What the precise position and duties of a Master’s Mate were in the
old navy I am not able to say. Indeed, I don’t think I ever asked.
In the Confederate Navy the Master’s Mate had the same duties and
the same nominal rank as a Midshipman, and wore the same uniform.
The only difference was the very essential one that the pay of the
Master’s Mate was about $25 a month, while that of a Midshipman was
about $40.
My worst troubles were now over. Captain Pegram told me that,
as there was no special duty for me aboard, he would ask me to
prepare, under his direction, his report of the voyage. This I did.
It is worth remembering, too, that I had the pleasure of writing,
in his name, a letter of thanks to Governor Pickens, of South
Carolina, for the loan of the Blakeley guns which had constituted
our armament. I remember that it was in this letter that Captain
Pegram said that it was by means of these guns that the _Nashville_
had been able to capture the _Harvey Birch_ and the _Robert
Gilfillan_, and had been able to show her teeth to the enemy. The
last shot that we fired with these guns was at the blockaders as we
ran into Beaufort. The shell fell short, but it was a sort of crow
of defiance, and relieved our feelings somewhat.
I learned that the _Nashville_ had been sold to a mercantile firm,
and would be left at Morehead City in charge of two officers and
three or four men, until the new owners should take possession of
her. The rest of the crew were to be discharged, and the officers
were to be sent to other posts of duty. I was ordered to report for
duty to Commodore Forrest, at Norfolk, Va., to which point Captain
Pegram was to go to take command of an iron-clad then building. To
crown my satisfaction, Captain Pegram told me that he intended to
make a visit to his family, in Sussex County, Virginia, and would
be glad if I should accompany him, and remain with him until it was
necessary to go to Norfolk.
On March 10, 1862, we bade good-bye to the _Nashville_. Shortly
after our departure the enemy moved in force upon Newbern, and, to
escape capture, Lieutenant Whittle and Midshipman Sinclair took
the _Nashville_ out to sea. They had but three or four men aboard,
and were, I believe, without charts or chronometers. They ran
down to Charleston, and being unable to get into that port, went
to Savannah, where they succeeded in running the blockade. It was
a daring feat most successfully accomplished, and reflected the
highest credit on the officers and men. The _Nashville_ lay in the
Ogeechee river until 1863, when she was named the _Rattlesnake_,
and was made ready for sea as one of the vessels of the Volunteer
Navy then forming. But a Federal gunboat succeeded in setting her
on fire with shells thrown across the marsh to the point where she
lay, and she burned to the water’s edge and sank. This was the end
of as fine a sea-boat as was ever built.
On taking the train to Goldsboro’ I found that the passport
system was in full operation, and, as I was in civilian’s dress,
the guard declined to allow me to pass. Captain Pegram, however,
told the guard that he would “endorse” me, and I went on without
molestation. Of course I made all manner of queer blunders.
Everything was so strange. The nocturnal noise of the tree frogs
caused me to tell Captain Pegram in the morning that it was the
only country that I had ever been in where the birds sang all
night. I had not then been kept awake, hour by hour, by the
melodious warbling of the mocking bird.
It was a little after daylight when we reached Stony Creek, on the
Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, where we were to leave the train.
Taking a carriage after breakfast, we drove through the woods and
plantations to the residence of Major Belsches, with whom Captain
Pegram’s family were staying. Two or three miles before reaching
it, we passed by a handsome residence in the midst of a large
and well-ordered plantation, which I was told belonged to Mr.
Nat. Raines, a wealthy planter, who was an old friend of Captain
Pegram’s. At the house of Major Belsches we found Mrs. Pegram, her
two daughters and her two younger sons. Every one was as kind as
possible, and the time for our departure for Norfolk came far too
soon. Before going there--indeed, the very day after our arrival--I
was taken over to the residence of Mr. Raines, to be introduced
to him and his family. He seemed to take quite a fancy to me, and
in the course of a few hours I was on a friendly footing with the
whole family. Nat. Raines, Jr., and Dr. B. F. Raines, the sons of
Mr. Raines, were in the cavalry service, and, at this time, at home
on furlough. Mrs. Raines was quiet, gentle and motherly, and her
two daughters I found to be amiable and accomplished. One joke that
Mr. Raines had was to tell me that he was fonder of smoking than I,
and could out-smoke me. The tournament that followed resulted in
my ignominious defeat. The weapons were Powhatan clay pipes with
long reed stems, charged with tobacco grown on the plantation. Mr.
Raines carried a supply of it usually in his coat pocket.