Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1869-09-18
"REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR.


"REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR
OF THE coxFEDER
ATE BLOCKADE RUNNERS.
How Confederate blockade RunneI
Hoodwinked q British Naval /
. WIT Onlcer.
mrHI 81 l.a.I - l'hW III .taa
1n From the Nineteenth Ccntury.l
The "Kate,' was as clean as a new
pin, officers and men dressed fol
company, and Capt, Tom, with the
easy courtesy Of a man Of the world
quickly made every individual on
board feel as IL he, she and 1t were
his own personal guests. No mar
knows how to plant and reap bless les
ings better than Tom Oakley. The
fine band of the second West Indie
Regiment-all blacks-was on board
and added to the zest Of the occasion
with music that would not be dis.
creditable In the Tacon Theatre OIL
Hyde Park. I ought to tell you, by
the way, this regiment Is composed
Of negroes, every one o.
lis q picked, man, six feet IN
and when they appear on par
AIDE, dressed In their Zouave uniform
and drilled so that they move like Q
vast machine, there is not more
striking military spectacle ona small
scale to be seen on this mundane
sphere. The officers are all white, and
ns general thing, educated.
After steaming around for three Of
four hours, we ran up to the eastward
and came to anchor. The awning.
were spread and the decks cleared fol
a dinner. Meanwhile, the steward
and his assistants had prepared the
handsomest banquet which the place
and circumstances could afford; anC
If ever the; royal road to people.
hearts was found through thehumar
stomach, y was :, certainly dis
covered ON that occasion. The dig
nitaries of the island were all gra
and as the wine flowed allt
tongues loosened, I saw the target a
which Capt. Tom wasdriving his hos
pitable lance.
It's so easy to blind q mans eyes
with good dinner. In nine case
out of ten, a basket of champaign,
will warp mans conscience to thu
most accommodating degree and Il
has not mfrequently proved the fac
that when q government official il
concerned in contraband transac
tions, the cloak he wraps arounc
him is like that of charity itself,-'i
covered a multitude of SINS"
An evidence of the intensity o
feeling Mt this time among the Is
landers, was furnished on our tril
in the afternoon. The mate of yes
sci lying ut one of the 'wharves, see
ing us approaching with the English
colors at our masthead, ran up to mi
own fore peak the cross Of st. Georg
beneath the stars and stripes. Thi
act so enraged tho citizens that tile,
went on board Of the American YES
sci, toredown the American flag, an,
in u moment rent it In, o Thousand
tatters. On landing, the officers o
the West India regiment, who ,ba'
been our guests, likewise excited n
what they deemed an insult to tn
Queen, rushed into the crowd, gath
cred all the fragments they could oh
tain and carried them to their quar-
tiers. The upshot of the affair was
that In the course of an hour the CAP
tain of the vessel came on board q
the "Katen and apologized for wha
he called the unwarantable act of hi
drunken mate. Tom, as a matter G
course, took the apology with all tn
dignity of bloody-minded and in
dignant Englishman, and was no
appeased until the skipper balance
accounts with a case of the bes
brandy in port. Consul Sam. Whit
ing-a jolly good fellow, by the way
was not so easily satisfied, and max
ing complaint the next day to tn
Governor of the island, ever,
blessed West Indian who had
fragment of the unfortunate banne
big rs o ten cent piece, was obliged I
deliver the same to the irate represen
tative of the United States of Amer
lea, after which, suitable apology wa
made by the authorities of the island
The way was now paved for the &C
complishment of our object, whicl
was to obtain a cargo of arms an
ammunition of war, that had been Oh
dered by the Confederate government
and which it was vitality importan
should be placed in the hands of ou
Western army, then in the vicinit,
Of Corinth, with the least possible dc
lay. e, b
This war material had been brough
to Nassau by an English brig, and
part of her cargo was unloaded at tn
dock, but as suspicion had bee
aroused that things were not exactl
what they seemed, she had droppe
down some distance from the tow
and lay I'm the stream awaiting OIL
arrival. AS many vessels were cor
stantly coming and going, thes
movements Occasioned no especia
comment. In two days after our eS
cursion party, we coaled, and steam
ing up to the dock, took i'm the poi
ton of cargo which had been depos
ted as above described. We the
dropped down along side of the Eng
lish brig. l.t m. .T..I IN
The custom house officer detache
to attend us, was as black as your ha
but, nevertheless, a courteous and IL
telligent official. Oakley had industr
ously cultivated this fellows acquair
lance, and he was SO completed
magnetized by the peculiar manipt
lati0ns ofthe old blockade runner tina
he never saw anything that was nc
proper to be seen, except twenty do
lar gold pieces or bottle Divine, ant
for all Confederate purposes, was q
blind as an owl in the sunlight. !
The arms and accoutraments WEI
packed In boxes and marked Hart
ware" and in all probability the Gu,
tom house official aforesaid, is TO th
present day, prepared to swear tn
tanned In truth only legitimate spade
and shovels, manufactured in Spring
field Massachusetts. H-ii 90, !,
We had been hurrying In the carg
r. l.. a n. L.