Transcriber's note:

 Some obvious typographical errors have been corrected. The use of double quotation marks for quotations within quotations has been retained as in the original, and the reader's attention is called to the author's failure to close some quotations. 

THE NARRATIVE OF A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. 

by

J. WILKINSON, Captain in the Late Confederate States Navy. 

New York:Sheldon & Company, 8 Murray Street. 1877Copyright, Sheldon & Company, 1877. 

PREFACE. 

In deference to the judgment of two or three literary friends, I haveentitled this, my first attempt at authorship, "The Narrative of aBlockade-runner. " They do not agree with Shakspeare that "a rose by anyother name would smell as sweet, " to the reading public; nor that it isalways 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 itembraces a wider scope than its title would imply. I have endeavored togive a full account of the passage by the U. S. Fleet of the forts belowNew Orleans; and to contribute some facts that will probably settle thecontroversy, in the judgment of the reader, as to the real captors ofthat city. "Honor to whom honor is due. "

It will be seen that I have been favored with access to CommodoreMitchell's official report of that conflict, a document never published. The information derived from it, added to facts and circumstancescoming under my personal observation, furnishes the means of layingbefore the public an account of that action from a new point of view. 

In bearing testimony to the kind and humane treatment of the prisonersof war at Fort Warren, I perform a most grateful duty. It was my goodfortune 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, interesting facts about themanner in which blockade running was conducted. 

I cannot do better than furnish the following extract from a literaryfriend's letter to me in reference to this effort of mine. "I amparticularly glad, believing as I do, that such a volume will help tothe production of that state of mind, North and South, which every goodman wishes to see grow. It is only necessary that we shall all fall intothe habit of talking and writing about war matters without feeling; thatwe shall forget the bitterness of the conflict in our interest in itshistory; and if you or I can amuse Northern readers, or entertain themwith our recollections, we shall certainly leave them in a pleasanterand better state of mind than we found them in. "

I should be happy to believe that I had contributed, in ever so small adegree, to this consummation so devoutly to be wished for. But I wouldmake no sacrifice of principle nor of interest to achieve this end. 

While accepting the situation consequent upon the unsuccessful appeal toarms, the Southern people do not stultify themselves by professing torenounce their conviction of their right and duty in having responded tothe call to defend their respective States from invasion. 

But they believe that the war was conducted by the ConfederateGovernment in a spirit of humanity. Conceiving it to be the duty ofevery southern man to submit any testimony in his possession relating tothis subject, and especially to the treatment of prisoners of war, Ihave quoted some passages from a "Vindication of the Confederacy againstthe charge of Cruelty to Prisoners. " This work was recently published bythe Southern Historical Society, and was compiled by the Rev. J. Wm. Jones, D. D. , author of "Personal Reminiscences of Gen. R. E. Lee. " Thecandid and dispassionate student of History, in seeking after thetruth, should read this work before forming a judgment upon this point, which has, perhaps, caused more bitter resentments among the Northernpeople than all the other deplorable events of our civil strifecombined. 

WOODSIDE, AMELIA CO. , VA. , Oct. 15th, 1876. 

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. PAGE

Secession of Virginia. --Service at Fort Powhatan. --Volunteersat the Big Guns. --"Wide Awake" Clubs. --Want of preparation inVirginia. --Fort Powhatan abandoned. --Service at AcquiaCreek. --The "Tigers. "--Coal Mining on the Potomac. 15

CHAPTER II. 

Ordered to New Orleans. --The Naval Fleet there. --The "RiverDefence" Squadron. --The iron-clad "Louisiana. "--Difficulty inmanaging the Fleet. --Going down the River. --Want ofconcert. --Admiral Farragut. --Our crew. 29

CHAPTER III. 

The 24th April. --Passage of the United States Fleet. --Afterthe Storm. --The "River Defence" boats. --The Refuge in theBayou. --Surrender of the Forts. --Extracts from CommodoreMitchell's official Report. --Council of War. --Destruction ofthe "Louisiana. "--Our Surrender. --General B. F. Butler. --Transferred to the United States Frigate "Colorado. " 44

CHAPTER IV. 

Transferred to the "Rhode Island. "--Meeting with an oldFriend. --Arrival at Fort Warren. --Treatmentthere. --Correspondence, and its Result. --PrisonLife. --Exchanged. --The Crew at quarters. --Burial of the"Unknown. " 60

CHAPTER V. 

A Brief Stay at Home. --Report to the War Department. --Instructionsto go abroad. --The Blockade-runner "Kate. "--Voyage toNassau. --Yellow Fever. --The Undertaker. --Our Skipper "CaptainDick. "--The Major sick. --A Story for the Marines. --Arrival atCardenas. --The Coolies. --Arrival at Havana. --The American Consuland I. --The Pirate Marti. --The Spanish Steamer. --PrettyHarbors. --Captain Fry. 83

CHAPTER VI. 

San Domingo. --The Island of Hayti and its Inhabitants. --St. Thomas. --General Santa Anna. --The Mail Steamer Atrato. --Arrivalat Southampton. --English Scenery. --The Major Fails. --TheGiraffe purchased. --A Claim against the ConfederateGovernment. --The Hon J. M. Mason. --Credit of the ConfederateGovernment abroad. --An Improper Agent. --Captain Bullock. --TheGiraffe ready for Sea. --Glasgow. --Our Last Dinner. --Our ScotchLandlady and Head Waiter. --We part with the Major. --HotPunch and Scotch Babies. --A Reminiscence. 100

CHAPTER VII. 

Voyage to Madeira. --A Capital Sea-boat. --The IslandPonies. --Mr. B. And his daughters. --Voyage to St. John's, Porto Rico. --Run across the Bahama Banks. --Nassau during theWar. --High Wages and Low Characters. --Crew re-shipped. --Failureto enter Charleston. --The "Lump. "--A Narrow Escape. --TheScotch Lithographers and their work. --Crossing theBar. --Transfer of the Giraffe to the ConfederateGovernment. --She becomes the "R. E. Lee. "--The Major fulfillshis promise, but fails in his object. 117

CHAPTER VIII. 

Dyer and the Sailing Captain. --First Voyage to Nassau. --MajorFicklen and the Two Young Lieutenants. --Our Old Skipper"Captain Dick. "--Bermuda. --The Races there andelsewhere. --Description of Bermuda. --Moore, the Poet, and hisRival Mr. Tucker. --Tame Fish. --The Naval Station. --Col. B. 'sAccident. 136

CHAPTER IX. 

We sail for Wilmington. --Thick Weather on the Coast. --Anchoredamong the Blockading Fleet. --The "Mound. "--Running the Blockadeby Moonlight. --A Device to mislead the Enemy. --The man Hester. 149

CHAPTER X. 

The Confederate States Steamer "Florida. "--Short Supply ofCoal. --The "Florida's" Decks. --Tea and Costly China. --NarrowEscape from Capture. --Miss Lucy G. --Arrival at Bermuda. --Ouruneventful Trip inward. --The Johnson's Island Expedition. --AnotherNarrow Escape. --"Pretty Shooting. "--Arrival at Halifax, N. S. 159

CHAPTER XI. 

The Lee Captured at Last. --Sandy Keith alias Thomassen. --Recruitingin the British Provinces for the United States Army. --Failureof the Expedition. --Return to Bermuda. 173

CHAPTER XII. 

Take Command of the "Whisper. "--High Rates ofFreight. --Confederate Money and Sterling Exchange. --AnInvestment in Cotton. --The Ill-fated Ironclad. --The PointLookout Expedition and its Failure. --A Faithful Servant and aNarrow Escape. --Futile Projects. --Wilmington during theWar. --Light Houses reëstablished. --Gloomy Prospects ofthe South. 189

CHAPTER XIII. 

Cruise of the Chickamauga. --Mr. Mallory's inefficiency. --Troublesin Bermuda. --The Three Wrecks. --End of the cruise. 209

CHAPTER XIV. 

Last Summons to Richmond. --Demoralization. --TheChameleon. --More trouble in Bermuda. --Another NarrowEscape. --Fall of Fort Fisher. --Maffitt's Escape, and CaptainS. 's Capture. --Another Hard Chase. --Failure to enterCharleston. --Return to Nassau. 225

CHAPTER XV. 

Sad News via New York. --Consternation among Speculators inNassau. --Departure from Nassau via Bermuda. --Arrival atLiverpool. --The End. 244

NARRATIVEOF ABLOCKADE-RUNNER. 

CHAPTER I. 

 Secession of Virginia. --Service at Fort Powhatan. --Volunteers at the Big Guns. --"Wide Awake" Clubs. --Want of preparation in Virginia. --Fort Powhatan abandoned. --Service at Acquia Creek. --The "Tigers. "--Coal Mining on the Potomac. 

When the State of Virginia seceded from the Union, on the 17th day ofApril, 1861, most of her citizens, belonging to the United States Navy, resigned their commissions, and offered their services to the State oftheir birth. Many of them had meddled so little with politics as nevereven to have cast a vote; but having been educated in the belief thattheir allegiance was due to their State, they did not hesitate to act ashonor and patriotism seemed to demand. They were compelled to choosewhether they would aid in subjugating their State, or in defending itagainst invasion; for it was already evident that coercion would be usedby the General Government, and that war was inevitable. In reply to theaccusation of perjury in breaking their oath of allegiance, sincebrought against the officers of the Army and Navy who resigned theircommissions to render aid to the South, it need only be stated that, intheir belief, the resignation of their commissions absolved them fromany special obligation. They then occupied the same position towards theGovernment as other classes of citizens. But this charge was neverbrought against them till the war was ended. The resignation of theircommissions was accepted when their purpose was well known. As to thecharge of ingratitude, they reply, their respective States hadcontributed their full share towards the expenses of the GeneralGovernment, acting as their disbursing agent; and when these Stateswithdrew from the Union, their citizens belonging to the two branches ofthe public service did not, and do not, consider themselves amenable tothis charge for abandoning their official positions to cast their lotwith their kindred and friends. But yielding as they did to necessity, it was nevertheless a painful act to separate themselves fromcompanions with whom they had been long and intimately associated, andfrom the flag under which they had been proud to serve. 

During the brief interval which elapsed between the act of secession andthe admission of the State into the Confederacy, the Virginia Army andNavy were organized; and all of the naval officers who had tenderedtheir services received commissions in the Virginia, and afterward inthe Confederate Navy; 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 JamesRiver a short distance below City Point, and carrying six or eight gunsmounted on ships' carriages, which had been transported from the NorfolkNavy-yard. "Grim visaged war" had not shown his "wrinkled front" inthose fair portions of the land; and our time was chiefly spent indrilling the volunteers at the big guns, and visiting the hospitablefamilies in the neighborhood; but all of us were soon to be transferredto more active scenes. The young gentlemen-privates of the gallantvolunteer company, who so daintily handled the side and train-tacklesof the 42-pounders in the battery, considered themselves fortunate, notlong afterwards, if they obtained full rations of lean beef, or "Nassau"pork, and "hard tack;" and bore the brunt of many a severely contestedbattle as part of Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry. " But at this periodthere were only a few so called croakers who at all realized themagnitude of the struggle about to ensue. The camps resounded with songand merriment; and many of the young warriors were attended, like theknights-errant of old, by a faithful squire, who polished the boots, cleaned the musket, and performed other menial service for his "youngmaster. " My own "fidus Achates, " was old "Uncle Billy, " whose occupationwas gone by the stoppage of a tobacco factory in Richmond, where he hadbeen used to take a prominent part in the peculiar songs of the"profession. " 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 "Virginny breakdown" in thick soledbrogans sixteen inches long. 

But to return from this digression, it was believed by many persons thata large party at the North would oppose the prosecution of a war ofinvasion. It will be remembered by those at all conversant with thehistory of events at that time, how strong had been the party opposed tosecession in the Convention then in session at Richmond, (at leasttwo-thirds of its members having been elected as Union men, ) and whatstrenuous efforts towards peace and compromise had been made by theBorder States Commissioners. The call upon Virginia, by PresidentLincoln, for her quota of troops to aid in subjugating the South, hadsettled the question, however, in the Convention; and in a few hoursafter Governor Letcher's reply to that call, Virginia had virtually casther lot with the Gulf States, although two weeks elapsed before shebecame a member of the Confederacy. I had visited, some months previousto the secession of the State, many of the little villages in NewEngland, where I saw that the population were in terrible earnest. "Wideawake, " and other secret societies were organized; and inflammatoryharangues aroused the populace. The favorite theme of the orators wasthe "martyrdom" of John Brown; the piratical and murderous raid of thatfanatic into the State of Virginia being exalted into a praiseworthy actof heroism. When I returned to Virginia and contrasted the apparentapathy and want of preparation there with the state of affairs at theNorth, I trembled for the result. But when the State severed herrelations with the Union, the Governor acted with great vigor andability, and the most was made of the limited resources at his command. Volunteers responded with alacrity to the call to defend the State frominvasion; and none responded more readily, or served more bravely, thanthose who had opposed secession in the Convention. It seems invidious tocite particular examples; but the "noblest Trojan of them all" willpoint a moral, and serve as an exemplar for generations to come. Wise incouncil, eloquent in debate, bravest and coolest among the brave inbattle, and faithful to his convictions in adversity, he still lives todenounce falsehood and wrong. Truly the old hero, in all he says anddoes, "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 abattery at Acquia Creek on the Potomac. Although situated upon thefrontier, few incidents occurred there to vary the monotony of ourlives. Occasionally some of the gunboats guarding the river would steamin, and exchange a few shots with us; and we witnessed frequentskirmishes between them and Walker's afterwards famous battery of flyingartillery; but ammunition being extremely scarce at that period in theConfederacy, the orders to us were peremptory to be very sparing in theuse of it. [1]

The battery at Acquia Creek was constructed at the terminus of therailroad from Fredericksburg, and was manned by an infantry companyacting as artillerists. Besides this force, permanently stationed at thebattery, and quartered near it, a company of infantry from militaryheadquarters was sent every evening to guard against a night attack. Acompany called the "Tigers, " took their turn at this service, and wewould gladly have dispensed with their "protection. " Utterlyundisciplined, they were more dangerous to friends than to foes. Mutinous and insubordinate, they were engaged in constant collisionswith each other and with the companies so unfortunate as to be quarterednear them; and their camp was a pandemonium. In addition to othersources of quarrel and contention, several women (_vivandiéres_, theycalled themselves) followed the company. The patience of Gen. M. [2] whocommanded the division, was finally exhausted. He summoned the Captainof the "Tigers" into his presence; and after severely reprimanding himfor the misconduct of his men, insisted that the "_vivandiéres_" shouldbe sent away. The captain urged many reasons for keeping them; the chiefone being the good _moral effect_ of their presence! but the General wasinflexible. Even gallantry to the sex must be sacrificed to the truth;and a proper regard for the latter demands the statement that areformation commenced with the departure of the women; and our friendsthe "Tigers" eventually became well-behaved soldiers. 

We passed many months of inglorious inactivity here until the spring of1862, when the line of the Potomac was abandoned. While the Federalforces had remained comparatively quiet in this part of the Confederacy, they had achieved many important successes elsewhere. Fort Donelson, onthe Cumberland River, and Roanoke Island in North Carolina had beencaptured, with large garrisons; and New Orleans and Savannah werethreatened. General Joseph E. Johnston, who at the time commanded theArmy of Northern Virginia, determined to fall back to the line of theRappahannock; and all the batteries on the Potomac were abandonedbetween the 8th and 10th of March, 1862; the guns being removed to otherquarters. 

The monotonous service at the batteries had tried the patience of allwho were attached to them; and we rejoiced at the prospect of moreactive duty. The reverses sustained by the Confederate arms were not tobe disguised, nor were our convictions of great danger to the country tobe removed by the politic proclamation issued by the ConfederateGovernment, to the effect that a contraction of the lines could exerciseno material influence upon the issue of the war. But as it was deemednecessary by the military authorities to abandon the situation, we werenot at all sorry to depart; for although we had seen no active service, insatiate war had claimed many victims, who had perished ingloriously bythe malarial fevers of that marshy district. The naval officers wereespecially elated at the change. Their duties and their authority beingalike undefined, there resulted a deplorable want of harmony betweenthem and the military. This was, indeed, the inevitable consequence ofthe anomalous position held by the former; and this want of concert ofaction subsequently contributed, in some measure at least, to thedisastrous issue of the conflict below New Orleans. 

We having been trained in the strict discipline of a man of war, wanted"savoir faire" in dealing with the fastidious young captains, and theequally sensitive "high privates"; while they no doubt looked upon us asa domineering, tyrannical set of exclusives and wished that we were onboard the Federal gunboats in the river, or farther. My personalintercourse, however, was always very pleasant with them. Capt. Brown, commanding the company of North Carolinians at the battery, hadgraduated at the U. S. Naval School a year or two previous to the war, and was a strict disciplinarian. Two years after our separation, I fellin with him accidentally; and he then gave me a sad account of thechanges wrought by death and disease in his fine company. He had risento the rank of Colonel, and was then on his return to duty in the armyof Northern Virginia after recovery from wounds received in battle. Thegraphic account given by him of the manner in which he was wounded andhis 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 thesalient angle in Gen. Lee's line at Spottsylvania C. H. When it wasforced by the Federal troops. The attack was made at early dawn and inthe additional obscurity of a Scotch mist; and so complete was thesurprise according to B. 's account, that he was only made aware of theclose proximity of the enemy by dimly discerning, a few paces distant, aFederal soldier with his musket levelled at him. The soldier fired, andB. Fell insensible, shot through one of the lungs. Upon recoveringconsciousness, he found himself on a litter borne by Federal soldiers. An officer leaned over him, and offered him some liquor from hiscanteen, which revived him so far that he was able to speak. His humanecaptor then volunteered to transmit any message to B. 's friends andrelatives. While B. Was rallying his failing senses to deliver what hebelieved to be his dying messages to the loved ones at home, a rattlingfire of musketry opened upon them, the litter bearers and the officerwere shot down; the latter falling across Brown, who relapsed intoinsensibility. When he again recovered consciousness, he found himselfborne in the same litter, now carried by Confederate soldiers. Theposition had been retaken. His good friend had been shot dead. 

Our mess at Acquia Creek was abundantly supplied with food from land andwater. Every member of it, no doubt, frequently longed afterwards forthe "flesh pots of Egypt. " We discovered, by chance, a large bulk ofcoal, which had been stored on the long wharf where the Acquia Creeksteam-boats used to make their landings. When the Point was shelledabout the commencement of the war by the gunboats, the wharf wasdestroyed, the coal falling uninjured ten or twelve feet to the bottomof the river. We fished up our supplies with oyster tongs as they wereneeded, and our snug quarters were kept warm during the winter. Towardsthe end of the season, one of the mess servants lately arrived from therural districts, was sent in the boat for a supply from the _coal mine_. He had made many a fire of soft coal in the drawing room at home; butalthough an accomplished servant, his education had been so farneglected that he was ignorant of all the "'ologies. " He was very muchastonished at our process of coal mining, and asked me with greatgravity, on his return with the load, "if coal grew like that all overthe Potomac. " Of course I replied in the affirmative. It was anthracitehard coal, a specimen of which he had never seen; so he was furtherinformed that it was hard or soft according to the season when it wasfished up, being soft in the summer and hard in the winter. He was muchpleased to have acquired all this information, and probably took theearliest opportunity, on his return home, to enlighten his circle offriends and acquaintances upon the subject of coal mining on thePotomac. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The belief still prevails, probably, at the North, that extensivepreparations had been made by the South for the war. But General JosephE. Johnston who was assigned to the service of organizing andinstructing the Virginia volunteers called out by Governor Letcherstates the contrary. He asserts that all the arms to be depended upon atthat time, were those found in the Southern arsenals, U. S. Muskets, andrifles of discarded patterns to the number of about 75, 000; 40, 000 flintmuskets belonging to the State of Virginia, and 20, 000 procured for theState of Georgia by Governor Brown. 

It was charged that Mr. Floyd of Virginia while Secretary of War underPresident Buchanan had caused the removal of public arms to the Southernarsenals; but a Committee of the House of Representatives, in 1861, exonerated Mr. Floyd from the charge, and the chairman of that Committeewas the Hon. Mr. Stanton, a prominent and zealous member of theRepublican 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 onehundred and twenty thousand arms of obsolete models, and seven hundredof the recently adopted weapons rifled-muskets, and the United Stateswith about four hundred and fifty thousand of the old, and all of themodern arms that had been made since the adoption of the new models. "

When in August, 1861, it was in contemplation to send the Army ofNorthern Virginia into Maryland, want of ammunition, according to thedistinguished authority just quoted, was one of the chief obstacles tothe project. 

[2] The allusion is made to Genl. Mears, who commanded at Acquia Creekand to the Baltimore "Tigers", at the time commanded by Captain Thomas. 

CHAPTER II. 

 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. 

I was ordered to report to Commodore Whittle, commanding the navalstation at New Orleans, for duty afloat. A powerful fleet of ships ofwar and bomb vessels, under the command of Commodore (afterwardsAdmiral) 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 coöperate. The citizens wereunder the impression that the place was impregnable. Gen. Duncan, commanding Forts Jackson and St. Philip, below the city, was consideredone of the best artillerists in the service; and the land defence wasintrusted to Gen. Lovell, with a well appointed force under his command. The people of that gay city were occupied as usual in business andpleasure, and continued unconscious of their peril up to the very timewhen the Federal fleet passed the forts. But the condition of affairs, so far as naval defence was concerned, was lamentable. The regular C. S. Naval fleet consisted of the Louisiana (Captain McIntosh) and carryingthe flag of Commodore Mitchell; the steamer McRae (Captain Huger), carrying six light 32-pounders and nine-inch pivot gun; the steamerJackson (Captain Renshaw), with two pivoted smooth bore 32-pounders; thesmall ironplated "Ram" Manassas (Captain Warley), carrying one32-pounder carronade in the bow; and two launches, each carrying ahowitzer and a crew of twenty men. There were also present, at the timethe passage was forced by the U. S. Fleet, two Louisiana State gunboats, viz. , the "Governor Moore, " Captain Kennon, carrying two 32-pounderrifled guns, and the "General Quitman, " with a similar battery. _These_were converted sea steamers, with pine and cotton barricades to protectthe more vulnerable part of their machinery. All of the above vessels, with the exception of the Louisiana and Manassas, were too slightlybuilt for war purposes. The unarmed steamboats, "Mozier, " placed underCommodore Mitchell's command. In addition to the above force, there weresix steamers carrying from one to two guns each, constituting what wascalled the "River Defence Squadron, " under the command of CaptainStevenson. These vessels' boilers and machinery were protected by heavytimber barricades, filled in with compressed cotton; and they wereprepared with bar-iron casing around their bows to act as "Rams. "

The Louisiana was pierced for twelve guns rifled six-inch; andeight-inch shell guns, three in the bow, three in each broadside, andthree in the stern. Her armor consisted of railroad-iron bars securelybolted upon the sides and ends of the long covered box built upon hernearly submerged hull. These sides and ends sloped at an angle of aboutforty-five degrees; around the upper deck was a stout bulwark about fivefeet high, and iron plated inside, to resist grape shot, and afford aprotection to the sharp-shooters stationed there in action. 

The propelling power consisted of huge wheels, boxed up in the centre ofthe vessel; and a propeller on each quarter. A more powerful andefficient iron-clad called the Mississippi had just been launched fromthe stocks, but the passage of the forts was effected before her batterycould be put on board. 

After a few days' service on board the Jackson, I was ordered on boardthe Louisiana (as executive officer) then lying alongside the "levee" atNew Orleans. Her battery was not mounted; and the mechanics were at workupon her unfinished armor and machinery. Much was to be done, and withthe most limited facilities; but many obstacles had been surmounted andaffairs were progressing favorably, when we received orders fromCommodore Whittle to proceed down the river as far as the forts. Ourwheels were in working order; but a great deal was to be done to thepropellers, and the crew were still engaged in mounting the guns. ButCommodore Whittle, though cognizant of our condition, was compelledagainst his judgment, to yield to the urgent telegrams of General Duncanto send the Louisiana down the river. We had been unable to man the shipwith sailors; for although many of this class belonged to the variousvolunteer companies around New Orleans, their commanding officers werenot disposed to part with them; nor were the "jack tars" themselveswilling to exchange camp life for the discipline and subordination ofthe naval service. Our regular crew being too small to man the battery, we gladly accepted the services of the "Crescent Artillery, " a finevolunteer company raised in New Orleans. Two river steamboats wereassigned to the Louisiana for the purpose of towage, if necessary, andfor 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 brightday, and a large concourse was assembled to witness our departure. Steamhad been got up, and as our big wheels were set in motion in the rapidcurrent of the Mississippi, torrents of water rushed through thecrevices in the bulkheads and deluged the gun deck, while the Louisianadrifted helplessly down the river, feeling the effect of the wheels nomore sensibly than if they were a pair of sculling oars. "Facilisdescensus Averno; sed revocare gradum, hoc opus, hic labor est. " Theaptness of the quotation will be appreciated by the reader who is in atthe death of the Louisiana. We accomplished our object of getting downto the forts about seventy miles below the city, thanks to the currentand our two transports; but our artillerists were in a shabby plightwhile trying to work the guns knee-deep in water. 

Securing the Louisiana by hawsers to the left bank of the river nearFort St. Philip, on the morning of the 21st, we continued our laborsupon the machinery and on the battery. The bombardment of the forts hadbeen in progress for several days and nights, and the shells from thefleet were thrown with beautiful and destructive precision (some of themoccasionally falling in close proximity to the Louisiana, ) while thebomb vessels themselves were beyond the range of the fort's guns. Thenaval officers were quite sure that an attempt would soon be made byAdmiral Farragut to force the passage, and that so far as the navalstrength was concerned, it was apparent our means were inadequate toprevent it. 

Commodore Mitchell, on our arrival below, had delivered to CaptainStevenson written orders from General Lovell requiring him to place allthe "River Defence Squadron" under the Commodore's orders. Captain S. , on receiving these instructions, addressed a written communication toCommodore Mitchell, to the effect that all of the officers and crewunder his command had entered the service with the distinctunderstanding that they were not to be placed under the command ofnaval officers; and that, while willing to coöperate with our forces, hewould receive no orders from the Commodore nor allow any vessel underhis command to do so; reserving to himself the right of obeying ordisobeying any orders the Commodore might issue. With this assumption ofabsolute independence, Commodore Mitchell's position was extremelyembarrassing, but he did all that was then in his power. Not knowing atwhat moment an attack would be made, he endeavored to agree with CaptainStevenson upon a plan of coöperation; and he states in his officialreport made after the action that Captain Stevenson "seemed disposedzealously to second these objects in many respects. "

A few days previous to the action, I had been sent down the river tocommunicate, under a flag of truce, with one of the ships of thesquadron; and in the course of conversation with my old friend CaptainDeCamp, the officer in command of a division of the fleet had beeninformed by him that they could force the obstructions across the riverwhenever they pleased, and intended doing so when they were ready. Theinterview took place in his cabin; and although I indignantlyrepudiated the idea, I could not help feeling how confidently I wouldstake life and reputation upon the issue if our situations werereversed. I had noticed many familiar faces among the officers and crewas I passed along the deck a few moments before. Every one was at hisstation; the guns cast loose for action; and it was in the nature ofthings, that I should contrast this gallant man of war and all thisefficiency and discipline with the iron bound box and crew of "horsemarines" which I had just left. But it was in no spirit of depreciationof the gallantry of my comrades, for I was quite sure that they wouldstand to their guns. The wretched "bowl of Gotham" which had noefficient motive power, and which could not even be got under way, whenanchored, without slipping the chain cable, caused the misgivings. It isno disparagement to the prowess of the U. S. Fleet which passed theforts, to assert, that they never could have successfully opposed ourforces; but the battle was won quite as effectually when they succeededin 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 thewar; and he expressed the opinions then entertained, beyond a doubt, bya majority of U. S. Army and naval officers. They believed it to be theintention of the Government to bring the seceding States back into theUnion, with their rights and institutions unimpaired. Since then alittle leaven has leavened the whole lump, and the former doctrine ofthe extreme abolitionists has long become the creed of the dominantparty. But some facts should be borne in mind by those who denounceslavery as the sum of all villanies; for instance, that the slave codeof Massachusetts was the earliest in America; the cruelest in itsprovisions and has never been formally repealed; that the Plymouthsettlers, according to history, maintained "that the white man might ownand sell the negro and his offspring forever;" that Mr. Quincy, arepresentative from Massachusetts during the war of 1812, threatened theHouse of Congress that the North would secede "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must" unless their demands for peace were acceded to; andlastly that the abolitionists of a later age denounced the Constitutionand canonized John Brown for committing a number of murders andendeavoring to incite servile insurrection in time of peace. Truly"tempora mutantur, " etc. 

The river obstructions, above alluded to, consisted of a line of sunkenvessels, and of heavy pieces of timber chained together, and extendingfrom bank to bank. A few days before the attack was made, General Duncanwas speaking rather confidently of his barricade, when Warley remarked, "General, if I commanded a fleet below, and my commission lay above yourobstructions, I would _come up and get it_. " Most of us belonging tothat little naval fleet, knew that Admiral Farragut would dare toattempt what any man would; and for my own part, I had not forgottenthat while I was under his command during the Mexican War, he hadproposed to Commodore Perry, then commanding the Gulf Squadron, andurged upon him, the enterprise of capturing the strong fort of San Juande Ulloa at Vera Cruz _by boarding_. Ladders were to be constructed andtriced up along the attacking ships' masts; and the ships to be towedalong side the walls by the steamers of the squadron. Here was a muchgrander prize to be fought for; and every day of delay was strengtheninghis adversaries. It was the general belief, indeed, at the time, thatthe admiral was in daily communication with the city by means of spies;and the public indignation was so deeply roused against Mr. T----t, theconstructor of the Mississippi, ("a Northern man with Southernprinciples") who failed from time to time in launching that vessel as hehad appointed to do, that he was in danger of "_Lynch law_"; and it isat least a singular coincidence that the naval attack was madeimmediately after that powerful vessel was launched, and before the gunscould be put on board. But the idea of any collusion between Mr. T----tand the enemy, or of treachery on the part of the former, was neverentertained, I believe, except by a few bigoted zealots, blinded by hateand passion against every one born north of the Potomac. 

This class, which ought to have acted more fairly, found many followersamong the multitude; from which little charity or justice can ever beexpected. Nearly 1900 years ago the "plebes, " influenced by theirleaders, demanded the release of a robber and murderer and crucified theSaviour of mankind; and history further informs us that 500 years beforethat era, a Greek citizen could be banished without special trial, accusation, or defence; and that Aristides was sent into exile becausepeople were tired of hearing him always called "the Just. " Socialostracism will continue to exist till the millennium. The gentlemen ofnorthern birth who were so unfortunate as to occupy prominent positionsduring the war, were mercilessly held up to scorn and distrust, if theyfailed to come up to the public expectation. In truth, they occupiedtrying positions; being regarded by many as aliens and mercenaries. "Mens conscia recti" will support us under many trials; but it does notfurnish armor of proof against the "poor man's scorn, the proud man'scontumely. "

The interval between the 21st and 24th of April was occupied byCommodore Mitchell in organizing the force under his command, and inendeavoring to arrange some concert of action with the "River Defence"gunboats. 

On board the Louisiana every effort was made to complete the works uponthe propellers, and in mounting the battery, on which the mechanicsworked night and day. Our "Crescent artillery;" a detachment ofartillery from the forts under Lieutenant Dixon; and Captain Ryan'scompany of Sharp-shooters supplied the deficiencies in our crew. TheCommodore was unsuccessful in his efforts to induce Captain Stevensonto employ one of his gunboats below the obstructions at night, to watchthe U. S. Fleet; and we had no vessel suitable for that purpose; theonly one which would have answered (the Jackson) having been sent, withone of the launches, to watch the U. S. Land forces near the Quarantinestation, five miles above us. The only launch which remained to us wassent, by the Commodore's orders, below the obstructions every night, butthe officer in command afterwards proved either a traitor or a coward, failing to make the concerted signal upon the approach of the fleet, andnever reporting himself on board the Louisiana afterwards. 

General Duncan urged upon the Commodore, the first or second day afterour arrival below, to take a new position with the Louisiana at theriver bank just below Fort St. Philip, and under cover of its guns, fromwhence she might open fire with effect upon the mortar fleet. TheCommodore declined the proposition, and his action was sustained in aconsultation with all the commanding officers of the C. S. Naval forcespresent, on the grounds, "first, that the battery of the Louisiana wasnot in a condition for service;" "second, that the completion of thepropeller and other mechanical work in progress, was indispensable tothe efficiency of the vessel, and that it would be interrupted if shewere placed under fire;" and third, "that placing the Louisiana in aposition to receive the fire of the enemy, before her own battery couldbe served with effect, would be improperly hazarding, not only her ownsafety, but the security of the passage between the forts on whichrested the possession of New Orleans. "[3]

But on the afternoon of the 23d the work had so far progressed as toencourage the belief that the vessel might be moved to the pointproposed, and the Commodore, after making a reconnoissance, had decidedto do so, and notified General Duncan of this intention. CaptainStevenson was to assist with two of his gunboats which were especiallywell adapted to this purpose. 

Commodore Mitchell, in his official report to the C. S. Secretary of theNavy, intimates that "he fully appreciated and admitted the importanceof the proposed change of position for the Louisiana, " but contends that"the state of the battery, independent of other weighty reasons, wassufficient to prevent its being made previous to the engagement of the24th. " One of these consists in the fact, that owing to the peculiarconstruction of the Louisiana's port-holes, her guns could not beelevated more than five degrees. The mortar fleet would have been beyondtheir range. 

FOOTNOTE:

[3] From Commodore Mitchell's official report to the Secretary of the C. S. Navy, dated August 19th, 1862. 

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 Commander General B. F. Butler. --Transferred to the United States frigate "Colorado. "

On the night of April 23d, the bursting of the shells was as incessantas usual. Toward daylight of the 24th, an ominous calm of brief durationwas broken by the first broadside of the advancing fleet, which hadapproached so rapidly as to remove and pass the obstructionsundiscovered, and before the launch on picket duty could get back to ourfleet. For a few minutes the roar of the guns was deafening; but objectswere so obscured by the darkness and the dense smoke, that we could onlyfire, with effect, at the flashes of the ship's guns. The Louisiana'sthree bow guns (one rifled seven-inch and two seven-inch shell guns) andher three starboard broadside guns (a rifled six-inch and two eight-inchshell guns) were all that could be brought to bear during theengagement; for being moored to the river bank, the stern and portbroadside guns were useless. The U. S. Fleet came up in two divisions, delivering their broadsides in rapid succession. One of the ships wasset on fire by one of the fireboats (a number of which had beenprepared) but the flames were speedily extinguished. It is said that theunarmed tug Mozier, under her heroic commander, Sherman, while towing afireboat alongside a heavy ship, was sunk by a broadside delivered atshort range, all on board perishing. One of the largest ships, believedto be the Hartford, came in contact with our stern, and received thefire of our three bow guns while in this position, returning abroadside, but she soon swung clear of us and continued on her way upthe river. 

When day fairly broke, the storm had passed away, leaving wreck and ruinin its wake. The river banks were dotted, here and there, with burningsteamers, and a large portion of the U. S. Fleet had succeeded ingetting beyond the forts. A few vessels of the attacking force hadfailed to pass the obstructions before daylight, and were driven back bythe guns from the forts. The Louisiana and the McRae were the onlyvessels left to the Confederates; but the former was almost intact, herarmor proving a sufficient defence against the broadsides, even whendelivered at close range. The eight-inch shells of the Hartford buriedthemselves about half their diameter in our armor, and crumbled intofragments. All of our casualties occurred on the spar deck; our gallantcommander being mortally wounded there; and many of the mechanics, whowere quartered on board the tenders alongside of us, were killed orwounded. The McRae and the Manassas were in the stream in time to takean active part in the conflict; the former being considerably cut up. The Manassas struck two vessels with her prow, but did not succeed insinking either. Having followed the fleet some distance up the river, and being hard pressed and seriously damaged, she was run ashore andabandoned. She shortly afterwards floated off and drifting down theriver, sank between the forts. The Louisiana State gunboat "GovernorMoore" made a gallant fight, sinking the U. S. Gunboat "Verona. "

Kennon, in his official report, states his loss at fifty-seven killedand thirteen wounded out of a crew of ninety-three. He ran his vesselashore when she was in a sinking condition, and set fire to her withhis own hand. The "River Defence" gunboats, with the exception of the"Resolute, " were either destroyed by fire of the enemy's fleet, or bytheir own crews. The "Resolute" was discovered ashore, after the action, about a mile above Fort Jackson and abandoned by her crew. Lieut. Alden, with a party from the "McRae, " took possession of her, and endeavored toget her afloat as she was very little injured, but being attacked by oneof the gunboats from above, which succeeded in putting several shotsthrough her hull at the water line, Alden was compelled to abandon herafter setting her on fire. Among the mortally wounded on board the"McRae" was her commander T. B. Huger. The "Defiance, " one of the "RiverDefence" gunboats, escaped without material injury. She was turned overto the command of Commodore Mitchell by Captain Stevenson on the 26th, without any of her officers and crew, who refused to remain in her, andwent ashore. [4]

After landing the wounded, we continued the work upon the machinery ofthe Louisiana, buoyed up by the hope of soon being able to retrieve ourdisasters. Our number was increased by officers and men who had escapedfrom some of the abandoned vessels. Many of them, to obtain shelterfrom the shells and canister shot of the Federal fleet, had taken refugein the "bayous" which lie not far from the river in many places; andthey 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 hadfled from her home on the river bank as the fleet was passing, with noclothing except her night dress, and no earthly possession but a lap-dogwhich she held in her clasped arms. She had sought the same place ofrefuge and as the shells and shot would whistle over her head she woulddive like a duck under the water; and every time she rose above thesurface, the lap-dog would sneeze and whimper a protest against thefrequent submersions. The officer at last persuaded her to let him takecharge of her draggled pet; and finally had the pleasure of seeing hersafe back to her home before leaving her. 

During the night of the 27th after unremitting labor, our machinery wasat last completed, and we prepared to make the attempt to go up theriver in pursuit of the fleet. Commodore Mitchell notified GeneralDuncan of his purpose, and the latter seemed sanguine of a successfulissue, assuring the Commodore of his ability to hold the forts forweeks. Orders were issued on board the Louisiana for the crew to have anearly breakfast, and every thing to be in readiness to cast off from theriver bank a little after sunrise. The situation justified the hopesentertained by us of at least partially retrieving our fortunes, when, shortly after daylight, an officer came across the river to us from FortJackson, with General Duncan's compliments, and to say that General D. Was about to surrender the forts to Commodore Porter. [5] In nauticalparlance, we were "struck flat aback" by this astounding intelligence. With the forts as a base of operations, we might repeat the effort, ifthe first were unsuccessful; and would be able to repair damages, ifnecessary, under shelter of their guns; but with their surrender we werehelpless. The capture of the Louisiana would then become, indeed, a merequestion of time, without the firing of a gun; for we would have beenunable to replenish our supplies either of provisions or coal whenexhausted. The most sanguine spirits on board, in the light of theirexperience of the motive power of the Louisiana, did not believe that wecould accomplish more than the control of that portion of the riverwithin the range of our guns; nor that the vessel could ever do muchmore than stem the rapid current of the Mississippi. The surrender ofNew Orleans was, indeed, inevitable; but even that catastrophe would notinvolve complete possession of the river by the enemy while we held theforts near its mouth. The gigantic efforts afterwards made by theFederal forces for the capture of Vicksburg showed the vital importanceattached by the United States Government to the possession of thefortified positions on the Mississippi, while the equally desperateexertions made by the Confederacy to hold it, demonstrated ourconsciousness of its value to us. 

Commodore Mitchell ordered his boat and proceeded with all haste toremonstrate with General Duncan; but all was unavailing; the Generalinforming the Commodore that he had already dispatched a boat to theUnited States fleet, offering to surrender his command under certainconditions; disclaiming, in the offer, all control over the forcesafloat. The Commodore's boat had scarcely got back to the Louisiana, when the quartermaster on duty reported one of the ships of the fleetbelow steaming up the river towards us, with a white flag flying at themast-head. General Duncan, it is said, stated to the citizens of NewOrleans a few days afterward, that a large number of his guns had beenspiked by the mutineers of the garrison; and that he had no alternativebut to surrender. 

A hasty council of war was held on board the Louisiana, during which itwas decided to transfer the officers and crew to our two tenders and toburn the ship. This was speedily carried into effect, and the twotransports steamed across the river as the flames burst through theLouisiana's hatchway. [6] Those who wished to make the attempt to escapethrough the bayous, received permission to do so; and a few of thenumber, familiar with the locality, succeeded in evading the Federalpickets, and getting within the Confederate lines. The rest of us wereentrapped; passing several hours of very unpleasant suspense, while theforts were being surrendered. It was a grand spectacle when the flamesreached the Louisiana's magazine. The hawsers, securing her to theriver-bank, having been burnt in two, she floated out into the stream afew minutes before the explosion; and at the moment of its occurrence, acolumn of pure white smoke shot rapidly high into the air from theblazing hull, wreathing itself at the top into the shape of a snow-white"cumulus" cloud; and in a few seconds afterwards, huge fragments of thewreck showered down, far and wide, upon the river and the adjacentshore. The Louisiana had disappeared before the deafening reportattending the catastrophe reached our ears. 

Immediately after the United States flag was hoisted upon the forts, thesteamer "Harriet Lane" steamed slowly toward us, and sent a shot overour heads as a summons to haul down the Confederate flag which was thenflying at our peak. The demand was promptly complied with, and we wereprisoners of war. 

Upon the pretext that we had violated the usages of war by burning theLouisiana while a flag of truce was flying, we were for a time subjectedto unusual humiliations; learning afterwards, indeed, that CommodorePorter had recommended to the Secretary of the Navy a continuance ofharsh treatment toward us upon our arrival at Fort Warren, where we weredestined. The reply to the charge brought against us is obvious, viz. , we were no parties to the flag of truce; nor were we included in theterms of the surrender; General Duncan treating only for the garrisonsunder his command, and expressly disclaiming any connection with us. 

We were kept for a few days in close confinement on board the UnitedStates gunboat "Clifton, "[7] and were transferred from her on the 7th ofMay to the frigate Colorado, lying off the mouth of the Mississippi. Here we found Kennon, who had been consigned to a "lower deep" thanourselves. He was placed under a sentry's charge behind a canvas screenon the opposite side of the gun deck from us; and strict orders weregiven that no one should hold any communication with him. The chargeagainst him was, that he had caused the death of some of his woundedcrew by setting fire to his ship before their removal, a charge deniedby him; but even if it were true, or admitted, that some of his crewwere unable to escape, he was only responsible to his own government. Ina few days, however, he was released from solitary confinement, and manyrestrictions were removed from all of us. But humiliations or physicaldiscomforts weighed as a feather upon our spirits compared with ourreflections upon the consequences of the disaster which we hadwitnessed; and our consciousness that this sad fate had been broughtupon the country chiefly by treachery and want of concert. And, indeed, the extent of the disaster could scarcely be exaggerated. It gave theUnited States Government possession of the State of Louisiana, thealmost complete control of the Mississippi river, and separated Texasand Arkansas from the rest of the Confederacy for the remainder of thewar. 

FOOTNOTES:

[4] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report dated August 19th, 1862. "The following is believed to be a correct list of the vesselsthat passed up by Forts Jackson and St. Philip during the engagement ofthe 24th April; mounting in the aggregate one hundred and eighty-fourguns, viz. , Hartford steamer, 28 guns 1st class sloop. Richmond, " 28 " " Brooklyn, " 28 " " Pensacola, " 28 " " 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. Servicedeserves the credit of the capture of New Orleans is a matter of wonderto those who were present at the time. The following article from theRichmond Enquirer of September 10th, 1875, written by an eye-witness ofmany of the scenes in the city which he describes, would seemconclusively to establish the fact that the navy alone achieved thecapture. 

"The question has again been raised as to whether the army or the navyis entitled to the credit of having captured New Orleans from theConfederates in April or May, 1862. It has been a mooted point inhistory ever since the event happened, and its discussion has caused nolittle angry feeling between the two branches of the service. BenButler, of course, laid claim to the honors of the capture, andproclaimed himself "the hero" of New Orleans, completely overshadowingFarragut and his fleet, and the lying histories of the day, written inthe Radical interest on the other side of the line, have perpetuated thefraud. No citizen of New Orleans who personally knows anything of thecircumstances of the fall of the city into the hands of the Federals hasever had any doubts as to who was or is entitled to the credit; but thepersistent efforts of Butler and his friends to claim the lion's sharein that exploit, have at last called out the Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy in Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, as the champion ofAdmiral Farragut and his gallant tars. In the course of an article inthe Hartford _Times_, Mr. Welles shows that "In January, 1862, the planfor the reduction of the forts below New Orleans and the capture of thecity was fully matured in the Navy Department, Farragut receiving ordersin detail for the work on the 20th of that month; that the memorablepassage of the forts was made, and the surly submission of the Mayor ofNew Orleans received by Farragut on the 26th of April, formal possessionbeing immediately taken and the United States flag displayed on thepublic buildings; that the army was not only absent alike from the planand the execution of this great movement, but did not appear until May1, when General Butler's troops arrived, and on the day followingentered upon the occupation of the city captured by Farragut. "

Quite correct, Mr. Ex-Secretary. Farragut passed the forts as stated, with the Hartford and one or two other vessels, destroyed the ramManassas, and the other Confederate vessels of war, after a mostdesperate battle, in which at least one of his best ships was sunk, andthen made his way in his flag-ship unmolested up the river. He arrivedalone in front of New Orleans on the 26th of April, and at noon broughthis guns to bear on the city at the head of Girod street. He immediatelydispatched Lieutenant Bailey with a flag of truce to the authoritiesdemanding the surrender, and giving them thirty-six hours in which toreply, --at the expiration of which time he should open fire and bombardthe place, if an answer favorable to his demand were not received. Thecity at this time had been partially evacuated by General Lovell and histroops, and all authority had been surrendered by the military to themayor. The terms submitted by Farragut were discussed for fullytwenty-four hours by the Council, assembled at the Mayor's office, andall this time the city was in the hands of a wild, reckless and excitedmob of citizens, while people everywhere were flying or preparing forflight, many even in such haste as to leave their houses open andvaluables exposed to the depredations of servants or the mob. Perhaps nomore fearful scene of confusion was ever witnessed outside of Paris whenin the throes of a periodic revolution. It was a novelty then for anAmerican city to be captured or to fall into the hands of an enemy, andthe people had some very queer notions about defending it to the last, and fighting the enemy with all sorts of weapons amid its ruins. It waswith the utmost difficulty the police could protect Bailey and hismiddies with their flag of truce. But on the following day, and beforethe time of grace expired, the Council determined that as they had nomeans of defence against the enemy's ships, which held the city at themercy of their guns, it was best to enter into negotiations for thesurrender. Farragut then demanded that as a sign of submission theConfederate flag should be hauled down from all points where displayedin the city and replaced by the stars and stripes, and in the meantimehe would send a battery with his sailors and marines ashore to maintainorder. But no one was found in the city to take the Confederate flagsdown, 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 CityHall, and there it was placed in position to cover every point ofapproach. A young middy, apparently about fifteen years of age, thenmade his appearance at the entrance of the City Hall, bearing a UnitedStates flag. He was admitted without opposition, and was shown the wayto the top of the building. The lad ascended to the roof, and in fullview of an assembled multitude of thousands in the streets and on thehousetops, deliberately undid the halyards and hauled down theConfederate, or rather Louisiana State flag; then replacing it with theone he carried, hoisted it to the peak of the staff in its place, andthe capture of New Orleans by the navy was complete. Many who witnessedthe act of this daring boy trembled for his life, as a rifle shot fromany of the houses surrounding, or even from the street, would haveproved fatal and put an end to his young life at any moment. So excitedwas the crowd in the street, when the middy came down, and so fierce thethirst for vengeance upon any object that might present itself, that itwas found necessary to hurry him into a close carriage and drive withall speed through back streets, to keep clear of the pressing mob, who, in the blindness of their passion, would perhaps have sacrificed theyoungster, had they caught him, to appease their rage. 

After this the city began to quiet down. The foreign residents formedthemselves into a police and took charge of the streets; and hadsucceeded pretty well in restoring order, when, on the 2d of May, Butlerlanded at the levee from his transports, and marched to the St. Charles, where he established his headquarters and took formal possession of thecity. Still he found it no easy matter to subdue the spirit of a peoplewho did not hesitate to jeer at his soldiers or jostle them from thesidewalks as they marched through the streets. But he soon enough becamemaster of the situation, and made the most for himself out of whatFarragut had so readily placed in his hands. The navy was certainlyentitled to all the credit of the capture; one ship in front of the citywith open ports was enough, it did what the entire army of Butler, hadit been ten times as numerous, could never have accomplished. NewOrleans never would have been taken by the army alone; but the guns of asloop-of-war in front of an open city are conclusive and irresistiblearguments. If it was heroism to capture that city the Confederacy willalways be as free to admit that Farragut was the hero of New Orleans, asthat Butler was the tyrant, robber, and oppressor of its conqueredpeople. 

[5] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report, dated Aug. 19th, 1862. 

"During the night of Sunday the 27th we had so far succeeded inoperating the propellers that we expected early the next day to make afair trial of them in connection with the paddle wheels, when atdaylight an officer sent by Gen. Duncan came on board to inform us thatmany of the garrison at Fort Jackson had deserted during the night; thatserious disturbances had occurred; and that the disaffection of the menwas believed to be general on account of what appeared to them to havebecome the desperate character of the "defence, " etc. "

[6] Extract from Commodore Mitchell's official report:

"I at once returned on board and called a council of war composed ofLieutenants Wilkinson, (commanding) W. 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 the enemy's having the entire command of theriver above and below us, with an overwhelming force, and who was in theact of obtaining quiet and undisturbed possession of Forts Jackson andSt. Philip, with all their material defences intact, with ordnance, military stores and provisions, thus cutting the Louisiana off from allsuccor or support; and her having on board not more than ten days'provisions, her surrender would be rendered certain in a brief period bythe simple method of blockade; and that, in the condition of her motivepower and defective steering apparatus, and the immediate danger ofattack, she was very liable to capture--it was unanimously recommendedthat the Louisiana be destroyed, forthwith, to prevent her falling intothe hands of the enemy, while it remained in our power to prevent it;first retiring to our tenders. "

[7] The first and only time that I ever saw the notorious General B. F. Butler, who subsequently claimed for himself and the troops under hiscommand, 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 upon thatunique countenance can ever forget it; and as his glance rested for amoment upon us, each one conceived himself to be the special object ofthe General's regard; for owing to his peculiar visual organs, thatdistinguished individual seems to possess the Argus like faculty oflooking steadily at several persons at one and the same time. With thepride that apes humility, or perhaps with the eccentricity of genius, heaffected, upon the occasion, a rough costume; wearing a slouch hat, andhaving his trowsers tucked inside of his soiled boots; and he carried inhis hand a long stick like a pilgrim's staff. He _preceded_ his troopsto the city, however, and might therefore, with equal propriety andregard for truth, claim the _sole_ glory of its capture. 

CHAPTER IV. 

 Transferred to the "Rhode Island. "--Meeting with an old Friend. --Arrival at Fort Warren. --Treatment there. --Correspondence, and its Result. --Prison Life. --Exchanged. --The Crew at quarters. --Burial of the "Unknown. "

On the 9th of May we were transferred from the Colorado to the steamerRhode Island, bound to Fort Warren. On board of this vessel we were"tabooed" even more completely by the officers, than on board theColorado; for the Rhode Island was officered, with the single exception, I believe, of her captain, by volunteers, who were not connected with usby any associations of friendship or congeniality of taste. The harshorder to hold no intercourse with us, had been evaded or violated, "subrosa, " on board the Colorado by old friends and shipmates. On board theRhode Island, much to our satisfaction, it was strictly obeyed; for wewould have lost our patience to be "interviewed" by fledgling navalheroes, many of whom had reached the quarter deck through thehawseholes. Upon one occasion, many years ago, when the question ofincreasing the United States Navy was under discussion by Congress, arough western member, opposed to the measure, stated that his section ofthe country could supply droves of young officers whenever they wereneeded. The United States Government must have "corralled" lots ofyoungsters, without regard to their fitness or capacity, to send onboard the ships of war during our civil conflict. The "noble commander"of the Rhode Island most of us had known of old as a prim littleprecisian, and a great stickler for etiquette, and by no means a badfellow; but so strict a constructionist that he would probably haverefused to recognize his grandfather, if it were against orders. But hehad a humane disposition under his frigid exterior; and allowed us allthe comfort and privileges compatible with discipline and safety. 

We touched at Fortress Monroe; and while the vessel was at anchor thereI received a gratifying evidence that this fratricidal war had notdestroyed all kindly feelings between former friends and messmates. Theexecutive officer of the Rhode Island called me aside to say that afriend wished to see me in his state-room; and as he did not mentionthe name, I was surprised to find myself warmly greeted by Albert Smith. We had served together during the Mexican war, and our cruise had notbeen an uneventful one; for the vessel to which we were attached ("thePerry") after considerable service in the Mexican Gulf, was dismastedand wrecked, during one of the most terrific hurricanes that everdesolated the West India Islands. Thirty-nine vessels, out of forty-two, which lay in the harbor of Havana, foundered at their anchors, or weredriven ashore; all of the light-houses along the Florida reef weredestroyed, and hundreds of persons perished. The Perry lost all of herboats, her guns, except two, were thrown overboard, and she escapedcomplete destruction almost by a miracle. She encountered the hurricaneoff Havana, and after scudding for many hours under bare poles, describing a circle as the wind continued to veer in the cyclone, shepassed over the Florida reef with one tremendous shock as she hung for amoment upon its rocky crest. Her masts went by the board, but we hadpassed in a moment from a raging sea into smooth water. Captain Blake, who commanded her, achieved the feat of rigging jury masts with hiscrew, and carrying the vessel to the Philadelphia navy yard forrepairs. Albert Smith and I had not met for many years. He offered meany service in his power, and pressed me to accept at least a pecuniaryloan. The kind offer, although declined, was gratefully remembered; andI was glad, too, to find that he, in common with many others, whoremained to fight under the old flag, could appreciate the sacrificesmade by those who felt equally bound, by all the truest and bestfeelings of our nature, to defend their homes and firesides. 

On our arrival at Fort Warren we were assigned quarters in one of thecasemates. Little more than a year had passed away since I had planted asignal staff upon its parapet to _angle_ upon; being then engaged, aschief of a hydrographic surveying party, in surveying the approaches toBoston Harbor. _Then_ its garrison consisted of a superannuated sergeantwhose office was a sinecure; _now_ it held an armed garrison, whodrilled and paraded every day, with all the "pomp and circumstance" ofwar, to the patriotic tune of "John Brown's body lies a-moulding in thegrave, but his spirit is marching on;" and it was crowded with southernprisoners of war. 

For a few days, in pursuance of Commodore Porter's policy, we wereclosely confined; but all exceptional restrictions were then removed andwe fell into the monotonous routine of prison life. The followingcorrespondence 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 being informed by Colonel Dimmick that Lieutenants 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 "infamous. " In my letter to the Department, dated on board of the United States Steamer Rhode Island, Key West, May 14th, 1862, and forwarded through Commander Trenchard on the arrival of that vessel in Hampton Roads, together with a copy of my letter to Flag officer Farragut, and his reply thereto, I felt assured that all the facts connected with the destruction of the Louisiana were placed in such 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 unprejudiced minds, as well as with my own Government, 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 by 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 they were flying a flag of truce, and for that reason I dispatched the warning message to Commander Porter respecting the magazine. That it is not only the right, but the duty, of an officer to destroy public property to prevent its falling into the hands of an enemy does 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. MITCHELL, _Commander C. S. Navy. _

 Hon. GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 

 _Copy in Substance. _

 NAVY DEPARTMENT, 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 department's order of the 2d instant will be removed, 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 DEPARTMENT, 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. 

 (_Copy_) FORT WARREN, BOSTON, June 28, 1862. 

 HON. GIDEON WELLES, _Secretary U. S. Navy_. 

 Sir, --Colonel Dimmick, the commander of this post, delivered to me yesterday a letter signed by you under date of June 25th directed to me as "Beverly Kennon" and referring to a communication addressed to you on the 20th inst. By my superior officer, Commander J. K. Mitchell, of the Confederate States Navy, whom you are pleased to designate as "John K. Mitchell. "

 The purport of your letter is a request that I will furnish your Department of the United States Government with the "particulars of the destruction of the gunboat of which I had command in the engagement below New Orleans with _wounded_ 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 my own hands. I was, myself, the last person to leave the vessel. _Any_ statements which you may have received to the contrary are wholly without foundation. It would not be proper, under any circumstances, that I should report to you the "particulars" of her destruction; that being a matter which concerns my own Government exclusively, and with which yours can have nothing to do. Should any charges be 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 respectful communication which you may address me on the subject. Indeed I shall be glad of the opportunity 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 confinements, 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 courtesy, 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 myself 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 Confederate service. 

The restrictions were removed from Kennon in a few days after the closeof this correspondence. 

Many distinguished political prisoners were at that time confined atFort Warren; and all of the officers captured at Fort Donelson. Amongthe former class, were those members of the Maryland Legislature, and ofthe Baltimore City Council, who had been arrested and imprisoned by theUnited States Government for alleged treason. It was my good fortune tobe invited into this mess. It is not my purpose to inflict upon thereader a detailed account of prison life during the war, which has beendescribed by far abler pens than mine. All the members of our mess tooktheir turns, either at carving or waiting upon the table, and guestswere never better served. The graceful and accomplished old Commodore B. And General T. Shone conspicuous as carvers; while Colonels, Majors andCaptains, with spotless napkins on their arms, anticipated every wish ofthe guests at the table. Colonel Dimmick was honored and beloved by theprisoners for his humanity, and he and his family will ever be held inaffectionate remembrance by them; many of us having received specialacts of kindness, while suffering from sickness. When his son wasordered to active service in the field I believe there was an unanimousprayer by the prisoners that his life would be spared through the perilshe was about to encounter. The prisoners, first giving their parole notto attempt to escape, were allowed the range of nearly the whole islandduring the day; and not unfrequently suffered to see relatives andfriends who had received permission from the proper authorities to visitthem. In happier "ante bellum" times, I had known some of the goodpeople of Boston, and had spent a portion of a summer with severalfamilies at that pleasant watering place, Nahant. One of my mostesteemed friends--Mrs. L. --with the charity of a noble and Christianheart, wrote to me as soon as she learned that I was a prisoner; but shewas too loyal to the flag not to express regret and distress at what shebelieved to be a mistaken sense of duty. The reader may remember thedefinition once given of "Orthodoxy" by a dignitary of the church ofEngland to an inquiring nobleman. "Orthodoxy, my Lord, is _my_ doxy, heterodoxy is _your_ doxy if you differ from me. " The same authority, ithas always appeared to me, was assumed by a large portion of theNorthern people. They demanded a Government to suit their ideas, anddisloyalty consisted in opposing them. 

We were permitted to write once a month to our friends in theConfederacy; the letters being left open for inspection. There were afew Northerners among us, but I know of only a single case where theindividual concerned so far yielded to the persuasion of his friendsoutside, as to renounce the cause which he had sworn to defend. 

Aside from the confinement, and the earnest desire to be doing our partin the war, there could be no cause to repine at our lot. We wereallowed, at our own expense, to supply our tables from the Bostonmarket, not only abundantly, but luxuriously; the Government furnishingthe usual rations; and the prisoners grew robust upon the good fare andthe bracing climate. A tug plied daily between Boston and the island onwhich Fort Warren is situated. We were permitted to receive the dailypapers and to purchase clothing and other necessaries, either from thesutler, or from outside; and many of the prisoners were indebted to anoble charity for the means of supplying many of these needs; ofclothing especially, which was chiefly furnished by the firm of NoahWalker & 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 ofretaliation had not then been adopted. It is conceded that the UnitedStates Government, towards the close of the war, subjected theConfederate prisoners in their hands to harsh treatment in pursuance ofthis policy; but in justice to the Confederate authorities it should beborne in mind that they repeatedly proposed an exchange of prisonersupon the ground of humanity, seeing that neither provisions nor medicinewere procurable; and, I believe, it is also a conceded fact that GeneralGrant opposed exchanges. The testimony of General Lee given before the"reconstruction" Committee, clearly establishes the fact that _he_ didall in his power to effect this object. In answer to a question he says:"I offered to General Grant around Richmond that we should ourselvesexchange all the prisoners in our hands, and to show that I would dowhatever was in my power, I offered them to send to City Point all theprisoners in Virginia and North Carolina, over which my commandextended, providing they returned an equal number of mine, man for man. I reported this to the War Department, and received for answer, thatthey would place at my command all the prisoners at the South, if theproposition was accepted. " The Rev. J. Wm. Jones, D. D. , author of"Personal Reminiscences of General R. E. Lee, " writes as follows uponthis subject (page 194, et seq. ) viz:

"1st--The Confederate authorities gave to prisoners in their hands thesame rations which they issued to their own soldiers, and gave them thevery best accommodations which their scant means afforded. 

"2d. They were always anxious to exchange prisoners, man for man, andwhen this was rejected by the Federal authorities, they offered to sendhome the prisoners in their hands without any equivalent. 

"3d. By refusing all propositions to exchange prisoners, and decliningeven to receive their own men without equivalent the Federal authoritiesmade themselves responsible for all the suffering, of both Federal andConfederate prisoners, that ensued. 

"4th. And yet notwithstanding these facts, it is susceptible of proof, from the official records of the Federal Department, that the sufferingof Confederate prisoners in Federal prisons was much greater than thatof Federal prisoners in Confederate prisons. Without going more fullyinto the question, the following figures, from the report of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, in response to a resolution of the House ofRepresentatives, calling for the number of prisoners on both sides andtheir mortality, are triumphantly submitted. 

 In prison. Died. 

 U. S. Soldiers 260, 940 22, 526 Confederates 200, 000 26, 500

That is, the Confederate States held as prisoners nearly 61, 000 more menthan the Federals; and yet the death of Federal prisoners fell belowthose of the Confederates four thousand. "

Lastly, the Southern Historical Society, Richmond, Va. , has recentlypublished a "Vindication of the Confederacy against the Charge ofCruelty to Prisoners, " which is conclusive on the whole question. It wascompiled by the Secretary of the Society, the Rev. J. Wm. Jones, justquoted, who concludes with the following summing up of his argument. "We think that we have established the following points:

"1st. The laws of the Confederate Congress, the orders of the WarDepartment, the Regulations of the Surgeon General, the action of ourGenerals in the field, and the orders of those who had the immediatecharge of the prisoners, all provided that prisoners in the hands of theConfederates should be kindly treated, supplied with the same rationswhich our soldiers had, and cared for, when sick, in hospitals placed on_precisely the same footing as the hospitals for Confederate soldiers_. 

"2d. If these regulations were violated in individual instances, and ifsubordinates were sometimes cruel to prisoners, it was without theknowledge or consent of the Confederate Government, which always tookprompt action on any case reported to them. 

"3d. If the prisoners failed to get their full rations, and had those ofinferior quality, the Confederate soldiers suffered in precisely thesame way and to the same extent; and it resulted from that system ofwarfare adopted by the Federal authorities, which carried desolation andruin to every part of the South they could reach, and which in starvingthe Confederates into submission, brought the same evils upon their ownmen in Southern prisons. 

"4th. The mortality in Southern prisons (fearfully large, although overthree per cent less than the mortality in Northern prisons) resultedfrom causes beyond the control of our authorities, from epidemics, etc. , which might have been avoided or greatly mitigated had not the FederalGovernment declared medicines "contraband of war, " refused theproposition of Judge Ould, that each Government should send its ownsurgeons with medicines, hospital stores, etc. , to minister to soldiersin prison, declined his proposition to send medicines to its own men insouthern prisons, without being required to allow the Confederates thesame privileges--refused to allow the Confederate Government to buymedicines for gold, tobacco, or cotton, which it offered to pledge itshonor should be used only for Federal prisoners in its hands, refused toexchange sick and wounded, and neglected from August to December, 1864, to accede to Judge Ould's proposition to send transportation to Savannahand receive _without equivalent_ from ten to fifteen thousand Federalprisoners, notwithstanding the fact that this offer was accompaniedwith a statement of the utter inability of the Confederacy to providefor these prisoners, and a detailed report of the monthly mortality atAndersonville, and that Judge Ould, again and again, urged compliancewith his humane proposal. 

"5th. We have proven by the most unimpeachable testimony, that thesufferings of Confederate prisoners in Northern "prison pens, " wereterrible beyond description; that they were starved in a land of plenty, that they were frozen where fuel and clothing were abundant; that theysuffered untold horrors for want of medicines, hospital stores andproper medical attention; that they were shot by sentinels, beaten byofficers, and subjected to the most cruel punishments upon the slightestpretexts; that friends at the North were refused the privilege ofclothing their nakedness or feeding them when starving; and that theseoutrages were perpetrated not only with the full knowledge of, but underthe orders of E. M. Stanton, United States Secretary of War. We haveproven these things by Federal as well as Confederate testimony. 

"6th. We have shown that all the suffering of prisoners on both sidescould have been avoided by simply carrying out the terms of the cartel, and that for the failure to do this, the _Federal authorities alone_were responsible; that the Confederate Government originally proposedthe cartel, and were always ready to carry it out both in letter andspirit; that the Federal authorities observed its terms only so long asit was to their interest to do so, and then repudiated their plightedfaith and proposed other terms which were greatly to the disadvantage ofthe Confederates; that when the Government at Richmond agreed to acceptthe hard terms of exchange offered them, these were at once repudiatedby the Federal authorities; that when Judge Ould agreed upon a newcartel with General Butler, Lieutenant-General Grant refused to approveit, and Mr. Stanton repudiated it; and that the policy of the FederalGovernment was to refuse all exchanges while they "fired the Northernheart" by placing the whole blame upon the "Rebels, " and by circulatingthe most heartrending stories of "Rebel barbarity" to prisoners. Ifeither of the above points has not been made clear to any sincere seekerafter the truth, we would be most happy to produce further testimony. And we hold ourselves prepared to maintain against all comers, the_truth of every proposition we have laid down in this discussion_. Letthe calm verdict of history decide between the Confederate Governmentand its calumniators. "

These extracts are inserted with the hope that the fair minded readermay 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 werefearful; but they were caused by the destitute condition of the countryravaged by war, and the scarcity of medicines which were not to beobtained. 

We were growing very tired of the monotony of prison life, scarcelyvaried except by the daily game of football and the semi-weekly reportsof the capture of Richmond, when a rumor began to circulate of a speedyexchange of prisoners. It was about the time when General McClellan"changed his base" from the lines around Richmond to Harrison's Landing, on James River. Early in August a large number of us, military and navalofficers, were sent on board a transport bound to James River, where wearrived in due time, and thence, after taking on board a number ofConfederates forwarded from other prisons, we proceeded up the river toAiken's Landing. There was fighting near Malvern Hill as we passed bythere, and the United States gunboats had been shelling the Confederatetroops. The crew of one of them was at quarters, the men in their snowwhite "frocks" and trowsers, the beautifully polished eight inch gunscast loose and ready for action. The captain of one of the guns, ahandsome man-of-war's man, looked at our party with a smile of bravadoas we passed by, at the same time tapping his gun with his hand. Garrickor Kean could not have conveyed more meaning by a gesture. That handsomefellow's confidence in his pet was not misplaced; for history recordshow frequently during the war the tide of battle was turned by thatgallant Navy to which it is an honor ever to have belonged. We, who soreluctantly severed our connection with it, still feel a pride in itsachievements; and in our dreams are frequently pacing the deck, orsitting at the mess table with dear friends of "auld lang syne, " fromwhom we are probably severed forever on this side of eternity. 

We were put ashore at Aiken's Landing on the 5th of August. It was ahot, sultry day. Three or four poor fellows had died on board ourtransport while on our way up the river, and their bodies were landed atthe same time with ourselves. While we were waiting for thepreliminaries for the exchange of prisoners to be settled between theCommissioners, a large grave was dug in the sand with such implements ascould be procured, and the "unknown" were consigned to their lastresting place between high and low water mark. 

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. 

After reporting at the Navy Department, I proceeded to my home. The dayafter my arrival there I was summoned by telegram to Richmond, to reportin person to the Secretary of War. I had been detailed for special duty, and from this date commenced my connection with blockade running. Uponreaching the office, I found written instructions from the Secretary ofWar to proceed to England and purchase a steamer suitable for runningthe blockade, to load her with arms, munitions of war, and othersupplies, and to bring her into a Confederate port with all dispatch. Ample funds in sterling exchange were provided and a large amount ofConfederate bonds was entrusted to me for deposit with an agent of theGovernment in England. Accompanied by my small staff of assistants, andby Major Ben. Ficklin, who went abroad under special instructions fromthe War and Treasury Departments, I left Richmond about the 12th ofAugust, and after some difficulty and delay, secured passage for thewhole party on board the little steamer Kate, about to sail fromWilmington for Nassau. Under her skilful commander, Lockwood, thislittle side-wheel steamer had already acquired fame as a successfulblockade-runner, and was destined to continue successful to the end ofher career. But her appearance was by no means prepossessing, and shewas very slow, her maximum speed being about nine knots. I forget bywhat accident she was at last disabled; perhaps by sheer old age andinfirmity; but her ribs were to be seen for many a day before the warended, 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 undergreat obligations to the blockading fleet outside, for showing lights attheir peaks--thus enabling us to avoid them with much ease. At thisperiod, indeed, blockade running had not assumed such enormousproportions as it afterwards attained, when hundreds of thousands ofdollars were invested in a single venture and the profits were soimmense that the game was well worth the candle. Subsequent to theperiod of which I now write, Wilmington became the chief place of importand export. Large quantities of cotton were stored there, both onGovernment and private account; and steam cotton presses were erected, but at this period Charleston possessed greater facilities and wasperhaps quite as accessible. 

Our voyage to Nassau was safely accomplished; the vigilant look-out atthe mast-head giving prompt notice of a speck on the horizon no largerthan a gull's wing, when the course would be so changed as to lose sightof it. Two cases of yellow fever, both ending fatally, occurred amongthe passengers during the brief voyage, and we were quarantined on ourarrival at Nassau. One of the sick men had been brought on deck andplaced on a couch under the deck awning. As he had taken no nourishmentfor two or three days, our good captain directed that a bowl of soupshould be prepared for him. The sick man sat up when the steaming bowlwas presented to him; seized it with both hands, drained it to thebottom, and fell back dead. We had not been at anchor more than an hourwhen an outward-bound passing schooner hailed us and announced to ourcaptain the death of his wife and child, whom he had left in good healthonly a few days before. 

As the epidemic on board the Kate had been contracted at Nassau, andstill prevailed on shore, we were at a loss to understand why we shouldbe refused "pratique"; but it gave our little party no concern, as thetown did not present an attractive or inviting appearance from thequarantine ground; nor were our unfavorable impressions removed upon anearer acquaintance with it two or three months afterwards. But it wasevident, that in spite of the epidemic, there was a vast deal ofactivity 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 theBritish flag, loading with it. Here and there in the crowded harbormight be seen a long, low, rakish-looking lead-colored steamer withshort masts, and a convex forecastle deck extending nearly as far aft asthe waist, and placed there to enable the steamer to be forced_through_ and not _over_ a heavy head sea. These were the genuineblockade-runners, built for speed; and some of them survived all thedesperate hazards of the war. 

The mulatto undertaker, who came on board to take the measure forcoffins for the two passengers who had died, did not leave us in a verycheerful state of mind, although _he_ was in fine spirits, in theanticipation of a brisk demand for his stock in trade. 

Presenting each one of us with his card, he politely expressed the hopethat we would give him our custom, if we needed anything in his line. Fortunately we had no occasion for his services. Just before leaving theship he was invited to take a glass of brandy and water. Holding theglass in his hands which were yet stained with the coffin paint, hedrank 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 agent on shore, we succeeded inpromptly chartering a schooner for Cardenas and in provisioning her forthe voyage; and in a day or two, were making our way across the BahamaBanks for Cuba. The agent had supplied us liberally with flesh, fowls, and ice; and the Banks gave us an abundance of fish, as the light windsfanned us slowly along, sometimes freshening into a moderate breeze, andoccasionally dying away to a calm. The "_chef d'oeuvre_" of ourmulatto skipper who was also cook, was conch soup, and he was not onlyan adept at cooking but also at catching the conch. In those almosttransparent waters, the smallest object can be distinctly seen at thedepth of three or four fathoms. When soup was to be prepared CaptainDick would take his station at the bow "in puris naturalibus, " watchingintently for his prize. Overboard he would go like an arrow, and risingagain to the surface, would pitch the conch (and sometimes one in eachhand) on board. His son Napoleon Bonaparte, (who was first mate, stewardand half the starboard watch) would throw him a rope, and the old fellowwould climb on board as the little craft sailed by, without analteration in her course. 

Major Ben. Ficklin was attacked with yellow fever just after we leftNassau; but as we had no medicines on board he recovered. The medicalfraternity might perhaps take a hint from the treatment of his case. Small lumps of ice were kept in a saucer beside him as he lay on amattress under a deck awning, and by the constant use of it he allayedthe raging thirst attending high fever. The "vis medicatrix naturæ"accomplished the rest. 

Having no books on board, we beguiled the time occasionally by tellingstories as we lay under the shelter of the deck awning. One of mycontributions was the following: Many officers of the navy will rememberit, and there are some who, like myself, will recollect the solemnearnestness with which the hero of it would narrate the facts, for hefirmly believed it to the day of his death. At the time of itsoccurrence 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 himself in silence at the other end of the log. The head of the stranger was bound with a white cloth and his eyes werefixed with a glassy stare upon Major B. , who felt his blood run cold atthe singular apparition. At last the Major mustered up courage to askthe stranger what he wanted. The spectre replied "I am a dead man, andwas buried in the graveyard yonder" (pointing as he spoke to adilapidated enclosure a few yards distant). "The dogs, " he continued, "have found their way into my shallow grave, and are gnawing my flesh. Ican not rest until I am laid deeper in the ground. " The Major used toassert that his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth; but he managed topromise the dead man that his wishes should be complied with, when theapparition dissolved into the air. The Major went straight to some ofthe neighbors, and when he accompanied them to the grave, it was foundin the condition described by its occupant. N. B. The Major was in thehabit of carrying a "pocket pistol, " which may have been overchargedupon this occasion; he _also_ belonged to the _marines_. 

We arrived at Cardenas after a week's voyage, and stopped there a day torecruit. During our stay we witnessed a curious scene. While we wereenjoying our cigars in the cool of the evening upon the "azotea" of ourhotel, 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 moments with seven or eight "coolies, " who wereapparently dead drunk, but in reality were stupefied with opium; havingmet, by appointment, to "shuffle off this mortal coil" after thischaracteristic fashion. One or two of them were quite beyondresuscitation, and the others were only prevented from sinking intofatal insensibility by severe flogging with bamboo canes, and beingforced to keep upon their feet. We were informed that suicide is verycommon among them in Cuba; it being their last resort against misery andoppression. Colonel Totten, the able civil engineer who constructed therailroad across the Isthmus of Panama, once gave a party of us a graphicaccount of the mortality among a number of them, who had been employedby him in that pestilential climate. Having no access to opium, andbeing deprived of knives, they resorted to the most ingenious modes ofself destruction. Sometimes they would wade out in the bay at low water, with a pole, which they would stick firmly into the mud, and securelytying themselves to it, would wait for the rising tide to drown them. Others would point a stake by charring it in the fire and impalethemselves upon it. 

The evils of this system of labor cannot be truthfully denied. Ignoranteven of the nature of the contract which binds them to servitude, thecoolies are driven in crowds to the ship which is to transport them toanother hemisphere; and they endure all the horrors of the "middlepassage" during their long voyage. 

When they arrive at their port of destination in the West Indies theyare apprenticed for a term of years to the planters who need theirservices, and many of them succumb to the tropical climate and thesevere labor in the cane field. Many more seek a ready means of escapein death. The philanthropy of the civilized governments, which has beenconcentrated for many years upon efforts to liberate the "black man andbrother, " has never been exerted to rescue "John China-man" from acrueler 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 inthe landscape being the graceful palm tree in its many varieties. Wepassed, too, many sugar plantations, the growing cane not at all unlikeour own cornfields at home, while the long lines of negroes, at workwith their hoes, in the crop, made the fields appear even more familiarand home-like. Our friends, the "darkies, " evidently did not contemplatesuicide. Sleek and well-fed, they were chattering like so many flocksof blackbirds. 

Arriving at Havana we took up our quarters at Mrs. B. 's hotel, and as myfirst object was to find Colonel Helm, the agent of the ConfederateGovernment, I started for that purpose immediately after our arrival. The Colonel had held the position of United States Consul before thewar; and the residence then occupied by him was now tenanted by hissuccessor. Being directed to this house by mistake, I was ushered in bythe servant, and found myself face to face with Captain S. , the AmericanConsul. We were not totally unacquainted, having met occasionally inbygone days, when both of us were in the United States Navy. Thesurprise was mutual, and the awkward silence was interrupted by mysaying "Apparently I am in the wrong pew. " "Evidently, " he replied, andwe parted without another word. 

With the assistance of Colonel Helm our business in Havana was speedilytransacted; and passage was engaged for the whole party on board aSpanish steamer bound for St. Thomas, thence to take passage by theBritish mail steamer for Southampton. 

The few days spent in Havana were pleasantly passed in sight-seeing;the afternoons being devoted to a ride upon the "paseo, " and theevenings closed by a visit to the noted "Dominica" the principal café ofthe city. There are many beautiful rides and drives in the environs, andthe summer heats are tempered by the cool refreshing sea breeze whichblows daily. That scourge of the tropics, yellow fever, is chieflyconfined to the cities of Cuba, the country being salubrious; and itappears strange that this beautiful island has never been a favoriteplace of resort, during the winter, for invalids from the NorthernStates in search of an equable climate. It must be confessed that Havanaitself possesses few attractions for the stranger and that its sanitaryarrangements are execrable. In addition to the imperfect municipalregulations in this respect, all the sewage of the city empties itselfinto the harbor, in which there is no current to sweep the decomposingmatter into the Gulf Stream outside. The water in the harbor issometimes so phosphorescent at night that showers of liquid fire appearto drop from a boat's oars passing through it; and the boat leaves along lane of light in her wake. 

No stranger visiting Havana fails to see the spot in the cathedral heldsacred as the tomb of Columbus. His remains were transferred here withgreat pomp, after resting many years in the city of San Domingo, whitherthey had been carried from Spain. 

The fish market and the "Tacon" theatre too, are well worth a visit. Both of them once belonged to the same individual, the noted pirate"Marti, " whom I have seen many a time, in the streets of Havana, afterhis 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 theninfested the shores of Cuba. They plied their fearful trade withcomparative impunity; the numerous lagoons on the coast, only accessiblethrough tortuous and shallow channels, and hidden by mangrove bushes, affording safe shelter; while they could easily intercept many vesselspassing through the narrow strait separating Cuba from Florida. Theygave no quarter to man, woman, or child, and scuttled their prizes aftertaking from them what was most valuable. A ready sale was found fortheir plunder in Havana through accomplices there; and theirdepredations upon commerce finally became so extensive that the UnitedStates Government fitted out an expedition against them. General Tacon, at that time Governor-General of Cuba, also prepared an expedition tooperate against them. This fleet was on the eve of sailing. The nightwas dark and rainy. A stranger, wrapped in a cloak for disguise, watchedthe sentry on duty before the door of the palace from a hiding placenear by; and as the sentry turned his back for a moment or two from thedoor, the stranger slipped by him, undiscovered, and proceeded rapidlyto the apartments of the Captain-General. His excellency was writing ata table; and the stranger had opened the door and entered the roomwithout being discovered. When the Governor-General raised his eyes andsaw the cloaked figure standing silently before him, he stretched hishand toward a bell near him, but the stranger interposed. "Stop, yourExcellency, " he said, "I am here upon a desperate enterprise. I havecome to deliver into your hands every pirate on the Cuban coast upon onecondition; a pardon for myself. " "You shall have it, " replied hisexcellency, "but who are you?" "I am Marti, and I rely upon the promiseyou have given to me. " The Governor-General repeated his assurances ofimmunity upon the prescribed conditions. Marti had laid his plans well, having appointed a place of rendezvous for the different bands beforeventuring upon his perilous expedition. He acted as a guide to the forcesent in pursuit, and every pirate was captured and afterwards"garroted. " A large price had been set upon the head of Marti. This isthe story as told by his contemporaries. For these distinguishedservices to the State the vile old reprobate was offered the promisedreward. In lieu of it he asked for the monopoly of the sale of fish inHavana, which was granted to him; and the structure erected by him for afish market is perhaps the finest of the sort in the world. Heafterwards built the noble "Tacon" theatre, named after hisbenefactor, --and died in the odor of sanctity. 

We were not sorry when the day of our departure came. There was a motleycrowd of passengers on board the little steamer. "Paisanos" wearingbroad brimmed sombreroes and in picturesque costume; "Padres" in theirlong gowns and shovel hats; pretty "senoritas" with hair plaited downtheir backs, and officers on their way to join the army in the field inSan Domingo. But every one was amiable and disposed to be companionable. Most of them were aware of the fact that there was a state of warbetween the North and the South; and their sympathies were altogetherwith our side; for no earthly reason, probably, except that theyentertained the blind hatred against the "Norte Americanos" so prevalentamong the Latin race on this continent, and supposed the people of theSouth to be of different origin. [8]

We were half poisoned, and wholly saturated with garlic, while on boardthe little steamer; and men, women and children smoked incessantly. Ourclever artist, Johnny T. , drew a capital sketch of a portly old ladywhose habit it was, after every meal, to take from her side pocket anoil skin bundle of huge cigars--evidently "plantations, " and made toorder. Selecting one, she would strike a light with her "matchero" andbegin to puff away like a furnace. When fairly alight, she woulddispose of the smoke in some mysterious inner receptacle, whence itwould issue in a minute or more, from nose, eyes, ears, and even throughthe pores of her mahogany-colored skin, as it appeared to us. 

We touched at many little ports, all of them very pretty andpicturesque; little quiet basins of blue water, with the housesscattered about along the hill sides, and half hidden by foliage; thewhite surf thundering outside, and the surface, inside, glassy smooth. Our last port in Cuba was Santiago, since made memorable as the scene ofthe murder of the gallant and unfortunate Fry, and his companions inmisfortune. Should these lines ever meet the eye of any of his oldfriends and comrades in the United States Navy, they will bear witness, that a brave and noble gentleman was there cruelly done to death. He hadlost everything by our war, and dire poverty, with the responsibility ofa family to support, forced him to the desperate venture of running theblockade in Cuba. _Morally_ he was not more criminal than the Britishnaval officers, who engaged in the same hazardous pursuit during ourstruggle. 

FOOTNOTE:

[8] The educated Cubans must be exonerated from this charge. Many ofthis class have been at the schools and colleges in the United States;and admire our republican institutions. They are even now, and have beenfor years, maintaining a desperate struggle for the establishment ofthese institutions among themselves. 

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 Reminiscence. 

We touched at the little port of San Domingo in the island of Dominicaon our way to St. Thomas; and lay at anchor there long enough to allowthe passengers to visit the shore for a few hours. It was once aprosperous town, but is now in ruins, and hovels stand upon the verysites where once arose magnificent palaces; for it was at one time thechief seat of the Spanish Empire in the New World, and the place ofresidence of Columbus himself. Cortez, the Conqueror of Mexico, oncelived in its vicinity. The cathedral still stands entire and is stillused as a place of worship, but the walls of the convent attached tothe cathedral have yielded to the corroding influences of time and theclimate, and are crumbling into ruins. The palace of Diego Columbus, theson of the immortal admiral, who to Castile and Leon gave a new world, is still pointed out, but that, too, is a mere shell, the roof havingentirely disappeared. The population is a wretched mongrel indolentrace, and there is little to do there. The whole island, indeed, longago fell from its high estate, and everywhere thorns and brambles growwhere once there were well cultivated plantations. I had previouslyvisited many portions of the island, and saw wherever I went, the sameevidences of misrule and indolence; but, the negroes, who hold thewestern portion of it or Hayti, are physically, at least, a finer raceof people than the degenerate, puny hybrids of the eastern part, whohave "miscegenated" to an extent that would satisfy the mostenthusiastic admirer of our sable "friends and fellow-citizens. " I havenever seen finer specimens of stalwart manhood than in "Solouque's" armyyears ago, although the "tout ensemble" of it was sufficientlyludicrous; the officers being mounted on ponies a little bigger thangoats; and some of them wearing no apparel, except a coat and cockedhat; with spurs on their naked heels; and the ragged half-naked privateschewing one end of a big stick of sugar cane (their only rations) asthey marched. Upon one occasion, an officer of the ship to which I wasattached, had died at sea, and was buried at Gonaives, with militaryhonors. The drummer and fifer of our guard of marines were littlefellows of twelve or thirteen years of age. The black militarycommandant of the district was so captivated with their appearance, asthey marched at the head of the funeral procession, that he "corralled"all the little "niggers" within his district the next day, to selectfrom them a few drummers and fifers; and I believe there would have beena "casus belli" if our little musicians had been sent ashore, for Idoubt if he could have resisted the temptation to kidnap them. 

We arrived at St. Thomas two days before the mail-steamer was due andtook up our quarters at the only hotel of which the town boasted, but itwas an excellent one. The black steward, who superintended the staff ofwaiters, was a noticeable personage, speaking several languages withcorrectness and fluency. We appreciated the "cuisine" of the hotel, after so long a diet upon garlic and rancid sweet oil; and were contentto pass the greater part of the time at the "Ice house, " a refreshmentsaloon conducted by a Vermont "Yankee, " but who had been so long abroadas to have become cosmopolitan in his ideas and opinions. The residenceof General Santa Anna, the old Mexican hero, then in exile, was pointedout to us; a handsome building crowning a hill overlooking the town; andwe were informed that the old gentleman was still passionately fond ofhis favorite amusement, cock-fighting. 

 "E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires. "

We sailed for Southampton in the British mail steamer "Atrato, " the bestappointed and most comfortable ship on board which I have ever takenpassage. She was a paddle-wheel steamer of the first class, belonging tothe Cunards, who boast that not a life or a mail has ever been lost intheir line. There was a very good band of musicians on board, and theweather during the whole voyage was so pleasant that dancing could beenjoyed. The screw steamers, now so rapidly superseding the old "sidewheelers, " possess many advantages, it is true, but the superiorcomfort of the passengers is not to be reckoned among them. 

Arriving at Southampton, we took the first train for London. Whatspecially attracted the admiration of our little party as the train spedalong, was the exquisite beauty of the country. Almost every view wouldhave furnished a subject for a landscape painter. We saw vast lawnsgreen as emeralds, with clumps of fine trees here and there, and dottedwith cattle and sheep; and would frequently catch a glimpse of castlesand country seats beautifully ornamented with parks and gardens. It wasa series of pictures of rural repose and quiet, embellished with perfecttaste. Even the thatched cottages, with their trim hedges, their littleflower gardens, and the vines covering the outside, were mostpicturesque. 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 MajorFicklin, who had lately returned from Europe, had been struck by thequalities of a steamer which, in the Major's opinion, was admirablyadapted for blockade-running. She was called the Giraffe, a Clyde builtiron steamer, and plied as a packet between Glasgow and Belfast. Shewas a side-wheel of light draft, very strongly built and reputed to beof great speed. She possessed the last quality, it is true, but not tosuch a degree as represented, for her best rate of speed while under mycommand never exceeded thirteen and a half knots. Under the sameinstructions I was to examine the ship and if the inspection provedfavorable, the Major was to negotiate for the purchase. I have alwaysbelieved that some informal arrangement had been made between theparties concerned during the Major's late visit to England. However thatmay have been, we found, on our arrival in London that the Giraffe hadbeen sold within a day or two, to a company about to engage inblockade-running. The manager of this company was Mr. Alexander Collie, who subsequently made such immense ventures, and became so well known inconnection with blockade-running. The Major did not lose heart uponlearning that the Giraffe had changed hands, but all his efforts to getpossession of the vessel were unsuccessful, Mr. C. Refusing to part withher upon any terms. As a last resort the Major, whose resources werealmost inexhaustible, suggested that I should make an effort. Alldifficulties instantly vanished, when I informed Mr. Collie that I helda commission in the Confederate States Navy, and had been sent abroad tobuy a ship for the Confederate Government. He instantly agreed totransfer possession for the amount paid by him, £32, 000, stipulating, however, that the steamer should not be sold, during the war, to privateparties without the consent of the company represented by him, who wereto have the refusal of her. Although these conditions conflicted withcertain arrangements made between the Confederate Secretary of War andMajor Ficklin, the latter assented to them; and the Giraffe became theproperty of the Confederate States Government. The necessary alterationsto fit her for a blockade-runner were at once commenced. Her beautifulsaloon and cabins were dismantled and bulkheads constructed to separatethe quarters for officers and men from the space to be used for stowageof a cargo. Purchases of arms, clothing, etc. , were to be made; andafter much disgust and vexation of spirit, I employed Mr. Collie, whowas a shrewd and practical man of business, to make the purchases oncommission, while I found more congenial employment. Long afterwards, when I got a friend in Richmond to prepare my accounts for the auditor, he proved conclusively from the vouchers (which I was careful topreserve) that the Confederate Government owed me £1, 000; but I neverapplied for the "little balance" and now it is buried with the "lostcause. "

The Hon. J. M. Mason, representing the Confederate Government, wasliving very quietly and unostentatiously in London; and although notofficially recognized, he was the frequent guest of the nobility andgentry of the kingdom. He looked, so I thought, the equal of any peer inthe land, for he was of a noble presence; and he possessed that raretact of adapting himself to almost any company in which he might bethrown. We always met with a cordial welcome from him; and it was veryinteresting to hear his comments upon the government and the social lifeof England. I am sure the contrast between the conservatism, stabilityand respect for precedents and laws, so manifest everywhere in thatfavored land, and the rapidly growing disregard of all these obligationsin our own country, struck him most forcibly. He closed a long eulogy ofEngland upon one occasion by remarking, "This is the best Governmentupon the earth--_except of course our own_. " He, in common with others, who had access to private sources of information, believed, at thattime, that the Confederacy would soon be recognized by England andFrance; and it appears from evidence made public since the close of thewar, that their hopes were by no means groundless; the Emperor of theFrench having proposed joint recognition to the British government; butall efforts in that direction were thwarted by the "Exeter Hall"influence. 

We saw of course many of the sights and curiosities of London. Onepleasant day of leisure, after a walk to see that magnificent pile, theHouses of Parliament, I was sauntering along, without thought of where Iwas going, until I found myself in a perfect labyrinth of filthy streetsand tumble down buildings and presenting all the other evidences of viceand poverty; the very neighborhood in short of "Tom Allalone's" lair. Fortunately I met a policeman who guided me into a respectable part ofthe city. He told me that I was about to invade the worst section ofLondon, almost within a stone's throw of the Houses of Parliament. 

It is astonishing how frequently Dickens' characters and descriptionscome into the memory of a stranger visiting London. No one, who hasever seen them, will forget the houses in Chancery. Situated as some ofthem are, in the busiest and most crowded parts of the city, andmouldering away from disuse and neglect, the idea constantly presenteditself to me as I passed one of them, "there is more of the Jarndyceproperty, " and I never saw an "old clo'" man that the rascally Fagin andhis hopeful protegés did not rise to my recollection. How wonderful isthe power of genius which can not only "give to airy nothings a localhabitation and a name, " but fix them as realities in our memory forever!

At that period the credit of the Confederate Government abroad wasexcellent; and either from love of "filthy lucre" or of the cause, someof 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 engagein the enterprise, receiving Confederate bonds in payment. These partieswent to the trouble of preparing models with plans and specifications;all of which were afterwards duly submitted to the incompetent Secretaryof the Confederate States Navy; but it resulted in nothing. Aconsiderable amount of the Government funds was lavished abroad uponthe building of vessels which could by no possibility be got to seaunder the Confederate flag while the war lasted; and to make mattersworse, the Secretary had sent to England, as special agent for buildingor buying vessels, a man well known throughout the kingdom to bebankrupt in fame and fortune, who was hawking our government securitiesabout the country at a ruinous rate of discount; and who inflicted muchloss and injury upon the Confederate Government in various ways duringhis connection with it. The management of naval affairs abroad shouldhave been left in the hands of Captain Bullock, the efficient agent ofthe Navy Department in England, who showed admirable tact in the conductof affairs entrusted to him. 

We stopped at the Burlington Hotel during our stay in London. There wasnone of the glare and glitter of an American hotel about this highlyrespectable establishment, no crowded "table d'hote" where the guestsscrambled for food, and the waiters must be bribed to wait upon them; nogorgeous bar-room where the clinking of glasses resounds day and night, and no hotel clerk, with hair parted in the middle, who deems it acondescension to be civil. Everything was staid, quiet, orderly, and itmust be added, rather slow and expensive. As an illustration of theisolation of the boarders in an English hotel, it may be mentioned thattwo Southern ladies, acquaintances of a member of our party, werestaying at the Burlington at the same time with ourselves, without ourknowledge of the fact. Meals were usually served in the coffee room, theregular dinner consisting of a "joint, " and one or two dishes ofvegetables, any dish not included in this very plain bill of fare beingfurnished at an extra charge. Including fees to servants, etc. , whichare regularly entered in the bill, one may live very comfortably in anEnglish hotel for five dollars a day, but not for less. 

In thirty days from our arrival in England, the Giraffe was reportedladen and ready for sea. Besides the purchases made through my agency, alarge quantity of lithographic material had been bought by Major Ficklinfor the Treasury Department; and twenty-six lithographers were engagedfor the Confederate Government. 

We took the train for Glasgow as soon as we were notified that theGiraffe was ready for sea; parting from our London friends with mutualgood wishes and regrets. 

There is a striking contrast between the scenery in the south ofEngland, and that in the northern portion. As we approached the "ironcountry" even the fresh green woods disappeared, and for many miles onour way we could see tall chimneys pouring forth huge volumes of smoke, and we passed numerous coal pits, while the whole busy population seemedto be begrimed with coal dust and iron filings. As we approached Glasgowthe scenery again changed to broad and well cultivated plains in theimmediate vicinity of the city. Its trade with Virginia and the WestIndies laid the foundation of its present prosperity. To this day thereare many descendants in Richmond of the old Scotch merchants whoformerly traded in tobacco between that port and Glasgow, but of lateyears it has become chiefly noted for its iron ships and steamers, whichare unsurpassed; and it is now, I believe, the second city in the UnitedKingdom in point of wealth and population. The Clyde, naturally aninsignificant stream, has been deepened by art until it is now navigablefor the largest vessels. 

We were so busily occupied, during our brief stay, as to be able to seevery little of the city or its environs. The city itself was envelopedin a fog during the whole time; its normal atmospheric condition, Ipresume; 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 ourreturn in the afternoon, we found the pall hanging over the city asusual. 

We would have been delighted to take the advice of our hostess to seemore of the land immortalized by Scott and Burns. "Ech, Sirs, " she said, "but ye suld gae doon to the Heelands to see Scotland"; from whichremark it may be reasonably inferred that she was a "Heeland" woman. Wewere painfully struck by the number of paupers and intoxicated femalesin the streets; and some of our party saw, for the first time in theirlives, white women shoeless, and shivering in scanty rags, whichscarcely concealed their nakedness, with the thermometer at the freezingpoint. Whitaker's British Almanac publishes, statistically, the_drinking_ propensities of the population of the three kingdoms, fromwhich it appears that there were consumed per head in 1869--

 Malt 1, 989 bushels in England. Spirits 591 gallons " Malt 509 bushels in Ireland. Spirits 873 gallons " Malt 669 bushels in Scotland. Spirits 1, 576 gallons "

The inventory taken on board the Giraffe, after she was turned over tothe Confederate Government, showed over _two hundred_ pitchers andladles for hot punch! We came to the conclusion that Scotch babies wereweaned upon this beverage, for the law forbade the carrying of thatnumber of grown passengers by the Giraffe. 

Having secured the services of a sailing captain, British laws notallowing the clearance of a vessel under the British flag, except underthe command of one who holds a certificate of competence, we sent ourluggage on board one evening, and sat down to our last meal on Britishsoil. There were many guests at the table; several of our friends havingcome on from London to see us take our departure, and toasts were dulyand enthusiastically drank to the success of "the cause. " The privilegedold head-waiter, dressed in professional black, (and ridiculously likean 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 withScotch decorum, nodded approval of the festivities, until, overcome byhis feelings (or Usquebaugh) he was obliged to withdraw. 

We bade adieu to our friends late at night, and went on board early nextmorning. In addition to the Scotch artisans already mentioned, therewere several young gentlemen who were about to return home in theGiraffe. These youths had been prosecuting their studies in Germany. They were now about to return home to enter the army. Two of them, Messrs. Price and Blair, are now Professors in Virginia Colleges, afterdoing their duty as brave and faithful soldiers during the war. It iswell 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 orprivations. 

Many years ago an expedition under the command of Lieutenant Strain, ofthe United States Navy, was sent to make a reconnoissance across theIsthmus of Darien. The party lost their way among the morasses andalmost impenetrable forests, and endured frightful hardships. But theofficers survived, while many of the men succumbed to fatigue andfamine. During our war, the youths of gentle blood and tender nurturedisplayed equally wonderful endurance. 

We parted from the Major on the wharf before going on board. He promisedto meet us in Richmond; preferring himself to return via. New York; andwe did not doubt his ability to keep his promise; for he seemed toexperience no difficulty in passing and repassing through the lines athis pleasure during the war. He was in Washington, indeed, at the timewhen President Lincoln was assassinated, and was arrested as anaccomplice in that great crime. His numerous friends who had so oftensuffered from his practical jokes, would have been pleased no doubt, tosee how he appreciated the jest, when his head was tied up in a featherpillow to prevent him from defrauding the law by committing suicide inthe murderer's cell. The shrill sound of a whistle was heard in thetheatre just before Booth committed the act; and when the Major wasarrested in his bed at the hotel a few hours afterwards, a whistle wasfound in his pocket. It was damaging evidence, but he escapedprosecution as an accomplice by adopting the advice once given by Mr. Toney Weller, and proving an alibi. 

CHAPTER VII. 

 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 Characters. --Crew re-shipped. --Failure to enter Charleston. --The "Lump. "--A Narrow Escape. --The Scotch Lithographers and their work. --Crossing the Bar. --Transfer of the Giraffe to the Confederate Government. --She becomes the "R. E. Lee. "--The Major fulfills his promise, but fails in his object. 

Our voyage to Madeira was uneventful with the exception of a heavy galeof wind, during which the Giraffe showed her superb qualities as a seaboat. 

We were hospitably entertained during our three days' stay at Funchal. The process of coaling ship there is a tedious one, the port being anopen roadstead, and there are no wharves. With a moderate breeze blowingon or along shore, all communication is interrupted. Loading andunloading ships is accomplished by lighters; and passengers are carriedto and fro in surf boats which are expertly managed by their crews. Thevines had failed for several years previous to our visit; but theinhabitants had substituted the cultivation of vegetables for which theyfound a market on the continent and in England; and the numerouscultivated patches along the mountain sides presented a very prettyappearance from the anchorage--laid out as they were with seeminglygeometrical precision. The hardy little horses could be hired verycheaply, and the justly extolled natural beauties of the island in thevicinity of Funchal were fully explored. The greater portion of it isquite inaccessible except on foot, but the tough little native ponieswhich are as sure footed as goats perform wonderful feats in the way ofclimbing, and are quite equal to the double duty of carrying theirriders, and dragging along their owner who holds by one hand to thepony's tail while he occasionally "progs" him with a sharp stick held inthe other hand. This island is, as every one knows, of volcanic origin;although its volcanoes are now either dormant or extinct; and its loftyvertical cliffs rise abruptly from the ocean. The highest peak in theisland is more than six thousand feet above the level of the sea. Thedisintegrated lava forms the best soil in the world for the grape; andthe south side of the island, from its more favorable exposure to thesun, is supposed to produce the more delicately flavored wine. Wonderfulstories are told of the exquisite sense of taste possessed by theprofessional "tasters" who never swallow the wine. So soon as theyindulge in this luxury they lose the faculty of nice discrimination. 

We slept securely under the "Stars and Stripes, " our hotel being kept bya "Yankee" who hoisted the flag upon his house-top every day, and wasnot so cosmopolitan, perhaps I 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, congratulatedhimself after our departure, upon having "spoiled the Egyptians. "

We received many courtesies from Mr. B. , an English gentleman, and hisfamily. Our susceptible young men lost their hearts with his _seven_beautiful daughters, all of them fair, tall, and stately. 

As soon as the Giraffe was coaled we took our departure for St. John's, Porto Rico. A sea-voyage has elsewhere been described in two lines. 

 "Sometimes we ship a sea, Sometimes we see a ship. "

The monotony of our voyage was rarely disturbed by either of theseincidents. 

After two days' detention at St. John's for the purpose of coaling wegot under way for that haven of blockade-runners, El Dorado ofadventurers, and paradise of wreckers and darkies--filthy Nassau. Inmaking our way to this port we had a foretaste of some of the risks anddangers to be subsequently encountered. In order to economize coal andto 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 bythe Bahama Banks; and to reach the "Tongue" it was necessary to crossthe whole extent of the "Banks" from Elbow Key light-house. On arrivingoff 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, aswe had not a sufficient supply of coal to enable us to pursue any othercourse. Our charts showed twelve feet water all over that portion of theBanks and the Giraffe was drawing eleven feet; but the innumerable blackdots 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 anexpanse of shallow water; so waving adieu to the keeper of thelight-house we pointed the Giraffe's bow for the Banks, which showedahead of us smooth as a lake, and almost milk white. It was early in themorning when we started, and the distance to be run to the "Tongue" wasonly sixty or seventy miles. Taking my station in the fore-rigging Icould easily direct the helmsman bow to avoid those treacherous blackspots. It was the Florida Reef over again, and my experience insurveying that coast stood us in good stead here. We were so fortunate, indeed, as never once to touch the bottom although the lead frequentlyshowed less than twelve feet; and about 3 o'clock in the afternoon thewelcome blue water showed itself ahead. It would have been impossible tomake the transit in cloudy weather; but the day was fortunately clear. Occasionally when a "trade" cloud would approach the sun, we would slowdown or stop until it had passed by, when the black patches would againbe visible. The iron plates of the Giraffe would have been pierced ascompletely as if made of pasteboard, if she had come into contact evenat low speed with those jagged coral heads. Before dark we were out ofdanger, and next morning came to anchor in the harbor of Nassau. 

Nassau was a busy place during the war; the chief depot of supplies forthe Confederacy, and the port to which most of the cotton was shipped. Its proximity to the ports of Charleston and Wilmington gave it superioradvantages, while it was easily accessible to the swift, light draftblockade-runners; all of which carried Bahama bank pilots who knew everychannel, while the United States cruisers having no Bank pilots anddrawing more water were compelled to keep the open sea. Occasionally oneof the latter would heave to outside the harbor and send in a boat tocommunicate with the American Consul; but their usual cruising groundwas off Abaco Light. Nassau is situated upon the island of NewProvidence, one of the Bahamas, and is the chief town and capital of thegroup. All of the islands are surrounded by coral reefs and shoals, through which are channels more or less intricate. That wonderful "Riverin the Sea"--the Gulf Stream--which flows between the Florida coast andthe Bahama Banks is only forty miles broad between the nearest oppositepoints; but there is no harbor on that part of the Florida coast. Thedistance from Charleston to Nassau is about five hundred miles, andfrom Wilmington about five hundred and fifty. Practically, however, theywere equi-distant because blockade-runners bound from either port, inorder to evade the cruisers lying in wait off Abaco, were compelled togive 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; forthe dangerous reefs of Eleuthera were fatal to many vessels. The chiefindustries of the islands before the war were the collection andexportation of sponges, corals, etc. , and wrecking, to which was added, during the war, the lucrative trade of picking and stealing. Theinhabitants may be classed as "amphibious, " and are known among sailorsby the generic name of "Conchs. " The wharves of Nassau, during the war, were always piled high with cotton, and huge warehouses were stored fullof supplies for the Confederacy. The harbor was crowded at times, withlead-colored, short masted, rakish looking steamers; the streets alivewith bustle and activity during day time and swarming with drunkenrevellers by night. Every nationality on earth, nearly, was representedthere; the high wages ashore and afloat, tempting adventurers of thebaser sort; and the prospect of enormous profits offering equally stronginducements to capitalists of a speculative turn. The monthly wages of asailor on board a blockade-runner was one hundred dollars in gold, andfifty dollars bounty at the end of a successful trip; and this could beaccomplished under favorable circumstances in seven days. The captainsand pilots sometimes received as much as five thousand dollars besidesperquisites. All of the cotton shipped on account of the ConfederateGovernment was landed and transferred to a mercantile firm in Nassau, who received a commission for assuming ownership. It was then shippedunder the British or other neutral flag to Europe. The firm is reputedto have made many thousands of dollars by these commissions. But, besides the cotton shipped by the Confederate Government, many privatecompanies and individuals were engaged in the trade; and it was computed(so large were the gains) that the owner could afford to lose a vesseland cargo after two successful voyages. Three or four steamers werewholly owned by the Confederate Government; a few more were owned by itin part, and the balance were private property; but these last werecompelled to carry out, as portion of their cargo, cotton on governmentaccount, and to bring in supplies. On board the government steamers, thecrew which was shipped abroad, and under the articles regulating the"merchant marine, " received the same wages as were paid on board theother blockade-runners; but the captains and subordinate officers of thegovernment steamers who belonged to the Confederate States Navy, and thepilots, who were detailed from the army for this service, received thepay in gold of their respective grades. 

As the Giraffe's crew was shipped only for the voyage to Nassau "and amarket, " it was necessary to cancel the engagement of those who did notwish to follow her fortunes further. A few of them preferring theirdischarge were paid off, and provided with a passage to England; and thebalance signed articles for Havana "and a market. " Everything being inreadiness, we sailed on December 26th, 1862. Having on board aCharleston pilot, as well as one for Wilmington, I had not determined, on sailing, which port to attempt; but having made the land nearCharleston bar during thick weather on the night of the 28th, our pilotwas afraid to venture further. We made an offing, therefore, beforedaylight; and circumstances favoring Wilmington, we approached thewestern bar on the night of December 29th. We had been biding our timesince twelve o'clock that day close in to the shore about forty milessouthwest of the bar and in the deep bay formed by the coast betweenWilmington and Charleston. The weather had been so clear and the sea sosmooth that we had communicated with the Confederate pickets at severalpoints along the coast; and no sail was visible even from aloft untilabout three o'clock in the afternoon, when a cruiser hove in sight tothe north and east. As she was coasting along the land and approachingus 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 lowrate of speed. A little while before sunset the strange steamer woreround, and we immediately followed her example, gradually lessening thedistance between us, and an hour or more after dark we had the pleasureof passing inside of her at anchor off New River Inlet. She wasevidently blockading that harbor, and had run down the coast toreconnoitre. Before approaching the bar I had adopted certainprecautions against disaster which I ever afterwards followed. Any onewho showed an open light when we were near the fleet was liable to thepenalty of death upon the spot; a cool, steady leadsman was stationed oneach quarter to give the soundings; a staunch old quartermaster took thewheel and a kedge, bent to a stout hawser, was slung at each quarter. All lights were extinguished; the fire-room hatch covered over with atarpaulin; and a hood fitted over the binnacle, with a small circularopening for the helmsman to see the compass through the aperture. 

About ten o'clock we passed inside the first ship of the blockadingfleet, about five miles outside the bar; and four or five othersappeared in quick succession as the Giraffe was cutting rapidly throughthe smooth water. We were going at full speed when, with a shock thatthrew nearly every one on board off his feet, the steamer was brought up"all standing" and hard and fast aground! The nearest blockader wasfearfully close to us, and all seemed lost. We had struck upon "theLump, " a small sandy knoll two or three miles outside the bar with deepwater on both sides of it. That knoll was the "rock ahead" during thewhole war, of the blockade-runners, for it was impossible in theobscurity of night to judge accurately of the distance to the coast, and there were no landmarks or bearings which would enable them to steerclear of it. Many a ton of valuable freight has been launched overboardthere; and, indeed, all the approaches to Wilmington are paved asthickly with valuables as a certain place is said to be with goodintentions. 

The first order was to lower the two quarter boats: in one of them werepacked the Scotch lithographers who were safely landed; and a kedge waslowered into the other with orders to the officer in charge to pull offshore and drop the kedge. The risk, though imminent, was much reducedafter our panic stricken passengers had got fairly away from the ship;and the spirits of officers and crew rose to meet the emergency. Theglimmer of a light, or an incautiously loud order would bring abroadside from that frowning battery crashing through our bulwarks. Sonear the goal (I thought) and now to fail! but I did not despair. Toexecute the order to drop the kedge, it was necessary to directlyapproach one of the blockaders, and so near to her did they let it go, that the officer of the boat was afraid to call out that it had beendropped; and muffled the oars as he returned to make his report. Fortunately, the tide was rising. After twenty or thirty minutes oftrying suspense, the order was given "to set taut on the hawser, " andour pulses beat high as the stern of the Giraffe slowly and steadilyturned seaward. In fact, she swung round upon her stem as upon a pivot. As soon as the hawser "trended" right astern, the engineer was orderedto "back hard, " and in a very few revolutions of the wheels the shipslid rapidly off into deep water. The hawser was instantly cut, and weheaded directly for the bar channel. We were soon out of danger from theblockading fleet; but as we drew in toward Fort Caswell, one of thelook-outs on the wheel-house (who, like the thief in Shakespeare, "feared each bush an officer") would every now and then say to thepilot, "that looks like a boat on the star-board bow, Mr. D. " "There arebreakers on the port-bow, Mr. D. " And at last "There is a rock rightahead, 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 wholed----d State of North Carolina. " A too sweeping assertion, but quite trueas applied to the coast. We passed safely over the bar; and steaming upthe river, anchored off Smithville a little before midnight of the 29thof December, 1862. 

The Scotch lithographers found abundant employment in Richmond, as theGovernment "paper mills" were running busily during the whole war; butthe style of their work was not altogether faultless, for it was saidthat the counterfeit notes, made at the North, and extensivelycirculated through the South, could be easily detected by the superiorexecution of the engraving upon them!

The natural advantages of Wilmington for blockade-running were verygreat, chiefly owing to the fact, that there are two separate anddistinct approaches to Cape Fear River, i. E. , either by "New Inlet" tothe 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 Pan Shoalsextend ten or twelve miles further south, making the distance by seabetween the two bars thirty miles or more, although the direct distancebetween them is only six or seven miles. From Smithville, a littlevillage nearly equi-distant from either bar, both blockading fleetscould be distinctly seen, and the outward bound blockade-runners couldtake their choice through which of them to run the gauntlet. The inwardbound blockade-runners, too, were guided by circumstances of wind andweather; selecting that bar over which they would cross, after they hadpassed the Gulf Stream; and shaping their course accordingly. Theapproaches to both bars were clear of danger, with the single exceptionof the "Lump" before mentioned; and so regular are the soundings thatthe shore can be coasted for miles within a stone's throw of thebreakers. 

These facts explain why the United States fleet were unable wholly tostop blockade-running. It was, indeed, impossible to do so; the resultto the very close of the war proves this assertion; for in spite of thevigilance of the fleet, many blockade-runners were afloat when FortFisher was captured. In truth the passage through the fleet was littledreaded; 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 eachother. As the boys before the deluge used to say, they would be very apt"to miss the cow and kill the calf. " The chief danger was upon the opensea; many of the light cruisers having great speed. As soon as one ofthem discovered a blockade-runner during daylight she would attractother cruisers in the vicinity by sending up a dense column of smoke, visible for many miles in clear weather. A "cordon" of fast steamersstationed ten or fifteen miles apart _inside the Gulf Stream_, and inthe course from Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington and Charleston, wouldhave been more effectual in stopping blockade-running than the wholeUnited States Navy concentrated off those ports; and it wasunaccountable to us why such a plan did not occur to good Mr. Welles;but it was not our place to suggest it. I have no doubt, however, thatthe fraternity to which I then belonged would have unanimously votedthanks and a service of plate to the Hon. Secretary of the United StatesNavy for this oversight. I say _inside the Gulf Stream_, because everyexperienced captain of a blockade-runner made a point to cross "thestream" early enough in the afternoon, if possible, to establish theship's position by chronometer so as to escape the influence of thatcurrent upon his dead reckoning. The lead always gave indication of ourdistance from the land, but not, of course, of our position; and thenumerous salt works along the coast, where evaporation was produced byfire, and which were at work night and day were visible long before thelow coast could be seen. Occasionally the whole inward voyage would bemade under adverse conditions. Cloudy, thick weather and heavy galeswould prevail so as to prevent any solar or lunar observations, andreduce the dead reckoning to mere guess work. In these cases thenautical knowledge and judgment of the captain would be taxed to theutmost. The current of the Gulf Stream varies in velocity and (withincertain limits) in direction; and the stream, itself almost as welldefined as a river within its banks under ordinary circumstances, isimpelled by a strong gale toward the direction in which the wind isblowing, 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 experiencedvery heavy and thick weather; and had crossed the Stream and strucksoundings about midday. The weather then clearing so that we couldobtain an altitude near meridian we found ourselves at least forty milesnorth of our supposed position and near the shoals which extend in asoutherly direction off Cape Lookout. It would be more perilous to runout to sea than to continue on our course, for we had passed throughthe off shore line of blockaders, and the sky had become perfectlyclear. I determined to personate a transport bound to Beaufort, whichwas in the possession of the United States forces, and the coalingstation of the fleet blockading Wilmington. The risk of detection wasnot very great, for many of the captured blockade-runners were used astransports and dispatch vessels. Shaping our course for Beaufort, andslowing down, as we were in no haste to get there, we passed severalvessels, showing United States colors to them all. Just as we werecrossing through the ripple of shallow water off the "tail" of theshoals, we dipped our colors to a sloop of war which passed three orfour miles to the south of us. The courtesy was promptly responded to;but I have no doubt her captain thought me a lubberly and carelessseaman to shave the shoals so closely. We stopped the engines when novessel was in sight; and I was relieved from a heavy burden of anxietyas the sun sank below the horizon; and the course was shaped at fullspeed for Masonboro' Inlet. 

A few days after our arrival at Wilmington the Giraffe was transferredto the Confederate Government, and named the R. E. Lee; andthenceforward carried the Confederate flag. Our friend the Majorfulfilled his promise of meeting me in Richmond, having made his wayacross the Potomac. He made a gallant effort to get possession of theship; but Mr. Seddon, who had succeeded Mr. Randolph as Secretary of Warduring our absence, contended that the Government had a juster claim;and the facts of the case were too stubborn even for the Major'sdetermined persistence. 

 "The best laid plans of mice and men Gang aft agley. "

The Secretary of War having carried his point, the Major directed hisefforts towards another quarter, and more successfully. Indeed he rarelyfailed in any enterprise requiring nerve, perseverance, tact, andability; and it may well be added that he seemed to accumulate wealth toenjoy the pleasure of spending it worthily. His unostentatious charitiesduring the war were almost boundless; and hundreds of widows and orphansblessed him for the relief which he extended to them in those dark days, when even medicines were contraband of war, and the simplest necessariesof 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. 

Before sailing with our cargo of cotton for Nassau, a signal officer wasdetailed for the ship, (signal stations having been established alongthe coast for the benefit of the blockade-runners;) and I was compelledto discharge my pilot Dyer. He and the sailing captain, who was to takepassage with us, his engagement having terminated with the transfer ofthe vessel to the Confederate flag, had been quarreling incessantlyduring 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 sawDyer pacing up and down the wharf, along side which the "Lee" was lying;while the sailing captain was bidding him defiance from the steamer'sdeck; Dyer with a drawn knife in his hand, and the captain armed with ahandspike. They had exhausted their vocabulary of abuse, but neither wasdisposed to invade the enemy's territory. At last Dyer cried out "Comeashore you d----d English hog, and I'll make mince meat of you!" I shallnever forget the expression of the captain's face at this cruel taunt. He was literally struck speechless for a moment; then turning to me anddrawing himself up with a thumb in his arm-hole, and the handspike overhis shoulder, he exclaimed, "Now, sir, isn't that _too_ bad! Do I _look_like a Henglish og?" To this pathetic appeal, I could but answer "no, "but the fact was they bore a ludicrous resemblance to two boars about toengage in mortal combat; the captain, with his jolly, rosy face andportly figure, not at all unlike a sleek, well fed "White Chester, " andDyer quite as much resembling a lean, lank, wiry "razor-back" native ofhis own pine woods. I discharged Dyer. The poor fellow's subsequent fatewas 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 steamerunder his charge ashore, before he would be captured. The remark wasoverheard and treasured up by some of the crew; and a night or twoafterwards the steamer ran aground on the bar in the attempt to enterCape Fear River, and was deserted. As she was under the shelter of theguns of Fort Caswell, a boat from shore was sent off to her nextmorning, and poor Dyer was found in a dying condition on the deck withhis skull fractured. He had paid for his folly with his life. 

Our first voyage to Nassau was made without any unusual incident. TheMajor took passage with us by permission of the Secretary of War, andhis practical jokes amused every one except the butt of them; even theaggrieved party, himself, being frequently obliged to laugh at his ownexpense. There were two very young lieutenants of the Confederate Navythen in Nassau, on their way to Europe; the senior of whom _ranking_ theother by one or two days, assumed much authority over him. One day theMajor with the help of an accomplice, who was supposed to be able toimitate my handwriting, addressed an official letter to the senior in myname, informing him that both of them had been reported to me forunofficer-like and unbecoming conduct, and requiring them to repairimmediately on board the Lee with their luggage, as I felt it to be animperative duty to take them back to the Confederacy for trial bycourt-martial. The junior demurred, believing it to be a hoax, but thesenior peremptorily ordered him to accompany him on board. They werecaught in a drenching shower on their way to the Lee; and they madetheir appearance in the cabin in a sorry plight, reporting themselves"in obedience to orders, " handing me the written document. As Ipronounced 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 MajorFicklen?" They started to the shore, vowing vengeance; but the Major hadposted his sentinels at every street corner near the landing, andsuccessfully eluded them. They were to sail that afternoon at fouro'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, awaiter came to them "with Major Ficklen's compliments and the pleasureof a glass of champagne with them. " After a hurried consultation, theydecided to bury the hatchet; and bowed over their wine to the Major, whohad just slipped into a seat reserved for him at the other end of thelong and crowded table, and was smiling graciously in their direction. As Ficklen bade them "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 carrying a Bahama Banks pilot, I engaged our worthy old skipper, Captain Dick Watkins, who served undermy command for many months, maintaining and deserving the respect of allon board. His son, and only heir to his name and fortune, NapoleonBonaparte, gave him much anxiety. "Ah, Sir, " he said on one occasion, "dat b----y's heddication has cost me a sight of money, as much as tendollars a year for two or three years, and he don't know nothinghardly. " During one of our voyages he had left his wife quite sick athome. My young friend Johnny T---- was endeavoring to console him. "Butthe ole 'oman is _mighty_ sick, Master Johnny, " said the old fellow, "and I don't spect to see her no more. " Johnny's heart was touched. Thesilence was broken by Captain Dick after a long pause, "dere are somemighty pretty yaller gals in _Nassau_, Master Johnny!" He had theprofoundest respect for the head of the firm of A----y and Co. InNassau, the "King Conch" as he was irreverently styled by us outsidebarbarians. Speaking of the firm upon one occasion he assured me themembers were as wealthy as the "_Roths children_. " My good purser andthe old captain were fast friends, the former fighting the old fellow'sbattles in Rebeldom; and once, when the latter was unjustly treated inWilmington, the purser "took the daggers, " and bore him triumphantlythrough the difficulty. 

We made two or three trips between Wilmington and Nassau during thewinter of 1862-3 encountering no extraordinary hazards. During one ofthem we arrived within ten or twelve miles of the western bar too earlyin the night to cross it, as the ebb tide was still running; and it wasalways my custom to cross the bar on a rising tide, if possible. All theusual preparations had been made on board for running through the fleet, and as no sail was in sight we steamed cautiously in toward the landuntil we arrived within a cable's length of the shore, and in the denseshadow of a comparatively high bluff. Here we dropped a kedge and rodeby the hawser. Although there was no moon, the stars were shiningbrightly; and the air was so calm and still, that the silence wasoppressive. While we were lying 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 runup 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 inshoreof us to cut us off from the bar, and we believed that we could eithergo by or go over anything in our course; and in extremity we could beachthe vessel with the probability of being able to save most, if not thewhole 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 southernside, and was much resorted to by blockade-runners. Surrounded on allother sides by dangerous coral reefs, which extend for many miles intodeep water, a vessel of heavy draft can approach from the south within acable's length of the shore. A light of the first class at the west endof the group composing the "Bermudas, " is visible for many miles inclear weather. It may as well be mentioned here, that theblockade-runners rarely approached _any_ head land during daylight;"preferring darkness rather than light. " The agent of the ConfederateGovernment, Major Walker, with his staff of assistants, lived at St. George's; and he and his accomplished wife always welcomed theircompatriots with genuine hospitality. The house of Mr. Black (anassistant of the Major) was also open to us, and no sick exile from homewill ever forget the tender nursing of Mrs. Black and the kindness ofthat whole family. The little graveyard attached to the Episcopal churchat St. George's, contains all that is mortal of several gallant youthsfrom the south, who died of yellow fever; but they were soothed in thehours of their last illness by Christian counsel, and by tender hands. The white natives of the island, too, extended many attentions andcivilities to Confederates, so that St. George's became not only aharbor of refuge, but a pleasant resting place after the excitement andfatigue of an outward voyage. The same antagonism which prevails betweenthe white and the black races, wherever they live together upon equalterms, exists in Bermuda. People are classed there as "colored and_plain_" and a fine of one pound sterling is imposed for calling theformer "negroes. " There must be a natural antipathy between the tworaces; or at least it seems to exist in the heart of the negro, forwherever he has the power, he shows his dislike and jealousy of thewhite man. In Hayti, since the French inhabitants were murdered, thejealousy and hatred of the negroes have been directed against themulattoes, who have been nearly exterminated; and the whites in Jamaicawould have shared the same fate at the hands of a brutal horde of blacksavages a few years ago, but for the premature exposure of the plot, andthe vigorous action of the Governor of the island. In the model republicof Liberia no white man can obtain the right of citizenship, own realestate, nor sit upon a jury. Nowhere in the world did there exist thesame kindly relation between the two races, as in the South before thewar; and even now, the older negroes seek aid and advice, when indifficulties, from their former owners, although they have been misledby unprincipled adventurers, by whom they have been taught to distrustthem in politics. A short time ago Dr. B----, a Virginia gentleman, wasasked by a Northerner his opinion of the negroes' feelings toward theSouthern people. "I will tell you, " replied Dr. B. "If you and I werecandidates for the same office, you would get every negro's vote; but, if one of them wanted advice or assistance he would come to me or someother southerner. "

The group composing the "Bermudas" still justifies the reputation givento it by one of the British admirals of the "olden time. " The"Bermoothees, " he records in his quaintly written journal, "is a hellishplace for thunder, lightning, and storms. " Shakspeare, too, sends"Ariel" to "fetch dew" from the "still vexed Bermoothes" for hisexacting master Prospero. But although gales of wind during the winter, and thunder storms in the summer, are so prevalent, the climate isdelightful. There are upward of three hundred islands in the group, mostof them mere barren coral rocks; and the largest, St. George's, is notmore than three miles long, and about a mile in width. The roads are cutout of the soft coral, which hardens by exposure to the atmosphere, andare perfect. 

There are several very curious natural caves about five miles distantfrom St. George's; and near one of them is still pointed out thecalabash tree under which the Irish poet, Tom Moore, is said to havecomposed one of his sonnets to _Nea_, who afterwards became the wife ofMr. Tucker, and left many descendants on the island. The venerable oldgentleman was living, in his ninetieth 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 thelatter that he would not allow his great-grandchildren to keep a copy ofthe poet's works in the house. 

The only indigenous tree upon the islands, I believe, is the cedar; theoleander, which now grows everywhere, having been introduced by Mr. Tucker. Nearly all of the tropical fruits grow there, and manyindigenous to the temperate zone; but the staple products are potatoesand onions, chiefly for the New York market, and arrow root. The watersteem with fish of the most brilliantly beautiful colors. An ingeniousindividual has succeeded in taming a number, by availing himself of anatural cavity in the coral situated close to the shore and a few milesdistant from St. George's. The sea water, percolating through the coral, supplies the basin. At a whistle the tame fish swim close to the edgeand feed from one's hand. 

There is a naval station at "Ireland Island, " and a floating dock(which was built in England and towed out, ) capable of taking in thelargest-sized man of war. The naval officers attached to the dock-yard, and to the men of war, were always friendly and more than civil toConfederates; being sometimes, indeed, too profuse in their hospitality. Upon one occasion, Col. ---- a personal friend of mine, had obtained afurlough, and permission to make a trip in the Lee, for the sake of hishealth, broken by the hardships of a campaign in northern Virginia. Thepurser, who was always ready for a "lark, " and the Colonel, who was ofan inquiring turn of mind, paid a visit to the dock-yard. After aninspection of it, they went on board several of the men of war inharbor, receiving on board each of them refreshments, solid and liquid. They had crossed over to Ireland Island in a sail-boat, and when aboutto return, were escorted to the wharf by a party of officers. Their boatwas lying outside of another, containing a fat old washerwoman; andCol. ----, who had had no experience in boating in his life, except"paddling his own canoe" upon a mill pond in Amelia county, Va. , stoppedto exchange farewell salutations with the party of officers on thewharf, while he stood with one foot in the "stern sheets" of thewasherwoman's boat, and the other in his own. The boatman forward, ignorant of the critical state of affairs, hoisted the jib, and theboat, under the influence of a stiff breeze, began to "pay off" beforethe wind. Before Col. ---- could "realize the situation, " he was in theattitude of the Colossus of Rhodes. The purser promptly seized one ofhis legs, and the fat washerwoman with equal presence of mind, laid holdof the other. Each was determined not to let go, and the strain upon theColonel must have been terrific; but he was equal to the emergency. Taking in the whole situation, he deliberately drew his watch out of hispocket, and holding it high above his head with both hands, he said, with his usually imperturbable calmness, "Well I reckon you had betterlet go!" His endeavors to protect his watch proved to have beenfruitless; the purser indeed always insists that he touched bottom inthree fathoms of water. He returned on board the Lee to be wrung out anddried. 

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. 

After discharging our cargo of cotton and loading with supplies for theConfederate Government, chiefly for the army of Northern Virginia, wesailed for Wilmington in the latter part of the month of March. Ourreturn voyage was uneventful, until we reached the coast nearMasonborough Inlet, distant about nine miles north of the "New Inlet"bar. The weather had been pleasant during the voyage, and we had sightedthe _fires_ from the salt works along the coast, but before we could gethold of the land, a little before midnight, a densely black cloud madeits appearance to the north and east; and the rapidity with which itrose and enlarged, indicated too surely that a heavy gale was comingfrom that quarter. We had been unable to distinguish any landmark beforethe storm burst in all its fury upon us, and the rain poured intorrents. Our supply of coals was too limited to enable us, withprudence, to put to sea again; and of course, the marks or ranges forcrossing the bar would not be visible fifty yards in such thick weather. Being quite confident of our position, however, I determined to run downthe coast, and anchor off the bar till daylight. Knowing the "trend" ofthe land north of New Inlet bar, the engine was slowed down and the leadkept going on both sides. The sounding continued quite regular three andthree and a quarter fathoms, with the surf thundering within a stone'sthrow on our starboard beam, and nothing visible in the blindingtorrents of rain. I knew that if my calculated position was correct, thewater would shoal very suddenly just before reaching the bar; but atrying hour or more of suspense had passed before the welcome fact wasannounced by the leadsmen. The course and distance run, and thesoundings up to this point proved, beyond doubt, that we had now reachedthe "horse shoe" north of New Inlet bar. At the moment when both of theleadsmen almost simultaneously called out "and a quarter less three, "the helm was put hard a-starboard, and the Lee's bow was pointedseaward. We could not prudently anchor in less than five fathoms water, as the sea was rising rapidly; and that depth would carry us into themidst of the blockading fleet at anchor outside. It seemed an age beforethe cry came from the leadsmen "by the mark five. " The Lee was instantlystopped, and one of the bower anchors let go, veering to thirty fathomson the chain. The cable was then well stoppered at the "bitts, " andunshackled; and two men stationed at the stopper, with axes, and theorder to cut the lashings, instantly, when so ordered; the fore-staysailwas loosed, and hands stationed at the halliards; and the chief engineerdirected 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 theblockading fleet around us, rolling and pitching in the heavy sea. Thewatch having been set, the rest of the officers and crew were permittedto go below, except the chief engineer and the pilot. We paced thebridge, 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 forcrossing the bar. The stoppers were cut, the engine started ahead, andthe fore stay-sail hoisted. As the chain rattled through the hawse-hole, the Lee wore rapidly around, and the Confederate flag was run up to thepeak as she dashed toward the bar with the speed of a greyhound slippedfrom the leash. The bar was a sheet of foam and surf, breaking sheeracross the channel; but the great length of the Lee enabled her to rideover three or four of the short chopping seas at once, and she nevertouched the bottom. In less than half an hour from the time when weslipped our chain under the guns of the fleet, we had passed beyond FortFisher, and were on our way up the river to Wilmington. 

The "Mound" was an artificial one, erected by Colonel Lamb, whocommanded Fort Fisher. Two heavy guns were mounted upon it, and iteventually became a site for a light, and very serviceable toblockade-runners; but even at this period, it was an excellent landmark. Joined by a long low isthmus of sand with the higher main land, itsregular conical shape enabled the blockade-runners easily to identify itfrom the offing; and in clear weather, it showed plain and distinctagainst the sky at night. I believe the military men used to laugh slylyat the Colonel for undertaking its erection, predicting that it wouldnot stand; but the result showed the contrary; and whatever differenceof opinion may have existed with regard to its value as a militaryposition, there can be but one as to its utility to theblockade-runners, for it was not a landmark, alone, along thismonotonous coast; but one of the range lights for crossing New Inlet barwas placed on it. Seamen will appreciate at its full value, thisadvantage; but it may be stated, for the benefit of the unprofessionalreader, that while the compass bearing of an object does not enable apilot to steer a vessel with sufficient accuracy through a narrowchannel, _range lights_ answer the purpose completely. These lights wereonly set after signals had been exchanged between the blockade-runnerand the shore station, and were removed immediately after the vessel hadentered the river. The range lights were changed as circumstancesrequired; for the New Inlet channel, itself, was and is constantlychanging, being materially affected both in depth of water, and in itscourse, by a heavy gale of wind or a severe freshet in Cape Fear River. 

The "Lee" continued to make her regular trips either to Nassau orBermuda, as circumstances required, during the summer of 1863; carryingabroad cotton and naval stores, and bringing in "hardware, " as munitionsof war were then invoiced. Usually the time selected for sailing wasduring the "dark of the moon, " but upon one occasion, a new pilot hadbeen detailed for duty on board, who failed in many efforts to get theship over the "rip, " a shifting sand bar a mile or more inside the truebar. More than a week of valuable time had thus been lost, but theexigencies of the army being at that time more than usually urgent, Idetermined to run what appeared to be a very great risk. The tideserving 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 thesmooth water sounded to our ears ominously loud. As we closely skirtedthe shore, the blockading vessels were plainly visible to us, some atanchor, some under way; and some of them so near to us that we saw, orfancied we saw, with our night glasses, the men on watch on theirforecastles; but as we were inside of them all, and invisible againstthe background of the land, we passed beyond them undiscovered. The roarof the surf breaking upon the beach, prevented the noise of our paddlesfrom being heard. The Lee's head was not pointed seaward, however, untilwe had run ten or twelve miles along the land so close to the breakersthat we could almost have tossed a biscuit into them, and no vessel wasto be seen in any direction. Discovery of us by the fleet would probablyhave been fatal to us, but the risk was really not so great as itappeared; for, as I had been informed by a blockade-runner who had beenonce captured and released, being a British subject, the vigilance onboard the blockading fleet was much relaxed during the moonlit nights. The vessels were sent to Beaufort to coal at these times. My informantwas an officer of the British Navy, and was the guest, for a few daysafter his capture, of Captain Patterson then commanding the blockadingfleet off the Cape Fear. Speaking of the arduous service, P. Remarked tohim, 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 Iacted. 

It was about this time that I adopted an expedient which proved of greatservice on several occasions. A blockade-runner did not often passthrough the fleet without receiving one or more shots, but these werealways preceded by the flash of a calcium light, or by a blue light; andimmediately followed by two rockets thrown in the direction of theblockade-runner. The signals were probably concerted each day for theensuing night, as they appeared to be constantly changed; but therockets were invariably sent up. I ordered a lot of rockets from NewYork. Whenever all hands were called to run through the fleet, anofficer was stationed alongside of me on the bridge with the rockets. One or two minutes after our immediate pursuer had sent up his rockets Iwould direct ours to be discharged at a right angle to our course. Thewhole fleet would be misled, for even if the vessel which had discoveredus 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 oneof our trips, I was notified by the Governor of the island, that anofficer of the Confederate Navy, then held as a prisoner on board one ofH. B. M. 's ships of war at the naval anchorage, would be delivered up tome for transportation to the Confederacy, if I would assume the charge. This officer was charged with the murder of a messmate on board theConfederate States steamer Sumter, while lying at Gibraltar. The demandfor his extradition, made by the Confederate Government, had beencomplied with by the British Government after much delay; and he wasturned over to me for transportation to the Confederacy. Although thecrime appeared to have been committed under circumstances of peculiaratrocity--it being alleged that the victim was asleep at the time he wasshot--I so far respected the commission which the criminal bore, as toplace him upon parole. Upon reporting his arrival at Wilmington to theSecretary of the Navy, the latter directed me to release him, upon theground that it would be impossible to convict him by court-martial, allof the witnesses to the transaction being abroad. The man, Hester, wastherefore released, and was never heard of again, I believe, during thewar; but he has added to his evil reputation since its close, by plyingthe infamous trade (under the guise of United States Secret Serviceagent) of false informer and persecutor in several of the SouthernStates. The General Government failed to exercise its usual carefuldiscrimination in making this appointment! The base renegades are manydegrees worse even than the unprincipled adventurers from the North whohave so long preyed upon the South. The latter are only thieves androbbers; the former are, in addition, unnatural monsters, who hate theirown people and are guilty of the crime of Judas, who betrayed his Lordfor 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 G. --Arrival at Bermuda. --Our uneventful Trip inward. --The Johnson's Island Expedition. --Another Narrow Escape. --"Pretty Shooting. "--Arrival at Halifax, N. S. 

During the latter part of July, 1863, the "Lee" was lying in the harborof St. George's, when the Confederate States steamer "Florida" arrivedthere in want of coal, of which there happened to be a very limitedsupply on hand. The most suitable coal was procured with difficultythroughout the war, all of the British coals, although excellent forraising steam, making more or less smoke, and objectionable on thataccount Exportation of the American anthracite, which would have beenalmost invaluable, was prohibited by the Government. This is, I believe, the only accessible, or at least available nonbituminous coal in theworld; but the best substitute for it is the Welsh semi-bituminous coal, and this was chiefly used by the blockade-runners. 

The Florida was in greater need of coal than ourselves, for the UnitedStates steamer Wachusett came into port a day or two after the former, and Maffitt, in command of the Florida, wished to get to sea first. Whenbelligerent rights were accorded to the Confederate Government byforeign powers, the Confederate cruisers were admitted into their portsupon equal terms with the United States men of war, except that therewas no interchange of _official_ courtesies. In order to preserve strictneutrality toward the contending powers, a man of war under either flagwas not permitted to follow out of a neutral port a ship under theenemy'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 undereither flag to cruise within a marine league of neutral territory. 

When occasion required no one could be more resolute than Maffitt, as hehad repeatedly shown in the management of the Florida; and especiallywhen he ran the gauntlet in broad daylight through the whole Federalfleet blockading Mobile, and for which affair Preble, then commandingthe fleet, was so harshly dealt with; but the chief object of theConfederate cruisers being to destroy the American commerce, anengagement with a United States ship of war was to be avoided, ifpossible. 

The Florida's deck, when the crew were at their meals, was a curiousscene; the plain fare of the sailors being served in costly china, captured from homeward bound "Indiamen, " and the scamps had becomefastidious in their taste about tea. I had the pleasure to carry intoWilmington ten or twelve chests of the finest hyson, which weredistributed among the hospitals; and a lot of silver ingots made anarrow escape from confiscation. But the law officers in Bermuda, whomMaffitt consulted, assuring him that they would be adjudged legal prizeof war in the British courts, they were shipped to England, instead ofthe Confederacy, and there returned to the claimants. 

Although there was no exchange of civilities between the officers of thetwo ships, the sailors harmonized amiably and got drunk together ashorewith mutual good will. A jack tar is probably the only representativeleft of the old "free lance, " who served under any flag where he wassure of pay and booty. The blue jackets will fight under any colors, where there is a fair prospect of adventure and prize money. 

After the Florida had been coaled, there was scarcely a sufficientsupply left to carry the Lee into Wilmington under the most favorablecircumstances; but it was necessary either to sail at once, or to waittwo weeks for the next moon. Our chief engineer had noticed a large pileof coal on one of the wharves rented by the Confederate agent; but theheap had been so long exposed to the weather, and trampled upon for somany months, that it appeared to be a mere pile of dirt. "Necessityhaving no law, " however, we shoveled off the surface; and were surprisedto 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 anextra supply, we were able to retain barely enough English coal in thebunkers to use in running through the fleet on our next outward voyage. The consequence was the narrowest escape from capture ever made by theLee while under my command. 

We were ready to sail for Nassau on the 15th of August, 1863, and had onboard, as usual, several passengers. Indeed we rarely made a tripeither way without as many as could be accommodated, and many ladiesamong them. My observation of the conduct of the fair sex, under tryingand novel circumstances, has convinced me that they face inevitabledangers more bravely and with more composure than men. I have frequentlyseen a frail, delicate woman standing erect and unflinching upon thedeck, as the shells were whistling and bursting over us, while herlawful protector would be cowering "under the lee" of a cotton bale. Ipay this humble tribute of admiration to the sex, but a cynical oldbachelor, to whom I once made the observation, replied that in hisopinion their insatiable curiosity prevailed even over their naturalfears!

On our outward voyage we had among our passengers ex-Senator Gwin andhis daughter, and Dr. And Mrs. P. We passed safely through theblockading fleet off the New Inlet Bar, receiving no damage from the fewshots fired at us, and gained an offing from the coast of thirty milesby daylight. By this time our supply of English coal had been exhausted, and we were obliged to commence upon North Carolina coal of veryinferior quality, and which smoked terribly. We commenced on this fuela little after daylight. Very soon afterwards the vigilant look-out atthe 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 morningwas very clear. Going to the mast-head I could just discern the royal ofthe chaser; and before I left there, say in half an hour, hertop-gallant sail showed above the horizon. By this time the sun hadrisen in a cloudless sky. It was evident our pursuer would be alongsideof us by mid-day at the rate we were then going. The first orders givenwere to throw overboard the deck-load of cotton and to make more steam. The latter proved to be more easily given than executed; the chiefengineer reporting that it was impossible to make steam with thewretched stuff filled with slate and dirt. A moderate breeze from thenorth and east had been blowing ever since daylight and every stitch ofcanvas on board the square-rigged steamer in our wake was drawing. Wewere steering east by south, and it was clear that the chaser'sadvantages could only be neutralized either by bringing the "Lee"gradually head to wind or edging away to bring the wind aft. The formercourse would be running toward the land, besides incurring theadditional risk of being intercepted and captured by some of the inshorecruisers. I began to edge away therefore, and in two or three hoursenjoyed the satisfaction of seeing our pursuer clew up and furl hissails. The breeze was still blowing as fresh as in the morning, but wewere now running directly away from it, and the cruiser was goingliterally as fast as the wind, causing the sails to be rather ahindrance than a help. But she was still gaining on us. A happyinspiration occurred to me when the case seemed hopeless. Sending forthe chief engineer I said "Mr. S. , let us try cotton, saturated withspirits 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 ofcotton was ripped open, a barrel tapped, and buckets full of thesaturated material passed down into the fire-room. The result exceededour expectations. The chief engineer, an excitable little Frenchman fromCharleston, very soon made his appearance on the bridge, his eyessparkling with triumph, and reported a full head of steam. Curious tosee the effect upon our speed, I directed him to wait a moment until thelog was hove. I threw it myself, nine and a half knots. "Let her go nowsir!" I said. Five minutes afterwards, I hove the log again, _thirteenand a quarter_. We now began to hold our own, and even to gain a littleupon the chaser; but she was fearfully near, and I began to have visionsof another residence at Fort Warren, as I saw the "big bone in themouth" of our pertinacious friend, for she was near enough to us at onetime for us to see distinctly the white curl of foam under her bows, called by that name among seamen. I wonder if they could have screwedanother turn of speed out of her if they had known that the Lee had onboard, in addition to her cargo of cotton, a large amount of goldshipped by the Confederate Government? There continued to be a veryslight change in our relative positions till about six o'clock in theafternoon, when the chief engineer again made his appearance, with avery ominous expression of countenance. He came to report that the burntcotton had choked the flues, and that the steam was running down. "Onlykeep her going till dark, sir, " I replied, "and we will give our pursuerthe slip yet. " A heavy bank was lying along the horizon to the south andeast; and I saw a possible means of escape. At sunset the chaser wasabout four miles astern and gaining upon us. Calling two of my mostreliable officers, I stationed one of them on each wheel-house, withglasses, directing them to let me know the instant they lost sight ofthe chaser in the growing darkness. At the same time, I ordered thechief engineer to make as black a smoke as possible, and to be inreadiness to cut off the smoke, by closing the dampers instantly, whenordered. The twilight was soon succeeded by darkness. Both of theofficers on the wheel house called out at the same moment, "We have lostsight of her, " while a dense volume of smoke was streaming far in ourwake. "Close the dampers, " I called out through the speaking tube, andat the same moment ordered the helm "hard a starboard. " Our course wasaltered eight points, at a right angle to the previous one. I remainedon deck an hour, and then retired to my state-room with a comfortablesense of security. We had fired so hard that the very planks on thebridge were almost scorching hot, and my feet were nearly blistered. Iput 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 withher father. Tapping my foot with her hand, she said, "Ah, captain, Isee we are all safe, and I congratulate you!" At one time during thechase, when capture seemed inevitable, the kegs containing the gold hadbeen brought on deck, and one of them opened by my orders, it being myintention to distribute its contents among the officers and crew. MissLucy, who preserved her presence of mind throughout the trying scenes ofthe day, called me aside, and suggested that she should fill a purse forme, and keep it about her person, until the prize crew had takenpossession, and all danger of personal search was over, when she wouldmake an opportunity to give it to me; and I have no doubt she would haveaccomplished her intentions if occasion had required. The chaser provedafterwards to be the "Iroquois. " Feeling confident that she wouldcontinue on the course toward Abaco, and perhaps have another and moresuccessful chase, I changed the destination of the Lee to Bermuda, wherewe arrived safely two days afterward. 

Upon the arrival of the Lee at Wilmington, after one more trip toNassau, I was summoned by telegraph to Richmond. An attempt was to bemade for the release of the prisoners at Johnson's Island. This island, situated in the harbor of Sandusky, on Lake Erie, was supposed to beeasily accessible from Canada, and the Canadian shore; but it was leftto the judgment of the officer in command how the details were to bearranged, his sole explicit instructions being not to violate theneutrality of British territory. How this was to be avoided has everseemed impossible to me, but having been selected to command theexpedition, I resolved to disregard all personal consequences, and toleave the responsibility to be borne by the Confederate Government. Aparty of twenty-six officers of the different grades was detailed forthe service. The Lee, laden with a cargo of cotton, was to carry us toHalifax, N. S. ; the cotton to be consigned to a firm there, who were topurchase, with a part of the proceeds, blankets, shoes, etc. , for thearmy; the balance to be retained for the benefit of the prisoners, ifreleased. My successor in command of the Lee took passage with us. Wesailed for Halifax on the night of October 10th, 1863. The season was sofar advanced, that we could not afford to lose even a day; we thereforedropped down the Cape Fear River to Smithville as soon as thepreparations were completed, and although the night was very clear, Idetermined to attempt the passage through the fleet soon after dark, soas to get as far north along the coast as possible before daylight. Wecrossed the western bar about nine o'clock at night, and instead of"hugging" the shore, which would have carried us too far to thesouthward and westward, the course was shaped so as to clear the FryingPan Shoals. We had been running at full speed for nearly an hour, when ashot came whizzing a few feet over our bulwarks, and struck the waterjust beyond us; it was followed immediately by another, which striking alittle short "ricocheted" over us; and then a third, which crashingthrough the starboard bulwarks, burst in a cotton bale on the port side, and set fire to it; several men being wounded by splinters and fragmentsof the shells. The flames leaped high into the air, and there was amomentary confusion on board, but the order to throw the burning baleoverboard was promptly executed, and for some time afterwards we couldsee it blazing far astern. We never saw the cruiser which fired at us, as she was inshore, and although several more shots were fired, eachsucceeding one flew wider from the mark. We promptly sent up our tworockets abeam, and experienced no further trouble, easily avoiding asloop 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 thepantomime. Nothing showed above the deck but the two short masts, andthe smoke-stack; and the lead colored hull could scarcely be seen at thedistance of one hundred yards. Even in a clear day, they were not easilydiscovered. Upon one occasion, when bound to Wilmington, we had crossedthe Gulf Stream and struck soundings, when the look-out aloft reported acruiser in sight ahead, and lying "_a-hull_" with her broadside exposedto us. It was evident, of course, that we were undiscovered so long asshe lay in this position, and we continued to steam towards her, untilwe could plainly see her broadside guns. It was time for us to stop, butwe preserved the same distance, undiscovered, for at least two hours. The engineer then reporting that the steam was running down, I directedhim to fire up cautiously. The second shovel-full had scarcely beentossed into the furnace when a slight puff of smoke passed out of oursmoke-stack, and at the same instant, the cruiser ahead wore round, andcommenced a pursuit. There was clearly no want of vigilance on board ofher. But to return from this digression. By next morning we had gotbeyond dangerous waters. Some amusement was occasioned at the breakfasttable by Johnny T. , who had overheard the soliloquy of Colonel B. Thenight before. The Colonel, who was a member of the expedition, had seenservice in the army of Northern Virginia. He was sitting upon the wheelhouse when the first shot was fired, and calmly remarked (to no one inparticular, ) "that is pretty firing, " at the second "that is _very_pretty firing, " and when the third shell burst upon the deck, he jumpedupon his feet and exclaimed, with much emphasis, "if that isn't theprettiest firing I ever saw, I wish I may be d----d!"

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. 

On our voyage to Halifax, we passed many vessels, and exciting nosuspicion, for at that period many of the captured blockade-runners wereafloat in the United States service. We showed American colors to thosewhich passed near us and once, in thick weather off New York, we passedwithin hailing distance of a man of war bound South. We arrived atHalifax the 16th of October. The cargo of cotton was consigned to thefirm of B. Wier & Co. With instructions to purchase shoes, etc. , with apart of the proceeds, and to hold the balance to my credit. There wasthen no agent of the Confederate Government in Halifax, but I had takenletters of introduction from a mercantile house in London to this firmto be used in case of touching there on the way back from Glasgow theyear before. When I received my instructions from the Secretary of theNavy before leaving Richmond, I wished to ascertain to whom the cargowas to be consigned on our arrival at Halifax; and then learned from theSecretary of State, to whom I was referred, that there was no accreditedagent of the government there. In this dilemma I sought counsel of mygood friend Mr. Seddon, Secretary of War, who advised me to actaccording to my own judgment. I therefore directed the bills of lading, invoices, etc. , to be made out with B. Wier & Co. As consignees. In nocase, I believe, did the Confederate Government appear as the shipper orconsignor. Every cargo was supposed to be owned by private individuals;and the blockade-runners were regularly entered and cleared at theConfederate Custom House. Upon this occasion the Lee's papers wereclosely scrutinized by the collector of the customs at Halifax, who didme the honor of personal attention; but he could find no flaw in them, and the vessel was regularly entered, with little more than thecustomary delay. 

The Lee had made her last voyage under the Confederate flag. Sailing forWilmington with a full cargo, she was captured off the coast of NorthCarolina. The land had been made the night before under quite favorablecircumstances, but neither the captain, nor the pilot, being willing toassume the responsibility of taking charge of the vessel, the Lee wasput to sea again, and by further culpable mismanagement, she fell aneasy prey next morning to one of the United States cruisers. She had runthe blockade twenty-one times while under my command, and had carriedabroad between six thousand and seven thousand bales of cotton, worth atthat time about two millions of dollars in gold, and had carried intothe Confederacy equally valuable cargoes. My staunch old helmsman, whohad been released in New York by claiming British protection, and whostarted at once in search of me, met me in Halifax on our return fromthe Johnson's Island expedition. He actually shed tears as he narratedthe train of circumstances which led to the capture. "She would havegone in by herself, " he said, "if they had only let her alone;" forindeed it was evident to all on board the morning of her capture, thatshe had been close in to the shore within a few miles of the New InletBar. She had not reached the bar, however, so that the pilot's course inrefusing to take charge was justifiable; but the fatal error wascommitted by not making a good offing before daylight. At the time ofher capture, she was not more than twenty miles from the land, and inthe deep bay formed by the coast between Masonborough Inlet and the CapeLookout Shoals. 

The arrival of so large a party of Confederates in Halifax attractedattention, and it was essential to the successful execution of theproject, that all suspicion should be allayed. The party, therefore, wasdivided into groups of three or four individuals, who were directed toreport, in person, at Montreal, each one being strictly enjoined tosecrecy and discretion; for although the precise object of theexpedition was only known to three of its members, Lieutenants R. Minor, Ben. Loyall and myself, every one belonging to it was quite well awarethat it was hostile to the United States Government. They were a set ofgallant young fellows, with a single exception. Who he was and where hecame from, none of us knew; but he had been ordered by the Secretary ofthe Navy to report to me for duty. We believed him to be a traitor and aspy; and succeeded in ridding ourselves of him the day after our arrivalat Halifax, by advancing him a month's wages. No member of theexpedition ever saw him again. 

The most officiously zealous friend and partisan whom we allencountered in Halifax was Mr. "Sandy" Keith, who was facetiously calledthe Confederate Consul. By dint of a brazen assurance, a most obligingmanner, and the lavish expenditure of money, "profusus sui alieniappetens"--he ingratiated himself with nearly every southerner whovisited Halifax although he was a coarse, ill-bred vulgarian, of nosocial standing in the community. It is true that a worthy member of thesame family had risen from obscurity to high honors, but Sandy was ablack sheep of the flock. He was employed at first by many of our peopleto purchase for them on commission, and afterwards by the ConfederateGovernment. He profited by so good an opportunity for swindling, eventually forging invoices of articles, and drawing bills of exchangeupon the Confederate Government, which were duly honored. This villainywas perpetrated towards the end of the war, and at its close, SandyKeith absconded with his ill-gotten gains, a considerable proportionconsisting of money in his hands, belonging to private individuals. Among his victims was Colonel S. Of Baltimore, who determined to make aneffort to recover his money. His first step was a visit to Halifax. Hisendeavors there to find Keith's whereabouts were for some timefruitless. But at last a clue was found. A girl, who had accompaniedKeith in his flight, had written a letter to a relative in Halifax, andColonel S. By some means obtained a sight of the envelope. Thepost-mark, plainly legible, indicated that the letter had been writtenat an obscure little village in Missouri. S. Hastened back to Baltimore, and secured the coöperation of a detective, not for the purpose ofarresting Keith, because he doubted whether he could recover possessionof his property by the slippery and uncertain process of law, but forthe sake of the detective's strong arm and presence of mind in the eventof resistance. The reward to the detective being made contingent uponthe recovery of the money, the pair left Baltimore, and in due timereached the village in the backwoods, where they learned that twopersons, as man and wife, were boarding at the house of a widow, a mileor two distant. They waited until night, and then, arming themselveswith revolvers, started for the house of the widow. Knocking at thedoor, it was opened to them, and as they passed in, Keith's voice washeard, inquiring who had entered. Guided by the sound, they rushed tothe room occupied by him. He had retired for the night. His loadedpistol was lying on a table near his bedside; but he had neglected tolock the door of his chamber, and S. And the detective had secured hisarms and held him a prisoner before he was fairly awake. There waslittle parleying between them, the detective merely assuring him that ifhe did not come to terms speedily, his trunk would be broken open andall of its contents seized. The whole affair was amicably settled in tenminutes, by a check upon the bank in which Keith had deposited some ofhis money, for the amount due to S. , and the detective's reward. Keithdemurred a little to the latter demand, but finally yielded to moralsuasion; and next day S. Presented the check, which was paid. SandyKeith was supposed by those who had known him, to have been lost amongthe common herd of low swindlers and rogues, for none of them would havegiven him credit for enterprise or sagacity. He emerged, however, fromobscurity, to perpetrate the most horrible and devilishly ingeniouscrime of the century; for it was he who under the name of Thomassen blewup the "City of Bremen" with his infernal machine. Those who have readthe account of that dreadful tragedy will remember that the explosionwas precipitated by the fall of the box containing dynamite from a cart, or wheelbarrow, conveying it to the steamer. The hammer was set, byclockwork apparatus, to explode the dynamite after the departure of thesteamer from England and when near mid-ocean, and Keith, confiding inthe efficacy of the arrangement, was actually about to take passage inthe steamer from Bremerhaven as far as England. Many persons believethat the "City of Boston" was destroyed some years ago by this incarnatefiend, and by the same means. That calamity carried mourning into manyhouseholds in Keith's native city, for a large number of its mostrespectable citizens were on board. It will be remembered that she wassupposed at the time to have foundered at sea in a gale of wind. 

I had been furnished, before leaving Richmond, with letters to partiesin Canada, who, it was believed, could give valuable aid to theexpedition. To expedite matters, a trustworthy agent, a canny Scotchman, who had long served under my command, was dispatched to Montreal, viaPortland, to notify these parties that we were on our way there. Ouremissary, taking passage in a steamer bound to Portland, passed safelythrough United States territory, while the rest of us commenced our longand devious route through the British Provinces. Wherever we travelled, even through the remotest settlements, recruiting agents for the UnitedStates army were at work, scarcely affecting to disguise theiroccupation; and the walls of the obscurest country taverns bristled withadvertisements like the following: "Wanted for a tannery in Maine onethousand tanners to whom a large bonus will be paid, etc. " Many couldnot resist such allurements, but it was from this class and similarones, no doubt, that the "bounty jumpers" sprang. It has been asserted, by those who were in a position to form a correct estimate, that theBritish Provinces, alone, contributed one hundred thousand men to theFederal army. It is scarcely an exaggeration to add, that the populationof the civilized world was subsidized. 

We were seven days in making the journey to Montreal, where my faithfulagent met me by appointment, and carried me to the residence of CaptainM. , a zealous and self-sacrificing friend to the cause, and to whom Ihad been accredited. He looked steadily at me for a moment after ourintroduction, and then said "I have met you once before. " He recalledto my memory the fact, that while I commanded the battery at AcquiaCreek in the early part of the war, he had brought a schooner loadedwith arms, etc. , up the Potomac, and succeeded in placing her under theprotection of our batteries; having profited by a cold, dark, andinclement night, to evade the vigilance of the gunboats. Subsequently heand his family were compelled to leave Baltimore, and were now refugeesin Canada. Colonel K. , also a refugee and an inmate of Captain M. 'shouse, and to whom, likewise, I carried letters, enlistedenthusiastically in the expedition, and devoted his whole time andenergies to its success. We might, indeed, have obtained a large numberof recruits from among refugees and escaped prisoners in Canada, but itwas not considered prudent to increase the size of the party to anyextent, 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 memberof the expedition); having been in the Colonel's employment on theplains previous to the war. The Colonel was the right hand of MajorFicklin in organizing and putting into operation the "pony express, "which used to traverse the continent from St. Louis to San Francisco, and our recruit, Thompson, was one of his trusted subordinates. This manhad led a very adventurous life. He informed us that after making hisescape from Johnson's Island on the ice one dark winter night, he walkedinto Sandusky, and there laid in wait at the entrance of a dark alleyfor a victim with whom to exchange clothing. His patience being rewardedafter a while, he laid violent hands upon his prize, and directed him todivest himself of his suit. The stranger replied, that he would not onlysupply him with clothing, but with money to make his way into Canada;adding that he had a son in the Confederate army. He gave Thompson thecontents 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 effect that the garrison at Johnson'sIsland was small, and that the United States sloop of war Michigan wasanchored off the island as an additional guard. If the sloop of warcould be carried by boarding, and her guns turned upon the garrison, therest would be easy of accomplishment; and there appeared to be noobstacle to the seizure of as many vessels in Sandusky harbor, as mightbe required for purposes of transportation. They were to be towed overto the Canada shore, about twenty-five miles distant. There were severaldifficulties to be overcome; the chief one being how to notify theprisoners of the attempt about to be made. This was accomplished afterseveral visits to Baltimore and Washington, by the brave and devotedMrs. M. And her daughter; and finally the wife of General ---- obtainedpermission from the authorities at Washington, to visit her husband, then a prisoner on Johnson's Island. Although the interview between themwas brief, and in the presence of witnesses, she contrived to place inhis hand a slip of paper, which informed him that our progress wouldappear in the New York Herald's "Personals" over certain initials, andso disguised as to be intelligible only to those who were initiated. Next, it was important to know the exact condition of affairs inSandusky, up to the time of our departure from Canada; and this waseffected through the agency of a gallant gentleman, a retired Britisharmy officer, who went over to Sandusky upon the pretext of duckshooting, and who by a pre-arranged vocabulary, conveyed dailyintelligence to us up to the time of our departure from Montreal. Everything progressed favorably, until we began to make finalpreparations for departure. Colonel K. , who knew personally the managerof an English line of steamers upon the lakes, and confided in theintegrity of the man, recommended him as most competent to give valuableinformation; and to him, under the seal of confidence, I applied. Theonly interview between us, (and in the presence of Colonel K. ) wasbrief, and the object of the expedition was not divulged to him; nor wasit intimated to him that any hostile act was contemplated; but heprobably drew the inference. His replies to my questions were sounsatisfactory that I never saw him again, having recourse to othersources of information. 

It was arranged that our party should take passage on board one of theAmerican lake steamers at a little port on the Welland Canal. We weredisguised as immigrants to the west; our arms being shipped as miningtools; and when clear of the canal, we were to rise upon the crew, andmake our way to Sandusky. As the Michigan was anchored close to the mainchannel of the harbor, and we had provided ourselves with grapnels, itwas believed that she could be carried by surprise. We had sent off ourlast "Personal" to the New York Herald, informing our friends atJohnson's Island "that the carriage would be at the door on or about thetenth;" our party had collected at the little port on the canal waitingfor the steamer then nearly due, when a proclamation was issued by theGovernor General, which fell among us like a thunderbolt. It wasannounced in this proclamation, that it had come to the knowledge of theGovernment that a hostile expedition was about to embark from the Canadashores, and the infliction of divers pains and penalties was threatenedagainst all concerned in the violation of the neutrality laws. What waseven more fatal to our hopes, we learned that His Excellency hadnotified the United States Government of our contemplated expedition. 

Our good friend sojourning at Sandusky abandoned his duck shooting inhaste, (for the news sped across the frontier, ) bringing intelligencethat the garrison at Johnson's Island had been increased, and such othermeasures adopted as to render our success impossible. I called a councilof the senior officers, who unanimously recommended that the attempt beabandoned; and so ended all our hopes. We learned, from what wasbelieved by some to be a reliable source, that the informant against uswas the manager, alluded to above, who betrayed us at the last moment. 

There was a possibility of a successful issue to this enterprise, butnot a probability. The American Consul at Halifax possessed intelligenceand zeal; and he could easily have traced our course, by means of adetective, up to the very point of our departure on the Welland Canal. It is quite probable, indeed, that we were closely watched through thewhole route, for immediately after the proclamation was issued, two orthree detectives, no longer affecting disguise, dogged my footsteps forseveral days, with the intention I suspected of carrying me "vi etarmis" across the frontier. But they were, in turn, subjected to asclose an espionage by several members of the expedition, who wereprepared for any emergency. "The engineer would have been hoisted withhis own petard" probably, if they had attempted the arrest. Thatdare-devil Thompson, in fact, proposed one night that I should take awalk alone along the canal, and see what would come of it, but Ideclined the invitation. 

One plan of releasing the Johnson's Island prisoners was to purchase asteamer in England, through the agency of Captain Bullock, load herwith a cargo, and clear from the Custom House "for a market" on thelakes. --The chief obstacle to this plan would have been the passage, unsuspected, through the Welland Canal, but it was believed that, byproper discretion and management, this might have been accomplished, andthe rest would have been easy; for all that was expected of anyexpedition was to carry the Michigan by surprise; the prisoners upon theisland coöperating by attacking and overpowering the garrison. 

As there was no farther necessity for keeping our movements secret, thewhole party started together on the return to Halifax. We followed theroute from "Riviere du Loup" overland by stage, or rather in sleighs, for the ground was already covered with snow, and the steamers hadstopped running for the season, upon the beautiful picturesque St. John's River; and our way lay through a cheerless and sparsely populatedcountry for nearly the whole distance. We were able too, withoutindiscretion, to accept the hospitalities of our friends in Halifax, during our brief stay there. But duty called us back to the Confederacy, and passage was engaged for the whole party by the first steamer (theAlpha, ) 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 reëstablished. --Gloomy Prospects of the South. 

Arriving there, after a five or six day's voyage, we found manyblockade-runners at anchor in St. George's harbor; and application wasmade to me to take command of one of them, called the "Whisper, " justout from England. She was a fair specimen of her class. Built expresslyfor speed and light draft, her frame was very slight, but she was acapital sea boat, and made several successful trips. There was astriking contrast, however, between her and the solidly built, magnificent "Lee. " After all arrangements had been completed for thetransportation to the Confederacy of our party, I assumed command of thelittle "Whisper, " with six or eight of the party as passengers. Iremember my astonishment at learning the rates for freight at thisperiod. The "Whisper" was loaded and ready for sea, and I was diningwith Mr. Campbell, the agent of the company, when a person asked to seehim upon pressing business. The purpose of the visitor was, to ship bythe Whisper a small lot of medicines. As the vessel was already heavilyladen, Mr. Campbell referred him to me, and I consented to take the boxin the cabin. The freight upon it was £500 sterling![9]

Six blockade-runners, including the Whisper, sailed for Wilmingtonwithin 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, untilwe had crossed the Gulf Stream, early on the third day. We had beensteaming against a strong gale the whole time. These cold north-westersbrought disaster upon many blockade-runners; for blowing over the tepidwater of the Gulf Stream, clouds of vapor would rise like steam, and becondensed by the cold wind into a fog so dense as to obscure everyobject. At such times, the skill and perseverance of the navigator wouldbe 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 mostuncertain horizon, would furnish the only means of guidance, where anerror of a few miles in the calculation would probably prove fatal. Uponreaching soundings on the western edge of the "stream, " about eleveno'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 ourselves notmore than forty miles south-east of the western bar. The Whisper hadfared 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 hadbeen stove in. As there was no further necessity to strain the hull andengines, the little craft was brought near the wind under low steam, andclose-reefed mainsail; riding the long rolling seas like a sea-gull. Towindward the sky-soon became clear, but we took care not to get faraway 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 hadpassed safely through the blockading fleet, and had come to anchor offSmithville. Out of the six steamers which sailed from St. George's, theWhisper alone succeeded in getting in. Most of them were run ashore, andtheir cargoes partially saved; but some fell, intact, into the hands ofthe vigilant cruisers. 

After a few weeks' service on board the ill-fated ironclad, built inWilmington, I was summoned by telegram to Richmond. The Confederateauthorities were then projecting an attempt to release the Point Lookoutprisoners. There appeared to be no insuperable obstacle in the way; andit was believed that the prisoners, if released, and furnished witharms, would be able to join the forces under the command of GeneralEarly, then in the vicinity. Two steamers of light draft were to beloaded with arms, etc. , and were to carry, in addition to their crews, an infantry force under the command of General Custis Lee. In the eventof success, the steamers were to be burned. 

On my way to Richmond, my life was saved by the presence of mind of myfaithful servant (Essex, ) who accompanied me on a visit to his home inVirginia. General Wilson had just made a very destructive raid along theline of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, striking the road atBurkeville, and effectually damaging it as far as Meherrin Bridge, adistance of thirty miles or more, where his progress was stopped. He didnot return within General Grant's lines without heavy loss; and when Iarrived at Ream's Station, on the Petersburg and Weldon road, I foundthere a strong force of Confederate cavalry, under General Chambliss, waiting to intercept the retreat. As I was bearer of dispatches fromGeneral Whiting to General Lee, a hand car, with two men to work it, wasdetailed for me, and with my servant on board we started to run thegauntlet between the lines. The distance to be accomplished was aboutseven miles, and we had passed over more than half of it, when one ofour "videttes" suddenly made his appearance, and we halted to inquireabout the state of affairs ahead. His report was satisfactory, and westarted again, but had only gone a short distance when we saw a squad ofcavalry, which we 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 theirheels, and we followed their example. There was a fence a few rods fromthe road, which I succeeded in reaching, and over which I jumped, justbefore our pursuers overtook us. As they forced their horses over it, Idiscovered my friend, the "vidette" among them, who cried out as he sawme "_That_ is General Wilson, kill him?" and I have not the least doubthis advice would have been followed, but for Essex, who cried out from asnug corner, where he was ensconced, "For God's sake, don't shoot! He isone of your best friends!" They lowered their pistols, and I had anopportunity to explain matters. My gold watch and chain had probablyexcited the cupidity of my friend above mentioned. I admit that I feltuncharitable towards him, and when I hinted my suspicions of his motivesto the officer in command of the squad, he did not deny the probabilityof a cause for them, but seemed to consider me unreasonable in expectingto find _all_ the virtues in a "high private, " who was receiving scantyfare, and $8 a month in Confederate money! The party escorted us withinthe lines. 

After all the details of the expedition had been arranged in Richmond, the naval portion of it was ordered to Wilmington under my command. Onour journey, we followed the route previously pursued by the raidersfrom Burkeville to Meherrin Bridge. Nearly every foot of the way wasmarked by evidences of the havoc of war; and the air was tainted withthe stench from the dead horses and mules, whose throats had been cutwhen they could travel no farther. 

There were sufficient reasons why I took no subsequent part in theexpedition, the naval portion of it being placed under the command ofCaptain J. T. Wood, of the Confederate States Navy and also one of thePresident's aids. It failed, however, owing to the fact that secretly asall the preparations had been made, information of it was speedilyconveyed to the authorities at Washington, and prompt measures taken toprevent its success. The steamers had dropped down the Cape Fear River, and were on the very point of putting to sea when countermanding orderswere telegraphed from Richmond; for the Confederate Government, throughtheir secret sources of information, had been promptly notified of thefact that the plot had been betrayed to the United States authorities. How the Federal Government obtained its intelligence will, perhaps, forever remain a mystery to the public; but there was a very generalbelief in the Confederacy, that an individual near the President was apaid traitor to the cause. 

These futile projects for the release of prisoners, serve to show thedesperate straits to which the Confederacy was reduced, for want ofsoldiers. 

It was deemed expedient, at this period, to reëstablish the light onSmith's Island, which had been discontinued ever since the commencementof hostilities; and to erect a structure for a light on the Mound. Atthe beginning of the war, nearly all of the lights along the Southerncoast had been discontinued; the apparatus being removed to places ofsafety. 

Under special instructions, I was charged with the duties of relightingthe approaches to the Cape Fear River, and of detailing pilots, andsignal officers to the blockade-runners. To provide the means of light, every blockade-runner was required to bring in a barrel of sperm oil. In addition to these aids to navigation, the signal stations wereextended farther along the coast, and compulsory service was required ofthe pilots. Owing to the constantly increasing vigilance of theblockading fleet, and the accession to the navy of fast cruisers, manyprizes had been captured of late. Their pilots were, of course, held asprisoners of war; and the demand for those available for service, increasing in proportion to their diminished number, there was muchcompetition between the rival companies, to the great detriment of thepublic service. [10] It was considered necessary, therefore, to establishan office of "Orders and Detail" at Wilmington, whence should proceedall orders and assignments in relation to pilots and signal officers. Ina short time, the benefit of these arrangements was very perceptible. The blockade-runners were never delayed for want of a pilot, and thecasualties were much diminished. 

The staid old town of Wilmington was turned "topsy turvy" during thewar. Here resorted the speculators from all parts of the South, toattend the weekly auctions of imported cargoes; and the town wasinfested with rogues and desperadoes, who made a livelihood by robberyand murder. It was unsafe to venture into the suburbs at night, and evenin daylight, there were frequent conflicts in the public streets, between the crews of the steamers in port and the soldiers stationed inthe town, in which knives and pistols would be freely used; and notunfrequently a dead body would rise to the surface of the water in oneof the docks with marks of violence upon it. The civil authorities werepowerless to prevent crime. "Inter arma silent leges!" The agents andemployès of the different blockade-running companies, lived inmagnificent style, paying a king's ransom (in Confederate money) fortheir household expenses, and nearly monopolizing the supplies in thecountry market. Towards the end of the war, indeed, fresh provisionswere almost beyond the reach of every one. Our family servant, newlyarrived from the country in Virginia, would sometimes return frommarket with an empty basket, having flatly refused to pay what he called"such nonsense prices" for a bit of fresh beef, or a handful ofvegetables. A quarter of lamb, at the time of which I now write, soldfor $100, a pound of tea for $500. Confederate money which in September, 1861, was nearly equal to specie in value, had declined in September1862 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 toremain kept themselves much secluded; the ladies rarely being seen uponthe more public streets. Many of the fast young officers belonging tothe army would get an occasional leave to come to Wilmington; and wouldlive at free quarters on board the blockade-runners, or at one of thenumerous bachelor halls ashore. 

The convalescent soldiers from the Virginia hospitals were sent by theroute through Wilmington to their homes in the South. The ladies of thetown were organized by Mrs. De R. Into a society for the purpose ofministering to the wants of these poor sufferers; the trains whichcarried them stopping an hour or two at the depot, that their woundsmight be dressed, and food and medicine supplied to them. Theseself-sacrificing, heroic women patiently and faithfully performed theoffices of hospital nurses. 

 "O! 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!"

Liberal contributions were made by companies and individuals to thissociety, and the long tables at the depot were spread with delicaciesfor the sick, to be found nowhere else in the Confederacy. The remainsof the meals were carried by the ladies to a camp of mereboys--homeguards outside of the town. Some of these children werescarcely able to carry a musket, and were altogether unable to endurethe exposure and fatigues of field service; and they suffered fearfullyfrom measles, and typhoid fever. General Grant used a strong figure ofspeech, when he asserted, that "the cradle and the grave were robbed, torecruit the Confederate armies. " The fact of a fearful drain upon thepopulation was scarcely exaggerated, but with this difference in themetaphor, that those who were verging upon both the cradle and thegrave, shared the hardships and dangers of war, with equal self-devotionto the cause. It is true that a class of heartless speculators infestedthe country, who profited by the scarcity of all sorts of supplies, butit makes the self-sacrifice of the mass of the Southern people moreconspicuous, and no State made more liberal voluntary contributions tothe armies, or furnished better soldiers, than North Carolina. 

When General A. P. Hill asked for the promotion of some of his officersin June, 1863, the President laid down the rule of selection for theguidance of the Secretary of War, viz: "the State which had the greatestnumber of regiments should be entitled to the choice of positions; to betaken from the candidates of its citizens, according to qualifications, "etc. It appeared that North Carolina stood first on the list, Virginiasecond, 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-runnerstook in their cargoes. Sentries were posted on the wharves, day andnight, to prevent deserters from getting on board, and stowingthemselves away; and the additional precaution of fumigating the outwardbound steamers at Smithville, was adopted; but in spite of thisvigilance, many persons succeeded in getting a free passage abroad. These deserters, or "stowaways, " were in most instances sheltered by oneor more of the crew; in which event they kept their places ofconcealment until the steamer had arrived at her port of destination, when they would profit by the first opportunity to leave the vesselundiscovered. A small bribe would tempt the average blockade-runningsailor to connive at this means of escape. The "impecunious" deserterfared more hardly; and would, usually, be forced by hunger and thirst toemerge from his hiding place, while the steamer was on the outwardvoyage. A cruel device, employed by one of the captains, effectually puta 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 breadand water. 

The ironclad, to which I had been attached for a short time, made herfirst and last essay while I was on special duty at Wilmington. Havingcrossed New Inlet Bar early one morning, she steamed at her best speedtowards the blockading-fleet, which kept beyond the range of her gunswith much ease. After "raising the blockade" for an hour or two, shesteamed back across the bar, grounded upon the "rip, " broke her back, and doubtless remains there to this day, buried fathoms deep in thequicksands. 

The prospects of the South were growing more and more gloomy with eachsucceeding day; and the last hopes of the country now rested upon thatgallant army of Northern Virginia, which, under its great captain, stillconfronted General Grant's forces around Petersburg. It is easy now bythe light of subsequent events to censure Mr. Davis for the removal ofGeneral Johnston from the command of the army in Georgia; but who doesnot remember how, previous to that unfortunate measure, the wholeSouthern press, almost without an exception, were urging it? It may bethat the President was not indisposed to gratify his inclination, and atthe same time appease the public. I do not presume to express an opinionon this point; being no partisan of either, but a sincere admirer ofboth these distinguished individuals, and crediting both with strictveracity and unselfish honesty of purpose. But the fact remains that thepress teemed with articles denouncing General Johnston's retrogrademovements. A spurious telegram, concocted by some facetious editor, tothe effect that General Johnston had ordered means of transportation forhis army to Nassau, was circulated through all the newspapers for thepublic amusement. But the old army officers were shocked at theintelligence of his removal from command. When the fact was officiallyannounced, all of them, whom I had an opportunity of hearing speak uponthe subject, expressed the gravest fears of the consequences; GeneralWhiting, especially, declaring his conviction that it was a fatalmeasure; and it is certain that General Johnston's army wasenthusiastically devoted to him; officers and men, with few exceptions, reposing unbounded confidence in him. 

Concurrent testimony has since conclusively proven how grave a mistakewas committed. General Hooker, who served in that campaign under GeneralSherman, writes "This retreat was so masterly, that I regard it as auseful lesson for study for all persons who may hereafter elect fortheir calling the profession of arms. " "The news that General Johnstonhad been removed from the command of the army opposed to us, wasreceived by our officers with universal rejoicing. " "One of theprominent historians of the Confederacy ascribes the misfortunes of the'Lost Cause' to the relief of General Johnston. I do not think this, butit certainly contributed materially to hasten its collapse. " Indeed theConfederate Government seems subsequently to have admitted its mistake, and the injustice inflicted upon General Johnston, by reinstating him inthe command of the "army of the South, " and with orders "to concentrateall available forces, and drive back Sherman. " This, however, was nottill February, 1865, when the "available forces" amounted to about16, 000 men, and General Sherman's army of 70, 000, had reached the Stateof North Carolina unopposed. When General Johnston turned over thecommand to General Hood, the army consisted of 36, 900 infantry 3, 750artillery, and 9, 970 cavalry, a total of 50, 620 well equipped troops. "In returning from its disastrous expedition against Nashville, the armyof Tennessee had halted in north-eastern Mississippi. A largeproportion of these troops were then furloughed by General Hood, andwent to their homes. When General Sherman's army invaded South Carolina, General Beauregard ordered those remaining on duty to repair to thatState * * * The remaining troops of that army were coming throughGeorgia in little parties * * * at least two-thirds of the arms of thesetroops had been lost in Tennessee. "[11] In General Johnston's Narrative, page 351, he says "The troops themselves, who had been seventy-four daysin the immediate presence of the enemy, laboring and fighting daily;enduring trial and encountering dangers with equal cheerfulness; moreconfident and high-spirited even than when the Federal army presenteditself before them at Dalton; and though I say it, full of devotion tohim who had commanded them, and belief of ultimate success in thecampaign, were then inferior to none who ever served the Confederacy, orfought on the Continent, " and on page 356: "I believed then, as firmlyas I do now, that the system pursued was the only one at my command, that promised success, and that, if adhered to, would have given ussuccess. " Many among those most competent to judge entertained the sameconviction. His removal from the command was, indeed, a mortal blow tothe cause. 

FOOTNOTES:

[9] Mr. Campbell had given me a bill of exchange for just this amount totake command of the steamer during the inward trip. As the Whisperbelonged to a private company, I accepted the bonus without scruple. What became of it, and the value of Confederate currency at that timemay 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 72-5/8 $45, 051 46

 CHARGES. 

 State tax on investment, $225 26 Commission for purchasing. 2252 57 C. S. War tax 337 89

 2815 72 ------- E. & O. E. $47, 867 18 Signed, POWER, LOW & CO. Wilmington, March 2, 1864. Captain J. Wilkinson

 In acc. 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 ofraiders commanded, I believe, by General Wilson. If he were the sameindividual for whom I was once mistaken (as will be seen in the sequel)he served me two very ill turns. "

[10] One or two agents of the blockade-running companies were opposed toany project for increasing the facilities of entrance to or exit fromWilmington. The profits were of course proportionate to the risks, andthese heartless worshipers of Mammon, having secured the services of thebest captains and pilots, would have rejoiced to see everyblockade-runner, but their own, captured. They protested vehemently, butunavailingly, against interference with their pilots. 

[11] General Johnston's Narrative page 374. It appears from the samedistinguished authority that of all that gallant array not more than5, 000 were ever reassembled; and a large portion of these continuedwithout arms to the end of the war. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

 Cruise of the Chickamauga. --Mr. Mallory's inefficiency. --Troubles in Bermuda. --The three Weeks. --End of the Cruise. 

In the latter part of September, 1864, I was ordered to the command ofthe "Chickamauga, " a double screw steamer converted into a so-called manof war. She was one of those vessels before alluded to in thisnarrative, as partly owned by the Confederate Government, and was takenpossession of by the government authorities with scant regard for therights of the other owners, who had no alternative but to acceptinadequate compensation for their share of the vessel. Her batteryconsisted of a twelve-pounder rifled gun forward, a sixty-four pounderamidships, and a thirty-two pounder rifle aft, all on pivots. She wasmore substantially built than most of the blockade-runners, and was veryswift, but altogether unfit for a cruiser, as she could only keep thesea while her supply of coal lasted. She was schooner rigged, with veryshort masts, and her sails were chiefly serviceable to steady her in asea-way. Under all sail and _off_ the wind, without steam, she could notmake more than three knots with a stiff breeze; _by_ the wind under thesame circumstances, she had not even steerage way. Captain J. T. Wood, of the Confederate Navy, had just returned from a "raid" along theNorthern coast, and the incompetent Secretary of the Navy conceived, nodoubt, that he had hit upon a happy idea when it occurred to his muddledbrain, to send these vessels out to harass the coasting trade andfisheries of the North. [12] As a mere question of policy, it would havebeen far better to have kept them employed carrying out cotton andbringing in the supplies of which the army was so sorely in need. Theattack 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 notimpugn his patriotism, nor his private character, but his officialimbecility, which wrought much damage to the cause, is a legitimateobject for censure. 

At this period Atlanta had been captured, and a large portion of Georgiawas practically severed from the Confederacy. It was becoming more andmore difficult to provision the troops. The Subsistence Department ofthe Confederate Government has been often censured for its allegedmismanagement. I have personal knowledge of an instance where itresented the interference of a subordinate. Major Magruder, GeneralWhiting's chief Commissary, had effected what he believed to be amutually beneficial arrangement with the farmers of western NorthCarolina. He was to furnish salt and transportation, (the former a veryrare and costly commodity at that time, and the latter difficult to beobtained); and in return, they were to supply his department with thecured bacon. The arrangement, when reported to the Department atRichmond, was cancelled, and the Major, a very zealous and competentofficer, was ordered elsewhere. Surely there must have been gravemismanagement somewhere; for, several months after the period of which Inow write, and when the army of Northern Virginia was almost reduced tostarvation in February, 1865, there were stored "in the principalrailroad depots between Charlotte, Danville and Weldon inclusive, rations for 60, 000 men for more than four months, " and these provisionswere for the exclusive use of the army in Virginia. The fact wasascertained by taking account of those stores, which was done by orderof General Johnston, "and the very zealous and efficient officer, MajorCharles Carrington, who was at the head of the service of collectingprovisions in North Carolina for the army, was increasing the quantityrapidly. " "The officers of the commissariat in North Carolina, upon whomthe army in Virginia depended for subsistence, were instructed by theCommissary General just then, to permit none of the provisions theycollected to be used by the troops serving in it. "[13]

We sailed in the Chickamauga on the night of October 29th, with a motleycrew, and passed through the blockading fleet without receiving anydamage from numerous shots. We had a fine view of several of ourpursuers for a few moments, as they burned their signal blue light; andhad not crossed the bar two hours before the commanding officer of thefleet received information of the fact. Our rockets had diverted thepursuit to the misfortune of the blockade-runner "Lady Stirling, " whichwas captured; and from some of her crew, as we subsequently learned, thefact of our departure was ascertained. If we could have foreseen such anevent, we might have tried the range of our after pivot gun with verygood effect upon the blockader following in our wake; but although ourcrew was at quarters, and we were prepared to fight our way to sea, wewished to avoid an encounter by which nothing was to be gained; ourchief object being to injure the enemy's commerce. Nearly all of theofficers of the Chickamauga had resigned from the United States Navy, and I have no doubt they contrasted (as I could not help doing) nextmorning, our spar deck encumbered with coal bags, and begrimed withdirt, and the ragged tatterdemalions leaning over the bulwarks, orstretched along the decks in the agonies of sea-sickness, with thecleanliness, order and discipline, to which we had been accustomed underthe "Stars and Stripes. " The condition below decks was even worse; thecrew sleeping upon the coal which was stowed in the hold; and theofficers upon the softest plank they could find in the contracted cabin. In addition to a complement of officers for a frigate, the Secretary ofthe Navy had ordered _six_ pilots to the vessel. As three of them heldtheir "branches" for the approaches to Norfolk, Mr. Mallory must haveexpected to hear that we had passed under the guns of Fortress Monroe, laid Norfolk under contribution, and captured the Gosport Navy-yard. 

The scene upon our decks, when the sun rose the morning after ourpassage through the fleet, was demoralizing; and I am sure some of usfelt as if we were indeed "pirates, " although we were bound to deny the"soft impeachment, " when brought against us by the Northern press. Theexertions of the executive officer, Dozier, seconded by his zealoussubordinates, brought some degree of order out of this "chaotic" massafter a while. 

Our first prize was the "Mark L. Potter, " from Bangor for Key West, witha cargo of lumber. As there was no alternative but to destroy her, theofficers and crew were transferred to the Chickamauga, and she was seton fire. This capture was made on Sunday the 30th. The next morning at7. 30 A. M. , when about one hundred and fifty miles off the Capes ofDelaware, we sighted a square-rigged vessel, which changed her course inthe effort to escape, as soon as she discovered that we were steeringfor her. At 9. 30 we overhauled her and brought her to. It proved to bethe barque "Emma L. Hall, " loaded with a cargo of sugar and molasses. She was set on fire at 11. 15 A. M. Hasty work was made of this prize, asa full rigged ship hove in sight while we were transferring the crew, and such stores as we needed, from the Emma L. Hall. The stranger borenorth by west when discovered, and was standing almost directly towardus, with studding-sails and royals set to the favorable breeze, a cloudof snowy canvas from her graceful hull to the trucks of her taperingroyalmasts. She approached within five or six miles, when herstudding-sails were suddenly hauled down, and she was brought close tothe wind in an effort to escape from us. We soon overhauled her, and at1. 15 were near enough to throw a shot across her bow, and to show theConfederate flag at our peak. The summons was replied to by theirhoisting the Stars and Stripes, and heaving to. Our prize was theclipper ship "Shooting Star, " bound from New York to Panama, with acargo of coal for the U. S. Pacific squadron. While we were makingpreparations for burning her, another square rigged vessel hove insight, steering toward us. It proved to be the barque "Albion Lincoln, "bound for Havana, partly in ballast; and as her cargo consisted only ofa small lot of potatoes and onions, I determined to bond her, and to putthe prisoners, now numbering sixty (the wife of the captain of theShooting Star among them) on board of her. In truth, I was relieved froman awkward dilemma by the opportune capture of the Albion Lincoln; forthere was absolutely no place for a female on board the Chickamauga. Ido not doubt, however, that the redoubtable Mrs. Drinkwater would haveaccommodated herself to the circumstances by turning me out of my owncabin. Heavens! what a tongue she wielded! The young officers of theChickamauga relieved each other in boat duty to and fro; and she routedevery one of them ignominiously. 

After the Albion Lincoln had been bonded for $18, 000, we were kept verybusy for several hours paroling prisoners, etc. , and in the meanwhile agale of wind was brewing, and the sea growing very rough. By six o'clockin the afternoon, the Lincoln was under way with the paroled prisoners;her master having been put under oath to shape the vessel's course forFortress Monroe; and we applied the torch to the "Shooting Star. " Theburning ship was visible for many miles after we left her; and it was astrange, wild spectacle, that flaming beacon in the rough sea. Themaster of the "Albion Lincoln" shaped his course straight for New York. I hope his conscience has since reproached him for violating his oath, though given to a "rebel. "

The gale increased during the night. Next day our course was shaped forMontauk Point; the scene of the previous day's operations having been inabout latitude 40° and longitude 71°, or about fifty miles southeast ofSandy Hook. Montauk Point was sighted from aloft about mid-day, and theengines were slowed down, so as not to approach too near the land beforenight. We spoke several vessels during the day, all of them under theBritish flag. Toward night we steamed towards the land, with theexpectation of finding smoother water, for the wind continued to blowfrom the southwest. At 5. 45 P. M. , we overhauled two schooners close into the shore; one of them was the "Good-speed, " from Boston toPhiladelphia, in ballast; and the other, the "Otter Rock, " from Bangorfor Washington with a load of potatoes. Both were scuttled. Our boatsdid not get alongside the Chickamauga again till eight o'clock. The windhad been gradually veering round to the northeast, and the night wasgrowing so dark and stormy, that I was reluctantly compelled to abandonthe purpose previously entertained of entering Long Island Sound. Thecrew of the Good-speed profited by the darkness to escape in their boatto the land, a few miles distant. 

We made an offing of thirty or forty miles during the night, and nextmorning captured the bark "Speedwell, " in ballast from Boston toPhiladelphia. The captain's sister and his child were on board hisvessel, and represented to be sick. I could not reconcile it to my senseof humanity to subject the weaker sex to the probable dangers andcertain hardships of confinement on board the Chickamauga. The Speedwellwas therefore bonded for $18, 000, and the captain--a very decent fellowby the way--sent on his voyage rejoicing; but the "recording angels" ofthe Northern press never placed this act to my credit. 

The northeast gale, which had been brewing for some days, commenced inearnest toward the evening. After buffeting against it for two days, thenecessity for making a port became apparent, our supply of coalbeginning to get low. The course was, therefore, shaped for Bermuda, andwe anchored off the bar at St. George's on Monday morning, November 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 willingear to the representation of the American Consul, he would not permit usto enter the harbor until after a correspondence, in which I stated thefact that our engines needed repairs; but we lay outside twenty-fourhours before even this permission was granted. He next forbade me tocoal the ship. After a protest from me he relented so far, only, as toauthorize a supply of coal, sufficient to carry the Chickamauga to thenearest Confederate port, although he had been officially informed thatthe vessel was regularly commissioned, and was then on a cruise. Although I was never favored with a sight of the correspondence, whichmust have been carried on between the American Consul and His Excellencyon the subject, I am satisfied that the former presented a favorablecase; but the Governor had no right to inquire into the antecedents ofthe Chickamauga, or to question the title by which she was held by theConfederate Government. She was, to all intents and purposes, as "bonafide" a man-of-war as the Florida, which had entered that same port, andbeen supplied with coal, and other necessaries, without question ormolestation. But the fortunes of the Confederacy were now waning; andhis Excellency wished perhaps--and may have received instructions--tokeep on good terms with the winning side, and in disregard of theobligations of justice to the weaker party. [14] The result of hispartial, and unfriendly course, was to bring the cruise of theChickamauga to a speedy end; for it was impossible for her to keep thesea without a supply of fuel--steam, which is merely an auxiliary in aproperly constituted man of war, being the Chickamauga's sole motivepower. Many of our crew, too, were enticed to desert; but the efficiencyof the vessel was rather increased than diminished by our getting rid ofthe vagabonds. They were for the most part "waifs and strays, " ofWilmington, and "skulkers" from the army, who had been drafted from theReceiving ship. They profited by liberty on shore to secrete themselves, and many of them perished with the yellow fever, then prevailing inBermuda. 

We sailed from St. George's for Wilmington November 15th, showing ourcolors to several vessels on the way, all of which carried a foreignflag. American colors had for a long time become a rare sight upon theocean, except when flying from the peak of a man-of-war. All of thevessels captured by the Chickamauga were either coasters, or traders toWest India ports, and were scarcely off soundings on the Americancoast. [15] The Alabama and Florida had demonstrated what a vast amountof injury might be inflicted upon an enemy's commerce by a few swiftcruisers; and there is no doubt that this number might have beenincreased to any reasonable extent, by proper management. No sensibleindividual, I presume, really attaches any importance to the ravings ofa portion of the Northern press, during the war, against the "rebelpirates, " and their depredations upon commerce. To destroy merchantvessels was not a pleasure, but it was a duty, and a matter ofnecessity, seeing that the Confederate ports were so closely blockadedas to render it absolutely impossible to send the prizes in foradjudication, and that all of the foreign powers prohibited the sendingof captured vessels into their ports. The officers and crews attached tothese "piratical vessels" would very gladly have carried or sent theirprizes into a Confederate port; for in that case they would have beenequally fortunate with their confreres of the United States Navy, whosepockets were filled to repletion with the proceeds of captured propertybelonging to Confederates, on land and sea. 

We approached the coast in very thick weather on the night of the 18th. We could dimly discern the breakers ahead, and close aboard; but it wasimpossible to distinguish any landmark in so dense a fog. A boat waslowered therefore, and one of the bar pilots sent to examine nearer, buthe returned on board in the course of an hour, with the report that hehad pulled close in to the surf, but could recognize no object on theshore, although he had rowed some distance parallel to it, and asclosely as he could venture. "Did you see no wrecks on the beach?" Iinquired. "Yes, sir, " he replied, "I saw three. " "And how were theylying?" I asked. He stated that two of them were "broadside on" to thebeach, and close together; and the third "bows on" to the beach, about acable's length to the north of them. I was satisfied about our exactposition at once, for while I was on the special service before alludedto, I had made a visit to Masonborough Inlet, on duty connected with thesignal stations, and had noticed three wrecks in the positionsdescribed. The Chickamauga was put under low steam, with one watch atquarters, and we waited for daylight to cross the bar. As the foglifted, shortly after sunrise, two of the blockading fleet werediscovered on our port quarter, steaming towards us, as we were runningdown the coast towards Fort Fisher. When within long range they openedfire, which was returned by us. They were soon joined by a thirdblockader, and as we drew nearer to the bar, Fort Fisher took part inthe engagement, and the blockaders hauled off. Shortly afterwards wecrossed the bar, and anchored inside of the "Rip. "

FOOTNOTES:

[12] It is very far from my intention, by these remarks, to condemn thedepredations of the Confederate cruisers upon the Federal commerce, orthe policy which dictated the fitting of them out. But there appears tome to be a wide difference between the destruction of ships and cargoesbelonging to capitalists, who contributed by their means and influenceto the support of the Federal Government, and the burning of fishingcraft manned by poor men, who relied upon the "catch" of the trip forthe means of feeding and clothing their families. But I will notexpatiate upon the "sentiment" involved in the subject, for fear ofincurring the reproach cast by Sir Peter Teazle upon that very humaneand sentimental character, Joseph Surface, whose actions differed sowidely from his words. 

[13] From General Johnston's Narrative, pages 374, 375. 

[14] But there was a striking contrast during the war, between theconduct of the British officials, acting in their official capacity, towards the Confederate officers, and that of individuals belonging toboth branches of Her Majesty's service; the latter, almost without anexception, expressed their cordial sympathy with the south, and extendedmany acts of courtesy and good feeling towards us, but the formerscrupulously abstained from every semblance of recognition or ofsympathy. 

[15] The Shooting Star was an exception, she being chartered by thegovernment. 

CHAPTER XIV

 Last Summons to Richmond. --Demoralization. --The "Chameleon. "--More trouble in Bermuda. --Another Narrow Escape. --Fall of Fort Fisher. --Maffitt's Escape, and Capt. S. 's Capture. --Another Hard Chase. --Failure to enter Charleston. --Return to Nassau. 

Another, and a longer cruise, was then contemplated, and there was someprospect of prevailing with the Secretary of the Navy to fit out theship for a cruiser, by giving her proper spars, providing the means ofdisconnecting the screws, and furnishing quarters for officers and men. But disasters to our arms were then following fast upon each other. General Sherman, after marching unopposed from Atlanta to the sea, andcapturing Savannah, was preparing to continue his progress. Wilmingtonwas threatened by a powerful sea and land force. The half starved andill clad army of Northern Virginia was in the trenches aroundPetersburg, and the now contracting area of country available forsupplies, had been so thoroughly drained, that it became a vitalquestion 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 theConfederacy only the single line of rail communication from Wilmington, via Greensborough, and Danville, to Richmond. The progress ofdemoralization was too evident at every step of my journey, and nowherewere the poverty, and the straits to which the country was reduced, morepalpably visible, than in the rickety, windowless, filthy cars, traveling six or eight miles an hour, over the worn out rails anddecaying road-bed. We were eighteen hours in making the distance (aboutone hundred and twenty miles) from Danville to Richmond. As we passed inthe rear of General Lee's lines, and I saw the scare-crow cattle therebeing slaughtered for the troops, the game seemed to be at last growingdesperate. We were detained for perhaps an hour at the station where thecattle were being slaughtered. Several soldiers who were on the train, left us there; and as soon as they alighted from the cars, they seizedportions of the offal, kindled a fire, charred the scraps upon thepoints of their ramrods, and devoured the unclean food with the avidityof famished tigers. 

It was arranged in Richmond, that I should take command of the"Tallahassee, " and proceed with all dispatch to Bermuda for a cargo ofprovisions; my late experience with the Governor of the island renderingit quite probable that he would prevent the Chickamauga from evendischarging her cargo as a merchant vessel. That steamer (theTallahassee, ) of so many aliases, had just returned from a short cruiseunder Captain Ward of the Confederate States Navy. She was nowchristened again, and bore, thenceforward, the appropriate name of the"Chameleon. " 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 shippedaccording to the laws relating to the merchant service, and regularinvoices and bills of lading made out of her cargo of cotton. Thevessel, indeed, was so thoroughly whitewashed, that she subsequentlypassed a searching examination in Bermuda; but my recent experiencethere had convinced me of the necessity of adopting every precaution, and I was left to my own discretion with regard to all the details; theinstructions under which I was acting requiring me only to bring in acargo of provisions with all dispatch. 

The "Chameleon" was in nearly all respects like the Chickamauga, only afew feet longer, and drawing a few inches more water. 

On the afternoon of December 24th, the United States fleet opened fireupon Fort Fisher, the heavy cannonading continuing during the twofollowing days. The booming of the heavy guns could be distinctly heardin Wilmington. 

There was a complete panic there; the non-combatants moving away, andfright and confusion prevailing everywhere. The co-operating landforces, under General Butler, had almost completely invested the fort, and the communication between it and Wilmington was at one timeinterrupted, so that it was impossible to ascertain the condition ofaffairs 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 offSmithville after dark, the tide not serving for crossing the bar thatnight. 

Next morning the "Agnes Fry, " an inward bound blockade-runner, wasdiscovered aground on the western bar. Towards evening two or three ofthe blockading fleet stationed off that bar steamed in, and opened fireupon her. The bombardment of the fort was still in progress. A littleafter dark, just as we were weighing our anchor, General Whiting, whowas then in Fort Fisher, telegraphed to us that the United States landforces were embarking, the attack upon the fort having been abandoned. We were under way in a few moments, closely followed by the Hansa, Captain Murray, and parting from her just as we crossed the bar. I hadknown the captain for many months, under his assumed name, and it wasquite generally known that he held a commission in the British Navy. While I was living in Nova Scotia, some years afterwards, the card ofCaptain A. Commanding H. B. M. Ship J----n was brought to me, and I wassurprised to find in the owner of it, my old friend Murray. SeveralBritish naval officers of rank and high character, were engaged in thesame exciting and lucrative occupation of blockade-running; among themthe gallant Captain Burgoyne, who commanded afterwards the unfortunateship "Captain" of H. B. M. 's Navy, and who perished together withnearly the whole crew when she foundered at sea. 

We crossed the bar under such favorable circumstances, that we were notdiscovered; nor did we see any of the fleet until we had cleared theFrying Pan Shoals, when we easily avoided several vessels which hadparticipated, no doubt, in the attack upon Fort Fisher, and were nowabout to take their stations off the western bar. 

We made a rapid, though a very rough voyage to Bermuda, a stormynorthwest gale following us nearly the whole distance. The PrussianMajor Von Borcke, who had served on General Jeb Stewart's staff, and whoafterwards published (in Blackwood's) his experience of the war, was apassenger. The Major was no sailor, and his sufferings from sea sicknesswere much aggravated by a gunshot wound in his throat. As the engines ofthe "Chameleon" would "race" in the heavy sea following us, and herwhole frame would vibrate, he declared in military phraseology ("ourarmy swore terribly in Flanders!") that he would rather encounter thedangers of a "stricken field" than voluntarily endure an hour of suchtorture. 

We arrived at St. George's on the 30th of December; and our troublesimmediately commenced. It was the 5th of January before permission wasreceived to land our cargo of cotton; His Excellency, the Governorhaving called upon the law officers of the crown for aid in the diredilemma. When the vessel's papers were at last pronounced correct, wedischarged our cargo, and then arose the perplexing question of loading. I haven't the least doubt that the American Consul was sadly botheringHis Excellency all this time; but permission was finally granted to usto take in provisions but no munitions of war. As we did not want"hardware, " as munitions of war were then invoiced, we proceeded toload. But a great deal of time had been lost, and we did not take ourdeparture for Wilmington till January the 19th; having on board aspassengers General Preston and staff, returning from Europe. 

Our voyage across was very rough, and the night of our approach to NewInlet Bar was dark and rainy. Between one and two o'clock in themorning, as we were feeling our way with the lead, a light wasdiscovered nearly ahead and a short distance from us. As we drew closerin and "sheered" the Chameleon, so as to bring the light abeam, Idirected our signal officer to make the regular signal. No reply wasmade to it, although many lights now began to appear looming up throughthe drizzling rain. These were undoubtedly camp fires of the UnitedStates troops outside of Fort Fisher; but it never occurred to me aspossible, that a second attack could have been made, and successfully inthe brief period of time which had elapsed since our departure fromWilmington. Believing that I had made some error in my day'sobservations, the Chameleon was put to sea again, as the most prudentcourse in the emergency. The night was too far spent to allow of anydelay. Orders were therefore given to go at full speed, and by daylightwe had made an offing of forty or fifty miles from the coast. Clear andpleasant weather enabled me to establish our position accurately--it wasmy invariable custom, at sea, during the war, to take my ownobservations--and early in the night we made the Mound Light ahead, forwhich I had shaped our course. The range lights were showing, and wecrossed the bar without interference, but without a suspicion ofanything wrong, as it would occasionally happen, under particularlyfavorable circumstances, that we would cross the bar without even seeinga blockader. We were under the guns of Fort Fisher in fact, and closeto the fleet of United States vessels, which had crossed the bar afterthe fall of the fort, when I directed my signal officer to communicatewith the shore station. His signal was promptly answered, but turning tome, he said, "No Confederate signal officer there, sir; he cannot replyto me. " The order to wear round was instantly obeyed; not a moment toosoon, for the bow of the Chameleon was scarcely pointed for the barbefore two of the light cruisers were plainly visible in pursuit, steaming with all speed to intercept us. Nothing saved us from capturebut the twin screws, which enabled our steamer to turn as upon a pivotin the narrow channel between the bar and the "rip. " We reached the barbefore our pursuers, and were soon lost to their sight in the darknessoutside. Our supply of coal being limited, the course was shaped forNassau as the nearer port, where we arrived without accident. A day ortwo after our arrival the news came of the fall of Fort Fisher. 

Several narrow escapes, besides our own, were made. Maffitt, in commandof the "Owl" crossed the Western Bar a night or two after the fall ofFort Fisher, and while our troops were evacuating Fort Caswell andother military stations along the river. Crossing the bar, andsuspecting no danger, he continued on his way up to Smithville, where heanchored. He was boarded a few moments afterwards by a boat from ourmilitary post there. The officer in command of the boat informed him ofthe capture of Fort Fisher, and that our troops were then evacuatingFort Caswell; adding that several vessels of the Federal fleet hadcrossed the New Inlet Bar, and were at anchor in the river almost withinhail of him. Maffitt was about to give the order to slip the chain, "notstanding upon the order of his going, " when his pilot begged forpermission to go ashore, if only for ten minutes. He represented thesituation of his wife, whom he had left ill and without means ofsupport, in such moving terms, that Maffitt granted permission, uponcondition that he would return speedily. The pilot was faithful to hispromise, returning in fifteen or twenty minutes. During his absence, steam was raised, and the chain unshackled. As the pilot's foot touchedthe deck of the "Owl" again, the boat was hooked on and run up to thedavits, the chain slipped, and the "Owl" on her way to sea again. 

Another blockade-runner is said to have been not so fortunate. She hadrun the gauntlet safely, and come to anchor off Smithville. Thetarpaulins had been removed from the hatches, the lamps lighted, and acold supper spread upon the table, at which the passengers were seated, two or three officers of the British army among them. A toast to thecaptain had been proposed, and they had just tossed off a bumper inchampagne to his health and continued successes, and he was about toreply to the compliment, when the officer of the deck reported that aboat was coming alongside. The captain received the officer at thegangway. The mail bag, according to the usual routine, was given to thelatter for transportation to the shore; and the customary inquiries madeafter the name of the vessel, cargo, number of passengers, etc. Theastounded captain was then informed that his vessel was a prize to theUnited States ship--then at anchor near him!

Charleston was now the only harbor on the Atlantic coast at allaccessible, and that must evidently soon fall; but a cargo might belanded there before that inevitable catastrophe, and fully appreciatingthe exigency, I determined to make the effort. Even after theoccupation of Wilmington by the United States troops, there would remainan interior line of communication between Charleston and Virginia. Thefacts of history prove that the importance of carrying in a cargo ofprovisions was not exaggerated, for the army of northern Virginia wasshortly afterwards literally starving; and during their retreat from theposition around Petersburg the country adjacent to their line of marchwas swarming with soldiers who had left the ranks in search of food. 

But it was the part of prudence to ascertain, positively, beforesailing, that Charleston was still in our possession. This intelligencewas brought by the "Chicora" which arrived at Nassau on the 30th ofJanuary; and on February 1st, the "Owl, " "Carolina, " "Dream, " "Chicora"and "Chameleon" sailed within a few hours of each other for Charleston. 

The condition of affairs throughout the Confederacy was far moredesperate than we, who were abroad, had any idea of. Despondency anddemoralization had advanced with gigantic strides within the past two orthree eventful months. Admiral Semmes, in his "Memoirs of ServiceAfloat, etc, " gives the following account of an interview with GeneralLee: "As soon as I could command a leisure moment, I paid General Lee avisit at his head-quarters near Petersburg, and spent a night with him. I had served with him in the Mexican War. We discussed together thecritical state of the country and of his army--we were now near the endof January, 1865, and I thought the grand old chieftain and Christiangentleman seemed to foreshadow in his conversation, more by manner thanby words, the approaching downfall of the cause for which we were bothstruggling. I had come to him, I told him, to speak of what I had seenof the people, and of the army, in my transit across the country, and tosay to him that unless prompt measures could be devised to put an end tothe desertions that were going on among our troops, our cause mustinevitably be lost. He did not seem to be at all surprised at therevelations I made. He knew all about the condition of the country, civil and military, but seemed to feel himself powerless to prevent thedownward tendency of things, and he was right. It was no longer in thepower of any one man to save the country. The body politic was alreadydead. The people themselves had given up the contest, and this being thecase, no army could do more than retard the catastrophe for a fewmonths. Besides, his army itself was melting away. That very night, as Ilearned at the breakfast table, one hundred and sixty men deserted in abody. It was useless to attempt to shoot deserters when demoralizationhad gone to this extent. " A few weeks subsequent to the date referred toin the above extract, General Johnston was ordered to "drive backSherman. " He states in his "Narrative" in reference to accepting thecommand: "This was done with a full consciousness on my part, however, that we could have no other object in continuing the war than to obtainfair terms of peace; for the Southern cause must have appeared hopelessthen to all intelligent and dispassionate Southern men. "

We passed Abaco light soon after dark, and shaped our course direct forCharleston. At early dawn the next morning, while I was lying awake inmy room on the bridge, I heard the officer of the deck give the quicksharp order to the helmsman "hard a-port!" The steering wheel in all ofthe blockade-runners was upon the bridge and immediately forward of thecaptain's state-room, and the officer of the deck kept his watch uponthe bridge. As I never undressed at night, while at sea in commandduring the war, I was out upon the deck in a moment; and then I sawdistant two or three miles and directly in our former course, a largeside-wheel steamer. From her size and rig, I guessed her to be the"Vanderbilt;" and I was afraid that the Chameleon had at last found morethan her match, for the Vanderbilt enjoyed the reputation of greatspeed. We wore round before we were discovered, but as the strangesteamer's bow was pointed in our direction a few moments afterwards, itwas plain that we would have to make good use of our heels, and that therace would be a trying one. The Chameleon was in fine condition for theordeal, and the usual precaution of cleaning fires, and raising thesteam had been taken before daylight. My staunch old quartermaster, McLean, who had been with me in nearly all the chances and changes ofblockade-running, always took his place at the wheel on tryingoccasions. He had nerves of steel, and would have steered the vesselwithout flinching against a line of battle ship, if so ordered. Upon oneoccasion, after we had crossed the Western Bar, and were steaming atfull speed along the coast, we suddenly discovered a long low blockaderon our starboard bow, and at the same instant, distinctly heard theorder from the stranger's deck, to "pass along the shell!" I called outto my old helmsman, "Port and run her down!" and if the strange vesselhad not moved out of our way with alacrity, she would have beenassuredly cut in two. We grazed her stern by a hair's breadth as we shotby her at the rate of thirteen knots. Before they had recovered from theconfusion on board of her, we had passed into the darkness beyond, andthe 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 againbefriended us. As the day advanced, the breeze, which was very lightfrom the northward at daylight, continued to freshen from that quarter. We soon set all of our canvas, and so did the chaser, but as the latterwas square rigged, and we carried fore and aft sails, our sheets werehauled flat aft, and the Chameleon kept close to the wind by the steadyold helmsman. I do not doubt that we would have been overhauled but forthis favorable contingency. Head to wind our pursuer would certainlyhave overtaken us, and off the wind her chances would have been almostequally good. But she began to drop gradually to leeward as the windcontinued steady, and by two o'clock in the afternoon, she was five orsix miles distant on our lee quarter. Although we had not increased thedistance between us much, if any, since the commencement of the chase, we had weathered upon the chaser until her sails had become uselessabout twelve o'clock when she furled them. As the snowy cloud of canvaswas rolled up like magic, and the tall tapering spars were seen in itsplace, I supposed the cruiser was about to retire from the contest; butshe still followed with the tenacity of a bloodhound. But apparently tono purpose till about two o'clock, when the chief engineer, Mr. Schroeder, appeared on the bridge with the report that the journals wereheated, 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 astream of water was being pumped upon them, I saw that Schroeder wasright in the assertion, that unless the bearings were instantly eased, the machinery would give way. I had implicit confidence in Schroeder, and it had been justly earned, for he had served long under my command, and had always displayed, under trying circumstances, great coolness, presence of mind, and ability. He made every preparation for the workbefore him, taking off his own coat, and when everything was inreadiness, the order to stop the engines was given. In a few moments, welay like a log upon the water, and the chaser was rapidly lessening thedistance between as, and the suspense became almost intolerable. Ourfate was hanging by a thread; but in ten minutes the journals had beencooled off, the bearings eased, and the Chameleon again sprang aheadwith renewed speed. The steamer in chase had approached nearly withincannon shot--probably within long range--but in the course of the nexthour, we had gained so rapidly in the race that the pursuit wasabandoned as hopeless; and as the stranger wore around, to resume herstation under easy steam, we followed in her wake till dark, when weevaded her without difficulty, and continued on our course towardCharleston. 

But another precious day had been lost, and subsequent unfavorableweather still further retarding our progress, we did not reach the coastnear Charleston Bar till the fifth night after our departure fromNassau. The blockading fleet had been reinforced by all the lightcruisers from the approaches to the Cape Fear River; and as we drew into the land, we were so frequently compelled to alter the course of theChameleon, in order to evade the blockaders, that we did not reach thebar till long after midnight, and after the tide had commenced to fall. I was tempted to force the pilot to make the attempt, but finallyyielded to his assurances that access was impossible under thecircumstances. As this was the last night during that moon, when the barcould be crossed during the dark hours, the course of the Chameleon wasagain, and for the last time, shaped for Nassau. As we turned away fromthe land, our hearts sank within us, while the conviction forced itselfupon us, that the cause for which so much blood had been shed, so manymiseries bravely endured, and so many sacrifices cheerfully made, wasabout to perish at last!

CHAPTER XV. 

 Sad News via New York. --Consternation among Speculators in Nassau. --Departure from Nassau via Bermuda. --Arrival at Liverpool. --The End. 

Arriving at Nassau on the 8th, we found many blockade-runners in port, waiting for news from Charleston; and on the 10th, the Owl returned, after an unsuccessful attempt to enter Charleston, during which shereceived a shot through her bows; and intelligence came also of thecapture of the "Stag" and "Charlotte. " On the 23d, the "Chicora, " whichhad succeeded in getting into Charleston, arrived with the fatal news ofits evacuation, and the progress of General Sherman through Georgia andSouth Carolina. This sad intelligence put an end to all our hopes, andwe were now cut off from all communication with the ConfederateGovernment authorities. 

In this dilemma, Maffitt and I consulted with Mr. Heyliger, theConfederate agent at Nassau; and it was decided that the Chameleonshould be taken over to England. Whatever might be the course ofevents, our duty appeared to be to turn our vessels over, either to theagent of the Navy Department in Liverpool, or to the firm of Messrs. Fraser, Trenholm & Co. There. We learned afterwards, indeed, thatCaptain Pembroke Jones, of the Confederate Navy, was at that time on hisway to us via Galveston or Mexico, with orders from the Navy Department. All of us were directed to take in cargoes of provisions to a specifiedpoint on the Rappahannock River, under the protection of Confederateartillery to be stationed there in readiness. The steamers were to beburned after landing their cargoes, but Jones could not reach us intime. 

The bottom of the Chameleon being quite foul, divers were employed toscrub it preparatory to her long sea voyage. These people arewonderfully expert, remaining under the surface nearly two minutes; andthe water in the harbor of Nassau is so clear that they can bedistinctly seen even at the keel of a vessel. Our cargo of provisionswas landed, and an extra supply of coal taken on board. The vessel beingunder Confederate colors and liable to capture wherever found, except inneutral waters, it behooved us to be prepared at all times to show ourheels to a stranger Some of our crew who wished their discharge, for thepurpose of rejoining their families at the South, were paid off; therest of them shipped for the voyage to Liverpool via Bermuda. We stilllingered for later intelligence which was brought by the mail steamerCorsica from New York. Charleston was evacuated on the 17th of February, and Fort Anderson, the last of the defences at Wilmington, fell on the19th. General Johnston had assumed command of the broken remnant of thearmy of the Tennessee in North Carolina, and subsequently offered someresistance to the hitherto unimpeded march of General Sherman; but thelatter was now about to effect a junction with General Schofield, whocommanded a large force which had landed at Wilmington. It was tooevident that the end was near. The speculators in Nassau saw that "thebottom 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 gamewith large gains, but the majority had staked their all and lost it; andeven the fortunate ones had contracted a thirst for rash ventures, whicheventually led to the pecuniary and social ruin of some of them. Eventhe negro stevedores and laborers bewailed our misfortunes, for theyknew that the glory of Nassau had departed forever. My old friendCaptain Dick Watkins probably more unselfishly regretted the disastersto our arms than the speculators or even the refugees in Nassau, who hadsucceeded in evading service in the army by skulking abroad. Arecruiting officer might have "conscripted" nearly a brigade of theswaggering blusterers. Captain Dick and I parted with mutual regret; andI sincerely hope, if Providence has been pleased to remove the oldfellow's helpmeet to a better sphere, that he has found consolation in avirtuous union with one of those "mighty pretty yaller gals" he so muchadmired; and that Napoleon Bonaparte may rise to the highest dignitiesin that particolored community of spongers and "wrackers. "

We sailed from Nassau on the 22d of March and arrived at St. George's, Bermuda on the 26th. The harbor was deserted, and the town, in itslistless inactivity, presented a striking contrast with its late stirand bustle. "'Twas Greece, but living Greece no more. " After coaling, wetook our departure for Liverpool on the 26th of March, and arrived thereon the 9th of April. It was Palm Sunday, and the chimes were ringingsweetly from the church bells, as we came to anchor. 

The contrast between this happy, peaceful, prosperous country and ourown desolated, war-distracted land, struck a chill to our saddenedhearts. The last act in the bloody drama was about to close on that veryday at Appomattox Court House, and before that sun had set, theConfederate Government had become a thing of the past. We, who wereabroad, were not unprepared for the final catastrophe; for we hadlearned on our arrival at Liverpool of General Early's defeat in thevalley of the Shenandoah, and the accession to General Grant's alreadyoverwhelmingly large forces of General Sheridan's cavalry; and of thejunction of General Sherman with General Schofield. To oppose thesemighty armies, there were 33, 000 half starved, ragged heroes in thetrenches around Petersburg, and about 25, 000 under General Johnston inNorth Carolina. 

This may not be a proper place to allude to the fearful penaltiesinflicted upon a people who fought and suffered for what they deemed aholy cause. But it should be proclaimed, in the interest of truth andjustice, that the South since the close of the war, has been preyedupon by unprincipled adventurers and renegades who are determined torule or ruin. But a brighter day will come. Calumny and injustice cannottriumph forever. That distinguished officer Colonel C. C. Chesney of theBritish army in a volume of "Military Biography" lately published byhim, in allusion to General Lee, writes thus: "But though America haslearned to pardon, she has yet to attain the full reconciliation forwhich the dead hero would have sacrificed a hundred lives. Time can onlybring this to a land, which in her agony, bled at every pore. Time, thehealer of all wounds will bring it yet. The day will come, when the evilpassions of the great civil strife will sleep in oblivion, and North andSouth do justice to each other's motives, and forget each other'swrongs. Then History will speak with clear voice of the deeds done oneither side, and the citizens of the whole Union do justice to thememories of the dead. " Surely all honest men and true patriots willrejoice to see that day. 

The firm of Fraser, Trenholm & Co. Was represented in Liverpool by a Mr. Prioleau who was by no means anxious for the consignment of theChameleon in ballast; with a cargo on board the case would have beendifferent. He evidently considered her a very big and unsalableelephant, and repudiated the part of showman. The vessel was thereforeturned over to Captain Bullock, who acted with his usual tact anddiscretion in the subsequent transactions connected with her. There wasa sharp struggle between rival claimants 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 toCaptain Bullock and his receipt taken for them. Here I beg leave toaffirm that I neither appropriated nor desired to appropriate any of thespoils of the perishing ship of state. [16] But as memory recalls themany opportunities placed in my way of making a fortune during the war, without detriment to the cause, and consistent with every obligation dueto the Confederate Government, there are times when I cannot decidewhether I acted the part of a fool, or that of a patriot. We are toldthat when Lord Clive was arraigned before the British Parliament forprofiting by his high position in India to enrich himself, he exclaimedat the close of his defence against the charge, "By G----d, Mr. Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation!" His idea of"moderation" was £300, 000. A "dead broke" Confederate would haveconsidered himself fortunate to possess 300, 000 cents! Some of the crewof 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 pettifogginglawyer, could be induced to consent to arbitration; but the matter wasfinally settled through Bullock's agency, although it appeared probableat one time that I would be obliged to take a hasty departure fromEngland. 

The end was close at hand. News of the capture of Richmond arrived onthe 15th, and a few days afterwards, intelligence of the surrender ofGeneral Lee's army. The Chameleon was soon afterwards given up to theUnited States Government which claimed the assets, but repudiated theliabilities of the Confederate Government. Her officers and crew wereturned adrift with "the wide world before them where to choose. "

FOOTNOTE:

[16] The proofs, which I hold in my possession, of this affirmation canhave no interest for the general reader. Shortly after the close of thewar, I learned through a friend in Washington that I was charged withappropriating many thousands of dollars belonging to the lateConfederate Government. Although I was then living in Halifax, NovaScotia, and beyond the jurisdiction of the United States Government, Iforwarded to the Hon. Secretary of the United States Navy, copies of thereceipts taken by me from Captain Bullock, in Liverpool, for allConfederate property in my possession. I may be permitted indeed, toclaim eminent disinterestedness, for I might have accumulated a fortune;and at the end, my faithful and efficient paymaster, E. CourtenayJenkins, a gentleman of the purest integrity, made the transfer by mydirection; both of us washing our hands of the "filthy lucre, " andretaining a clear conscience.