The chief purpose of this book was to record the incidents leading
to the stranding of blockade runners upon the Cape Fear coast while
endeavoring to elude the Federal cruisers in the War between the
States. There were more than three times as many captured or sunk at
sea; and a recital of some of these exciting chases would make another
volume.
I am tempted, however, to include in these stories of derelicts, an
official account of the attempt of the Confederate steamer _Ella and
Annie_, in command of Captain Bonneau, with whom I was comparatively
intimate, to run down the Federal cruiser _Niphon_, which opposed
her entrance into the Cape Fear River, on the 9th of November, 1863,
because this incident was of unusual daring on the part of Captain
Bonneau, who was liable to be hanged as a pirate for such temerity.
The _Ella and Annie_ was subsequently armed and equipped as the U.S.
flagship _Malvern_ and served that purpose until the end of the war.
(Report of Acting Rear Admiral Lee, U.S. Navy.)
"U.S. Flagship 'Minnesota,'
"Off Newport News, Va.,
"_November 12, 1863_.
"Sir: In addition to the captures of the _Margaret and Jessie_ and the
_Cornubia_, or _Lady Davis_, detailed in my Nos. 948 and 949 of this
date, I have the gratification of presenting to the department the
details of the capture of the rebel blockade runner _Ella and Annie_,
off Wilmington.
"At 5.30 o'clock on the morning of the 9th instant, the _Niphon_,
returning from an unsuccessful chase and steaming along the beach to
the northward of New Inlet, made another steamer near Masonboro Inlet
coming down along the shore. The stranger finding himself intercepted,
put his helm up and endeavored to run down the _Niphon_. This attempt
was partly avoided, though the _Niphon_ was struck about the fore
rigging, and her bowsprit, stem and starboard boats carried away. At
the moment of collision Acting Master Breck reports he opened upon the
enemy with shell and canister and carried the prize by boarding. A keg
of powder and slow match were found ready to blow her up.
"The _Ella and Annie_ is represented to be a vessel of 905 tons burden,
in good order, with the exception of some small damages from shell and
grape.
"Her cargo is chiefly composed of 480 sacks of salt, 500 sacks of
saltpeter, 281 cases of Austrian rifles, 500 barrels of beef, 42 cases
of paper, etc.
"In the collision three men on board the _Niphon_ and four on board the
_Ella and Annie_ were slightly injured.
"Inclosed is a list of passengers from this prize, brought up by the
_New Berne_ (thirty-eight in number) and sent to New York in her.
"The capture seems to have been well and gallantly made by Acting
Master Breck. Captain Ridgely, senior officer, commends his spirit and
promptness. I hope that the department, in view of this especial and
other good service on the part of Acting Master Breck, will favorably
consider my application for his promotion.
"The _Ella and Annie_, I am informed, was built at Wilmington, Del.,
is of light draft, fast, and would, I think, be very convenient for
general purposes in this squadron, being available either for inside or
outside service. I would suggest that she be purchased by Government
and sent to this squadron, if, after examination, she be found suitable.
"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._"
(Report of Acting Master Breck, U.S. Navy, Commanding U.S.S. _Niphon_.)
"U.S.S. 'Niphon,'
"Off New Inlet,
"_November 9, 1863_.
"Sir: I have the honor to report that on the morning of this date,
while near the beach, saw a blockade runner running along the beach;
gave chase, fired several guns and rockets, but at last lost sight of
her; stood back to my station and steamed along the beach to the north
and about 5.30 a.m. saw another steamer running along the shore to the
southward; stood in to cut him off, when he turned directly toward me,
evidently with the intention of running me down, which I avoided, in
part, owing to this vessel answering her helm with great quickness.
He struck me forward, both vessels running at great speed. As we
came together, I fired a broadside--grape, canister, and shell--and
immediately boarded him and took possession. In securing the prisoners
a lot of shavings and a slow match attached to a keg of powder were
found in the run, the captain acknowledging his intention to destroy
the vessel. The collision broke bowsprit, stove all my starboard boats,
broke beam, also some planks near the wood ends, damaged guard, chain
plates, and caused her decks to leak badly. We have three men wounded;
also four of the crew of the Confederate steamer, one dangerously,
by grape or shell. The blockade runner, which proved to be the _Ella
and Annie_, of Charleston, S.C., is 905 tons; is in good order with
the exception of numerous shot holes in her upper works. Her cargo
consists, as near as we can ascertain, of rifles, salt, saltpeter,
paper, and hardware. She is a Confederate steamer, officered mostly
[by men] of the Confederate Navy. She was captured off Masonboro Inlet
in four fathoms water, eighteen miles north of Fort Fisher; no vessel
in signal distance or in sight immediately after her capture. Steamed
toward the fleet, and in about half an hour made the mastheads of a
vessel which proved to be the U.S.S. _Shenandoah_, and shortly after
seven o'clock came to anchor about three miles north of the senior
officer's usual station. About half an hour afterwards the _Shenandoah_
came to anchor near us, and contrary to the usual custom the senior
officer sent his own prize master on board. Transferred the following
officers and crew on board the _Ella and Annie_ by order of senior
officer: Acting Ensign J.J. Reagean, Acting Third Assistant Engineer
J.J. Sullivan, one fireman, one ordinary seaman, three landsmen, and
two black refugees.
"Very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"J.B. Breck,
"_Commanding U.S.S. 'Niphon.'_
"Hon. Gideon Welles,
"_Secretary U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C._"
(Third Report of Acting Master Breck, U.S. Navy, Commanding U.S.S.
_Niphon_.)
"U.S.S. 'Niphon,'
"_Beaufort, N.C., November 12, 1863_.
"Sir: In addition to my former report, which was very hurried for
want of time, I have to say that F.N. Bonneau, captain of the _Ella
and Annie_, states that he has an appointment as lieutenant in the
Confederate Navy, and that one of the wounded prisoners, now on
shore in the Hospital Beaufort, has an appointment as master in the
Confederate Navy, and that all prisoners, except those detained on
board of the prize as witnesses, and those in the Hospital Beaufort,
were sent by order of Commander Lynch to Fortress Monroe per steamer
_New Berne_.
"I wish also to state that no vessels were either in sight or signal
distance at the time of the capture of the _Ella and Annie_ and that
I know nothing more as to her cargo, as the senior officer in command
sent an officer who is my senior to command the prize.
"I also find that my damage to this ship is more serious than I at
first thought, and will inclose reports from my executive officer and
master in regard to the matter.
"The _Niphon_ will be hauled up on the sand to-morrow to ascertain the
damage done to her, and we are lightening her forward.
"I am, Sir, very respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"J.B. Breck,
"_Commanding U.S.S. 'Niphon.'_
"Acting Rear Admiral S.P. Lee,
"_Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron_,
"_Off Newport News_."
A Near Derelict.
This caption with reference to a vessel on fire at sea permits me to
describe one of my gallant Captain Maffitt's last runs through the
Federal blockade in the War between the States.
It should be borne in mind that the dangers of blockade running
materially increased as the enemy became more expert and accumulated
facilities to out-wit and out-maneuver the blockade runners. On
one of the last voyages of Captain Maffitt he found that the risks
were aggravated by the concentration of interest on the part of the
Federals to Abaco Light, a night's run from Nassau, and the turning
point for blockade runners. Three Federal men-of-war were stationed
in the neighborhood and greeted the appearance of the small vessel
with a salvo of shot which splintered spars and damaged bulwarks, and
would have made short order of the 900 barrels of gunpowder which
constituted a portion of the cargo, if the Confederate had not been
able, by superior speed facilities, to put a safe distance between her
and her pursuers. Hardly out of danger from these three men-of-war,
two others were sighted on the horizon, and the race was redoubled
as the Federals made a fight for the prize. The same methods used
so successfully in the war just concluded in Europe were the best
expedients in those days, and Captain Maffitt's ship was saved by
following a zig-zag course, which kept the enemy guessing, and finally
eluded him altogether. It was after these strenuous experiences of the
morning that the lookout announced to the weary officer, "A burning
vessel reported aloft."
Surely this was a challenge to the chivalry and humanity of the
captain of the hard-pressed Confederate. To the perils of adventure
that demanded all his wit and courage were now added the perils of the
unknown and the perils of delay and risk to the inflammable cargo.
Plainly, however, it was a duty to be faced, not a danger to be evaded,
and the captain ordered his ship's course in the direction of the
burning vessel. When near enough to discern her character, it was
perceived that she was a Spanish barque with ensign at half-mast. From
her fore hatch arose a dense smoke, abaft were gathered panic-stricken
passengers and crew. The chief mate was dispatched in a cutter to
render what assistance might be necessary, and he found on boarding the
foreign barque that there were four ladies among the few passengers,
and these were calmer than the officers and crew. The latter had
completely lost their heads, and in the very act of lowering the long
boat were confusedly hauling upon the stay tackle. The Confederate
mate went at once to the forecastle, which he instantly deluged with
water, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, who had not thought of
this method of dealing with the fire which proved so effectual in
this case that the flames were soon under control and the fire quickly
extinguished.
Three of the ladies were natives of Marblehead, returning from a visit
to their uncle in Cuba. They became quite confidential in explaining to
the mate their great fears of being captured by Confederate buccaneers
with which the waters were infested, according to Cuban rumors. On
leaving the boat after rendering this important service, the mate could
not refrain from declaring himself one of those awful Confederate slave
owners which were the terror of the high seas, but he did not add, as
he well might have done, that he was also an officer in command of one
of the blockade runners which they so greatly feared. Their amazement
was great enough without this bit of information, which might have been
passed on by them and given aid and comfort to the enemy.
As the Confederate came into the waters off the coast of North Carolina
the dangers were materially increased, because all beacon lights were
naturally shrouded to prevent disclosures to the enemy. Ten miles from
the bar one of the officers reported to Captain Maffitt his fear that
they were in the proximity of the blockaders. The atmosphere was
very hazy and to this they owed the possibility of escape, for two
cruisers were at anchor just ahead of them and there was no course to
pursue except the perilous one of running between the enemy ships. The
Federals were immediately aware of this daring maneuver, and a fiery
rocket revealed the Confederate and the moment's flare of a calcium
light was followed by the curt demand of a Federal officer, "Heave to,
or I'll sink you."
In this case discretion was the better part of valor, and Captain
Maffitt gave the order in a voice loud enough to be heard by foe as
well as friend. Assured that the Confederate captain was complying
with orders, the enemy did not suspect that the order that had been
so plainly heard was merely a ruse and that the engineer had received
whispered instructions, "Full speed ahead, sir, and open your throttle
valve." The movements of the paddle deceived the Federals into the
belief that the Confederate was really backing, but just as the
advantage was with the blockade runner and her clever scheme was
detected, fire was opened upon her with relentless fury. Drummond
lights were burned, doubtless to aid the artilleryists, but so radiated
the mist as to raise the hull above the line of vision, and the
destructive missiles were poured into the sparse rigging and the hull
was spared injury. Thus the blockade runner escaped from the foe and
delivered 900 barrels of gunpowder to the Confederates at Wilmington,
and this ammunition was used afterwards by General Johnston at the
battle of Shiloh.
A Human Derelict.
The story of disasters on Cape Fear during the Federal blockade,
1861-1865, would be incomplete without reference to a human tragedy,
the drowning of an accomplished Southern woman, Mrs. Rose O'Neal
Greenhow. Mrs. Greenhow was a prominent figure in Washington society
during the Buchanan administration. She had become a resident of
Washington in her girlhood, and had grown to womanhood under the
influences which are thrown around the society element in the Nation's
Capital. She was rich, beautiful, and attractive, possessing a ready
wit and a charming and forceful personality. She was a close personal
friend of President Buchanan and a friend of William H. Seward.
With such friends her social position was of the highest, and she
entertained many of the most prominent men in the country in her
hospitable home.
When the War between the States began she was entertaining Col. Thomas
Jordan, later Adjutant General of the Confederate Army. Knowing well
Mrs. Greenhow's strong sympathy for the land of her birth, Colonel
Jordan determined to secure her services for the newborn Confederacy,
and proposed to her that she become a secret agent for his government.
Her social position, her wide acquaintance, her personal magnetism made
her pre-eminently the one to extract information of military value for
the Southern cause. Mrs. Greenhow consented to perform this perilous
service for the land she loved, and started at once to get possession
of facts which would be useful in the coming campaign.
She began her work in April, 1861, and by November Allan Pinkerton,
head of the Federal Secret Service, sent in a report to the War
Department vehemently inveighing against Mrs. Rose Greenhow for
alienating the hearts of Federal officers from their sympathy with
their country, and accusing her of obtaining through her wiles and
powerful personal methods memoranda (and maps) which could only have
been known to officials of the Federal Government.
When the cry "On to Richmond!" was raised, it was absolutely essential
for the Confederate Army under General Beauregard to have definite
information about the point of attack. This data was furnished him by
Mrs. Greenhow. She advised him that the enemy would advance across the
Potomac and on Manassas, via Fairfax Court House and Centerville.
The Federal Army delayed the advance, and a second messenger was sent
to Mrs. Greenhow, who was able to add to her previous information, and
on the strength of it Johnston was ordered to re-ënforce Beauregard
with the last of his 8,500 men, and the wavering Federal Army turned
back and fled in a rout--a mob of panic-stricken fugitives. It was soon
known in Washington that Mrs. Greenhow had supplied the information
upon which the Confederates had constructed their plans, and she
was closely watched. Long after she knew that she must some day be
arrested, she continued her activities, finding opportunities every
day to communicate with Confederate officers, and her services were
so valuable that she could not be persuaded to take refuge in the
Confederate lines when there was so much work for her to do in the
Federal Capital.
She was in her own home when she was finally placed under arrest.
Here she was closely guarded, but a friend and her little daughter
were permitted to remain with her. In spite of the heavy guard, she
continued to communicate with Southern messengers and kept them
informed of what she heard. After a few months she was transferred to
the Old Capitol Prison and kept in confinement with her child in a
room 10 by 12. She suffered keenly in this cold and cheerless place.
The soldiers who guarded her were very strict, but in spite of their
closest scrutiny she managed under their very eyes to send messages to
the people who were eagerly awaiting news of her on the other side of
the lines. After tedious months of imprisonment she was tried[5] on the
charge of treason. There was much direct and indirect evidence against
her, but her attitude was uncompromising, and after the trial she was
permitted to make her way through the lines to Richmond, where she
spent some time until she took passage in a blockade runner with her
daughter, whom she wished to place in a convent in Paris. She took with
her letters to Mason and Slidell, which requested that every courtesy
be shown her.
In Paris she was given a private audience with Napoleon III.
While Mrs. Greenhow was in England her book, _My Imprisonment, or The
First Year of Abolition Rule in Washington_, was published and created
a sensation. It was a vehicle for the most pronounced propaganda for
the cause of the Confederacy and served it well. Not a little sympathy
was created for the South by this book of personal experience.
While in London Mrs. Greenhow became engaged to a nobleman and she
expected to return and marry him after a voyage to America. In August,
1864, she took passage on the _Condor_ and there is strong reason to
suppose that her business in Wilmington was in the interests of the
Confederacy.
The _Condor_ arrived opposite the mouth of the river on the night of
September 30, but as she crept up the river, the pilot saw an object
about 200 yards from shore which he thought was an enemy vessel, and
he swerved his course and ran his vessel on New Inlet Bar. The object
was the _Night Hawk_, a blockade runner which had been run down the
previous night, and the _Condor_ might have completed the trip in
safety. Mrs. Greenhow and her party begged the captain to send them
ashore in a boat, as this seemed the only chance of escape from a
second arrest as a spy. The captain acceded to her request, and the
boat put off. It capsized, however, and Mrs. Greenhow, weighted by her
clothing and a quantity of golden sovereigns, was drowned a few yards
from land.
Her body washed ashore the next day and was found by Mr. Thomas E.
Taylor, who afterwards took it to Wilmington. She was laid out in the
Seamen's Bethel, beautiful in death as she had been in life. She was
wrapped in the Confederate flag and with full honors of war interred in
Oakdale Cemetery, where a small cross bearing her name may be seen to
this day.
After the funeral her personal effects and the articles she had brought
with her from abroad were sold at public auction. It was said that an
English countess or duchess had an interest in the speculation and was
to have shared the profits.