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 harbor
of St. George's, when the Confederate States steamer "Florida" arrived
there in want of coal, of which there happened to be a very limited
supply on hand. The most suitable coal was procured with difficulty
throughout the war, all of the British coals, although excellent for
raising steam, making more or less smoke, and objectionable on that
account Exportation of the American anthracite, which would have been
almost invaluable, was prohibited by the Government. This is, I believe,
the only accessible, or at least available nonbituminous coal in the
world; 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 United
States 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. When
belligerent rights were accorded to the Confederate Government by
foreign powers, the Confederate cruisers were admitted into their ports
upon equal terms with the United States men of war, except that there
was no interchange of _official_ courtesies. In order to preserve strict
neutrality toward the contending powers, a man of war under either flag
was not permitted to follow out of a neutral port a ship under the
enemy'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 under
either flag to cruise within a marine league of neutral territory.
When occasion required no one could be more resolute than Maffitt, as he
had repeatedly shown in the management of the Florida; and especially
when he ran the gauntlet in broad daylight through the whole Federal
fleet blockading Mobile, and for which affair Preble, then commanding
the fleet, was so harshly dealt with; but the chief object of the
Confederate cruisers being to destroy the American commerce, an
engagement with a United States ship of war was to be avoided, if
possible.
The Florida's deck, when the crew were at their meals, was a curious
scene; the plain fare of the sailors being served in costly china,
captured from homeward bound "Indiamen," and the scamps had become
fastidious in their taste about tea. I had the pleasure to carry into
Wilmington ten or twelve chests of the finest hyson, which were
distributed among the hospitals; and a lot of silver ingots made a
narrow escape from confiscation. But the law officers in Bermuda, whom
Maffitt consulted, assuring him that they would be adjudged legal prize
of war in the British courts, they were shipped to England, instead of
the Confederacy, and there returned to the claimants.
Although there was no exchange of civilities between the officers of the
two ships, the sailors harmonized amiably and got drunk together ashore
with mutual good will. A jack tar is probably the only representative
left of the old "free lance," who served under any flag where he was
sure 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 sufficient
supply left to carry the Lee into Wilmington under the most favorable
circumstances; but it was necessary either to sail at once, or to wait
two weeks for the next moon. Our chief engineer had noticed a large pile
of coal on one of the wharves rented by the Confederate agent; but the
heap had been so long exposed to the weather, and trampled upon for so
many months, that it appeared to be a mere pile of dirt. "Necessity
having no law," however, we shoveled off the surface; and were surprised
to 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 an
extra supply, we were able to retain barely enough English coal in the
bunkers to use in running through the fleet on our next outward voyage.
The consequence was the narrowest escape from capture ever made by the
Lee while under my command.
We were ready to sail for Nassau on the 15th of August, 1863, and had on
board, as usual, several passengers. Indeed we rarely made a trip
either way without as many as could be accommodated, and many ladies
among them. My observation of the conduct of the fair sex, under trying
and novel circumstances, has convinced me that they face inevitable
dangers more bravely and with more composure than men. I have frequently
seen a frail, delicate woman standing erect and unflinching upon the
deck, as the shells were whistling and bursting over us, while her
lawful protector would be cowering "under the lee" of a cotton bale. I
pay this humble tribute of admiration to the sex, but a cynical old
bachelor, to whom I once made the observation, replied that in his
opinion their insatiable curiosity prevailed even over their natural
fears!
On our outward voyage we had among our passengers ex-Senator Gwin and
his daughter, and Dr. and Mrs. P. We passed safely through the
blockading fleet off the New Inlet Bar, receiving no damage from the few
shots fired at us, and gained an offing from the coast of thirty miles
by daylight. By this time our supply of English coal had been exhausted,
and we were obliged to commence upon North Carolina coal of very
inferior quality, and which smoked terribly. We commenced on this fuel
a little after daylight. Very soon afterwards the vigilant look-out at
the 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 morning
was very clear. Going to the mast-head I could just discern the royal of
the chaser; and before I left there, say in half an hour, her
top-gallant sail showed above the horizon. By this time the sun had
risen in a cloudless sky. It was evident our pursuer would be alongside
of us by mid-day at the rate we were then going. The first orders given
were to throw overboard the deck-load of cotton and to make more steam.
The latter proved to be more easily given than executed; the chief
engineer reporting that it was impossible to make steam with the
wretched stuff filled with slate and dirt. A moderate breeze from the
north and east had been blowing ever since daylight and every stitch of
canvas on board the square-rigged steamer in our wake was drawing. We
were steering east by south, and it was clear that the chaser's
advantages could only be neutralized either by bringing the "Lee"
gradually head to wind or edging away to bring the wind aft. The former
course would be running toward the land, besides incurring the
additional risk of being intercepted and captured by some of the inshore
cruisers. I began to edge away therefore, and in two or three hours
enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing our pursuer clew up and furl his
sails. The breeze was still blowing as fresh as in the morning, but we
were now running directly away from it, and the cruiser was going
literally as fast as the wind, causing the sails to be rather a
hindrance than a help. But she was still gaining on us. A happy
inspiration occurred to me when the case seemed hopeless. Sending for
the chief engineer I said "Mr. S., let us try cotton, saturated with
spirits 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 of
cotton was ripped open, a barrel tapped, and buckets full of the
saturated material passed down into the fire-room. The result exceeded
our expectations. The chief engineer, an excitable little Frenchman from
Charleston, very soon made his appearance on the bridge, his eyes
sparkling with triumph, and reported a full head of steam. Curious to
see the effect upon our speed, I directed him to wait a moment until the
log was hove. I threw it myself, nine and a half knots. "Let her go now
sir!" I said. Five minutes afterwards, I hove the log again, _thirteen
and a quarter_. We now began to hold our own, and even to gain a little
upon the chaser; but she was fearfully near, and I began to have visions
of another residence at Fort Warren, as I saw the "big bone in the
mouth" of our pertinacious friend, for she was near enough to us at one
time 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 screwed
another turn of speed out of her if they had known that the Lee had on
board, in addition to her cargo of cotton, a large amount of gold
shipped by the Confederate Government? There continued to be a very
slight change in our relative positions till about six o'clock in the
afternoon, when the chief engineer again made his appearance, with a
very ominous expression of countenance. He came to report that the burnt
cotton had choked the flues, and that the steam was running down. "Only
keep her going till dark, sir," I replied, "and we will give our pursuer
the slip yet." A heavy bank was lying along the horizon to the south and
east; and I saw a possible means of escape. At sunset the chaser was
about four miles astern and gaining upon us. Calling two of my most
reliable officers, I stationed one of them on each wheel-house, with
glasses, directing them to let me know the instant they lost sight of
the chaser in the growing darkness. At the same time, I ordered the
chief engineer to make as black a smoke as possible, and to be in
readiness to cut off the smoke, by closing the dampers instantly, when
ordered. The twilight was soon succeeded by darkness. Both of the
officers on the wheel house called out at the same moment, "We have lost
sight of her," while a dense volume of smoke was streaming far in our
wake. "Close the dampers," I called out through the speaking tube, and
at the same moment ordered the helm "hard a starboard." Our course was
altered eight points, at a right angle to the previous one. I remained
on deck an hour, and then retired to my state-room with a comfortable
sense of security. We had fired so hard that the very planks on the
bridge were almost scorching hot, and my feet were nearly blistered. I
put 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 with
her father. Tapping my foot with her hand, she said, "Ah, captain, I
see we are all safe, and I congratulate you!" At one time during the
chase, when capture seemed inevitable, the kegs containing the gold had
been brought on deck, and one of them opened by my orders, it being my
intention to distribute its contents among the officers and crew. Miss
Lucy, who preserved her presence of mind throughout the trying scenes of
the day, called me aside, and suggested that she should fill a purse for
me, and keep it about her person, until the prize crew had taken
possession, and all danger of personal search was over, when she would
make an opportunity to give it to me; and I have no doubt she would have
accomplished her intentions if occasion had required. The chaser proved
afterwards to be the "Iroquois." Feeling confident that she would
continue on the course toward Abaco, and perhaps have another and more
successful chase, I changed the destination of the Lee to Bermuda, where
we arrived safely two days afterward.
Upon the arrival of the Lee at Wilmington, after one more trip to
Nassau, I was summoned by telegraph to Richmond. An attempt was to be
made for the release of the prisoners at Johnson's Island. This island,
situated in the harbor of Sandusky, on Lake Erie, was supposed to be
easily accessible from Canada, and the Canadian shore; but it was left
to the judgment of the officer in command how the details were to be
arranged, his sole explicit instructions being not to violate the
neutrality of British territory. How this was to be avoided has ever
seemed impossible to me, but having been selected to command the
expedition, I resolved to disregard all personal consequences, and to
leave the responsibility to be borne by the Confederate Government. A
party of twenty-six officers of the different grades was detailed for
the service. The Lee, laden with a cargo of cotton, was to carry us to
Halifax, N. S.; the cotton to be consigned to a firm there, who were to
purchase, with a part of the proceeds, blankets, shoes, etc., for the
army; the balance to be retained for the benefit of the prisoners, if
released. My successor in command of the Lee took passage with us. We
sailed for Halifax on the night of October 10th, 1863. The season was so
far advanced, that we could not afford to lose even a day; we therefore
dropped down the Cape Fear River to Smithville as soon as the
preparations were completed, and although the night was very clear, I
determined to attempt the passage through the fleet soon after dark, so
as to get as far north along the coast as possible before daylight. We
crossed the western bar about nine o'clock at night, and instead of
"hugging" the shore, which would have carried us too far to the
southward and westward, the course was shaped so as to clear the Frying
Pan Shoals. We had been running at full speed for nearly an hour, when a
shot came whizzing a few feet over our bulwarks, and struck the water
just beyond us; it was followed immediately by another, which striking a
little short "ricocheted" over us; and then a third, which crashing
through the starboard bulwarks, burst in a cotton bale on the port side,
and set fire to it; several men being wounded by splinters and fragments
of the shells. The flames leaped high into the air, and there was a
momentary confusion on board, but the order to throw the burning bale
overboard was promptly executed, and for some time afterwards we could
see it blazing far astern. We never saw the cruiser which fired at us,
as she was inshore, and although several more shots were fired, each
succeeding one flew wider from the mark. We promptly sent up our two
rockets abeam, and experienced no further trouble, easily avoiding a
sloop 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 the
pantomime. Nothing showed above the deck but the two short masts, and
the smoke-stack; and the lead colored hull could scarcely be seen at the
distance of one hundred yards. Even in a clear day, they were not easily
discovered. Upon one occasion, when bound to Wilmington, we had crossed
the Gulf Stream and struck soundings, when the look-out aloft reported a
cruiser in sight ahead, and lying "_a-hull_" with her broadside exposed
to us. It was evident, of course, that we were undiscovered so long as
she lay in this position, and we continued to steam towards her, until
we could plainly see her broadside guns. It was time for us to stop, but
we preserved the same distance, undiscovered, for at least two hours.
The engineer then reporting that the steam was running down, I directed
him to fire up cautiously. The second shovel-full had scarcely been
tossed into the furnace when a slight puff of smoke passed out of our
smoke-stack, and at the same instant, the cruiser ahead wore round, and
commenced a pursuit. There was clearly no want of vigilance on board of
her. But to return from this digression. By next morning we had got
beyond dangerous waters. Some amusement was occasioned at the breakfast
table by Johnny T., who had overheard the soliloquy of Colonel B. the
night before. The Colonel, who was a member of the expedition, had seen
service in the army of Northern Virginia. He was sitting upon the wheel
house when the first shot was fired, and calmly remarked (to no one in
particular,) "that is pretty firing," at the second "that is _very_
pretty firing," and when the third shell burst upon the deck, he jumped
upon his feet and exclaimed, with much emphasis, "if that isn't the
prettiest firing I ever saw, I wish I may be d----d!"