The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-17 00:00:00

THE ESCAPE OF THE SUMTER.

The Gibraltar Chronicle of the 7th inst gives the
following interesting particulars connected with the
departure of the Gibraltar (late Sumter) steamer,
the arrival of which at Liverpool was reported in
The Sun of yesterday
The Sumter has got away at last,' was very
generally the first remark that struck the ear of
those who went into the main street this morn-
ing,—and, true enough, her place in the anchorage
knew her no more. The evasion took place, it is
said, at half-past 6 o'clock yesterday evecing, in the
dark interval between sunset and the rising of
the moon. When the Sumter was sold by auction
some time ago, it was understood that the Govern-
ment of the United States would not recognize
the sale. Parties who had been previously in
treaty for the steamer withdrew their offer on being
made acquainted with this fact, and she was
knocked down at the auction to a gentleman sent
from England to purchase her. This person was the
envoy of a Liverpool firm who were the financial
agents of the Confederate Government, and the
Federal Government, coming to the very natural
conclusion that the Sumter had been purchased,
either on account of the Confederate Government or
as a private speculation, for the purpose of being
freighted with a cargo to run the blockade, in-
structed the commanders of their cruisers to keep
the most vigilant watch upon the Sumter, and seize
her should she put to sea. Her escape last night
adds one more to the proofs the American contest
has already furnished that it is impossible for any
single steamer to prevent another leaving a port,
and that the latter has only patiently to wait that
concurrence of favouring circumstances which in-
sures her eluding the vigilance of her enemy. The
United States' gunboat Chippewa has for the last
month or two been as watchful as a lynx, cruising
at the entrance of the Bay, and never losing sight
of the Sumter. The consequence was that the latter
dared not make the attempt to put to sea, even dur-
ing the long moonless nights of last month. But
a conjuncture of circumstances that promised success
to the attempt occurred yesterday, and the Sumter
took advantage of the opportunity. A hard south-
east gale compelled the Chippewa to leave the
dangerous anchorage at Algesiras, where a heavy
surf rolls on a dead lee shore, and to take refuge in
Orange Grove Creek, at the head of the Bay. In-
stead of the two steamers leaving their anchorage
abreast in a race for the Straits, this move gave the
Sumter a couple of miles' start, her anchorage being
so much nearer to the entrance of the Bay. The
easterly gale favoured the Sumter in other ways.
She is light and goes well under canvass, but can-
not trust her machinery, and, with the aid of the gale
astern, would probably have fore-reached upon the
Chippewa if her departure had been discovered and
she had been chased. But the strength of the gale,
the thickness of the atmosphere, and the darkness of
the night made it next to impossible that her move-
ments should be seen; and, moreover, whether
by accident or design, another steamer, the Hope,
with her funnel painted exactly like the Sumter's,
anchored near her. The Sumter yesterday was
warped alongside the Britannia steamer. It was re-
ported in the town that she had dragged her anchors
and sustained serious damage from collision with
another vessel. Carpenters were sent from the
shore, and it was said that she would not be ready
for sea for a week at least. Many believe that the
anchor-dragging, collision, and carpentering were
all parts of an ' artful dodge' to throw the Chip-
pewa off her guard. If they were so, the dodge
would probably have had the opposite effect of rous-
ing suspicion and stimulating the Chippewa to extra
vigilance, Darkness and the gale were the real
friends that favoured the escape of the Sumter. We
last hear of her off Cape Spartel, which she was
passing under a press of sail and steam at half-past
10 last night, when met by the Pactolus steamer.
No doubt the telegraphic wire has started American
cruisers from Cadiz and Lisbon to intercept the
Sumter, but the sea is a wide place, and by keep-
ing a little out of the usual track she will probably
run the gauntlet of her foes in safety. We have
spoken of the vessel as the Sumter, the name by
which she is best known. Her proper designation
since she was sold is the Gibraltar, and her new
Owners doubtless hope she may prove, like Gibral-
tar, rather hard to take."