old, his
dark mustache waxed to such sharp points that one would think him a
Frenchman rather than a Southerner, stood on the quarter-deck of the
"No. 290," with his crew mustered before him, reading out his
commission from Jefferson Davis, as commander of the Confederate
States' steam-sloop "Alabama." As he read, an old master's-mate,
standing at the peak-halyards, begins pulling at the ropes. The
British ensign, carried through the ship's anonymous days, comes
fluttering down, and in its place runs up the white naval ensign of
the Confederacy, with the starry Southern cross in the red field of
the corner. Then the reading is ended. Boom! goes the starboard
forecastle-gun. The band bursts forth with the stirring notes of
Dixie; and the sailors, after three ringing cheers, crowd forward to
wait for further developments. Soon the sailors are summoned aft
again, and Capt. Semmes addresses them. He tells them that, as the
"Alabama" is to be a ship-of-war, they are released from their
shipping contracts, but are invited to ship under the new plan. He
briefly details the purpose of the cruise. The "Alabama" is to be a
bird of passage, flitting from port to port, and hovering about the
highways of travel, to lie in wait for the merchant-vessels of the
North. Armed vessels she will avoid as much as possible, confining her
warfare to the helpless merchantmen. It is hardly a glorious
programme, but it seems to bear the promise of prize-money; and before
the day is over Capt. Semmes has shipped a crew of eighty men, and
with these the "Alabama" begins her cruise. The remainder of the
sailors are sent ashore, and the "Alabama" starts off under sail, in
search of her first capture.

Let us look for a moment at this vessel, perhaps the most famous of
all cruisers. She was a fast screw-steamer, of a little more than a
thousand tons' burden. Her screw was so arranged that it could be
hoisted out of the water; and, as the saving of coal was a matter of
necessity, the "Alabama" did most of her cruising under sail. Her hull
was of wood, with no iron plating, and her battery consisted of but
eight light guns: two facts which made it necessary that she should
avoid any conflicts with the powerful ships of the United States navy.
Her lines were beautifully fine; and, as she sped swiftly through the
water, Capt. Semmes felt that his vessel could escape the Northern
cruisers as easily as she could overhaul the lumbering merchantmen.
The cre