CAPT. SEMMES, AND THE EXPLOITS OF THE ALABAMA.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 96, 2 October 1863, Page 3

CAPT. SEMMES, AND THE EXPLOITS OF THE ALABAMA.

We were now introduced to Captain Semmes, who had up to that time been engaged in the cabin with Mr W. J. Anderson, upon the subject of supplies. We received fL very cordial greeting. He informed us that he had taken fifteen ships since he had left Bahia. We told him that Captain Bartlett, of the barque Fortuna, stated that on the 2nd of July lie saw a ship on fire, and supposed that it was the work of the Alabama. Captain Semmes said Captain Bartlett was quite right. She was the Annie F.Schmidt, from New York lo San Francisco, with a general cargo on board. "We set her on fire in the night," said Uaptain Semmes, " and shortly after we had done so we heard a couple of guns. We thought it was another Yankee, and we up steam and fired a gun for her to heave to. On coming alongside her we found it was Her Majesty's frigate Dido. v We did not take her, sir," said the taptain with a laugh ; "in fact, we never attempt to take any of Her Majesty's frigates. The Dodo people," he went on to sry, -"asked us if we had set the ship on fire, and 1 answered we had, and had got the crew safe on board. * .\ll right,' was the answer, and we parted. She was a vessel of about 1,000 tons." We asked Captain Semmes if he could give us the names of the vessels he had captured. He answered that he could ; " For,'' he said, " you English people won't be neighborly enough to let me bring my prizes into your ports and get them condemned, so that I am obliged to sit here a court of myself, try every case, and condemn the ships I take. The European powers, I see— some of them — complain of my burning the ships ; but what, if they will preserve such strict neutrality as to keep me out of their nqrts, am I to do with these ships wlien 1 take them, but burn thero !" He then fetched his record book, and we look the following down : — " The ships we have captured were the Ocmulgee, a whaler of 400 tons, thirty-two men on hoard ; we burned her. The Starlight, of Boston, a schooner ; we burned her off the Western Islands. The Ocean Kovcr, a whaler, barque; we burned her. The whaling

schooner, Weatherguage : we' burned her The 7 whaling brig Altamalia; we burned her. The whaling ship Benjamin Tucker ; we" burned her. The ,whaling schooner. Courser; we burned her. The whaling barque Virginia; we burned her. The barque Elisha ' Dunbar, a whaler | we burned her. The ship Brilliant, with 4,000 tons of grain on board ,- we burned her. The Emily Farnum we captured, and released as a cartel; and having so many prisoners we- put some of them on board her, and sent them off. The Wave Crest, with a general cargo on board for Europe, we set on fire. The Dunkirk brig with a general cargo on board, we burned. The ship Tonawanda we captured with a valuable freight on board, and released her after taking a bond for 1,000 dollars. The ship Manchester, with a cargo of grain, we burned. The barque Lamplighter, with an assorted cargo for Europe, we burned. Tbe barque Lafayette, with en assorted cargo, we burned. The schooner Grenshaw, with an assorled cargo on board for the West Indies, we burned. The barque Lauretta, for Europe, with an assorted cargo on board, we burned. The brig Baron de Castine we took a bond from and released. The whaling ship Levi Starbuck, we burned. The T. B. Wales, from Calcutta to Boston, with a valuable cargo on board, we burned. The barque Martha, \ from Calcutta to the West Indies, with an assorted cargo, we burned. The schooner ! Union, we, after boarding, found had some English property on board, and released on bond. The mail steamer Ariel, running between New York and Aspinwall, we captured. Unfortunately, she was going, not returning, or we should have had a good lot of gold ; we released her on bond. The United gunboat Hatteras, who came out to fight us, had the same number of guns and crew ; our ptins were a little heavier than hers, but we equalised that by permitting her to fight us at 300 yards ; we sunk her in thirteen minutes by the vr atch. The barque Golden Rule, with an assorted cargo, we burned ; she belonged to the same company as the Ariel. The. brig Chasielaire we burned. The schooner Palmetto we burned. The barque Olive Jane we burned. The Washington, from the Pacific, with guano, we released on bond. The BethiaThager, from East India, with a valuable cargo on board, we released on bond. The John A. Parker, with flour i and lumber/from Boston to Buenos Ayres, we burned. The Panjaub, from East India, we found to have some English cargo on board, and v/e released her on bond. The ship Morning Star we released on bond. The whaling schooner King Fisher we burned. The ship Nora, from Liverpool to the West Indies, with salt, we burned. The Charles Hill, also from Liverpool, wiih coal, we burned. The ship Louisa Hatch, from Cardiff to the West Indies, we burned. The barque Lafeyette, whaler, we burned. The whaling brig Kate Cory we burned. The whaling barque JS'ye we burned. Tbe ship Dorcas Price, with a general cargo, we burned. The ship Lelah, with a general cargo for the East Indies, we burned. The barque Union Jack, from Boston to Shanghai, we burned. We captured a Yankee consul on board of her. He was on hiswayto Foo-Chow. We landed him atthe Brazil-*. The ship G ildersleeve, from New York io the East Indies, we burned. The barque Justiana we released on bond, to take home prisoners. The ship Jabez Snow, from New York to the I^ast Indies, we burned. The barque Amazonian, from Boston lo Buenos Ayres, we burned. The ship Talisman, from New York to the East Indies, we burned. The barque Conrad we fitted up as a Confederate cruiser— a tender to the Alabama. We call her the Tuscaloosa. After these came the Anna F. Schmidt, the Express, and the Sea Bride you saw us lake to-day- The estimated value of these captures is 4,20e,000d01." Amongst the supplies the Alabama required was bread, hut the .Sea Bride bei ig half loaded with that article of daily fool, saved Captain Semmes the necessity of purchasing. Captain Semmes is about forty-eight years of age. He wears a moustache ala Napoleon, is rather grey, and has sharp, intelligent features. He wears a military frock coat, of grey color, with very little ornament. There were about seventy chronometers, all prices, ranged round the cabin ; and when the Astronomer Royal (Sir T. Maclear) went on board, Captain Semmes asked him if he would take these to nurse, and deliver them up when the war was over. Sir Thomas, however, preserved his neutralit) by declining to lake charge of Confederate prizes. Immediately the Alabama had dropped her anchor, Captain Semmes forwarded a letter to His Excellency the Governor, announcing his arriva'. The American consul. Mr Graham, sent His Excellency the Governor a protest against the capture of the Sea Bride, on the ground that the vessel was within Uritish waters at the time of her being stopped by the Alabama. His Excellency and the Executive heard the evidence on both sides with strict impartiality; but it was clear that the capture was legal, and tbat there was no ground for His Excel lency's interference. j The E. I. Company's steamer, the Lady j Jocelyn, cam-e into the bay at the same I time, and in passing the Confederate Ysteamer she manned her yards, and gave I three cheers for the Alabama, a compliment | that was cheefully responded to by the ■Confederate crew.