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Updated: May 16, 2025
Very hard gales, with some heavy showers of Rain, the most part of these 24 Hours, which brought us under our two Courses, Broke one of our Main Topmast phuttock Plates, washed overboard a small Boat belonging to the Boatswain, and drowned between 3 and 4 Dozen of our Poultry, which was worst of all. Towards Noon it moderated, so that we could bear our Maintopsail close Reefd.
The northern shores of Jamaica, however, off which the Alabama was now lying, standing along the coast, under easy sail during the day, and at night laying her maintopsail to the mast, appeared to be but little frequented by vessels of any kind, and the cruiser was permitted to carry on her repairs without a single interruption in the way of either a chase, or a call to quarters.
Latitude, by observation, 38 degrees 56 minutes South; Longitude made from Cape Farewell 4 degrees 36 minutes West. Wednesday, 4th. Had a steady brisk Gale at South-South-West with some flying showers of rain and large hollow Sea from the Southward. In the P.M. unbent the Maintopsail to repair, and brought another to the Yard and set it close reefed.
The barque was then brought to the wind on the port tack under the lower maintopsail, and she lay-to pretty well; but the wind kept on veering and beating with frequent squalls from sou'-sou'-west to west, so that at noon a strong gale prevailed again fiercer than before.
Under these unhappy conditions the "Macedonian" reached within half musket-shot, which was scarcely the ideal close action of the day; but by that time she had lost her mizzen-topmast, mainyard, and maintopsail, most of her standing rigging was shot away, the lower masts badly wounded, and almost all her carronade battery, the principal reliance for close action, was disabled.
So, fearing that we might get pooped, we now furled the foretopsail and lay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thus awaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not then seem possible that anything could be worse!
When "maintopsail haul!" was given through the trumpet, he pulled at this brace with such heartiness and good will, that he flattered himself he would gain the approval of the grim captain himself; but something happened to be in the way aloft, when the yards swung round, and a little confusion ensued. With anger on his brow. Captain Snipes came forward to see what occasioned it.
The upper limb of the red sun was just touching the line of water when the man in the foretop hailed the deck. "Wreck on weather bow, sir!" he bawled. My heart gave a great jump and I looked at Chips. Johnson made a movement with his hand as if holding a knife and went to the weather rail and looked over. "Weather maintopsail brace!" came the call from Trunnell.
Item, if the fleet should happen to be scattered by weather, or other mishap, then so soon as one shall descry another, to hoise both topsails twice, if the weather will serve, and to strike them twice again; but if the weather serve not, then to hoise the maintopsail twice, and forthwith to strike it twice again.
Some one called, "Ay, ay," and we rolled out again wearily all except Bill Hayden whose fitful tossing seemed to have settled at last into deep sleep. Coming on deck, we found the ship scudding under close-reefed maintopsail and reefed foresail, with the wind on her larboard quarter.
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