As Mr. Welles, in the same Report to Congress, stated that "the Tuscarora is now in pursuit of this pirate," (Alabama,) it may be taken that these orders were sent to her about the time that the Chippewa was ordered to relieve her at Algeçiras in watching the Sumter. The Chippewa was at Cadiz early in November, 1862. It may therefore be assumed that she relieved the Tuscarora about that time; but, as the Tuscarora was, in the months of November and December, cruising off Madeira; was at Gibraltar on the 31st December, 1862; at Cadiz on the 17th January, 1863; subsequently paid two, if not three, visits to Madeira; was again at Gibraltar on the 17th March,' and completed her cruise, it is presumed at some port in the United States, on the 13th April, (See Synopsis of Orders,) she could not possibly have put the orders into execution. The name of the Tuscarora does not appear in the returns of the United States ships-of-war that visited the British Islands in the West Indies during this period. This suggested a more careful and complete investigation into her case, which has resulted in proving conclusively that, in spite of the intentions of the Navy Department, she did not on or after the 5th September, 1862, go to the West Indies for the Alabama and Florida," and that therefore she was not, on the 1st December, 1862, the date of Mr. Welles's Report, in pursuit of the Alabama.

66

2. The Vanderbilt, a suitable vessel when supplies of coal were procurable, then cruising in the track of vessels bound to and from Europe; of her proceedings on this cruise nothing further is known.2

3. The San Jacinto, a suitable vessel, then in the West Indies; the Alabama had on the previous 18th November escaped from her at Martinique.

4. The Mohican, a suitable vessel; she could not have left the United States on the "belligerent" mission of capturing the Alabama, as on the 14th November, 1862, when applying for coals at Bermuda, to enable him to go to the eastward, her commander, Captain Glisson, assured Governor Örd that "he was not directly engaged in any belligerent operations against the Confederate States, but was proceeding to a foreign station in the performance of an ordinary duty." (Appendix to the British Case, vol. v, p. 32.)

5. The Dacotah, a suitable vessel; she had ceased her pursuit by 17th November, (see Synopsis of Orders,) although Mr. Welles named her as being still in pursuit.

1 For record of visits to Gibraltar, see Appendix to British Case, vol. v, p. 229. The dates of the visits of these and other vessels to foreign ports, mentioned throughout this Annex, are recorded in returns from British Consuls, Mail Agents, &c., which can be produced for the satisfaction of the Arbitrators, if so desired.

It is more than probable, from indications met with in tracing out the proceedings of other United States cruisers, that, had time permitted, good reasons would have been discovered for suggesting abatements on account of this cruise, the claim for which is at the rate of nearly $1,500 a day. Indeed, it might be equally desirable to endeavor to trace out the proceedings of other vessels, which are wholly unknown, except so far as stated in the synopsis of orders, such as the Angusta, Ticonderoga, &c.; the claims on their account were necessarily treated, in the former report, as admissible in the hypothetical sense there explained, but further light might discover, as in so many other cases, errors which would justify abatements.

6. Onward. 7. Sabine. 8. Ino.

9. St. Louis.

Sailing-vessels, obviously useless in pursuing the Alabama, and whose employment on such service was condemned by the United States Ministers abroad, e. g., by Mr. Dayton (quoted in the Report of Admiralty Committee, Appendix to the British Case, vol. vii, p. 58,) by Mr. Adams in his dispatch1 to Mr. Seward, 12th May, 1864, after a conversation with Prince de Joinville on the inutility of United States sailing-ships in European waters, &c. Similar opinions were expressed by the captains of the Constellation, St. Louis, &c.

Admiral Wilkes's flying squadron could not, from a previous mention made of its special duties in the same Report, p. vi, have been included in Mr. Welles's "fleet."

It is thus seen that, excepting the Tuscarora, Mohican, Dacotah, and the useless sailing ships, Mr. Welles's "fleet" is reduced to two vessels, although at the time he could boast of having increased the United States Navy to 427 vessels, and 28,000 men!

Turning now to the ships in pursuit when Mr. Welles made his next Report to Congress, viz, on the 7th December, 1863, the Alabama then being in the height of her career, the Synopsis of Orders gives the following ships as so engaged:

1. Vanderbilt; but on the 27th of October she had abandoned the pursuit,2 and on the 7th December was making her way back to the United States.

2. Mohican; this ship, which, as will be subsequently shown, commenced her pursuit of the Alabama on the 9th May, 1863, from the Cape de Verds, also, on the 11th December, 1863, abandoned the pursuit at the Cape of Good Hope, and turned her head westward. She was at St. Helena on the 29th December, on her way back to the United States. Had she remained at or near the Cape, or the Mauritius, or gone to Bourbon (where she could have coaled) for a few weeks, she would have learnt that her chase had gone to the East Indies. Instead, however, of so doing, her captain retraced his steps homeward, in spite of communications he had received when at Cape Town, and which called forth these observations from the United States consul at the Mauritius in a dispatch to Mr. Seward of the 5th February, 1864: "The narrative of these things affords another illustration of the necessity of a man-of-war in these waters. * ** When the Mohican was at Cape Town, especially as the facts concerning the Sea Bride had been communicated by me to the consul there, and were by him laid before the captain of the Mohican, it seems unaccountable that that vessel did not extend its cruise to Madagascar and Mauritius. It is to be hoped that Captain Glisson had sufficient to justify his conduct in

*

The following is an extract from Mr. Adams's dispatch:

"The Prince de Joinville, who called on me the other day with a letter to you, which I had the honor to forward by the last steamer, made some remarks on the effect of the presence of our sailing-ships in European harbors in a perfectly friendly spirit, which were not without their weight in my mind. I have a fear that these vessels entail a heavy burden of useless expense, and retain in utter inactivity a considerable number of the best class of our useful seamen. It would be quite as well for the country if they were entirely withdrawn. One steamer like the Kearsarge has more influence upon the opinion of nautical men than all the obsolete frigates remaining in the world would, put together. Three or four such, properly distributed, with good officers, would materially check the tendency to serve on board of dubious rebel ships." Dip. Cor., 1864, Part i, p. 732.

2 See Appendix to British Case, vol. vii, p. 70. 3 Ibid., vol. v, p. 234.

turning back. Still, I can but hope that some other vessel from our now very large navy may very soon appear in the Indian Ocean." 1

3. Onward.

4. Ino.

5. St. Louis.

The sailing ships already disposed of.

6. Rhode Island, stationed off the Bahamas, and, like the De Soto, performing precisely the same duties as Admiral Wilkes's flying squadron, (see post, p. 88.)

7. De Soto; the same off the Havana, (Appendix to British Case, vol. vii, p. 74.)

S. Wyoming. This ship, with the sailing-sloop Jamestown, represented the United States interests in the East Indies, China, and Japan, and had, of course, the ordinary duties of this extensive station to carry on; she was, at the very time Mr. Welles was making this Report, well placed to intercept the Alabama, being near the Straits of Sunda when the latter passed through them. The Wyoming's further proceedings will be subsequently dealt with.

It is thus seen that, within a very few days of the date of Mr. Welles's Report, the chase, pursuit, or search for the Alabama was practically reduced to one efficient ship, the Wyoming, and she, as will be elsewhere shown, virtually, on the 13th of the following February, gave up the pursuit, or did what, as far as any claim on account of the Alabama is concerned, amounted to an abandonment. Finding the Confederate had probably left the limits of his station, her commander conceived the orders he was then acting under did not justify him in following the Alabama beyond such limits. And yet, at this time, Mr. Welles could justly make the yet prouder boast that the United States Navy consisted of 588 vessels and 34,000 men, exclusive of officers!

From this period to the date of the Alabama's being sunk, the chase, pursuit, or search was confined to—

1. The Sacramento, a suitable vessel, ordered, on "the 18th January, 1864, to cruise to the Cape de Verds, Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and thence to the eastward, or to Europe, according to news of the Alabama."

She was at Table Bay from the 29th April to the 5th May.2 Learning there, doubtless, that the Alabama had sailed on the previous March for a French port, she followed her to Europe, and was at Lisbon on the 29th of June; it has not yet been ascertained on what day she arrived there, but fifty-six days would seem to have been a very long passage for a powerful full-rigged ship like the Sacramento, with a speed under steam of 12 knots, to have made in time of war and in the actual pursuit of an enemy. She may, therefore, have arrived at Lisbon some time before the 29th June, or have touched at some other European port. Although probably in want of stores and supplies, she does not appear to have called at Cadiz, which was then the depot for the United States ships.

2. The Kearsarge, from the time she left Flushing till she sunk the Alabama.

3. The Wachusett, a suitable vessel, and ordered apparently to limits judiciously chosen to intercept the Alabama on her return westward. She was, however, so frequently to be found during this period in the ports of Brazil, that she could have spent but little of her time in cruising near the equator. The Alabama, on the 2d May, 1864, (having for ten days previously been on the track of the homeward-bound Pacific Appendix to Case of the United States, vol. i., p. 250.

2 Appendix to British Case, vol. v, p. 228.

ships,) was, according to Admiral Semmes, at "our old toll-gate at the crossing of the 30° parallel, where, as our reader will recollect, we halted on our outward passage and viséd the passports of so many trayelers. The poor old Alabama was not now what she had been then. Her commander, like herself, was well-nigh worn down." ("Adventures Afloat," p. 749.) Where was the Wachusett about this time? At Bahia on the 31st March, at Pernambuco on the 27th April, at Bahia again on the 13th May and on the 11th June. It would seem from the translation of a dispatch from Mr. Webb to the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs of the 16th of October, 1864, given at page 142 of the first volume to the Appendix of the British Case, that her commander was then more concerned in opposing the wishes of Mr. Webb and the United States Consul at Bahia than in following up the "rebel" cruisers. The claim on this ship's account has been considered admissible for the Arbitration, (in the sense explained in the Admiralty Report;) but it will be hereafter shown that subsequent investigation warrants the suggestion that a considerable abatement should be made from it.

4. The Niagara, a suitable vessel; but the postscript to the Admiralty Report will have shown that this ship was sent to European waters on account of the iron-clads and corvettes which were being built in France for the Confederates.1

It is therefore clearly demonstrated that, when the Alabama was sunk, the United States cruisers in actual search of her (including the Wachusett and also the Kearsarge for nine days) were only three, out of a navy which by this time must have numbered over 600 vessels.

FLORIDA.

Pursuing the same course of inquiry, and only incidentally alluding to the acts of remissness on the part of United States cruisers in regard to the Florida, viz: allowing her to get through the blockading squadron into Mobile; allowing her again to pass the blockading squadron, and get out again; it will be found that, at the date of Mr. Welles's Report to Congress of 1862, no cruisers were in pursuit of that Confederate vessel, then blockaded in Mobile; nor, indeed, does the United States Counter Case contend that the pursuit in her case was effective. It simply states "that it is scarcely necessary to say that the United States deny the allegations regarding the supposed negligence of their Navy."

The Tuscarora, as already shown above, was never in the West Indies in pursuit of the Alabama or Florida, although she was ordered there for the purpose.

On her escape from Mobile, the R. R. Cuyler--a suitable vessel-was sent by Admiral Farragut in pursuit of the Florida, and continued to cruise for seventeen days. It is not known that there is any official account of her cruise published; but a letter,2 purporting to be from an officer on board, and dated 21st January, 1863, "off east coast of Yucatan," after mentioning that they had pushed on to Cape Antonio, but had lost sight of the chase, proceeds:

"Had the Oneida accompanied us, as she was ordered to do, our chance would have been double what it was.

*

"There were seven vessels of us off the port, (Mobile.) We had fifteen hours' warning, and her (the Oreto) only way out was through the main ship-channel, which, at the bar, is less than a mile wide.

Appendix to British Case, vol. vii, p. 110.

2 Putnam's Record of the Rebellion, vol. vi, p. 392.

"Everything was done to increase our speed, but the utmost was 121 knots. I have seen the ship go 14.

"The prime cause of her escape was neglect to prepare for her; and remembering Commander Preble's case, I think the Department will soon decide where the fault lies."

At the date of Mr. Welles's next Report of Congress, on the 7th December, 1863, there was not a single vessel in special pursuit of the Florida, nor had there been any sent during the previous twelve months, except those already named.

From this date to that of the Florida's seizure in the Port of Bahia by the Wachusett, the following were sent in pursuit of her:

1. The Ticonderoga-a suitable vessel-which appears to have been withdrawn from the protection of the Fisheries, on tidings that the Florida had re-appeared off Bermuda, in June, 1864. She touched at Barbadoes on the Sth August,' but nothing further is known of her proceedings.

2. The Pontoosuc-a suitable vessel. She appears to have been the only vessel of those out on the 12th and 13th August, 1864, in pursuit of the Tallahassee, whose orders embraced also the Florida.

3. The Niagara-a suitable vessel-but, as already shown above, she was not sent in pursuit of the Florida; further references to the same effect will be given below.

It is thus seen, if no "great efforts" were made and no "fleet" was dispatched to capture the Alabama, still less were any serious efforts made to capture the Florida; and this assertion is advanced with a full recollection of the intermittent and fitful attempts made by the Kearsarge to blockade her in, and capture her after leaving, Brest, in the performance of the ordinary duties incidental to a state of war, and when, as shown by the synopsis and her actual proceedings, the Kearsarge was not detailed for the actual pursuit of any of the Confederate ships in Class I of the Admiralty Report.

None of the sailing-vessels are stated to have been sent expressly in pursuit of the Florida. Her escape from the Saint Louis at Madeira on the 29th February, 1864, is, however, a further apt illustration, if further proof could possibly be needed, of the utter unfitness of the sailing ships for the service of following up these vessels. "I have little hopes (said Captain Preble) of bringing her to action with my canvas wings, though I shall follow her to sea, if practicable, and try," with what result might easily have been divined.2

GEORGIA.

The United States, in their Counter Case, sec. vii, par. 5, state that, "when Her Majesty's Government made the statement that no serious endeavor to intercept or capture the Georgia appears to have been made on the part of the United States, it was mistaken." No trace, however, of any such endeavor appears in the synopsis of the orders to the United States cruisers, where she is not even named; and the only ship known to have gone in pursuit of her was the Niagara, which captured her when it was notorious she had been dismantled and sold, and was chartered as a merchant-ship to the Portuguese Government.

There is no act of special remissness on the part of any United States cruisers averred in reference to the Georgia. It would seem, however, from the translation of a letter addressed on the 21st May, 1863, to Mr.

Appendix to British Case, vol. v, p. 226.

* Diplomatic Correspondence, 1864–’65, Part iv, p. 297.