21/21 The cause of the sinking of the _Alabama_ was the same as that which gave us so many wonderful naval victories in the War of 1812. Our vessels were manned by Americans, while the _Alabama_ was really an English ship, armed with English guns and manned and fought by an English crew: there's the truth in a nutshell. It was a source of regret throughout the country that on the night of February 2, 1894, the _Kearsarge_ was wrecked off Roncador Reef, while on a voyage from Port-au-Prince, Hayti, to Bluefields, Nicaragua. None of her crew was drowned, but the vessel itself was lost, despite every effort to save her.. |