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THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES
left behind it all the desolation that fire could work in the beautiful valley. Forrest dashed away to the pursuit and capture of Colonel Streight.
Raids and detached engagements kept north Ala- bama in great anxiety. Marshall county especially suffered. The Federals shelled Guntersville several times without giving warning, and finally burned it. Captain H. F. Smith, of Jackson county, with a daring force of sixty-five Confederates, on the night of March 8, 1864, captured in Claysville sixty-six Federals and large quantities of stores and pro- visions. In May following, Colonel Patterson, of Morgan county, assisted by a battalion of artillery, attacked the Federal stockade in Madison county, capturing eighty prisoners and an immense quantity of provisions.
In July, 1864, General Roussean (rū so') passed down the Coosa river with nearly two thousand Federals, tore up the railroads, and burned the depots about Loach a po'ka, Auburn, and O pe lī'ka; but the citizens and youths who formed the State reserves drove him away into Georgia.
In September, General Forrest captured Athens, with many horses and fourteen hundred Federals under Colonel Campbell. Forrest also defeated the detachment sent for Campbell's relief. Two days later he captured at Sulphur Trestle eight hun- dred and twenty men and a large number of horses and loaded wagons.
5. Federal Invasion .-- At the same time that a Federal force was moving northward against Mobile, General James H. Wilson started south from Lau-
Mar. 8, 1864
July, 1864
Sept., 1864
1865
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ALABAMA HISTORY
derdale county. He had thirteen thousand five hundred Federal troops in three divisions, under Generals MeCook, Long, and Upton. Generals Roddy and Forrest were sent to harass and check him. Several engagements failed to stop the overwhelm- ing Federal forces. The rolling-mills and collieries with much other property about Montevallo were destroyed.
Apr. 4, 1865
Colonel Croxton turned aside to Tuskaloosa, entered it, burnt the University, and destroyed the foundries and factories and all other public prop- erty. He then turned west and was routed by General Wirt Adams at Pleasant Ridge in Greene county. General Adams, being misinformed, pro- ceeded to Columbus, Mississippi, where he hoped again to encounter Croxton. Croxton, however, marched northeast to the capture of Talladega, and then on toward Jacksonville, skirmishing here and there with such straggling forces as the Confederates could muster.
General Wilson reached Selma and threw his veterans against the city. Forrest was in command of the defenses, but he had less than seven thousand men, and many of these were inexperienced recruits. The Federals overran the forces of Forrest and cap- tured the city. Brave hearts bravely resisted, but to no avail. Twenty-five hundred Confederates were made prisoners. The Federal soldiers were permit- ted by General Wilson to go into private houses and take whatsoever plunder they pleased. The Con- federate arsenal and foundries were destroyed.
Apr. 2, 1865
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THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES
From Selma General Wilson marched on to Mont- gomery, which he entered without opposition. Among the wrecks of his visit is to be numbered the burning of the files of the Montgomery Advertiser. He thus tried to blot out the glorious records of the people of Alabama during the most gigantic struggle of the nineteenth century.
6. The Last Fight .- General LaGrange, with three thousand men, attacked the small garri- son of one hundred and four youths and sick men in Fort Tyler, near West Point, on the edge of Chambers county. General Tyler, in command of the fort, was slain; Captain Gon zä' lez, his successor, was mortally wounded; Captain Parham, the next in command, displayed equal courage, but the Federals scaled the walls and tore down the Confederate flag from its last stronghold east of the Mississippi. Thus Alabama cradled the birth and watched the dying struggles of the Confederacy.
The Color-Bearer
7. The "Gallant Pelham."-The young artillerist, the "gallant Pelham," who was killed by a shell at
Apr. 12, 1865
Mar. 17, 1863
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Kelly's Ford, on the Rappahannock, was Alabama's beloved soldier boy. A beautiful statue has been erected to his memory in the cemetery at Jackson- ville, a tribute from Pelham Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy.
8. Alabama Generals in the Confederate Army .- Of Confederate generals it may be said that John B. Gordon enlisted as captain of the Highland Dra- goons, the "Raccoon Roughs," of Jackson county. R. E. Rodes led one division of Jackson's corps at Chancellorsville, send- ing panic into the lines of Hooker ; commanded the troops of the seriously wounded Gen- eral A. P. Hill, and was com- plimented by Lee's sending a special officer to commend his conduct at Gettysburg ; he died from a shell wound at Win- chester. James A. Longstreet, Josiah Gorgas, W. W. Allen, Daniel Leadbetter, C'ullen A. Battle, James Cantey, J. T. Holtzelaw, James II. ('lanton, Henry D. Clayton, Sterling A. M. Wood, and other Alabamians won the Confederate Monument on Capitol Hill, Montgomery general's star. They led their gallant legions into the battles of Manassas, Seven Pines,
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Chancellorsville, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Cold Har- bor, Fredericksburg, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, New Hope, Atlanta, Shiloh, Nashville, and Franklin; hardly an important battle of the war failed to dis- tinguish the valor of Alabama soldiers.
9. Conditions at the Close of War .- At the close of the war, there were poverty and distress through- out the State. The blackened ruins of homes and villas, and the presence of the Federals in the towns and cities and throughout the rural districts made people gloomy about the future.
SUMMARY
After Fort Sumter had been fired on, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers. Governor Moore took prompt steps to support the Confederacy. After the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, northern Alabama was desolated by Federal troops. Their efforts were confined to this part of the State until a large force under General Wilson marched southward, burning and plundering. The last fight in Alabama took place at Fort Tyler. The State furnished to the Confederacy more than a dozen gen- erals and 125,000 soldiers. Alabama troops distinguished them- selves in nearly every battle of the war.
QUESTIONS
1. Describe the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. 2. What prepa- rations were made for war? 3. Give an outline of what Alabama troops did during the war. 4. Give an account of the war in northern Alabama. 5. Sketch the Federal invasion under Gen- eral Wilson. 6. Narrate the incidents of "the last fight." 7. Tell about the "gallant Pelham." 8. Name the Confederate generals from Alabama. 9. Describe the conditions at the close of the war.
Admiral Raphael Semmes
CHAPTER XVIII
ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES (1809-1877)
1. Early Life .- Raphael Semmes was born in 1809, in Maryland, of Catholic parentage. In 1826, Presi- dent John Quincy Adams appointed him a midship- man in the navy. He was thus early and long connected with what has been aptly termed "the old navy."
During a furlough he read law and secured license to practice. He did this not with any intention of leaving the navy, but because the knowledge of law would better fit him to be a naval officer.
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He moved his family to Alabama, and a few years later settled in Mobile. He continued in the navy, rarely asking for a furlough, and thus he was rapidly promoted to higher grades of office.
At the outbreak of the Mexican War he was flag- lieutenant under Commodore Connor. He was in charge of the shore battery of breaching guns at the siege of Vera Cruz (ver' a krooz'). He commanded the brig Somers of the blockade squadron along the Dec. 10, coast of Mexico, off Verde Island, when a "norther" 1846 struck his vessel with such sudden violence that it sunk in ten minutes. Thirty-nine of the seventy-six men composing the crew were drowned.
He was for many years connected with the light- house service along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and was made secretary of the lighthouse board in Washington.
When Alabama passed the "Ordinance of Seces- sion," he resigned both liis office in the United States navy and his membership in the lighthouse board, and went immediately to Montgomery. President Jefferson Davis sent him at once to the North to buy supplies of war and to engage skilled mechanics for the manufacture of war supplies. On his return from the North, Captain Semmes went to Mont- gomery.
2. In Command of the Sumter .- Five days after Fort Sumter was fired on, Hon. S. R. Mallory, seere- tary of the navy of the Confederate States of America, commissioned Captain Semmes to the com- mand of the Sumter, the first Confederate warship to have the honor of throwing to the breeze the
1842
Apr. 12, 1861
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Confederate flag. It was only a packet-ship, and had to be overhauled and converted into a warship.
June 30, 1861
On June 30, the Sumter steamed out of the Missis- sippi river into the Gulf of Mexico, and after an exciting race with the United States man-of war Brooklyn, which was on blockade duty, escaped to sea. The Sumter carried a gallant crew, among whom was second lieutenant Robert T. Chapman, of Alabama.
The orders to Captain Semmes were to "do the greatest injury to the enemy's commerce in the shortest time." Naval Solicitor John A. Bolles said eleven years afterward:
"Never, in naval history, has such an order been so signally obeyed; never has there occurred so striking an example of the tremendous power of mischief possessed by a single cruiser acting upon the destructive plan as that furnished by the Sumter and her successor, the Alabama, under the command of Semmes, whose untiring activity, restless energy, and fiery zeal found no voyage too long, no movement too prompt or too rapid, no danger too great, no labor too wearisome, in the accomplishment of the Confederate purpose to ruin our commerce by destroying our ships and their cargoes or driving them from the ocean."
June 3, 1861
Between Cuba and the Isle of Pines, Captain Semmes overhauled his first prize, a merchant vessel named The Golden Rocket, and burned it on the high seas. Within a few hours he captured six more prizes and carried them into Cienfuegos (cē en- fwa' gos) Bay; but Spain declared her territory
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ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES
neutral, and the captured vessels were permitted to escape.
The Sumter had a thrilling escape from the Iro- quois (iro kwa'), a United States gunboat that blockaded it at St. Pierre (săn pyâr) on the Island of Martinique (mar ti-nek'). The Iroquois was twice as large as the Sumter and waited for nine days just outside the marine league* to catch the Sumter when it attempted to leave. On the night of November 23, Captain Semmes made a dash to the south. A Yankee schooner at anchor near the Sumter gave signal of his course to the Iroquois. After a short run the Sumter doubled on its track and shot away to the north. The Iroquois bounded to the south. A rain- storm came on; the Sumter was free.
Captain Semmes crossed the Atlantic, captured and burned the American bark Neapolitan in the Straits of Gibraltar, "in the sight of Europe and Africa, with the turbaned Moor on the one hand and the garrison of Gibraltar on the other looking upon the conflagration." He anchored in the harbor of Gibraltar. Unable to buy coal, and blockaded by three Federal gunboats, he sold the Sumter. It was refitted for merchant service and named the Gibral- tar. It made a trip to the Confederate States of America and ran the blockade of Charleston. On another voyage it foundered and sank in the North Sea.
*It was against the law of nations for any act of war to be committed within three miles of shore of a neutral country. . This neutral zone is called the "marine league."
Nov. 23, 1861
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3. Cruise of the Alabama .- The Confederate cruiser Alabama is the most celebrated warship in history. It was built by the Messrs. Laird & Sons at Birkenhead, near Liverpool, on the Mersey river, and it was fitted with both sails and steam. It was known at the shipyards as "Number 290."
The Alabama moved from British waters under protest from Federal officials. Near the Azores (à zorz') Captain Semmes met it with military equip- ment, officers and crew, which were transferred to it. In September, 1862, Captain Semmes read his commission to the sailors and launched the Alabama on its memorable career. By accident several officers of the Sumter failed to get on the Allabama.
Captain Semmes was a scientific and literary man, and his observations on animal and vegetable life and on winds and tides are full of interest. His knowledge of the whale and its place of living took him to the fishing-grounds of the whalers, where many vessels were captured and burned. As he him- self expressed it, these vessels became "victims to the passions of man and the fury of the elements."
He moved the Alabama to within two hundred. miles of New York City, where he captured and burned several vessels. A lumber craft with the captains and crews of three of these vessels was sent by him into the city with his compliments to Mr. Low, of the chamber of commerce, for resolu- tions regarding the Alabama. He enjoyed the wrath of the North over his successes. The newspapers heaped abuse upon him; they falsely represented him as a cruel and merciless pirate.
Sept., 1862
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ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES
Passing into the Gulf of Mexico to cut off Federal vessels carrying troops to Texas, he met at night the gunboat Hatteras off the coast of Galveston, engaged it, sank it in fifteen minutes, and saved every man of the sinking ship. He made a brief visit to Jamaica, where music, good cheer, and social favors refreshed officers and men. On leaving Jamaica, the Alabama directed its course to the "toll gate," as Captain Semmes called the narrow strip of ocean separating Africa and Brazil.
New England skippers and Northern merchants soon awoke to realize that the Alabama was abroad on the seas. Stepping along "with its seven league boots, " it was burning every United States merchant vessel that it could sight. The destruction of cap- tured vessels was necessary because the United States Government left no port to which they could be sent. It refused to concede to the Confederate States the right to dispose of them in accordance with the laws which are recognized by all nations.
The Alabama sailed around the Cape of Good Hone into the Indian ocean, carrying dismay into those far-off waters. No one had supposed it would venture so far, but there it was, weathering mon- soons and lighting the shore of Asia with the wild flames of burning ships. Returning to the Atlantic, it kept up its work of destruction. Finally anchor was dropped in the harbor of Cherbourg (sher- burg'), France. Two days later the United States man-of-war Kearsarge, Captain Winslow command- ing, entered the same harbor. The challenge of battle from the Kearsarge was accepted.
T
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June 19, 1864
4. Fight with the Kearsarge .- On June 19, 1864, a bright Sunday morning, at 11:10 o'clock, the battle joined. One hour and twenty minutes later the Alabama went down to her resting place in the bottom of the sea not far from the spot where her elder sister, the gallant Sumter, was sleeping.
Sinking of the Alabama by the Kearsarge
A shell from one of the guns of the Alabama pene- trated the stern-post of the Kearsarge, but did not explode, because the powder in it had been damaged by monsoons in the Indian ocean. Had it exploded, the Kearsarge would have been sunk instead of the Alabama. A section of the post with the imbedded shell was cut from the Kearsarge, and it is now among the curios of war in the Navy Yard Museum in Washington City. This is the only relic of the Alabama in the possession of the United States.
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ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES 175
Captain Semmes hauled down his colors as the Alabama began to sink, but the Kearsarge continued to fire. He sent his wounded in boats to the Kear- sarge. Captain Winslow was not prompt to send relief, and permitted ten of the Alabama's men to drown. More would have drowned but for the assist- ance given by a French pilot-boat and the Deer- hound, which was the steam yacht of Mr. Lancaster, an English gentleman. At the last moment Captain Semmes threw his sword into the sea, and leaped in with First Lieutenant Kell. They were picked up by the Deerhound and carried to England, where they were well treated. The English presented to Semmes a beautiful new sword and refused to surrender him to Captain Winslow.
5. The "Alabama Claims."-After the war the United States charged England with having violated the neutrality laws. The reasons given for bringing these charges were that England had permitted the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers to be built in English shipyards and to sail from English ports. The conference of nations which tried the case met at Geneva, Switzerland, in 1872. In settling the "Alabama Claims," as they were called, the Geneva Conference decided that England should pay the United States $15,000,000. This amount repre- sented the damages which were thought to have been inflicted on the United States commerce by the Alabama, under Captain Semmes, the Shenandoah, under Captain Waddell, and other Confederate cruisers.
1872
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to the Confederate States, was made admiral, and 6, Services on Land .- Captain Semmes returned 7 put in command of the James river fleet. When the Confederates were forced to leave Richmond, he blew up his fleet and made landsmen of his "jackies." He carried them by train to Danville, where he formed a brigade and surrendered with General Johnston in North Carolina.
Admiral Semmes was arrested by order of Gideon Welles, the secretary of the navy, and imprisoned for four months in the Marine Barracks in Washington. He was released without trial.
7. Later Life .- Admiral Semmes was elected pro- bate judge of Mobile county, but President John- son refused to let him serve. He then took up the practice of law, and passed his remaining years among beloved friends and in civil pursuits. He Aug. 30, died August 30, 1877, at Point Clear. His remains 1877 rest in the Catholic cemetery near Mobile.
During the day of his burial "tributes of respect were everywhere to be seen in Mobile. From the consular office, from the boats, from the shipping in port, drooped the flags at half-mast. Every half hour from sunrise to sundown the cannons' boom echoed over the mourning city. The noble spirit was gone. His memory is dear to all."
In honor of the memory of Admiral Semmes, his birthday, September 17, has been chosen by Alabama Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, for their special day to bestow crosses of honor on Con- federate veterans.
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ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES
8. Writings .- Semmes was the author of Service Afloat and Ashore during the Mexican War, Cam- paign of General Scott in the Valley of Mexico, and Memoirs of Service Afloat during the War between the States-books delightfully interesting in style and full of valuable history.
SUMMARY
Raphael Semmes, of Maryland, entered the navy at an early age and served during the War with Mexico. . He offered his services to the Confederacy and was placed in command of the Sumter. With this vessel and the Alabama, which he afterwards commanded, he virtually destroyed the ocean commerce of the United States. In 1864, the Alabama was sunk by the Kearsarge. Semmes returned to the Confederate States and was given the rank of admiral. After surrendering with General Johnston in North Carolina, he was imprisoned by the Federal authorities. After the war he practiced law in Alabama. He is the author of several notable books.
QUESTIONS
1. Sketch the early life of Raphael .Semmes. 2. On what mission was he sent by President Davis? 3. Narrate the inci- dents of the cruise of the Sumter. 4. Give an account of the building, launching, and arming of the Alabama. 5. Sketch the cruise of the Alabama. 6. Describe the fight with the Kearsarge. 7. What were the "Alabama Claims," and how were they settled? 8. What services did Semmes render to the Confederacy after the Alabama had been sunk? 9. What did he do after the war? . 10. Name the books written by him.
Miss Emma Sansom
CHAPTER XIX
MISS EMMA SANSOM (1847-1902)
1. Federal Plans .- In the spring of 1863, the Army of the Cumberland under General Rosecrans lay in Murfreesboro. General James A. Garfield, who afterward became President of the United States, was General Rosecrans's chief of staff.
At Rock Run in Cherokee county was a furnace that supplied quantities of iron to the Confederate government. General Garfield felt sure that it could be captured and destroyed together with the line of railroad and the Confederate supplies about Rome,
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MISS EMMA SANSOM 179
Georgia. Colonel Abel D. Streight was selected to lead the raiding force of about two thousand picked cavalrymen. General Garfield was in high glee, counting upon nothing but the success of his plans.
Colonel Streight and his troops started from Tus- cumbia. They passed Mount Hope in Lawrence county on April 27 at the time when Forrest and Apr. 27, Roddy were preparing to contest the advance of the 1863 Federals under General Dodge. The next day Dodge's forces were repulsed at Town Creek.
2. Streight Attacked by Forrest .- General For- rest, "the Wizard of the Saddle, " heard of Streight's advance through the mountains, guessed his purpose, and began pursuit. A little after midnight in the morning of April 29, Forrest left Courtland. About the same time Streight was passing out of Moulton, sixteen miles away. Early on the morning of April 30, he was overtaken and attacked by Forrest. In the terrific skirmish battle that followed, the Fed- crals, who had secured the better position, succeeded in capturing two pieces of artillery.
Streight retreated into Blount county, knowing that Forrest would attack again as soon as the main body of his troops could catch up. The Federals scattered along the route of their retreat much booty and baggage. As night came on they had to fight again. Forrest recovered the two pieces of artillery, which they had captured in the morning, and drove the Federals towards Blountsville.
3. The Pursuit .- At Blountsville Streight dis- carded his wagons and packed a portion of his bag- gage on mules that he might move the faster. He
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fired his wagons, but Forrest came up in time to save much of the abandoned stores. Then began a constant running fight, Streight trying his best to get away, and Forrest determined to capture him and his whole command. Streight succeeded in crossing the Warrior river at Rocky Ford, but sev- eral captured pack mules and dead Federals showed how hotly Forrest was pursuing.
The Confederates were tired and stopped to rest. While in camp two young girls, carrying three guns, leading three horses, and guarding three Federal prisoners, came up. A horse was given to each of the girls, and they both went home in delight with their steeds and the story of their soldier experience.
4. Forrest Guided by Emma Sansom .- At Black Creek, a mile or so west of Gadsden, Forrest found the bridge on fire and guarded by Federal sentinels. Streight had crossed. The creek was swollen. Mrs. Sansom, a widow living near, accompanied by her daughter, Miss Emma, a girl of sixteen summers, had gone toward the bridge to put out the fire. They discovered Federal pickets on guard and were returning home when Forrest met them and inquired about the crossings of the creek. Miss Emma offered to guide him to a ford. Her mother objected, but the brave girl insisted, and, climbing up en the corner of a fence, she leaped behind Forrest and started with him to the ford. Shot and shell were soon flying all about them.
When they approached the ford in the ereck, they dismounted. Miss Emma stepped in front of Forrest and spread out her skirts to protect him, believing
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MISS EMMA SANSOM
that the Federals would not fire on a girl. Forrest, however, would not consent to this. "Excuse me, Miss," he said; "I am glad to have you for a pilot, but I am not going to make breastworks of you." A volley of muskets sent a bullet through her skirts, when she exclaimed, "They have only wounded my
Noccalula Falls (sometimes called Black Creek Falls)
dress," and waved her bonnet at the Federals. The brave fellows discovered her and sent her a round of cheers, ceased firing, and permitted her to get out of the reach of danger.
5. Capture of Streight .- Miss Sansom's heroic assistance helped the Confederates to get across the creek promptly and continue the hot pursuit. On
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May 3, 1863
the morning of May 3, Forrest overtook Streight at Lawrence in Cherokee county. Forrest had only about six hundred men, but he boldly demanded an immediate surrender. By skilfully placing his troops and giving orders to imaginary forces, he outwitted and captured Streight with fourteen hundred and sixty-six men and sent them to Richmond over the very road they had come to destroy. When Streight learned of Forrest's actual strength, he said, "I am sold."
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