s
very slowly, and seemed to reconnoitre us, as he came along, with
great caution.

All this time we were standing on under topsails away from the
bar, and the stranger was approaching us stern on. I gave my
ship a little motion with the engine occasionally, both to draw the
enemy--for I, of course, supposed him to be such--away from his
consorts, so that in case of a conflict the latter might not hear our
guns, and to prolong the time until dark to enable me to take in
my topsails, and close with him in so short a time that the movement
should not be noticed by him until too late to escape, which
I feared he might attempt, if he saw me turn upon him with the
intention of pursuing him.

Accordingly, soon after dark--the enemy in the meantime
having approached us so near as not to endanger our losing sight
of him--I clewed up, and furled the topsails, beat to quarters, and
doubled suddenly upon the stranger. He came in quite boldly,
and when within hailing distance of us, hailed us, and inquired--

"What ship is that?"

"Her Majesty's ship Petrel. What ship's that?"

To this inquiry there was no reply, and although we repeated
it several times there was no rejoinder.

During the colloquy, I endeavoured to place myself in a raking
position astern of him, which he as carefully avoided by keeping
his broadside to me. From this manoeuvre I knew him pretty
certainly to be an enemy, and having approached to within about
two hundred yards, I directed my First Lieutenant to repeat the
question. "What ship's that?" was accordingly again shouted,
and this time there was a reply.

We distinctly heard that he was an United States something or
other, but the name we could not make out. I then directed the
First Lieutenant to tell him that this was the Confederate States
steamer Alabama, and to open fire on him immediately, which we
did from our starboard battery. He returned our fire in a minute
or two, and the action was thus commenced.

We continued to run side by side at a distance ranging from
two to five hundred yards, both of us keeping up a rapid fire of
both artillery and rifles, when, after the lapse of thirteen minutes,
the enemy fired two guns from his off, or starboard side, and
showed a light above his deck in token of his being whipped.

At once we ceased firing, and approaching him still nearer,
asked him if he surrendered and needed assistance. To both of
these questions he replied in the affirmative, an