The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-06-10
Interesting Extracts from SsAan
Mltchers .JaaF JournaH." 30.
RICHMOND, January y is.

His father is Anglican rector OF h,1.. '..s,.
Atkins is aman Of six feet TWO lhsi:cs, WI
a huge black beard. He has served ~ ., iS'.s'
aud on the wrong side, as , thn ,;rht s;,Ie
tnrn however. and is a good officer; at
tanhsd III. present to the staff OF dene-
rai E,1cy, commandment OF Richmond
g" that | meet him often. Another
soldier of fortune, like Atkins, Is Colonel
Sc. Leser Grenfell. an Englishman, COM
handing regiment OF our cavalry He .
a tall, wiry old officer, who has LEG most
adventurous life. having served IN spanl3'
Don Carlos, and in Africa under aha.e'-
kader. where he actually led wild kabyies:
He is man of very fine education, aud
higtriy courteous in manner, but does not
.,fiect "a care for this (Confedcrate) cause
save as it affords him field for. military adj
venture. When speak Of Grcnfell as
soldier of fortune do not, however, mean
in the Dugald Dalgetty sense. lie Is rlcn,
and. far from fighting for his pay. he accepts
no pay for his fighting, Remlttanees come
80 him from England regularly :; ana ne
keeps splent,id horses and two enormous
dogs. Amongst foreign officers in our SER
vice there have been certainly few more
popular than this gentleman, whose subse-
Uuent usage and sad fate leave deep stain
upon the Yankee name. w
Hennincsen. too, is here, with the title OF
colonel, though he is usually styled gene
rad, which was his filb,lstering titicn Mica
ragua. ifenningsen has had, IL possible, a
vel wilder career than Grenfell himself. de
carved i'm Spain of old also for Don Carlos,
and commanded regiment OF cavalry
under Zumalacarrcguy, Of whose lille anu
achievements he afterwards wrote q narra-
tive. He was afterwards an officer IN tue
army Of Carlo Alberto this Victor EN-
manuePs father, and after the disaster OF
Novara went into Hungary and fought
through the great campaign against AIS
tria. He had Just been appointed TO take take
command in Comorn, the last place -he!a
for kossutli, when that cause, too, suddenly
fen to the ground. Henningscn thon joined
Knssuth in Asia Minor, and accompanied
him to the United States. Since thenne has
been we'll known rs the principal military
leader in Central America during Walkers
short reign there. In the Contederaey nc
commanded a Virginia infantry regiment,
hut has resigned it on account OF some real or
facied slight put upon his services by the
President. Still another European officer
may mcntinn-1IerOs Won Borck, 4 young
Pri,sSan. and descendant Of 4 very noble
house. which has furnished famous captains
to all the tribe Of HOhenzollern kings. This
Won Borck is a splendid cavalry ofnccr, ana
under our Stuart has done some daring
tests: but for some months he has, been IN
" I
fhroat. which ia sure to Nil him one day, as
the doctors tell him. But in the mean time
he tries to enjoy life and devotcs himself to
the fair maidenS of Richmond. All these
men. the Irishman. the EngllShniln, the
Swcde, and the pruSSian. being now III the
CITY, and for the present out OF Held duty.
meet them occasionally and rs they have
all seen so much of the wide world they
are all agreeable companions. -.,-s...
During the late months have obtained
from time to time only few intimations. and
mt long intervals. Of how it has fircd with
my family in Ireland. A mercantile firm III
Baltimore has been good enough TO receive
letters for me, and then to send then to me
through the guarded lines rs occasion offer
ed. So I knew not, all through the
month Of January, that my wife, with
my two little daughters, was at sea-, on
board one Of the small blockade-running
steamers, on their way to Virginia. i should
terprise ii had known OF it; yet the step
they took was very natural. My wife knew
that not only her eldest daughter was dead
in Paris. but that her youngest son had fall
en- i'm the field ut Gettysburg. She could
not know at what moment she might hear.
Of the slaughter Of her two other sons,
both engaged in the very forefront OF the
war-one in South Carolina, the other in
Virginia; and at last she had determined,
without consulting me, to attempt the run
ming of the blockade by means OF such YES
sells as were available. Our friends in ire
land had heard II great deal Of our priVa-
tons in these blockadcd States; q matter
which was always greatly exaggerated in
the North, and those privations had been
dwelt upon complacently In Yankee news
papers. They all thought we were almost
starving and almost naked and at last my
wife had determined to run the gauntlet.
She would at least see her children
before they would be, all killed, and
would bring us some supplies. Ac-
cordingly she had set to work in Ireland,
by lteip Of our friends there, to collect such
stores Of various kinds rs were said to be
most scarce amongst us. She had purchased
materials for clothing, boots and shoes, tea
snd coffee, {for the stories Of our rye coffee
had been current over the world, land had
caused these stores to be packed in cases
and shipped at Plymouth on board the
Vesta, one Of the little swift Confederate
steam.yessels, bound to Wilmington, N. c.
She brought away our youngest daughter
from her convent school in Paris, and
started with the two girls in this miserable
little yesta, knowing that she was running
imminent risk of capture by tho Yankee
biockading squadron. or all this knew
nothing, and so much the better for me- I
believed my family to be still amongst our
friends in Ireland. l.. '''>' :
They made their voyage safely and plea
sanity enough as far as Bermuda and after
delay of few days there, set forth again
to encounter the greatest and most serious
danger. that Of capture by the! Yankee
blockade drumming squadron :; Coming near
the coast, of North Carolina, the little
yesta very soon found herself chased by
some eight or ten Federal -ships-of.war.
z For several hours she was under fire,
and shot and shell tore 4 through. her
rigging but the Vesta was very feet, was
gaining groui;d upon her pursuers, and
having good prospect now OF running into
Cape Fear river, when it was Found that
the fuel was exhausted. A large part of
the cargo consisted of bacon, shipped for
the Confederate CommiSsary Department.
This bacon was, without scruple, used as
fuel, and was thrown into the IRE. Steam
was thus Kept up, and the little Nesta actu-
ally ran past and through her pursuers and
when night fell was ont Of their reach and
on the direct course for Cape Fear river.
Now, the captain of the Vesta WINS an Eng
Iishman-an officer supplied by Messrs. Col
lie, e. Co., who had buiit and loaded the,
vessel for. the Confederate service. The first
mate was also an Englishman; and, so soon
as night eame on, and it was evident
shat the Vesta Ind run through the
blockading squadron, and there WIS moth
ing to hinder her to come to her pGrt, Mo
captain and this mate made themselves
drunk, and It became evident that Iso,oo
mischief was afoot,, When n,a,ig. SSyAa1S