e at 11 o'clock. Seemingly no one thought of the Alabama,
for so long awaited and not appearing, speculation as to her probable
advent had ceased. At 10.20 the officer of the deck reports a steamer
coming from Cherbourg, a frequent occurrence, and consequently creates
no excitement. Soon, by the aid of a glass, he descries the enemy, and
shouts: "The Alabama!" Instantly all hands are called and the ship
cleared for action.

The position of the Kearsarge was off the eastern entrance to the
harbor, at a distance of nearly three miles, the Alabama approaching
from the western entrance, escorted by the French iron-clad frigate La
Couronne, and followed by a fore-and-aft rigged steamer, flying the
English yacht flag, the Deerhound. The frigate having convoyed the
Alabama outside the limit of French waters, with characteristic
neutrality, steamed back into port without delay; the yacht remained in
proximity to the scene of action. To avoid a question of jurisdiction,
and to prevent an escape of the Alabama to neutral waters in the event
of a retreat, the Kearsarge steamed to sea making final preparations,
the last being the sanding of decks (sufficiently suggestive of sober
thoughts), followed by the enemy, until a distance of about seven miles
from the shore was attained, when at 10.50 the Kearsarge wheeled,
bringing her head in shore, and presented starboard battery, being one
and a quarter miles from her opponent: the Kearsarge advanced rapidly,
and at 10.57 received the first broadside of solid shot at a distance of
eighteen hundred yards from the Alabama. This broadside cut away a
little of the rigging, but the shot chiefly passed over or fell short.
With increased speed the Kearsarge advanced, receiving a second and
part of a third broadside with similar effect. Arrived within nine
hundred yards of the Alabama, the Kearsarge, fearing a fourth broadside
with evident raking results, sheered and broke her silence by opening
with the starboard battery. Each vessel was now pressed under a full
head of steam, each employing the starboard battery, and to obviate
passing each other too speedily, and to maintain the bearing of the
respective broadsides, the circular method of fighting was necessitated,
each steering around a common center, from a quarter to half a mile
apart.

The action was now fairly commenced. One of the shot of the first
broadsides of the Kearsarge carried away the spanker-gaff of the enemy,
and caused his