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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02828.17 |
| From Archive Folder | Letters written by George A. Tittle while cruising the North Atlantic aboard the USS Kearsarge |
| Title | George A. Tittle to his sister, discussing their engagement with CSS 'Alabama' |
| Date | 19 June 1864 |
| Author | Tittle, George A. (fl. 1862-1864) |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Written directly after the engagement with the "Alabama." Says one week ago while in Flushing, Holland, Captain Winslow received information of the arrival of the CSS "Alabama" at Cherbourg. Says they left immediately and remained sitting outside Cherbourg until this "forenoon" when the "Alabama" came out to give them battle. At 11:10 a.m. "precisely, the 'Alabama' fired the first gun and just three minutes afterwards the 'Kearsarge' opened her battery and kept up a continuous fire for the space of one hour & two minutes, when the 'Alabama' fired a gun to the leeward and hoisted a white flag." Says only 3 men were wounded on the "Kearsarge" and not one killed. Only 6 shells hit the ship, all far above the water line. One 120 pound shell struck the rudder-post, passing half way through, but did not explode. Reports that since it is a conspicuous place it will be left there as a trophy. Says "The 'Alabama' did not fare quite so well, nearly every one of our shots struck her, some passed completely through her, one shell from one of our eleven inch guns killed fourteen men - twice her flag was shot away - I was told by several of her men (our prisoners) that her decks, at the time she surrendered, were covered with the dead & wounded, and blood ran in Streams from her scuppers." They discovered that the ship was sinking when it surrendered and they sent their boats to save the crew. Only 60 were saved, the majority of those wounded. Says the English steamer "Deerhound" came to their assistance and picked up about 40, including Captain Semmes, and took them to England instead of delivering them to the "Kearsarge." Says that "Semmes is reported to be severely wounded in the hand. The 'Alabama' went down stern foremost, the last to be seen of her was the end of her jib-boom." Small hole on the seam where the paper was folded, but does not affect text. Written on blue paper. |
| Subjects | Global History and Civics Civil War Military History Union Forces Navy Soldier's Letter Union Soldier's Letter Battle Confederate States of America Surrender Injury or Wound Artillery Death Prisoner of War |
| People | Tittle, George A. (fl. 1862-1864) |
| Place written | Aboard USS Kearsarge at Cherbourg, France |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Naval & Maritime; Foreign Affairs |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Folder Information: Surgeon steward Tittle details the "Kearsarge's" 1862-1864 cruise, including her engagement with the CSS "Alabama." The USS "Kearsarge" eventually fought and sank the Confederate raider off the French coast on 19 June 1864. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Sister |