The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
THE HARRIET LANE.
Her Part in the Battle of Galveston, and
| What She is Doing Now.

What She is Doing Now.
| From the Galveston News.
The rambler along the wharves may
Cor he may nol) have noticed a trim
| bark living at Kuhn's wharf, taking in a
quantity of sand ballast for the purpose
OF steadying her prior to loading cotton
for the manufacturing town of Provi
deuce, Rhode Island. The vessels ways,
like those of our people, are at present
those of peace; but it was not always
thus, and, as we know something of her
past history, we purpose of telling it
in our own simple way, for, like the
| buccaneer IN Rokeby:
F" Rude am I in speech nor time affords
| For my plain temper, glozing words
That self-same trim-buiIt bark, whose
stern now bears the letters "Eliot
| Richie of Boston," is none other than
| the once noted "crack" revenue cutter
and man-of-war, Harriet Lane, built
| during the administration of President
| Buchanan for the revenue service, and
| named in honor of his niece. Until the
| breaking out of the war between the
| states, the Harriet Lane was used exclu-
| sivey for the service for which she was
| constructed, but when the opposing
! hosts confronted each other her arma-
ment was augmented and she entered
the navy of the United States. Posi-
| bly, her first engagements were along
"blge Potomac's margin dun" where
| she shelled the boys in gray along the
banks during the early part of the war.
Afterward the Harriet Lane participated
in numerous tits along the coast, but
was not formally introduced to Texas
society until the fall of 1864, when Gal
weston fell into the hands of the United
| States forces. For some weeks the
.quadron OF which the Lane formed
| one had an easy time of it, riding lazijy
at anchor in the narrow channel in front
of the CITY, with no foe nearer than
Virginia Point, five miles away. But
the boys in the low bsrbette batteries
on the western bay were getting ready
for work. On the first day of January,
1862, everything being in readiness for
an attack upon the Federal land and
naval forces in Galveston, Gen Magru-
Ter gave the ommand "forward," and,
in the gray dawn of the morning, the
Texas troops crossed over and began an
attack upon the United States men-Ot-
war in the harbur, and Massachusetts,
regiment, which were behind barricade
on Kul MS wharf. The feet replied
vigorously to the fire of the Confederate
land forces, and, seemingly, were worst
ing them, when the Confederate cotton
clad gunboats Neptune and Bayou City,
under command of Major Leon Smith,
which were to cooperate with the land
forces, hove in sight, and under fnll
bead of steam came rapidly into action.
The Harriet Lane was stationed In the
channel, opposite what is known rs
Beams wharf, and tke two cOttOn-clads
immediately event for" her, the Nep
tune ranging alongside and attempting
TO board, but received a brOadslde from
the Lane, and her commander was forced
to run her on the " flats" in shoal wa
ter, where she sank. The Bayou City,
nothing daunted by the fate which had
befallen the Neptune, was run into the
Lane and struck her on the larbOard
side of the wheel-house. The forces
under Leon Smith boarded her. The
Federal officers on the Lane ran below,
as soon as the boarders swarmed her
decks 4; but her commander, Capt. Vain
wright, on being asked by Maj. Smith
if he commanded that boat, and reply
ing in the affirmative, was shot dead
and fell across the sky-hght. In few
moments more the crew came up from
below and surrendered. Lieut.. Lea,
of the Lane, and number of seamen
and marines, we're killed during the en-
gagement.
The limits prescribed for this article
will not admit of q description of the
battle of Galv ston, and it will suffice to
say that the capture of the Harriet Lane
and the blowing up of the flagship West
field, with Commodore Renshaw and
boats crew, ended the fight, and left
Galveston in the hands of the cOnfeder-
ate forces. For some time after the
battle the prize was kept in the bay
with her armament on board, but she
was of too deep draught for service H.
side, and c0Eld not be used advantage
ouslY as a cruiser upon the high seas,
owing to her great consumption of coal.
What will We do with her?" was for
space the enigma, but it was finally
solved by loading her with cotton to run
the gauntlet of the blockadipg feet off
Galveston bar, and proceeded with it to
Hatana. Capt Joseph c. Barnard, at
present United States inspector of steam
vessels for this district, was placed in
command of the steamer, and one dark
night in the spring of 1868 the Harriet
Lane, in company with two other cotton
laden steamers, nOlselessly threaded
their way through the federal squadron
and in a few days arrived safely in Ha-
vana. Here the steamer remained until
grim-visaged war had got the wrinkles
ont of his countenance, when the steam
er, which had been injured by fire dur
ing her sojOurn in the ever-faithful isle,
was turned over to the United States
government, and again came into Amer
lean waters. The United States, finding
the vessel to be of little use, sold her to
q citizen OF Boston, who removed the
machinery and turned her into mer-
chant vessel, rigging her as bark and
giving her the name she now bears.
The Quondam man-Of-war appears to
have met with more success in the mGr-
chant than in the naval service, and is
represented as possessing excellent sail
ing and sea-goipg qualities. She reached
this port tor the first time since her
capture IN 1872, when she took load of
cotton from here TO Trieste, and made
her second visit during the late gale,
when she arrived with a cargo of ice
and wooden ware from Boston.