The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, March 02, 1928, Image 2
RAIDER WRECKED SHIPPING
(The following interesting article
appeared recently in the New Bed
ford I Mush.) Mercury, and ruralU
the famous sea exploits of Raphael
Semmex in his vessel the Alabama.
These have never been hoard of by
many land dwellers, who do not realize
the importance of the sea in
peace and war. The failure of the
Southern Confederacy was mainly due
to the control of the sea and the
waterways by the Federal navy. This
hi title is published by request;)
burnous for all time in the history
of maritime warfare is the ('onfederate
warship Alabama, whose , oinmander,
the celebrated Captain
Semme>, kept well the injunction of
Jefferson Uavis that he play the
devil with every ship flying the flag
of the "so-called United States of
A merica."
The ship was built at Rukenhead,
England, by Laird Her keel was laid
m the beginning of 18/12 and she was
launched in April. Three months later
she was ready for sea?a large wooden
screw gunboat. Toward the end
of July she loft the harbor with a
party of ladies and gentlemen on
board, ostensibly to make a trial trio,
but a few hours later she sent the
visitors on shore in a boat and Mir- !
kenhead was never again to see the
vessel that she had known only as
the 2(10.
Ac-curding to Mr. Uurney, a hlarne- '
less Quaker, there was nothing about '
the building of the 200 that could reasonably
lead the British government
to suspect the Vessel's destination.1
In after days, when the International
( ourt of Geneva made Britian stump
up millions to pay for the Alabama's'
depredations, the British government'
sincerely wished that it had not
shared Gurney's view. i
< tear nf Birkohhead harbor, the
200, according to Mr Gurney, having
hoard that a Federal warship wa!
waiting and watching in St. George's
channel, sought the open Atlantic by
the North channel. Perhaps she
'lid, hut not at once. Instead, she
put into "Welsh Harbor and there
"hipped more men ami further suppus.
She then made an eight days'
peaceful run to Terceira in the
Azores. Had she been overhauled it
would have been found that she had
neither guns nor ammunition on
oart. There were simply two poworfu
engines, a bark-rigged ship's
usual rigging and equipment.
Ml<' was however, pierced for earTing
guns (mounting when the time
o?me 10. to throw collectively at each
discharge 128 pounds of solid shot,
and two pivol guns). Thero Was
f(t nlso that she had no papers to
s ")w what was her business. One >f
the rumors sot afloat while she was
being built wa< that she was to go
? th;' ?f f'hina. It was be|
at an>* r"t- for a time by a
Pp'P c and government too worried
about nearer problems than to follow
this apparently trivial matter very
closely.
At Terceira the 200 told Portuguese
authorities that her engines were out
"f order. No objection was made to
her anchoring. For a week she was
busy apparently repairing her engines,
really preparing to receive her
k-uns. She had come from England
commanded by raptain M ^ BuU.h
K" V She had ?3 men on board
most of them old man-o-war sailors
and every man a trained gunner.
Now it happened that some time
l>efore the 21H) slipped away from
Birkenhead a hark had left the
Thames, having cleared for (Juiana
and the West Indies She was, however,
actually bound for Terceira with
a cargo of guns and ammunition far
the still unhalchcd Alabama. It was
a week after the J'jO reached Tercelr^
roads thut the hark arrived and anI
( bored on the plea that she was leak|
irig The Portuguese put her on the
quarantine ground to ride out the
customary three days.
To their wrath and indignation, on
the second da> nicy saw that 2'JO had
hauled dose to the hark, erected a
huge pair of ' sheam" and was on!
too clearly transferring cargo from
her to his own vessel. Nor did he deny
it to the Portuguese officials, He
simply told them that thr hark would
sink when she was riding at anchor
unless th?- leak was found and
promptly dealt with. To locate it
the cargo hud to be shifted and ha
was performing an act of friendly
I benevolence to the unfortunate ship.
| The Portuguese left and Captain
Butcher continued his work of
1 benevolence.
I'wo days had passed and the last
gun was on its transfer way when a
third Britisher arrived. This was
the screw steamer Bahama. She also
wanted to anchor for repairs. As
a fact she had brought the real future
comma ruler of the 2D0, Gupta in
Semmes, and a party of officers who
had served with him on the Summer
(afterward lost), 2-'l more sailors and
an addition to armament.
The Portuguese, when the third
story of breakdown was told them as
an excuse for the third ship anchoring
and remaining, went wild with
anger and gave all three ships a
peremptory order to quit at once.
I he Bahama explained the situation
( t.he 21)0, handed over the cargo
and left the harbor followed by 200
j towing the empty bark. Instead,
however, of leaving finally, they proceeded
to Angra bay, a few leagues
away on the coast of the same island.
( There they remained till noon of the
next day (a Sunday), when for the
second time the Portuguese ordered
them all to quit and that at once.
Forth they therefore went, but the
last gun had been mounted, the
last keg of powder stowed. There was
nothing further to wait for.
i ^ hen the 21H) was well out to sea
she cast off the hark, which forthwith
set out for Cardiff to land with
coal, becoming in fact one of the
three skillfully handled colliers that
coaled the marauder at sea. Captain
Semmes now came on deck from
his cabin and bade the first lieutenant
muster the crew after while on
the poop all the officers assembled
i" full uniform; that is, the Con fed<
rate gtay frock coat and trousers,
j Semmes then read in a clear vibrant
,voice the commission. attested at
; Richmond and signed by President
( l'a\is, by which he was ordered to
.hoist the Confederate flag and salute
jit as it rose. The gun was fired by
Second Lieutenant Armstrong (a son
of the inventor).
Semmes completed the ceremony
by announcing that the ship would
henceforth be the Alabama. The
crew was then formally engaged t>
serve under the flag of the Southern
states and wire addressed in stirring
terms by Semmcs. He told them that !
there were then in the Federal navy '
only four ships that could beat the i
Alabama, but. he said, "in a British
built heart of <>ak as he then stood,
surrounded by British hearta, he
would not strike his flay to either of |
them.
After the cheering had subsided f
Captain S?rnrnes told the crew that
the Bahama wa? then sailing for
England ai d that if there were any*
wlio Wishe<l to (juit they could do so.
"Never!" the ringing reply front
every throat.
Off then went the Bahamu to England
arid away went the Alabama,
| chasing a whaler which she captured
and burned. It was her first blow
at Federal shipping. 'l'ho bargain
with the men was that they were to
receive from the Confederate government
half the value of every ship and
cargo destroyed, a compact faithfully
observed.
1 he list of captures made by the
Alabama shows how well and persistently
Semmea had done the work to
which the President's commission
directed him, namely "to take, sink,
burn and destroy everything flying
the flag of the so-called United States
of America. The estimated value
of his captures to t^is date (when we
leave him) was $4,200,000.
The captures: The Ocmulgee,
whaler, 400 tons, 32 men, burned; the
Starlight, schooner, burned; the Ocean
Hover, whaler, bark, burned; the
Alert, whaler, 700 tons, burned; the
Wealkergaerge, ^ whaling schooner,
burned; the Altamaha, whaling brig,
burned; the Benjamin Tucker, whaler,
burned; the Courser, schooner, whaler,
burned; the Virginia, whaling
bark, burned; the Elisha Dunbar,
whaler, burned; the Brilliant, 1,000
ons grain, burned; the Emily Farnum,
released on cartel" taking some of
the many prisoners on the Alabama
away, the Wave Crest, burned; the
Dunkirk, brig, burned;' the Tonawanda,
released on a bond of $1,000;
the Manchester, ship, burned; the
Lamplight, bark, burned; the Lafayette,
bark burned; the Crenshaw,
schooner, burned; the Lauretta, bark,
burned; th<* Baron de Castine, released
on bond; the Levi Starbuck,
whaling ship, burned; the T. B. Wales,
burned; the Martha, bark, burned;
the Union schooner, some English
property on board, released underbond;
the Ariel, mail boat, released on
bond; the Hatteras, gunboat, sunk;
the Golden Rule, bark, burned; the
( hastelain, brig, burned; the Purrjaub,
some English cargo, the Olive
Jane, burned; the Golden Eagle, burned,
the Washington, released on
bonds; the Bethea Thager, released
??n bond; the John A. Parker, burned;
the Punjab some English cargo,
released on bond; the Morning Star,
ship, released on bond; the King
Fisher, burned; the Nora, burned; the
Charles Hill, burned; the Louise
Thatch, burned; the Lafayette, hark,
whaler, burned; the Kate Cory, whaling
brig, burned; the Nye, whaling
bark, burned; the Dorcas Price, burned;
the Lelah, ship, burned; the Union
Jack, burned; the Gildensleeve,
burned; the Justiana, bark, released
on bond to take home prisoners; the
Jagez Snow, burned; the Amazonian,
hark, burned; the Tal'lisman, ship,
burned; the Conrad, fitted as tender
to Alabama; the Anna Schmidt and
the Ocean Pride.
Tolbert Slayer Confesses Guilt
Augusta. Ga? Feb. 27? Sheriff
I eter C row ford, of Columbia county,
announced today that Burley Adams,
30, of MePuffie county, Georgia, had
confessed to having killed Federal
Prohibition Agent Walter R. Tolbert,
who was slain near Harlem. Ga., last
Wednesday after raiding a still in
McDufTie county. Adams is in The
Richmond county jail here, having
i been arrested shortly after the kiling.
I ~ ?_
[ St Louis Bank In Robbed of $30,000
J St Louis. Mo.. Feb. 24?Four men
i held up the Wellston Trust Company
i at t>212 Eastern Avenue here today
| and escaped with $30,000. Hiding in
[ the bank building during the night
j the quartet greeted bank employes
, with pistols this morning when they
arrived to open up the institution.
At the point of guns they forced them
to open the vault and escaped witn
the money.
Indian W ar V eterans
Orangeburg. Feb. 25?Any who
served in the United States army
during any campaign or war against
hostile Indians, lasting 30 days or
J more, are entitled to a pension. With
the object of forming a state organisation
to be affiliated with the Na"tial
Indian War Veterans' association.
any former Indian f.ghtera in
South Carolina are requestid to communicate
with William Moore, reruiting
officer for .South Carolina,
.49 W. Russell street. Orangeburg.
On May 1. 1840. the British post
;"fT,ee put on sale the first postage
stomp.
a
Negro Gets Sixty Years
Chicago, Feb. 27.?A negro, former
convict, whom the Chicago Tribune
spent thousands of dollars to arrest
because he used its classified columns
to further an attack on a white woman,
today was sentenced to sixty1
years in the state penitentiary. The
negro, Robert M. Crowe, pleaded
guilty after being arrested at Kansas i
j City.
Crowe influenced the woman to
call at the home of his employer
through an ad seeking a nurse.
The paper said it undertook the
search for Crowe as a warning to
those who would use its columns to
further crime.
A coroner's jury in Columbia on
Monday exhonorated B. B. Brown
from all blame in the death of Atto^ey
William David Dickey, who
was killed when he stepped into the
path of the automobile driven by Mr.
Brown on the night of January 21.
No Date Set For Trial of Griffith
Charlotte, Feb. 24.?Date for the
trial of Edward Griffith, cotton
broker, charged with assault with intent
to kill Col. Leroy Springs, millionaire
financier and textile magnate
has not been definitely set and
will not be set until such time as it
is definitely determined when the victim
can appear, it was said by city
court officials here today.
When Griffith was arrested the d
of the shooting1, date for his prdis
nary hearing was tentatively set'
Monday, February 27. This is in i
eordance with custom, court offici
said, and when the victim of ^ni
tack is unable to appear the hesri
is postponed from time to time ffl
he is able to be out.
" t
Col. Springs shot in the face,!
been returned to his Myers Pi
home here from the hospital wi
he was taken after the shooting.'
physician, Dr. Addison G. Bent
said today that he is doing v?
nicely and would make a rapid W
ery.
i Planting Time I
Fresh flower seed and garden seed. Onion Sets, Peas, !
Beans, Beets, Lettuce, and all others in season. Plant \
Buist's Evergreen Lawn Grass Seed now, 4 qts. $1.25.
i '
W. Robin Zemp's Drug Store
TELEPHONE 30 PRESCRIPTIONS !
'i !
Seaboard Air Line Railway Co.
Schedules From and To Camden, South Carolina
Corrected to February 1, 1928
Arrive
10.10 am i
11.40 am
10.56 pm
6.11 am
4.48 p m
7.25 p m
F ro m For
Eastern Cities?Florida
Eastern Cities?Florida
Eastern Cities?Florida
Florida?Eastern Cities
F1 o r i d a?Eastern Cities
Florida?Eastern Cities
Leave
10.10 am
11.40 am
10.50 pm
6. 11 am
4.48 pm
7.25 pm
I Pullmans Coaches, Diner*
For further information or reservations, call on Ticket
Agent.
I DON'T PUT OFF SAVING 1
Don't put off starting to save, because I
the longer you procrastinate the harder p
it will be to begin. Let nothing prevent H
you from saving a portion of your in- :
come every week or every month. ... ^. . I
The First National Bank I
Of Camden, South Carolina I
ONLY NATIONAL BANK IN KERSHAW COUNTY 1
ICongaree Soil Builden
FERTILIZERS
Air ? I
AS USUAL we are handling CONGAREE SOIL BUILDER FERTILIZERS.?# " I
needless to ?ey anything further to the FARMERS of KERSHAW and adjoint I
counties. You all know their value, from years of actual crop results. Why
a chance on fertilizers that you are a little doubtful about when you can buy WOf
you are POSITIVE about at the same price. Figure with us before you buy.
Nitrate of Soda and Sulphate of Ammonia , 9
also at the Lowest Prices ?
* |
Springs & Shannon, IncJ
Camden. South Carolina :
- ) f ^
?' ? " I