organization that covers the entire Southern States, composed of soldiers, sailors, and other Confederates. The objects of this association are purely benevolent and non-political, and it is designed to promote good-fellowship among old soldiers everywhere. General Evans is engaging his BRIGADIER-GENERAL CLEMENT A. EVANS. division in the work of collecting and preserving the history of his State during the Civil War, and is carefully protecting it from being entangled in politics. The relations between the Confederate associations in Georgia and the "boys in blue" are particularly pleasant. It is a significant fact that a man possessing broad national views should have been selected as the head of the United Confederate Veterans in the great State of Georgia. Under his wise and temperate leadership the last vestiges of bitterness are sure to pass away, while the fraternal spirit which should, and in a large measure does, fill the hearts of all the survivors of the Civil War, North and South, will be deepened and intensified as the years roll by. General Evans rarely alludes to his military career, and always in terms of self-depreciation. Like thousands of other thoughtful, earnest men he cast his fortunes with his State in 1861, believing that in so doing he was fulfilling his duty and acting the part of a true patriot. That he had the courage of his convictions his record on half a hundred battle-fields fully proves; and that he honestly accepted the legitimate results of the war, and at its close became not alone a Georgian but a loyal citizen of the great republic, has been amply shown by his life and deeds thereafter. Nearly twenty years ago, in the presence of a large audience in Augusta, he spoke these words, which reflect the real feeling of the general and his followers: "But the Confederacy has expired. We have buried it. We do not intend to exhume its remains. We were utterly defeated, but we have dismissed all our resentments. Sadly we furled the cross of stars which we followed through many storms of shot and shell; but with the true hand of Southern honor we take the staff that holds the flag of stars and stripes." General Evans enjoys the thorough respect and esteem of his fellows. The portrait accompanying was engraved from a recent photograph. TOW that the Kearsarge has gone to pieces on Roncador Reef, more than half the people of this nation feel a sensation as of the loss of an old and dear friend. Nations are sentimental to some degree, and have their pets, as do individuals. The loss of one of our expensive new white cruisers would hardly have been felt so keenly as is the destruction of the homely old corvette, whose chief value consisted of a certain halo that hung around the name. It was, in fact, the name and the memory that our people cherished; for the Kearsarge of late years was quite a different craft from the Kearsarge of 1864, and her days of practical value were nearly numbered. When the Kearsarge was launched at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, navy yard, on September 11, 1861, she was described as a thirdrate screw sloop of 1031 tons, built of white oak; length, 201 feet 4 inches; breadth, 33 feet 10 inches; maximum speed, 14 knots; ordinary sea speed, 8 to 11 knots. She was completed in January, 1862, at a total cost of $272,515. The Oneida, Wachusett, and Tuscarora belonged to the same class. The Kearsarge of 1864 carried seven guns, of which two were of eleven-inch calibre and very formidable as ordnance was in those days. At the time of her wreck the corvette mounted four nine-inch smooth bores, two eight-inch muzzle-loading rifles, and one sixtypounder breech-loading rifle in her main battery; one three-inch howitzer and one Gatling in her secondary battery. The eleven-inch guns which won renown in 1864 were long ago removed; and the whole vessel had been rebuilt and somewhat remodeled, remaining, however, a warship of the ancient pattern, of little use in these days of steel. The chief event in the history of the Kearsarge was her historic duel with the Alabama, off Cherbourg, France, in 1864. There are two reasons why this combat has remained a subject of continual interest and a source of national pride. In the first place, it is the only naval duel, in which an American warship was one of the principals, that has occurred since the gallant days of 1812-1815. The operations of fleets and squadrons never possess the romantic interest that has always attached to a battle to the death between two ships of fairly equal strength. Secondly, while the Alabama fought under the Confederate flag, and her officers were Americans, she was built, armed, and equipped by England; most of her seamen and nearly all her gunners were British, and the fight was, in reality, a combat between American and British sailors, in which America, as usual, came out ahead. In view of these facts, the whole Nation may, and should, join in honoring the memory of the gallant old corvette and the invincible American sailors who brought the British privateer to grief. The Kearsarge went into commission in January, 1862, and was at once despatched under command of Captain Charles W. Pickering, on a search for the privateer Sumter. This vessel was found in the port of Algeciras, across the bay from Gibraltar. Captain Pickering anchored outside the port and lay in wait for his victim, but the commander of the Sumter wisely remained quietly in the neutral port. So matters stood until September 29, 1862, when word came that the Alabama was cruising off the Azores and playing havoc with American vessels. Captain Pickering put off in search of the Alabama, but when he reached the Azores the Alabama had sailed for parts unknown; so he returned to the Sumter. Not long thereafter the latter was sold by the Confederate authorities as she lay in port, so the blockade was raised. It was not until nearly two years later that the Kearsarge again caught up with the Alabama. She was then commanded by Captain John A. Winslow, and found the Alabama under command of Captain Raphael Semmes, in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the privateer had come for the purpose of refitting and repairing. Winslow anchored off Cherbourg early in June, and awaited the appearance of his adversary. Up to this time the Alabama had succeeded in avoiding a collision with armed vessels, excepting when she fought and sank the Hatteras, but she had destroyed merchantmen and merchandise worth some $15,000,000, and her name was a household word everywhere. In point of size and armament there was little difference between her and the Kearsarge. The latter was of 1031 tons and the Alabama 1150 tons; the privateer carried eight guns, while the corvette had seven; but two of the latter were of larger calibre than any on board the Alabama. In point of speed they were well matched, but the Kearsarge had a crew of some 165 men, while the Alabama had only 150. It must be remembered, however, that while the combat occurred in neutral waters, the surroundings were all favorable to the Alabama, while Captain Winslow and his men were not only cut off from all hope of assistance, but were in the midst and practically in the waters of nations whose sympathies were wholly with his enemy. This deed of Winslow and his brave American tars, in point of heroic bravery, ranks with the best achievements of Perry, Decatur, and John Paul Jones. On the other hand, Captain Semmes showed true American grit. Doubtless he hoped to win the victory, but he must have known that the chances were not at all in his favor. As Americans we must all be glad that he did not show the white feather in the presence of the British, who, be it always remembered, loved the Confederacy simply and only because it touched their purse-strings and promised revenge for Yorktown, Lake Erie, and New Orleans. This truthful view of the matter will hardly escape our Southern brethren of to-day, though it may not have been quite apparent thirty years ago. On the 14th of June, 1864, Captain Semmes requested Captain Winslow, through the American consul at Cherbourg, to remain near at hand for a few days, until he could complete his arrangements for coming out and fighting him. This bold defiance required no reply, for Winslow had already sent a silent challenge when he dropped anchor outside the harbor. The next four days were spent by Captain Semmes in active preparation for the conflict, and about ten o'clock on Sunday morning, June 19, 1864, the Alabama steamed out of the harbor, attended by the French warship Couronne, the latter remaining with the privateer until she reached the limits of French waters and entered the high seas. At a respectful distance followed the English steam yacht Deerhound, having on board her owner, Mr. Lancaster, and some other English friends of Captain Semmes. Winslow immediately put out to sea, being determined that no question should arise as to the neutrality of the fighting place, and probably to draw his adversary as far as possible from friendly shores. Reaching a point about seven miles from shore, the Kearsarge came suddenly about, her decks cleared for action and her guns pivoted to starboard, and bore down upon the Alabama. Coming within about a mile, the latter opened fire, which was not returned by Winslow, who steered his vessel directly down upon the enemy, and received three broadsides in silence and with little if any damage. When within 1000 yards Winslow opened with his starboard battery, and planted a solid shot in the Alabama's frame. Then the battle raged furiously for an hour. The British gunners on the privateer served their pieces rapidly, but with poor judgment and poorer aim; the sturdy Americans fired with deliberation and deadly precision. The vessels circled round and round each other, Winslow vainly attempting to secure a position where he could rake his adversary fore and aft with the terrible bolts from his eleven-inch guns. This effort, with Semmes' counter-effort to avoid it, explains the rotary course of both ships, and aided by the powerful current, the combatants gradually drew nearer the shore, until they came within five miles of the French coast. About noon, Captain Semmes, finding that the rudder of his ship was becoming unmanageable and that the vessel was rapidly filling, set all sail and headed for the coast, hoping to reach neutral waters and protection. The Kearsarge, still in good form and not much damaged, frustrated this design by running across the bows of the Alabama, where she could rake the doomed craft with her heavy guns. At this point the Alabama struck her colors, and ran up a white flag in token of surrender. Two guns were fired by the Alabama after Winslow had ceased firing in obedience to the signal of surrender, and Winslow reopened hostilities during the few moments that elapsed before the officer, despatched by Captain Semmes for the purpose, reached the Kearsarge and formally surrendered the privateer. This unfortunate circumstance may be readily understood and partially excused when we consider the condition in which the Alabama was at that time, and the inevitable confusion on board the sinking ship. It is certain that Captain Semmes did not give up the ship" until her fate was unquestionably sealed, and that Captain Winslow proposed to take no chances of the battered wreck escaping into neutral waters. At twenty minutes past twelve, while the Kearsarge was still several hundred yards from her adversary, the Alabama, with a great plunge by the stern, her bow rising high above the water, went down in forty fathoms. Her crew clung to boxes, spars, and other floating wreckage, drifting helplessly on the sea. Two of the boats of the Kearsarge, which remained uninjured, were set to pick up the drowning men, and the Deerhound coming within hail, Captain Winslow requested her master to aid him in the work of rescue. The Deerhound picked up Captain Semmes and several of his officers and seamen, and made off for the English coast. Captain Winslow was loath to recognize this exhibition of British treachery, and was too busy with his humane work to give chase until the Deerhound was well out of reach. With the assistance of two French pilot boats the survivors were picked up, and about three o'clock the Kearsarge started for Cherbourg, with seventy pisoners on board. The success of the Kearsarge was undoubtedly due to the intelligence and bravery of her officers and crew. Her guns were well served, while much of the Alabama's fire was wasted. Of the 370 shots fired by the Alabama, only twentyeight hit the Kearsarge and only fourteen "hulled " her. As we have already remarked, the gunners on the Kearsarge were Americans, and those on the Alabama were chiefly, if not entirely, British. Much stress has been laid upon the fact that portions of the Kearsarge's sides were protected with armor. The truth is that her coal-bunkers which, from their position, normally afforded a partial protection to her engines and boilers when full, were at this time empty, and the "armament" consisted simply of sheet cables stopped from her upper works and covered with inch boards, affording no better protection than would the coal-bunkers had they been filled, which they were not. The Alabama's bunkers were full. I may add that only three shots from the Alabama struck the "armor"; two were small missiles that could not have done much harm, and the third passed through and out on the other side. It was not this improvised chain-armor that gave Winslow a victory; and it may be questioned whether he would not have been compelled to make an even harder struggle for his prize had the rank and file of both contesting forces been composed of men of true American nerve and valor, such as those who piled the fields of Gettysburg and Chickamauga with heaps of mingied blue and gray. The news of this splendid victory filled the North with enthusiasm, and gave the name of "Kearsarge" a place of high honor and reverence. The effect in the South was naturally different at the time; but now that it is all over, and it has been made plain that the triumph of the Kearsarge was an important link in the chain of |