The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-03 00:00:00

Federal Cruisers and Confederate Prizes,

A writer in the 7'imes says :—The Confederate
merchant steamship Margaret and Jessie, formerly
the British ship the Douglas, bat now owned in
Charleston, and commanded by Captain Wilson,
of the Emily St. Pierre, left that port
on Wednesday, the 27th of May lea:). with a
cargo of cotton and sixteen or eighteen passeag,ars,
and having succeeded in eluding the vigilance of.
the blockading squadron arrived on the Saturday
following off the Island of Eleuthera, one of the
Bahama Islands.
In order that t he subsequen t events which occurred
may be clearly understood, it is necessary to explain
that the Island of Eleuthera is one of the largest of
the Bahama group; it is from 60 to 70 miles long,
running from east to west, with an average width of
from two to six miles, The extent of the north side
of the island is washed by the broad Atlantic, and
it is considered a very wild and dangerous shore.
Being one of the most fertile of the Bahama Islands,
it is thickly populated, and has large and valuable
fruit plantations, where large quantities of pine-
apples are annually exported to England.
It was on the north side of this island of Eleuthera
that the Margaret and Jessie was on Saturday
morning, and about 10 o'clock, the land being dis-
tant about 25 miles, a steamship was observed, ,
which immediately gave chase. An animated pur-
suit now commenced, but the Margaret and Jessie
being a very fast vessel the pursuing ship could
approach no nearer than four or five miles, until,
about 12 o'clock, the land was ahead of the Mar-
garet and Jessie about the same distance. Ttie first
shot was now fired, but it fell short, and both vessels
held on at full speed for the land, the cruiser firing
shot after shot, shell after shell, in quick succession.
Both vessels soon arrived within the distance of
three miles from the land ; but British territory has
long since in this part of the world ceased to afford
any protection against acts of aggression from
United States naval officers, and the war vessel
continued to pour in shot and shell, interspGrepd
with grape and canister, as she neared the Margaret
and Jessie, which she was now enabled to do, as the
latter vessel had sought the protection of the land,
at, a distance of 300 yards, and could get no nearer.
The cruiser had approached to a distance of withie
1,000 yards from the shore, and it was now observed
that the American ensign was flying at her main
peak, sod from this position did she continue to
hurl a continuous storm of missiles on her prey.
Among the passengers on board the Margaret and
Jessiew ere two French ladies who bravely stood on the
deck exposed to this tremendous fire. Capt. Wilson,
of whose courage it is unnecessary to speak, from
the moment his vessel was under fire placed him-
self on the paddle box, and with the utmost cool-
ness gave his orders. Finding that the intention
of the parties on board the cruiser was to destroy
his vessel—in doing which they dared not if they
murdered those on board of her—the ladies were
urged to take refuge in the cabin. Captain Wilson
directed the course of the vessel to be changed to
the west in order that she might coast along the
land. This was done, and she continued to skirt
the land at a distance at no time exceeding 400
yards, so neer in fact that she took the bottom on
several occasions.

No sooner was it observed on board the cruiser
that the Margaret and Jess-7.e had changed her course
and was coasting, than her course was alsochanged,
and she was run along abreast of the land, and at a
distance varying from 500 to 1,000 yards from the
beach, and now was enacted one of the most un-
justifiable outrages to neutral' rights—the most
barefaced violation of territorial jurisdiction,coupled
with the most murderous intent, that the annals of
civilised warfare has ever chronicled. For more
than an hour and a half did this vessel of war of the
United States, at a distance of not more than 1,000
yards from the shore, and within British territory,
continue to pour broadside after broadside of round
shot, shell, grape, and canister at a defenceless mer-
chant ship crowded with passengers and crew,
whose escape was im possible, and while she was
from time to time grounding upon the shore of neu-
tral territory.
Fortunately, however, for the lives of these o❑
board the Margaret and Jessie the practice from the
war vessel was exceedingly bad, and although
showers of grape and canister fell like hail around
the ship, no round shot or shell struck her, but
most of them passed over and were observed to
strike and explode upon the land among the plan-
tations, creating clouds of dust, with fragments of
stone and branches of trees intermingled, until
about half past 3 o'clock an 8-inch spherical shell
struck the ship on her starboard side, and passed
through into ber boiler, upon which she filled with
'ter, and sunk not 300 yards from the beach.
The vessel had sunk near a point of land called
James Point, and here there is a town called James
Cestern, which extends across the island, the prin-
cipal residents being farm labourers and fishermen.
The shot thrown from the cruiser fell thickly around
the dwellinghouses, destroying the woods and plan-
tations in the neighbourhood, and forcing the people
to seek protection at the base of an adjacent hill
which fortunately intervened while one shot passed
over the island and fell within a few yards of two
fishermen who were in their boat near the shore, to
their no little dismay. The standing wood in that
neighbourhood is the most conclusive evidence of
the ravages done by the shot and shell, fragments of
which have been picked up and have been taken to
Nassau.

No sooner was it observed by the parties on board
the war vessel that the Margaret and Jessie had
been sunk, than her course was changed seaward ;'
in a few minutes she was brought to anchor, and
preparations were made to send off boats. Seeing
this, and remembering the fate of the Blanche, the
passengers made all haste to quit the vessel and get
to the shore, which was barely done when two
armed boats were seen approaching, only eight
minutes elapsing from the time they left the side of
their ship until they were under the stern of the
wreck. The mate was at this time just leaving for
the shore, and in answer to an inquiry from him
" What ship is that an officer in the boat, who
was in the uniform of the United States' Navy,
answered " The United States' ship Savannah."
This was a palpable falsehood, as she was a steam
paddlewheel vessel, brig-rigged, with what is
known in America as a " walking beam " above
deck, and there is no vessel of that class in the
United States' Navy named the Savannah. It is,
however, now known that the ship was the Rhode
Island, the same which only a few weeks previously
chased a British ship, the Syrius, and fired upon
her within British waters within sight of the city
of Nassau.
The passengers and crew of the Margaret and
Jessie remained exposed throughout the whole of
the night upon the beach, and afterwards taken to
Nassau in wrecking vessels. The Bahama wreckers
having succeeded in stopping the shot hole in
the ship's side, they got her off and carried
her to Nassau, where they have instituted an Ad-
miralty suit for salvage services.
It is rumoured in Nassau that the captain of the
Rhode Island has sent a communication to the
United States Consul there, in which he states that
he was at no time within four miles from the
land when firing at the Margaret and Jessie ; but
' there is one incontrovertible fact which will give
the lie to this assertion, and that is, that after a shot
from the
' had sunk the Margaret an:: Jessie thenicertuoisaeurcphroor:
ceeded some distance coastnd then ca
and the charts of the will conclusively estab-
* lish thkA at a distance of evenyoann
• coast there is no soundings. ekeemi"lebutn'
• itself will scarcely persuade
ocean.adeßritish public that
- a ship could anchor in the