, 1864-01-03
TIVE REEEL EAVY DEPART
EEkT.
Official Report Of Sec11e-
tary Mallory. =
0pER ATEOHS OF THE RE-
BEL PIRATES

OPERATIONS OF THE RE-
BEL PIRATES
Hon n2ssoes Sneaker of the .onse Of
Sir: have the honor to submit herewith
my third annual report OF the condition OF
| this department The operations Of this
E1arch Of the Confederate service hare been
chiefly confined to preparations for Kidding
! aiding our eeoport6. We have also been en-
| eaEed in building, ,nrm1ng and equ1pping IRON
clad and otLer steamers for service IL our
1iTcrs and inland soundB. On the Mis5issip~
| pi many Of these vessels bare done valuable
service 70 our cause, while others not yet
my or burned by our officers to prevent them
from falling into thc hands Of the United
statcs forces On the first Of JanunIy some
Of onr naval officers manned a steamer and
| tWo selconcrs, in which they sailed from
Tie harbor Of Galveston and captured the
withdralng her ont Of the reach Of tie other
| United States vessels then blockadIng that
FORT The Harriet Lane has since been .cut
INTO complete order, and Las on board q sut1l-
cient number OF officers end men ready for
n opportunity to distinguish themselves.
I Giving to the vigilance Of The enemy, / have
not deemed 1t advisable to gl!e orders for
this vessel to attempt any offensive opera
tioue.
In accordance with my instructions, the
Confederate steamer Florida successfully ran
the blockade from Mobile, on the 18th Of jan
rary, eince Which time she has been engaged
in operations against the commerce Of fhe
entmy, capturing and destroying vessels aud
P1opcray mounting already to several mil
lions Of dollars. On the 18th Of the same
N%,41k 1n1- SA.J
state gunboat Hattcra6 In the Gulf Of Mexi-
co, for which daring exploit her commander
deserves the thinks Of Congress. On the
the list Of the same month three of our IRON
clad steamers, :of}iccred and munned By SONG
Of tie trarcet 1nen Of our navy, succeeded Il
feet oil Charleston larbof. Two Of the enc.
ny's vessels were disabled, and ii .hougl one
ct them surrendered, we were unable 10 &C.
cnte tie fruits Of tlfs victory, owing to the
injury sustained By cur own yeaecls, by the
collision that occurred lind the command
Ct Of Ills expedition been carcfnl to strike
tie enemy amfdships, bis vessel would hayo
1smnined rpfn5n1ed, md onr victory would
have been complete
had ordered crew to be detached for
service On the Nashville, Designing to use
her for the purpose Of harassing tho enemy,
while erecting batteries at the mouth Of tie
Ogccchee River, but unfortunately, che was
destroyed By the enemy before my plans
we're carried out. On the 10th Of April, the
ram Queen cf tic West, which We had cap
tured from the enemy, Tas gecapt1red, and
her officers and crew, numbering lao per
Eons, made prisoners. This occurrence Was
The result Of caTeleEenees On the part OF
tic commander, who has since boon cashier
ed, eEd dismissed from the oe75ee: Da-
1nE ahs neas N e ssta5 wafala aa uct1ey itse
co-opcratcd with our land forces, and al-
though operating under many disadvantages,
many gallant exploits were performed BY
their officers and crews. Owing, to the eyac-
nation of VicEEbufg and the surrender Of
Fort Hudson, / deemed 1t advisable to give
orders to Withdraw oil our vessels In that re-
efon to Eafe and secure Earbor8 aud cease the
construction OF those contracted loa-theIna-
clinery for which was being transported to
tic several depots. Some Of: thiE machinery
is DOW stored ut various points, and us it
seems unlikely to be required for service at
the West, and is unsuitable for use elsewhere,
I suggest that It be sold, and the proceeds be
applied to other purposes.
Tn the seas some Of our email prirateern
hare inflicted considerably, ll4u1T upon tie
harbor Of Portland, and captured the United
States reyentc cutter Caleb Cushing. OW-
ing to Ignorance Of the harbor, our officers
were unable to take the Cushing out to sea,
and slo was again rceapturcd on the eth Of
June by vessels sent in pursuit Fer c1c1g
During tho months Of July and August
sent twenty. seyan commissioned officers end
forty trustWu urthy petty omevrs +is= Brtl,a1z
Provinces, with orders to organize an expo
attempt to release the Confederate prisoners
contnt d On Johnson's Island in Lake Erie.
From time to time ! learned that the arrlnge-
meuts male were such US to. tusurc tho most
complete success. A large amount Of money
Lad been expended, and Just as our gallant
expedition, The English authorities gave in
formation to the enemy. and thus prevented
the execution Of one OF tic best planned en-
1erprises ol the present war.
In accordauce with the order Of tue Presi-
dent, carly in the present year dispatched
several agents to England and Fr1ncc, With
orders to contract for eight iron-clal vessels
suitable for oeenn 6erFtce, and calculated to
resist Tie ordinary armament Of the wooden
vessels OF tho enemy. Thesis ships were to be
to break the blockaie Of sueh Of the ports a
we're not bloekadcd by the iron-clad monitors
Of the enemy. Five Of these vessels were
contracted for in England and three in
Tiancc. DEe precautions Tcrc taken against
contrayening laws Of fEngland in the construc-
have been completed; but owing to the IN
friendly construction Of her neutrality laws,
the Government OF England stationed several
war-yes6els at The mouth Of the MeTsey and
prevented their departure from England.
subsequt atty they were seized By the British
Government. Another and larger vessel has
| since been completed; but 1t is doubtful If
rte will be allowed to leave the shores of
| England, although It Is believed the precau-
| tions taken are sufficient to exempt hr from
| ihe fate Of her consorte.
The vessels being constructed in France
hnyc been subject to so many official visita-
tio1s that I have forwarded Instructions to
! ccaee operations upon them, until the result
| Of negotiations now penlfng shall permit our
| agent to resume work upon them. In this
connection, 1t 10 proper for me to state, thnt
| both ii England and France, toward tic Con.
ttdernte Government, has rendered our ef-
| scrts to obtain supplies from those countries
I almost abortiye. In yfaw Of NIL possible eon-
| tingencies, I have instructed the agents of
1his department to wait mere favorable oI.
| previously forwarded. BIZ the last sent iu-
| st1uct!ons that will shortly be made apparent
| 10 our enemies nearer home. / do not deem
it advisable to communicate any portion OF
| these plans to your honorable body at the
present time, for reasons perfectly satisfacto-
r. to the President
| Although the opentions Of our navy have
not been extensive, cannot overlook the ser
| vices Of Capt. aeMrcs III the Alabama. Dur
| ing tie year he has captured upwards Of nine
| IS vessels, seventy Of which were destroyed,
! Tue 0LAE1S DtlAE GtIuCt DOudEu Ut released.
| One Of tho greatest drawbacks tlis officer re-
| ports having experienced, is the difficulty be
TOW has In procuring full supplies Of coal.
The provincial English authorities have tith-
| e1to afforded him every facility, but recently
they have Interpreted their neutrality laws 90
stringently that our war vessels and priya-
| tcers are much embarrassed in obtaining suit
1ble supplies. Ihaye instructed Capt. Semnles
to purchase coal from neutral shipmasters
wherever he found 1t, and give them every
| necessary document to protect them against
the effect such sale 1nny have upon their vcs-
sells when they return to thcir several coua-
| tries By this means anticipate sufficient
supply Of coal will be obtained to enable him
to continue his operations during the coming
year. The other operations OF this depart
| ment have been chiefly confined to making
such preparations for uayal operations as cir
cuinsfances might permit. From time to
time have caused surveys to be made upon
steamers running tie blockade, with = view
Of purchasing such vessels as could be made
| available as war vessels. Several have been
bought, ard are now being transformed into
| sLiCs-of-wer. For the armament Of these
vessels 1t will be necessary that Congress
should make an additional appropriation Ap-
Tropriations viii also be required to conduct
our navn1 operations during the coming year.
The estimated expenditures Of the depart
meut for the fiscal year ending July !, 1851,
will amount to s37,249, $50. iu addition to
-$..S.tt &A IT II