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By tk Civil War P 66. broadside, proving faster than Semmes had expected. Both ships exchanged broadsides from ranges between 800/1,300 yards, and Semmes could not escape outside the range of Winslow's heavy guns, nor could he get close enough to board the enemy, seven times the two protagonists circled each other, a three knot current slowly sending them westward. After 15 minutes, Semmes saw his gunners land a shell in Kearsarge's stem post, but it failed to explode, such is the luck in battle, this shell should have meant the end of the Union ship, but for want of an effective percussion cap, the enemy survived, on such a slender thread may the outcome of a battle hinge. Apparently, Kearsarge had an unseen armour of chain mail fitted around her midships area to give added protection to this vital section of her hull, and it was doing the job intended. The shells from Alabama that landed, but did not explode, were proving crucial in this battle, meantime, the 11 inch shells from the Union ship were having a devastating effect, the Confederate's colours were shot away, but Lieutenant Kell soon ran up a new flag at the mizzen. Water was rushing into Alabama through the shell hole at her waterline, and she began to list, and was losing this fight, Semmes ordered Kell to make sail for the coast as soon as the bows swung in that direction. But Winslow anticipated this run for the safety of international waters, and quicky placed his ship between Alabama and freedom, as Kell told his Captain that the ship would only stay afloat for another 10 minutes. Semmes who was wounded, ordered Kell to : " Then, Sir, cease firing, shorten sail, and haul down the colours. It will never do in this nineteenth century for us to go down and the decks covered with gallant wounded." Kell carried out these orders, but Kearsarge fired another five more shots after the colours had been struck, thinking Semmes was up to some trick. A white flag raised at Alabama's stern finally brought the slaughter to an end, with his ship sinking a boat was sent off to the Union ship asking them to save the wounded, but to no avail, no aid was coming from that direction. Kell, of necessity, loaded as many wounded as practicable into the least damaged of his boats and sent them with Surgeon Galt, Fullam, and Lieutenant Wilson to the Union ship. Now Semmes, in his final command, told Kell to order: "Abandon Ship! and all hands to save themselves." The remaining crew threw themselves over the side into the cold English Channel, Civil War P 67. Kell and Semmes the last to leave the stricken ship. Kell clutching a grating, grabbed his wounded Captain seeking in vain the safety of a lifeboat, later he wrote:
In less than an hour and a half, Alabama had reached the end of her quite spectacular career, Lieutenant Sinclair, also in the water watched her sink in 40 fathoms ( 240 feet ): " The Alabama's final plunge was a remarkable freak, and witnessed by O'Brien and self about one hundred yards off. She shot up out of the water bow first, and descended on the same line, carrying away with her plunge two of her masts, and making a whirlpool of considerable size and strength." During the fight, the English Yacht Deerhound, nearby to watch the battle had stood off safely to windward, at 1230 ( 12.30 PM ) seeing no rescue attempt was in train from Kearsarge, steamed over to the Union vessel, here, they were frantically trying to repair their boats, all damaged in the scrap. Winslow shouted down to the owner John Lancaster: "For God's sake, do what you can to save them!" Deerhound scurried off to the rescue, lowering her boats, sifting through the debris to rescue whoever they could find. The yacht's chief steward, recognising Semmes who he had met earlier at Gibraltar, hauled him aboard more dead than alive, Kell was also picked up, delighted to find his Captain not dead as he had assumed. 42 men were picked up by Deerhound's two small boats, and Kearsarge finally collected another 70, two French Pilot boats picked up 15 men. John Lancaster asked Semmes where he wanted to be landed, without any hesitation, he said: "I am under English colours, the sooner you land me on English soil the better." Winslow paroled and released most of his captures, retaining but four officers and some of the wounded, later he was criticized for paroling any of them , and the Union Secretary of the Navy was most irate that Semmes and the principal officers had escaped. But the President saw fit to promote Winslow to the rank of Commodore for his defeat, at long last, of the dreaded Rebel Raider, Alabama. The Union ship with her larger calibre of gun fired 173 times, whilst Alabama used her guns 370 times, she had nine killed in the battle, and another 12 drowned, on the other side of the coin, Kearsarge had only 3 wounded, one of whom later died. Observers on shore, were quick to note that shells from the Union ship emitted a
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