(Rescue of the crew of the _Alabama_ by the _Deerhound_.) _From an engraving of the painting by Chappel._] Semmes having escaped to England, was counted a hero there, and a fine sword was given to him to replace the one he threw into the sea. Let the prejudiced shipowner who lost money through the work of this sea rover candidly ask himself what kind of a sea captain it is who, knowing his force is inferior, sails boldly out to meet a watchful enemy, and then fights till his ship is shot from under his feet. Raphael Semmes earned the right off Cherbourg to have his name inscribed in the list of the sea heroes of America. The total number of prizes made by the _Alabama_ was sixty-nine, of which fifty-three were destroyed, two had their cargoes only destroyed, and eleven were bonded. The _Florida_ took thirty-seven, of which twenty-eight were destroyed. While the number taken was but a small percentage of the American merchant fleet, the effect of the captures was to raise insurance rates, frighten shippers as well as shipowners, and so prevent the employment of the ships at sea. The carrying trade utterly abandoned American ships. [Illustration: Whitworth Rifle Captured from the _Shenandoah_.] There were a few other Confederate cruisers, the _Shenandoah_ being the most important, although she did nothing but destroy the American whaling and sealing fleet on the northwest coast. Her total number of captures was thirty-six. What the cruisers did altogether might be told in a list of the American ships destroyed, but it is better to express the facts by saying that they literally swept the American flag from the sea. England was obliged to pay $15,000,000 for the aid she gave the Confederates in this work. As has been said, “she got off cheap.” What she failed to do when she sent shiploads of war material to help the Barbary pirates who were attacking American commerce, she accomplished entirely when she allowed the Confederate warships to fit out in her ports. She destroyed the only competitor on the high seas of whom she had any fear. Does any one doubt that she did it deliberately? From 1864 until this day in 1897 the maritime supremacy of Great Britain has been undisputed. She paid $15,000,000 in damages, and every year has collected in profits on the American carrying trade which she then secured--who shall say how many times $15,000,000 her profits on the American carrying trade are? Perhaps if the reader will learn the answer to this question, he may make up his mind what the American people ought to do about it. [Illustration: _Florida._ _Shenandoah._ _Alabama._ Three Famous Confederate Cruisers. _From a painting by M. J. Burns._] CHAPTER XV THE _ALBEMARLE_ AND CUSHING