Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-02-16
THE SHENANDOAH.
Letter Of Captain HnddeII.

A letter from Captain Waddell, late Of
the rebel pirate Shenandoah, has been
made public. The Captain appears to
have felt bitter disappointment over the
result of the late war. He says that the
South has played false to her cause; he
has very little respect for her; he does not
belive she was in earnest; she will never
again take the field, etc. Regarding him
self, he says:
l am now in exile, but far from being
ruined man. l won't go to sea any more
if can help it. The feeling shown to-
ward me through the restriction placed on
my wife is decided. 1t is just the feeling
L like, though the tyranny to her is hu-
initiating TO the nature of man. have
| written her to release her bendsmen and
inform the Government that she owes her
allegiance to her husband. As my case
now stands, do not think the bond is
worth the paper it is written on. In
court of law l know it would fall.
You have seen Mr.. Welles' report, I
suppose. He does me justice when he
writes that ceased my depredations
when heard Mr.. Davis was a prisoner"
He willfully lies when he writes that l
continued cruising against unarmed
whale ships when knew that the armies
of the South had surrendered" The facts
are these:
After reaching Behring's Sea 1 captured
the ship William Thompson and the brig
Susan Abigil. Both had left San Francisco
in April last. These captures were made
about the 23d of June, and from each of
them received the San Francisco papers
Those papers professed to have the CORES
pondence between Generals Lee and Grant |
conserving the surrender of Lees army. |
They also stated that Mr.. Davis and Cab |
met were in Danville, to which the Con- |
federate Government had been removed, |
and that Mr.. Davis had issued a procla- |
nation informing the Southern people |
that the war would be carried on with re- |
newed vigor.
| was made possessor of as late news by |
these two captures as any of the whalers
had and continued my work until it was
completed in the Arctic Ocean on the 2Sth
of June when had succeeded in destroy
ing or dispensing the New England whal-
ing feet. l left the Arctic on the 29th of
June, and shipped from some ofthe whalers
eight men on that very day-Tnen of in
telligence, all trained soldiers. 1t is not
to be believed that those men would have
taken service in the Shenandoah if they
had believed the war ended
After leaving Behring's Sea 1 fell in
with no vessel until communicated with
the British bark Barracuda, from San
Francisco, August End, fourteen days,
bound for Liverpool. She informed me
of the capture of Mr.. Davis and part of
the Cabinet also of the surrender of Cen
erals Johnson's, Smiths and Magruder's
armies. The Barracuda furnished that
news the first time l heard it, and I in
stantly ceased to cruise, and steered for
Cape Horn.
Before communicating with the Barra-
couta intended to look into the Gulf of
Lover California, and then to await the
arrival of California steamer bound for
Panama.
The Barracouta's news surprised us, and
among some of the officers L witnessed a
terror which mortified me. 1 was i'm
plored to take the vessel to Australia
that to try to reach European port would
be fatal to all concerned; petitions were
signed by ree-fourths of the officers ask
ing to be taken to Cape Town, arguing
and pieturing the horrors of capture, and
ali that sort of stuff. l called the officer
and crew to the quarterback, and then
ship to Liverpool; know there is a risk
to be run, but that has been our associate
all this time. We will be sought after in
the Pacific and not in the Atlantic"
They supported my views, and then fol-
lowed letter from the crew-signed by
II out of llO-saying that they had conf
dence in me, and were willing, nay, de-
sired to go with me wherever l thought
best to take the vessel. had, of course,
a very serious time, painfully anxious, be-
cause the officers had set bad example
to the crew. Their conduct was nothing
less than mutiny. was very decided
with some of them; had to tell one Off
Ger would be captain or die on the deck,
and the vessel should go to no other port
than Liverpool. So ended my trouble with
and supplications from the ofi-
GERS. The men behaved nobly, and stood
firmly to their decision.
The Shenandoah ran from the Arctic to
Liverpool in $50 days; from the line on
Pacific side to the Cape in 26 days; from
the Cape to the line of the Atlantic in 26
days, and from the line to Liverpool in "a
days. Two of my crew died of disease
when near Liverpool; otherwise nothing
to mar our cruise; no accident
occurred during the cruise.
So ends my naval career-and I am
called "pirateI" 1 have made New
England suffer, and do not regret it. 1
cannot be condemned by any honest think
ing man. surrendered the vessel to the
British Government, and all are uncondi-
tionally released. Ny obstinacy made en-
emies among some of the officers, but they
now inwardly regret their actio n in the
Cape Town affair.