[Frontispiece: A BLOCKADE-RUNNING SCHOONER LOADED WITH COTTON]
[Illustration: Title page]
THE ADVENTURES OF
A BLOCKADE RUNNER,
OR, TRADE IN TIME OF
WAR
BY WILLIAM WATSON.
AUTHOR OF "LIFE IN THE
CONFEDERATE ARMY"
_ILLUSTRATED BY CAPTAIN BYNG, R.N._
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN. NEW
YORK : MACMILLAN & CO. MDCCCXCIII
PREFACE.
There are few instances in modern times where the exigencies of war
so much barred the free run of intercourse and paralyzed trade and
commerce as the blockading of the Southern ports during the American
Civil War, or where such inducements were offered to break through
the barrier by what was called blockade running.
The writer has neither the knowledge nor the capability to attempt to
write anything like a history or treatise on this subject; he
therefore confines himself to a brief detail of his own acts and
experience, and what came under his own observation.
The idea of blockade running during that war has been generally
depicted by swift steamers running into Charleston and other ports in
the Atlantic States, and it was there that it was chiefly carried on
during the earlier part of the war when the blockade was somewhat
inefficient.
It has also been supposed by some that the danger of capture lay only
in passing through the blockading fleet while entering or leaving a
port, and that beyond the limits of the blockaded port no danger
existed; this was a mistaken idea.
As the war progressed, the naval force of the United States was
greatly augmented. The seas were patrolled by cruisers, and the
blockaded ports became fewer in number as they were successively
captured and occupied by the United States forces; and during the
latter part of the war, the traffic was confined almost exclusively
to the Gulf of Mexico and the States bordering on its shores; and it
was there carried on with great activity till the very end of the
war, in the face of a powerful blockading fleet and numerous
cruisers, which overhauled and seized anywhere at sea, all vessels to
which they thought any suspicion might attach.
Hence the traffic was then attended with more difficulty and risk;
captures were more frequent, and the whole business more hazardous
and exciting.
In connection with the traffic in the Gulf there was one feature
which has been very little noticed: this was the great amount of
blockade running which was done by small sailing vessels.
On the shores of the Gulf States there were many rivers and inlets,
the entrances to which were generally blocked by shallow bars or
shoals, which could only be entered by vessels of light draught of
water. These entrances were largely taken advantage of by what were
called centre-board schooners--a class of vessels much in use at that
time in these parts.
Although one or more war vessels generally lay off these entrances or
inlets, they could not, on account of the shallow water, get
sufficiently close to effectually block the passage in and out of
these small craft by night, therefore a strict lookout was kept for
them outside: and, in order to suppress the traffic, a number of
patrolling vessels cruised along the coast and over the Gulf, with
the view of picking them up at sea.
The shallow waters of these ports also confined the traffic to
vessels of small class, and these had to run to neutral ports in
Mexico, Cuba, or elsewhere, which made their occupation somewhat
adventurous. Often very heavily overladen, they had, besides the
risk of passing the blockading vessels, the dangers of a long sea
voyage, throughout the whole of which they were liable to be picked
up by the United States cruisers; and winter being the chosen time,
on account of shorter daylight and better winds, they often
encountered heavy gales, and being in constant dread of capture, they
were often driven along with extreme recklessness.
The writer through force of circumstances brought on by the war was
in a measure compelled to engage in this hazardous business, and had
some experience in this small-craft traffic and afterwards in
steamers, as well as in some of the less pleasing incidents of
business in the war time.
He has still in his possession many papers and memoranda of business
and other events, as well as remnants of his log-books; and in now
publishing this little account of his experience, he trusts the
public will excuse the many defects in his composition, as he has no
pretensions to literary abilities, but endeavours to relate, in a
plain, blunt way, events just as they happened. And if those who may
take the trouble to read through these pages should find anything to
interest or amuse them, his object will be attained.
WILLIAM WATSON.
_January_, 1892.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
A country distracted by war--Effects of a blockade--Getting away from
the turmoil--The schooner _Rob Roy_--Description of a centre-board
vessel
CHAPTER II.
The writer begins his narrative--The schooner boarded by the
_Alabama_--Arrival at Belize, Honduras--American vessels changing
their flag--Effects of the American paper currency on the West Indian
market--No market for cargo--Sails for the coast of Mexico--Finds
there a large fleet of shipping--Reasons for the presence of the same
CHAPTER III.
Communication with the Confederate States through Mexico--The cotton
mania--The Brownsville route across the plains--Its difficulties and
uncertainties
CHAPTER IV.
No prospect of business--Reduced to straits--Resolve to try a bolder
venture--A new captain and crew shipped--Captain J.--A word of
warning as to him--Departure for the blockaded coast--Arrival in
Texas, but not unscathed
CHAPTER V.
State of things in Texas--Scarcity of gold and silver--A forced
currency--Jobbers--Vessels at a premium--Devices to obtain possession
of them--Descent of the Federal forces on the coast--The _Rob Roy_
pressed into the Government service--Beginning of troubles--Blockade
runners regarded with suspicion--Proof of fealty an important
essential--Military rule
CHAPTER VI.
More troubles--Sinking of the schooner--Captain B. sympathizes and
proffers his advice--Kindness of Captain Downs--Strange conduct of
Captain J.--A plot to get possession of the vessel--A new partnership
formed--The sunken vessel raised--A personal encounter--A good
riddance
CHAPTER VII.
The vessel again repaired--Another detention--A large Federal fleet
on the coast--Capture of Captain Downs's vessel and others--The Forts
bombarded--The _Rob Roy_ again employed in the Government
service--Arrival of a schooner escaped from her captors--Captain
McLusky--Account of his capture and escape
CHAPTER VIII.
My share in the schooner reduced to one-eighth--Appointed master of
her--The Brownsville route intercepted--Captains of blockade-running
vessels to be furnished with commissions--A schooner on the bar--My
old friend Captain Downs again turns up--Amusing story of his
capture--I am entrusted with important despatches
CHAPTER IX.
Getting to sea at last--Half-manned in a gale--Passing the gunboats
in the darkness--Hard work, but happy--George and his sea proverbs
and superstitions--Dodging cruisers in calm weather--A hot chase and
a narrow escape--No desire for company--Arrival at Tampico
CHAPTER X.
Landing of the cargo at Tampico--A mysterious stranger makes friends
with me--A chance to make a fortune by betraying trust--Tampico under
French rule--Rejoicings at Maximilian's acceptance of the Imperial
Crown of Mexico--Departure from Tampico--Arrival at Havana--Settling
up accounts
CHAPTER XI.
Trying to get a freight--Confederate regulations as to inward
cargoes--Sympathizing speculators--Patriotism _versus_ Number
One--Basis of blockade running changed from Nassau to Havana--Rigging
of the market--Arrival of the _Harriet Lane_ and
_Matagorda_--Attention of steamers turned to Galveston--My old friend
Captain Dave turns up--His views as to costly vessels for blockade
running--He invests in a cheap one--Arrangements for a second voyage
CHAPTER XII.
Second voyage--Departure from Havana--Captain Dave sails same
night--Light winds and calms--Plans to keep out of sight of
cruisers--Narrow escape--We meet an old friend--We don't like her
looks--We make a warlike display--She sheers off--A long passage--Get
in with difficulty--Captain Dave ahead of us--He brings in with him a
Federal naval officer and prize crew
CHAPTER XIII.
Captain Dave makes a demand upon me--How his vessel was captured--How
he recaptured her--A flag of truce--Dave has a parley with the
commander of the blockading fleet
CHAPTER XIV.
Loading of the vessel--Yellow fever--Clearance and letter of
consignment--Captain Shaeffer and the _Mary Elizabeth_--Cruising in
Galveston Bay--Novel method of cleaning a vessel's bottom--An
extraordinary statement of accounts--No pass out till settled--A
blockade on both sides to run--Father Ryan a passenger
CHAPTER XV.
Outward trip--Going out without a passport--Sail in company with the
_Mary Elizabeth_--Passing close to a gunboat--The strictest silence
enjoined--A cock crowing nearly betrays us--Singular superstition
arising from the incident--Overtaken by a hurricane--More danger from
the seas than the enemies this trip--The _Mary Elizabeth_ never heard
of--Dangerous crossing of the bar at Tampico
CHAPTER XVI.
Landing and dividing of the cargo--Tampico under the Government of
Maximilian--The French commanders and the civil authorities--Mexican
tardiness and formality--French impulse--Condemned army stores--Sail
for Havana--Father Ryan takes passage with us--He is willing to bear
a hand--A sailor's method of dealing with well-meaning
busybodies--Arrival at Havana
CHAPTER XVII.
The new custom house at Havana--Singular story of the building--Mr.
R. M. ignores the action of the house in Texas--He prevails on me to
make another trip--Great excitement in blockade running--Steamers
_versus_ sailing vessels--Their respective merits compared--Havana
and its institutions--Officials--Pensioners--Poor--Criminals--
Lotteries--Captain Flagg and the _Bilateria_--Jim Hyland turns
up--His wife desires to be present when he is paid off--Loaded
for another voyage
CHAPTER XVIII.
Third voyage--Departure from Havana--A dead-weight cargo--Heavy
weather--A chase--Loss of a topmast--Get into Galveston during a
norther
CHAPTER XIX.
Shore business--Our new consignee, Mr. C.--Collision with a
transport--Loss of our main-boom--Increase of business at
Galveston--Difficulty of getting compressed cotton--Arrival of my
friend Flagg--He plays a joke upon me--He makes amends for it--I wish
to leave quickly--Load with uncompressed cotton--A small cargo--Clear
for Vera Cruz
CHAPTER XX.
Outward trip--Waiting for a favourable night to run out--Take the
first that offers--Not very favourable--Observed by the blockading
fleet, and brought to--The enemy's boat comes alongside--Singular
accident--Perilous position of the enemy's boat and crew--A scene of
confusion--We escape in the flurry--A cruiser in the distance at
daylight--Southerly winds--A norther--A false alarm--Arrival at Vera
Cruz--Landing and disposal of the cargo--Departure from Vera
Cruz--Arrival at Havana
CHAPTER XXI.
Mr. R. M. brings up the question of the second voyage--We dissolve
partnership--The schooner sold by auction--He buys her in--She sails
on another voyage--Fate of the _Rob Roy_--Havana crowded with
blockade-running steamers
CHAPTER XXII.
Out of employment--Engage as sailing-master and pilot--The steamer
_Ph[oe]nix_--Steamer life new to me--Steamer and crew new to blockade
running--Smoke a matter of importance in this traffic--A cruiser in
the distance--A chase cut short by darkness setting in--Arrival at
Galveston
CHAPTER XXIII.
On shore at Galveston--Appointed to another steamer--The steamer
_Jeannette_--Short of coal--Sail for Tampico--An exciting
chase--Arrival at Tampico
CHAPTER XXIV.
Waiting at Tampico for orders--Seized with small-pox--My old friend
the Yankee captain--Startling news--Death of Lincoln--Surrender of
General Lee--General surmises as to the situation--I leave for
Havana--Find on arrival there a United States fleet entering the
harbour--A demand on the Spanish Government by the United
States--Critical state of affairs--Total collapse of the
Confederacy--End of blockade running
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
(1) A BLOCKADE-RUNNING SCHOONER LOADED WITH COTTON ... _Frontispiece_
(2) SCHOONER "ROB ROY"
(3) A UNITED STATES GUNBOAT
(4) VERY NEARLY CAPTURED IN A CALM
(5) MIDNIGHT IN A HURRICANE
(6) CROSSING THE BAR AT TAMPICO IN A GALE
THE ADVENTURES
OF
A BLOCKADE RUNNER.
CHAPTER I.
A country distracted by war--Effects of a blockade--Getting away from
the turmoil--The schooner _Rob Roy_--Description of centre-board
vessel.
It was in the early part of the year 1863, when the Civil War in
America was at its height, and the extensive fields, prairies, and
forests in the Southern States had become one gigantic battle-field,
and the noble rivers--on whose waters three years before magnificent
steamers had been plying up and down, embarking and disembarking
their freights and passengers at the numerous thriving towns and
villages along the fertile banks--were now unruffled except by
grim-looking war vessels armed with heavy guns, whose frowning
muzzles threatened destruction to the almost deserted towns along the
shores.
Over the whole length and breadth of the land all commercial
industries, business pursuits, and even pleasures and enjoyments,
were suppressed by the authority and din of war. Shut off from
communication with the outer world, and surrounded by a hostile
force, the whole country might be compared to one vast besieged
garrison, where but one object was paramount, that of resistance to
the enemy, and the will of the commander the only law, and the only
liberty such as he chose to grant.
The Northern States, with a view of crushing the South into
obedience, had, with a powerful fleet, blockaded every Southern port,
and completely shut off the Southern States from all communication
with other nations.
These States, being entirely agricultural, little attention had been
given to manufacturing industries within themselves; they had
hitherto almost entirely depended upon the export of their stable
products, to supply in return, by way of imports, all articles of
foreign manufacture or production necessary for their use. When
therefore the blockade was in force, the effect caused by the
shutting off of these imports was severely felt.
While the want of munitions of war hampered the combatants, and the
want of other necessaries of life caused great privation and
suffering among the inhabitants generally, within these blockaded and
beleaguered States, the want of their products, particularly cotton,
also began to be much felt by other nations.
Previous to the outbreak of hostilities, these States had been the
world's chief source of the cotton supply, in the production of which
they almost held a monopoly. And thus when that supply was stopped
the consequences were severely felt throughout the large
manufacturing districts in Europe and the Northern States.
Factories were closed from want of raw material and thousands of
operatives thrown out of employment.
Throughout the world there was a great dearth of this article, and
this era will long be remembered for the cotton famine which caused
much distress among the working classes, the price, as may be
imagined, having reached an enormous figure; while, within those
States, cotton was piled up in millions of bales a cumbersome drug,
and the people were suffering severely from want of the very
merchandise that other nations would gladly have supplied in exchange.
From month to month and from year to year did this state of matter
continue.
The seas, which three years previously had been thickly studded with
the white sails of shipping, were now deserted, and nearly as
solitary as when discovered by Columbus.
Such being the state of affairs, it is obvious that attempts were not
wanting to break through the cordon which caused misery and privation
to so many, and which was, or could be, maintained by no other right
than that accorded to sheer force of arms.
Standing guard over every port or inlet where any entrance could be
effected were armed vessels, ready to dispute with shot and shell any
attempt at entrance or egress, while in the open sea solitary
cruisers might be seen occasionally on the look-out for, and ready to
overhaul, search, and seize if they thought proper, any vessel which
they thought suspicious, or which might dare to approach the guarded
waters.
At rare times might be seen a steamer with low hull, painted so as to
be scarcely distinguishable from the waves, speeding along at a rapid
rate, to make a landfall about dusk, or lying near the offing with
banked fires waiting for the cover of night to attempt to run through
the blockading fleet. Also, at times, a small, low-hulled schooner
might be observed making for some of the inland bays, shoals, or
river mouths, into which she could retreat if chased by a cruiser.
It was about the time referred to--June, 1863--that a small,
low-hulled schooner was making her way from these coasts and standing
southward into the Gulf of Mexico. The mere existence of a vessel in
these waters, particularly a vessel of that description, would have
excited suspicion and would certainly have brought down upon her any
United States cruiser had she been observed by them. But although
her appearance and description was exactly the same as a blockade
runner's, it was easy to see from the position she was in, from the
course she was steering and the cargo she carried, that she was not
at that time engaged in the business.
Her position was about sixty miles south of the mouth of the
Mississippi river; which was the entrance to the port of New Orleans,
and that city was then in the hands of the Federal forces, and was
not blockaded, but was under martial law, and all trade with it was
restricted.
From the direction the vessel was steering, it was evident that she
had come out from that port. She had a general or mixed cargo, and
part of a deck-load of shingles.
It was blowing a stiff breeze, about S.S.E., and the vessel was close
hauled on the port tack, which showed that she was bound for some
port in Cuba, or that she intended to pass through the Yucatan
Channel into the Caribbean Sea.
As this vessel is to occupy a prominent place in our narrative, and
as she was of a kind seldom seen on the European side of the
Atlantic, and until very recently comparatively unknown, we may here
give a slight description of her.
She was called a centre-board boat, and since vessels of the kind
have lately created a little sensation in yachting circles, we may
give a rough sketch of their origin, construction, and utility, at
least such of them as are employed in sea-going and cargo-carrying
purposes.
Along the shores of the Southern States, particularly on the borders
of the Gulf of Mexico, there are numerous land-locked bays, which are
navigable to a considerable extent inland, as well as many rivers
more or less navigable falling into the gulf. At the entrances to
these bays and rivers there are generally bars of shallow water,
which prevent the entrance of vessels of deep draught. To enable
vessels of some size to enter, the plan of the centre-board was
adopted.
Vessels of this kind are built in a particular way, and it is
important that the proportions should be strictly observed. If this
is done the vessel is stable and seaworthy; if not, she is dangerous.
The model of a vessel best adapted for sea-going purposes is of what
is called the flat-sharp kind.
The rise in floor from keel to bilge, about one in six. The breadth
of beam should never be less than three and a half times the depth of
hold, or three times the total depth, and the length for sea-going
purposes never to exceed four times the breadth of beam.
The keel, which must be of great breadth and strength, extends only a
few inches below the planking of the bottom. Up the centre of the
keel, in a line straight fore and aft, is made a slot, of sufficient
width to admit the centre-board, and as long as can be gained with
convenience and safety. From the upper side of the keel this slot is
cased round with strong planking, which is carried up to the deck
beams, this forming a casing, or well, on which rests the deck beams.
In this well works the centre-board, the breadth of which corresponds
with the depth from the lower side of the deck beams to the bottom of
the keel. It is rounded on the forward end, and at the extreme point
a hole is made and a strong pivot bolt, passing through the casing,
passes through the hole in the centre-board, and holds it there,
allowing the after end to work up and down. This end is generally
worked up and down by means of an iron bar with tackle attached, or
other appliance. By means of this bar the centre-board is pushed out
through the keel and forms a blade which holds up the vessel and
prevents her going to leeward, which she would otherwise do on
account of her flat bottom and light draught of water.
In a properly constructed centre-board vessel it is difficult to get
as much side-resisting surface as in a sharp deep vessel, but there
is a great advantage gained by that surface being more effective, by
the vessel maintaining her perpendicular and not laying over so much
on her side on a wind.
Such vessels may lose their masts, but, if of the proper proportions,
it is very difficult for them to be thrown on their beam ends or
capsized.
They are generally very weatherly, and have an advantage in plying to
windward, as they go round quickly and in a small circle, and have so
little keel. Moreover, the centre-board being short, acts as a pivot
on which they turn, and when they are sailing free or off the wind,
the centre-board is partly drawn up which lessens the friction.
Their great utility however is in crossing bars and shoals where a
deep vessel cannot go, as the centre-board can be drawn up and the
draught of the vessel reduced to suit the depth of water, and then
let down again as the water deepens.
They have, however, some disadvantages as sea-going vessels, the
chief of which is their light hold on the water, which causes then to
swag more to leeward than a deep vessel when on a wind in a heavy
sea: as it is then not prudent to put the centre-board full down, as
with the heavy surging of the vessel to leeward the leverage of the
centre-board might strain the casing and spring a leak, or the
centre-hoard might be carried away. Their breadth of beam and light
draught of water also throws upon their masts and rigging a quick and
jerking motion when in a light wind with considerable sea, on which
causes chafing and tear and wear of tackling. These vessels are
peculiarly adapted for crossing the shallow bars which block the
entrances to many of the inland bays and rivers on the coasts of the
Southern States and Mexico, and also for the shoals and reefs of the
Bahamas; and it is there that they are thoroughly understood, built,
and navigated to perfection.
Of this class was the schooner now referred to.
She had the appearance of an ordinary trading schooner of the clipper
build, with low bulwarks, tall masts, and large sails of heavy cotton
canvas. Her length was about 78 feet, her breadth of beam about 22
feet 6 inches, and her depth of hold about 6 feet; her draught of
water when loaded was about 4 feet 9 inches with centre-board up, and
13 feet with it down. The space between the fore and main masts was
more than is generally seen in schooners on the European side of the
Atlantic, the main mast being placed a little further aft, and the
main boom projecting out a considerable length beyond the taffrail,
thus allowing space for a larger foresail, and also affording space
for the centre-board, which in a schooner is between the main and
fore masts.
She had what is called a trunk cabin, which rose about two feet above
the main deck, the entrance to which was by a companion stair facing
the stern.
The name _Rob Roy_ was newly painted upon her stern in neat letters,
followed by some rather clumsy lettering, which looked liked
"Balizehon," but which was intended for--of "Belize Honduras." The
fact of these names being newly placed there showed that she had
recently changed her name as well as her nationality.
[Illustration: SCHOONER "ROB ROY."]
She carried a crew of eight all told, being captain, mate, cook,
cabin boy, and four seamen. There were besides, three other persons
on board, two of whom were passengers, the other was the owner and
supercargo of the vessel.
As the person here last referred to undertakes to give a brief
account of his adventures and the general mode of traffic with the
Southern States during that exciting period, he maybe permitted to
tell his own story, with the full understanding that what he has to
relate--be it ever so tame and commonplace--shall be facts and not
fiction.