These two fine ships were stranded on our coast upon their first voyage
and as I had no personal knowledge of either of them, I have copied in
full the Federal official reports, and a letter dated Wilmington, N.C.,
January 27, 1864, by Lieutenant Gift of the Confederate Navy, who was
in command of the _Ranger_.
"U.S. Flagship 'Minnesota,'
"Off Lockwood's Folly Inlet,
"_January 11, 1864_.
"Sir: At daylight this morning a steamer was seen beached and burning
one mile west of this inlet. Mr. O'Connor, from this ship, boarded her
with the loss of one man, shot under the fire from the enemy's sharp
shooters occupying rifle pits on the sand hills, which were high and
near, and got her log book, from which it appears that she is the
_Ranger_; that she left Newcastle [England] November 11, 1863, for
Bermuda, where, after touching at Teneriffe, she arrived on the 8th of
December; that she sailed from Bermuda January 6, 1864, made our coast
January 10, about five miles northeast of Murrell's Inlet, and landed
her passengers. The next morning at daylight, intercepted by this ship,
the _Daylight_, _Governor Buckingham_, and _Aries_, in her approach
to Western Bar, she was beached and fired by her crew, as above
mentioned. The attempts of the _Governor Buckingham_, aided by the
_Daylight_ and _Aries_, to extinguish the fire and haul the _Ranger_
off were frustrated by the enemy's sharpshooters, whose fire completely
commanded her decks. This ship, drawing about twenty-four feet, was
taken in four and one-half fathoms of water in front of the wreck,
and the other vessels stationed to cross fire on the riflemen on the
sand hills opened a deliberate fire with a view to dislodge the enemy
and allow an attempt to haul off the _Ranger_ at high water at night.
Meanwhile, the _Ranger_ was burning freely forward and the commanding
officers of the _Governor Buckingham_ and _Daylight_, who had a good
view of her situation, thinking that it was not practicable to get
her off, she was also fired into, which, as her hatches were closed,
had the effect of letting the air in, when the fire burned freely aft
and doubtless burned the _Ranger_ out completely. Meanwhile, black
smoke was rising in the direction of Shallotte Inlet, and the _Aries_,
withdrawn last night from her station there, was ordered to chase.
She soon returned, and Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Devens reported a
fine-looking double-propeller blockade runner, resembling the _Ceres_,
beached and on fire between Tubb's and Little River Inlets, and that
the enemy's sharpshooters prevented his boats from boarding her. This
was probably the same steamer that was chased the previous evening by
the _Quaker City_, _Tuscarora_, and _Keystone State_, and escaping from
them made the western shore, where, communicating and learning of the
presence of the blockaders in force, and perhaps being short of coal,
was beached by her crew and fired rather than be captured.
"The Department will perceive that this is the twenty-second steamer
lost by the rebels and the blockade runners attempting to violate the
blockade of Wilmington within the last six months, an average of nearly
one steamer every eight days. These losses must greatly lessen the
means of the rebel authorities to export cotton, obtain supplies, and
sustain their credit, and thus dispirit and weaken them very much.
"I have the honor to be, Sir,
"Very respectfully yours,
"S.P. Lee,
"_Acting Rear Admiral_,
"_Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron_.
"Hon. Gideon Welles,
"_Secretary of the Navy_,
"_Washington, D.C._"
"U.S.S. 'Aries,'
"Off Little River,
"_January 12, 1864_.
"Sir: I would most respectfully report that the steamer stranded
between Tubb's Inlet and Little River is the blockade runner _Vesta_.
Boarded her this a.m.; made a hawser fast to her, but on examining her
found her whole starboard side opened and several of the plates split;
took two anchors from her, which was all we could save.
"The _Vesta_ was exactly like the _Ceres_.
"I left her a complete wreck, with five feet of water in her. Her boats
lay on the beach badly stove.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"Edward F. Devens,
"_Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, Commanding_."
"Wilmington, N.C., _January 27, 1864_.
"My Dear Sir: In Bermuda I took command of a splendid merchant steamer,
called the _Ranger_, for the passage to Wilmington. I had very heavy
weather and no observation for the first three days out. On the
fourth got sights which put me at noon eighty miles southeast from
lightship off Frying Pan Shoals. I went ahead full speed in heavy sea
to sight the light early in the night, but the Yankees had put it out,
and fearing the drift of the Gulf, I determined to run inshore and
anchor during the next day (10th instant) and ascertain my position
accurately, which I did, and landed my passengers and baggage. On the
morning of the 11th, at 12.25 a.m., I got underway and ran along
the coast for the bar near Fort Caswell. When eight miles from the
fort I made the _Minnesota_ about one mile off, and whilst observing
her motions the pilot (who had charge of the ship) suddenly sheered
her inshore, and in an instant she was in the breakers. I made every
effort to get her off, but unavailingly, so you see a couple of turns
of a wheel in the hands of a timid man lost a fine ship and a valuable
cargo. She was destroyed. I was loaded for Government.
"Your obedient servant,
"George W. Gift."