. Redeeming the republic : the third period of the war of the rebellion, in the year 1864 . s who hadegged on the war, and I told him he must look to those rascals for ship made a brilliant bonfire, lighting up the Gulf Stream for manymiles around. Having been set on fire at night, and the wind falling to , we remained in sight of the burning wreck nearly all night. (5) It was charged upon Semmes that he decoyed ships into his power bythus setting those captured on fire at night, so that other ships, seeing thelight, would hasten to the rescue of those whom the sailors suppo
. Redeeming the republic : the third period of the war of the rebellion, in the year 1864 . s who hadegged on the war, and I told him he must look to those rascals for ship made a brilliant bonfire, lighting up the Gulf Stream for manymiles around. Having been set on fire at night, and the wind falling to , we remained in sight of the burning wreck nearly all night. (5) It was charged upon Semmes that he decoyed ships into his power bythus setting those captured on fire at night, so that other ships, seeing thelight, would hasten to the rescue of those whom the sailors supposed werein distress. He denies this in his volume, and says that he never lay by aship longer than to see her well on fire. 292 REDEEMING THE REPUBLIC. We are not to forget that the South was fighting for the establishmentof a government based on slavery. Captain Semmes carried out the ideapractically. One of the captives on the Tonawanda was a negro boy,seventeen years old, owned by a gentleman from Delaware, who was onhis way to England, and who had taken the boy along as his RAPHAEL SEMMES. Under the laws of that State, the boy would be free when he was twenty-one. He would also be free the moment he reached England. CaptainSemmes knew this, but he took the boy for a waiter. This is his reason: The little State of Delaware, all of whose sympathies were with us, hadbeen ridden over rough-shod by the vandals north of her, as Marylandafterwards was, and was arrayed on the side of the enemy. I was obliged, THE ALABAMA AND KEARSARGE. 293 therefore, to treat her as such. The slave was on his way to Europe withhis master. He came necessarily under the laws of war, and I broughthim on board the Alabama, where we were in want of good servants.(6) Captain Semmes had the power, and acted accordingly. Delaware,instead of giving her sympathies to the South, was loyal to the old flagfrom the beginning. He wanted a servant and took him. It was thespirit of slavery. Having capture
Size: 1388px × 1800px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorcoffincharlescarleton, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880