It thus appears that out of one hundred and sixty-three (163) officers and crew of the sloop-of-war Kearsarge, there are only eleven (11) persons foreign born.
The following is the Surgeon's report of casualties amongst the crew of the Kearsarge during the action:
"U. S. S. S. KEARSARGE, "CHERBOURG, FRANCE, "_Afternoon, June 19, 1864_.
"Sir--I report the following casualties resulting from the engagement this morning with the steamer 'Alabama.'
JOHN W. DEMPSEY, Quarter-gunner. Compound comminuted fracture of right arm, lower third, and fore-arm. Arm amputated.
WILLIAM GOWEN, Ordinary seaman. Compound fracture of left thigh and leg. Seriously wounded.
JAMES MCBEATH, Ordinary seaman. Compound fracture of left leg. Severely wounded.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"Captain JOHN A. WINSLOW, "Comd'g U. S. S. S. Kearsarge, Cherbourg."
All these men were wounded by the same shot, a 68-pounder, which passed through the starboard bulwarks below main-rigging, narrowly escaping the after 11-inch pivot-gun. The fuses employed by the Alabama were villainously bad, several shells having lodged in the Kearsarge without taking effect. Had the 7-inch rifle shot exploded which entered the vessel at the starboard quarter, raising the deck by its concussion several inches and lodging in the rudder-post, the action might have lasted some time longer. It would not, however, have altered the result, for the casualty occurred towards the close of the conflict. During my visit, I witnessed the operation of cutting out a 32-pounder shell (time fuse) from the rail close forward of the fore pivot 11-inch port; the officer in charge of the piece informed me that the concussion actually raised the gun and carriage, and, had it exploded, many of the crew would have been injured by the fragments and splinters.
Among the incidents of the fight, some of our papers relate that a 11-inch shell from the Kearsarge fell upon the deck of the Alabama, and was immediately taken up and thrown overboard. Probably no fight ever occurred in modern times in which somebody didn't pick up a live shell and throw it out of harm's way; but we may be permitted to doubt in this case--5-second fuses take effect somewhat rapidly; the shot weighs considerably more than a hundred-weight, and is uncomfortably difficult to lay hold of. Worse than all for the probabilities of the story, fifteen pounds of powder--never more nor less--were used to every shot fired from the 11-inch pivots, the Kearsarge only opening fire from them when within eight hundred yards of the Alabama. With 15 pounds of powder and fifteen degrees of elevation, I have myself seen these 11-inch Dahlgrens throw three and a half miles; and yet we are asked to credit that, with the same charge at less than half a mile, one of the shells _fell_ upon the deck of the privateer. There are eleven marines in the crew of the Kearsarge: probably the story was made for them.