THE CIRCLE
VOLUME 10 JANUARY 2022
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In this issue: 1. The Alabama Cape Town was agog – the heights overlooking Table Bay crowded with people; the road to Green Point lined with cabs; the ladies waving their handkerchiefs, and one and all joining in the general enthusiasm. And to great excitement on this August day in 1863, in full view of Cape Town’s residents, the Alabama captured an enemy ship, the Sea Bride, just off the Camps Bay beachfront.
2. Chasing moonbows On a few special nights each year, a unique event takes place at the Victoria Falls. At full moon, visitors with permits can enter the Victoria Falls National Park after dark, to experience one of nature’s most mystical and breathtaking phenomena – the magic of a lunar rainbow, also known as a moonbow.
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1. THE ALABAMA
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Introduction South Africans remember the Alabama from an Afrikaans folk song “Daar kom die Alibama”, traditionally sung in the Cape on Tweedenuwejaar. But the Alabama’s true story, involving secret agents, spies, a naval battle, and an unsolved mystery, is better than any legend.
The American Civil War (1861 – 1865) was fought between the Northern Union states and the Southern Confederate states. The central issue in the war was the practice of slavery which the North wanted to abolish and the South, with its vast fields of cotton, fought to retain. In 1860, four million of the 32 million Americans were black slaves, almost all living in the South.
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Introduction Both sides raised volunteer and conscription armies. Four years of intense and bloody combat followed, mostly in the South. The North had a much stronger navy and were able to blockade the Southern ports. The blockade ruined the Southern economy, because the cotton crop could not be exported, thus removing the Southern states’ main source of income. After four years the North, with its superior economic resources, won the war. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure had been destroyed, especially its railroads. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. Between 620,000 and 750,000 soldiers died.
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Introduction The South fought back. They bought ships in Britain, converted them to warships, and attacked the North’s merchant supply ships in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, to cut off supplies to the Northern army. Captured enemy ships were either burnt, sunk or sold. The practice of attacking unarmed trading ships was known as “commerce raiding”. This form of legalised piracy began in the 16th century, when the English Queen Elizabeth licenced privateer Sir Francis Drake to seize Spanish treasure ships. The practice continued through to the Nazi U-boat attacks on merchant shipping in World War 1 and 2.
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Commerce raiding The Southern warship Alabama was the most successful commerce raider in maritime history, attacking the merchant ships of the North. The Alabama roamed the high seas, creating havoc wherever she went, fighting for the cause of the South during the American Civil War. Over the course of her short two-year life, the Alabama sank, burnt or captured 67 Northern merchant sailing ships, an astonishing achievement. Enemy ships' crews and passengers were not harmed, but detained until they could be placed aboard a neutral ship or ashore in a friendly or neutral port.
The secret agent Southern spy Commander James Bulloch was given the difficult task of finding badly needed ships for the Confederate States Navy. He moved to Britain, where he persuaded the Liverpool shipbuilders Laird Brothers to build the Alabama in 1862. Bulloch financed the transaction by selling black-market Southern cotton illegally to British textile mills.
The British government adopted a neutral stance in the Civil War. But there was a legal loophole. Under British neutrality law, shipbuilders could still build a ship designed to be an armed vessel, as long as it was not armed until it was in international waters. Alabama was built with reinforced decks for cannon and ammunition, hidden below the water-level. When the British government learnt of the Alabama they ordered the ship to be impounded, but the Alabama escaped to the Azores, steaming away down the Mersey while pretending the ship was conducting engine trials.
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Captain Rafael Semmes A Southern naval officer, Rafael Semmes, was appointed captain of the Alabama. Semmes was an experienced sea-captain, navigator and gunner. Captain Semmes and Commander Bulloch sailed from Liverpool to the Azores in August 1862. On their arrival, Semmes began fitting the new vessel with provisions, cannons, and 350 tons of coal, from a supply ship that Bulloch had previously arranged in advance. Following her commissioning, CSS Alabama was officially designated a commerce raider for the Southern States of America. Bulloch then returned to Liverpool to continue his secret work for the South and its Naval operations.
Voyages of havoc The Alabama covered an astonishing area of ocean in her short life. She carried out seven expeditionary raids, spanning much of the globe, with enough adventures to fill many books. She spent two months in the Eastern Atlantic, where she captured and burned ten enemy ships before continuing to New England. Sailing south, she raised havoc in the West Indies, then cruised west into the Gulf of Mexico where she sunk the Union (Northern) side-wheeler USS Hatteras off the Texas coast near Galveston. After crossing the Equator she rampaged down the coast of Brazil, taking 29 prizes, at the peak of her raiding career, before sailing on to Africa and Cape Town.
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Cape Town Alabama moored in Saldanha Bay on 29 July 1863. After checking that there were no enemy ships in Table Bay, she made a much-needed visit to Cape Town for provisions and ammunition. Although officially neutral as a British colony, many Capetonians supported the Confederate South, and people lined the slopes of Signal Hill and Lion’s Head to cheer the Alabama’s arrival.
The Alabama remained a topic of conversation for many months after she left Cape Town, heading for the French port of Cherbourg for a complete overhaul and refit. Thomas Bowler painted a watercolour of the ship leaving Table Bay. After seven expeditionary raids, Alabama had been at sea for 534 days out of 657, never visiting a single Confederate port. She boarded nearly 450 vessels, captured or burned 65 Union merchant ships, and took more than 2,000 prisoners. without a single loss of life from either prisoners or her own crew.
“Cape Town was agog – the heights overlooking Table Bay crowded with people; the road to Green Point lined with cabs; the windows of the villas at the bottom of the hill all thrown up, the ladies waving their handkerchiefs, and one and all joined in the general enthusiasm. And the great excitement of this August day in 1863, was that, in full view of Cape Town’s residents, the Alabama made short work of capturing a Northern ship, the Sea Bride, just off the Camps Bay beachfront”. Weekend Argus, August 2017.
The battle of Cherbourg The Alabama met her end after docking at the French port of Cherbourg for an extensive refit. The North’s ironclad battleship Kearsage under Captain John Winslow, raced to Cherbourg and blockaded the port. Captain Semmes was hoping to stay in port for several months but the French ordered him to leave. The Alabama bravely sailed out to take on the Kearsage. The two ships fought a sea battle while spectators watched from the shore, including the impressionist artist Manet, who created a painting of the scene.
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Kearsarge After being at sea so long, the Alabama was no match for the Kearsage’s superior guns, and was reduced to a battered hulk in an hour. One of Kearsarge’s shells tore open a midsection of Alabama's starboard waterline. Water rushed into the defeated cruiser, drowning her boilers and sinking her down by the stern to the sea bed. Of her 170 crew, the Alabama suffered 19 fatalities and 21 wounded.
Deerhound As the Alabama sank, Semmes threw his sword into the sea. This act deprived Kearsarge's commander, Captain John Winslow, of the traditional surrender ceremony where the loser hands over his sword to the victor. Many people thought Semmes’ action was dishonourable. Then, in a strange twist of fate, Captain Semmes and 41 of Alabama's officers and crew, were rescued from the sea by a British steam yacht the Deerhound, owned by John Lancaster, a British businessman. Alabama and Deerhound had been built in the same Liverpool dockyard, a few months apart. Captain Winslow watched enraged as the Deerhound steamed away to England with his enemy, Captain Semmes, and his surviving shipmates, on board.
John Lancaster’s explanation Lancaster was taking a holiday cruise aboard the Deerhound, his steel hulled steam yacht of some 190 tons. When he learned of the impending battle he ordered the Captain of the Deerhound to sail offshore so that he, his wife and his family could watch the action. The log of the Deerhound recorded the battle in full detail.
When the Deerhound found itself only two hundred yards from the sinking Alabama, Lancaster ordered the ship’s boats to be lowered. Deerhound saved forty-one of Alabama’s officers and crew, including Captain Raphael Semmes, from drowning. The Deerhound immediately left the battle scene, steaming at full speed for Cowes and Southampton, thereby avoiding any threat of recapture by Winslow and the Kearsage.
Captain Semmes and his rescued sailors from the Alabama were delivered safely ashore to England.
Witnesses The rescue was widely debated in Britain and in America. Supporters of the Northern States condemned Lancaster for his actions but public opinion in England supported him, commending his action and his courage. Lancaster received many letters of thanks, including one from James Bulloch and another from Southern President Jefferson Davis. People wondered about the true story behind the Alabama-Deerhound rescue. Witnesses came forward saying that the Deerhound was berthed in Cherbourg during the Alabama's visit. Some said that Lancaster went aboard Alabama the day before the battle and met with Captain Semmes for two hours. Nothing was ever proved, but some suspected that secret agent James Bulloch had arranged the rescue.
The Alabama claims After the war the new government of the United States sued the United Kingdom, demanding payment for the attacks on Northern Union merchant ships by Southern Confederate commerce raiders built in British shipyards during the American civil war. The claims focused chiefly on the most famous of these raiders, the CSS Alabama. The international arbitrators ruled in favour of the Americans. In 1872, Britain settled the dispute by paying the United States $15.5 million. This action led to a treaty that restored friendly relations between Britain and the United States. The arbitration established a new legal precedent, which assisted in codifying international law.
Rafael Semmes From England, Semmes made his way back to America via Cuba and the Texas gulf coast. The U.S. imprisoned Semmes after the war, then released him on parole. After his release, he worked as a professor of literature at Louisiana State Seminary, as a county judge, and then as a newspaper editor. He defended his actions at sea and the political actions of the southern states, in his 1869 book Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, a defence of the South’s lost cause. In 1871 the citizens of Mobile bought Semmes a home which became known as Raphael Semmes House. It remained his residence until his death in 1877. Today it belongs to the First Baptist Church of Mobile.
James Bulloch As a Confederate spy, James Bulloch was excluded from the general amnesty that the new US government approved after the Civil War. He remained in Liverpool, where he worked as a cotton importer and broker.
Bulloch died in Liverpool in 1901, at the age of 77. His headstone in Liverpool’s Toxteth Park cemetery carries the inscription: "An American by birth, an Englishman by choice".
Finding the Alabama One hundred and twenty years after the Alabama was sunk, a French Navy minesweeper found a wreck in 200 feet of water off Cherbourg. The French Navy later confirmed that the wreck was the Alabama. Although Alabama lies within French territorial waters, the United States government has claimed ownership of the wreck as a spoil of war. In 2002 French and American archaeologists dived the site and recovered various objects, including the ship’s bell. These items are on display at La Cité de la Mer in France, the Mobile Museum in Alabama, and the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington DC.
Life changer Then in 1923, now aged forty-one, Hopper's life changed forever when he met and married Josephine Nivison, a fellow artist.
2. CHASING MOONBOWS
Jo provided the stability and support he needed to actualise his artistic genius.
She shared his reclusive lifestyle, managed his career and his interviews, was his primary model, his muse and his life companion.
Hopper was able to live the stable and structured life he needed. He continued creating his unique and personal paintings for another forty years.
Introduction The Victoria Falls is a spectacular place. At the height of the rainy season, five hundred million cubic meters of water plummet over the edge every minute, over a width of nearly two kilometres, into the gorge a hundred meters below. You can hear the roar of the falling water from the airport 40 kilometres away.
On a wind-free day during high-water season, a cloud of mist floats high above the falls and the column of spray can be seen from the air as you come in to land.
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The Victoria Falls At a width of 1708m and height of 108m, it is the largest waterfall on Earth. The Angel Falls in Venezuela are higher but not wider. It’s 1.5 times wider than, and double the height of, Niagara Falls with (unlike Niagara’s urban sprawl), scenic national parks on either side. When David Livingstone first laid eyes on the Falls in 1855, little did he know that it would be confirmed as the world’s largest waterfall, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world, and a World Heritage Site. The falls are ancient, massive, brooding, uniquely African.
Victoria Falls is unashamedly a tourist town. There are many hotels and lodges, and lots to do. Visitors can enjoy game viewing, white water rafting, bungy jumping and helicopter rides. Evening cruises on the river above the falls are also popular. I’ve visited Victoria Falls five times in my life, and I hope to go again.
Moonbows In certain months a little-known unique event occurs at the Victoria Falls that most visitors never hear about. The National Parks around the Falls remain open at full moon, to showcase one of nature’s most mystical, breath-taking phenomena – the magic of a lunar rainbow, or moonbow. Moonbows are best viewed in the early hours of the moonrise, before the moon climbs too high in the sky. The Victoria Falls rainforest reserve provides guided night tours the night before, during and one night after the full moon, to maximise the chances of seeing a fully-fledged lunar rainbow. On cloudy evenings, these tours are cancelled.
The path along the edge of the mist-soaked rain forest provides the visitor prepared to brave the spray, with an unparalleled series of views of the Falls. At night inside the National Park, in the pitch darkness, the moonbow shining above you is almost supernatural.
What is it? A Lunar rainbow or moonbow is produced by sunlight reflected off the surface of the moon, refracting in turn through moisture in the air. At Victoria Falls, refracted water particles are always present in the spray which reaches up 1000 metres above the falls. When the full moon is bright enough to have its light reflected through this spray, a beautiful dancing rainbow glistens in the night sky. It is a magical event. Faint, delicate, and absolutely breath-taking, lunar rainbows are one of nature’s greatest creative acts.
When to go The best moonbow viewing occurs when the moon is full and at its brightest, the skies are clear of cloud, the moon is low in the sky and the sky is very dark. The Victoria Falls is one of the few places on earth where these moonbow conditions occur regularly and can be easily accessed.
The most spectacular lunar rainbows are seen in Victoria Fall’s flooding months, between April and August, when the falls are full and the sky is normally clear.
In certain rare months the moon is positioned so that the moonlight shines directly down the gorge. You are then able to witness a totally unique phenomenon, a huge circular lunar rainbow unlikely to be seen anywhere else in the world.
As the night moves on, the moonbows lower deeper into the gorge, casting their greatest glimpse of colour.
A lunar rainbow On the Zambian side of the Falls, when the moon rises , you are able to view the lunar rainbow over the aptly named Rainbow Falls. From inside the National Park, in the night darkness, the moonbow is atmospheric, and almost otherworldly. To view this unique African phenomenon is one of life’s great experiences.
The Circle is a private limited circulation magazine produced as a retirement hobby for family and friends, past clients, and fellow Midstreamers. The magazine is distributed monthly free of charge.
This month we stayed for two nights at Thanks to my friend Johan vaninder Westhuizen Walkersons Country Estate Dullstroom for suggesting the Alabama article. Photographs in this issue have been sourced from Google images, and my personal collection. Information collated from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia, the Cape Argus, and the Museum of Mobile, Alabama.
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