Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-04-21
MORNING LEADER.
TUESDAY 1IORNIsF, APRIL 81, 1868.
Startling Adventures OF a Bold BufTilIonian.


Startling Adventures OF n Bold BufrllOniun.
Our readers remember the capture Of
blOokade-runner, not long since, off
Charleston, having on board Reid Sanders,
q bearer Of important rebel dispatches to
,Eagland. The Buffalo Express gives the
credit Of the capture to a Bufalonian, Civ
ing the following sketch Of the daring
Haodas operahdi j. 6 z1rd sfE
The history Of the war can furnish
nothing bolder or more remarkable in the
way Of adventure than belongs to the. ez-
perience Of young man, Arnold Harris,
from this city, who left here in May, 1861
as a private in the DIST Regiment, and now
wears the insigniA ola Lieutenant in the
q. s. Navy. Lieufenant Harris was en-
gagged upon the lakes when the rebellion
broke out. Arriving in Buffalo the day of
the departure Of the 2lst he came up town
TO witness the scene, recognized some ae-
quaintances in the ranks of the regiment
stepped to their side and became their
comrsde in an instant, marching to the
depot, accompanying them to Elmirs and
there enlisting. Not long afler the arrival
Of Che Dist on the Potomac he got trans
feFred to the uaEsl service, and was soon
placed In command Of the Island Belle, of
the Potomac Flotilla. In this Situation be
performed important services for several
months, and dislin guishcd himself by his
vigilance in maintaining The blockade Of
The river against smugglers from Mary
land. One Of his most daring exploits, in
landing at Matthias Point Surprising the
rebel piokefs and destroying property Of
the enemy, we mentioned g. The time.
During this period, Lieutenant Harris
IL
take spying trip into Virginia, TO get in
formation concerning the rebel batteries
on the Potomac The offer was declined,
bat its boldness was no, forgotten At the
Navy Department A few months later
the adventurous Lieutenant lost his little
gunbOat, IN or about James River, we be-
lieYe, and visited the Department 10 OBJ |
tain another command. Recollecting his
previous offer, the Secretary proposed to /
him most hazardous mission to Rich I
mond, having for its obje3t the frustra
ton Of the projects Of George n. Sanders !
who had then Just secured contracts from
the rebel government for navy to be
built in England.
"He accepted the perilous mission, and /
soon made his way 10 the Confederate cap /
ital. Without any disguise of name or
person, he succeeded in acquiring the con i
fdence Of the rebel authorities, and estab- /
lished himselfon intimate terms with sew
eral Of the most important officials. His /
situation, however, was dangerous in the |
extreme, and nothing but consummate |
oootness and adroit conduct enabled him
to escape Once he was arrested, and con /
fined in Castle Thunder for seventeen days. I
Two Aarylsnders had recognized his /
name as that Of the former Commander Of /
the Island Bell, aud the hero Of the exploit |
at Matthias Point. When brought to trial /
he eooily acknowledged the correctness Of /
the Identification, and claimed to have |
done the Confederacy more service while |
holding a command in the Federal Navy /
than heeould possibly have done by openly /
joining its cause st an earlier day His /
eudscity triumphed-ill suspicion was
overcome and he not only obtained an ac- +
quittal but continued 10 enjoy the conf
dence Of the rebel authorities or, rather,
Of all but BenjaUin, who was suspicious of /
him throughout
"Shortly after his discharge from Castle
Thunder, Sanders arrived from Europe
and the adroit agent soon found means to
get himself engaged in the enterprises Of
that personage Sanders having perfected
his arrangements with JEFF s. Co, was to
return to England with money and docu-
ments necessary to the carrying out Of his
ADglo-Rebel Navy Schemes His SON
so, as he has contrived, was our friend
Harris. The aim of the latter was to Sc
cure Sanders mail He succeeded in hav-
ing it arranged that George, with his
friends should proceed by the way of Mat
amoras to Halifax, while Reid Sanders
and he, with the documents and dispatches
to be taken, we're to run the blockade at 4
Charleston, and get to Halifax by way Of
Nassau.
~
"In accordance with this plan, Sanders
junior and Harris proceeded to Charleston
and purchased a yacht which, by way of
speculation, they loaded with turpentine
and started gaily out, one pleasant even
ing IN January last to slip through the
bloekading fleet and make for Nassau
Great interest was taken in the adventu- c
rous enterprise, and before leaving the a
daring voyagers were entertained at a /
dinner with Beauregard and the leading !
celebrities Of the city.
Meantime, Harris had succeeded in I
communicating with one of the vessels of {
the outside feet, and putting its command d
er upon the watch. The yacht, as she ran
out Of the harbor, was speedily detected,
and subjected to eannonade which fright
ened Sanders out of his wits and made him :
eager to surrender. The mail bag heav- !
lily weighted with iron, was thrown over
board, but Harris had previously abstract
ed from it portmanteau containing the
important dispatches and documents, sub
stituting in its stead his own which hap c
Pened, as a remarkable coincidence, of 6
course, to be its exact counterpart.
The capture Of Reid Sanders with his
dispatches, last winter, created no small
sensation at the time, and will be well re-
membered. But how il came about has =
never, We believe, been told before. Our :
readers viii agree with us, we think, that ,
few personal undertakings Of the war have
been more sudaciously conceived OF more
cleverly executed. As Buifalonians, we
relate the narrative Of this most extraor-
dinsry adventure with no small pride
Lieutenant Harris was in town yester-
day, making flying visit to his friends.
He left, we believe, last evening. He has =
another mission Of still greater Importance,
we suspect, upon his hands