For about four or five miles the two vessels kept silently upon their course, until well beyond all possibility of dispute as to the too well-remembered maritime league of neutrality.  Then as four bells sounded from the forecastle the crew were summoned aft, all heads were bared, and stepping in full uniform on to the quarter-deck, Captain Semmes proceeded in a voice clear and firm, but not altogether free from emotion, to read aloud to the assembled ships his commission from the President as Commander of the Confederate States Steam Sloop, ALABAMA.

As he proceeded, the English flag which had been carried by the vessel during her days of incognito, was slowly lowered to the deck, and three little black balls might be seen wriggling their way swiftly but cautiously to the mastheads and mizen peak of the Alabama.  Boom! goes the starboard forecastle gun as the reading is ended.  The three black balls are “broken out,” the long pendant uncurls itself at the main, the red cross of St. George flutters at the fore, and the pure white ensign of the Confederacy, with its starry blue cross upon the red ground of the corner, floats gracefully from the peak, as the little band breaks into the dashing strains of “Dixie,” and three ringing cheers peal out over the sparkling sea.

So far all had gone well and hopefully, and the enthusiasm of the moment had brought a flush to the cheek and a dimness to the eye of many a weather-beaten tar among the little crew.  But enthusiasm is fleeting in these practical days, and the sound of the last cheer had scarcely died away upon the summer breeze ere the scene changed, and the true nineteenth century spirit resumed its sway.  The ceremony of hoisting the flag and taking command completed, Captain Semmes called all hands aft upon the quarter-deck, and addressed them as he had previously addressed the crew of the Bahama, inviting them to ship with him in the Alabama for the cruise.

The address is described by those who listened to it as most spirited and effective.  It frankly avowed that the principal object of the Alabama was to cripple the commerce of the enemy.  But this would not be her only aim.  Prudence was essential, and he was not to fight a fifty-gun ship, but when the opportunity offered of engaging on anything like equal terms, the Alabama would be prompt enough to accept the combat.  “Let me once see you,” he said, in conclusion, “proficient in the use of your weapons, and trust me for very soon giving you an opportunity to show the world of what metal you are made.”

The address was greeted with an unanimous burst of cheers, and then came the anxious moment.  “It may be supposed,” writes Captain Semmes, in recording the events of that memorable day, “that I was very nervous about the success of this operation, as the management of the ship at sea absolutely depended upon it.”  And of this fact the men were at least as fully aware as himself.  Nor had they