Chapter LV

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE BRITISH STEAM-YACHT DEERHOUND--MR. SEWARD'S DESPATCH, AND MR. LANCASTER'S LETTER TO THE "DAILY NEWS"--LORD RUSSELL'S REPLY TO MR. ADAMS ON THE SUBJECT OF HIS COMPLAINT AGAINST MR. LANCASTER--PRESENTATION OF A SWORD TO THE AUTHOR, BY THE CLUBS IN ENGLAND--PRESENTATION OF A FLAG BY A LADY.

The howl that went up against Mr. Lancaster, the owner of the _Deerhound_, for his humane exertions in saving my crew and myself from drowning, was almost as rabid as that which had been raised against myself. Statesmen, or those who should have been such, descended into the arena of coarse and vulgar abuse of a private English citizen, who had no connection with them or their war, and no sympathies that I know of, on the one side or the other. Mr. Welles, in one of those patriotic effusions, by which he sought to recommend himself to the extreme party of the North, declared among other things, that he was "not a gentleman!" Poor Mr. Lancaster, to have thy gentility questioned by so competent a judge, as Mr. Gideon Welles! If these gentlemen had confined themselves to mere abuse, the thing would not have been so bad, but they gave currency to malicious falsehoods concerning Mr. Lancaster, as truths. Paid spies in England reported these falsehoods at Washington, and the too eager Secretary of State embodied them in his despatches. Mr. Adams and Mr. Seward have, both, since ascertained that they were imposed upon, and yet no honorable retraxit has ever been made. The following is a portion of one of Mr. Seward's characteristic despatches on this subject. It is addressed to Mr. Adams:--

"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the
21st of June, No. 724, which relates to the destruction of the
pirate-ship _Alabama_, by the _Kearsarge_, off Cherbourg. This event
has given great satisfaction to the Government, and it appreciates
and commends the bravery and skill displayed by Captain Winslow, and
the officers and crew under his command. Several incidents of the
transaction seem to demand immediate attention. The first is, that
this Government disapproves the proceedings of Captain Winslow, in
paroling and discharging the pirates who fell into his hands, in that
brilliant naval engagement, and in order to guard against injurious
inferences which might result from that error, if it were overlooked,
you are instructed to make the fact of this disapprobation and
censure known to her Majesty's Government, and to state, at the same
time, that this Government, adhering to declarations heretofore made,
does not recognize the _Alabama_ as a ship of war of a lawful
belligerent power."

Mr. Seward, when this despatch was penned, had hopes that the "pirates" would be given up to him, and the _caveat_, which he enters, may give some indication of the course the Yankee Government intended to pursue toward the said "pirates," when they should come into its possession. It did not occur to the wily Secretary, that, if we were "pirates," it was as competent for Great Britain to deal with us as the United States; and that, on this very ground, his claim for extradition might be denied,--a pirate being _hostis humani generis_, and punishable by the first nation into whose power he falls. But these _mistakes_ were common with Mr. Seward.

Laying aside, therefore, all his trash and nonsense about piracy, let us proceed with that part of his despatch which relates to Mr. Lancaster:--

"Secondly, the presence and the proceedings of a British yacht, the
_Deerhound_, at the battle, require explanation. On reading the
statements which have reached this Government, it seems impossible to
doubt that the _Deerhound_ went out to the place of conflict, by
concert and arrangement with the commander of the _Alabama_, and
with, at least, a conditional purpose of rendering her aid and
assistance. She did effectually render such aid, by rescuing the
commander and part of the crew of the _Alabama_ from the pursuit of
the _Kearsarge_, and by furtively and clandestinely conveying them to
Southampton, within British jurisdiction. We learn from Paris that
the intervention of the _Deerhound_ occurred after the _Alabama_ had
actually surrendered. The proceeding of the _Deerhound_, therefore,
seems to have been directly hostile to the United States. Statements
of the owner of the _Deerhound_ are reported here, to the effect
that he was requested by Captain Winslow to rescue the drowning
survivors of the battle, but no official confirmation of this
statement is found in the reports of Captain Winslow. Even if he had
made such a request, the owner of the _Deerhound_ subsequently abused
the right of interference, by secreting the rescued pirates, and
carrying them away beyond the pursuit of the _Kearsarge_. Moreover,
we are informed from Paris, that the _Deerhound_, before going out,
received from Semmes, and that she subsequently conveyed away to
England, a deposit of money, and other valuables, of which Semmes, in
his long piratical career, had despoiled numerous American
merchantmen."

There was not one word of truth in this cock-and-a-bull story, of concert between Mr. Lancaster and myself, as to his going out to witness the combat, as to his receiving money or anything else from the _Alabama_, or as to any other subject whatever. We had never seen each other, or held the least communication together, until I was drawn out of the water by his boat's crew, and taken on board his yacht, after the battle.

It was quite natural that Mr. Seward's Yankee correspondents in London and Paris, and Mr. Seward himself, should suppose that money and stealings had had something to do with Mr. Lancaster's generous conduct. The whole American war, on the Yankee side, had been conducted on this principle of giving and receiving a "_consideration_" and on "_stealings_." Armies of hired vagabonds had roamed through the Southern States, plundering and stealing--aye, as the reader has seen, stealing not only gold and silver, but libraries, pianos, pictures, and even the jewelry and clothing of women and children! The reader has seen into what a mortal fright the lady-passengers, on board the captured steamship _Ariel_, were thrown, lest the officers and crew of the _Alabama_ should prove to be the peers of Yankee rogues, epauletted and unepauletted. These men even laid their profane hands on the sacred word of God, _if it would pay_. Here is a _morceau_, taken from the "Journal of Commerce" of New York, a Yankee paper, quite moderate in its tone, and a little given, withal, to religious sniffling. It shows how a family Bible was stolen from a Southern household, and sold for a "consideration" in the North, without exciting so much as a word of condemnation from press or people:--

"_An Old Bible Captured from a Rebel._--H. Jallonack, of Syracuse,
New York, has exhibited to the editor of the 'Journal' of that city a
valuable relic--a Protestant Bible, printed in German text, 225 years
ago, the imprint bearing date 1637. The book is in an excellent state
of preservation, the printing perfectly legible, the binding sound
and substantial, and the fastening a brass clasp. The following
receipt shows how the volume came in Mr. Jallonack's possession:--

"'NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 1862.

"'Received of Mr. H. Jallonack $150 for a copy of one of the first
Protestant Bibles published in the Netherlands, 1637, with the
proclamation of the King of the Netherlands. This was taken from a
descendant Hollander at the battle before Richmond, in the rebel
service, by a private of the Irish Brigade.

"'JOSEPH HEIME, M. D., 4 Houston Street.'"

"Semmes, in his long piratical career," scarcely equalled these doings of Mr. Seward's countrymen. He certainly did not send any stolen Bibles, published in the Netherlands or elsewhere, to the _Deerhound_, to be sold to pious Jallonacks for $150 apiece.

But to return to Mr. Lancaster, and the gross assault that was made upon him, by the Secretary of State. Mr. Lancaster, being a gentleman of ease and fortune, spent a portion of his summers in yachting, as is the case with a large number of the better classes in England. Being in France with his family, he ordered his yacht, the _Deerhound_, to meet him, at the port of Cherbourg, where it was his intention to embark for a cruise of a few weeks in the German Ocean. A day or two before the engagement between the _Alabama_ and the _Kearsarge_, a steam yacht, under British colors, was reported to me, as having anchored in the harbor. Beyond admiring the beautiful proportions of the little craft, we paid no further attention to her; and when she steamed out of Cherbourg, on the morning of the engagement, we had not the least conception of what her object was. With this preface, I will let Mr. Lancaster tell his own story. He had been assaulted by a couple of Yankee correspondents, in the London "Daily News," a paper in the interests, and reported to be in the pay of the Federal Government. He is replying to those assaults, which, as the reader will see, were the same that were afterward _rehashed_ by Mr. Seward, in the despatch already quoted.

"THE DEERHOUND, THE ALABAMA, AND THE KEARSARGE.

"TO THE EDITOR OF THE 'DAILY NEWS.' SIR:--As two correspondents of
your journal, in giving their versions of the fight between the
_Alabama_ and the _Kearsarge_, have designated my share in the escape
of Captain Semmes, and a portion of the crew of the sunken ship as
'dishonorable,' and have moreover affirmed that my yacht, the
_Deerhound_, was in the harbor of Cherbourg before the engagement,
and proceeded thence, on the morning of the engagement in order to
assist the _Alabama_, I presume I may trespass upon your kindness so
far as to ask an opportunity to repudiate the imputation, and deny
the assertion. They admit that when the _Alabama_ went down, the
yacht, being near the _Kearsarge_, was hailed by Captain Winslow, and
requested to aid in picking up the men who were in the water; but
they intimate that my services were expected to be merely
ministerial; or, in other words, that I was to put myself under the
command of Captain Winslow, and place my yacht at his disposal for
the capture of the poor fellows who were struggling in the water for
their lives.

"The fact is, that when we passed the _Kearsarge_, the captain cried
out, 'For God's sake, do what you can to save them,' and that was my
warrant for interfering, in any way, for the aid and succor of his
enemies. It may be a question with some, whether, without that
warrant, I should have been justified in endeavoring to rescue any of
the crew of the _Alabama_; but my own opinion is, that a man drowning
in the open sea cannot be regarded as an enemy, at the time, to
anybody, and is, therefore, entitled to the assistance of any
passer-by. Be this as it may, I had the earnest request of Captain
Winslow, to rescue as many of the men who were in the water, as I
could lay hold of, but that request was not coupled with any
stipulation to the effect that I should deliver up the rescued men to
him, as his prisoners. If it had been, I should have declined the
task, because I should have deemed it dishonorable--that is,
inconsistent with my notions of honor--to lend my yacht and crew, for
the purpose of rescuing those brave men from drowning, only to hand
them over to their enemies, for imprisonment, ill-treatment, and
perhaps execution.

"One of your correspondents opens his letter, by expressing a desire,
to bring to the notice of the yacht clubs of England, the conduct of
the commander of the _Deerhound_, which followed the engagement of
the _Alabama_ and _Kearsarge_. Now that my conduct has been impugned,
I am equally wishful that it should come under the notice of the
yacht clubs of England, and I am quite willing to leave the point of
honor to be decided by my brother yachtsmen, and, indeed, by any
tribunal of gentlemen. As to my legal right to take away Captain
Semmes and his friends, I have been educated in the belief that an
English ship is English territory, and I am, therefore, unable, even
now, to discover why I was more bound to surrender the people of the
_Alabama_ whom I had on board my yacht, than the owner of a garden
on the south coast of England would have been, if they had swum to
such a place, and landed there, or than the Mayor of Southampton was,
when they were lodged in that city; or than the British Government
is, now that it is known that they are somewhere in England.

"Your other correspondent says that Captain Winslow declares that
'the reason he did not pursue the _Deerhound_, or fire into her was,
that he could not believe, at the time, that any one carrying the
flag of the royal yacht squadron, could act so dishonorable a part,
as to carry off the prisoners whom he had requested him to save, from
feelings of humanity.' I was not aware then, and I am not aware now,
that the men whom I saved _were, or ever had been his prisoners_.
Whether any of the circumstances which had preceded the sinking of
the _Alabama_ constituted them prisoners was a question that never
came under my consideration, and one which I am not disposed to
discuss even now. I can only say, that it is a new doctrine to me,
that _when one ship sinks another, in warfare, the crew of the sunken
ship are debarred from swimming for their lives, and seeking refuge
wherever they can find it_; and it is a doctrine which I shall not
accept, unless backed by better authority than that of the master of
the _Kearsarge_. What Captain Winslow's notion of humanity may be is
a point beyond my knowledge, but I have good reason for believing
that not many members of the royal yacht squadron would, from
'motives of humanity' have taken Captain Semmes from the water in
order to give him up to the tender mercies of Captain Winslow, and
his compatriots. Another reason assigned by your correspondent for
that hero's forbearance may be imagined in the reflection that such a
performance as that of Captain Wilkes, who dragged two 'enemies' or
'rebels' from an English ship, would not bear repetition. [We have
here the secret of the vindictiveness with which Mr. Seward pursued
Mr. Lancaster. It was cruel of Lancaster to remind him of the 'seven
days' of tribulation, through which Lord John Russell had put him.]

"Your anonymous correspondent further says, that 'Captain Winslow
would now have all the officers and men of the _Alabama_, as
prisoners, had he not placed too much confidence in the honor of an
Englishman, who carried the flag of the royal yacht squadron.' This
is a very questionable assertion; for why did Captain Winslow confide
in that Englishman? Why did he implore his interference, calling out,
'For God's sake, do what you can to save them?' I presume it was
because he would not, or could not save them, himself. The fact is,
that if the Captain and crew of the _Alabama_ had depended for safety
altogether upon Captain Winslow, _not one half of them would have
been saved_. He got quite as many of them as he could lay hold of,
time enough to deliver them from drowning.

"I come now to the more definite charges advanced by your
correspondents, and these I will soon dispose of. They maintain that
my yacht was in the harbor of Cherbourg, for the purpose of assisting
the _Alabama_, and that her movements before the action prove that
she attended her for the same object. My impression is, that the
yacht was in Cherbourg, to suit my convenience, and pleasure, and I
am quite sure, that when there, I neither did, nor intended to do
anything to serve the _Alabama_. We steamed out on Sunday morning to
see the engagement, and the resolution to do so was the result of a
family council, whereat the question 'to go out,' or 'not to go out,'
was duly discussed, and the decision in the affirmative was carried
by the juveniles, rather against the wish of both myself, and my
wife. Had I contemplated taking any part in the movements of the
_Alabama_, I do not think I should have been accompanied with my
wife, and several young children.

"One of your correspondents, however, says that he knows that the
_Deerhound_ did assist the _Alabama_, and if he does know this, he
knows more than I do. As to the movements of the _Deerhound_, before
the action, all the movements with which I was acquainted, were for
the objects of enjoying the summer morning, and getting a good and
safe place from which to watch the engagement. Another of your
correspondents declares, that since the affair, it has been
discovered, that the _Deerhound_ was a consort of the _Alabama_, and
on the night before had received many valuable articles, for
safe-keeping, from that vessel. This is simply untrue. Before the
engagement, neither I nor any member of my family had any knowledge
of, or communication with Captain Semmes, or any of his officers or
any of his crew. Since the fight I have inquired from my Captain
whether he, or any of my crew, had had any communication with the
Captain or crew of the _Alabama_, prior to meeting them on the
_Deerhound_ after the engagement, and his answer, given in the most
emphatic manner, has been, 'None whatever.' As to the deposit of
chronometers, and other valuable articles, the whole story is a myth.
Nothing was brought from the _Alabama_ to the _Deerhound_, and I
never heard of the tale, until I saw it, in an extract from your own
columns.

"After the fight was over, the drowning men picked up, and the
_Deerhound_ steaming away to Southampton, some of the officers who
had been saved began to express their acknowledgments for my
services, and my reply to them, which was addressed, also, to all who
stood around, was 'Gentlemen, you have no need to give me any special
thanks. I should have done exactly the same for the other people, if
they had needed it.' This speech would have been a needless, and,
indeed, an absurd piece of hypocrisy, if there had been any league or
alliance between the _Alabama_ and the _Deerhound_. Both your
correspondents agree in maintaining that Captain Semmes, and such of
his crew as were taken away by the _Deerhound_, are bound in honor to
consider themselves still as prisoners, and to render themselves to
their lawful captors as soon as practicable. This is a point which I
have nothing to do with, and therefore I shall not discuss it. My
object, in this letter, is merely to vindicate my conduct from
misrepresentation; and I trust that in aiming at this, I have not
transgressed any of your rules of correspondence, and shall therefore
be entitled to a place in your columns.

JOHN LANCASTER."

"Mark how a plain tale shall put him down." There could not be a better illustration of this remark, than the above reply, proceeding from the pen of a gentleman, to Mr. Seward's charges against both Mr. Lancaster and myself. Mr. Adams having complained to Lord Russell, of the conduct of Mr. Lancaster, the latter gentleman addressed a letter to his lordship, containing substantially the defence of himself which he had prepared for the "Daily News." In a day or two afterward, Lord Russell replied to Mr. Adams as follows:--

FOREIGN OFFICE, July 26, 1864.

SIR:--With reference to my letter of the 8th inst., I have the honor
to transmit to you, a copy of a letter which I have received from Mr.
Lancaster, containing his answer to the representations contained in
your letter of the 25th ult., with regard to the course pursued by
him, in rescuing Captain Semmes and others, on the occasion of the
sinking of the _Alabama_; and I have the honor to inform you, that I
do not think it necessary to take any further steps in the matter. I
have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, your most
obedient, humble servant.

RUSSELL.

The royal yacht squadron, as well as the Government, sustained their comrade in what he had done, and a number of officers of the Royal Navy and Army, approving of my course, throughout the trying circumstances in which I had been placed--not even excepting the hurling of my sword into the sea, under the circumstances related--set on foot a subscription for another sword, to replace the one which I had lost, publishing the following announcement of their intention in the London "Daily Telegraph":--

JUNIOR UNITED SERVICE CLUB, S. W.
June 23, 1864.

SIR:--It will doubtless gratify the admirers of the gallantry
displayed by the officers and crew of the renowned _Alabama_, in the
late action off Cherbourg, if you will allow me to inform them,
through your influential journal, that it has been determined to
present Captain Semmes with a handsome sword, to replace that which
he buried with his sinking ship. Gentlemen wishing to participate in
this testimony to unflinching patriotism and naval daring, will be
good enough to communicate with the chairman, Admiral Anson, United
Service Club, Pall-Mall, or, sir, yours, &c.

BEDFORD PIM,
_Commander R. N., Hon. Secretary_.

This design on the part of the officers of the British Navy and Army was afterward carried out, by the presentation to me of a magnificent sword, which was manufactured to their order in the city of London, with suitable naval and Southern devices. I could not but appreciate very highly this delicate mode, on the part of my professional brethren, of rebutting the slanders of the Northern press and people. I might safely rely upon the judgment of two of the principal naval clubs in England,--the United Service, and the Junior United Service, on whose rolls were some of the most renowned naval and military names of Great Britain. The shouts of the multitude are frequently deceptive; the idol of an hour may be pulled down in the succeeding hour; but the approbation of my brethren in arms, who coolly surveyed my career, and measured it by the rules which had guided the conduct of so many of their own soldiers by sea and by land, in whose presence my own poor name was unworthy to be mentioned, was indeed beyond all price to me.

To keep company with this sword, a noble English lady presented me with a mammoth Confederate flag, wrought with her own hands from the richest silk. There is not a spot on its pure white field, and the battle-cross and the stars, when unfolded, flash as brightly as ever. These two gifts shall be precious heirlooms in my family, to remind my descendants, that, in the words of Patrick Henry, "I have done my utmost to preserve their liberty."

"Furl that Banner, for 'tis _weary_;
Round its staff 'tis drooping dreary;
Furl it, fold it, it is best:
For there's not a man to wave it,
And there's not a sword to save it,
And there's not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it;
And its foes now scorn and brave it;
_Furl_ it, _hide_ it--let it _rest_.

* * * *

"Furl it! for the hands that grasped it,
And the hearts that fondly clasped it,
Cold and dead are lying low;
And that Banner--it is trailing!
While around it sounds the wailing
Of its people in their woe.

* * * *

"Furl that Banner! true 'tis gory.
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory,
And 'twill live in song and story,
Though its folds are in the dust;
For its fame on brightest pages,
Penned by poets and by sages,
Shall go sounding down the ages--
Furl its folds though now we must."

Mr. Mason, our Commissioner at the Court of London, thanked Mr. Lancaster for his humane and generous conduct in the following terms:--

24 UPPER SEYMOUR STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE,
LONDON, June 21, 1864.

DEAR SIR:--I received from Captain Semmes, at Southampton, where I
had the pleasure to see you, yesterday, a full report of the
efficient service rendered, under your orders, by the officers and
crew of your yacht, the _Deerhound_, in rescuing him, with thirteen
of his officers and twenty-seven of his crew, from their impending
fate, after the loss of his ship. Captain Semmes reports that,
finding the _Alabama_ actually sinking, he had barely time to
dispatch his wounded in his own boats, to the enemy's ship, when the
_Alabama_ went down, and nothing was left to those who remained on
board, but to throw themselves into the sea. Their own boats absent,
there seemed no prospect of relief, when your yacht arrived in their
midst, and your boats were launched; and he impressively told me,
that to this timely and generous succor, he, with most of his
officers and a portion of his crew, were indebted for their safety.
He further told me, that on their arrival on board of the yacht,
every care and kindness were extended to them which their exhausted
condition required, even to supplying all with dry clothing. I am
fully aware of the noble and disinterested spirit which prompted you
to go to the rescue of the gallant crew of the _Alabama_, and that I
can add nothing to the recompense already received by you and those
acting under you, in the consciousness of having done as you would be
done by; yet you will permit me to thank you, and through you, the
captain, officers, and crew of the _Deerhound_, for this signal
service, and to say that in doing so, I but anticipate the grateful
sentiment of my country, and of the Government of the Confederate
States. I have the honor to be, dear sir, most respectfully and
truly, your obedient servant,

J. M. MASON.

JOHN LANCASTER, _Esq., Hindley Hall, Wigan_.

Subsequently, upon my arrival in Richmond, in the winter of the same year, the Confederate Congress passed a joint resolution of thanks to Mr. Lancaster, a copy of which it requested the Secretary of the Navy to transmit to him. In the confusion incident to the downfall of the Confederacy, which speedily followed, Mr. Lancaster probably never received a copy of this resolution. Thus, with the indorsement of his own government, and with that of the yacht-clubs of England, and of the Congress of the Confederate States, he may safely despise the malicious diatribes that were launched against him by a fanatical and infuriated people, who were thirsting for an opportunity to wreak their vengeance upon the persons of the men whom he had saved.

Upon my landing in Southampton, I was received with great kindness by the English people, ever ready to sympathize with the unfortunate, and administer to the wants of the distressed. Though my officers and myself were not to be classed in this latter category, as my drafts on the house of Frazer, Trenholm & Co., of Liverpool, would have been accepted to any extent, and were as good as cash in the market, there were many generous offers of pecuniary assistance made me. I cannot forbear to speak of one of these, as it came from a lady, and if, in doing so, I trespass upon the bounds of propriety, I trust the noble lady will forgive me. This is the only means left me of making her any suitable acknowledgment. This lady was Miss Gladstone, a sister of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who wrote me a long letter, full of sympathy, and of those noble impulses which swell the heart of the true woman on such occasions. She generously offered me any aid of which my sailors or myself might be in need. Letters of condolence for my loss, and congratulation upon my escape from the power of a ruthless enemy, came in upon me in great profusion; and, as for volunteers, half the adventurous young spirits of England claimed the privilege of serving under me, in my _new_ ship. The career of the _Alabama_ seemed to have fired the imagination of all the schools and colleges in England, if I might judge by the number of ardent missives I received from the young gentlemen who attended them. Mr. Mason, Captain Bullock, and the Rev. F. W. Tremlett came post-haste to Southampton, to offer us sympathy and services. The reader will recollect the circumstances under which I became acquainted with the latter gentleman, when I laid up the _Sumter_ at Gibraltar, and retired to London. He now came to insist that I should go again to my "English home," at his house, to recruit and have my wound cared for. As I had already engaged quarters at Millbrook, where I should be in excellent hands, and as duties connected with the welfare of my crew would require my detention in the neighborhood of Southampton for a week or two, I was forced to forego the pleasure for the present.

In connection with the gratitude due other friends, I desire to mention the obligations I am under to Dr. J. Wiblin, a distinguished surgeon and physician of Southampton, who attended my crew and officers whilst we remained there, without fee or reward. The reader may recollect, that previous to my engagement with the _Kearsarge_, I had sent on shore, through my paymaster, the ship's funds, and the books and papers necessary to a final settlement with my crew. The paymaster now recovered back these funds, from the bankers with whom they had been deposited, paid off such of the officers and men as were with us at Southampton, and proceeded to Liverpool, where he was to pay off the rest of the survivors as fast as they should present themselves. Some of the crew were wounded, and in French hospitals, where they were treated with marked kindness and consideration; some had been made prisoners, and paroled by Captain Winslow, _with the approbation of Mr. Adams_, under _the mistaken idea_, as Mr. Seward afterward insisted, that they were _prisoners of war_, and some weeks elapsed, consequently, before they could all present themselves at the paymaster's table. This was finally accomplished, however, and every officer and seaman, received, in full, all the pay that was due him. The amounts due to those killed and drowned, were paid, in due time, to their legal representatives; and thus were the affairs of the _Alabama_ wound up.