Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 12.djvu/110

100 four light 32-pounders in broadside. On April 18, 1861, Commander Raphael Semmes was ordered to the command of her, with the following officers: Lieuts. John M. Kell, Robert T. Chapman, John M. Stribling, and William E. Evans Paymaster Henry Myers; Surg. Francis L. Gait; Midshipmen William A. Hicks, Richard F. Armstrong, Albert G. Hudgins, John F. Holden, and Joseph D. Wilson; Lieut, of Marines B. K. Howell; Engineers Miles J. Freeman, William P. Brooks, Matthew O'Brien, and Simeon W. Cummings; Boatswain Benjamin P. McCaskey; Gunner J. O. Cuddy; Sailmaker W. P. Beaufort, Carpenter William Robinson, and Captain's Clerk W. Breedlove Smith.

On the 30th of June the Sumter sailed from the mouth of the Mississippi, and although chased by the United States steamer Brooklyn, got fairly to sea. Captain Semmes cruised along the south side of the island of Cuba, taking eight prizes, and thence went to Cienfuegos. From there he cruised down the Spanish main, and on the 13th of November anchored at St. Pierre, Martinique. Here he was blockaded by the United States ship Iroquois for nine days, but on the night of the 23d he adroitly made his escape, and crossed the Atlantic to Cadiz, where he arrived January 4, 1862, taking several prizes on the way. Not being permitted to coal, he proceeded to Gibraltar, which port he reached on the 19th of January. Here he was blockaded by the United States vessels Tuscarora, Kearsarge and Chippewa, and it was decided to lay the ship up. The Sumter captured 17 vessels, of which 2 were ransomed, 7 were released in Cuban ports, 2 were recaptured, and 6 were burned.

The second cruiser built in England for the Confederates was the "290" or Alabama. The 290 was sent by Capt. James D. Bulloch, the accomplished agent of the Confederate government in England, to the Western islands. The bark Agrippina took her armament and stores there, and on August 24, 1862, she was commissioned by