories at Manila and Santiago; . The moment the Kearsarge came round the Alabamasheered, presenting her starboard battery, and slowed herengine. Winslows intention was to run his adversary down, ifopportunity presented, and he therefore kept on hiscourse. When about a mile distant the Alabama fireda broadside, which did only very trifling damage to theKearsarges rigging. Winslow now increased his speed,intending to strike his enemy with full force, and in thenext ten minutes the Alabama fired two more a sbot struck the Kearsarge, and she made noreply; but, as the vessels were now not more than sevenhundred yards apart, Captain Winslow did not deem itprudent to expose his ship to another raking fire, and theKearsarge accordingly sheered and opened fire. Theships were thus brought broadside to broadside; but itsoon became evident that Semmes did not intend to fighta close action, and Winslow began to fear that he wouldmake for the shore and escape. To prevent this, Winslow kept his vessel at full speed,. KEARSARGE AND ALABAMA. 219 intending to run under the stern of the Alabama andsecure a raking position. To avoid this the Alabama sheered, so as to keep herbroadside to the Kearsarge, and as both vessels wereunder a full head of steam, they were forced into a circu-lar movement, steaming in opposite directions round acommon centre, with the current setting them to the west-ward. Had they fought on parallel lines, with theAlabama heading inshore, she would have reached theline of French jurisdiction, and thus escaped. But, beingthus compelled to steam in a circle, she was about fivemiles from the shore when, at the close of the action, sheattempted to run into Cherbourg. The firing of the Alabama was, throughout the action,very rapid, but also very wild. During the first eighteenminutes not a man was Injured on board the Kearsarg
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectunitedstatesnavy
