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THE NAREATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 BLOCIADE-HUNNER 
 
 BY 
 
 J. WILKINSON, 
 
 CAPTAIN IN THE LATE CONFEDERATE STATES NAVY. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 SHELDON & COMPANY, 
 
 8 MURRAY STREET. 
 
 1S77. 
 

 Copyright, 
 SHELDON & COMPANY. 
 
 isrr. 
 
/2Y 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 T N deference to the judgment of two or three 
 -^ literary friends, I have entitled this, my first 
 attempt at authorship, " The Narrative of a Block- 
 ade-runner." They do not agree with Shakspeare 
 that " a rose by any other name would smell as 
 sweet," to the reading public; nor that it is 
 always advisable to call a thing by its proper 
 name. It will be seen, however, by any reader 
 who has the patience to peruse the work, that it 
 embraces a wider scope than its title would imply. 
 I have endeavored to give a full account of the 
 passage by the U. S. fleet of the forts below New 
 Orleans; and to contribute some facts that will 
 probably settle the controversy, in the judgment 
 of the reader, as to the real captors of that city. 
 " Honor to whom honor is due." 
 
 It will be seen that I have been favored with 
 access to Commodore Mitchell's official report of 
 that conflict, a document never published. The 
 
6 PKEFACE. 
 
 inforination derived from it, added to facts and 
 circumstances coming under my personal obser- 
 vation, furnishes the means of laying before the 
 public an account of that action from a new point 
 of view. 
 
 In bearing testimony to the kind and humane 
 treatment of the prisoners of war at Fort Warren, 
 I perform a most grateful duty. It was my good 
 fortune to be captured and held a prisoner, before 
 the " retaliatory " measures were adopted by the 
 United States Government. 
 
 I have contributed some new, and, I hope, in- 
 teresting facts about the manner in which block- 
 ade running was conducted. 
 
 I cannot do better than furnish the following 
 extract from a literary friend's letter to me in ref- 
 erence to this effort of mine. " I am particularly 
 glad, believing as I do, that such a volume will 
 help to the production of that state of mind, North 
 and South, which every good man wishes to see 
 grow. It is only necessary that we shall all fall 
 into the habit of talking and writing about war 
 matters without feeling ; that we shall forgot the 
 bitterness of the conflict in our interest in its his- 
 tory ; and if you or I can amuse Northern readers, 
 or entertain them with our recollections, we shall 
 
PKEFACE. / 
 
 certainly leave them in a pleasanter and better 
 state of mind than we found them in." 
 
 I should be happy to believe that I had con- 
 tributed, in ever so small a degree, to this consum- 
 mation so devoutly to be wished for. Bat I 
 would make no sacrifice of principle nor of interest 
 to achieve this end. 
 
 While accepting the situation consequent upon 
 the unsuccessful appeal to arms, the Southern 
 people do not stultify themselves by professing 
 to renounce their conviction of their right and 
 duty in having responded to the call to defend 
 their respective States from invasion. 
 
 But they believe that the war was conducted 
 by the Confederate Government in a spirit of hu- 
 manity. Conceiving it to be the duty of every 
 southern man to submit any testimony in his pos- 
 session relating to this subject, and especially to 
 the treatment of prisoners of war, I have quoted 
 some passages from a " Yindication of the Con- 
 federacy against the charge of Cruelty to Prison- 
 ers." This work was recently published by the 
 Southern Historical Society, and was compiled by 
 the Eev. J. Wm. Jones, D.D., author of " Per- 
 sonal Reminiscences of Gen. R. E. Lee." The 
 candid and dispassionate student of Historj^, in 
 
8 PEEFACE. 
 
 seeking after the truth, should read this work be- 
 fore forming a judgment upon this point, which 
 has, perhaps, caused more bitter resentments 
 among the Northern people than all the other 
 deplorable events of our civil strife combined. 
 
 WooDSiDE, Amelia Co., Va., Oct. 15th, 1876. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Secession of Virginia. — Service at Fort Powhatan. — Vol- 
 unteers at th« Big Guns. — " Wide Awake " Clubs. 
 — Want of preparation in Virginia. — Fort Powhatan 
 abandoned. — Service at Acquia Creek. — The "Ti- 
 gers." — Coal Mining on the Potomac 15 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Ordered to New Orleans. — The Naval Fleet there. — 
 The "River Defence" Squadron. — The iron-clad 
 " Louisiana." — Difficulty in managing the Fleet. — 
 Going down the River. — Want of concert. — Admiral 
 Farragut. — Our crew 29 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 The 24th April.— Passage of the United States Fleet.— 
 After the Storm. — The " River Defence " boats. — 
 The Refuge in the Bayou. — Surrender of the Forts. 
 — Extracts from Commodore Mitchell's official Re- 
 port. — Council of War. — Destruction of the " Lou- 
 isiana." — Our Surrender. — General B. F. Butler. — 
 Transferred to the United States Frigate " Col- 
 orado." 44 
 
10 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FAGS 
 
 Transferred to the " Rhode Island." — Meeting with an 
 old Friend. — Arrival at Fort Warren. — Treatment 
 there. — Correspondence, and its Result. — Pri-son 
 Life. — Exchanged. — The Crew at quarters. — Burial 
 of the " Unknown." 60 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Brief Stay at Home. — Report to the War Department. 
 — Instructions to go abroad. — The Blockade- runner 
 "Kate." — Voyage to Nassau. — Yellow Fever. — The 
 Undertaker. — Our Skipper " Captain Dick." — The 
 Major sick. — A Story for the Marines. — Arrival at 
 Cardenas. — The Coolies. — Arrival at Havana. — The 
 American Consul and I. — The Pirate Marti. — The 
 Spanish Steamer. — Pretty Harbors. — Captain Fry. 83 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 San Domingo. — The Island of Hayti and its Inhabitants. 
 — St. Thomas. — General Santa Anna. — The Mail 
 Steamer Atrato. — Arrival at Southampton. — Eng- 
 lish Scenery. — The Major Fails. — The Giraffe pur- 
 chased. — A Claim against the Confederate Govern- 
 ment. — The Hon J. M. Mason. — Credit of the Con- 
 federate Government abroad. — An Improper Agent. 
 — Captain Bullock. — The Giraffe ready for Sea. — 
 Glasgow. — Our Last Dinner. — Our Scotch Landlady 
 and Head Waiter. — We part with the Major. — Hot 
 Punch and Scotch Babies. — A Reminiscence 100 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Voyage to Madeira. — A Capital Sea-boat. — The Island 
 Ponies. — Mr. B. and his daughters. — Voyage to St. 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 PASE 
 
 John's, Porto Rico. —Run across the Bahama Banks. 
 Nassau during the War. — High Wages and Low 
 Characters. — Crew re-shipped. — Failure to enter 
 Charleston. — The " Lump." — A Narrow Escape. — 
 The Scotch Lithographers and their work. — Cross- 
 ing the Bar. — Transfer of the Giraffe to the Confed- 
 erate Government. — She hecomos the " R. E. Lee." 
 — The Major fulfills his promise, but fails in his 
 object 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Dyer and the Sailing Captain. — First Voyage to Nas 
 sau. — Major Ficklen and the Two Young Lieuten- 
 ants. — Our Old Skipper "Captain Dick." — Bermu- 
 da. — The Races there and elsewhere. — Description 
 of Bermuda. — Moore, the Poet, and his Rival Mr. 
 Tucker. — Tame Fish. — The Naval Station. — Col. 
 B.'s Accident 136 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 We sail for Wilmington. — Thick Weather on the Coast. 
 — Anchored among the Blockading Fleet. — The 
 " Mound." — Running the Blockade by Moonlight. — 
 A Device to mislead the Enemy. — The man Hester. 149 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Confederate States Steamer " Florida." — Short 
 Supply of Coal. — The " Florida's" Decks. — Tea and 
 Costly China. — Narrow Escape from Capture. — 
 Miss Lucy G. — Arrival at Bermuda. — Our unevent- 
 ful Trip inward. — The Johnson's Island Expedition. 
 — Another Narrow Escape. — " Pretty Shooting." — 
 Arrival at Halifax, N.S 159 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PASS 
 
 The Lee Captured at Last. — Sandy Keith alias Thom- 
 assen. — Recruiting in the British Provinces for the 
 United States Army. — Failure of the Expedition. — 
 Return to Bermuda 173 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 Take Command of the " Whisper." — High Rates of 
 Freight. — Confederate Money and Sterling Ex- 
 change. — An Investment in Cotton. — The Ill-fated 
 Ironclad. — The Point Lookout Expedition and its 
 Failure. — A Faithful Servant and a Narrow Escape. 
 — Futile Projects. — Wilmington during the War. — 
 Light Houses reestablished. — Gloomy Prospects of 
 the South , 189 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Cruise of the Chickamauga. — Mr. Mallory's inefficiency. 
 — Troubles in Bermuda. — The Three Wrecks. — End 
 of the cruise 309 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Last Summons to Richmond. — Demoralization. — The 
 Chameleon. — More trouble in Bermuda. — Another 
 Narrow Escape. — Fall of Fort Fisher. — Maffit's Es- 
 cape, and Captain S.'s Capture. — Another Hard 
 Chase. — Failure to enter Charleston. — Return to 
 Nassau 225 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Sad News via New York. — Consternation among Specu- 
 lators in Nassau. — Departure from Nassau via Ber- 
 muda. — Arrival at Liverpool. — The End 244 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 BLOCKADE-RUNNER 
 
NAREATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 BLO CK ADE-RUNNER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Secession of Virginia. — Service at Fort Powhatan. — Volun- 
 teers at the Big Guns. — " Wide Awake " Clubs. — Want 
 of preparation in Virginia. — Fort Powhatan abandoned. 
 — Service at Acquia Creek. — The "Tigers." — Coal Min- 
 ing on the Potomac, 
 
 "TTTHEN the State of Yirginia seceded from 
 ^^ the Union, on the 17th day of April, 1861, 
 most of her citizens, belonging to the United 
 States Navy, resigned their commissions, and 
 offered their services to the State of their birth. 
 Many of them had meddled so little with politics 
 as never even to have casta vote; but having been 
 educated in the belief that their allegiance was 
 due to their State, they did not hesitate to act as 
 honor and patriotism seemed to demand. They 
 were compelled to choose whether they would aid 
 
16 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 in subjugating their State, or in defending it against 
 invasion ; for it was already evident that coercion 
 would be used by the General Government, and 
 that war was inevitable. In reply to the accusa- 
 tion of perjury in breaking their oath of allegi- 
 ance, since brought against the officers of the 
 Army and Navy who resigned their commissions 
 to render aid to the South, it need only be stated 
 that, in their belief, the resignation of their com- 
 missions absolved them from any special obliga- 
 tion. They then occupied the same position 
 towards the Government as other classes of citi- 
 zens. But this charge was never brought against 
 them till the war was ended. The resignation of 
 their commissions was accepted when their pur- 
 pose was well known. As to the charge of in- 
 gratitude, they reply, their respective States had 
 contributed their full share towards the expenses 
 of the General Government, acting as their dis- 
 bursing agent ; and when these States withdrew 
 from the Union, their citizens belonging to the 
 two branches of the public service did not, and do 
 not, consider themselves amenable to this charge 
 for abandoning their official positions to cast their 
 lot with their kindred and friends. But yielding 
 as they did to necessity, it was nevertheless a 
 
SERVICE AT FORT POWHATAN. 17 
 
 painful act to separate themselves from compan- 
 ions with whom they had been long and inti- 
 mately associated, and from the flag under which 
 they had been proud to serve. 
 
 During the brief interval which elapsed be- 
 tween the act of secession and the admission of 
 the State into the Confederacy, the Yirginia Army 
 and I^avy were organized ; and all of the naval 
 officers who had tendered their services received 
 commissions in the Yirginia, and afterward in the 
 Confederate Kavy ; but as there were very few 
 vessels in commission, the greater portion of these 
 officers were ordered to shore batteries. My first 
 experience was at Fort Powhatan, an earthwork 
 situated on James River a short distance below 
 City Point, and carrying six or eight guns 
 mounted on ships' carriages, which had been 
 transported from the Norfolk Navy-yard. " Grim 
 visaged war " had not shown his " wrinkled front " 
 in those fair portions of the land ; and our time 
 was chiefly spent in drilling the volunteers at the 
 big guns, and visiting the hospitable families in 
 the neighborhood ; but all of us were soon to be 
 transferred to more active scenes. The young 
 gentlemen-privates of the gallant volunteer com- 
 pany, who so daintily handled the side and train- 
 
18 NAKRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNNER. 
 
 tackles of the 42-pounders in the battery, con- 
 sidered themselves fortunate, not long afterwards, 
 if they obtained full rations of lean beef, or " Nas- 
 sau " pork, and " hard tack ; " and bore the brunt 
 of many a severely contested battle as part of 
 Stonewall Jackson's " foot cavahy." But at this 
 period there were only a few so called croakers 
 who at all realized the magnitude of the struggle 
 about to ensue. The camps resounded with song 
 and merriment ; and many of the young warriors 
 were attended, like the knights-errant of old, by 
 a faithful squire, who polished the boots, cleaned 
 the mnsket, and performed other menial service 
 for his " young master." My own " fidus 
 Achates," was old " Uncle Billy," whose occupa- 
 tion was gone by the stoppage of a tobacco factory 
 in Richmond, where he had been used to take a 
 prominent part in the peculiar songs of the " pro- 
 fession." He would sometimes give us a specimen 
 of his vocal powers, and would nearly bring the 
 house down, literally and metaphorically, while 
 executing the mysteries of a " Vii'ginny break- 
 down" in thick soled brogans sixteen inches long. 
 But to return from this digression, it was be- 
 lieved by many persons that a large party at the 
 North would oppose the prosecution of a war of 
 
WIDE AWAKE CLUBS. 19 
 
 invasion. It will be remembered bj those at all 
 conversant with the history of events at that- time, 
 how strong had been the party opposed to seces- 
 sion in the Convention then in session at Rich- 
 mond, (at least two-thirds of its members having 
 been elected as Union men,) and what strenuous 
 efforts towards peace and compromise had been 
 made by the Border States Commissioners. The 
 call upon Virginia, by President Lincoln, for her 
 quota of troops to aid in subjugating the South, 
 had settled the question, however, in the Conven- 
 tion ; and in a few hours after Governor Letcher's 
 reply to that call, Virginia had virtually cast her 
 lot with the Gulf States, although two weeks 
 elapsed before she became a member of the Con- 
 federacy. I had visited, some months previous to 
 the secession of the State, many of the little viL 
 lages in New England, where I saw that the pop- 
 ulation were in terrible earnest. " Wide awake," 
 and other secret societies were organized ; and in- 
 flammatory harangues aroused the populace. The 
 favorite theme of the orators was the " martyr- 
 dom " of John Brown ; the piratical and murder- 
 ous raid of that fanatic into the State of Virginia 
 being exalted into a praiseworthy act of heroism. 
 When I returned to Vii'ginia and contrasted the 
 
20 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEE. 
 
 apparent apathy and want of preparation there 
 with the state of affairs at the North, I trembled 
 for the result. But when the State severed her 
 relations with the Union, the Governor acted with 
 great vigor and ability, and the most was made 
 of the limited resources at his command. Volun- 
 teers responded with alacrity to the call to defend 
 the State from invasion ; and none responded 
 more readily, or served more bravely, than those 
 who had opposed secession in the Convention. It 
 seems invidious to cite particular examples ; but 
 the " noblest Trojan of them all " will point a 
 moral, and serve as an exemplar for generations 
 to come. Wise in council, eloquent in debate, 
 bravest and coolest among the brave in battle, and 
 faithful to his convictions in adversity, he still 
 lives to denounce falsehood and wrong. Truly 
 the old hero, in all he says and does, " gives the 
 world assurance of a man." — I allude to Gen. J. 
 A. Early. 
 
 When Fort Powhatan was abandoned, I was 
 ordered to the command of a battery at Acquia 
 Creek on the Potomac. Although situated upon 
 the frontier, few incidents occurred there to vary 
 the monotony of our lives. Occasionally some of 
 the gunboats guarding the river would steam in. 
 
SEKVICE AT ACQUIA CREEK. 21 
 
 and exchange a few shots with us ; and we witnessed 
 frequent skirmishes between them and Walker's 
 afterwards famous battery of flying artillery ; but 
 ammunition being extremely scarce at that period 
 in the Confederacy, the orders to us were per- 
 emptory to be very sparing in the use of it.* 
 
 * The belief still prevails, probably, at the North, that 
 extensive preparations had been made by the South for the 
 war. But General Joseph E. Johnston who was assigned to 
 the service of organizing and instructing the Virginia volun- 
 teers called out by Governor Letcher states the contrary. 
 He asserts that all the arms to be depended upon at that time, 
 were those found in the Southern arsenals, U. S. muskets, 
 and rifles of discarded patterns to the number of about 
 75,000 ; 40,000 flint muskets belonging to the State of Vir- 
 ginia, and 20,000 procured for the State of Georgia by Gover- 
 nor Brown. 
 
 It was charged that Mr. Floyd of Virginia while Secre- 
 tary of War under President Buchanan had caused the re- 
 moval of public arms to the Southern arsenals ; but a Com- 
 mittee of the House of Representatives, in 1861, exonerated 
 Mr. Floyd from the charge, and the chairman of that Com- 
 mittee was the Hon. Mr. Stanton, a prominent and zealoua 
 member of the Republican party. 
 
 General Johnston, who was in a position to know the 
 facts, states in his " Narrative, etc.," that the " Confederate 
 States began the war with one hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand arms of obsolete models, and seven hundred of the re- 
 cently adopted weapons rifled-muskets, and the United States 
 with about four hundred and fifty thousand of the old, and 
 all of the modern arms that had been made since the adop- 
 tion of the new models." 
 
 When in August, 1861, it was in contemplation to send 
 the Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland, want of 
 
22 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 The battery at Aequia Creek was constructed 
 at the terminus of the raih'oad from Fredericks- 
 burg, and was manned by an infantry company 
 acting as artillerists. Besides this force, perma- 
 nently stationed at the battery, and quartered near 
 it, a company of infantry from military headquar- 
 ters was sent every evening to guard against a 
 night attack. A company called the " Tigers," 
 took their turn at this service, and we would 
 gladly have dispensed with their "protection,'' 
 Utterly undisciplined, they were more dangerous 
 to friends than to foes. Mutinous and insubordi- 
 nate, they were engaged in constant collisions with 
 each other and with the companies so unfortunate 
 as to be quartered near them ; and their camp was 
 a pandemonium. In addition to other sources of 
 quarrel and contention, several women {vivan- 
 dieres, they called themselves) followed the com- 
 pany. The patience of Gen. M,* who com- 
 manded the division, was finally exhausted. He 
 Summoned the Captain of the "Tigers" into his 
 presence ; and after severely reprimanding him 
 
 ammunition, according to the distinguished authority just 
 quoted, was one of the chief obstacles to the project. 
 
 * The allusion is made to Genl. Mears, who commanded 
 At Aequia Creek and to the Baltimore " Tigers," at the time 
 commanded by Captain Thomas. 
 
THE TIGERS. 23 
 
 for the misconduct of his men, insisted that the 
 ^^ vivandieres''^ should be sent away. Tlie cap- 
 tain urged many reasons for keeping them ; the 
 chief one being the good moral effect of their pres- 
 ence ! but the General was inflexible. Even gal- 
 lantry to the sex must be sacrificed to the truth ; 
 and a proper regard for the latter demands the 
 statement that a reformation commenced with 
 the departure of the women ; and our friends the 
 " Tigers '' eventually became well-behaved soldiers. 
 We passed many months of inglorious inactiv- 
 ity here until the spring of 1862, when the line 
 of the Potomac was abandoned. While the Fed- 
 eral forces had remained comparatively quiet in 
 this part of the Confederacy, they had achieved 
 many important successes elsewhere. Fort Don- 
 elson, on the Cumberland River, and Roanoke 
 Island in North Carolina had been captured, with 
 large garrisons ; and New Orleans and Savannah 
 were threatened. General Joseph E. Johnston, 
 who at the time commanded the Army of North- 
 ern Virginia, determined to fall back to the line 
 of the Rappahannock ; and all the batteries on the 
 Potomac were abandoned between the 8th and 
 10th of March, 1862 ; the guns being removed to 
 other quarters. 
 
24 NAEKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNNER. 
 
 The monotonous service at the batteries had 
 tried the patience of all who were attached to 
 them ; and we rejoiced at the prospect of more 
 active duty. The reverses sustained by the Con- 
 federate arms were not to be disguised, nor were 
 our convictions of great danger to the country to 
 be removed by the politic proclamation issued by 
 the Confederate Government, to the effect that a 
 contraction of the lines could exercise no material 
 influence upon the issue of the war. But as it 
 was deemed necessary by the military authorities 
 to abandon the situation, we were not at all sorry 
 to depart ; for although we had seen no active 
 service, insatiate war had claimed many victims, 
 who had perished ingloriously by the malarial 
 fevers of that marshy district. The naval officers 
 were especially elated at the change. Their du- 
 ties and their authority being alike undefined, 
 there resulted a deplorable want of harmony be- 
 tween them and the military. This was, indeed, 
 the inevitable consequence of the anomalous posi- 
 tion held by the former ; and this want of concert 
 of action subsequently contributed, in some meas- 
 ure at least, to the disastrous issue of the conflict 
 below New Orleans. 
 
 We having been trained in the strict discipline 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 25 
 
 of a man of war, wanted "savoir faire" in dealing 
 with the fastidious young captains, and the equally 
 sensitive "high privates ;" while they no doubt 
 looked upon us as a domineering, tyrannical set of 
 exclusives and wished that we were on board the 
 Federal gunboats in the river, or farther. My 
 personal intercourse, however, was always very 
 pleasant with them. Capt. Brown, commanding 
 the company of North Carolinians at the battery, 
 had graduated at the U. S. Naval School a year or 
 two previous to the war, and was a strict disciplin- 
 arian. Two years after our separation, I fell in 
 with him accidentally ; and he then gave me a sad 
 account of the changes wrought by death and 
 disease in his fine company. He had risen to the 
 rank of Colonel, and was then on his return to 
 duty in the army of Northern Yirginia after re- 
 covery from wounds received in battle. The 
 graphic account given by him of the manner in 
 which he was wounded and his narrow escape 
 from death, may interest others as much as it did 
 me. His regiment formed part of Gen. Ed. 
 Johnson's division, which held the salient angle 
 in Gen. Lee's line at Spottsylvania C. H. when 
 it was forced by the Federal troops. The attack 
 was made at early dawn and in the additional 
 
26 NARKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNNER. 
 
 obscurity of n Scotch mist ; and so complete was 
 the surprise according to B.'s account, that he was 
 only made aware of the close proximity of the 
 enemy by dimly discerning, a few paces distant, a 
 Federal soldier with his musket levelled at him. 
 The soldier fired, and B. fell insensible, shot 
 through one of the lungs. Upon recovering con- 
 sciousness, he found himself on a litter borne by 
 Federal soldiers. An officer leaned over him, and 
 offered him some liquor from his canteen, which 
 revived him so far that he was able to speak. His 
 humane captor then volunteered to transmit any 
 message to B.'s friends and relatives. While B. 
 was rallying his failing senses to deliver what he 
 believed to be his dying messages to the loved 
 ones at home, a rattling fire of musketry opened 
 upon them, the litter bearers and the officer were 
 shot down ; the latter fjilling across Brown, who 
 relapsed into insensibility. When he again re- 
 covered consciousness, he found himself borne in 
 the same litter, now carried by Confederate sol- 
 diers. The position had been retaken. His good 
 friend had been shot dead. 
 
 Our mess at Acquia Creek was abundantly sup- 
 plied with food from land and water. Every mem- 
 ber of it, no doubt, frequently longed afterwards 
 
COAL IN THE POTOMAC. 27 
 
 for the " flesh pots of Egj])t." We discovered, by 
 chance, a large bulk of coal, which had been stored 
 on the long wharf where the Acquia Creek steam- 
 boats used to make their landings. When the 
 Point was shelled about the commencement of the 
 war by the gunboats, the wharf was destroyed, the 
 coal falling uninjured ten or twelve feet to the bot- 
 tom of the river. We iished up our supplies with 
 oyster tongs as they were needed, and our snug 
 quarters were kept warm during the winter. To- 
 wards the end of the season, one of the mess ser- 
 vants lately arrived from the rural districts, was 
 sent in the boat for a supply from the coal mine. 
 He had made many a lire of soft coal in the draw- 
 ing room at home ; but although an accomplished 
 servant, his education had been so far neglected 
 that he was ignorant of all the " 'ologies." He 
 was very much astonished at our process of coal 
 mining, atid asked me with great gravity, on his 
 return with the load, " if coal grew like that all 
 over the Potomac." Of course I replied in the 
 affirmative. It was anthracite hard coal, a speci- 
 men of which he had never seen ; so he was fur- 
 ther informed that it was hard or soft according 
 to the season when it was fished up, being soft in 
 the summer and hard in the winter. He was 
 
28 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER 
 
 much pleased to have acquired all this informa- 
 tion, and probably took the earliest opportunity, 
 on his return home, to enlighten his circle of 
 friends and acquaintances upon the subject of coal 
 mining on the Potomac. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Ordered to New Orleans. — The Naval Fleet tliere. — The 
 "River Defence" Squadron. — The ironclad "Louisi- 
 ana." — Difficulty in managing the Fleet. — Going down 
 the River. — Want of concert. — Admiral Farragut. — Our 
 crew. 
 
 T WAS ordered to report to Commodore Whit- 
 -■- tie, commanding the naval station at New Or- 
 leans, for duty afloat. A powerful fleet of ships 
 of war and bomb vessels, under the command of 
 Commodore (afterwards Admiral) Farragut, was 
 then assembling at the mouth of the Mississippi, 
 for an attack upon New Orleans, in which a large 
 land force under Gen. Butler (afterwards called the 
 Beast) was to cooperate. The citizens were under 
 the impression that the place was impregnable. 
 Gen. Duncan, commanding Forts Jackson and 
 St. Philip, below the city, was considered one of 
 the best artillerists in the service ; and the land 
 defence was intrusted to Gen. Lovell, with a well 
 appointed force under his command. The people 
 
80 NAEEATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER, 
 
 of that gay city were occupied as usual in business 
 and pleasure, and continued unconscious of their 
 peril up to the very time when the Federal fleet 
 passed the forts. But the condition of affairs, so 
 far as naval defence was concerned, was lament- 
 able. The regular C. S. naval fleet consisted of 
 the Louisiana (Captain Mcintosh) and carrying 
 the flag of Commodore Mitchell ; the steamer 
 McRae (Captain Huger), carrying six light 32- 
 pounders and nine-inch pivot gun ; the steamer 
 Jackson (Captain Renshaw), with two pivoted 
 smooth bore 32-pounders; the small ironplated 
 " Ram " Manassas (Captain Warley), carrying one 
 32-pounder carronade in the bow ; and two launch- 
 es, each carrying a howitzer and a crew of twenty 
 men. There were also present, at the time the 
 passage was forced by the U. !S. fleet, two Louisiana 
 State gunboats, viz., the " Governor Moore," Cap- 
 tain Kennon, carrying two 32-pounder rifled guns, 
 and the "General Quitman," with a similar bat- 
 terj. These were converted sea steamers, with 
 pine and cotton barricades to protect the more 
 vulnerable part of their machinery. All of the 
 above vessels, with the exception of the Louisiana 
 and Manassas, were too slightly built for war 
 purposes. The unarmed steamboats, " Mozier," 
 
THE STEAMER LOUISIANA. 31 
 
 placed under Commodore Mitchell's command. In 
 addition to the above force, there were six steam- 
 ers carrying from one to two guns each, constitut- 
 ing what was called the " River Defence Squad- 
 ron," under the command of Captain Stevenson. 
 These vessels' boilers and machinery were pro- 
 tected by heavy timber barricades, filled in with 
 compressed cotton ; and they were prepared 
 with bar-iron casing around their bows to act as 
 " Rams." 
 
 The Louisiana was pierced for twelve guns 
 rifled six-inch ; and eight-inch shell guns, three 
 in the bow, three in each broadside, and three in 
 the stern. Her armor consisted of railroad-iron 
 bars securely bolted upon the sides and ends of the 
 long covered box built upon her nearly submerged 
 hull. These sides and ends sloped at an angle of 
 about forty-five degrees ; around the upper deck 
 was a stout bulwark about five feet high, and iron 
 plated inside, to resist grape shot, and afford a 
 protection to the sharp-shooters stationed there in 
 action. 
 
 The propelling power consisted of huge 
 wheels, boxed up in the centre of the vessel ; and 
 a propeller on eacli quarter. A more powerful 
 and efficient iron-clad called the Mississippi had 
 
32 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-ElfNNER. 
 
 jnst been launched from the stocks, but the pas- 
 sage of the forts was effected before her battery 
 could be put on board. 
 
 After a few days' service on board the Jack- 
 son, I was ordered on board the Louisiana (as ex- 
 ecutive officer) then lying alongside the " levee '' 
 at Kew Orleans. Her battery was not mounted ; 
 and the mechanics were at work upon her un- 
 finished armor and machinery. Much was to be 
 done, and with the most limited facilities; but 
 many obstacles had been surmounted and affairs 
 were progressing favorably, when we received 
 orders from Commodore Whittle to proceed down 
 the river as far as the forts. Our wheels were in 
 working order ; but a great deal was to be done 
 to the propellers, and the crew were still engaged 
 in mounting the guns. But Commodore Whittle, 
 though cognizant of our condition, was compelled 
 against his judgment, to yield to the urgent tele- 
 grams of General Duncan to send the Louisiana 
 down the river. We had been unable to man the 
 ship with sailors ; for although many of this class 
 belonged to the various volunteer companies 
 around Xew Orleans, their commanding ofhcers 
 were not disposed to part with them ; nor were 
 the "jack tars " themselves willing to exchange 
 
AT THE FOKTS. 33 
 
 camp life for the discipline and subordination of 
 the naval service. Our regular crew being too 
 small to man the battery, we gladly accepted the 
 services of the " Crescent Artillery," a fine volun- 
 teer company raised in New Orleans. Two 
 river steamboats were assigned to the Louisiana 
 for the purpose of towage, if necessary, and for 
 the accommodation of the mechanics who were 
 still at work on board. 
 
 "We cast off from the "levee" on Sunday, 
 April the 20th. It was a bright day, and a large 
 concourse was assembled to witness our departure. 
 Steam had been got up, and as our big wheels 
 were set in motion in the rapid current of the 
 Mississippi, torrents of water rushed through the 
 crevices in the bulkheads and deluged the gun 
 deck, while the Louisiana drifted helplessly down 
 the river, feeling the effect of the wheels no more 
 sensibly than if they were a pair of sculling oars. 
 " Facilis descensus Averno ; sed revocare gradum, 
 hoc opus, hie labor est." The aptness of the 
 quotation will be appreciated by the reader who 
 is in at the death of the Louisiana. We accom- 
 plished our object of getting down to the forts 
 about seventy miles below the city, thanks to the 
 current and our two transports ; but our artiller- 
 
34 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 ists were in a shabby plight while trying to work 
 the guns knee-deep in water. 
 
 Securing the Louisiana by hawsers to the left 
 bank of the river near Fort St. Philip, on the 
 morning of the 21st, we continued our labors 
 npon the machinery and on the battery. The 
 bombardment of the forts had been in progress for 
 several days and nights, and the shells from the 
 fleet were thrown with beautiful and destructive 
 precision (some of them occasionally falling in 
 close proximity to the Louisiana,) while the bomb 
 vessels themselves were beyond the range of the 
 fort's guns. The naval officers were quite sure 
 that an attempt would soon be made by Admiral 
 Farragut to force the passage, and that so far as 
 the naval strength was concerned, it w^as apparent 
 our means were inadequate to prevent it. 
 
 Commodore Mitchell, on our arrival below, 
 had delivered to Captain Stevenson written orders 
 from General Lovell requiring him to place all the 
 " River Defence Squadron " under the Commo- 
 dore's orders. Captain S., on receiving these in- 
 structions, addressed a written communication to 
 Commodore Mitchell, to the effect that all of the 
 officers and crew under his command had entered 
 the service with the distinct understandino- that 
 
BELOW NEW ORLEANS. 35 
 
 thej were not to be placed under the command of 
 naval officers ; and that, while willing to cooper- 
 ate with our forces, he would receive no orders 
 from the Commodore nor allow any vessel under 
 his command to do so ; reserving to himself the 
 right of obeying or disobeying any orders the 
 Commodore miglit issue. With this assumption 
 of absolute independence, Commodore Mitchell's 
 position was extremely embarrassing, but he did 
 all that was then in his power. Not knowing at 
 what moment an attack would be made, he en- 
 deavored to agree with Captain Stevenson upon a 
 plan of cooperation ; and he states in his official 
 report made after the action that Captain Steven- 
 son "seemed disposed zealously to second these 
 objects in many respects." 
 
 A few days previous to the action, I had been 
 sent down tlie river to communicate, under a flag 
 of truce, with one of the ships of the squadron ; 
 and in the course of conversation with my old 
 friend Captain DeCamp, the officer in command 
 of a division of the fleet had been informed b}' 
 him that they could force the obstructions across 
 the river whenever they pleased, and intended 
 doing so when they were ready. The interview 
 took place in his cabin ; and although I indig- 
 
36 NAEKATIVE OF A BLOCK AD E-EUNNER. 
 
 nantly repudiated the idea, I could not help feel- 
 ing how confidently I would stake life and repu- 
 tation upon the issue if our situations were re- 
 versed. I had noticed many familiar faces among 
 the officers and crew as I passed along the deck 
 a few moments before. Every one was at his 
 station ; the guns cast loose for action ; and it 
 was in the nature of things, that I should con- 
 trast this gallant man of war and all this efiicien- 
 cy and discipline with the iron bound box and 
 crew of " horse marines " which I had just left. 
 But it was in no spirit of depreciation of the gal- 
 lantry of my comrades, for I was quite sure that 
 they would stand to their guns. The wretched 
 " bowl of Gotham " which had no efficient motive 
 power, and which could not even be got under 
 way, when anchored, without slipping the chain 
 cable, caused the misgivings. It is no disparage- 
 ment to the prowess of the U. S. fleet which passed 
 the forts, to assert, that they never could have 
 tuccessfully opposed our forces ; but the battle 
 was won quite as effectually when they succeeded 
 in passing beyond the range of the guns of the 
 forts and the "Louisiana." 
 
 After our official business was closed, DeC. 
 and I began to talk of the war ; and he expressed 
 
THE SLAVE CODE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 37 
 
 the opinions then entertained, beyond a doubt, by 
 a majority of U. S. army and naval officers. 
 They believed it to be the intention of the Gov- 
 ernment to bring the seceding States back into the 
 Union, with their rights and institutions unim- 
 paired. Since then a little leaven has leavened 
 the whole lump, and the former doctrine of the 
 extreme abolitionists has long become the creed 
 of the dominant party. But some facts should 
 be borne in mind by those who denounce slavery 
 as the sum of all villanies; for instance, that the 
 slave code of Massachusetts was the earliest in 
 America; the crudest in its provisions and has 
 never been formally repealed ; that the Plymouth 
 settlers, according to history, maintained " that 
 the white man might own and sell the negro and 
 his offspring forever;" that Mr. Quincj^, a repre- 
 sentative from Massachusetts during the war of 
 1812, threatened the House of Congress that the 
 JSTorth would secede " peaceably if we can, forcibly 
 if we must " unless their demands for peace were 
 acceded to ; and lastly that the abolitionists of a 
 later age denounced the Constitution and canonized 
 John Brown for committing a number of murders 
 and endeavoring to incite servile insurrection in 
 time of peace. Truly " tempora mutantur," etc. 
 
38 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 The river obstructions, above alluded to, con- 
 sisted of a line of sunken vessels, and of heavy 
 pieces of timber chained together, and extending 
 from bank to bank. A few days before the 
 attack was made. General Duncan was speaking 
 rather confidently of his barricade, when Warley 
 remarked, " General, if I commanded a fleet 
 below, and my commission lay above your 
 obstructions, I would come up and get UP 
 Most of us belonging to that little naval fleet, 
 knew that Admiral Farragut would dare to 
 attempt what any man would ; and for my own 
 part, I had not foi'gotten that while I was under 
 his command during the Mexican War, he had 
 proposed to Commodore Perry, then commanding 
 the Gulf Squadron, and urged upon him, the 
 enterprise of capturing the strong fort of San 
 Juan de Ulloa at Vera Cruz hy hoarding. Lad- 
 ders were to be constructed and triced up along 
 the attacking ships' masts : and the ships to be 
 towed alojig side the walls by the steamers of the 
 squadron. Here was a much grander prize to be 
 fought for ; and every day of delay was strength- 
 ening his adversaries. It was the general belief, 
 indeed, at the time, that the admiral was in daily 
 communication with the city by means of spies ; 
 
NAVAL PEEPARATtONS. 89 
 
 and the public indignation was so deeply roused 
 against Mr. T — t, the constructor of the Missis- 
 sippi, (" a Northern man with Southern prin- 
 ciples ") who failed from time to time in launching 
 that vessel as he had appointed to do, that he was 
 in danger of " Lynch law " ; and it is at least a 
 singular coincidence that the naval attack M'as 
 made immediately after that powerful vessel was 
 launched, and before the guns could be put on 
 board. But the idea of any collusion between 
 Mr. T — t and the enemy, or of treachery on the 
 part of the former, was never entertained, I 
 believe, except by a few bigoted zealots, blinded 
 by hate and passion against every one born north 
 of the Potomac. 
 
 This class, which ought to have acted more 
 fairly, found many followers among the multi- 
 tude; from which little charity or justice can 
 ever be expected. Nearl}^ 1900 years ago the 
 "plebes," influenced bj their leaders, demanded 
 the release of a robber and murderer and crucified 
 the Saviour of mankind ; and history further 
 informs us that 500 years before that era, a Greek 
 citizen could be banished without special trial, 
 accusation, or defence ; and that Aristides was 
 sent into exile because people were tired of hear- 
 
40 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEE. 
 
 iiig him always called " the Jnst." Social ostra- 
 cism will continue to exist till the millennium. 
 The gentlemen of northemi birth who were so 
 unfortunate as to occupy prominent positions 
 during the war, were mercilessly held up to scorn 
 and distrust, if they failed to come up to the pub- 
 lic expectation. In truth, they occupied trying 
 positions; being regarded by many as aliens and 
 mercenaries. " Mens conscia recti " w4Il support 
 us under many trials ; but it does not furnish 
 armor of proof against the " poor man's scorn, 
 the proud man's contumely.'' 
 
 The interval between the 21st and 24th of 
 April was occupied by Commodore Mitchell in 
 organizing the force under his command, and 
 in endeavoring to arrange some concert of 
 action with the "River Defence" gunboats. 
 
 On board the Louisiana every effort was 
 made to complete the works upon tlie propel- 
 lers, and in mounting the battery, on which the 
 mechanics worked night and day. Our " Cres- 
 cent artillery ;'' a detachment of artillery from 
 the forts under Lieutenant Dixon ; and Captain 
 llyan's company of Sharp-shooters supplied the 
 deticiences in our crew. The Commodore was 
 unsuccessful in his efforts to induce Captain 
 
CHANGE OF POSITION. 41 
 
 Stevenson to employ one of his gunboats below 
 the obstructions at night, to watch the U. S. fleet ; 
 and we had no vessel suitable for that purpose ; 
 the only one which would have answered (the 
 Jackson) having been sent, with one of the 
 launches, to watch the U. S. land forces near the 
 Quarantine station, five miles above us. The 
 only launch which remained to us was sent, by 
 the Commodore's orders, below the obstructions 
 every night, but the ofiicer in command after- 
 wards proved either a traitor or a coward, failing 
 to make the concerted signal upon the approach 
 of the fleet, and never reporting himself on board 
 the Louisiana afterwards. 
 
 General Duncan urged upon the Commodore, 
 the first or second day after our arrival below, to 
 take a new position with the Louisiana at the 
 river bank just below Fort St. Philip, and under 
 cover of its guns, from whence she might open 
 fire with effect upon the mortar fleet. The Com- 
 modore declined the proposition, and his action 
 was sustained in a consultation with all the com- 
 manding officers of the C. S. naval forces present, 
 on the grounds, "first, that the battery of the 
 Louisiana was not in a condition for service;" 
 "second, that the completion of the propeller and 
 
42 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 otlier mechanical work in progress, was indispens- 
 able to the efficiency of the vessel, and that it 
 would be interrupted if she were placed under 
 fire ; " and third, " that placing the Louisiana in 
 a position to receive the fire of the enemy, before 
 her own battery could be served with effect, 
 would be improperly hazarding, not only her own 
 safety, but the security of the passage between 
 the forts on which rested the possession of New 
 Orleans."* 
 
 But on the afternoon of the 23d the work had 
 so far progressed as to encourage the belief that 
 the vessel might be moved to the point proposed, 
 and the Commodore, after making a reconnois- 
 sance, had decided to do so, and notified General 
 Duncan of this intention. Captain Stevenson 
 was to assist with two of his gunboats which were 
 especially well adapted to this purpose. 
 
 Commodore Mitchell, in his official report to 
 the C. S. Secretary of the Navy, intimates that 
 " he fully appreciated and admitted the import- 
 ance of the proposed change of position for the 
 Louisiana," but contends that the state of the bat- 
 
 * From Commodore Mitchell's oflBcial report to the Sec- 
 retary of the C. S. Navy, dated August 19th, 1863. 
 
CHANGE OF POSITION. 43 
 
 tery, independent of other weighty reasons, was 
 sufficient to prevent its being made previous to 
 the engagement of the 24th." One of these con- 
 sists in the fact, that owing to the pecnHar con- 
 struction of tlie Louisiana's port-holes, her guns 
 could not be elevated more than five degrees. 
 The mortar fleet would have been beyond their 
 ranj^e. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The 24th April.— Passage of the United States Fleet.— After 
 the Storm. — The " River Defence " boats. — The Refuge 
 in the Bayou. — Surrender of the Forts. — Extracts from 
 Commodore Mitchell's official reports. — Council of 
 War. — Destruction of the " Louisiana." — Our Comman- 
 der General B. F. Butler. — Transferred to the United 
 States frigate " Colorado." 
 
 ON the night of April 23d, the bursting of 
 the shells was as incessant as usual. To- 
 ward daylight of the 24th, an ominous calm of 
 brief duration was broken bj the lirst broadside 
 of the advancing fleet, which had approached so 
 rapidly as to remove and pass the obstructions un- 
 discovered, and before the launch on picket duty 
 could get back to our fleet. For a few minutes 
 the roar of the guns was deafening ; but objects 
 were so obscured by the darkness and the dense 
 smoke, that we could only fire, with eflect, at the 
 flashes of the ship's guns. The Louisiana's three 
 bow guns (one rifled seven-inch and two seven-inch 
 shell guns) and her three starboard broadside guns 
 (a rifled six-inch and two eight-inch shell guns) 
 
AFTER THE STORM. 45 
 
 were all that could be brout^ht to bear during the 
 engagement ; tor being moored to the river bank, 
 the stern and port broadside guns were useless. 
 The U. S. fleet came up in two divisions, deliver- 
 ing their broadsides in rapid succession. One of 
 the ships was set on fire by one of the fireboats 
 (a number of which had been prepared) but the 
 flames were speedily extinguished. It is said that 
 the unarmed tug Mozier, imder her heroic com 
 mander, Sherman, while towing a fireboat along- 
 side a heavy ship, was sunk by a broadside deliv- 
 ered at short range, all on board perishing. One 
 of the largest ships, believed to be the Hartford, 
 came in contact with our stern, and received the 
 fire of our three bow guns while in this position, 
 returning a broadside, but she soon swung clear 
 of us and continued on her way up the river. 
 
 When day fairly broke, the storm had passed 
 away, leaving wreck and ruin in its wake. The 
 river banks were dotted, here and there, with 
 burning steamers, and a large portion of the U. S. 
 fleet had succeeded in getting beyond the forts. 
 A few vessels of the attacking force had failed to 
 pass the obstructions before daylight, and were 
 driven back by the guns from the forts. The 
 Louisiana and the McRae were the only vessels 
 
46 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 left to the Confederates ; but the former was 
 ahiiost intact, her armor proving a sufficient de- 
 fence against the broadsides, even when delivered 
 at close range. The eight-inch sliells of the Hart- 
 ford buried themselves about half their diameter 
 in our armor, and crumbled into fragments. All 
 of our casualties occurred on the spar deck ; our 
 gallant commander being mortally w^ounded 
 there ; and many of the mechanics, who were 
 quartered on board the tenders alongside of us, 
 were killed or wounded. The McRae and the 
 Manassas were in the stream in time to take an 
 active part in the conflict ; the former being 
 considerably cut up. The Manassas struck two 
 vessels with her prow, but did not succeed in sink- 
 ing either. Having followed the fleet some dis- 
 tance up the river, and being hard pressed and 
 seriously damaged, she was run ashore and aban- 
 doned. She shortly afterwards floated oS. and 
 drifting down the river, sank between the forts. 
 The Louisiana State gunboat " Governor Moore " 
 made a gallant fight, sinking the U. S. gunboat 
 " Verona." 
 
 Kennon, in his official report, states his loss at 
 iifty-seven killed and thirteen wounded out of a 
 crew of ninety-three. He ran his vessel ashore 
 
THE EIVER DEFENCE BOATS. 47 
 
 when she was in a sinking condition, and set fire 
 to her with his own hand. The '' River De- 
 fence " gunboats, with the exception of the 
 "Resolute," were either destroj'ed by fire of 
 the enemy's fleet, or by their own crews. The 
 "Resolute" was discovered ashore, after the 
 action, abont a mile above Fort Jackson and aban- 
 doned by her crew. Lieut. Alden, with a party 
 from the " McRae," took possession of her, and 
 endeavored to get her afloat as she was very little 
 injured, but being attacked by one of the gun- 
 boats from above, which succeeded in putting 
 several shots through her hull at the water line, 
 Alden was compelled to abandon her after setting 
 her on fire. Among the mortally wounded on 
 board the " McRae " was her commander T. B. 
 Huger. The "Defiance," one of the "River De- 
 fence" gunboats, escaped without material injury. 
 She was turned over to the command of Commo- 
 dore Mitchell by Captain Stevenson on the 26th, 
 without any of her officers and crew, who refused 
 to remain in her, and went ashore.* 
 
 * Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report 
 dated August 19tli, 1863. " The following is believed to be 
 a correct list of the vessels that passed up by Forts Jackson 
 and St. Philip during the engagement of the 24th April ; 
 

 
 48 NAKRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 After landing the wounded, we continued the 
 work upon the machinery of the Louisiana, buoyed 
 
 mounting in the aggregate one hundred and eighty-four 
 
 guns, viz., 
 
 Hartford steamer, 28 guns 1st class sloop. 
 
 Richmond, " 28 " 
 
 Brooklyn, " 28 " " 
 
 Pensacola, " 28 " " 
 
 " J Mississippi, " 21 " " 
 
 Iroquois, " 10 " 2d class sloop. 
 
 Oneida, " 10 " 
 
 Verona, " 11 " " 
 
 Cayuga, " 5 " " 
 
 Penola, " 5 " " 
 
 Wissahickon, " 5 " '* 
 
 Winona, " 5 " " 
 
 How any controversy could arise as to which branch of 
 the U. S. Service deserves the credit of the capture of New 
 Orleans is a matter of wonder to those who were present at 
 the time. The following article from the Richmond En- 
 quirer of September 10th, 1875, written by an eye-witness of 
 many of the scenes in the city which he describes, would 
 seem conclusively to establish the fact that the navy alone 
 achieved the capture. 
 
 "The question has again been raised as to whether the 
 army or the navy is entitled to the credit of having captured 
 New Orleans from the Confederates in April or May, 18G3. 
 It has been a mooted point in history ever since the event 
 happened, and its discussion has caused no little angry feel- 
 ing between the two branches of the service. Ben. Butler, 
 of course, laid claim to the honors of the capture, and pro- 
 claimed himself " the hero " of New Orleans, completely 
 overshadowing Farragut and his fleet, and the lying his- 
 tories of the day, written in the Radical interest on the other 
 side of the line, have perpetuated the fraud. No citizen of 
 
EXTKACTS. 49 
 
 up by the hope of soon being able to retrieve our 
 disasters. Our number was increased b}' officers 
 
 New Orleans who persoually knows anything of the circum- 
 stances of the fall of the city into the hands of the Federals 
 lias ever had any doubts as to who was or is entitled to the 
 credit ; but the persistent efforts of Butler and his friends to 
 claim the lion's share in that exploit, have at last called out 
 the Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy in Mr. Lin- 
 coln's Cabinet, as the champion of Admiral Farragut and his 
 gallant tars. In the course of an article in the Hartford 
 Times, 'hir. Welles shows that " In January, 1862, the plan 
 for the reduction of the forts below New Orleans and the 
 capture of the city was fully matured in the Navy Depart- 
 ment, Farragut receiving orders in detail for the work on 
 the 20th of that month ; that the memorable passage of the 
 forts was made, and the surly submission of the Mayor of 
 New Orleans received by Farragut on the 26th of April, for- 
 mal possession being immediately taken and the United 
 States flag displ.ayed on the public buildings ; that the army 
 was not only absent alike from the plan and the execution 
 of this great movement, but did not appear until May 1, 
 when General Butler's troops arrived, and on the day follow- 
 ing entered upon the occupation of the city captured by Far- 
 ragut." 
 
 Quite correct, Mr. ex-Secretary. Farragut passed the forts 
 as stated, with the Hartford and one or two other vessels, 
 destroyed the ram Manassas, and the other Confederate ves- 
 sels of war, after a most desperate battle, in which at least 
 one of his best ships was sunk, and then made his way in 
 his flag-ship unmolested up the river. He arrived alone in 
 front of New Orleans on the 26th of April, and at noon 
 brought his guns to bear on the city at the head of Girod 
 street. He immediately dispatched Lieutenant Bailey with 
 a flag of truce to the authorities demanding the surrender, 
 and giving them thirty-six hours in which to reply, — at the 
 expiration of which time he should open fire and bombard 
 
50 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 and men who bad escaped from some of the aban- 
 doned vessels. Many of them, to obtain shel- 
 
 tlie place, if an answer favorable to his demand were not re- 
 ceived. The city at this time had been partially evacuated 
 by General Lovell and his troops, and all authority had been 
 surrendered by the military to the mayor. The terms sub- 
 mitted by Farragut were discussed for fully twenty-four 
 hours by the Council, assembled at the Mayor's office, and 
 all this time the city was in the hands of a wild, reckless 
 and excited mob of citizens, while people everywhere were 
 flying or preparing for flight, many even in such haste as 
 to leave their houses open and valuables exposed to the dep- 
 redations of servants or the mob. Perhaps no more fearful 
 scene of confusion was ever witnessed outside of Paris 
 when in the throes of a periodic revolution. It was a novelty 
 then for an American city to be captured or to fall into the 
 hands of an enemy, and the people had some very queer no- 
 tions about defending it to the last, and fighting the enemy 
 with all sorts of weapons amid its ruins. It was with the 
 vitmost difficulty the police could protect Bailey and his mid- 
 dies with their flag of truce. But on the following day, and 
 before the time of grace expired, the Council determined 
 tliat as they had no means of defence against the enemy's 
 ships, which held the city at the mercy of their guns, it was 
 best to enter into negotiations for the surrender. Farragut 
 then demanded that as a sign of submission the Confeder- 
 ate flag shoiild be hauled down from all points where dis- 
 played in the city and replaced by the stars and stripes, and 
 in the meantime he would send a battery with his sailors 
 and marines ashore to maintain order. But no one was 
 found in the city to take the Confederate flags down, and 
 hoist the starry banner in their place; so a battery of ships' 
 guns was landed and hauled through the streets till it 
 reached the City Hall, and there it was placed in position to 
 cover every point of approach. A young middy, a])parently 
 about fifteen years of age, then made his appearance at the 
 
EXTRACTS. 61 
 
 ter from tlie shells and canister shot of the Fed- 
 eral fleet, had taken refuge in the " bayous " 
 
 entrance of the City Hall, bearing a United States flag. He 
 was admitted without opposition, and was shown the way 
 to the top of the building. The lad ascended to the roof, 
 and in full view of an assembled multitude of thousands in 
 the streets and on the housetops, deliberately undid the hal- 
 yards and hauled down the Confederate, or rather Louisiana 
 State flag ; then replacing it with the one he carried, hoisted 
 it to the peak of the staff in its place, and the capture of 
 New Orleans by the navy was complete. Many who wit- 
 nessed the act of this daring boy trembled for his life, as a 
 rifle shot from any of the houses surrounding, or even from 
 the street, would have proved fatal and put an end to his 
 young life at any moment. So excited was the crowd in the 
 street, when the middy came down, and so fierce the thirst 
 for vengeance upon any object that might present itself, 
 that it was found necessary to hurry him into a close car 
 riage and drive with all speed through back streets, to keep 
 clear of the pressing mob, who, in the blindness of their 
 passion, would perhaps have sacrificed the youngster, had 
 they caught him, to appease their rage. 
 
 After this the city began to quiet down. The foreign 
 residents formed themselves into a police and took charge 
 of the streets ; and had succeeded pretty well in restoring 
 order, when, on the 2d of May, Butler landed at the levee 
 from his transports, and marched to the St. Charles, where 
 he established his headquarters and took formal possession 
 of the city. Still he found it no easy matter to subdue the 
 spirit of a people who did not hesitate to jeer at his soldiers 
 or jostle them from the sidewalks as they marched through 
 the streets. But he soon enough became master of the situa- 
 tion, and made the most for himself out of what Farragut 
 had so readily placed in his hands. The navy was certainly 
 entitled to all the credit of the capture ; one ship in front of 
 the city with open ports was enough, it did what the entire 
 
52 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEB. 
 
 which lie not far from the river in many places ; 
 and they looked like half drowned rats as they 
 came on board the Louisiana. One of the 'officers 
 gave a ludicrous account of a poor girl, who had 
 fled from her home on the river bank as the fleet 
 was passing, with no clothing except her night 
 dress, and no earthly possession but a lap-dog 
 which she held in her clasped arms. She had 
 sought the same place of refuge and as the shells 
 and shot would whistle over her head she would 
 dive like a duck under the water; and every time 
 she rose above the surface, the lap-dog would 
 sneeze and whimper a protest against the frequent 
 submersions. The officer at last persuaded her to 
 let him take charge of her draggled pet ; and 
 finally had the pleasure of seeing her safe back to 
 her home before leaving her. 
 
 During the night of the 27th after unremit- 
 ting labor, our machinery was at last completed, 
 and we prepared to make the attempt to go up 
 
 army of Butler, had it been ten times as numeroup, could 
 never have accomplished. New Orleans never would have 
 been taken by the army alone ; but the guns of a sloop-of. 
 war in front of an open city are conclusive and irresistible 
 arguments. If it was heroism to capture that city the Con- 
 federacy will always be as free to admit that Farragut was 
 the hero of New Orleans, as that Butler was the tyrant, rob- 
 ber, and oppressor of its conquered people. 
 
SUKEENDER OF THE FORTS. 53 
 
 the river in pursuit of the fleet. Commodore 
 Mitchell notified General Duncan of his purpose, 
 and the latter seemed sanguine of a successful 
 issue, assuring the Commodore of his ability to 
 hold the forts for weeks. Orders were issued on 
 board the Louisiana for the crew to have an early 
 breakfast, and every thing to be in readiness to 
 cast off from the river bank a little after sunrise. 
 The situation justified the hopes entertained by 
 us of at least partially retrieving our fortunes, 
 when, shortly after day-light, an ofilcer came 
 across the river to us from Fort Jackson, with 
 General Dancan's compliments, and to say that 
 General D. was about to surrender the forts to 
 Commodore Porter.* In nautical parlance, we 
 were "struck flat aback" by this astounding 
 intelligence. With the forts as a base of opera- 
 tions, ^e might repeat the eftbrt, if the first were 
 
 * Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report, 
 dated Aug. 19th, 1863. 
 
 " During the night of Sunday the 27th we had so far 
 succeeded in operating the propellers that we expected early 
 the next day to make a fair trial of them in connection with 
 the paddle wheels, when at daylight an officer sent by Gen. 
 Duncan came on board to inform us that many of the garri- 
 son at Fort Jackson had deserted during the night ; that 
 serious disturbances had occurred ; and that the disaffection 
 of the men was believed to be general on account of what 
 appeared to them to have become the desperate character of 
 the "defence," etc. 
 
54 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KTJNNER. 
 
 unsuccessful; and would be able to repair dam- 
 ages, if necessary, under shelter of their guns ; 
 but with their surrender we M'ere helpless. The 
 capture of the Louisiana would then become, 
 indeed, a mere question of time, without the 
 firing of a gun ; for we would have been unable 
 to replenish our supplies either of provisions or 
 coal wlien exhausted. The most sanguine spirits 
 on board, in the light of their experience of the 
 motive power of the Louisiana, did not believe 
 that we could accomplish more than the control 
 of that portion of the river within the range of 
 our guns; nor that the vessel could ever do much 
 more than stem the rapid current of the Missis- 
 sippi. The surrender of New Orleans was, 
 indeed, inevitable; but even that catastrophe 
 would not involve complete possession of the river 
 by the enemy while we held the forts near its 
 mouth. The gigantic efforts afterwards made by 
 the Federal forces for the capture of Vicksburg 
 showed the vital importance attached by the 
 United States Government to the possession of 
 the fortified positions on the Mississippi, while 
 the equally desperate exertions made by the 
 Confederacy to hold it, demonstrated our con- 
 sciousness of its value to us. 
 
BURNING THE LOUISIANA. 55 
 
 Commodore Mitchell ordered his boat and 
 proceeded with all haste to remonstrate with 
 General Duncan ; but all was unavailing ; the 
 General informing the Commodore that he had 
 already dispatched a boat to the United States 
 fleet, offering to surrender his command under cer- 
 tain conditions ; disclaiming, in the offer, all con- 
 trol over the forces afloat. The Commodore's 
 boat had scarcely got back to the Louisiana, when 
 the quartermaster on duty reported one of the 
 ships of the fleet below steaming up the river 
 towards us, with a white flag flying at the mast- 
 liead. General Duncan, it is said, stated to the 
 citizens of New Orleans a few days afterward, that 
 a large number of his guns had been spiked by the 
 mutineers of the garrison ; and that he had no 
 alternative but to surrender. 
 
 A hasty council of war was held on board the 
 Louisiana, during which it was decided to trans- 
 fer the oflicers and crew to our two tenders and 
 to burn the ship. This was speedily carried into 
 effect, and the two transports steamed across the 
 river as the flames burst through the Louisiana's 
 hatchway.* Those who wished to make the 
 
 * Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report : 
 " I at once returned on board and called a council of war 
 
56 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-KUNNEB 
 
 attempt to escape through the bajons, received 
 permission to do so ; and a few of tlie number, 
 familiar with the locality, succeeded in evading 
 the Federal pickets, and getting within the Con- 
 federate lines. The rest of us were entrapped ; 
 passing several hours of ver^^ unpleasant suspense, 
 while the forts were being surrendered. It was 
 a grand spectacle when the flames reached the 
 Louisiana's magazine. The hawsers, securing her 
 to the river-bank, having been burnt in two, she 
 floated out into the stream a few minutes before 
 the explosion ; and at the moment of its occur- 
 rence, a column of pure white smoke shot rapidly 
 
 composed of Lieutenants Wilkinson, (commanding) \V. H. 
 Ward, A. F. Warley, Wm. C. Whittle, Jr. R. J. Bowen, 
 Arnold, F. M. Harris, and George N. Shryock, by whom — in 
 consequence of tlie enemy's having the entire command of 
 the river above and below us, with an overwhelming force, 
 and who was in the act of obtaining quiet and undisturbed 
 possession of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, with all their 
 material defences intact, with ordnance, military stores and 
 provisions, thus cutting the Louisiana off from all succor or 
 support ; and her having on board not more than ten days' 
 provisions, her surrender would be rendered certain in a 
 brief period by the simple method of blockade ; and that, 
 in the condition of her motive power and defective steering 
 apparatus, and the immediate danger of attack, she was very 
 liable to capture — it was unanimously recommended that 
 the Louisiana be destroyed, forthwith, to prevent her fall- 
 ing into the hands of the enemy, while it remained in our 
 power to prevent it ; first retiring to our tenders." 
 
TREATMENT OF PRI80NEES. 57 
 
 high into the air from the blazing hnll, wreathing 
 itself at the top into the shape of a snow-white 
 "cumulns" cloud; and in a few seconds after- 
 wards, huge fragments of the wreck showered 
 down, far and wide, upon the river and the 
 adjacent shore. The Louisiana had disappeared 
 before the deafening report attending the catas- 
 trophe reached our ears. 
 
 Immediately after the United States flag was 
 hoisted upon the forts, the steamer " Harriet 
 Lane" steamed slowly toward us, and sent a shot 
 over our heads as a summons to haul down the 
 Confederate flag which was then flying at our 
 peak. The demand was promptly complied with, 
 and we were prisoners of war. 
 
 Upon the pretext that we had violated the 
 usages of war by burning the Louisiana while a 
 flag of truce was flying, we were for a time sub- 
 jected to unusual humiliations ; learning after- 
 wards, indeed, that Commodore Porter had recom- 
 mended to the Secretary of the Navy a continuance 
 of harsh treatment toward us upon our arrival at 
 Fort Warren, where we were destined. The re- 
 ply to the charge brought against us is obvious, 
 viz., we were no parties to the flag of truce ; nor 
 were we included in the terms of the surrender ; 
 3* 
 
58 NAREATI^E OF A BLOCK ADE-EUNNEE. 
 
 General Duncan treating only for the garrisons 
 under his command, and expressly disclaiming 
 any connection with us. 
 
 We were kept for a few days in close confine- 
 ment on board the United States gunboat " Clif- 
 ton," * and were transferred from her on the 7th 
 of May to the frigate Colorado, lying olf the mouth 
 of the Mississippi. Here we found Kennon, who 
 had been consigned to a " lower deep" than our- 
 selves. He was placed nnder a sentry's charge 
 behind a canvas screen on the opposite side of the 
 gun deck from us ; and strict orders were given 
 that no one should hold any communication with 
 
 * The first and only time that I ever saw the notorious 
 General B. F. Butler, who subsequently claimed for liimseif 
 and the troops under his command, the honor of capturing 
 New Orleans, was on board the " Clifton." He took passage 
 in her to the city. No one who has ever looked ypon that 
 unique countenance can ever forget it ; and as his glance 
 rested for a moment upon us, each one conceived himself to 
 be the special object of the General's regard ; for owing to 
 his peculiar visual organs, that distinguished individual 
 seems to possess the Argus like faculty of looking steadily 
 at several persons at one and the same time. With the 
 pride that apes humility, or perhaps with the eccentricity 
 of genius, he affected, upon the occasion, a rough costume ; 
 wearing a slouch hat, and having his trowsers tucked in- 
 side of his soiled boots ; and he carried in his hand a long 
 stick like a pilgrim's staff'. He p7'eccded his troops to the 
 city, however, and might therefore, with equal propriety 
 and regard for truth, claim the sole glory of its capture. 
 
PEI80NEKS OF WAK. 59 
 
 him. The charge against him was, that he had 
 caused the death of some of his wounded crew by 
 Betting fire to his ship before their removal, a 
 charge denied by him ; but even if it were true, 
 or admitted, that some of his crew were unable to 
 escape, he was only responsible to his own gov- 
 ernment. In a few days, however, he was re- 
 leased from solitary confinement, and many re- 
 strictions were removed from all of us. But 
 humiliations or physical discomforts weighed as a 
 feather upon our spirits compared with our reflec- 
 tions upon the consequences of the disaster which 
 we had witnessed ; and our consciousness that this 
 sad fate had been brought upon the country 
 chiefly by treachery and want of concert. And, 
 indeed, the extent of the disaster could scarcely 
 be exaggerated. It gave the United States Gov- 
 ernment possession of the State of Louisiana, the 
 almost complete control of the Mississippi river, 
 and separated Texas and Arkansas from the rest 
 of the Confederacy for the remainder of the war. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Transferred to the " Rhode Island." — Meeting witb an old 
 Friend. — Arrival at Fort Warren. — Treatment there. — 
 Correspondence, and its Result. — Prison Life. — Ex- 
 changed. — The Crew at quarters. — Burial of the " Un- 
 known." 
 
 f~\^ the 9th of May we were transferred from 
 ^^ the Colorado to the steamer Ehode Island, 
 bound to Fort "Warren. On board of this vessel 
 we were " tabooed " even more completely by the 
 officers, than on board the Colorado ; for the 
 Rhode Island was officered, with the single excep- 
 tion, I believe, of her captain, hy volunteers, who 
 wore not connected with us by any associations 
 of friendship or congeniality of taste. The harsh 
 order to hold no intercourse with us, had been 
 evaded or violated, "sub rosa," on board the Colo- 
 rado by old friends and shipmates. On board the 
 Rhode Island, much to our satisfaction, it was 
 strictly obeyed ; for w'e would have lost our 
 patience to be " interviewed " by fledgling naval 
 heroes, many of whom had reached the quarter 
 deck through the hawseholes. Upon one occasion, 
 
AT FORTRESS MONROE. 61 
 
 many years ago, when the question of increasing 
 the United States Navy was under discussion by 
 Congress, a rough western member, opposed to 
 the measure, stated that his section of the country 
 could supply droves of young officers whenever 
 they were needed. The United States Govern- 
 ment must have " cori'alled " lots of youngsters, 
 without regard to their fitness or capacity, to send 
 on board the ships of war during our civil con- 
 flict. The " noble commander " of the Rhode 
 Island most of us had known of old as a prim lit- 
 tle precisian, and a great stickler for etiquette, 
 and by no means a bad fellow ; but so strict a 
 constructionist that he would probably have re- 
 fused to recognize his grandfather, if it were 
 against orders. But he had a humane disposition 
 under his frigid exterior ; and allowed us all the 
 comfort and privileges compatible with discipline 
 and safety. 
 
 We touched at Fortress Monroe; and while 
 the vessel was at anchor there I received a gratify- 
 ing evidence that this fratricidal war had not de- 
 stroyed all kindly feelings between former friends 
 and messmates. The executive officer of the 
 Rhode Island called me aside to say that a friend 
 wished to see me in his state-room : and as he did 
 
62 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 not mention tlie name, I was surprised to find 
 myself warmly greeted by Albert Smith. "VVe 
 had served together during the Mexican war, and 
 our cruise had not been an nneventful one ; for 
 the vessel to which we were attached (" the 
 Perry ") after considerable service in the Mexican 
 Gulf, was dismasted and wrecked, during one 
 of the most terrific hurricanes that ever deso- 
 lated the West India Islands. Thirty-nine vessels, 
 out of forty-two, which . lay in the harbor of 
 Havana, foundered at their anchors, or were 
 driven ashore ; all of the light-houses along the 
 Florida reef were destroyed, and hundreds of per- 
 sons perished. The Perry lost all of her boats, 
 her guns, except two, were thrown overboard, and 
 she escaped complete destruction almost by a 
 miracle. She encountered the hurricane off 
 Havana, and after scudding for many hours under 
 bare poles, describing a circle as the wind con- 
 tinued to veer in the cyclone, she passed over the 
 Florida reef with one tremendous shock as she 
 hung for a moment upon its rocky crest. Her 
 masts went by the board, but we had passed in a 
 moment from a raging sea into smooth water. 
 Captain Blake, who commanded her, achieved 
 the feat of rigging jury masts with his crew, and 
 
AT FORT WARREN. 63 
 
 carrying the v^essel to the Philadelphia navy yard 
 for repairs. Albert Smith and I had not met for 
 many years. He offered me any service in his 
 power, and pressed me to accept at least a pecuni- 
 ary loan. The kind offer, although declined, was 
 gratefully remembered ; and I was glad, too, to 
 lind that he, in common with many others, who 
 remained to fight under the old flag, could ap- 
 preciate the sacrifices made by those who felt 
 equally bound, by all the truest and best feelings 
 of our nature, to defend their homes and fire- 
 sides. 
 
 On our arrival at Fort Warren we were as- 
 signed quarters in one of the casemates. Little 
 more than a year had passed away since I had 
 planted a signal staff upon its parapet to aiigle 
 upon ; being then engaged, as chief of a hydro- 
 graphic surveying party, in surveying the ap- 
 proaches to Boston Harbor. Then its garrison 
 consisted of a superannuated sergeant whose office 
 was a sinecure; now it held an armed garrison, 
 who drilled and paraded every day, with all the 
 " pomp and circumstance " of war, to the patriotic 
 tune of " John Brown's body lies a-moulding in 
 the grave, but his spirit is marching on ; " and it 
 was crowded with southern prisoners of war. 
 
64 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 For a few days, in pursuance of Connno- 
 dore Porter's policy, we were closely confined ; 
 but all exceptional restrictions were then removed 
 and we fell into the monotonous routine of prison 
 life. The following correspondence took place 
 previous to the removal of the restrictions, and 
 explains the reason of their withdrawal. 
 
 Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, May 25, 1862. 
 
 Sir, — I was much surprised last evening on be- 
 ing informed by Colonel Dimmick that Lieuten- 
 ants Wilkinson, Warly, Ward, Whittle and Harris, 
 together with myself, have been, by your order, 
 denied the " privileges and courtesies that are 
 extended to other prisoners," on the ground that 
 the act of burning the Confederate States Battery 
 " Louisiana," late under my command, was held 
 by the United States Navy Department as "in- 
 famous." In my letter to the Department, dated 
 on board of the LTnited States Steamer Rhode 
 Island, Key West, May 14th, 1862, and forwarded 
 through Commander Trenchard on the arrival of 
 that vessel in Hampton Hoads, together with a 
 copy of my letter to Flag officer Farragut, and his 
 reply thereto, I felt assured that all the facts con- 
 nected with the destruction of the Louisiana were 
 
COKKESPONDENCE. 65 
 
 ' placed in snch a light as not to be mistaken, nor 
 my motives misconstrued. To render the affair 
 still more clear I enclose herewith a memorandum 
 of W. C. Whittle Jr., Confederate States Navy, 
 who was the bearer of my message to Commodore 
 Porter respecting my fears that the magazine of 
 the Louisiana had not been effectually drowned. 
 With all these statements forwarded by me to the 
 United States Navy Department I am perfectly 
 willing to rest the case with impartial and unpre- 
 judiced minds, as well as with my own Govern- 
 ment, satisfied that nothing has been done by the 
 foregoing officers, nor myself, militating at all 
 against the strictest rules of military honor and 
 usage. 
 
 Though I will not affect an indifference to the 
 personal annoyance to us by the action of the 
 United States Navy Department in our case as 
 prisoners of war, yet my chief solicitude is to 
 have placed on file in that office such a statement 
 of facts as will, on a fair investigation, vindicate 
 all the officers of the Confederate States Navy 
 concerned from the odium of infamous conduct 
 unjustly attempted to be fixed upon them by 
 those of the United States Navy ; against which 
 and the infliction of punishment as directed 
 
6Q NA.RRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 bj the Navy Department I enter my solemn 
 protest. 
 
 I most emphatically assert that the Louisiana, 
 when abandoned and fired by my order, was not 
 only not " turned adrift " or intended to injure the 
 United States forces as charged by Commander 
 Porter ; but that she was actually left secured to 
 the opposite bank of the river and distant quite 
 three-fourths of a mile from the said forces, for 
 the very reason that the}^ were flying a flag of 
 truce, and for that reason I dispatched the warn- 
 ing message to Commander Porter respecting the 
 magazine. That it is not only the right, but the 
 duty, of an ofiicer to destroy public propertj' to 
 prevent its falling into the hands of an enemy 
 docs not admit of question ; and in addition to all 
 which, it must not be overlooked that the forces 
 under my command flew no flag of truce, and that 
 I was not in any way a party to the surrender of 
 Forts Jackson and St. Philip. 
 I have the honor to be 
 Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Jno. K. MrrcHELL, 
 
 Commander C. S. Navy. 
 Hon. Gideon Welles, 
 
 Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 67 
 
 Copy in Substance. 
 Navy Depabtment, Washington, May 29, 1862 
 
 Sir, — The explanations of Commodore J. K. 
 Mitchell are satisfactory, and the restrictions 
 .imposed on him and his associates by the de- 
 partment's order of the 2d instant will be re- 
 moved, and they will be treated as prisoners of 
 war. 
 
 This does not relieve Beverly Kennon from 
 the restrictions imposed on him. 
 
 (Signed) Gideon "Welles. 
 
 Colonel Justin Dimmick, 
 
 Commanding Fort Warren, Boston. 
 
 {Copy-) 
 
 Navy Depaktment, June 25, 1862. 
 
 Sir,— The letter of John K. Mitchell of the 
 20th inst., concerning the restrictions imposed on 
 you, by order of this Department, at Fort Warren, 
 has been received. 
 
 Will you please furnish the Department with 
 the particulars of the destruction of the gunboat 
 of which you had command in the engagement 
 below New Orleans, with wounded men on board. 
 
 I am respectfully your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Gideon Welles. 
 
 Beverly Kennon, Fort Warren, Boston. 
 
68 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 (Copy) Fort Warren, Boston, June 28, 18t)2. 
 
 Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary U. S. Nax)y. 
 
 Sir, — Colonel Diintnick, the commander of 
 this post, delivered to me yesterday a letter signed 
 by you nnder date of June 25th directed to me 
 as " Beverly Kennon " and referring to a com- 
 munication addressed to you on tlie 20th inst. by 
 my superior officer. Commander J. K. Mitchell, 
 of the Confederate States Navy, whom you are 
 pleased to desigiuite as '' John K. Mitchell." 
 
 The purport of yuur letter is a request that I 
 will furnish your Department of the United States 
 Government with the " particulars of the destruc- 
 tion of the gunboat of which I had command in 
 the engagement below New Orleans y^\\hwounded 
 men on board." 
 
 When I destroyed and left the vessel which I 
 had commanded on the occasion referred to, all 
 the wounded men had been removed, the most of 
 them lowered into boats by mj^ own hands, 1 was, 
 myself, the last person to leave the vessel. Any 
 statements which you may have received to the 
 contrary are wholh'' without foundation. It would 
 not be proper, under any circumstances, that I 
 should report to you the " particulars " of her de- 
 struction ; that being a matter which concerns my 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 69 
 
 own Government exclusively, and with which 
 yours can have notliing to do. Should any 
 charges he made against me, however, of which 
 you have a right to take cognizance under the laws 
 of war, I will with pleasure, respond to any respect- 
 ful communication which you may address me on 
 the subject. Indeed I shall be glad of the oppor- 
 tunity to vindicate my character as an officer from 
 the unjust and unfounded imputations which have 
 been cast upon it in the connection to which you 
 allude, and upon the faith of which I have already 
 been disparaged by unusual restrictions and con- 
 finements, here and elsewhere, since I have been 
 a prisoner of war, without having been furnished 
 an opportunity for such vindication. But your 
 letter of the 20th inst. so studiously denies, both 
 to Commander Mitchell and myself, not only our 
 official designations, but those of common courtes}', 
 that while I am unwilling to believe you would 
 intentionally offer an indignity to prisoners of war 
 in your power, I can not now make further reply 
 without failing in respect to mj'self as well as to 
 my superior officer and Government. 
 
 I am Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Beverly Kennon, 
 
 Commander in Provisional Navy of the State 
 of Louisiana in the Confcd(!rate service. 
 
70 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 The restrictions were removed from Kennon 
 in a few days after the close of this correspond- 
 ence. 
 
 Many distinguished political prisoners were 
 at that time confined at Fort Warren ; and all of 
 the officers captured at Fort Donelson, Among 
 the former class, were those members of the Mary- 
 land Legislature, and of tlie Baltimore City Coun- 
 cil, who had been arrested and imprisoned by the 
 United States Government for alleged treason. It 
 was my good fortune to be invited into this mess. 
 It is not my purpose to inflict upon the reader a 
 detailed account of prison life during the war, 
 which has been described by tar abler pens than 
 mine. All the members of our mess took their 
 turns, either at carving or waiting upon the table, 
 and guests were never better served. The grace- 
 ful and accomplished old Commodore B. and 
 General T. shone conspicuous as carvers ; while 
 Colonels, Majors and Captains, with spotless nap- 
 kins on their arms, anticipated ever}' wish of the 
 guests at the table. Colonel Dimmick was hon- 
 ored and beloved by the prisoners for his human- 
 ity, and he and his family will ever be held in 
 affectionate remembrance bj^ them ; many of us 
 haviug received special acts of kindness, while 
 
PRISON LIFE. 71 
 
 sufFering from sickness. When his son was 
 ordered to active service in the field I believe 
 there was an unanimous prayer by the prisoners 
 that his life would be spared through the perils he 
 was about to encounter. The prisoners, tirst 
 giving their parole not to attempt to escape, were 
 allowed the range of neai'ly the whole island dur- 
 ing the day ; and not unfrequently suffered to see 
 relatives and friends who had received permission 
 from the proper authorities to visit them. In 
 happier "ante belluni" times, I had known some 
 of the good people of Boston, and had spent a 
 portion of a summer with several families at that 
 pleasant watering place, Nahant. One of my 
 most esteemed friends — Mrs. L. — with the charity 
 of a noble and Christian heart, wrote to me as 
 soon as she learned that I was a prisoner; but 
 she was too loyal to the flag not to express i-egret 
 and distress at what she believed to be a mistaken 
 sense of duty. The reader may remember the 
 definition once given of " Orthodoxy " by a digni- 
 tary of the church of England to an inquiring 
 nobleman. " Orthodoxy, my Lord, is my doxy, 
 heterodoxy is your doxy if you differ from me." 
 The same authority, it has always appeared to me, 
 was assumed by a large portion of the Northern 
 
72 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 people. They demanded a Government to suit 
 their ideas, and disloyalty consisted in opposing 
 them. 
 
 We were permitted to write once a month to 
 our friends in the Confederacy^ ; the letters beinn^ 
 left open for inspection. There were a few 
 Northerners among us, but I know of only a 
 single case where the individual concerned so far 
 yielded to the persuasion of his friends outside, as 
 to renounce the cause which he had sworn to 
 defend. 
 
 Aside from the confinement, and the earnest 
 desire to be doing our part in the war, there could 
 be no cause to repine at our lot. We were 
 allowed, at our own expense, to supply our tables 
 from the Boston market, not only abundantly, 
 but luxuriously ; the Government furnishing the 
 usual rations ; and the prisoners grew robust 
 upon the good fare and the bracing climate. A 
 tug plied dail}"^ between Boston and the island on 
 which Fort Warren is situated. We were per- 
 mitted to receive the daily papers and to purchase 
 clothing and other necessaries, either from the 
 sutler, or from outside ; and many of the prison- 
 ers were indebted to a noble charity for the 
 means of supplying many of these needs ; of 
 
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 73 
 
 clothing especially, which was cliieflj furnished 
 by the firm of Noah Walker & Co. of Baltimore. 
 The firm itself was said to be most liberal, not 
 merely dispensing the donations received in 
 Baltimore and elsewhere, but supplying a large 
 amount of clothing gratuitously. The policy of 
 retaliation had not then been adopted. It is con- 
 ceded that the United States Government, 
 towards the close of the war, subjected the Con- 
 federate prisoners in their hands to harsh treat- 
 ment in pursuance of this policy ; but in justice 
 to the Confederate authorities it should be borne 
 in raind that they repeatedly proposed an 
 exchange of prisoners upon the ground of human- 
 ity, seeing that neither provisions nor medicine 
 were procurable ; and, I believe, it is also a con- 
 ceded fact that General Grant opposed exchanges. 
 The testimony of General Lee given before the 
 " reconstruction " Committee, clearly establishes 
 the fact that lie did all in his power to effect this 
 object. In answer to a question he says: "I 
 offered to General Grant around Richmond that 
 we should ourselves exchange all the prisoners in 
 our hands, and to show that I would do whatever 
 was in my power, I offered them to send to City 
 Point all the prisoners in Virginia and North 
 
74 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 Carolina, over which my command extended, 
 providing they returned an equal number of 
 mine, man for man. I reported this to the War 
 Department, and received for answer, that they 
 would place at my command all the prisoners at 
 the South, if the proposition was accepted." The 
 Rev. J. "Wm. Jones, D. D., author of "Personal 
 Keminiscences of General R. E. Lee," writes as 
 follows upon this subject (page 194, et seq.) viz : 
 
 " 1st — The Confederate authorities gave to 
 prisoners in their hands the same rations which 
 they issued to their own soldiers, and gave them 
 the very best accommodations which their scant 
 means afforded. 
 
 " 2d. They were always anxious to exchange 
 prisoners, man for man, and when this was re- 
 jected by the Federal authorities, they offered to 
 send home the prisoners in their hands without 
 any equivalent. 
 
 " 3d. By refusing all propositions to exchange 
 prisoners, and declining even to receive theii- own 
 men without equivalent the Federal authorities 
 made themselves responsible for all the suffering, 
 of both Federal and Confederate prisoners, that 
 ensued. 
 
 "4th. And yet notwithstanding these facts. 
 
VINDICATION. 75 
 
 it is susceptible of proof, from the official records 
 of the Federal Department, that the suffering of 
 Confederate prisoners in Federal prisons was 
 much greater than that of Federal prisoners in 
 Confederate prisons. Without going more fully 
 into the question, the following figures, from the 
 report of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, in re- 
 sponse to a resolution of the House of Representa- 
 tives, calling for the number of prisoners on both 
 sides and their mortality, are triumphantly sub- 
 mitted. 
 
 In prison. Died. 
 
 U. S. Soldiers 260,940 22,526 
 
 Confederates 200,000 26,500 
 
 That is, the Confederate States held as pris- 
 oners nearly 61,000 more men than the Fed- 
 erals; and yet the death of Federal prisoners 
 fell below those of the Confederates four thou- 
 sand. 
 
 Lastly, the Southern Historical Society, Rich- 
 mond, Va., has recently published a " Yindication 
 of the Confederacy against the Charge of Cruelty 
 to Prisoners," which is conclusive on the whole 
 question. It was compiled by the Secretary of 
 the Society, the Rev. J. Wm. Jones, just quoted, 
 who concludes with the following sunmiing up of 
 
76 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-KUNNER. 
 
 his argument. " We think that we have estab- 
 lished the following points: 
 
 " 1st. The laws of the Confederate Congress, 
 the orders of the War Department, the Regula- 
 tions of the Surgeon General, the action of our 
 Generals in the field, and the orders of those who 
 had the immediate charge of the prisoners, all 
 provided that prisoners in the hands of the Con- 
 federates should be kindly treated, supplied with 
 the same rations which our soldiers had, and cared 
 for, when sick, in hospitals placed on precisely the 
 same footing as the hospitals for Corfederate 
 soldiers. 
 
 " 2d. If these regulations were violated in indi- 
 vidual instances, and if subordinates were some- 
 times cruel to prisoners, it was without the knowl- 
 edge or consent of the Confederate Government, 
 which always took prompt action on any case re- 
 ported to them. 
 
 " 3d. If the prisoners failed to get their full 
 rations, and had those of inferior quality, the 
 Confederate soldiers suffered in precisely the same 
 way and to the same extent ; and it resulted from 
 that system of warfare adopted by the Federal 
 authorities, which carried desolation and ruin to 
 every part of the South they could reach, and 
 
PRISON LIFE. 77 
 
 which in starving the Confederates into submis- 
 sion, brought the same evils upon their own men 
 in Southern prisons. 
 
 " 4th. The mortality in Southern prisons (fear- 
 fully large, although over three per cent less than 
 the mortality in Northei-n prisons) resulted from 
 causes beyond the control of our authorities, from 
 epidemics, etc., which might have been avoided or 
 greatly mitigated had not the Federal Govern- 
 ment declared medicines " contraband of war," 
 refused the proposition of Judge Ould, that each 
 Government should send its own surgeons with 
 medicines, hospital stores, etc., to minister to sol- 
 diers in prison, declined his proposition to send 
 medicines to its own men in southern prisons, 
 without being required to allow the Confederates 
 the same privileges — refused to allow the Con- 
 federate Government to buy medicines for gold, 
 tobacco, or cotton, which it offered to pledge its 
 honor should be used only for Federal prisoners 
 in its hands, refused to exchange sick and wounded, 
 and neglected from August to December, 1864, to 
 accede to Judge Quid's proposition to send trans- 
 portation to Savannah and receive without equiv- 
 alent from ten to fifteen thousand Federal pris- 
 oners, notwithstanding the fact that this offer was 
 
78 NAREATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EtJNNEK. 
 
 accompanied with a statement of the utter inabil- 
 ity of the Confederacy to provide for these pris- 
 oners, and a detailed report of the monthly 
 mortality at Anderson ville, and that Judge Ould, 
 again and again, urged compliance with his hu- 
 mane proposal. 
 
 " 5th. We have proven by the most unimpeach- 
 able testimony, that the sufferings of Confederate 
 prisoners in Northern "prison pens," were terrible 
 beyond description ; that they were starved in a 
 land of plenty, that they were frozen where fuel 
 and clothing were abundant; that they suffered 
 untold horrors for want of medicines, hospital 
 stores and proper medical attention ; that they 
 were shot by sentinels, beaten by officers, and sub- 
 jected to the most cruel punishments upon the 
 slightest pretexts ; that friends at the North were 
 refused the privilege of clothing their nakedness 
 or feeding them when starving ; and that these 
 outrages were perpetrated not only with the 
 full knowledge of, but under the orders of E. M. 
 Stanton, United States Secretary of War. Wo 
 have proven these things by Federal as well as 
 Confederate testimony. 
 
 " 6th. We have shown that all the suffering of 
 prisoners on both sides could have been avoided 
 
PRISON LIFE. T9 
 
 by simply carrying out the terms of the cartel, 
 and that for the failure to do this, the Federal 
 aidliorities alone were responsible ; that the Con- 
 federate Government originally proposed the car- 
 tel, and were alwaj's ready to carry it out both in 
 letter and spirit; that the Federal authorities 
 observed its terms only so long as it was to their 
 interest to do so, and then repudiated their 
 plighted faith and proposed other terms which 
 were greatly to the disadvantage of the Confeder- 
 ates ; that when the Government at Kichmond 
 agreed to accept the hard terms of exchange offered 
 them, these were at once repudiated by the Fed- 
 eral authorities; that when Judge Quid agreed 
 upon a new cartel with General Butler, Lieuten- 
 ant-General Grant refused to approve it, and Mr. 
 Stanton repudiated it ; and that the policy of 
 the Federal Government was to refuse all ex- 
 changes while they " fired the Northern heart " bj' 
 placing the whole blame upon the "Rebels," and 
 by circulating the most heartrending stories of 
 " Rebel barbarity " to prisoners. If either of the 
 above points has not been made clear to anj^ sin- 
 cere seeker after the truth, we would be most 
 happ3' to produce further testimony. And we 
 hold ourselves prepared to maintain against all 
 
80 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 comers, the truth of every jpro]position we have 
 laid down in this discussion. Let the calm ver- 
 dict of history decide between the Confederate 
 Government and its calumniators." 
 
 These extracts are inserted with the hope that 
 the fair minded reader may be induced to read 
 the evidence upon the Confederate side. 
 
 " Truth crushed to Earth will rise again ; 
 The Eternal years of God are hers ; 
 But Error, wounded, writhes in pain ; 
 And dies amid her worshipers." 
 
 It is not to be denied that the sufferings in 
 Confederate prisons were fearful ; but they were 
 caused by the destitute condition of the country 
 ravaged by war, and the scarcity of medicines 
 which were not to be obtained. 
 
 We were growing very tired of the monotony 
 of prison life, scarcely varied except by the daily 
 game of football and the semi-weekly reports of 
 the capture of Richmond, when a rumor began to 
 circulate of a speedy exchange of prisoners. It 
 was about the time when General McClellan 
 " changed his base " from the lines around Rich- 
 mond to Harrison's Landing, on James River. 
 Early in August a large number of us, military 
 and naval officers, were sent on board a transport 
 
EXCHANGED. SI 
 
 bound to James Kiver, where we arrived in due 
 time, and thence, after taking on board a number 
 of Confederates forwarded from other prisons, we 
 proceeded up the river to Aiken's Landing. There 
 was fighting near Malvern Hill as we passed by 
 there, and the United States gnnboats had been 
 shelling the Confederate troops. The crew of one 
 of them was at quarters, the men in their snow 
 white " frocks " and trowsers, the beautifully pol- 
 ished eight inch guns cast loose and ready for 
 action. The captain of one of the guns, a hand- 
 some man-of-war's man, looked at our party with 
 a smile of bravado as we passed by, at the same 
 time tapping his gun with his hand. Garrick or 
 Kean could not have conveyed more meaning by 
 a gesture. That handsome fellow's confidence in 
 his pet was not misplaced ; for history records 
 how frequently during the war the tide of battle 
 was turned by that gallant Navy to which it is an 
 honor ever to have belonged. We, who so reluc- 
 tantly severed our connection with it, still feel a 
 pride in its achievements; and in our dreams are 
 frequently pacing the deck, or sitting at the mess 
 table with dear friends of " auld lang syne," from 
 whom we are probably severed forever on this 
 side of eternity. 
 4* 
 
82 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER, 
 
 We were put ashore at Aiken's Landing on the 
 5th of Aiignst. It was a hot, sultry day. Three 
 or four poor fellows had died on board our trans- 
 port while on our way up the river, and their 
 bodies were landed at the same time with our- 
 selves. While we were waiting for the prelim- 
 inaries for the exchange of prisoners to be settled 
 between the Commissioners, a large grave was dug 
 in the sand with such implements as could be 
 procured, and the "unknown" were consigned to 
 their last resting place between high and low 
 water mark. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 A Brief Stay at Home. — Report to the War Department. — 
 Instructions to go abroad. — The Blockade- runner 
 " Kate." — Voyage to Nassau. — Yellow Fever. — The 
 Undertaker. — Our Skipper " Captain Dick." — The Major 
 sick. — A Story for the Marines. — Arrival at Cardenas. — 
 The Coolies. — Arrival at Havana. — The American Consul 
 and I. — The Pirate Marti. — The Spanish Steamer. — 
 Pretty Harbors. — Captain Fry. 
 
 A FTER reporting at the Navy Department, I 
 -^-*- proceeded to my home. The day after my 
 arrival there I was summoned by telegram to 
 Richmond, to report in person to the Secretary of 
 War. I had been detailed for special duty, and 
 from this date commenced my connection with 
 blockade running. Upon reaching the office, I 
 found written instructions from the Secretary of 
 War to proceed to England and purchase a steamer 
 suitable for running the blockade, to load her with 
 arms, munitions of war, and other supplies, and 
 to bring her into a Confederate port with all dis- 
 patch. Ample funds in sterling exchange were 
 provided and a large amount of Confederate bonds 
 
84 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. - 
 
 was entrusted to me for deposit with an agent of 
 the Government in England. Accompanied by 
 'my small staff of assistants, and by Major Ben. 
 Ficklin, who went abroad under special instruc- 
 tions from the War and Treasury Departments, I 
 left Richmond about the 12th of August, and after 
 some difficulty and delay, secured passage for the 
 whole party on board the little steamer Kate, 
 about to sail from Wilmington for Nassau. Un- 
 der her skilful commander. Lock wood, this little 
 side-wheel steamer had already acquired fame as 
 a successful blockade-runner, and was destined to 
 continue successful to the end of her career. But 
 her appearance was by no means prepossessing, 
 and she was very slow, her maximum speed being 
 about nine knots. I forget by what accident she 
 was at last disabled ; perhaps by sheer old age and 
 inlinnity ; but her ribs were to be seen for many 
 a day before the war ended, bleaching in the sun 
 on one of the mud flats in Cape Fear River. 
 
 The night of our crossing the bar was dark 
 and stormy and we felt under great obligations to 
 the blockading fleet outside, for showing lights at 
 their peaks — thus enabling us to avoid them M'ith 
 much ease. At this period, indeed, blockade run- 
 ning had not assumed such enormous proportions 
 
GOING ABROAD. 85 
 
 as it afterwards attained, when hundreds of thou- 
 sands of dollars were invested in a single venture 
 and the profits were so immense that the game 
 was well worth the candle. Subsequent to the 
 period of which I now write, Wilmington became 
 the chief place of import and export. Large 
 quantities of cotton were stored there, both on 
 Government and private account ; and steam 
 cotton presses were erected, but at this period 
 Charleston possessed greater facilities and was 
 perhaps quite as accessible. 
 
 Our voyage to Nassau was safely accom- 
 plished ; the vigilant look-out at the mast-head 
 giving prompt notice of a speck on the horizon 
 no larger than a gull's wing, when the course 
 would be so changed as to lose sight of it. Two 
 cases of yellow fever, both ending fatally, occurred 
 among the passengers during the brief voyage, 
 and we were quarantined on our arrival at Nassau. 
 One of the sick men had been brought on deck 
 and placed on a couch under the deck awning. 
 As he had taken no nourishment for two or three 
 days, our good captain directed that a bowl of 
 soup should be prepared for him. The sick man 
 sat up when the steaming bowl was presented to 
 him ; seized it with both hands, drained it to the 
 
86 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 bottom, aud fell back dead. We had not been at 
 anchor more than an hour when an outward- 
 bound passing schooner hailed us and announced 
 to our captain the death of his wife and child, 
 whom he had left in good health only a few days 
 before. 
 
 As the epidemic on board the Kate had been 
 contracted at Nassau, and still prevailed on shore, 
 we were at a loss to understand why we should 
 be refused " pratique " ; but it gave our little 
 party no concern, as the town did not present an 
 attractive or inviting appearance from the quar- 
 antine ground ; nor were our unfavorable impres- 
 sions removed upon a nearer acquaintance with it 
 two or three months afterwards. But it was 
 evident, that in spite of the epidemic, there was a 
 vast deal of activity ashore and afloat. Cotton, 
 cotton, everywhere ! 
 
 Blockade-runners discharging it into lighters, 
 tier upon tier of it, piled high upon the wharves, 
 and merchant vessels, chiefly under the British 
 flag, loading with it. Here and there in the 
 crowded harbor might be seen a long, low, rakish- 
 looking lead-colored steamer with short masts, 
 and a convex forecastle deck extending nearly as 
 far aft as the waist, aud placed there to enable the 
 
YELLOW FEVER. 87 
 
 steamer to be forced through and not over a heavy 
 head sea. These were the genuine hlockade- 
 riinners, built for speed ; and some of them sur- 
 vived all the desperate hazards of the war. 
 
 The mulatto undertaker, who came on board 
 to take the measure for coffins for the two pas- 
 sengers who had died, did not leave us in a very 
 cheerful state of mind, although he was in fine 
 spirits, in the anticipation of a brisk demand for 
 his stock in trade. 
 
 Presenting each one of us with his card, he 
 politely expressed the hope that we would give 
 him our custom, if we needed anything in his 
 line. Fortunately we had no occasion for his 
 services. Just before leaving the ship he was 
 invited to take a glass of brandy and water. 
 Holding the glass in his hands which were yet 
 stained with the coffin paint, he drank to our 
 death, a toast to which Dyer, my Wilmington 
 pilot, responded, " You shouldn't bury me, you 
 d — d rascal, if I did die." 
 
 With the assistance of the Confederate agcent 
 on shore, we succeeded in promptly chartering a 
 schooner for Cardenas and in provisioning her 
 for the voyage; and in a day or two, were making 
 our way across the Bahama Banks for Cuba. The 
 
88 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 agent had supplied us liberally with flesh, fowls, 
 and ice; and the Banks gave us an abundance of 
 fish, as the light winds fanned us slowly along, 
 sotnetimes freshening into a moderate breeze, and 
 occasionally dying away to a calm. The " chef 
 (Tceuvre " of our mulatto skipper who was also cook, 
 was conch soup, and he was not only an adept at 
 cooking but also at catching the conch. In those 
 almost transparent waters, the smallest object can 
 be distinctly seen at the depth of three or four 
 fathoms. When soup was to be prepared Cap- 
 tain Dick would take his station at the bow " in 
 puris naturalibus," watching intently for his prize. 
 Overboard he would go like an arrow, and rising 
 again to the surface, would pitch the conch (and 
 sometimes one in each hand) on board. His son 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, (who was first mate, stew- 
 ard and half the starboard watch) would throw 
 him a rope, and the old fellow would climb on 
 board as the little craft sailed by, without an 
 alteration in her course. 
 
 t Major Ben. Ficklin was attacked with yellow 
 
 fever just after we left Nassau ; but as we had no 
 
 '' medicines on board he recovered. The medical 
 fraternity might perhaps take a hint from tlie 
 treatment of his case. Small lumps of ice were 
 
 / }U kuJLuJ ^ 
 
 I [ L 1 
 
A STORY FOB THE MARINES. 89 
 
 kept in a saucer beside him as he lay on a mattress 
 under a deck awning, and by the constant use of 
 it he allayed the raging thirst attending high 
 fever. The " vis medicatrix naturae " accom- 
 plished the rest. 
 
 Having no books on board, we beguiled the 
 time occasionally by telling stories as we lay 
 under the shelter of the deck awning. One of 
 my contributions was the following: Many 
 officers of the nav}'- will remember it, and there 
 are some who, like myself, will recollect the 
 solemn earnestness with which the hero of it 
 would narrate the facts, for he firmly believed it 
 to the day of his death. At the time of its occur- 
 rence he was enjoying a day's shooting at his home 
 in Vermont. Becoming tired toward midday he 
 took a seat on an old log in the woods. A few 
 minutes afterwards, he saw an old bareheaded 
 man, meanly clad, approaching, who seated him- 
 self in silence at the other end of the log. The 
 head of the stranger was bound with a white cloth 
 and his eyes were fixed with a glassy stare upon 
 Major B., who felt his blood run cold at the singu- 
 lar apparition. At last the Major mustered up 
 courage to ask the stranger what he wanted. The 
 spectre replied " I am a dead man, and was buried 
 
90 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 in the graveyard yonder (pointing as he spoke to 
 a dilapidated enclosure a few yards distant). " The 
 dogs," he continued, " have found their way into 
 my shallow grave, and are gnawing my flesh. I can 
 not rest until I am laid deeper in the ground." 
 The Major used to assert that his tongue clove to 
 the roof of his mouth ; but he managed to prom- 
 ise the dead man that his Mashes should be com- 
 plied with, when the apparition dissolved into the 
 air. The Major went straight to some of the 
 neighbors, and when he accompanied them to the 
 grave, it was found in the condition described by 
 its occupant. N. B. The Major was in the habit 
 of carrying a " pocket pistol," which may have 
 been overcharged upon this occasion ; he also 
 belonged to the marines. 
 
 We arrived at Cardenas after a week's voyage, 
 and stopped there a day to recruit. During our 
 stay we witnessed a curious scene. While we 
 w^ere enjoying our cigars in the cool of the even- 
 ing upon the "azotea " of our hotel, we saw a file 
 of soldiers march up to a house directly opposite, 
 and after repeated efforts to enter, they finally 
 burst open the door; reappearing in a few mo- 
 ments with seven or eight " coolies," who were 
 apparently dead drunk, but in reality were stupe- 
 
THE COOLIES. 91 
 
 tied with opium ; having met, by appointment, to 
 " shuffle oif this mortal coil " after this character- 
 istic fashion. One or two of them were quite 
 beyond resuscitation, and the others were only 
 prevented from sinking into fatal insensibility by 
 severe flogging with bamboo caiies, and being 
 forced to keep upon their feet. We were informed 
 that suicide is very common among them in Cuba ; 
 it being their last resort against misery and op- 
 pression. Colonel Totten, the able civil engineer 
 who constructed the railroad across the Isthmus 
 of Panama, once gave a party of us a graphic ac- 
 count of the mortality among a number of them, 
 who had been employed by him in that pestilen- 
 tial climate. Having no access to opium, and 
 being deprived of knives, they resorted to the 
 most ingenious modes of self destruction. Some- 
 times they would wade out in the bay at low 
 water, with a pole, which they would stick firml}'^ 
 into the mud', and securely tying themselves to it, 
 would wait for the risino- tide to drown them. 
 Others would point a stake by charring it in the 
 tire and impale themselves upon it. 
 
 The evils of this system of labor cannot be 
 truthfullj'- denied. Ignorant even of the nature 
 of the contract which binds them to servitude, the 
 
92 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 coolies are driven in crowds to the ship which is to 
 transport them to another hemisphere; and they 
 endure all the horrors of the " middle passage " 
 during their long voyage. 
 
 When they arrive at their port of destination 
 in the West Indies they are apprenticed for a 
 term of years to the planters who need their ser- 
 vices, and many of them succumb to the tropical 
 climate and the severe labor in the cane Held. 
 Many more seek a ready means of escape in death. 
 The philanthropy of the civilized governments, 
 which has been concentrated for many years upon 
 efforts to liberate the " black man and brother," 
 has never been exerted to rescue " John China- 
 man " from a crueler thraldom and a harder lot. 
 
 Taking the train for Havana, we passed 
 through a very beautiful country, luxuriant with 
 tropical verdure; the most conspicuous natural 
 feature in the landscape being the graceful palm 
 tree in its many varieties. We passed, too, many 
 sugar plantations, the growing cane not at all un- 
 like our own cornfields at home, while the long 
 lines of negroes, at work with their hoes, in the 
 crop, made the fields appear even more familiar 
 and home-like. Our friends, the " darkies," evi- 
 dently did not contemplate suicide. Sleek and 
 
FOR SOUTHAMPTON. 93 
 
 well-fed) they were chattering like so many flocks 
 of blackbirds. 
 
 Arriving at Havana we took up our quarters 
 at Mrs. B.'s hotel, and as my first object was to 
 find Colonel Helm, the agent of the Confederate 
 Government, I started for that purpose immedi- 
 ately after our arrival. The Colonel had held 
 the position of United States Consul before the 
 war; and the residence then occupied by him was 
 now tenanted by his successor. Being directed to 
 this house by mistake, I was ushered in by the 
 servant, and found myself face to face with Cap- 
 tain S., the American Consul. We were not 
 totally unacquainted, having met occasionally in 
 bygone days, when both of us were in the United 
 States ISTavy. The surprise was mutual, and the 
 awkward silence was interrupted by my saying 
 " Apparently I am in the wrong pew." " Evi- 
 dently," he replied, and we parted without another 
 word. 
 
 "With the assistance of Colonel Helm our busi- 
 ness in Havana was speedily transacted ; and pas- 
 sage was engaged for the whole party on board a 
 Spanish steamer bound for St. Thomas, thence 
 to take passage by the British mail steamer for 
 Southampton. 
 
94 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADK-RUNNER. 
 
 The few days spent in Havana were pleas- 
 antly passed in sight-seeing ; the afternoons being 
 devoted to a ride upon the " paseo," and the even- 
 ings closed by a visit to the noted " Dominica" 
 the principal cafe of the city. There are many 
 beautiful rides and drives in the environs, and the 
 summer heats are tempered by the cool refresh- 
 ing sea breeze which blows daily. That scourge 
 of the tropics, yellow fever, is chief!}' confined to 
 the cities of Cuba, the country being salubrious ; 
 and it appears strange that this beautiful island 
 has never been a favorite place of resort, during 
 the winter, for invalids from the Northern States 
 in search of an equable climate. It must be con- 
 fessed that Havana itself possesses few atti'actions 
 for the stranger and that its sanitary arrangements 
 are execrable. In addition to the imperfect 
 municipal regulations in this respect, all the sew- 
 age of the city empties itself into the harbor, in 
 which there is no current to sweep the decompos- 
 ing matter into the Gulf Stream outside. The 
 water in the harbor is sometimes so phosphores- 
 cent at night that showers of liquid fire appear to 
 drop from a boat's oars passing through it ; and 
 the boat leaves a long lane of light in her wake. 
 
 No stranger visiting Havana fails to see the 
 
THE PIKATE MARTI. 95 
 
 spot in the cathedral held sacred as the tomb of 
 Columbus. His remains were transferred here 
 with great pomp, after resting many years in the 
 city of San Domingo, whither they had been car- 
 ried from Spain. 
 
 The fish market and the " Tacon " theatre too, 
 are well worth a visit. Both of them once be- 
 longed to the same individual, the noted pirate 
 "Marti," whom 1 have seen many a time, in the 
 streets of Havana, after his reformation. He was 
 then a venerable looking old gentleman 
 
 " As mild a mannered man 
 As ever scuttled ship or cut a throat." 
 
 For a long time he had been chief of all the 
 piratical bands that then infested the shores of 
 Cuba. They plied their fearful trade with com- 
 parative impunity ; the numerous lagoons on the 
 coast, only accessible through tortuous and shal- 
 low channels, and hidden by mangrove bushes, 
 affording safe shelter ; while they could easily in- 
 tercept many vessels passing through the narrow 
 strait separating Cuba from Florida. They gave 
 no quarter to man, woman, or child, and scuttled 
 their prizes after taking from them what was most 
 valuable. A ready sale was found for their pi under 
 in Havana through accomplices there ; and their 
 
96 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 depredations upon commerce finally became so 
 extensive that the United States Government 
 fitted out an expedition against them. General 
 Tacon, at that time Governor-General of Cuba, 
 also prepared an expedition to operate against 
 them. This fleet was on the eve of sailing. The 
 night was dark and rainy. A stranger, wrapped 
 in a cloak for disguise, watched the sentry on 
 duty before the door of the palace from a hiding 
 place near by ; and as the sentry turned his back 
 for a moment or two from the door, the stranger 
 slipped by him, undiscovered, and proceeded 
 rapidly to the apartments of the Captain-General. 
 His excellency was writing at a table ; and the 
 stranger had opened the door and entered the 
 room without being discovered. When the Gov- 
 ernor-General raised his eyes and saw the cloaked 
 figure standing silently before him, he stretched 
 his hand toward a bell near him, but the stranger 
 interposed. " Stop, your Excellency," he said, 
 " I am here upon a desperate enterprise. I have 
 come to deliver into your hands every pirate 
 on the Cuban coast upon one condition ; a par- 
 don for myself.'' '"' You shall have it," replied 
 his excellency, " but who are you ? " ''I am 
 Marti, and I rely upon the promise you have 
 
OUE PASSENGERS. 97 
 
 given to me." The Governor-General repeated 
 his assurances of immunity upon the prescribed 
 conditions. Marti had laid his plans well, having 
 appointed a place of rendezvous for the different 
 bands before venturing upon his perilous expedi- 
 tion. He acted as a guide to the force sent in 
 pursuit, and every pirate was captured and after- 
 wards "garroted." A large price had been set 
 upon the head of Marti. This is the story as told 
 by his contemporaries. For these distinguished 
 services to the State the vile old reprobate was 
 offered the promised reward. In lieu of it he 
 asked for the monopoly of the sale of fish in 
 Havana, which was granted to him; and the 
 structure erected by him for a fish market is per- 
 haps the finest of the sort in the world. He 
 afterwards built the noble " Tacon " theatre, 
 named after his benefactor, — and died in the 
 odor of sanctity. 
 
 We were not sorry when the day of our de- 
 parture came. There was a motley crowd of pas- 
 sengers on board the little steamer. " Paisanos " 
 wearing broad brimmed sombreroes and in pic- 
 turesque costume ; " Padres " in their long gowns 
 and shovel hats; pretty "senoritas" with hair 
 plaited down their backs, and officers on their way 
 
98 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 to join the array in the field in San Domingo. 
 Bnt every one was amiable and disposed to be 
 companionable. Most of them were aware of the 
 fact that there was a state of war between the 
 North and the Sonth ; and their sympathies were 
 altogether with our side ; for no earthly reason, 
 probably, except that they entertained the blind 
 hatred against the " Norte Americanos" so pre- 
 valent among the Latin race on this continent, 
 and supposed the people of the South to be of 
 different origin.* 
 
 We were half poisoned, and wholly saturated 
 with garlic, while on board the little steamer; 
 and men, women and children smoked incessantly. 
 Our clever artist, Johnny T., drew a capital sketch 
 of a portly old lady whose habit it was, after 
 every meal, to take from her side pocket an oil 
 skin bundle of huge cigars — evidently " planta- 
 tions," and made to order. Selecting one, she 
 would strike a light with her " matchero " and 
 -begin to puif away like a furnace. "When fairly 
 
 * The educated Cubans must be exonerated from this 
 charge. Many of this class have been at the schools and 
 colleges in the United States ; and admire our republican 
 institutions. They are even now, and have been for years, 
 maintaining a desperate struggle for the establishment 
 of these institutions among themselves. 
 
CAPTAIN FRY. 99 
 
 alight, she would dispose of the smoke in some 
 mysterious inner receptacle, whence it would issue 
 in a minute or more, from nose, ejes, ears, and 
 even through the pores of her mahogany-colored 
 skin, as it appeared to us. 
 
 We touched at many little ports, all of them 
 very pretty and picturesque ; little quiet basins 
 of blue water, with the houses scattered about 
 along the hill sides, and half hidden by foliage ; 
 the white surf thundering outside, and the surface, 
 inside, glassy smooth. Our last port in Cuba was 
 Santiago, since made memorable as the scene of 
 the murder of the gallant and unfortunate Fry, 
 and his companions in misfortune. Should these 
 lines ever meet the eye of any of his old friends 
 and comrades in the United States Navy, they 
 will bear witness, that a brave and noble gentle- 
 man was there cruelly done to death. He had 
 Iqst everthing by our war, and dire poverty, with 
 the responsibility of a family to support, forced 
 him to the desperate venture of running the 
 blockade in Cuba. Morally he was not more 
 criminal than the British naval officers, who 
 engaged in the same hazardous pursuit during 
 our struggle. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 San Domingo. — The Island of Hayti and its Inhabitants. — 
 St. Thomas. — General Santa Anna. — The Mail Steamer 
 Atrato. — Arrival at Southampton. — English Scenery. — 
 The Major fails. — The Giraffe Purchased, — A Claim 
 against the Confederate Government. — The Hon. J. M. 
 Mason. — Credit of the Confederate Government Abroad. 
 — An improper Agent. — Captain Bullock. — The Giraffe 
 Ready for Sea. — Glasgow. — Our last Dinner. — Our 
 Scotch Landlady and Head Waiter. — We part with the 
 Major. — Hot Punch and Scotch Babies.— A Reminis- 
 cence. 
 
 "TTT"E touched at the little port of San Domingo 
 in the island of Dominica on our way to 
 St. Thomas ; and lay at anchor there long enough 
 to allow the passengers to visit the shore for a 
 few hours. It was once a prosperous town, but 
 is now in ruins, and hovels stand upon the very 
 sites where once arose magnificent palaces ; for it 
 was at one time the chief seat of the Spanish 
 Empire in the New World, and the place of res- 
 idence of Columbus himself. Cortez, the Con- 
 queror of Mexico, once lived in its vicinity. The 
 cathedral still stands entire and is still used as a 
 
HAYTI AND ITS INHABITANTS. 101 
 
 place of worship, but the walls of the convent 
 attached to the cathedral have yielded to the 
 corroding influences of time and the climate, 
 and are crumbling into ruins. The palace of 
 Diego Columbus, the son of the immortal ad- 
 miral, who to Castile and Leon gave a new 
 world, is still pointed out, but that, too, is a 
 mere shell, the roof having entirely disappeared. 
 The population is a wretched mongrel indolent 
 race, and there is little to do there. The whole 
 island, indeed, long ago fell from its high estate, 
 and everywhere thorns and brambles grow where 
 once there were well cultivated plantations. 
 I had previously visited many portions of the 
 island, and saw wherever I went, the same 
 evidences of misrule and indolence ; but, the 
 negroes, who hold the western portion of it or 
 Hayti, are physically, at least, a finer race of 
 people than the degenerate, puny hybrids of 
 the eastern part, who have " miscegenated " to 
 an extent that would satisfy the most enthusi- 
 astic admirer of our sable "friends and fellow- 
 citizens." I have never seen finer specimens of 
 stalwart manhood than in " Solouque's " army 
 years ago, although the " tout ensemble " of it 
 was sufficiently ludicrous; the officers being 
 
102 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 mounted on ponies a little bigger than goats ; and 
 some of them wearing no apparel, except a coat 
 and cocked liat ; with spurs on their naked heels ; 
 and the ragged half-naked privates chewing one 
 end of a big stick of sugar cane (their only rations) 
 as they marched. Upon one occasion, an officer 
 of the ship to which I was attached, had died at 
 sea, and was buried at Gonaives, with military 
 honors. The drummer and fifer of our guard of 
 marines were little fellows of twelve or thirteen 
 years of age. The black military commandant 
 of the district was so captivated with their 
 appearance, as they marched at the head of the 
 funeral procession, that he " corralled " all the 
 little "niggers" within his district the next 
 day, to select from them a few drummers and 
 fifers ; and I believe there would have been a 
 " casus belli " if our little musicians had been sent 
 ashore, for I doubt if he could have resisted the 
 temptation to kidnap them. 
 
 We arrived at St. Thomas two days before the 
 mail-steamer was due and took up our quarters at 
 the only hotel of which the town boasted, but it 
 was an excellent one. The black steward, who 
 superintended the staflf of waiters, was a notice- 
 able personage, speaking several languages with 
 
GENERAL SANTA ANNA. 103 
 
 correctness and fluency. "We appreciated the 
 " cuisine " of tlie hotel, after so long a diet upon 
 garlic and rancid sweet oil ; and were content 
 to y)ass the greater part of the time at the " Ice 
 house," a refreshment saloon conducted by a Ver- 
 mont " Yankee," but who had been so long abroad 
 as to have become cosmopolitan in his ideas and 
 opinions. The residence of General Santa Anna, 
 the old Mexican hero, then in exile, was pointed 
 out tons; a handsome building crowning a hill 
 overlooking the town ; and we were informed 
 that the old gentleman was still passionately fond 
 of his fiivorite amusement, cock-lighting. 
 
 " E'en in our ashes live their wonted firea." 
 
 We sailed for Southampton in the British mail 
 steamer " Atrato," the best appointed and most 
 comfortable ship on board which I have ever taken 
 passage. She was a paddle-wheel steamer of the 
 first class, belonging to the Cunards, who boast 
 that not a life or a mail has ever been lost in their 
 line. There was a very good band of musicians 
 on board, and the weather during the whole voy- 
 age was so pleasant that dancing could be en- 
 joyed. The screw steamers, now so rapidly super- 
 seding the old " side wheelers," possess many 
 advantages, it is true, but the superior comfort 
 
104 NARRATIVE OF A BLOOKADE-EUNNEK. 
 
 of the passengers is not to be reckoned among 
 them. 
 
 Arriving at Southampton, we took the first 
 train for London. What specially attracted the 
 admiration of our little party as the train sped 
 along, was the exquisite beauty of the country. 
 Almost every view would have furnished a sub- 
 ject for a landscape painter. "We saw vast lawns 
 green as emeralds, with clumps of fine trees here 
 and there, and dotted with cattle and sheep ; and 
 would frequently catch a glimpse of castles and 
 country seats beautifully ornamented with parks 
 and gardens. It was a series of pictures of rural 
 repose and quiet, embellished with perfect taste. 
 Even the thatched cottages, with their trim 
 hedges, their little flower gardens, and the vines 
 covering the outside, were most picturesque. 
 What a striking contrast with the log cabins and 
 " snake " fences in our own loved " Dixie ! " 
 
 The Secretary of War, in his instructions to 
 me, had stated that Major Ficklln, who had lately 
 returned from Europe, had been struck by the 
 qualities of a steamer which, in the Major's opin- 
 ion, was admirably adapted for blockade-running. 
 She was called the Giraffe, a Clyde built iron 
 steamer, and plied as a packet between Glasgow 
 
THE IRON STEAMER GIRAFFE. 105 
 
 and Belfast. She was a side-wheel of light draft, 
 very strongly built and reputed to be of great 
 speed. She possessed the last quality, it is true, 
 but not to such a degree as represented, for her 
 best rate of speed while under my command never 
 exceeded thirteen and a half knots. Under the 
 same instructions I was to examine the ship and if 
 the inspection proved favorable, the Major was to 
 negotiate for the purchase. I have always believed 
 that some informal arrangement had been made 
 between the parties concerned during the Major's 
 late visit to England. However that may have 
 been, we found, on our arrival in London that the 
 Giraffe had been sold within a day or two, to a 
 company about to engage in blockade-running. 
 The manager of this company was Mr. Alexander 
 Collie, who subsequently made such immense ven- 
 tures, and became so well known in connection 
 Math blockade-running. The Major did not lose 
 heart upon learning that the Giraffe had changed 
 hands, but all his efforts to get possession of the 
 vessel were unsuccessful, Mr. C. refusing to part 
 with her upon any terms. As a last resort the 
 Major, whose resources were almost inexhaustible, 
 suggested that I should make an effort. All diffi- 
 culties instantly vanished, when I informed Mr. 
 6* 
 
106 NAKEATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNER. 
 
 Collie that I held a commission in the Confeder- 
 ate States Navy, and had been sent abroad to buy 
 a ship for the Confederate Government. He 
 instantly agreed to transfer possession for the 
 amount paid by him, £32,000, stipulating, how- 
 ever, that the steamer should not be sold, during 
 the war, to private parties without the consent of 
 the company represented by him, who were to 
 have the refusal of her. Although these condi- 
 tions conflicted with certain arrangements made 
 between the Confederate Secretary of War and 
 Major Ficklin, the latter assented to them ; and 
 the Giraffe became the property of the Confeder- 
 ate States Government. The necessary alterations 
 to tit her for a blockade-runner were ac once com- 
 menced. Her beautiful saloon and cabins were 
 dismantled and bulkheads constructed to separate 
 the quarters for officers and men from the space 
 to be used for stowage of a cargo. Purchases 
 of arms, clothing, etc., were to be made; and 
 after much disgust and vexation of spirit, I em- 
 ployed Mr. Collie, who was a sJirewd and practi- 
 cal man of business, to make the purchases on 
 commission, while I found more congenial em- 
 ployment. Long afterwards, when I got a friend 
 in Richmond to prepare my accounts for the audi- 
 
HON. J. M. MASON. 107 
 
 tor, he proved conclusively from the vouchers 
 (which I was careful to preserve) that the Confed- 
 erate Government owed me £1,000 ; but I never 
 applied for the " little balance " and now it is 
 buried with the " lost cause." 
 
 The Hon. J. M. Mason, representing the Con- 
 federate Government, was living very quietly and 
 unostentatiously in London ; and although not 
 officially recognized, he was the frequent guest of 
 the nobility and gentry of the kingdom. He 
 looked, so I thought, the equal of any peer in the 
 land, for he was of a noble presence ; and he pos- 
 sessed that rare tact of adapting himself to almost 
 any company in which he might be thrown. We 
 always met with a cordial welcome from him ; and 
 it was very interesting to hear his comments upon 
 the government and the social life of England. 
 I am sure the contrast between the conservatism, 
 stability and respect for precedents and laws, so 
 manifest everj^where in that favored land, and the 
 rapidly growing disregard of all these obligations 
 in our own country, struck him most forcibly. 
 He closed a long eulogy of England upon one 
 occasion by remarking, " This is the best Govern- 
 ment upon the earth — except of cotirse oxir ownJ'^ 
 He, in common witli otliers, who had access to 
 
108 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 private sources of information, believed, at that 
 time, that the Confederacy would soon be recog- 
 nized by England and France; and it appears 
 from evidence made public since the close of the 
 Win; that their hopes were by no means ground- 
 less; the Emperor of the French having proposed 
 joint recognition to the British government; but 
 all efforts in that direction were thwarted by the 
 " Exeter Hall " influence. 
 
 We saw of course many of the sights and 
 curiosities of London. One pleasant day of lei- 
 sure, after a walk to see that magniflcent pile, the 
 Houses of Parliament, I was sauntering along, 
 without thought of where I was going, until I 
 found myself in a perfect labyrinth of filthy 
 streets and tumble down buildings and presenting 
 all the othei" evidences of vice and poverty ; the 
 very neighborhood in short of " Tom Allalone's " 
 lair. Fortunately I met a policeman who guided 
 me into a respectable part of the city. He told 
 me that I was about to invade the worst section 
 of London, almost within a stone's throw of the 
 Houses of Parliament. 
 
 It is astonishing how frequently Dickens' 
 characters and descriptions come into the memory 
 of a stranger visiting London. No one, who has 
 
FURNISHING SUPPLIES. 109 
 
 ever seen them, will forget the houses in Chan- 
 cery. Situated as some of them are, in the busi- 
 est and most crowded parts of the city, and mould- 
 ering away from disuse and neglect, the idea con- 
 stantly presented itself to me as I passed one of 
 them, " there is more of the Jarndyce property," 
 and I never saw an " old clo' " man that the ras- 
 cally Fagin and his hopeful proteges did not rise 
 to my recollection. How wonderful is the power 
 of genius which can not only " give to airy noth- 
 ings a local habitation and a name," but iix them 
 as realities in our memory forever ! 
 
 At that period the credit of the Confederate 
 Government abroad was excellent ; and either 
 from love of " filthy lucre " or of the cause, some 
 of the best firms in England were ready and eager 
 to furnish supplies. It appeared quite practicable 
 to send in machinery, iron plates, etc., for building 
 small vessels of war ; and several firms offered to 
 engage in the enterprise, receiving Confederate 
 bonds in payment. These parties went to the 
 trouble of preparing models with plans and speci- 
 fications ; all of which were afterwards duly sub- 
 mitted to the incompetent Secretary of the Con- 
 federate States Navy ; but it resulted in nothing. 
 A considerable amount of the Government funds 
 
110 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 was lavished abroad upon the building of vessels 
 which could by no possibility be got to sea under 
 the Confederate flag while the war lasted ; and to 
 make matters worse, the Secretary'- had sent to 
 England, as special agent for building or buying 
 vessels, a man well known throughout the king- 
 dom to be bankrupt in fame and fortune, who 
 was hawTving our government securities about the 
 country at a ruinous rate of discount ; and who in- 
 flicted much loss and injury upon the Confederate 
 Government in various ways during his connec- 
 tion with it. The management of naval affairs 
 abroad should have been left in the hands of Cap- 
 tain Bullock, the eflicient agent of the Navy 
 Department in England, who showed admirable 
 tact in the conduct of affairs entrusted to him. 
 
 "We stopped at the Burlington Hotel during 
 our stay in London. There was none of the glare 
 and glitter of an American hotel about this highly 
 respectable establishment, no crowded " table d'- 
 hote " where the guests scrambled for food, and 
 the waiters must be bribed to wait upon them ; no 
 gorgeous bar-room where the clinking of glasses 
 resounds day and night, and no hotel clerk, with 
 hair parted in the middle, who deems it a con- 
 descension to be civil. Everything was staid, 
 
THE GIRAFFE KEADT. Ill 
 
 quiet, orderly, and it must be added, rather slow 
 and expensive. As an illustration of the isola- 
 tion of the boarders in an English hotel, it may be 
 mentioned that two Southern ladies, acquaint- 
 ances of a member of our party, were staying at 
 the Burlington at the same time with ourselves, 
 without our knowledge of the fact. Meals were 
 usually served in the coffee room, the regular 
 dinner consisting of a "joint," and one or two 
 dishes of vegetables, any dish not included in this 
 very plain bill of fare being furnished at an extra 
 charge. Including fees to servants, etc., which are 
 regularly entered in the bill, one may live very 
 comfortably in an English hotel for five dollars 
 a day, but not for less. 
 
 In thirty days from our arrival in England, 
 the Giraffe was reported laden and ready for sea. 
 Besides the purchases made through my agency, 
 a large quantity of lithographic material had been 
 bought by Major Ficklin for the Treasury De- 
 partment ; and twenty-six lithographers were 
 engaged for the Confederate Government. 
 
 We took the train for Glasgow as soon as we 
 were notified that tlie Giraffe was ready for sea ; 
 parting from our London friends with mutual 
 good wishes and regrets. 
 
112 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER 
 
 There is a striking contrast between the 
 scenery in the south of England, and that in the 
 northern portion. As we approached the "iron 
 country " even the fresh green woods disappeared, 
 and for many miles on our way we could see 
 tall chimneys pouring forth huge volumes of 
 smoke, and we passed numerous coal pits, while 
 the whole busy population seemed to be begrimed 
 with coal dust and iron filings. As we approached 
 Glasgow the scenery again changed to broad and 
 well cultivated plains in the immediate vicinity 
 of the city. Its trade with Virginia and the 
 AVest Indies laid the foundation of its present 
 prosperity. To this day there are many descend- 
 ants in Kichmond of the old Scotch merchants 
 who formerly traded in tobacco between that port 
 and Glasgow, but of late years it has become 
 chiefly noted for its iron ships and steamers, which 
 are unsurpassed ; and it is now, I believe, the 
 second city in the United Kingdom in point of 
 wealth and population. The Clyde, naturally an 
 insignificant stream, has been deepened by art 
 until it is now navigable for the largest vessels. 
 
 We were so busily occupied, during our brief 
 stay, as to be able to see ver}^ little of the city or 
 its environs. The city itself was enveloped in a 
 
LIQUOR IN THREE KINGDOMS. 113 
 
 fog during the whole time ; its normal atmos- 
 pheric condition, I presume ; for once when we 
 made a visit to the romantic " Brigg of Allan," 
 we passed beyond the suburbs into a clear bright 
 atmosphere; and on our return in the after- 
 noon, we found the pall hanging over the city 
 as usual. 
 
 We would have been delighted to take the 
 advice of our hostess to see more of the land 
 immortalized by Scott and Burns. " Ech, Sirs," 
 she said, " but ye suld gae doon to the Heelands 
 to see Scotland " ; from which remark it may be 
 reasonably inferred that she was a "Heeland" 
 woman. We were painfully struck by the 
 number of paupers and intoxicated females in the 
 streets ; and some of our party saw, for the first 
 time in their lives, white women shoeless, and 
 shivering in scanty rags, which scarcely concealed 
 their nakedness, with the thermometer at the 
 freezing point. Whitaker's British Almanac pub- 
 lishes, statistically^ the drinking propensities of 
 the population of the three kingdoms, from which 
 it appears that there were consumed per head 
 in 1869— 
 
 Malt 1,989 bushels in England. 
 
 Spirits 591 gallons " 
 
114 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 Malt 509 bushels in Ireland. 
 
 Spirits 873 gallons " 
 
 Malt 6G9 bushels in Scotland. 
 
 Spirits 1,576 gallons " 
 
 The inventory taken on board the Giraffe, 
 after she was turned over to the Confederate 
 Government, showed over two hundred pitchers 
 and ladles for hot punch ! We came to the con- 
 clusion that Scotch babies were weaned upon this 
 beverage, for the law forbade the carrying of tliat 
 number of grown passengers by the Giraffe. 
 
 Having secured the services of a sailing 
 captain, British laws not allowing the clearance 
 of a vessel under the British flag, except under 
 the command of one who holds a certificate of 
 competence, we sent our luggage on board one 
 evening, and sat down to our last meal on British 
 soil. There were many guests at the table ; 
 several of our friends having come on from 
 London to see us take our departure, and toasts 
 were duly and enthusiastically drank to the suc- 
 cess of "the cause." The privileged old head- 
 waiter, dressed in professional black, (and ridic- 
 ulously like an old magpie as he hopped about the 
 room with his head on one side,) " whose custom 
 it was of an afternoon " to get drunk, but always 
 
- THE RETURN. 115 
 
 with Scotch decorum, nodded approval ot the 
 festivities, until, overcome by his feehugs (or 
 Usquebaugh) he was obhged to withdraw. 
 
 We bade adieu to our friends late at night, 
 and went on board early next morning. In ad- 
 dition to the Scotch artisans already mentioned, 
 there were several young gentlemen who were 
 about to return home in the Giraffe. These 
 youths had been prosecuting their studies in Ger- 
 many. They were now about to return home to 
 enter the army. Two of them, Messrs. Price and 
 Blair, are now Professors in Virginia Colleges, 
 after doing their duty as brave and faithful sol- 
 diers during the war. It is well known that 
 many thousands of young men, the flower of the 
 South, served as privates during the whole of our 
 struggle for independence ; and it is equally well 
 known that they never flinched from dangers or 
 privations. 
 
 Many years ago an expedition under the com- 
 mand of Lieutenant Strain, of the United States 
 Navy, was sent to make a reconnoissance across 
 the Isthmus of Darien. The party lost their way 
 among the morasses and almost impenetrable 
 forests, and endured frightful hardships. But the 
 oflicers survived, while many of the men sue- 
 
116 NAKKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 curabed to fatigue and famine. During our war, 
 the youths of gentle blood and tender nurture dis- 
 played equally wonderful endurance. 
 
 We parted from the Major on the wharf be- 
 fore going on board. He promised to meet us in 
 Richmond ; preferring himself to return via. 
 New York ; and we did not doubt his ability to 
 keep his promise ; for he seemed to experience no 
 difficulty in passing and repassing through the 
 lines at his pleasure during the war. He was in 
 Washington, indeed, at the time when President 
 Lincoln was assassinated, and was arrested as an 
 accomplice in that great crime. His numerous 
 friends who had so often suffered from his prac- 
 tical jokes, would have been pleased no doubt, to 
 see how he appreciated the jest, when his head 
 was tied up in a feather pillow to prevent him 
 from defrauding the law by committing suicide in 
 the murderer's cell. The shrill sound of a whistle 
 was heard in the theatre just before Booth com- 
 mitted the act ; and when the Major was arrested 
 in his bed at the hotel a few hours afterwards, a 
 whistle was found in his pocket. It was damaging 
 evidence, but he escaped prosecution as an accom- 
 plice by adopting the advice once given by Mr. 
 Toney Weller, and proving an alibi. 
 
CHAPTEK yil. 
 
 Voyage to Madeira. — A Capital Sea-boat. — The Island 
 Ponies. — Mr. B. and his daughters. — Voyage to St. 
 John's, Porto Rico. — Run across the Bahama Banks. — 
 Nassau during the War. — High Wages and Low Char- 
 acters. — Crew re-shipped. — Failure to enter Charles- 
 ton. — The " Lump." — A Narrow Escape. — The Scotch 
 Lithographers and their work. — Crossing the Bar. — 
 Transfer of the Giraffe to the Confederate Govern- 
 ment. — She becomes the " R. E. Lee." — The Major ful- 
 fills his promise, but fails in his object. 
 
 /'^UR voj'age to Madeira was uneventful with 
 ^^ the exception of a heavy gale of wind, dur- 
 ing which the Giraffe showed her superb qualities 
 as a sea boat. 
 
 We were hospitably entertained during our 
 three days' stay at Funchal. The process of coal- 
 ing ship there is a tedious one, the port being an 
 open roadstead, and there are no wharves. With 
 a moderate breeze blowing on or along shore, 
 all communication is interrupted. Loading and 
 unloading ships is accomplished by lighters ; and 
 passengers are carried to and fro in surf boats 
 which are expertly managed by their crews. The 
 
118 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RDNNER. 
 
 vines had failed for several years previous to our 
 visit ; but the inhabitants had substituted tlie 
 cultivation of vegetables for which thej found a 
 market on the continent and in England ; and the 
 numerous cultivated patches along the mountain 
 sides presented a very pretty appearance from the 
 anchorage — laid out as they were with seemingly 
 geometrical precision. The hardy little horses 
 could be hired very cheaply, and the justly 
 extolled natural beauties of the island in the 
 vicinity of Funchal were fully explored. The 
 greater portion of it is quite inaccessible except on 
 foot, but the tough little native ponies which are 
 as sure footed as goats perform wonderful feats in 
 the way of climbing, and are quite equal to the 
 double duty of carrying their riders, and dragging 
 along their owner who holds by one hand to the 
 pony's tail while he occasionally " progs " him 
 with a sharp stick held in the other hand. This 
 island is, as every one knoAvs, of volcanic origin ; 
 although its volcanoes are now either dormant or 
 extinct; audits lofty vertical cliffs rise abruptly 
 from the ocean. The highest peak in the island 
 is more than six thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea. The disintegrated lava forms the best soil 
 in the world for the grape ; and the south side of 
 
THE BAHAMA BANKS. 119 
 
 tlie island, from its more favorable exposure to tlie 
 sun, is supposed to produce the more delicately 
 flavored wine. Wonderful stories are told of the 
 exquisite sense of taste possessed by the profes- 
 sional " tasters" who never swallow the wine. So 
 soon as they indulge in this luxury they lose the 
 faculty of nice discrimination. 
 
 We slept securely under the " Stars and 
 Stripes,'' our hotel being kept by a "Yankee" 
 who hoisted the flag upon his house-top every 
 day, and was not so cosmopolitan, perhaps 1 
 should say not so politic, as our St. Thomas friend. 
 He soothed his conscience for associating with 
 "rebels," and avenged himself by charging us 
 heavily, and, no doubt, congratulated himself after 
 our departure, upon having "spoiled the Egyp- 
 tians." 
 
 We received many courtesies from Mr. B., an 
 English gentleman, and his family. Our suscepti- 
 ble young men lost their hearts with his seven beau- 
 tiful daughters, all of them fair, tall, and statel3^ 
 
 As soon as the Giraffe was coaled we took our 
 departure for St. John's, Porto Rico. A sea-voy- 
 age has elsewhere been described in two lines. 
 
 " Sometimes we ship a sea, 
 Sometimes we see a ship." 
 
120 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 The monotony of our voyage was rarely dis- 
 turbed by either of these incidents. 
 
 After two days' detention at St. John's for the 
 purpose of coaling we got under way for that 
 haven of blockade-runners, El Dorado of adventur- 
 ers, and paradise of wreckers and darkies — tilth}^ 
 Nassau. In making our way to this port we had 
 a foretaste of some of the risks and dangers to be 
 subsequently encountered. In order to economize 
 coal and to lessen the risk of capture I determined 
 to approach Nassau by the " Tongue of Ocean," 
 a deep indentation in the sea bounded on the 
 south b}' the Bahama Banks ; and to reach the 
 " Tongue " it was necessary to cross the whole 
 extent of the " Banks " from Elbow Key light- 
 house. On arriving off the light-house we were 
 disappointed in our hope of finding a pilot, and 
 no alternative was left but to attempt the transit 
 without one, as we had not a sufiicient supply of 
 coal to enable us to pursue any other course. Our 
 charts showed twelve feet water all over that por- 
 tion of the Banks and the Girafi'e was drawing 
 eleven feet ; but the inumerable black dots on the 
 chart showed where the dangerous coral heads 
 were nearly "awash." On the other hand, we 
 knew there could be no " swell " in such an ex- 
 
INTO NASSUA. 121 
 
 panse of shallow water ; so waving adieu to the 
 keeper of the light-house we pointed the Giraffe's 
 bow for the Banks, which showed ahead of us 
 smooth as a lake, and almost milk white. It was 
 early in the morning when we started, and the 
 distance to be run to the " Tongue " was only 
 sixty or seventy miles. Taking my station in the 
 fore-rigging I could easily direct the helmsman 
 how to avoid those treacherous black spots. It 
 was the Florida Reef over again, and my experi- 
 ence in surveying that coast stood us in good stead 
 here. We were so fortunate, indeed, as never 
 once to touch the bottom although the lead fre- 
 quently showed less than twelve feet ; and about 
 3 o'clock in the afternoon the welcome blue water 
 showed itself ahead. It would have been impos- 
 sible to make the transit in cloudy weather; but 
 the day was fortunately clear. Occasionally when 
 a "trade" cloud would approach the sun, we 
 would slow down or stop until it had passed by, 
 when the black patches would again be visible. 
 The iron plates of the Giraffe would have 
 been pierced as completely as if made of paste- 
 board, if she had come into contact even 
 at low speed with those jagged coral heads. 
 Before dark we were out of danger, and 
 
122 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 next morning came to anchor in the harbor of 
 Nassau. 
 
 Nassau was a busy place during the M'ar ; the 
 chief depot of supplies for the Confederacy, and 
 the port to which most of the cotton was shipped. 
 Its proximity to the ports of Charleston and Wil- 
 mington gave it superior advantages, -vrhile it was 
 easily accessible to the swift, light draft blockade- 
 runners ; all of which carried Bahama bank pilots 
 who knew every channel, while the United States 
 cruisers having no Bank pilots and drawing more 
 water were compelled to keep the open sea. Oc- 
 casionally one of the latter would heave to out- 
 side the harbor and send in a boat to communi- 
 cate with the American Consul ; but their usual 
 cruising ground was off Abaco Light. Nassau is 
 situated upon the island of New Providence, one 
 of the Bahamas, and is the chief town and capital 
 of the group. All of the islands are surrounded 
 by coral reefs and shoals, through which are chan- 
 nels more or less intricate. That wonderful 
 " Eiver in the Sea" — the Gulf Stream — Mdiich 
 flows between the Florida coast and the Bahama 
 Banks is only forty miles broad between the near- 
 est opposite points; but there is no harbor on 
 that part of the Florida coast. The distance from 
 
HIGH WAGES AlsD LOW CHAHACTEKS. 123 
 
 Charleston to Nassau is about five hundred miles, 
 and from Wilmington about five hundred and 
 fifty. Practically, however, they were equi-dis- 
 tant because blockade-runners bound from either 
 port, in order to evade the cruisers lying in wait 
 ofi" Abaco, were compelled to give that head-land 
 a wide berth, by keeping well to the eastward of 
 it. But in avoiding Scylla they ran the risk of 
 striking upon Charybdis ; for the dangerous reefs 
 of Eleuthera were fatal to many vessels. The chief 
 industries of the islands before the war were the 
 collection and exportation of sponges, corals, etc., 
 and wrecking, to which was added, during the 
 war, the lucrative trade of picking and stealing. 
 The inhabitants may be classed as " amphibious," 
 and are known among sailors by the generic name 
 of " Conchs." The wharves of Nassau, during 
 the war, were always piled high with cotton, and 
 huge warehouses were stored full of supplies for 
 the Confederacy. The harbor was crowded at 
 times, with lead-colored, short masted, rakish look- 
 ing steamers ; the streets alive with bustle and 
 activity during day time and swarming with 
 drunken revellers by night. Every nationality on 
 earth, nearly, was represented there ; the high 
 wages ashore and afloat, tempting adventurers of 
 
124 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 the baser sort; and the prospect of enormous 
 profits offering equally strong inducements to 
 capitalists of a speculative turn. The monthly 
 wages of a sailor on board a blockade-runner was 
 one hundred dollars in gold, and fifty dollars 
 bounty at the end of a successful trip ; and this 
 could be accomplished under favorable circum- 
 stances in seven days. The captains and pilots 
 sometimes received as much as five thousand dol- 
 lars besides perquisites. All of the cotton ship- 
 ped on account of the Confederate Government 
 was landed and transferred to a mercantile firm 
 in Nassau, who received a commission for assum- 
 ing ownership. It was then shipped under the 
 British or other neutral flag to Europe. The 
 firm is reputed to have made many thousands of 
 dollars by these commissions. But, besides the 
 cotton shipped by the Confederate Government, 
 many private companies and individuals were en- 
 gaged in the trade; and it was computed (so large 
 were the gains) that the owner could afford to lose 
 a vessel and cargo after two successful voyages. 
 Three or four steamers were wholly owned by the 
 Confederate Government ; a few more were owned 
 by it in part, and the balance were private prop- 
 erty ; but these last were compelled to carry out, 
 
RUNNING INTO WILMINGTON. 125 
 
 as portion of their cargo, cotton on government 
 account, and to bring in supplies. On board the 
 government steamers, the crew which was ship- 
 ped abroad, and under the articles regulating the 
 " merchant marine," received the same wages as 
 were paid on board the other blockade-runners ; 
 but the captains and subordinate officers of the 
 government steamers who belonged to the Con- 
 federate States Navj, and the pilots, who were 
 detailed from the army for this service, received 
 the pay in gold of their respective grades. 
 
 As the Giraffe's crew was shipped only for the 
 voyage to Nassau "and a market," it was neces- 
 gary to cancel the engagement of those who did 
 not wish to follow her fortunes further. A few of 
 them preferring their discharge were paid off, and 
 provided with a passage to England ; and the 
 balance signed articles for Havana "and a mar- 
 ket." Everything being in readiness, we sailed 
 on December 26th, 1862. Having on board a 
 Charleston pilot, as well as one for Wilmington, I 
 had not determined, on sailing, which port to at- 
 tempt ; but having made the land near Charleston 
 bar during thick weather on the night of the 28th, 
 our pilot was afraid to venture further. We made 
 an offing, therefore, before daylight; and cir- 
 
126 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 cnmstances favoring Wilmington, we approached 
 tlie western bar on the night of December 29tli. 
 "VVe had been biding our time since twelve o'clock 
 that day close in to the shore about forty miles 
 southwest of the bar and in the deep bay formed 
 by the coast between Wilmington and Charleston. 
 The weather had been so clear and the sea so 
 smooth that we had communicated with the Con- 
 federate pickets at several points along the coast ; 
 and no sail was visible even from aloft until about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, when a cruiser hove 
 in sight to the north and east. As she was coast- 
 ing along the land and approaching us we turned 
 the Giraffe's bow away from her, and got up 
 more steam, easily preserving our distance, as the 
 stranger was steaming at a low rate of speed. A 
 little while before sunset the strange steamer wore 
 round, and we immediately followed her example, 
 gradually lessening the distance between us, and 
 an hour or more after dark we had the pleasure of 
 passing inside of her at anchor off New River In- 
 let. She was evidently blockading that harbor, 
 and had run down the coast to reconnoitre. Be- 
 fore approaching the bar I had adopted certain 
 precautions against disaster which I ever after- 
 wards followed. Any one who showed an. open 
 
THE LUMP. 127 
 
 liffht when we were near the fleet was liable to 
 the penalt}^ of death upon the spot ; a cool, steady 
 leadsman was stationed on each C|uarter to give 
 the sonndings ; a staunch old quartermaster took 
 the wheel and a hedge, bent to a stout hawser, 
 was slung at each quarter. All lights were extin- 
 guished ; the fire-room hatch covered over with a 
 tarpaulin ; and a hood fitted over the binnacle, 
 with a small circular opening for the helmsman to 
 see the compass through the aperture. 
 
 About ten o'clock we passed inside the first 
 ship of the blockading fleet, about five miles 
 outside the bar; and four or five others appeared 
 in quick succession as the Giraffe was cutting 
 rapidly through the smooth water. We were 
 going at full speed when, with a shock that threw 
 nearly every one on board off his feet, the steamer 
 was brought up "all standing" and hard and 
 fast aground ! The nearest blockader was fearfully 
 close to us, and all seemed lost. We had struck 
 upon " the Lump," a small sandy knoll two or 
 three miles outside the bar with deep water on 
 both sides of it. That knoll was the "rock 
 ahead" during the whole war, of the blockade- 
 runners, for it was impossible in the obscurity of 
 night to judge accurately of the distance to the 
 
128 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-RUNNEB. 
 
 coast, and there were no landmarks or bearings 
 which would enable them to steer clear of it. 
 Many a ton of valuable freight has been launched 
 overboard there ; and, indeed, all the approaches 
 to Wilmington are paved as thickly with valuables 
 as a certain place is said to be with good intentions. 
 The first order was to lower the two quarter 
 boats: in one of them were packed the Scotch lith- 
 ographers who were safely landed ; and a kedge 
 was lowered into the other with orders to the offi- 
 cer in charge to pull off shore and drop the kedge. 
 The risk, though imminent, was much reduced after 
 our panic stricken passengers had got fairly away 
 from the ship ; and the spirits of officers and crew 
 rose to meet the emergency. The glimmer of a 
 light, or an incautiously loud order would bring a 
 broadside from that frowning battery crashing 
 through our bulwarks. So near the goal (I 
 thought) and now to fail ! but I did not despair. 
 To execute the order to drop the kedge, it was 
 necessary to directly approach one of the blockad- 
 ers, and so near to her did they let it go, that the 
 officer of the boat was atVaid to call out that it had 
 been dropped ; and muffled the oars as he returned 
 to make his report. Fortunately, the tide was ris- 
 ing. After twenty or thirty minutes of trying 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE. 129 
 
 suspense, the order was given " to set taut on the 
 hawser," and our pulses beat high as the stern of 
 the Giraffe slowly and steadily turned seaward. 
 In fact, she swung round upon her stem as upon 
 a pivot. As soon as the hawser " trended " right 
 astern, the engineer was ordered to " back hard," 
 and in a very few revolutions of the wheels the 
 ship slid rapidly off into deep water. The 
 hawser was instantly cut, and we headed directly 
 for the bar channel. "We were soon out of danger 
 from the blockading fleet ; but as we drew in 
 toward Fort Caswell, one of the look-outs on the 
 wheel-house (who, like the thief in Shakespeare, 
 " feared each bush an ofiicer ") would every now 
 and then say to the pilot, "that looks like a boat 
 on the star-board bow, Mr. D." " There are 
 breakers on the port-bow, Mr. D." And at 
 last " There is a rock right ahead, Mr. D ;" at which 
 last remark, D., losing all patience, exclaimed, 
 " G-d A-y, man, there isn't a rock as big as my 
 hat in the whole d — d State of North Carolina." 
 A too sweeping assertion, but quite true as 
 applied to the coast. We passed safely over the 
 bar ; and steaming up the river, anchored off 
 Sinithville a little before, midnight of the 29th of 
 December, 1862. 
 
130 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 The Scotch lithographers found abundant 
 employment in Richmond, as the Government 
 " paper mills " were running busily during the 
 whole war : but the style of their M^ork was not 
 altogether faultless, for it was said that the 
 counterfeit notes, made at the North, and exten- 
 sively circulated through the South, could be easily 
 detected by the superior execution of the engrav- 
 ing upon them ! 
 
 The natural advantages of "Wilmington for 
 blockade-running were very great, chiefly owing 
 to the fact, that there are two separate and dis- 
 tinct approaches to Cape Fear River, i. e., either 
 by " New Inlet " to the north of Smith's Island, 
 or by the " western bar" to the south of it. This 
 island is ten or eleven miles in length ; but the 
 Frying Paa Shoals extend ten or twelve miles 
 further south, making the distance by sea between 
 the two bars thirty miles or more, although 
 the direct distance between them is only six or 
 seven miles. From Smithville, a little village 
 nearly equi-distant from either bar, both block- 
 ading fleets could be distinctly seen, and the 
 outward bound blockade-runners could take 
 their choice through which of them to run the 
 gauntlet. The inward bound blockade-runners, 
 
CROSSING THE BAR. 131 
 
 too, were guided by circumstances of wind and 
 weather; selecting that bar over which they 
 would cross, after they had passed the Gulf 
 Stream ; and shaping their course accordingly. 
 The approaches to both bars were clear of dan- 
 ger, with the single exception of the "Lump" 
 before mentioned ; and so regular are the sound- 
 ings that the shore can be coasted for miles within 
 a stone's throw of the breakers. 
 
 These facts explain why the United States fleet 
 were unable wholly to stop blockade-running. It 
 was, indeed, impossible to do so ; the result to the 
 very close of the war proves this assertion ; for in 
 spite of the vigilance of the fleet, many blockade- 
 runners were afloat when Fort Fisher was captured. 
 In truth the passage through the fleet was little 
 dreaded ; for although the blockade-runner might 
 receive a shot or two, she was rarely disabled ; 
 and in proportion to the increase of the fleet, the 
 greater would be the danger (we knew,) of their 
 firing into each other. As the boys before the 
 deluge used to say, they would be very apt " to 
 miss the cow and kill the calf." The chief dan- 
 ger was upon the open sea ; many of the light 
 cruisers having great speed. As soon as one of 
 them discovered a blockade-rnnner during day- 
 
132 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNER. 
 
 light she would attract other cruisers in the vicin- 
 ity by sending up a dense column of smoke, visible 
 for many miles in clear weather. A " cordon" ot 
 fust steamers stationed ten or fifteen miles apart 
 inside the Gulf Stream.^ and in the course from 
 Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington and Charles- 
 ton, would have been more effectual in stopping 
 blockade-running than the whole United States 
 Navy concentrated off those ports ; and it was 
 unaccountable to us why such a plan did not oc- 
 cur to good Mr. Welles; but it was not our place 
 to suggest it. I have no doubt, however, that 
 the fraternity to which I tlien belonged would 
 have unanimously voted thanks and a service of 
 plate to the Hon. Secretary of the United States 
 Navy for this oversight. I say inside the Gulf 
 Sti'eam, because Qvery experienced captain of a 
 blockade-runner made a point to cross " the 
 stream ■ ' early enough in the afternoon, if possible, 
 to establish the ship's position by chronometer so 
 as to escape the influence of that current upon his 
 dead reckoning. The lead always gave indication 
 of our distance from the land, but not, of course, 
 of our position; and the numerous salt works 
 along the coast, where evaporation was produced 
 b}' lire, and which were at work night and day 
 
THE GULF STREAM. 133 
 
 were visible long before the low coast could be 
 seen. Occasionally the whole inward voyage 
 would be made under adverse conditions. Cloudy, 
 thick weather and heavy gales would prevail so 
 as to prevent any solar or lunar observations, and 
 reduce the dead reckoning to mere guess work. 
 In these cases the nautical knowledge and judg- 
 ment of the captain would be taxed to the utmost. 
 The current of the Gulf Stream varies in velocity 
 and (within certain limits) in direction ; and the 
 stream, itself almost as well defined as a river 
 within its banks under ordinary circumstances, is 
 impelled by a strong gale toward the direction in 
 which the wind is blowing, overflowing its banks 
 as it were. The counter current, too, inside of the 
 Gulf Stream is much influenced by the prevailing 
 winds. Upon one occasion, while in command of 
 the R. E. Lee, we had experienced very heavy and 
 thick weather ; and had crossed the Stream and 
 struck soundings about midday. The weather 
 then clearing so that we could obtain an altitude 
 near meridian we found ourselves at least forty 
 miles north of our supposed position and near the 
 shoals which extend in a southerly direction off 
 Cape Lookout. It would be more perilous to run 
 out to sea than to continue on our course, for we 
 
134 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 had passed through the off shore line of block- 
 aders, and the sky had become perfectly clear. 1 
 determined to personate a transport bound to 
 Beaufort, which was in the possession of the 
 United States forces, and the coaling station of the 
 fleet blockadino- Wilmington. The risk of detec- 
 tion was not very great, for many of the captured 
 blockade-runners were used as transports and dis- 
 patch vessels. Shaping our course for Beau- 
 fort, and slowing down, as we were in no haste 
 to get there, we passed several vessels, showing 
 United States colors to them all. Just as we were 
 crossing through the ripple of shallow water off 
 the " tail " of the shoals, we dipped our colors to 
 a sloop of war which passed three or four miles to 
 the south of us. The courtesy was promptly re- 
 sponded to ; but I have no doubt her captain 
 thought me a lubberly and careless seaman to 
 shave the shoals so closely. We stopped the 
 engines when no vessel was in sight ; and I was 
 relieved from a heavy burden of anxiety as tlie 
 sun sank below the horizon ; and the course was 
 shaped at full speed for Masonboro' Inlet. 
 
 A few days after our arrival at Wilmington 
 the Giraffe was transferred to the Confederate 
 Government, and named the R. E. Lee ; and 
 
THE MAJOR SUCCESSFUL. 135 
 
 thenceforward carried the Confederate flag. Our 
 friend the Major fulfilled his promise of meet- 
 ing me in Tlichmond, having made his way across 
 the Potomac. He made a gallant effort to get 
 possession of the ship; but Mr. Seddon, who had 
 succeeded Mr. Randolph as Secretary of War dur- 
 ing our absence, contended that the Government 
 had a juster claim ; and the facts of the case were 
 too stubborn even for the Major's determined per- 
 sistence. 
 
 " The best laid plans of mice and men 
 Gang aft agley." 
 
 The Secretary of War having carried his point, 
 the Major directed his efforts towards another 
 quarter, and more successfully. Indeed he rarely 
 failed in any enterprise requiring nerve, perse- 
 verance, tact, and ability ; and it may well be 
 added that he seemed to accumulate wealth to 
 enjoy the pleasure of spending it worthily. His 
 unostentatious charities during the war were 
 almost boundless ; and hundreds of widows and 
 orphans blessed him for the relief which he 
 extended to them in those dark days, when even 
 medicines were contraband of war, and the sim- 
 plest necessaries of life were beyond the reach 
 of nearly every one in the Confederacy. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Dyer and the Sailing Captain. — First Voyage to Nassau. — 
 Major Ficklen and the Two Young Lieutenants. — Our 
 Old Skipper "Captain Dick." — Bermuda. — The Races 
 there and elsewhere. — Description of Bermuda. — 
 Moore, the Poet, and his Rival Mr. Tucker. — Tame Fish. 
 — The Naval Station. — Col. B.'s Accident. 
 
 ~r3EF0RE sailing with our cargo of cotton for 
 -*— '^ Nassau, a signal officer was detailed for the 
 ship, (signal stations having been established along 
 the coast for the benefit of the blockade-runners;) 
 and I was compelled to discharge my pilot Djer. 
 He and the sailing captain, who was to take pas- 
 sage with us, his engagement having terminated 
 with the transfer of the vessel to the Confederate 
 flag, had been quarreling incessantly during my 
 absence from Wilmington, and had finally become 
 mortal foes. An hour or more after my return to 
 the ship, while sitting in the cabin, I heard loud 
 and angry altercation overhead ; and going on 
 deck, I saw Dyer pacing up and down the wharf, 
 along side which the "Lee" was lying; while 
 
FIRST VOYAGE TO NASSAU- 137 
 
 the sailing captain was bidding him defiance from 
 the steamer's deck; Dyer with a drawn knife in 
 his hand, and the captain armed with a hand- 
 spike. They had exhausted their vocabulary of 
 abuse, but neither was disposed to invade the 
 enemy's territory. At last Dyer cried out " Come 
 ashore you d-d English hog, and I'll make mince 
 meat of you !" I shall never forget the expres- 
 sion of the captain's face at this cruel taunt. He 
 was literally struck speechless for a moment ; 
 then turning to me and drawing himself up with 
 a thumb in his arm-hole, and the handspike over 
 his shoulder, he exclaimed, " Now, sir, isn't that 
 too bad ! Do I look like a Ilenglish og ?" To 
 this pathetic appeal, I could but answer " no," 
 but the fact was they bore a ludicrous resem- 
 blance to two boars about to engage in mortal 
 combat ; the captain, with his jolly, rosy face 
 and portly figure, not at all unlike a sleek, well 
 fed "White Chester," and Dyer quite as much 
 resembling a lean, lank, wiry "razor-back" native 
 of his own pine woods. I discharged Dyer. The 
 poor fellow's subsequent fate was a sad one. 
 While acting as pilot of a blockade-runner, inward 
 bound, he committed the folly one day of saying 
 that he would put a steamer under his charge 
 
138 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 ashore, before he would be captured. Tlie remark 
 was overheard and treasured up by some of the 
 crew; and a night or two afterwards the steamer 
 ran aground on the bar in the attempt to enter 
 Cape Fear River, and was deserted. As slie was 
 under the shelter of the guns of Fort Caswell, a 
 boat from shore was sent off to her next morning, 
 and poor Dyer was found in a dying condition on 
 the deck with his skull fractured. He had paid 
 for his folly with his life. 
 
 Our first voyage to ISTassau was made without 
 any unusual incident. The Major took passage 
 with ns by permission of the Secretary of War, 
 and his practical jokes amused every one except 
 the butt of them ; even the aggrieved party, him- 
 self, being frequently obliged to laugh at his own 
 expense. There were two very young lieutenants 
 of the Confederate Navy then in Nassau, on their 
 way to Europe ; the senior of whom Taiiking the 
 other by one or two days, assumed much authority 
 over him. One day the Major with the help of an 
 accomplice, who was supposed to be able to imitate 
 my handwriting, addressed an ofiicial letter to the 
 senior in my name, informing him that both of 
 them had been reported to me for unofficer-like 
 and unbecoming conduct, and requiring them to 
 
MAJOR FICKLEN AND THE LIEUTENANTS. 139 
 
 repair immediately on board the Lee with their 
 luggage, as I felt it to be an imperative dnty to 
 take them back to the Confederacy for trial by 
 court-martial. The junior demurred, believing it 
 to be a hoax, but the senior peremptorily ordered 
 him to accompany him on board. They were 
 caught in a drenching shower on their way to the 
 Lee ; and they made their appearance in the cabin 
 in a sorry plight, reporting themselves " in obedi- 
 ence to orders," handing me the written docu- 
 ment. As I pronounced it a forgery, the junior 
 turned to the senior and exclaimed, " What did 
 I tell you ? didn't I say it was a hoax of that d — d 
 Major Ficklen ? " They started to the shore, vow- 
 ing vengeance ; but the Major had posted his sen- 
 tinels at every street corner near the landing, and 
 successfully eluded them. They were to sail that 
 afternoon at four o'clock ; and after a fruitless 
 chase, went to the hotel to get dinner. While 
 sitting at the table, and some time after soup was 
 served, a waiter came to them " with Major Fick- 
 len's compliments and the pleasure of a glass of 
 champagne with them." After a hurried consul- 
 tation, they decided to bury the hatchet ; and 
 bowed over their wine to the Major, who had just 
 slipped into a seat reserved for him at the other 
 
14:0 NAKKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNNEK. 
 
 end of the long and crowded table, and was smil- 
 ing graciously in their direction. As Ficklen bade 
 thcni " good-bye, '' he said " Don't forget me, my 
 sons!" "No, indeed," they replied, "you may 
 swear we never will ! " 
 
 Seeing the necessity, while at Nassau, of carry- 
 ing a Bahama Banks pilot, I engaged our worthy 
 old skipper. Captain Dick Watkins, who served 
 under my command for many months, maintain- 
 ing and deserving the respect of all on board. His 
 son, and only heir to his name and fortune. Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, gave him much anxiety. "Ah, 
 Sir," he said on one occasion, " dat b-y's heddica- 
 tion has cost me a sight of money, as much as ten 
 dollars a year for two or three years, and he don't 
 know nothing hardly." During one of our voy- 
 ages he had left his wife quite sick at home. My 
 young friend Johnny T — was endeavoring to con- 
 sole him. " But the ole 'oraan is mighty sick. 
 Master Johnny," said the old fellow, " and I don't 
 spect to see her no more." Johnny's heart was 
 touched. The silence was broken by Captain 
 Dick after a long pause, " dere are some mighty 
 pretty yaller gals in I^assau, Master Johnny ! " 
 He had the profoundest rdl^ect for the head of 
 the firm of A — y and Co. in Nassau, the " King 
 
WINTER TRIPS. 141 
 
 Conch " as he was irreverently styled by us outside 
 barbarians. Speaking of the lirm upon one oc- 
 casion he assured me the members were as wealthy 
 as the " Roths children.'''' My good purser and 
 the old captain were fast friends, the former fight- 
 ing the old fellow's battles in Rebeldom ; and 
 once, when the latter was unjustly treated in Wil- 
 mington, the purser" took the daggers," and bore 
 him triumphantl}" through the difiiculty. 
 
 "We made two or three trips between Wil- 
 mington and Nassau during the winter of 1862-3 
 encountering no extraordinary hazards. Dur- 
 ing one of them we arrived within ten or twelve 
 miles of the western bar too early in the night 
 to cross it, as the ebb tide was still running ; 
 and it was always my custom to cross the bar on a 
 rising tide, if possible. All the usual preparations 
 had been made on board for running through the 
 fleet, and as no sail was in sight we steamed cau- 
 tiously in toward the land until we arrived within 
 a cable's length of the shore, and in the dense 
 shadow of a comparatively high bluff. Here we 
 dropped a kedge and rode by the hawser. Al- 
 though there was no moon, the stars were shining 
 brightly ; and the air was so calm and still, that 
 the silence was oppressive. While we were lying 
 
142 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNER. 
 
 in the friendly shadow of the bluff, one of the 
 blockading fleet could be occasionally seen from 
 our deck, steaming slowly along upon her " beat " 
 a short distance outside of us. When the time 
 arrived for making the dash at the bar, the kedge 
 was run up to the bows by willing hands, and the 
 "Lee " started at full speed. When the land was 
 once fairly got hold of, and our exact position 
 known, the chances were ten to one in our favor. 
 No blockader could get inshore of us to cut us off 
 from the bar, and we believed that we could 
 either go by or go over anything in our course ; 
 and in extremity we could beach the vessel with 
 the probability of being able to save most, if not 
 the whole of the cargo. 
 
 During the month of March, 1863, the Lee's 
 port of destination was St. George's, Bermuda. 
 This island is easily accessible on the southern 
 side, and was much resorted to by blockade-run- 
 ners. Surrounded on all other sides by dangerous 
 coral reefs, which extend for many miles into deep 
 water, a vessel of heavy draft can approach from 
 the south within a cable's length of the shore. A 
 light of the first class at the west end of the group 
 composing the " Bermudas," is visible for many 
 miles in clear weather. It may as well be men- 
 
BERMUDA. 143 
 
 tioned here, that tlie blockade-runners rarely ap- 
 proached any head land during daylight ; " pre- 
 ferring darkness rather than light." The agent 
 of the Confederate Government, Major Walker, 
 with his staff of assistants, lived at St. George's ; 
 and he and his accomplished wife always wel- 
 comed their compatriots with genuine hospitality. 
 The house of Mr. Black (an assistant of the 
 Major) was also open to us, and no sick exile from 
 home M'ill ever forget the tender nursing of Mrs. 
 Black and the kindness of that whole family. 
 The little graveyard attached to the Episcopal 
 church at St. George's, contains all that is mortal 
 of several gallant youths from the south, who 
 died of yellow fever; but they were soothed in 
 the hours of their last illness by Christian counsel, 
 and by tender hands. The white natives of the 
 island, too, extended many attentions and civili- 
 ties to Confederates, so that St. George's became 
 not only a harbor of refuge, but a pleasant resting 
 place after the excitement and fatigue of an out- 
 ward voyage. The same antagonism which pre- 
 vails between the white and the black races, wher- 
 ever they live together upon equal terms, exists in 
 Bermuda. People are classed there as " colored 
 and plain^'' and a line of one pound sterling is 
 
IM NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 imposed for calling the former " negroes." There 
 must be a natural antipathy between the two 
 races ; or at least it seems to exist in the heart of 
 the negro, for wherever he has the power, he 
 shows his dislike and jealousy of the white man. 
 In Hayti, since the French inhabitants were mur- 
 dered, the jealousy and hatred of the negroes have 
 been directed against the mulattoes, who have 
 been nearly exterminated ; and the whites in 
 Jamaica would have shared the same fate at the 
 hands of a brutal horde of black savages a few 
 years ago, but for the premature exposure of the 
 plot, and the vigorous action of the Governor of 
 the island. In the model republic of Liberia no 
 white man can obtain the right of citizenship, own 
 real estate, nor sit upon a jury. Nowhere in the 
 world did there exist the same kindly relation be- 
 tween the two races, as in the South before the 
 war ; and even now, the older negroes seek aid 
 and advice, when in difficulties, from their former 
 owners, although they have been misled by un- 
 principled adventurers, by whom they have been 
 taught to distrust them in politics. A short time 
 ago Dr. B — , a Virginia gentleman, was asked by 
 a Northerner his opinion of the negroes' feelings 
 toward the Southern people. " I will tell you," 
 
THE BERMUDAS. 145 
 
 replied Dr. B. " If you and I were candidates 
 for the same office, you would get es^ery negro's 
 vote ; but, if one of them wanted advice or assist- 
 ance he would come to me or some other south- 
 erner." 
 
 U The group composing the " Bermudas " still 
 justifies the reputation given to it by one of the 
 British admirals of the "olden time." The 
 " Bermoothees," he records in his quaintly written 
 journal, " is a hellish place for thunder, light- 
 ning, and storms." Shakspeare, too, sends " Ariel " 
 to " fetch dew " from the " still vexed Ber- 
 moothes" for his exacting master Prospero. But 
 although gales of wind during the winter, and 
 thunder storms in the summer, are so prevalent, 
 the climate is delightful. There are upward of 
 three hundred islands in the group, most of them 
 mere barren coral rocks; and the largest, St. 
 George's, is not more than three miles long, and 
 about a mile in width. The roads are cut out of 
 the soft coral, which hardens by exposure to the 
 atmosphere, and are perfect. 
 
 There are several very curious natural caves 
 
 about five miles distant from St. George's ; and 
 
 near one of them is still pointed out the calabash 
 
 tree under which the Irish poet, Tom Moore, is 
 
 7 
 
146 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 said to have composed one of his sonnets to Nea^ 
 who afterwards became the wife of Mr. Tucker, 
 and left many descendants on the island. The 
 venerable old gentleman was living, in his nine- 
 tieth year, when I was last in St. George's; and 
 although the bride of his youth, and his rival the 
 poet, had been long mouldering in their graves, 
 he was still so jealous of the latter that he would 
 not allow his great-grandchildren to keep a copy 
 of the poet's works in the house. 
 
 The only indigenous tree upon the islands, I 
 believe, is the cedar ; the oleander, which now 
 grows everywhere, having been introduced by 
 Mr. Tucker. Nearly all of the tropical fruits 
 grow there, and many indigenous to the temper- 
 ate zone ; but the staple products are potatoes 
 and onions, chiefly for the New York market, and 
 arrow root. The waters teem with fish of the 
 most brilliantly beautiful colors. An ingenious 
 individual has succeeded in taming a number, by 
 availing himself of a natural cavity in the coral 
 situated close to the shore and a few miles distant 
 from St. George's. The sea water, percolating 
 through the coral, supplies the basin. At a 
 whistle the tame lish swim close to the edge and 
 feed from one's hand. 
 
CIVIL BELLIGEKENTS. 147 
 
 There is a naval station at " Ireland Island," 
 and a floating dock (which was built in England 
 and towed out,) capable of taking in the largest- 
 sized man of war. The naval oflicers attached to 
 the dock-yard, and to the men of w^ar, were 
 always friendly and more than civil to Confeder- 
 ates ; being sometimes, indeed, too profuse in their 
 hospitality. Upon one occasion. Col. — a personal 
 friend of mine, had obtained a furlough, and 
 permission to make a trip in the Lee, for the sake 
 of his health, broken by the hardships of a cam- 
 paign in northern Virginia. The purser, who 
 was always ready for a " lark," and the Colonel, 
 who was of an inquiring turn of mind, paid a visit 
 to the dock-yard. After an inspection of it, they 
 went on board several of the men of war in har- 
 bor, receiving on board each of them refresh- 
 ments, solid and liquid. They had crossed over 
 to Ireland Island in a sail-boat, and when about to 
 return, were escorted to the wharf by a party of 
 officers. Their boat was lying outside of another, 
 containing a fat old washerwoman ; and Col. — , 
 who had had no experience in boating in his life, 
 except "paddling his own canoe " upon a mill 
 pond in Amelia county, Ya., stopped to exchange 
 farewell salutations with the party of officers on 
 
148 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 the wharf, while he stood with one foot in the 
 "stern sheets" of the washerwoman's boat, and 
 the other in his own. The boatman forward, 
 ignorant of the critical state of affairs, hoisted the 
 jib, and the boat, under the influence of a stiff 
 breeze, began to " pay off" before the wind. Be- 
 fore Col. — could " realize the situation," he was 
 in the attitude of the Colossus of Rhodes. The 
 purser promptly seized one of his legs, and the fat 
 washerwoman with equal presence of mind, laid 
 hold of the other. Each was determined not to 
 let go, and the strain upon the Colonel must have 
 been terrific ; but he was equal to the emergency. 
 Taking in the whole situation, he deliberately 
 drew his watch out of his pocket, and holding it 
 high above his head with both hands, he said, 
 with his usually imperturbable calmness, " Well 
 I reckon you had better let go ! " His endeavors 
 to protect his watch proved to have been fruit- 
 less ; the purser indeed always insists that he 
 touched bottom in three fathoms of water. He 
 returned on board the Lee to be wrung out and 
 dried. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 We sail for Wilmington. — Thick Weather on the Coast. — An- 
 chored among the Blockading Fleet. — The " Mound." — 
 Running the Blockade by Moonlight. — A Device to mis- 
 lead the Enemy. — The man Hester. 
 
 A FTER discharging our cargo of cotton and 
 -^^ loading with supplies for the Confederate 
 Government, chiefly for the army of Northern 
 Virginia, we sailed for Wilmington in the latter 
 part of the month of March. Our return voyage 
 was uneventful, until we reached the coast near 
 Masonborough Inlet, distant about nine miles 
 north of the " New Inlet " bar. The weather had 
 been pleasant during the voyage, and we had 
 sighted i\ve fires from the salt works along the 
 coast, but before we could get hold of the land, a 
 little before midnight, a densely black cloud made 
 its appearance to the north and east ; and the 
 rapidity with which it rose and enlarged, indica- 
 ted too surely that a heavy gale was coming from 
 that quarter. We had been unable to distinguish 
 any landmark before the storm burst in all its fury 
 
150 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 upon US, and the rain poured in torrents. Our 
 supply of f^oals was too limited to enable us, with 
 prudence, to put to sea again ; and of course, the 
 marks or ranges for crossing the bar would not be 
 visible fifty yards in such thick weather. Being 
 quite confident of our position, however, I deter- 
 mined to run down the coast, and anchor off the 
 bar till daylight. Knowing the " trend " of the 
 land north of New Inlet bar, the engine was 
 slowed down and the lead kept going on both 
 sides. The sounding continued quite regular three 
 and three and a quarter fathoms, with the surf 
 thundering within a stone's throw on our star- 
 board beam, and nothing visible in the blinding 
 torrents of rain. I knew that if my calculated 
 position was correct, the water would shoal very 
 suddenly just before reaching the bar; but a try- 
 ing hour or more of suspense had passed before 
 the welcome fact was announced by the leadsmen. 
 The course and distance run, and the soundings 
 up to this point proved, beyond doubt, that we had 
 now reached the " horse shoe " north of New Inlet 
 bar. At the moment when both of the leadsmen 
 almost simultaneously called out " and a quarter 
 less three," the helm was put hard a-starboard, 
 and the Lee's bow was pointed seaward. "We 
 
THE MOUND. 151 
 
 could not prudently anchor in less than five fath- 
 oms water, as the sea was rising rapidly ; and that 
 depth would carry us into the midst of the block- 
 ading fleet at anchor outside. It seemed an age 
 before tlie cry came from the leadsmen " by the 
 mark five." The Lee was instantly stopped, and 
 one of the bower anchors let go, veering to thirty 
 fathoms on the chain. The cable was then well 
 stoppered at the "bitts," and unshackled; and 
 two men stationed at the stopper, with axes, and 
 the order to cut the lashings, instantly, when so 
 ordered ; the fore-staysail was loosed, and hands 
 stationed at the halliards ; and the chief engineer 
 directed to keep up a full head of steam. The 
 night wore slowly away ; and" once or twice we 
 caught a glimpse, by a flash of lightning, of the 
 blockading fleet around us, rolling and pitching 
 in the heavy sea. The watch bavins: been set, 
 the rest of the officers and crew were permitted 
 to go below, except the chief engineer and the 
 pilot. We paced the bridge, anxiously waiting 
 for daylight. It came at last, and there, right 
 astern of us, looming up through the mist and 
 rain, was the " Mound." We had only to steer 
 for it, to be on our right course for crossing the 
 bar. The stoppers were cut, the engine started 
 
152 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 ahead, and the fore stay-sail hoisted. As tlie chain 
 rattled through the hawse-hole, the Lee wore 
 rapidly around, and the Confederate flag was run 
 up to the peak as she dashed toward the bar with 
 the speed of a greyhound slipped from the leash. 
 The bar was a sheet of foam and surf, breaking 
 sheer across the channel ; but the great length of 
 the Lee enabled her to ride over three or four of 
 the short chopping seas at once, and she never 
 touched the bottom. In less than half an hour 
 from the time when we slipped our chain under 
 the guns of the fleet, we had passed beyond Fort 
 Fisher, and were on our way up the river to 
 Wilmington. 
 
 The " Mound " was an artificial one, erected 
 by Colonel Lamb, who commanded Fort Fisher. 
 Two heavy guns were mounted upon it, and it 
 eventually became a site for a light, and very 
 serviceable to blockade-runners ; but even at this 
 period, it was an excellent landmark. Joined by 
 a long low isthmus of sand with the higher main 
 land, its regular conical shape enabled the block- 
 ade-runners easily to identify it from the ofling ; 
 and in clear weather, it showed plain and distinct 
 against the sky at night. I believe the military 
 men used to laugh slyly at the Colonel for under- 
 
RANGE LIGHTS AT CAPE FEAB. 153 
 
 taking its erection, predicting that it would not 
 stand ; but the result showed the contrary ; and 
 whatever difference of opinion may have existed 
 with regard to its value as a military position, 
 there can be but one as to its utility to the block- 
 ade-runners, for it was not a landmark, alone, 
 along this monotonous coast ; but one of the 
 range lights for crossing New Inlet bar was placed 
 on it. Seamen will appreciate at its full value, 
 this advantage; but it may be stated, for the 
 benefit of the unprofessional reader, that while the 
 compass bearing of an object does not enable a 
 pilot to steer a vessel with sufficient accuracy 
 through a narrow channel, range lights answer the 
 purpose completely. These lights were only set 
 after signals had been exchanged between the 
 blockade-runner and the shore station, and were 
 removed immediately after the vessel had entered 
 the river. The range lights were changed as cir- 
 cumstances required ; for the New Inlet channel, 
 itself, was and is constantly changing, being 
 materially affected both in depth of water, and 
 in its course, by a heavy gale of wind or a severe 
 freshet in Cape Fear Kiver. 
 
 The " Lee " continued to make her regular 
 trips either to Nassau or Bermuda, as circum- 
 
154 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 stances required, during the summer of 1863 ; 
 carrying abroad cotton and naval stores, and bring- 
 ing in " hardware," as munitions of war were then 
 invoiced. Usually the time selected for sailing 
 was during the " dark of the moon,'' but upon one 
 occasion, a new pilot had been detailed for duty 
 on board, who failed in many efforts to get the 
 ship over the " rip," a shifting sand bar a mile or 
 more inside the true bar. More than a week of 
 valuable time had thus been lost, but the exigen- 
 cies of the army being at that time more than 
 usually urgent, I determined to run what appeared 
 to be a very great risk. The tide serving at ten 
 o'clock, we succeeded in crossing the rip at that 
 hour, and as we passed over New Inlet bar, the 
 moon rose in a cloudless sky. It was a calm night 
 too, and the regular beat of our paddles through 
 the smooth water sounded to our ears ominously 
 loud. As we closely skirted the shore, the block- 
 ading vessels were plainly visible to us, some at 
 anchor, some under way ; and some of them so 
 near to us that we saw, or fancied we saw, with 
 our night glasses, the men on watch on their fore- 
 castles ; but as we were inside of them all, and 
 invisible against the background of the land, we 
 passed beyond them undiscovered. The roar of 
 
A NEW EXPEDIENT. 155 
 
 the surf breaking upon the beach, prevented the 
 noise of our paddles from being heard. The Lee's 
 head was not pointed seaward, however, until we 
 had run ten or twelve miles along the land so 
 close to the breakers that we could almost have 
 tossed a biscuit into them, and no vessel was to be 
 seen in any direction. ' Discovery of us by the 
 fleet would probably have been fatal to us, but 
 the risk was really not so great as it appeared ; 
 for, as I had been informed by a blockade-runner 
 who had been once captured and released, being a 
 British subject, the vigilance on board the block- 
 ading fleet was much relaxed during the moon- 
 lit nights. The vessels were sent to Beaufort 
 to coal at these times. My informant was an 
 ofiicer of the British Navy, and was the guest, for 
 a few days after his capture, of Captain Patterson 
 then commanding the blockading fleet off* the 
 Cape Fear. Speaking of the arduous service, 
 P. remarked to him, that he never undressed 
 nor retired to bed, during the dark nights; but 
 could enjoy those luxuries when the moon was 
 shining. On this hint I acted. 
 I It was about this time that I adopted an ex- 
 pedient which proved of great service on several 
 occasions. A blockade-runner did not often pass 
 
156 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 through the fleet without receiving one or more 
 shots, but these were always preceded by the 
 flash of a calcium light, or by a blue light ; and 
 immediately followed by two rockets thrown in 
 the direction of the blockade-runner. The signals 
 were probably concerted each day for the ensuing 
 night, as they appeared to be constantly changed ; 
 but the rockets were invariably sent up. I 
 ordered a lot of rockets from New York. When- 
 ever all hands were called to ran through the fleet, 
 an ofiicer was stationed alongside of me on the 
 bridge with the rockets. One or two minutes 
 after our immediate pursuer had sent up his rock- 
 ets, I would direct ours to be discharged at a right 
 angle to our course. The whole fleet would be 
 misled, for even if the vessel which had discovered 
 us were not deceived, the rest of the fleet would 
 be baffled. 
 
 While we were lying at anchor in the harbor 
 of St. George's, during one of our trips, I was 
 notified by the Governor of the island, that an 
 officer of the Confederate Navy, then held as a 
 prisoner on board one of H. B. M.'s ships of war 
 at the naval anchorage, would be delivered up 
 to me for transportation to the Confederacy, if 
 I would assume the charge. This officer was 
 
THE MAN HESTER. 157 
 
 charged with the murder of a messmate on board 
 the Confederate States steamer Sumter, while 
 lying at Gibraltar. The demand for his extradi- 
 tion, made bj the Confederate Government, had 
 been complied with by the British Government 
 after much delay ; and he was turned over to me 
 for transportation to the Confederacy. Although 
 the crime appeared to have been committed under 
 circumstances of peculiar atrocity — it being al- 
 leged that the rictim was asleep at the time he was 
 shot — I so far respected the commission which the 
 criminal bore, as to place him upon parole. Upon 
 reporting his arrival at Wilmington to the Secre- 
 tary of the Navy, the latter directed me to release 
 him, upon the ground that it would be impossible 
 to convict him by court-martial, all of the witnesses 
 to the transaction being abroad. The man, Hes- 
 ter, was therefore released, and was never heard 
 of again, I believe, during the war; but he has 
 added to his evil reputation since its close, by ply- 
 ing the infamous trade (under the guise of United 
 States Secret Service agent) of false informer and 
 persecutor in several of the Southern States. The 
 General Government failed to exercise its usual 
 careful discrimination in making this appoint- 
 ment ! The base renegades are many degrees 
 
158 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 worse even than the unprincipled adventurers 
 from the North who have so long preyed upon the 
 South. The latter are only thieves and robbers ; 
 the former are, in addition, unnatural monsters, 
 who hate their own people and are guilty of the 
 crime of Judas, who betrayed his Lord for thirty 
 pieces of silver. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Confederate States Steamer " Florida." — Short Supply 
 of Coal. — The "Florida's" Decks. — Tea and Costly 
 China. — Narrow Escape from Capture. — Miss Lucy Q. — 
 Arrival at Bermuda. — Our uneventful Trip inward. — 
 The Johnson's Island Expedition. — Another Narrow 
 Escape. — " Pretty Shooting." — Arrival at Halifax, N. S. 
 
 ■r~\URING the latter part of July, 1863, the 
 -^-^ "Lee" was lying in the harbor of St. 
 George's, when the Confederate States steamer 
 " Florida" arrived there in want of coal, of which 
 there happened to be a very limited supply on 
 hand. The most suitable coal was procured with 
 difficulty throughout the war, all of the British 
 coals, although excellent for raising steam, making 
 more or less smoke, and objectionable on that ac- 
 count. Exportation of the American anthracite, 
 which would have been almost invaluable, was 
 prohibited by the Government. This is, I believe, 
 the only accessible, or at least available nonbitu- 
 minous coal in the world ; but the best substitute 
 for it is the Welsh semi-bituminous coal, and this 
 was chiefly used by the blockade-runners. 
 
160 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADK-RDNNER. 
 
 The Florida was in greater need of coal than 
 ourselves, for the United States steamer Wachii- 
 sett came into port a day or two after the former, 
 and Maffitt, in command of the Florida, wished to 
 get to sea first. When belligerent rights were 
 accorded to the Confederate Government by 
 foreign powers, the Confederate cruisers were 
 admitted into their ports upon equal terms with 
 the United States men of war, except that there 
 was no interchange of official courtesies. In order 
 to preserve strict neutrality toward the contending 
 powers, a man of war under either flag was not 
 permitted to follow out of a neutral port a ship 
 under the enemy's colors within twenty-four hours 
 of the sailing of the latter ; and it was an equal 
 violation of neutrality for a ship of war under 
 either flag to cruise within a marine league of 
 neutral territory. 
 
 When occasion required no one could be more 
 resolute than Maflit, as he had repeatedly shown 
 in the management of the Florida ; and especially 
 when he ran the gauntlet in broad daylight 
 througli the whole Federal fleet blockading Mo- 
 bile, and for which affair Preble, then com- 
 manding the fleet, was so harshly dealt with ; but 
 the chief object of the Confederate cruisers being 
 
SCARCITY OF COAL. 161 
 
 to destroy the American commerce, an engage- 
 ment with a United States ship of war was to be 
 avoided, if possible. 
 
 The Florida's deck, when the crew were at 
 their meals, was a curious scene ; the plain fare 
 of the sailors being served in costly china, cap- 
 tured from homeward bound "Indiamen," and 
 the scamps had become fastidious in their taste 
 about tea, I had the pleasure to carry into 
 Wilmington ten or twelve chests of the finest 
 hyson, which were distributed among the hospi- 
 tals ; and a lot of silver ingots made a narrow 
 escape from confiscation. But the law officers in 
 Bermuda, whom Maffit consulted, assuring him 
 that they would be adjudged legal prize of war 
 in the British courts, they were shipped to 
 England, instead of the Confederacy, and there 
 returned to the claimants. 
 
 Although there was no exchange of civilities 
 between the officers of the two ships, the sailors 
 harmonized amiably and got drunk together 
 ashore with mutual good will. A jack tar is 
 probably the only representative left of the 
 old " free lance," who served under any flag 
 where he was sure of pay and booty. The 
 blue jackets will fight under any colors, where 
 
1G2 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 there is a fair prospect of adventure and prize 
 money. 
 
 After the Florida had been coaled, there was 
 scarcely a sufficient supply left to carry the Lee 
 into Wilmington under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances ; but it was necessary either to sail at 
 once, or to wait two weeks for the next moon. 
 Our chief engineer had noticed a large pile of 
 coal on one of the wharves rented by the Con- 
 federate agent ; but the heap had been so long 
 exposed to the weather, and trampled upon for 
 so many months, that it appeared to be a mere 
 pile of dirt. "Necessity having no law," 
 however, we shoveled off the surface ; and were 
 surprised to find that it was of very fair quality. 
 It made an abundance of steam, indeed, but 
 burned with great rapidity ; and although we 
 took on board an extra supply, we were able to 
 retain barely enough English coal in the bunkers 
 to use in running through the fleet on our next 
 outward voyage. The consequence was the 
 narrowest escape from capture ever made by the 
 Lee while under my command. 
 
 We were ready to sail for Nassau on the 15th 
 of August, 1863, and had on board, as usual, 
 several passengers. Indeed we rarely made a trip 
 
THE CHASE. 163 
 
 either way without as many as could be accommo- 
 dated, and many ladies among them. My obser- 
 vation of the conduct of the fair sex, under 
 trying and novel circumstances, has convinced me 
 that they face inevitable dangers more bravely 
 and with more composure than men. I have 
 frequently seen a frail, delicate woman standing 
 erect and unflinching upon the deck, as the 
 shells were whistling and bursting over us, 
 while her lawful protector would be cowering 
 "under the lee" of a cotton bale. I pay this 
 humble tribute of admiration to the sex, but 
 a. cynical old bachelor, to whom I once made 
 the observation, replied that in his opinion their 
 insatiable curiosity prevailed even over their 
 natural fears I 
 
 On our outward voyage we had among our 
 passengers ex-Senator Gwin and his daughter, 
 and Dr. and Mrs. P. We passed safely through 
 the blockading fleet off the New Inlet Bar, 
 receiving no damage from the few shots fired 
 at us, and gained an ofiing from the coast of 
 thirty miles by daylight. By this time our 
 supply of English coal had been exhausted, and 
 we were obliged to commence upon. North 
 Carolina coal of very inferior quality, and which 
 
1G4 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 smoked terribly. "We commenced on this fuel a 
 little after daylight. "Very soon afterwards the 
 vigilant look-out at the mast-head called out 
 " Sail ho ! " and in reply to the " where away " 
 from the deck, sang out " Right astern, sir, and in 
 chase." The morning was very clear. Going to 
 the mast-head I could jnst discern the royal of the 
 chaser ; and before I left there, say in half an 
 hour, her top-gallant sail showed above the hori- 
 zon. By this time the sun had risen in a cloud- 
 less sky. It was evident our pursuer would be 
 alongside of us by mid-day at the rate we were 
 then going. The first orders given were to throw 
 overboard the deck-load of cotton and to make 
 more steam. The latter proved to be more easily 
 given than executed ; the chief engineer report- 
 ing that it was impossible to make steam with the 
 wretched stuff filled with slate and dirt. A mod- 
 erate breeze from the north and east had been 
 blowing ever since daylight and every stitch of 
 canvas on board the square-rigged steamer in 
 our wake was drawing. We were steering east 
 by south, and it was clear that the chaser's advan- 
 tages could only be neutralized either by bring- 
 ing the "Lee'' gradually head to wind or edging 
 away to bring the wind aft. The former course 
 
AN EXPERIMENT. 165 
 
 would be running toward the land, besides incur- 
 ring the additional risk of being intercepted and 
 captured by some of the inshore cruisers. I 
 began to edge away tlierefore, and in two or three 
 hours enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing our pur- 
 suer clew up and furl his sails. The breeze was 
 still blowing as fresh as in the morning, but we 
 were now running directly away from it, and the 
 cruiser was going literally as fast as the wind, 
 causing the sails to be rather a hindrance than a 
 help. But she was still gaining on us. A happy 
 inspiration occurred to me when the case seemed 
 hopeless. Sending for the chief engineer I said 
 " Mr. S., let us try cotton, saturated with spirits 
 of turpentine." There were on board, as part of 
 the deck load, thirty or forty barrels of " spirits." 
 In a very few moments, a bale of cotton was 
 ripped open, a barrel tapped, and buckets full of 
 the saturated material passed down into the fire- 
 room. The result exceeded our expectations. 
 The chief engineer, an excitable little Frenchman 
 from Charleston, very soon made his appearance 
 on the bridge, his eyes sparkling with triumph, 
 and reported a full head of steam. Curious to see 
 the effect upon our speed) I directed him to wait 
 a moment until the log was hove. I threw it 
 
166 NAKRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-BUNNER. 
 
 myself, nine and a half knots. " Let lier go now 
 sir ! " I said. Five minutes afterwards, I hove 
 the log again, ildrteen and a quarter. We now 
 began to hold our own, and even to gain a little 
 upon the chaser ; but she was fearfully near, and 
 I began to have visions of another residence at 
 Fort Warren, as I saw the " big bone in the 
 mouth " of our pertinacious friend, for she was 
 near enough to us at one time for us to see dis- 
 tinctly the white curl of foam under her bows, 
 called by that name among seamen. I wonder 
 if they could have screwed another turn of speed 
 out of her if thej' had known that the Lee had on 
 board, in addition to her cargo of cotton, a large 
 amount of gold shipped by the Confederate Gov- 
 ernment ? There continued to be a very slight 
 change in our relative positions till about six 
 o'clock in the afternoon, when the chief engineer 
 again made his appearance, with a very ominous 
 expression of countenance. He came to report 
 that the burnt cotton had choked the flues, and 
 that the steam was running down. " Only keep 
 her going till dark, sir," 1 replied, " and we will 
 give our pursuer the slip yet." A heavy bank 
 was lying along the horizon to the south and 
 east ; and I saw a possible means of escape. At 
 
THE ESCAPE. 167 
 
 sunset the chaser was about four miles astern and 
 gaining upon us. Calling two of my most reliable 
 ofiicers, I stationed one of them on each wheel- 
 house, with glasses, directing them to let me know 
 the instant they lost sight of the chaser in the 
 growing darkness. At the same time, I ordered 
 the chief engineer to make as black a smoke as 
 possible, and to be in readiness to cut ofi* the 
 smoke, by closing the dampers instantly, when 
 ordered. The twilight was soon succeeded by 
 darkness. Both of the officers on the wheel house 
 called out at the same moment, "We have lost 
 sight of her," while a dense volume of smoke was 
 streaming far in our wake. " Close the dampers," 
 I called out through the speaking tube, and at the 
 same moment ordered the helm "hard a star- 
 board." Our course was altered eight points, at a 
 right angle to the previous one. I remained on 
 deck an hour, and then retired to my state-room 
 with a comfortable sense of security. We had 
 fired so hard that the very planks on the bridge 
 were almost scorching hot, and my feet were 
 nearly blistered. I put them out of the window 
 to cool, after taking off slippers and socks. 
 While in this position, Miss Lucy G. came on the 
 bridge in company with her father. Tapping 
 
168 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNER. 
 
 my foot with her hand, she said, "Ah, captain, 
 I see we are all safe, and I congratulate you ! " 
 At one time during the chase, when capture 
 seemed inevitable, tlie kegs containing the gold 
 had been brought on deck, and one of them 
 opened by my orders, it being my intention to 
 distribute its contents among the officers and crew. 
 Miss Lucy, who preserved her presence of mind 
 throughout the trying scenes of the day, called 
 me aside, and suggested that she should till a 
 purse for me, and keep it about her person, until 
 the prize crew had taken possession, and all dan- 
 ger of personal search was over, when she would 
 make an opportunity to give it to me ; and I have 
 no doubt she would have accomplished her inten- 
 tions if occasion had required. ) The chaser 
 proved afterwards to be the "Iroquois." Feel- 
 ing confident that she would continue on the 
 course toward Abaco, and perhaps have another 
 and more successful chase, I changed the destina- 
 tion of the Lee to Bermuda, where we arrived 
 safely two days afterward. 
 
 Upon the arrival of the Lee at Wilmington, 
 after one more trip to Nassau, I wsls summoned 
 by telegraph to Richmond. An attempt was to 
 be made for the release of the prisoners at 
 
A NEW BUSINESS. 169 
 
 Johnson's Island. This island, situated in the 
 harbor of Sandnsky, on Lake Erie, was supposed 
 to be easily accessible from Canada, and the 
 Canadian shore ; but it was left to the judgment 
 of the officer in command how the details were to 
 be arranged, his sole explicit instructions being 
 not to violate the neutrality of British territory. 
 How this was to be avoided has ever seemed 
 impossible to me, but having been selected to 
 command the expedition, I resolved to disregard 
 all personal consequences, and to leave the respon- 
 sibility to be borne by the Confederate Govern- 
 ment. A party of twentj^-six officers of the 
 dijfferent grades was detailed for. the service. The 
 Lee, laden with a cargo of cotton, was to carry 
 ns to Halifax, N. S. ; the cotton to be consigned 
 to a iirm there, who were to purchase, with a part 
 of the proceeds, blankets, shoes, etc., for the army ; 
 the balance to be retained for the benefit of the 
 prisoners, if released. My successor in connnand 
 of the Lee took passage with us. We sailed for 
 Halifax on the night of October 10th, 1863. The 
 season was so far advanced, that we could not 
 afford to lose even a day ; we therefore dropped 
 down the Cape Fear River to Smithville as soon 
 as the preparations were completed, and although 
 
170 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADK-RUNNER. 
 
 the night was very clear, I determined to attempt 
 the passage through the fleet soon after dark, so 
 as to get as far north along the coast as possible 
 before daylight. We crossed the western bar 
 abont nine o'clock at night, and instead of " hug- 
 ging" the shore, which would have carried us too 
 far to the southward and westward, the course 
 was shaped so as to clear the Frying Pan Shoals. 
 LWe had been running at full speed for nearly an 
 hour, when a shot came whizzing a few feet over 
 our bulwarks, and struck the water just beyond 
 us ; it was followed immediately by another, which 
 striking a little short " ricocheted " over us ; 
 and then a third, which crashing through the 
 starboard bulwarks, burst in a cotton bale on the 
 port side, and set lire to it ; several men being 
 wounded by splinters and fragments of the shells. 
 The flames leaped high into the air, and there 
 was a momentary confusion on board, but the or- 
 der to throw the burning bale overboard was 
 promptly executed, and for some time afterwards 
 we could see it blazing far astern. We never saw 
 the cruiser which tired at us, as she was inshore, 
 and although several more shots were flred, each 
 succeeding one flew wider from the marL AVe 
 promptly sent up our two rockets abeam, and 
 
ANOTHER ESCAPE. 171 
 
 experienced no farther trouble, easily avoiding a 
 sloop of war cruising off the end of the Frying 
 Pan Shoals. The fact is, a blockade-runner was 
 almost as invisible at night as Harlequin in the 
 pantomime. Nothing showed above the deck but 
 the two short masts, and the smoke-stack ; and 
 the lead colored hull could scarcely be seen at the 
 distance of one hundred yards. Even in a clear 
 day, they were not easily discovered. Upon one 
 occasion, when bound to Wilmington, we had 
 crossed the Gulf Stream and struck soundings, 
 when the look-out aloft reported a cruiser in sight 
 ahead, and lying " a-Kitlip with her broadside 
 exposed to us. It was evident, of course, that we 
 were undiscovered so long as she lay in this 
 position, and we continued to steam towards her, 
 until we could plainly see her broadside guns. 
 It was time for us to stop, but we preserved the 
 same distance, undiscovered, for at least two 
 hours. The engineer then reporting that the 
 steam was running down, I directed him to fire 
 up cautiously. The second shovel-full had 
 scarcely been tossed into the furnace when a slight 
 puff of smoke passed out of our smoke-stack, and 
 at the same instant, the cruiser ahead wore round, 
 and commenced a pursuit. There was clearly no 
 
172 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 want of vigilance on board of her. But to return 
 from this digression. By next morning we had 
 got beyond dangerous waters. Some amusement 
 was occasioned at the breakfast table by Johnny 
 T., who had overheard the soliloquy of Colonel B. 
 the night before. The Colonel, who was a mem- 
 ber of the expedition, had seen service in the 
 army of Northern Yirginia. He was sitting upon 
 the wheel house when the first shot was tired, and 
 calmly remarked (to no one in particular,) " that 
 is pretty firing," at the second " that is very pretty 
 firing," and when the third shell burst upon the 
 deck, he jumped upon his feet and exclaimed, 
 with much emphasis, "if that isn't the prettiest 
 firing I ever saw, I wish I may be d — d I " 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Lee Captured at Last. — Sandy Keith alias Thomassen. 
 Recruiting in the British Provinces for the United States 
 Army. — Failure of the Expedition. — Return to Bermuda. 
 
 /^^^ our voyage to Halifax, we passed many 
 ^-^ vessels, and exciting no suspicion, for at 
 that period many of the captured blockade-runners 
 were afloat in the United States service. We 
 showed American colors to those which passed neai 
 us and once, in thick weather off New York, we 
 passed within hailing distance of a man of war 
 bound South. We arrived at Halifax the 16th of 
 October. The cargo of cotton was consigned to the 
 firm of B. Wier & Co. with instructions to pur- 
 chase shoes, etc., with a part of the proceeds, and 
 to hold the balance to my credit. There was then 
 no agent of the Confederate Government in 
 Halifax, but I had taken letters of introduction 
 from a mercantile house in London to this firm 
 to be used in case of touching there on the way 
 back from Glasgow the year before. When I 
 received my instructions from the Secretary 
 
174 NARRATH'E OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 of the ISTavj before leaving Richmond, I wished 
 to ascertain to whom the cargo was to be con- 
 signed on our arrival at Halifax; and then learned 
 from the Secretary of State, to whom I was 
 referred, that there was no accredited agent of 
 the government there. In this dilemma I sought 
 counsel of my good friend Mr. Seddon, Secretary 
 of War, who advised me to act according to my 
 own judgment. I therefore directed the bills of 
 lading, invoices, etc., to be made out with B. Wier 
 & Co. as consignees. In no case, I believe, did 
 the Confederate Government appear as the shipper 
 or consignor. Every cargo was supposed to be 
 owned by private individuals ; and the blockade- 
 runners were regularly entered and cleared at the 
 Confederate Custom House. Upon this occasion 
 the Lee's papers were closely scrutinized by the 
 collector of the customs at Halifax, who did me 
 the honor of personal attention ; but he could 
 find no flaw in them, and the vessel was regularly 
 entered, with little more than the customary delay. 
 The Lee had made her last voj'age under the 
 Confederate flag. Sailing for Wilmington with a 
 full cargo, she was captured off the coast 
 of North Carolina. The land had been made the 
 night before under quite favorable circumstances, 
 
THE LEE CAPTURED. 175 
 
 but neither the captain, nor the pilot, being 
 willing to assume the responsibility of taking 
 charge of the vessel, the Lee was put to sea again, 
 and b}' further culpable mismanagement, she fell 
 an easy prey next morning to one of the United 
 States cruisers. She had run the blockade twenty- 
 one times while under my command, and had 
 carried abroad between six thousand and seven 
 thousand bales of cotton, worth at that time about 
 two millions of dollars in gold, and had carried 
 into the Confederacy equally valuable cargoes. 
 My staunch old helmsman, who had been released 
 in New York by claiming British protection, and 
 who started at once in search of me, met me in 
 Halifax on our return from the Johnson's Island 
 expedition. He actually shed tears as he narrated 
 the train of circumstances which led to the capture. 
 " She would have gone in by herself," he said, 
 " if they had only let her alone ; " for indeed it was 
 evident to all on board the morning of her 
 capture, that she h^id been close in to the shore 
 within a few miles of the New Inlet Bar. She 
 liad not reached the bar, however, so that the 
 pilot's course in refusing to take charge was 
 justifiable; but the fatal error was committed by 
 not making a good offing before daylight. At the 
 
176 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 time of her capture, she was not more than 
 twenty miles from the land, and in the deep bay 
 formed by the coast between Masonborongh Inlet 
 and the Cape Lookout Shoals. 
 
 The arrival of so large a party of Confederates 
 in Halifax attracted attention, and it was essential 
 to the successful execution of the project, that all 
 suspicion should be allayed. The party, therefore, 
 was divided into groups of three or four individ- 
 uals, who were directed to report, in person, at 
 Montreal, each one being strictly enjoined to 
 secrecy and discretion ; for although the precise 
 object of the expedition was only known to three 
 of its members. Lieutenants R. Minor, Ben. 
 Loyall and myself, every one belonging to it was 
 quite well aware that it was hostile to the United 
 States Government. They were a set of gallant 
 young fellows, with a single exception. Who he 
 was and where he came from, none of us knew ; 
 but he had been ordered by the Secretary of the 
 Navy to report to me for duty. We believed 
 him to be a traitor and a spy ; and succeeded in 
 ridding ourselves of him the day after our arrival 
 at Halifax, by advancing him a month's wages. 
 No member of the expedition ever saw him 
 asain. 
 
SANDY KEITH. 177 
 
 The most oflScionsly zealous friend and par- 
 tisan whom we all encountered in Halifax was Mr. 
 " Sandy " Keith, who was facetiously called the 
 Confederate Consul. By dint of a brazen assur- 
 ance, a most obliging manner, and the lavish ex- 
 penditure of money, " profusus sui alieni appe- 
 tens " — he ingratiated himself with nearly every 
 southerner who visited Halifax although he was a 
 coarse, ill-bred vulgarian, of no social standing in 
 the community. It is true that a worthy member 
 of the same family had risen from obscurity to 
 high honors, but Sandy was a black sheep of the 
 flock. He was employed at first by many of our 
 people to purchase for tliem on commission, and 
 afterwards by the Confederate Government. He 
 profited by so good an opportunity for swindling, 
 eventually forging invoices of articles, and draw- 
 ing bills of exchange upon the Confederate 
 Government, which were duly honored. This 
 villainy was perpetrated towards the end of the 
 war, and at its close, Sandy Keith absconded with 
 his ill-gotten gains, a considerable proportion con- 
 sisting of money in his hands, belonging to private 
 individuals. Among his victims was Colonel S. of 
 Baltimore, who determined to make an effort to 
 recover his money. His first step was a visit to 
 
178 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 Halifax. His endeavors there to find Keith's 
 whereabouts were for some time fruitless. But at 
 last a clue was found. A girl, who had accompa- 
 nied Keith in his flight, had written a letter to a 
 relative in Halifax, and Colonel S. by some means 
 obtained a sight of the envelope. The post-mark, 
 plainly legible, indicated that the letter had been 
 written at an obscure little village in Missouri. 
 S, hastened back to Baltimore, and secured the 
 cooperation of a detective, not for the purpose of 
 arresting Keith, because he doubted whether he 
 could recover possession of his property by the 
 slippery and uncertain process of law, but for the 
 sake of the detective's strong arm and presence of 
 mind in the event of resistance. The reward to 
 the detective being made contingent upon the re- 
 covery of the money, the pair left Baltimore, and 
 in due time reached the village in the backwoods, 
 where they learned that two persons, as man and 
 wife, were boarding at the house of a widow, a 
 mile or two distant. They w^aited until night, 
 and then, arming themselves with revolvers, 
 started for the house of the M'idow. Knoekino; at 
 the door, it was opened to them, and as they 
 passed in, Keith's voice was heard, inquiring who 
 had entered. Guided by the sound, they rushed 
 
KEITH ALIAS THOMASSEN. 179 
 
 to the room occupied by him. He had retired 
 for the night. His loaded pistol was lying on a 
 table near his bedside ; but he had neglected to 
 lock the door of his chamber, and S. and the de- 
 tective had secured his arms and held him a pris- 
 oner before he was fairly awake. There was 
 little parleying between them, the detective 
 merely assuring him that if he did not come to 
 terms speedily, his trunk would be broken open 
 and all of its contents seized. The whole affair 
 was amicably settled in ten minutes, by a check 
 upon the bank in which Keith had deposited 
 some of his money, for the amount due to S., 
 and the detective's reward. Keith demurred a 
 little to the latter demand, but finally yielded to 
 moral suasion ; and next day S. presented the 
 check, which was paid. Sandy Keith was sup- 
 posed by those who had known him, to have been 
 lost among the common herd of low swindlers and 
 rogues, for none of them would have given him 
 credit for enterprise or sagacity. He emerged, 
 however, from obscurity, to perpetrate the most 
 horrible and devilishly ingenious crime of the 
 century ; for it was he who under the name of 
 Thomassen blew up the " City of Bremen " with 
 his infernal machine. Those who have read the 
 
180 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-EUNNER. 
 
 account of that dreadful tragedy will remember 
 that the explosion was precipitated by the fall of 
 the box containing dynamite from a cart, or 
 wheelbarrow, conveying it to the steamer. The 
 hammer was set, by clockwork apparatus, to ex- 
 plode the dynamite after the departure of the 
 steamer from England and when near mid-ocean, 
 and Keith, confiding in the efficacy of the arrange- 
 ment, was actually about to take passage in the 
 steamer from Bremerhaven as far as England. 
 Many persons believe that the " City of Boston " 
 was destroyed some years ago by this incarnate 
 fiend, and by the same means. That calamity 
 carried mourning into many households in Keith's 
 native city, for a large number of its most respect- 
 able citizens were on board. It will be remem- 
 bered that she was supposed at the time to have 
 foundered at sea in a gale of wind. 
 
 I had been furnished, before leaving Richmond, 
 with letters to parties in Canada, who, it was be- 
 lieved, could give valuable aid to the expedition. 
 To expedite matters, a trustworthj' agent, a canny 
 Scotchman, who had long served under my com- 
 mand, was dispatched to Montreal, via Portland, to 
 notify these parties that we were on our way there. 
 Our emissary, taking passage in a steamer bound 
 
THE EXPEDITION. 181 
 
 to Portland, passed safely through United States 
 territory, while the rest of lis commenced our long 
 and devious route through the British Provinces. 
 Wherever we travelled, even through the remotest 
 settlements, recruiting agents for the United States 
 army were at work, scarcely affecting to disguise 
 their occupation ; and the walls of the obscurest 
 country taverns bristled with advertisements like 
 the following: "Wanted for a tannery in Maine 
 one thousand tanners to whom a large bonus will 
 be paid, etc." Many could not resist such allure- 
 ments, but it was from this class and similar ones, 
 no doubt, that the " bounty jumpers " sprang. It 
 has been asserted, by those who were in a position 
 to form a correct estimate, that the British Prov- 
 inces, alone, contributed one hundred thousand 
 men to the Federal army. It is scarcely an exag- 
 geration to add, that the population of the civil- 
 ized world was subsidized. 
 
 We were seven days in making the journey to 
 Montreal, where my faithful agent met me by ap- 
 pointment, and carried me to the residence of 
 Captain M., a zealous and self-sacrificing friend to 
 the cause, and to whom I had been accredited. He 
 looked steadily at me for a moment after our in- 
 troduction, and then said " I have met you once 
 
182 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 before." He recalled to iny memory the fact, 
 that while I commanded the battery at Acquia 
 Creek in the early part of the war, he had brought 
 a schooner loaded with arms, etc., up the Potomac, 
 and succeeded in placing her under the protection 
 of our batteries ; having profited by a cold, dark, 
 and inclement night, to evade the vigilance of the 
 gunboats. Subsequently he and his family were 
 compelled to leave Baltimore, and were now refu- 
 gees in Canada. Colonel K., also a refugee and 
 an inmate of Captain M.'s house, and to whom, 
 likewise, I carried letters, enlisted enthusiastically 
 in the expedition, and devoted his whole time and 
 energies to its success. We might, indeed, have 
 obtained a large number of recruits from among 
 refugees and escaped prisoners in Canada, but it 
 was not considered prudent to increase the size of 
 the x^ai'ty to any extent, our number being quite 
 sufficient, under the plan as devised. But we 
 picked up two or three escaped prisoners from 
 Johnson's Island ; among them an individual who 
 was well known to Colonel Finney (a member of 
 the expedition) ; having been in the Colonel's em- 
 ployment on the plains previous to the war. The 
 Colonel was the right hand of Major Ficklin in or- 
 ganizing and putting into operation the " pony 
 
THE EXPEDITION DEFEATED. 183 
 
 express," which used to traverse the continent from 
 St. Louis to San Francisco, and our recruit, 
 Thompson, was one of his trusted subordinates. 
 This man had led a very adventurous life. He 
 informed us that after making his escape from 
 Johnson's Island on the ice one dark winter night, 
 he walked into Sandusky, and there laid in wait 
 at the entrance of a dark alley for a victim with 
 whom to exchange clothing. His patience being 
 rewarded after a while, he laid violent hands upon 
 his prize, and directed him to divest himself of his 
 suit. The stranger replied, that he would not 
 only supply him with clothing, but with money 
 to make his way into Canada ; adding that he had 
 a son in the Confederate army. He gave Thomp- 
 son the contents of his purse, and requesting him to 
 wait till he could go home, soon returned with a 
 full suit of clothes. 
 
 We had reliable information to the eifect that 
 the garrison at Johnson's Island was small, and 
 that the United .States sloop of war Michigan was 
 anchored off the island as an additional guard. If 
 the sloop of war could be carried by boarding, 
 and her guns turned upon the garrison, the rest 
 would be easy of accomplishment ; and there ap- 
 peared to be no obstacle to the seizure of as many 
 
184 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 vessels in Sandusky harbor, as might be required 
 for purposes of transportation. They were to be 
 towed ov^er to the Canada shore, about twenty-five 
 miles distant. There were several difficulties to be 
 overcome ; the chief one being how to notify the 
 prisoners of the attempt about to be made. This 
 was accomplished after several visits to Baltimore 
 and Washington, by the brave and devoted Mrs. M. 
 and her daughter; and finally the wife of General 
 
 obtained permission from the authorities at 
 
 Washington, to visit her husband, then a prisoner 
 on Johnson's Island. Although the interview be- 
 tween them was brief, and in the presence of 
 witnesses, she contrived to place in his hand a slip 
 of paper, which informed him that our progress 
 would appear in the New York Herald's " Per- 
 sonals " over certain initials, and so disguised as to 
 be intelligible only to those who were initiated. 
 Next, it was important to know the exact condi- 
 tion of affairs in Sandusky, up to the time of our 
 departure from Canada ; and this was effected 
 through the agency of a gallant gentleman, a re- 
 tired British army officer, who went over to San- 
 dusky upon the pretext of duck shooting, and 
 who by a pre-arranged vocabulary, conveyed daily 
 intelligence to us up to the time of our departure 
 
THE FAILURE. 185 
 
 from Montreal. Everything progressed favorably, 
 until we began to make final preparations for de- 
 parture. Colonel K., who knew personally the 
 manager of an English line of steamers upon the 
 lakes, and confided in the integrity of the man, 
 recommended him as most competent to give val- 
 uable information ; and to him, under the seal of 
 confidence, I applied. The only interview be- 
 tween us, (and in the presence of Colonel K.) was 
 brief, and the object of the expedition was not di- 
 vulged to him ; nor was it intimated to him that 
 any hostile act was contemplated ; but he probably 
 drew the inference. His replies to my questions 
 were so unsatisfactory that I never saw him again, 
 having recourse to other sources of information. 
 
 It was arranged that our party should take 
 passage on board one of the American lake steam- 
 ers at a little port on the Welland Canal. "We were 
 disguised as immigrants to the west ; our arms 
 being shipped as mining tools ; and when clear of 
 the canal, we were to rise upon the crew, and make 
 our way to Sandusky. As the Michigan was an- 
 chored close to the main channel of the harbor, and 
 we had provided ourselves with grapnels, it was be- 
 lieved that she could be carried by surprise. We 
 had sent ofi' our last " Personal " to the New York 
 
186 NAKKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 Herald, informing our friends at Jolmson's Island 
 " that the carriage would be at the door on or 
 about the tenth ;" our party had collected at 
 the little port on the canal waiting for the steamer 
 then nearly due, when a proclamation was issued 
 by the Governor General, which fell among us 
 like a thunderbolt. It was announced in this 
 proclamation, that it had come to the knowledge 
 of the Government that a hostile expedition was 
 about to embark from the Canada shores, and the 
 infliction of divers pains and penalties was threat- 
 ened against all concerned in the violation of the 
 neutrality laws. What was even more fatal to 
 our hopes, we learned that His Excellency had no- 
 tified the United States Government of our con- 
 templated expedition. 
 
 Our good friend sojourning at Sandusky aban- 
 doned his duck shooting in haste, (for the news 
 sped across the frontier,) bringing intelligence 
 that the garrison at Johnson's Island had been in- 
 creased, and such other measures adopted as to 
 render our success impossible. I called a council 
 of the senior officers, who unanimously recom- 
 mended that the attempt be abandoned ; and so 
 ended all our hopes. We learned, from what was 
 believed by some to be a reliable source, that the 
 
AN EXPERIMENT. 187 
 
 informant against us was the manager, alluded to 
 above, who betrayed us at the last moment. 
 
 There was a possibility of a successful issue to 
 this enterprise, but not a probability. The Ameri- 
 can Consul at Halifax possessed intelligence and 
 zeal ; and he could easily have traced our course, 
 by means of a detective, up to the very point of 
 our departure on the Welland Canal. It is quite 
 probable, indeed, that we were closely watched 
 through the whole route, for immediately after 
 the proclamation was issued, two or three detec- 
 tives, no longer aifecting disguise, dogged my 
 footsteps for several days, with the intention I sus- 
 pected of carrying me " vi et armis " across the fron- 
 tier. But they were, in turn, subjected to as close 
 an espionage by several members of the expedition, 
 who were prepared for any emergency. " The 
 engineer would have been hoisted with his own 
 petard " probably, if they had attempted the 
 arrest. That dare-devil Thompson, in fact, pro- 
 posed one night that I should take a walk alone 
 along the canal, and see what would come of it, 
 but I declined the invitation. 
 
 One plan of releasing the Johnson's Island 
 prisoners was to purchase a steamer in England, 
 through the agency of Captain Bullock, load her 
 
188 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 with a cargo, and clear from the Custom House 
 " for a market " on the lakes. — Tlie chief obstacle 
 to this plan would have been the passage, unsus- 
 pected, through the Welland Canal, but it was be- 
 lieved that, by proper discretion and management, 
 this might have been accomplished, and the rest 
 would have been easy ; for all that was expected 
 of any expedition was to carry the Michigan by 
 surprise ; the prisoners upon the island cooperat- 
 ing by attacking and overpowering the garrison. 
 
 As there was no farther necessity for keeping 
 our movements secret, the whole party started to- 
 gether on the return to Halifax. We followed 
 the route from " Kiviere du Loup " overland by 
 stage, or rather in sleighs, for the ground was al- 
 ready covered with snow, and the steamers had 
 stopped running for the season, upon the beautiful 
 picturesque St. John's River; and our way lay 
 through a cheerless and sparsely populated 
 country for nearly the whole distance. We were 
 able too, without indiscretion, to accept the hospi- 
 talities of our friends in Halifax, during our brief 
 stay there. But duty called us back to the Con- 
 federacy, and passage was engaged for the whole 
 party by the first steamer (the Alpha,) to sail for 
 Bermuda. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Take Command of the " Whisper." — High Rates of Freight. 
 — Confederate Money and Sterling Exchange. — An 
 Investment in Cotton. — The Ill-fated Ironclad. — The 
 Point Lookout Expedition and its Failure. — A Faithful 
 Servant and a Narrow Escape. — Futile Projects. — 
 Wilmington during the War. — Light Houses reestab- 
 j lished. — Gloomy Prospects of the South. 
 
 A RRIYING there, after a five or six day's voy- 
 -^-*- age, we found many blockade-runners at 
 anchor in St. George's harbor ; and application 
 was made to me to take command of one of them, 
 called the " Whisper," just out from England. 
 She was a fair specimen of her class. Built 
 expressly for speed and light draft, her frame was 
 very slight, but she was a capital sea boat, and 
 made several successful trips. There was a strik- 
 ing contrast, however, between her and the 
 solidly built, magnificent " Lee." After all 
 arrangements had been completed for the trans- 
 portation to the Confederacy of our party, I 
 iassumed command of the little " Whisper," with 
 
190 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 six or eight of the party as passengers. I remem- 
 ber m}' astonishment at learning the rates for 
 freight at this period. The " Whisper " was 
 loaded and ready for sea, and I was dining with 
 Mr. Campbell, the agent of the company, when a 
 person asked to see him upon pressing business. 
 The purpose of the visitor was, to ship by the 
 Whisper a small lot of medicines. As the vessel 
 was already heavily laden, Mr. Campbell refer- 
 red him to me, and I consented to take the box in 
 the cabin. The freight upon it was £500 
 sterling ! * 
 
 * Mr. Campbell had given me a bill of exchange for 
 just this amount to take command of the steamer during 
 the inward trip. As the Whisper belonged to a private 
 company, I accepted the bonus without scruple. What 
 became of it, and the value of Confederate currency at that 
 time may be seen by the following — 
 
 " Invoice of 123 bales cotton purchased and stored at 
 Columbus, Georgia, for account of 
 
 Captain John Wilkinson. 
 Feb. 27, 1864. By W. W. Garrard. 
 
 2 Bales weighing 1,085 lbs. 
 
 4 " " 2,219 
 
 5 " " 3,241 
 5 " " 2,655 
 
 107 " " 52,833 
 
 62,033 at 72f $45,051 46 
 
THE ESCAPE. 191 
 
 Six blockade-runners, including the Whisper, 
 sailed for Wihnington within twenty-four hours 
 of each other. The voyage across was stormy, 
 and the sky so overcast as to compel us to run by 
 dead-reckoning, until we had crossed the Gulf 
 Stream, early on the third day. We had been 
 steaming against a strong gale the whole time. 
 These cold north-westers brought disaster upon 
 many blockade-runners ; for blowing over the 
 
 CHARGES. 
 State tax on investment,. . . $225 26 
 Commission for purchasing. 2252 57 
 
 C. S. wartax 337 89 
 
 2815 72 
 E. & O E. $47,867 18 
 
 Signed, Power, Low & Co. 
 Wilmington, March 2, 1864. 
 Captain J. Wilkinson 
 
 In ace. with Power, Low & Co. 
 March 2, 1864. To Invoice 123 bales cotton 
 
 at Columbus, Georgia, 47,867 18 
 
 Cr. 
 Feb. 17. By proceeds W. L. Campbell's 
 
 Exchange on London £500 at 2100 46,666 66 
 
 Wilmington, Balance due us, $1,200 52 
 
 March 2, 1864. Signed, Power, Low & Co. 
 
 " The cotton was destroyed at the very close of the war 
 by a party of raiders commanded, I believe, by General 
 Wilson. If he were the same individual for whom I was 
 once mistaken (as will be seen in the sequel) he served me 
 two very ill turns. 
 
192 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 tepid water of the Gulf Stream, clouds of vapor 
 would rise like steam, and be condensed by the 
 cold wind into a fog so dense as to obscure every 
 object. At such times, the skill and perseverance 
 of the navigator would be taxed to the utmost. 
 A glimpse of the sun, moon, or north star, caught 
 through the sextant wet with spray, and brought 
 down to a most uncertain horizon, would furnish 
 the only means of guidance, where an error of a 
 few miles in the calculation would probably prove 
 fatal. Upon reaching soundings on the western 
 edge of the "stream," about eleven o'clock in the 
 forenoon, we succeeded in catching a glimpse of 
 the sun, and thus ascertaining our position. The 
 sea was still running very high, but the weather 
 had moderated considerably, and we found our- 
 selves not more than fortj' miles south-east of the 
 western bar. The Whisper had fared badly, 
 while running in the teeth of the gale; all of our 
 boats, except one, had been swept from the davits, 
 and the wheel houses had been stove in. As there 
 was no further necessity to strain the hull and 
 engines, the little craft was brought near the 
 wind under low steam, and close-reefed main- 
 sail; riding the long rolling seas like a sea-gull. 
 To windward the sky soon became clear, but we 
 
POINT LOOKOUT PRISONERS. 193 
 
 took care not to get far away from the dense fog 
 to leeward of us. We did not see a cruiser, 
 while we lay for many hours anxiously waiting 
 for night. As the sun set, the order was given 
 to go at full speed, and before midnight we had 
 passed safely through the blockading fleet, and 
 had come to anchor off Smithville. Out of the 
 six steamers which sailed from St. George's, the 
 Whisper alone succeeded in getting in. Most 
 of them were run ashore, and their cargoes par- 
 tially saved ; but some fell, intact, into the hands 
 of the vigilant cruisers. 
 
 After a few weeks' service on board the ill- 
 fated ironclad, built in Wilmington, I was sum- 
 moned by telegram to Richmond. The Confed- 
 erate authorities were then projecting an attempt 
 to release the Point Lookout prisoners. There 
 appeared to be no insuperable obstacle in the way ; 
 and it was believed that the prisoners, if released, 
 and furnished with arms, would be able to join 
 the forces under the command of General Early, 
 then in the vicinity. Two steamers of light 
 draft were to be loaded with arms, etc., and were 
 to carry, in addition to their crews, an infantry force 
 under the command of General Custis Lee. In the 
 event of success, the steamers were to be burned. 
 9 
 
194 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 On mj waj to Richmond, my life was saved 
 bj the presence of mind of my faithful servant 
 (Essex.) who accompanied me on a visit to his 
 home in Yirginia. General Wilson had just 
 made a very destructive raid along the line of the 
 Richmond and Danville Railroad, striking the 
 road at Burkeville, and effectually damaging it as 
 far as Meherrin Bridge, a distance of thirty 
 miles or more, where his progress was stopped. 
 He did not return within General Grant's lines 
 without heavy loss ; and when I arrived at 
 Ream's Station, on the Petersburg and Weldou 
 road, I found there a strong force of Confeder- 
 ate cavalr}', under General Chambliss, waiting to 
 intercept the retreat. As I was bearer of dis- 
 patches fj'om General Whiting to General Lee, 
 a hand car, with two men to work it, was detailed 
 for me, and with my servant on board we started 
 to run the gauntlet between the lines. The dis- 
 tance to be accomplished was about seven miles, 
 and M-e had passed over more, than half of it, when 
 one of our " videttes " suddenly made his appear- 
 ance, and we halted to inquire about the state of 
 affairs ahead. Ilis report was satisfactory, and 
 we started again, but had only gone a short dis- 
 tance when we saw a squad of cavalry, which we 
 
A NAEROW ESCAPE. 195 
 
 supposed to be part of General Wilson's force, 
 charging rapidly after us. The highway lay 
 close alongside the railroad, and our pursuers 
 were enveloped in a cloud of dust. The car was 
 stopped, or rather the men who were working the 
 crank incontinently took to their heels, and we 
 followed their example. There was a fence a 
 few rods from the road, which I succeeded in 
 reaching, and over which I jumped, just before 
 our pursuers overtook us. As they forced their 
 horses over it, I discovered ray friend, the 
 " vidette'' among them, who cried out as he saw 
 me " TAa^ is General Wilson, kill him?" and I 
 have not the least doubt his advice would have 
 been followed, but for Essex, who cried out from 
 a snug corner, where he was ensconced, " For 
 God's sake, don't shoot I He is one of your best 
 friends ! " They lowered their pistols, and I had 
 an opportunity to explain matters. My gold 
 watch and chain had probably excited the cupid- 
 ity of my friend above mentioned. I admit that 
 I felt uncharitable towards him, and when I 
 hinted my suspicions of his motives to the officer 
 in command of the squad, he did not deny the 
 probability of a caiise for them, but seemed to 
 consider me unreasonable in expecting to find all 
 
196 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 the virtues in a " high private," who was receiv- 
 ing scanty fare, and $8 a month in Confederate 
 money ! The party escorted us within the lines. 
 
 After all the details of the expedition had 
 been arranged in Richmond, the naval portion of 
 it was ordered to "Wilmington under my com- 
 mand. On our journey, we followed the route 
 previously pursued by the raiders from Burke- 
 ville to Meherrin Bridge. Nearly every foot of 
 the way was marked by evidences of the havoc of 
 war ; and the air was tainted with the stench 
 from the dead horses and mules, whose throats 
 had been cut when the}' could travel no farther. 
 
 There were sufficient reasons why I took no 
 subsequent part in the expedition, the naval 
 portion of it being placed under the command of 
 Captain J. T. Wood, of the Confederate States 
 Navy and also one of the President's aids. It 
 failed, however, owing to the fact that secretly as 
 all the preparations had been made, information 
 of it was speedily conveyed to the autliorities at 
 Washington, and prompt measures taken to pre- 
 vent its success. The steamers had dropped 
 down the Cape Fear River, and were on the 
 very point of putting to sea wlien countermand- 
 ing orders were telegraphed from Richmond ; 
 
LTGHT-HOUSES. 197 
 
 for the Confederate Government, through their 
 secret sources of information, had been promptly 
 notified of the fact that the plot had been 
 betrayed to the United States authorities. 
 How the Federal Government obtained its intel- 
 ligence will, perhaps, forever remain a mystery 
 to the public ; but there was a very general 
 belief in the Confederacy, that an individual near 
 the President was a paid traitor to the cause. 
 
 These futile projects for the release of 
 prisoners, serve to show the desperate straits to 
 which the Confederacy was reduced, for want of 
 soldiers. 
 
 It was deemed expedient, at this period, to 
 reestablish the light on Smith's Island, which had 
 been discontinued ever since the commencement 
 of hostilities ; and to erect a structure for a light 
 on the Mound. At the beginning of the war, 
 nearly all of the lights along the Southern coast 
 had been discontinued ; the apparatus being 
 removed to places of safety. 
 
 Under special instructions, I was charged with 
 the duties of relighting the approaches to the 
 Cape Fear Biver, and of detailing pilots, and 
 signal officers to the blockade-runners. To pro- 
 vide the means of light, evey blockade-runner 
 
198 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEE. 
 
 was required to bring in a barrel of sperm oil. 
 In addition to these aids to navigation, the sig- 
 nal stations were extended farther along the coast, 
 and compulsory service was required of the pilots. 
 Owing to the constantly increasing vigilance of 
 the blockading fleet, and the accession to the 
 navy of fast cruisers, many prizes had been cap- 
 tured of late. Their pilots were, of course, held 
 as prisoners of war ; and the demand for those 
 available for service, increasing in proportion to 
 their diminished number, there was much compe- 
 tition between the rival companies, to the great 
 detriment of the public service.* It was consid- 
 ered necessary, therefore, to establish an office 
 of " Orders and Detail " at Wilmington, whence 
 should proceed all orders and assignments 
 in relation to pilots and signal officers. In a 
 short time, the benefit of these arrangements was 
 very perceptible. The blockade-runners were 
 
 * One or two agents of the blockade-running com- 
 panies were opposed to any project for increasing the 
 facilities of entrance to or exit from Wilmington. The 
 profits were of course proportionate to the risks, and these 
 heartless worshipers of Mammon, having secured the 
 services of the best captains and pilots, would have rejoiced 
 to see every blockade-runner, but their own, captured. They 
 protested vehemently, but unavailiugly, against interfer- 
 ence with their pilots. 
 
WILMINGTON DURING THE WAR. 199 
 
 never delayed for want of a pilot, and the casu- 
 alties were ranch diminished. 
 
 The staid old town of Wilmington was turned 
 "topsy turvy'' during the war. Here resorted 
 the speculators from all parts of the South, to 
 attend the weekly auctions of imported cargoes ; 
 and the town was infested with I'ognes and despera- 
 does, who made a livelihood by robbery and mur- 
 der. It was unsafe to venture into the suburbs at 
 night, and even in daylight, there were frequent 
 conflicts in the public streets, between the crews 
 of the steamers in port and the soldiers stationed 
 in the town, in which knives and pistols would 
 be freely used ; and not unfrequently a dead 
 body would rise to the surface of the water in one 
 of the docks with marks of violence upon it. 
 The civil authorities were powerless to prevent 
 crime. "Inter arma silent leges!" The agents 
 and employes of the different blockade-running 
 companies, lived in magnificent style, paying a 
 king's ransom (in Confederate money) for their 
 household expenses, and nearly monopolizing the 
 supplies in the c»untry market. Towards the 
 end of the war, indeed, fresh provisions were 
 almost beyond the reach of every one. Our fam- 
 ily servant, newly arrived from the country in 
 
200 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 Virginia, would sometimes return from market 
 with an empty basket, having flatly refused to 
 pay what he called "such nonsense prices" for a 
 bit of fresh beef, or a handful of vegetables. 
 A quarter of Iamb, at the time of which I now 
 write, sold for $100, a pound of tea for $500. 
 Confederate money which in September, 1861, 
 was nearly equal to specie in value, had declined 
 in September 1862 to 225 ; in the same month, 
 in 1863, to 400, and before September, 1864, to 
 2000! 
 
 Many of the permanent residents of the town 
 had gone into the country, letting their houses at 
 enormous prices; those who were compelled to 
 remain kept themselves much secluded ; the 
 ladies rarely being seen upon the more public 
 streets. Many of the fast young officers belong- 
 ing to the army would get an occasional leave to 
 come to Wilmington ; and would live at free 
 quarters on board the blockade-runners, or at one 
 of the numerous bachelor halls ashore. 
 
 Tlie convalescent soldiers from the Virginia 
 hospitals were sent by the route through 
 Wilmington to their homes in the South. The 
 ladies of the town were organized by Mrs. De R. 
 into a society for the purpose of ministering to 
 
 i 
 
CAKING FOB SICK SOLDIERS. 201 
 
 the wants of these poor sufferers; the trains 
 which carried them stopping an hour or two at 
 the depot, that their wounds might be dressed, 
 and food and medicine supplied to them. These 
 self-sacrificing, heroic women patiently and faith- 
 fully performed the offices of hospital nurses. 
 
 " ! there are angels in this world unheeded, 
 Who, when their earthly labor is laid down. 
 Will soar aloft, with pinions unimpeded, 
 And wear their starry glory like a crown 1 " 
 
 Liberal contributions were made by compa- 
 nies and individuals to this society, and the long 
 tables at the depot were spread with delicacies 
 for tlie sick, to be found nowhere else in the 
 Confederacy. The remains of the meals were 
 carried by the ladies to a camp of mere boys — 
 homeguards outside of the town. Some of these 
 children were scarcely able to carry a musket, 
 and were altogether unable to endure the expos- 
 ure and fatigues of field service ; and they 
 suffered fearfully from measles, and typhoid fever. 
 General Grant used a strong figure of speech, 
 when he asserted, that " the cradle and the grave 
 were robbed, to recruit the Confederate armies." 
 The fact of a fearful drain upon the population 
 was scarcely exaggerated, but with this difference 
 9* 
 
202 NAEKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 in the metaphor, that those who were verging 
 upon both the cradle and the grave, shared the 
 hardships and dangers of war, with equal self- 
 devotion to the cause. It is true that a class of 
 heartless speculators infested the country, who 
 profited by the scarcity of all sorts of supplies, 
 but it makes the self-sacrifice of the mass of the 
 Southern people more conspicuous, and no State 
 made more liberal voluntary contributions to the 
 armies, or furnished better soldiers, than North 
 Carolina. 
 
 "When General A. P. Hill asked for the pro- 
 motion of some of his officers in June, 18G3, the 
 President laid down the rule of selection for the 
 guidance of the Secretary of War, viz : " the State 
 which had the greatest number of regiments 
 should be entitled to the choice of positions ; to 
 be taken from the candidates of its citizens, accor- 
 ding to qualifications," etc. It appeared that 
 North Carolina stood first on the list, Virginia 
 second, Georgia third, etc. 
 
 On the opposite side of the river from 
 Wilmington, on a low marshy flat, were erected 
 the steam cotton presses, and there the blockade- 
 runners took in their cargoes. Sentries were post- 
 ed on the wharves, day and night, to prevent 
 
FATE OF THE IRONCLAD. 203 
 
 deserters from getting on board, and stowing 
 themselves away ; and the additional precaution 
 of fumigating the outward bound steamers at 
 Smithville, was adopted ; but in spite of this 
 vigilance, manj'' persons succeeded in getting a 
 free passage abroad. These deserters, or " stow- 
 awa^ys," were in most instances sheltered by 
 one or more of the crew ; in which event they 
 kept their places of concealment until the steamer 
 had arrived at her port of destination, wlien they 
 would profit by the first opportunity to leave the 
 vessel undiscovered. A small bribe w^ould tempt 
 the average blockade-running sailor to connive at 
 this means of escape. The " impecunious " desert- 
 er fared more hardly ; and would, usually, be 
 forced by hunger and thirst to emerge from his 
 hiding place, while the steamer was on the out- 
 ward voyage. A cruel device, employed by one 
 of the captains, effectually put a stop, I believe, 
 certainly a check to the escape of this class of 
 " stowaways." He turned three or four of them 
 adrift in the Gulf Stream, in an open boat, with 
 a pair of oars, and a few days' allowance of bread 
 and water. 
 
 The ironclad, to which I had been attached 
 for a short time, made her first and last essay 
 
1 
 
 204r NAEKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 while I was on special duty at Wilmington. 
 Having crossed New Inlet Bar early one morn- 
 ing, she steamed at her best speed towards the 
 hlockading-fleet, which kept beyond the range of 
 her guns with much ease. After " raising the 
 blockade " for an hour or two, she steamed back 
 across the bar, grounded upon the " rip," broke 
 her back, and doubtless remains there to this day, 
 buried fathoms deep in the quicksands. 
 
 The prospects of the South were growing 
 more and more gloomy with each succeeding 
 day ; and the last hopes of the country now 
 rested upon that gallant army of Northern Vir- 
 ginia, which, under its great captain, still con- 
 fronted General Grant's forces around Petersburg. 
 It is easy now by the light of subsequent events 
 to censure Mr. Davis for the removal of General 
 Johnston from the command of the army in 
 Georgia ; but who does not remember how, pre- 
 vious to that unfortunate measure, the whole 
 Southern press, almost without an exception, 
 were urging it ? It may be that the President 
 was not indisposed to gratify his inclination, and 
 at the same time appease the public. I do not 
 presume to express an opinion on this point; 
 being no partisan of either, but a sincere admirer 
 
REMOVAL OF JOHNSTON. 205 
 
 of both these distinguished individuals, and cred- 
 iting both with strict veracity and unselfish hon- 
 esty of purpose. But the fact remains that the 
 press teemed with articles denouncing General 
 Johnston's retrograde movements. A spurious 
 telegram, concocted by some facetious editor, to 
 the effect that General Johnston had ordered 
 means of transportation for his army to Nassau, 
 was circulated through all the newspapers for the 
 public amusement. But the old army oificers 
 were shocked at the intelligence of his removal 
 from command. When the fact was officially 
 announced, all of them, whom 1 had an opportu- 
 nity of hearing speak upon the subject, expressed 
 the gravest fears of the consequences ; General 
 Whiting, especially, declaring his conviction that 
 it was a fatal measure; and it is certain that 
 General Johnston's army was enthusiastically 
 devoted to him ; officers and men, with few 
 exceptions, reposing unbounded confidence in 
 him. 
 
 Concurrent testimony has since conclusively 
 proven how grave a mistake was committed. 
 General Hooker, who served in that campaign 
 under General Sherman, writes "This retreat 
 was so masterly, that I regard it as a useful 
 
206 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 lesson for study for all persons who may hereafter 
 elect for their calling the profession of arms." 
 " The news that General Johnston had been 
 removed from the command of the army opposed 
 to us, was received by our officers with universal 
 rejoicing." " One of the prominent historians of 
 the Confederacy ascribes the misfortunes of the 
 'Lost Cause' to the relief of General Johnston. 
 I do not think this, but it certainly contributed 
 materially to hasten its collapse." Indeed the 
 Confederate Government seems subsequently to 
 have admitted its mistake, and the injustice 
 inflicted upon General Jolmston, by reinstating 
 him in the command of the " army of the South," 
 and with orders " to concentrate all available 
 forces, and drive back Sherman." This, however, 
 Was not till February, 1865, when the " available 
 forces " amounted to about 16,000 men, and 
 General Sherman's army of 70,000, had reached 
 the State of North Carolina unopposed. When 
 General Johnston turned over the command to 
 General Hood, the army consisted of 36,900 
 infantry 3,750 artillery, and 9,970 cavalry, a total 
 of 50,620 well equipped troops. " In returning 
 from its disastrous expedition against Nashville, 
 the army of Tennessee had halted in north-eastern 
 
ARMY OPINIONS. 207 
 
 Mississippi. A large proportion of these troops 
 were then fiirloughed by General Hood, and 
 went to their homes. When General Sherman's 
 army invaded South Carolina, General Beaure- 
 gard ordered those remaining on duty to repair to 
 that State * * * The remaining troops of that 
 army were coming through Georgia in little 
 parties * * * at least two-thirds of the arms of 
 these troops had been lost in Tennessee." * In 
 General Johnston's Narrative, page 351, he says 
 " The troops themselves, who had been seventy- 
 four days in the immediate presence of the 
 enemy, laboring and fighting daily ; enduring 
 trial and encountering dangers with equal cheer- 
 fulness; more confident and high-spirited even 
 than when the Federal army presented itself 
 before them at Dalton ; and though I say it, fall 
 of devotion to him who had commanded them, 
 and belief of ultimate success in the campaign, 
 were then inferior to none who ever served the 
 Confederacy, or fought on the Continent," and 
 on page 356 : " I believed then, as firmly as I do 
 
 * General Jolinstou's Narrative page 374. It appears 
 from the same distinguished authority that of all that gal- 
 lant array not more than 5,000 were erer reassembled ; and 
 a large portion of these continued without arms to the end 
 of the war. 
 
208 NAERATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNNEK. 
 
 now, that the system pursued was the only one 
 at my command, that promised success, and that, 
 if adhered to, would have given us success." 
 Many among those most competent to judge 
 entertained the same conviction. His removal 
 from the command was, indeed, a mortal blow to 
 the cause. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Cruise of the Chickamauga. — Mr. Mallory's inefficiency. — 
 Troubles in Bermuda. — The three Weeks. — End of the 
 Cruise. 
 
 "TN the latter part of September, 1864, I was 
 -^ ordered to the command of the " Chickamau- 
 ga," a doable screw steamer converted into a 
 so-called man of war. She was one of those ves- 
 sels before alluded to in this narrative, as partly 
 owned by the Confederate Government, and was 
 taken possession of by the government author- 
 ities with scant regard for the rights of the other 
 owners, who had no alternative but to accept 
 inadequate compensation for their share of the 
 vessel. Her battery consisted of a twelve- 
 pounder rifled gun forward, a sixty-four pounder 
 amidships, and a thirty-two pounder rifle aft, all 
 on pivots. She was more substantially built than 
 most of the blockade-runners, and was very swift, 
 but altogether unfit for a cruiser, as she could 
 only keep the sea while her supply of coal lasted. 
 She was schooner rigged, with very short masts, 
 
210 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 and her sails were cliieflj serviceable to steady 
 her in a sea-way. Under all sail and off the wind, 
 without steam, she could not make more than 
 three knots with a stiff breeze ; hy the wind 
 under the same circumstances, she had not even 
 steerage way. Captain J. T. Wood, of tlie 
 Confederate Navy, had just returned from a 
 " raid " along the Northern coast, and the incom- 
 petent Secretary of the Navy conceived, no doubt, 
 that he had hit upon a happy idea when it 
 occurred to his muddled brain, to send these 
 vessels out to harass the coasting trade and 
 fisheries of the North.* As a mere question of 
 policy, it would have been far better to have kept 
 them employed carrying out cotton and bringing 
 in the supplies of which the array was so sorely in 
 
 * It is very far from my intention, by these remarks, 
 to condemn the depredations of the Confederate cruisers 
 upon the Federal commerce, or the policy which dictated 
 the fitting of them out. But there appears to me to be a 
 wide diiference between the destruction of ships and car- 
 goes belonging to capitalists, who contributed by their 
 means and influence to the support of the Federal Govern 
 ment, and the burning of fishing craft manned by poor 
 men, who relied upon the " catch" of the trip for the means 
 of feeding and clothing their families. But I will not 
 expatiate upon the " sentiment" involved in the subject, 
 for fear of incurring the reproach cast by Sir Peter Teazle 
 upon that very humane and sentimental character, Joseph 
 Surface, whose actions differed so widely from his words. 
 
PKOVISONING THE ARMY, 211 
 
 need. The attack upon Fort Fisher was probably 
 precipitated by these expeditions, which could in 
 no wise affect the real issues of the war. But 
 Mr. Mallory was from first to last an incubus 
 upon the country. I do not impugn his patriot- 
 ism, nor his private character, but his official 
 imbecility, which wrought much damage to the 
 cause, is a legitimate object for censure. 
 
 At this period Atlanta had been captured, and 
 a large portion of Georgia was practically severed 
 from the Confederacy. It was becoming more 
 and more difficult to provision the troops. The 
 Subsistence Department of the Confederate Gov- 
 ernment has been often censured for its alleged 
 mismanagement. I. have personal knowledge of 
 an instance where it resented the interference 
 of a subordinate. Major Magruder, General 
 Whiting's chief Commissary, had effected what 
 he believed to be a mutually beneficial arrange- 
 ment with the farmers of western North Carolina. 
 He was to furnish salt and transportation, (the 
 former a very rare and costly commodity at that 
 time, and the latter difficult to be obtained) ; and 
 in return, they were to supply his department 
 with the cured bacon. The arrangement, when 
 reported to the Department at Richmond, was 
 
212 NARKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 cancelled, and the Major, a very zealous and com- 
 petent officer, was ordered elsewhere. Surely 
 there must have been grave mismanagement 
 somewhere ; for, several months after the period 
 of which I now write, and when the army of 
 Northern Virginia was almost reduced to starva- 
 tion in February, 1865, there were stored "in 
 the principal railroad depots between Charlotte, 
 Danville and Weldon inclusive, rations for 60,000 
 men for more than four months," and these pro- 
 visions were for the exclusive use of the army in 
 Yirginia. The fact was ascertained by taking 
 account of those stores, which was done by order 
 of General Johnston, '* and the very zealous and 
 efficient officer. Major Charles Carrington, who 
 was at the head of the service of collecting provis- 
 ions in North Carolina for the army, was increas- 
 ing the quantity rapidly." " The officers of the 
 commissariat in North Carolina, upon whom the 
 army in Yirginia depended for subsistence, were 
 instructed by the Commissary General just then, 
 to permit none of the provisions they collected to 
 be used by the troops serving in it." * 
 
 We sailed in the Chickamauga on the night 
 of October 29th, with a motley crew, and passed 
 
 * From General Johnston's Narrative, pages 374, 375. 
 
PASSING THE BLOCKADE. 213 
 
 through the blockading fleet without receiving 
 any damage from numerous shots. We had a fine 
 view of several of our pursuers for a few 
 moments, as they burned their signal blue light ; 
 and had not crossed the bar two hours before the 
 commanding officer of the fleet received infor- 
 mation of the fact. Our rockets had diverted the 
 pursuit to the misfortune of the blockade-runner 
 " Lady Stirling," which was captured ; and from 
 some of her crew, as we subsequently learned, the 
 fact of our departure was ascertained. If we 
 could have foreseen such an event, we might have 
 tried the range of our after pivot gun with very 
 good eflfect upon the blockader following in our 
 wake ; but although our crew was at quarters, 
 and we were prepared to fight our way to sea, we 
 wished to avoid an encounter by which nothing 
 was to be gained ; our chief object being to 
 injure the enemy's commerce. Nearly all of the 
 officers of the Chickamauga had resigned from 
 the United States Navy, and I have no doubt they 
 contrasted (as I could not help doing) next morn- 
 ing, our spar deck encumbered with coal bags, 
 and begrimed with dirt, and the ragged tatterde- 
 malions leaning over the bulwarks, or stretched 
 along the decks in the agonies of sea-sickness, 
 
214 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 with the cleanliness, order and discipline, to 
 which we had been accustomed under the " Stars 
 and Stripes." The condition below decks was 
 even worse; the ciew sleeping upon the coal 
 which was stowed in tlie hold; and the officers 
 upon the softest plank they could find in the con- 
 tracted cabin. In addition to a complement of 
 officers for a frigate, the Secretary of the Navy 
 had ordered six pilots to the vessel. As three of 
 them held their " branches " for the approaches 
 to Norfolk, Mr. Mallory must have expected to 
 hear that we had passed under the guns of Fort- 
 ress Monroe, laid Norfolk under contribution, and 
 captured the Gosport Navy-yard. 
 
 The scene upon our decks, when the sun rose 
 the morning after our passage through the fleet, 
 was demoralizing; and I am sure some of us felt 
 as if we were indeed " pirates," although we were 
 bound to deny the " soft impeachment," when 
 brought against us by the Northern press. The 
 exertions of the executive officer, Dozier, seconded 
 by his zealous subordinates, brought some degree 
 of order out of this "chaotic" mass after a while. 
 
 Our first prize was the " Mark L. Potter," 
 from Bangor for Key West, with a cargo of lum- 
 ber. As there was no alternative but to destroy 
 
CAPTURING PRIZES. 215 
 
 her, the oflScers and crew were transferred to the 
 Chickamauga, and she was set on fire. This cap- 
 ture was made on Sunday the 30th. Tlie next 
 morning at T.30 a. m., when about one inindred 
 and fifty miles off the Capes of DeUiware, we 
 sighted a square-rigged vessel, which changed her 
 course in the effort to escape, as soon as she dis- 
 covered that we were steering for her. At 9.30 
 we overhauled her and brought her to. It 
 proved to be the barque " Emma L. Hall," loaded 
 with a cargo of sugar and molasses. She was set 
 on fire at 11.1.5 a. m. Hasty work was made of 
 this prize, as a full rigged ship hove in sight 
 while M'e were transferring the crew, and such 
 stores as we needed, from the Emma L. Hall. 
 The stranger bore north by west when discovered, 
 and was standing almost directly toward us, with 
 studding-sails and royals set to the favorable 
 breeze, a cloud of snowy canvas from her grace- 
 ful hull to the trucks of her tapering royalmasts. 
 She approached within five or six miles, when her 
 studdiiig-sails were suddenly hauled down, and 
 she was brought close to the wind in an effort to 
 escape from us. We soon overhauled her, and at 
 1.15 were near enough to throw a shot across her 
 bow, and to show the Confederate flag at our 
 
216 NARKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 peak. The summons was replied to by their 
 hoisting the Stars and Stripes, and heaving to. 
 Our prize was the clipper ship " Shooting Star," 
 bound from New York to Panama, with a cargo 
 of coal for the U. S. Pacific squadron. While we 
 were making preparations for burning her, 
 another square rigged vessel hove in sight, steer- 
 ing toward us. It proved to be the barque 
 " Albion Lincoln," bound for Havana, partly in 
 ballast ; and as her cargo consisted only of a 
 small lot of potatoes and onions, I determined to 
 bond her, and to put the prisoners, now number- 
 ing sixty (the wife of the captain of the Shoot- 
 ing Star among them) on board of her. In truth, 
 I was relieved from an awkward dilemma by the 
 opportune capture of the Albion Lincoln ; for 
 there was absolutely no place for a female on 
 board the Chickamauga. I do not doubt, how- 
 ever, that the redoubtable Mrs. Drinkwater would 
 have accommodated herself to the circumstances 
 by turning me out of my own cabin. Heavens ! 
 what a tongue she wielded ! The young officers 
 of the Chickamauga relieved each other in boat 
 duty to and fro ; and she routed every one of 
 them ignominiously. 
 
 After the Albion Lincoln had been bonded 
 
MONTAUK POINT. 217 
 
 for $18,000, we were kept very busy for several 
 hours paroling prisoners, etc., and in the mean- 
 while a gale of wind was brewing, and the sea 
 growing very rough. By six o'clock in the after- 
 noon, the Lincoln was under way wifh the pa- 
 roled prisoners ; her master having been put 
 under oath to shape the vessel's course for For- 
 tress Monroe ; and we applied the torch to the 
 " Shooting Star." The burning ship was visible 
 for many miles after mc left her ; and it was a 
 strange, wild spectacle, that flaming beacon in the 
 rough sea. The master of the " Albion Lincoln " 
 shaped his course straight for New York. I hope 
 his conscience has since reproached him for vio- 
 lating his oath, though given to a " rebel." 
 
 The gale increased during the night. Next 
 day our course was shaped for Montauk Point ; 
 the scene of the previous day's operations having 
 been in about latitude 40° and longitude 71°, 
 or about fifty miles southeast of Sandy Hook. 
 Montauk Point was sighted from aloft about 
 mid-day, and the engines were slowed down, so 
 as not to approach too near the laud before 
 night. We spoke several vessels during the day, 
 all of them under the British flag. Toward 
 night we steamed towards the land, with the 
 10 
 
218 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 expectation of finding smoother water, for the 
 wind continued to blow from the southwest. At 
 5.45 p. M., we overliauled two schooners close 
 in to the shore; one of them was the "Good- 
 speed," from Boston to Philadelphia, in ballast ; 
 and the other, the " Otter Rock," from Bangor 
 for Washington with a load of potatoes. Both 
 were scuttled. Our boats did not get alon2:side 
 the Chiekamauga again till eight o'clock. The 
 wind had been gradually veering round to the 
 northeast, and the night was growing so dark and 
 stormy, that I was reluctantly compelled to aban- 
 don the purpose previously entertained of enter- 
 ing Long Island Sound. The crew of the Good- 
 speed profited by the darkness to escape in their 
 boat to the land, a few miles distant. 
 
 "We made an offing of thirty or forty miles dur- 
 ing the night, and next morning captured the bark 
 " Speedwell," in ballast from Boston to Philadel- 
 phia. The captain's sister and his child were on 
 board his vessel, and represented to be sick. I 
 could not reconcile it to my sense of humanity to 
 subject the weaker sex to the pi'obable dangers 
 and certain hardships of confinement on board 
 the Chiekamauga. The Speedwell was therefore 
 bonded for $18,000, and the captain — a very 
 
BERMUDA AND THE GOVERNOR, 219 
 
 decent fellow by the way — sent on his voyage 
 rejoicing ; but the " recording angels " of the 
 Northern press never placed this act to my 
 credit. 
 
 The northeast gale, which had been brewing 
 for some days, commenced in earnest toward the 
 evening. After buffeting against it for two days, 
 the necessity for making a port became apparent, 
 our supply of coal beginning to get low. The 
 course was, therefore, shaped for Bermuda, and 
 we anchored off the bar at St. George's on Mon 
 day morning, I^ovember 7th. 
 
 The Governor of the island gave us a vast 
 deal of trouble and annoyance, from this time 
 until we finally left port. Lending apparently a 
 willing ear to the representation of the American 
 Consul, he would not permit us to enter the 
 harbor until after a correspondence, in which I 
 stated the fact that our engines needed repairs ; 
 but we lay outside twenty-four hours before even 
 this permission was granted. He next forbade 
 me to coal tlie ship. After a pi'otest from me 
 he relented so far, onl_y, as to authorize a supply 
 of coal, sufficient to carry the Chickamauga to the 
 nearest Confederate port, although he had been 
 officially informed that the vessel was regularly 
 
220 NAKKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 commissioned, and was then on a cruise. Al- 
 though I was never favored with a sight of the 
 correspondence, which must have been carried on 
 between the American Consul and His Excel- 
 lency on the subject, I am satisfied that the 
 former presented a favorable case ; but the Gov- 
 ernor had no right to inquire into the antecedents 
 of the Chickamauga, or to question the title by 
 which she was held by the Confederate Govern- 
 ment. She was, to all intents and purposes, as 
 " bona fide" a man-of-war as the Florida, which 
 had entered that same port, and been supplied 
 with coal, and other necessaries, without question 
 or molestation. But the fortunes of the Confed- 
 eracy were now waning ; and his Excellency 
 wished perhaps — and may have received instruc- 
 tions — to keep on good terms with the winning 
 side, and in disregard of the obligations of justice 
 to the weaker party.* The result of his partial, 
 
 * But there was a striking contrast during the war. 
 between the conduct of the British officials, acting in their 
 official capacity, towards the Confederate officers, and that 
 of individuals belonging to both branches of Her Majesty's 
 service; the latter, almost without an exception, expressed 
 their cordial sympathy with the south, and extended many 
 acts of courtesy and good feeling towards us, but the former 
 scrupulously abstained from every semblance of recogni- 
 tion or of sympathy. 
 
FOE WILMINGTON. 221 
 
 and unfriendly course, was to bring the cruise of 
 the Chickamanga to a speedy end ; for it was 
 impossible for her to keep the sea without a sup- 
 ply of fuel — steam, which is merely an auxiliary 
 in a properly constituted man of war, being the 
 Chickamauga's sole motive power. Many of onr 
 crew, too, were enticed to desert; but the effi- 
 ciency of the vessel was rather increased than 
 diminished by our getting rid of the vagabonds. 
 They were for the most part " waifs and strays," 
 of Wilmington, and "skulkers" from the army, 
 who had been drafted from the Receiving ship. 
 They profited by liberty on shore to secrete them- 
 selves, and many of them perished with the yel- 
 low fever, then prevailing in Bermuda. 
 
 We sailed from St. George's for Wilmington 
 November 15th, showing our colors to several ves- 
 sels on the way, all of which carried a foreign 
 flag. American colors had for a long time become 
 a rare sight upon the ocean, except when flying 
 from the peak of a man-of-war. All of the ves- 
 sels captured by the Chickamanga were either 
 coasters, or traders to West India ports, and were 
 scarcely off somidings on the American coast.* 
 
 * The Shooting Star was an exception, she being char- 
 tered by the government. 
 
222 NA.RRATIVE OF A BLOCKAUE-RUNNEK. 
 
 The Alabama and Florida had demonstrated 
 what a vast amount of injury might be inflicted 
 upon an enemy's commerce by a few swift cruis- 
 ers; and there is no doubt that this number 
 might have been increased to any reasonable 
 extent, by proper management. No sensible 
 individual, I presume, really attaches any impor- 
 tance to the ravings of a portion of the Northern 
 press, during the war, against the " rebel pirates," 
 and their depredations upon commerce. To 
 destroy merchant vessels was not a pleasure, but 
 it was a duty, and a matter of necessity, seeing 
 that the Confederate ports were so closely block- 
 aded as to render it absolutely impossible to send 
 the prizes in for adjudication, and that all of tlie 
 foreign powers prohibited the sending of captured 
 vessels into their ports. The officers and crews 
 attached to these " piratical vessels " would very 
 gladly have carried or sent their prizes into a 
 Confederate port ; for in that case they would 
 have been equally fortunate with their confreres of 
 the United States Navy, whose pockets were filled 
 to repletion with the proceeds of captured pro- 
 perty belonging to Confederates, on land and sea. 
 We approached the coast in very thick 
 weather on the nitrht of the 18th. We could 
 
FORT FISHER. 223 
 
 dimly discern the breakers ahead, and close 
 aboard ; but it was impossible to distinguish any 
 landmark in so dense a fog. A boat was lowered 
 therefore, and one of the bur pilots sent to exam- 
 ine nearer, but he returned on board in the course 
 of an hour, with the report that he had pulled 
 close in to the surf, but could recognize no object 
 on the shore, although he had rowed some dis- 
 tance parallel to it, and as closely as he could 
 venture. " Did you see no wrecks on the 
 beach ? " I inquired. " Yes, sir," he replied, " I 
 saw three." "And how were they lying?" I 
 asked. He stated that two of them were "broad- 
 side on" to the beach, and close together; and 
 the third " bows on " to the beach, about a cable's 
 length to the north of them. I was satisfied 
 about our exact position at once, for while I was 
 on the special service before alluded to, I had 
 made a visit to Masonborough Inlet, on duty con- 
 nected with the signal stations, and had noticed 
 three wrecks in the positions described. The 
 Chickamauga was put under low stearn, with one 
 watch at quarters, and we waited for daylight to 
 cross the bar. As the fog lifted, shortly after 
 sunrise, two of the blockading fleet were discov- 
 ered on our port quarter, steaming towards us, as 
 
221 NAKRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK* 
 
 we were mrming down the coast towards Fort 
 Fisher. When within long range they opened 
 tire, which was returned by us. They were soon 
 joined by a third blockader, and as we drew nearer 
 to the bar, Fort Fisher took part in the engage- 
 ment, and the blockaders hauled off. Shortly 
 afterwards we crossed the bar, and anchored inside 
 of the " Rip." 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Last Summons to Richmond. — Demoralization. — The "Cha- 
 meleon." — More trouble in Bermuda. — Another Narrow 
 Escape. — Fall of Fort Fisher. — Maffit's Escape, andCapt. 
 S.'s Capture. — Another Hard Chase. — Failure to enter 
 Charleston. — Return to Nassau. 
 
 A NOTHER, and a longer cruise, was then 
 ■^-^ contemplated, and there was some prospect 
 of prevailing with the Secretary of the Navy to 
 lit out the ship for a cruiser, by giving herproper 
 spars, providing the means of disconnecting the 
 screws, and furnishing quarters for officers and 
 men. But disasters to our arms were then follow- 
 ing fast upon each other. General Sherman, after 
 marching unopposed from Atlanta to the sea, and 
 capturing Savannah, was preparing to continue 
 his progress. Wilmington was threatened b}' a 
 powerful sea and land force. The half starved 
 and ill clad army of Northern Virginia M^as in 
 the trenches around Petersburg, and the now 
 contracting area of country available for sup- 
 plies, had been so thoroughly drained, that it 
 10* 
 
226 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 became a vital question how to provision the 
 troops. 
 
 I. was summoned again, and for the last time 
 during the war, to Richmond. It was in the early 
 part of December. There now remained to the 
 Confederacy only the single line of rail commu- 
 nication from Wilmington, via Greensborough, 
 and Danville, to Richmond. The progress of 
 demoralization was too evident at ever}' step of 
 my journey, and nowhere were the poverty, and 
 the straits to which the country was reduced, more 
 palpably visible, than in the rickety, windowless, 
 lilthy cars, traveling six or eight miles an hour, 
 over the worn out rails and decaying road-bed. 
 We were eighteen hours in making the distance 
 (about one hundred and twenty miles) from Dan- 
 ville to Richmond. As we passed in the rear of 
 General Lee's lines, and I saw the scare-crow 
 cattle there being slaughtered for the troops, the 
 game seemed to be at last growing desperate. 
 We were detained for perhaps an hour at the 
 station where the cattle were being slaughtered. 
 Several soldiers who were on the train, left us 
 there ; and as soon as they alighted from the cars, 
 they seized portions of the offal, kindled a fire, 
 charred the scraps upon the points of their ram- 
 
THE CHAMELEON. 227 
 
 rods, and devoured the unclean food with the 
 avidity of famished tigers. 
 
 It was arranged in Eichmond, that I should 
 take command of the " Tallahassee," and proceed 
 with all dispatch to Bermuda for a cargo of pro- 
 visions; my late experience with the Governor 
 of the island rendering it quite probable that he 
 would prevent the Chickamauga from even dis- 
 charffinff her car^o as a merchant vessel. That 
 steamer (the Tallahassee,) of so many aliases, 
 had just returned from a short cruise under 
 Captain Ward of the Confederate States Navy. 
 She was now christened again, and bore, thence- 
 forward, the appropriate name of the " Chamel- 
 eon." Her battery was dismounted, the officers 
 and crew detached, and she was ostensibly sold 
 to the navy agent at Wilmington. A register, 
 and bill of sale, were prepared in legal form, the 
 crew shipped according to the laws relating to the 
 merchant service, and regular invoices and bills 
 of lading made out of her cargo of cotton. The 
 vessel, indeed, was so thoroughly whitewashed, 
 that she subsequently passed a searching examin- 
 ation in Bermuda ; but my recent experience there 
 had convinced me of the necessity of adopting 
 every precaution, and I was left to my own dis- 
 
228 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 cretion with regard to all the details ; the instruc- 
 tions under which I was acting requiring nie 
 only to bring in a cargo of provisions with all 
 dispatch. 
 
 The " Chameleon " was in nearly all respects 
 like the Chickamauga, only a few feet longer, and 
 drawing a few inches more water. 
 
 On the afternoon of December 24th, the 
 United States fleet opened tire upon Fort Fisher, 
 the heavy cannonading continuing during the 
 two following days. The booming of the heavy 
 guns could be distinctly heard in Wilmington. 
 
 There was a complete panic there ; the non- 
 combatants moving away, and fright and confu- 
 sion prevailing everywhere. The co-operating 
 land forces, under General Butler, had almost 
 completely invested the fort, and the communica- 
 tion between it and Wilmington was at one time 
 interrupted, so that it was impossible to ascertain 
 the condition of affairs below. In the midst of 
 the turmoil, we cast off from the wharf, about 
 two o'clock in the afternoon of December 26th, 
 and anchored off Smithville after dark, the tide 
 not serving for crossing the bar that night. 
 
 Next morning the " Agnes Fry," an inward 
 bound blockade-runner, was discovered aground 
 
CAPTAIN MUKRAY. 229 
 
 on the western bar. Towards evening two or 
 three of the blockading fleet stationed oiF that bar 
 steamed in, and opened fire upon her. The bom- 
 bardment of the fort was still in progress. A 
 little after dark, just as we were weighing our 
 anchor, General Whiting, who was then in Fort 
 Fisher, telegraphed to us that the United States 
 land forces were embarking, the attack upon the 
 fort having been abandoned. We were under 
 wa,y in a few moments, closely folloM^ed by the 
 Hansa, Captain Murray, and parting from her 
 just as we crossed the bar. I had known the 
 captain for many months, under his assumed 
 name, and it was quite generally known that he 
 held a commission in the British Navy. While 
 I was living in Nova Scotia, some years after- 
 wards, the card of Captain A. commanding H. B. 
 M. ship J — n was brought to me, and I was sur- 
 prised to find in the owner of it, my old friend 
 Murray. Several British naval officers of rank 
 and high character, were engaged in the same 
 exciting and lucrative occupation of blockade-run- 
 ning ; among them the gallant Captain Burgoyne, 
 who commanded afterwards the unfortunate ship 
 " Captain " of H. B. M.'s Navy, and who per- 
 
230 NARKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNEK. 
 
 ished togetlier with nearly the wliole crew when 
 she foundered at sea. 
 
 We crossed the bar under such favorable cir- 
 cumstances, that we were not discovered; nor did 
 we see any of the fleet until we had cleared the 
 Frying Pan Shoals, when we easily avoided sev- 
 eral vessels which had participated, no doubt, in 
 the attack upon Fort Fisher, and were now about 
 to take their stations off the western bar. 
 
 We made a rapid, though a very rough voyage 
 to Bermuda, a stormy northwest gale following 
 us nearly the whole distance. The Prussian 
 Major Yon Borcke, who had served on General 
 Jeb Stewart's staff, and who afterwards published 
 (in Blackwood's) his experience of the war, was a 
 passenger. The Major was no sailor, and his suf- 
 ferings from seasickness were much aggravated by 
 a gunshot wound in his throat. As the engines of 
 the "Chameleon" would "race" in the heavy sea 
 following us, and her whole frame would vibrate, 
 he declared in military phraseology (" our army 
 swore terribly in Flanders!") that he would 
 rather encounter the dangers of a " stricken field " 
 than voluntarily endure an hour of such torture. 
 
 We arrived at St. George's on the 30th of 
 December ; and our troubles immediately com- 
 
TROUBLE AT ST. GEOKGe's. 231 
 
 menced. It was the 5th of January before per 
 mission was received to land our cargo of cotton ; 
 His Excellency, the Governor having called upon 
 the law ofKcers of the crown for aid in the dire 
 dilemma. When the vessel's papers were at last 
 pronounced correct, we discharged our cargo, and 
 then arose the perplexing question of loading. I 
 haven't the least doubt that the American Consul 
 was sadly bothering His Excellency all this time ; 
 but permission was finally granted to us to take 
 in provisions but no munitions of war. As we 
 did not want "hardware," as munitions of war 
 were then invoiced, we proceeded to load. But 
 a great deal of time had been lost, and we did not 
 take our departure for Wilmington till January 
 the 19th ; having on board as passengers General 
 Preston and staff, returning from Europe. 
 
 Our voyage across was very rough, and the 
 night of our approach to New Inlet Bar was dark 
 and rainy. Between one and two o'clock in the 
 morning, as we were feeling our way with the 
 lead, a light was discovered nearly ahead and a 
 short distance from us. As we drew closer in 
 and "sheered" the Chameleon, so as to bring 
 the light abeam, I directed our signal officer to 
 make the regular signal. No reply was made to 
 
232 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 it, although many lights now began to appear 
 looming up through the drizzling rain. These 
 were undoubtedly camp fires of the United States 
 troops outside of Fort Fisher ; but it never occur- 
 red to me as possible, that a second attack could 
 have been made, and successfully in the brief 
 period of time which had elapsed since our depart- 
 ure from Wilmington. Believing that I had 
 made some error in my day's observations, the 
 Chameleon was put to sea again, as the most pru- 
 dent course in the emergency. The night was 
 too far spent to allow of any delay. Orders were 
 therefore given to go at full speed, and by day- 
 light we had made an offing of forty or fifty 
 miles from the coast. Clear and pleasant weather 
 enabled me to establish our position accurately — 
 it was my invariable custom, at sea, during the 
 war, to take my own observations — and early in 
 the night we made the Mound Light ahead, for 
 which I had shaped our course. The range lights 
 were showing, and we crossed the bar without 
 interference, but without a suspicion of any- 
 thing wrong, as it would occasionally happen, 
 under particularly favorable circumstances, that 
 we would cross the bar without even seeing a 
 blockader. We were under the £:un3 of Fort 
 
ESCAPE OF MAFFITT. 233 
 
 Fislier in fact, and close to the fleet of United 
 States vessels, which had crossed the bar after 
 the fall of the fort, when I directed my signal 
 oflicer to communicate with the shore station. 
 His signal was promptly answered, but turning to 
 me, he said, '•' No Confederate signal officer there, 
 sir ; he cannot reply to me." The order to wear 
 round was instantly obeyed ; not a moment too 
 soon, for the bow of the Chameleon was scarcely 
 pointed for the bar before two of the light cruis- 
 ers were plainly visible in pursuit, steaming with 
 all speed to intercept us. Nothing saved us from 
 capture but the twin screws, which enabled our 
 steamer to turn as upon a pivot in the narrow 
 channel between the bar and the "rip." We 
 reached the bar before our pursaers, and were 
 soon lost to their sight in the darkness outside. 
 Our supply of coal being limited, the course was 
 shaped for Nassau as the nearer port, where we 
 arrived without accident. A day or two after 
 our arrival the news came of the fall of Fort 
 Fisher. 
 
 Several narrow escapes, besides our own, were 
 made. MaflBtt, in command of the " Owl " 
 crossed the Western Bar a night or two after the 
 fall of Fort Fisher, and while our troops were 
 
234 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNEE. 
 
 evacuating Fort Caswell and other military sta- 
 tions along the river. Crossing the bar, and sus- 
 pecting no danger, he continued on his way up 
 to Smithville, where he anchored. " He was board- 
 ed a few moments afterwards by a boat fi-om 
 our military post there. The ofHcer in com- 
 mand of the boat informed him of the captu-re 
 of Fort Fisher, and that our troops were then 
 evacuating Fort Caswell ; adding that several 
 vessels of the Federal fleet had crossed the New 
 Inlet Bar, and were at anchor in the river almost 
 within hail of him. Maflitt was about to give the 
 order to slip the chain, " not standing upon the 
 order of his going," when his pilot begged for per- 
 mission to go ashore, if only for ten minutes. He 
 represented the situation of his wife, whom he 
 had left ill and without means of support, in such 
 moving terms, that Maffitt granted permission, 
 upon condition that he would return speedily. 
 The pilot was faithful to his promise, returning 
 in fifteen or twenty minutes. During his absence, 
 steam was raised, and the chain unshackled. As 
 the pilot's foot touched the deck of the " Owl " 
 again, the boat was hooked on and run up to the 
 davits, the chain slipped, and the " Owl" on her 
 way to sea again. 
 
RUNNING INTO CHAKLESTON. 235 
 
 Another blockade-runner is said to have been 
 not so fortunate. She had run the gauntlet safely, 
 and come to anchor off Smithville. The tarpau- 
 lins had been removed from the hatches, the 
 lamps lighted, and a cold supper spread upon the 
 table, at which the passengers were seated, two or 
 three officers of the British army among them. 
 A toast to the captain had been proposed, and 
 they had just tossed off a bumper in champagne 
 to his health and continued successes, aud he 
 was about to reply to the compliment, when the 
 officer of the deck reported that a boat was com- 
 ing alongside. The captain received the officer at 
 the gangway. The mail bag, according to the 
 usual routine, was given to the latter for trans- 
 portation to the shore ; and the customary inqui- 
 ries made after the name of the vessel, cargo, 
 number of passengers, etc. The astounded cap- 
 tain was then informed that his vessel was a prize 
 to the United States ship — then at anchor near 
 him ! 
 
 Charleston was now the only harbor on the 
 Atlantic coast at all accessible, and that must 
 evidently soon fall; but a cargo might be landed 
 there before that inevitable catastrophe, and fully 
 appreciating the exigency, I determined to make 
 
236 NARRATH^E OF A BLOCKADE-KUNNER. 
 
 the effort. Even after the occupation of Wil- 
 mington by the United States troops, there 
 would remain an interior line of communication 
 between Charleston and Virginia. The facts of 
 history prove that the importance of carrying in a 
 cargo of provisions was not exaggerated, for the 
 army of northern Virginia was shortlj^ afterwards 
 literally starving ; and during their retreat from 
 the position around Petersburg the country adja- 
 cent to their line of march was swarming with 
 soldiers who had left the ranks in search of food. 
 
 But it was the part of prudence to ascertain, 
 positively, before sailing, that Charleston was 
 still in our possession. This intelligence was 
 brought by the " Chicora " which arrived at 
 Nassau on the 30th of January ; and on February 
 1st, the " Owl," " Carolina," " Dream," " Chico- 
 ra " and " Chameleon " sailed within a few hours 
 of each other for Charleston. 
 
 The condition of affairs throughout the Con- 
 federacy was far more desperate than we, who 
 were abroad, had any idea of. Despondency and 
 demoralization had advanced with gigantic strides 
 within the past two or three eventful months. 
 Admiral Semmes, in his "Memoirs of Service 
 Afloat, etc," gives the following account of an 
 
ADMIRAL SEMMES AND GENERAL LEE. 237 
 
 interview with General Lee : " As soon as I could 
 command a leisure moment, I paid General Lee 
 a visit at his head-quarters near Petersburg, and 
 spent a night with him. I had served with him 
 in the Mexican War. "VVe discussed together the 
 critical state of the country and of his army — we 
 were now near the end of January, 1865, and I 
 thought the grand old chieftain and Christian 
 gentleman seemed to foreshadow in his conversa- 
 tion, more by manner than by words, the approach- 
 ing downfall of the cause for which we were both 
 struggling. I had come to him, I told him, to 
 speak of what I had seen of the people, and of 
 the army, in my transit across the country, and to 
 say to him that unless prompt measures could be 
 devised to put an end to the desertions that were 
 going on among our troops, our cause must inev- 
 itably be lost. He did not seem to be at all sur- 
 prised at the revelations I made. He knew all 
 about the condition of the country, civil and 
 military, but seemed to feel himself powerless to 
 prevent the downward tendency of things, and he 
 was right. It was no longer in the power of any 
 one man to save the country. The body politic 
 was already dead. The people themselves had 
 given up the contest, and this being the case, no 
 
238 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-EUNXER. 
 
 army could do more than retard the catastrophe 
 for a few months. Besides, his army itself was 
 melting away. That very night, as I learned at 
 the breakfast table, one hundred and sixty men 
 deserted in a body. It was useless to attempt to 
 shoot deserters when demoralization had gone to 
 this extent." A few weeks subsequent to the 
 date referred to in the above extract, General 
 Johnston was ordered to "drive back Sherman." 
 He states in his "Narrative" in reference to 
 accepting the command : " This was done with a 
 full consciousness on my part, however, that we 
 could have no other object in continuing the war 
 than to obtain fair terms of peace; for the 
 Southern cause must have appeared hopeless then 
 to all intelligent and dispassionate Southern men." 
 We passed Abaco light soon after dark, and 
 shaped our course direct for Charleston. At early 
 dawn the next morning, while I was lying awake 
 in my room on the bridge, I heard the officer of 
 the deck give the quick sharp order to the helms- 
 man " hard aqwrt ! " The steering wheel in all 
 of the blockade-runners was upon the bridge and 
 immediately forward of the captain's state-room, 
 and the officer of the deck kept his watch upon 
 the bridge. As I never undressed at night, while 
 
QUAETEKMA5TER MCLEAN. 231) 
 
 at sea in command during the war, I was out 
 upon the deck m a moment; and then I saw dis- 
 tant two or tliree miles and directl}'' in our former 
 course, a large side-wheel steamer. From her size 
 and rig, I guessed her to be the " Yanderbilt ;" 
 and I was afraid that the Chameleon had at last 
 found more than her match, for the Vanderbilt 
 enjoyed the reputaton of great speed. We wore 
 round before we were discovered, but as the 
 strange steamer's bow was pointed in our direc- 
 tion a few moments afterwards, it was plain that 
 we would have to make good use of our heels, 
 and that the race would be a trying one. The 
 Chameleon was in fine condition for the ordeal, 
 and the usual precaution of cleaning fires, and 
 i-aising the steam had been taken before daylight. 
 My staunch old quartermaster, McLean, who 
 had been with me in nearly all the chances and 
 changes of blockade-running, always took his 
 place at the wheel on trying occasions. lie had 
 nerves of steel, and would have steered the vessel 
 without flinching against a line of battle ship, 
 if so ordered. Upon one occasion, after we had 
 crossed the Western Bar, and were steaming at 
 full speed along the coast, we suddenly discov- 
 ered a long low blockader on our starboard bow, 
 
240 KAEKATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 and at the same instant, distinctly heard the 
 order from the stranger's deck, to " pass along the 
 shell ! '' I called out to my old helmsman, " Port 
 and run her down ! " and if the strange vessel had 
 not moved out of our way with alacrity, she would 
 have been assuredly cut in two. We grazed her 
 stern by a hair's breadth as we shot by her at the 
 rate of thirteen knots. Before they had recavered 
 from the confusion on board of her, we had passed 
 into the darkness beyond, and the shell which they 
 sent after us flew wide of its mark. 
 
 McLean was now placed at the wheel. It 
 was a close race for hours, neither apparently 
 gaining or losing a foot ; but Providence again 
 befriended us. As the day advanced, the breeze, 
 which was very light from the northward at day- 
 light, continued to freshen from that quarter. 
 We soon set all of our canvas, and so did the 
 chaser, but as the latter was square rigged, and we 
 carried fore and aft sails, our sheets were hauled 
 flat aft, and the Chameleon kept close to the wind 
 by the steady old helmsman. I do not doubt that 
 we would have been overhauled but for this favor- 
 able contingency. Head to wind our pursuer 
 would certainly have overtaken us, and ofl' the 
 wind her chances would have been almost equally 
 
HEATED JOURNALS. 24rl 
 
 good. Bat she began to drop gradually to lee- 
 ward as the wind continued steady, and by two 
 o'clock in the afternoon, she was five or six miles 
 distant on our lee quarter. Although we had not 
 increased the distance between us much, if any, 
 since the commencement of the chase, we had 
 weathered upon the chaser until her sails had 
 become useless about twelve o'clock when she 
 furled them. As the snow}'- cloud of canvas was 
 rolled up like magic, and the tall tapering spars 
 were seen in its place, I supposed the cruiser was 
 about to retire from the contest; but she still fol- 
 lowed with the tenacity of a bloodhound. But 
 apparently to no purpose till about two o'clock, 
 when the chief engineer, Mr. Schroeder, appeared 
 on the bridge with the report that the journals 
 were heated, and it was absolutely necessary to stop 
 to ease the bearings! This was a predicament, 
 indeed ; but when I looked down into the hold, and 
 saw the clouds of vapor rising from the overheated 
 journals, as a stream of water was being pumped 
 upon them, I saw that Schroeder was right in the 
 assertion, that unless the bearings were instantly 
 eased, the machinery would give way. I had 
 inplicit confidence in Schroeder, and it had been 
 justl}' earned, for he had served long under my 
 11 
 
242 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 command, and had always displayed, under trying 
 circumstances, great coolness, presence of mind, 
 and ability. He made every preparation for the 
 work before him, taking off his own coat, and M-hen 
 everything was in readiness, the order to stop the 
 engines was given. In a few moments, we lay 
 like a log upon the water, and the chaser was 
 rapidly lessening the distance between us, and the 
 suspense became almost intolerable. Our fate 
 was hanging by a thread ; but in ten minutes the 
 journals had been cooled off, the bearings eased, 
 and the Chameleon again sprang ahead with 
 renewed speed. The steamer in chase had ap- 
 proached nearly within cannon shot — probably 
 within long range — but in the course of the next 
 hour, we had gained so rapidly in the race that 
 the pursuit was abandoned as hopeless; and as 
 the stranger wore around, to resume her station 
 under easy steam, we followed in her wake till 
 dark, when we evaded her without difficulty, and 
 continued on our course toward Charleston. 
 
 But another precious day had been lost, and 
 subsequent unfavorable weather still further re- 
 tarding our progress, we did not reach the coast 
 near Charleston Bar till the fifth night after our 
 departure from Nassau. The blockading fleet 
 
FROM CHAKLESTON TO NASSAU. 243 
 
 had been reinforced by all the light cruisers from 
 the approaches to the Cape Fear River; and as 
 we drew in to the land, we were so frequently 
 compelled to alter the course of the Chameleon, 
 in order to evade the blockaders, that we did not 
 reach the bar till long after midnight, and after 
 the tide had commenced to fall. I was tempted 
 to force the pilot to make the attempt, but finally 
 yielded to his assurances that access was impossi- 
 ble under the circumstances. As this was the 
 last night during that moon, when the bar could 
 be crossed during the dark hours, the course of 
 the Chameleon was again, and for the last time, 
 shaped for Nassau. As we turned away from 
 the land, our hearts sank within us, while the 
 conviction forced itself upon us, that the cause for 
 which so much blood had been shed, so many 
 miseries bravely endured, and so many sacrifices 
 cheerfully made, was about to perish at last ! 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Sad News via New York. — Consternation among Speculators 
 in Nassau. — Departure from Nassau via Bermuda. — Ar- 
 rival at Liverpool.— The End. 
 
 A ERIVING at Nassau on the 8th, we found 
 -^-^ many blocl^ade-runners in port, waiting for 
 news from Charleston; and on the 10th, the Owl 
 returned, after an unsuccessful attempt to enter 
 Charleston, during which she received a shot 
 through her bows ; and intelligence came also of 
 the capture of the "Stag" and "Charlotte." On 
 the 23d, the " Chicora," which had succeeded in 
 getting into Charleston, arrived with the fatal 
 news of its evacuation, and the progress of Gen- 
 eral Sherman through Georgia and South Caro- 
 lina. This sad intelligence put an end to all 
 our hopes, and we were now cut off from all com- 
 munication with the Confederate Government 
 authorities. 
 
 In this dilemma, Maffitt and I consulted with 
 Mr. Hejliger, the Confederate agent at Nassau ; 
 and it was decided that the Chameleon should be 
 
DEPARTURE FROM NASSAU. 245 
 
 taken over to England. Whatever might be the 
 course of events, our duty appeared to be to turn 
 our vessels over, either to the agent of the Navy 
 Department in Liverpool, or to the firm of Messrs. 
 Fraser, Trenholm & Co. there. We learned after- 
 wards, indeed, that Captain Pembroke Jones, of 
 the Confederate IS^avy, was at that time on his way 
 to us via Galveston or Mexico, with orders from 
 the Nav}^ Department. All of us were directed to 
 take in cargoes of provisions to a specified point 
 on the Rappahannock River, under the protection 
 of Confederate artillery to be stationed there in 
 readiness. The steamers were to be burned after 
 landing their cargoes, but Jones could not reach 
 us in time. 
 
 The bottom of the Chameleon being quite 
 foul, divers were employed to scrub it preparatory 
 to her long sea voyage. These people are 
 wonderfully expert, remaining under the surface 
 nearly two minutes ; and the water in tlie harbor 
 of Nassau is so clear that they can be distinctly 
 seen even at the keel of a vessel. Our cargo of 
 provisions was landed, and an extra supply of coal 
 taken on board. The vessel being under Confed- 
 erate colors and liable to capture wherever found, 
 except in neutral waters, it behooved us to be pre- 
 
2i6 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 pared at all times to show our heels to a stranger 
 Some of our crew who wished their discharge, for 
 the purpose of rejoining their families at the 
 South, were paid off; the rest of them shipped 
 for the voyage to Liverpool via Bermuda. We 
 still lingered for later intelligence which was 
 brought by the mail steamer Corsica from New 
 York. Charleston was evacuated on the 17th of 
 February, and Fort Anderson, the last of the 
 defences at "Wilmington, fell on the 19th. Gen- 
 eral Johnston had assumed command of the 
 broken remnant of the army of the Tennessee in 
 North Carolina, and subsequently offered some 
 resistance to the hitherto unimpeded march of 
 General Sherman ; but the latter was now about 
 to effect a junction with General Schofield, who 
 commanded a large force which had landed at 
 Wilmington. It was too evident that the end was 
 near. The speculators in Nassau saw tliat " the 
 bottom had fallen out," and all of them were in 
 the depths of despair. Some of them, it is true, 
 had risen from the desperately hazardous game 
 with large gains, but the majority had staked 
 their all and lost it ; and even the fortunate ones 
 had contracted a thirst for rash ventures, which 
 eventually led to the pecuniary and social ruin of 
 
FROM BERMUDA. 247 
 
 some of them. Even the negro stevedores and 
 laborers bewailed our misfortunes, for they knew 
 that the glory of Nassau had departed forever. 
 My old friend Captain Dick Watkins probably 
 more unselfishly regretted the disasters to our 
 arms than the speculators or even the refugees 
 in Nassau, who had succeeded in evading service 
 in the army by skulking abroad. A recruiting 
 officer might have " conscripted " nearly a brigade 
 of the swaggering blusterers. Captain Dick and I 
 parted with mutual regret ; and I sincerely hope, 
 if Providence has been pleased to remove the old 
 fellow's helpmeet to a better sphere, that he has 
 found consolation in a virtuous union with one of 
 those " mighty pretty yaller gals" he so much 
 admired ; and that Napoleon Bonaparte may 
 rise to the highest dignities in that particolored 
 community of spongers and " wrackers." 
 
 We sailed from Nassau on the 2 2d of March 
 and arrived at St. George's, Bermuda on the 26th. 
 The harbor was deserted, and the town, in its 
 listless inactivity, presented a striking contrast 
 with its late stir and bustle. " 'Twas Greece, but 
 living Greece no more." After coaling, we took 
 our departure for Liverpool on the 26th of March, 
 and arrived there on the 9th of April. It was, 
 
248 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCK ADE-KUNNEK. 
 
 Palm Sunday, and the chimes were ringing 
 sweetly from the church bells, as we came to 
 anchor. 
 
 The contrast between this happy, peaceful, 
 prosperous country and our own desolated, war- 
 distracted land, struck a chill to our saddened 
 hearts. The last act in the bloody drama was about 
 to close on that very day at Appomattox Court 
 House, and before that sun had set, the Confeder- 
 ate Government had become a thing of the past. 
 We, who were abroad, were not unprepared for 
 the final catastrophe ; for we had learned on our 
 arrival at Liverpool of General Early's defeat in 
 the valley of the Shenandoah, and the accession to 
 General Grant's already overwhelmingly large 
 forces of General Sheridan's cavalry ; and of the 
 junction of General Sherman with General Sclio- 
 field. To oppose these mighty armies, there were 
 33,000 half starved, ragged heroes in the trenches 
 around Petersburg, and about 25,000 under 
 General Johnston in North Carolina. 
 
 This may not be a proper place to allude to 
 the fearful penalties inflicted upon a people who 
 fought and suffered for what they deemed a hoi;- 
 cause. But it should be proclaimed, in tht 
 interest of truth and justice, that the South since 
 
DISPOSING OF THE EFFECTS. 249 
 
 tlie close of the war, has been preyed upon by 
 unprincipled adventurers and renegades who are 
 determined to rule or ruin. But a brighter day 
 will come. Calumny and injustice cannot triumph 
 forever. That distinguished officer Colonel C. C. 
 Chesney of the British army in a volume of 
 Military Biography " lately published by him, in 
 allusion to General Lee, writes thus: "But 
 though America has learned to pardon, she has 
 yet to attain the full reconciliation for which the 
 dead hero would have sacrificed a hundred lives. 
 Time can only bring this to a land, which in her 
 agony, bled at every pore. Time, the healer of 
 all wounds will bring it yet. The day will come, 
 when the evil passions of the great civil strife 
 will sleep in oblivion, and North and South do 
 justice to each other's motives, and forget each 
 other's wrongs. Then History will speak with 
 clear voice of the deeds done on either side, and 
 the citizens of the whole Union do justice to the 
 memories of the dead." Surely all honest men 
 and true patriots will rejoice to see that da}'. 
 
 The firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Co. was rep- 
 resented in Liverpool by a Mr. Prioleau who was 
 by no means anxious for the consignment of the 
 Chameleon in ballast ; with a cargo on board the 
 11* 
 
250 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 case would have been difFei'ent. He evidently 
 considered her a very big and unsalable elephant, 
 and repudiated the part of showman. The vessel 
 was therefore turned over to Captain Bullock, who 
 acted with his usual tact and discretion in the 
 subsequent transactions connected with lier. 
 There was a sharp struggle between rival claim- 
 ants for the possession of the ship, but the 
 Gordian knot was cut by the British Government 
 which placed the " broad arrow " upon her. The 
 public funds were also transferred to Captain 
 Bullock and his receipt taken for them. Here I 
 beg leave to affirm that I neither appropriated nor 
 desired to appropriate any of the spoils of the 
 perishing ship of state." But as memory recalls 
 
 * The proofs, which I hold in my possession, of this 
 affirmation can have no interest for the general reader. 
 Shortly after the close of the war, I learned through a 
 friend in Washington that I was charged with appropriating 
 many thousands of dollars belonging to the late Confeder- 
 ate Government. Although I was then living in Halifax, 
 Nova Scotia, and beyond the jurisdiction of the United 
 States Government, I forwarded to the Hon. Secretary of 
 the United States Navy, copies of the receipts taken by me 
 from Captain Bullock, in Liverpool, for all Confederate 
 property in my possession. I may be permitted indeed, to 
 claim eminent disinterestedness, for I might have accumu- 
 lated a fortune ; and at the end, my faithful and efficient pay- 
 master, E. Courtenay Jenkins, a gentleman of the purest 
 integrity, made the transfer by my direction ; both of ua 
 
CLOSING THE ACCOUNT. 251 
 
 the many opportunities placed in my way of mak- 
 ing a fortune during the war, without detriment 
 to the cause, and consistent with every obligation 
 due to the Confederate Government, there are 
 times when I cannot decide whether 1 acted the 
 part of a fool, or that of a patriot. We are told 
 that when Lord Clive was arraigned before the 
 British Parliament for profiting by his high posi- 
 tion in Tndia to enrich himself, he exclaimed at 
 the close of his defence against the charge, " By 
 G — d, Mr. Chairman, at this moment 1 stand 
 astonished at my own moderation ! " His idea of 
 "moderation" was £300,000. A "dead broke" 
 Confederate would have considered himself for- 
 tunate to possess 300,000 oents! Some of the 
 crew of the Chameleon, who had served for years 
 in the Confederate Navy, brought a claim against 
 me for pay due them while in the public service, 
 and it was with some difficulty that their counsel, 
 a pettifogging lawyer, could be induced to consent 
 to arbitration ; but the matter was finally settled 
 through Bullock's agency, although it appeared 
 probable at one time that I would be obliged to 
 take a hasty departure from England. 
 
 washing our hands of the " filthy lucre," and retaining a 
 clear conscience. 
 
^^*^ 
 
 262 NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 
 
 The end was close at hand. News of the 
 capture of Richmond arrived on the 15th, and a 
 few days afterM'ards, intelligence of the surrender 
 of General Lee's army. The Chameleon was soon 
 afterwards given up to the United States Govern- 
 ment which claimed the assets, but repudiated 
 the liabilities of the Confederate Government. 
 Her officers and crew were turned adrift with '' the 
 wide world before them where to choose.'" 
 
 THK END. 
 
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