Wilmington journal., 1874-01-09
NO. 9.
tFrom the Baltimore Gazette.)
THE CAPTURE OF THE UNDER.
WRITER.
A Graphic Account by - COnfcdcr-
ate Officcr-A Thrilling Engage
nlcnt-A Hand to Hand Strug-
gie-Capture and DeStruc-
ssnas pf K2Aof

| .ie-Capture and Destruc.
| tiOn OF the Boat.
Col. J. Thomas Scharf, of this city,
an officer in the Confederate Navy, re-
Gently furnished an interesting ac.
count of the Confederate vessels, the
| Merrimac, the Nashville and the Pat
rick Henry, to the Maryland Historical
Society, accompanying three pictures
of those vessels, report of which has
been already published in the JOURNAL.
The account concluded with descrip-
tion of
THE CAPTURE OF THE UNDERWATER,
in February, 1864, by an expedition
under command of John Taylor Wood,
of Maryland, of the Confederate
States Navy, commander of the Con-
federate States privateer Tallahassee.
and subsequently an aid on the staff of
Jefferson Davis. The account is as
follows:
early III the year 1864, Col. Wood,
who had short time before captured
few Federal gunboats in the Kappa
hammock river, solicited and obtained
permission from the Secretary of the
Confederate States Navy to fit out
boats for the capture of the Federal
blockading vessels, by boarding them
in the night. In the month of Janu-
airy, 1864, the Confederate States naval
commanders in the ports of Savannah,
Charleston, Wilmington and Rich
mond received instructions from the
Navy Department at the last named
city to select a boats crew of fifteen
able and trusty seamen at each port,
from the iron-clads then in commits
sion, and with their boats to report at
Wilmington, n. G. About the latter
part of January, everything being in
readiness, well armed, and accompa-
MED by -four boats and two launches,
we left Wilmington via the Kinston
Railway. Our destination was a mat
ter OF much conjecture, and more than
one quid nunc puzzled his brain over
the problem.
NEWBERN AND ITS DEFENSEs.
at the juncture of the Neuse and
Trent rivers, situated on point of
land, its shores washed by either
sire am. lies the town of Newbern.
place of some note. in North Carolina.
After the fall of Roanoke Island, on
the 18th of February, 1862, it fell into
the hands Of the Federals, who imme-
diately after its surrender threw up
notifications which extended over an
area of twenty miles. To further in
crease the strength, and to render the
town proof against surprise or capture,
some three or four gunboats were
either anchored off the wharf or crllis-
ing up and down the Neuse or Trent.
The largest of these was the Under
writer, which fired the first gun on
Roanoke Island, and whose capture
forms the subject of this sketch.
THE EXPEDITION DOWN TIE RIVER.
On Sunday morning, January 31st,
orr boats being dragged by the men
from the cars and launched in the
Neuse at Kingston, we Immediately
embarked and were soon under way,
pulling hard to Newbern. The trip
was one of no little interest, but it
would exceed proper limits to give q
detailed account of it. / shall therefore
confine myself to a few generalities.
Those who remember the winter of
1864 Will recall it as one of unusual
severity, and on the morning of our
expedition we saw but little of the
almost tropical luxury for which our
Southern country is noted, the river
wide and deep, with floating masses of
ice, through which the waves flowed
with Il hOarsc surge and sigh; low
banks utterly destitute of vegetation
rose on either side, bortlered with
gnarled cypress trunks whose
branches. trailing with gray moss and
leafless vines, formed q skeleton wall,
through the opering of which we
caught an occasional glimpse of the
bare forest woodlands, succeeded
farther on by swamps and marshes,
whose rank grasses aad debris of
fallen logs and dead trunks seemed
vast battle field, over whose funeral
pyre neither vic or or vanquished
stayed to shed a tear.
Winding and crossing in many a
curve and turn, flashing in and out,
the river seemed succession of tiny
lakes wild ducks started at our ap-
proach, rose from the banks, whirled
for an instant above Our helds. and
then flew on rapid wing to the forest
coverts beyond. Silently our boat
sped down The stream, issuing no
sound save the steady splash and dip
of the oars as they fell into the water.
Occasionally fallen log, covered with
sleet and ice, stayed our progress, and
the monotony of the hour was varied
by boat aground, and now and then.
as night approached, the low, solemn
screech of the night owl was borne
DER the stiffness and hush cf the dark
waters. The night grew very dark-a
night in consOnance with our work of
daring and danger-and soon. as the
darkness thickened and blackened, our
way could only be traced by the faint
light of the sky, glimmering through
the tree tops. At about IL o'clock our
way grew clearer, the shores seemed
to separate, and we soon emerged into
the open country above Newbern.
PREPARING FOR ACTION.
To understand the plan of attack it
will be necessary to explain briefly
General Pickett, then commanding,
was to open fire on the enemy's lines
i'll the morning, TINS concentrating
their attention inland, while we, taking
advantage of the diversion, if possible,
captured one or more of the gunboats,
and cleared the river. When in sight
of Newbern we ran into n small creek,
and hauling our boats c'o,e to the
shore landed upon an island whose tall
grasses and shrubs afforded us tenn
porary haven. Al midnight the men
We're called to quarters, arms inspect
t(t, itIt itIlLltiHItlO1 ulSll1tJltcu. L u
distinguish him, eacli man was furnish
ed with a white badge, to be worn Oh
the left arm, and the password,
(''Sumter'D being given the brave
fellows were ready and eager for
action. The firing of Pickett was
now heard at its height, and again
launching our crafts in the Neuse, the
boats were arranged i'll two divisions,
the first commanded by Colonel Wood,
and the second by Lieutenant B. p.
Loyal, and the two forming parallel to
each other we pulled rapidly down the
stream. After a short time Colonel
Wood pulled the boats along side his
OWE to receive instructions, and this
done, he offered up fervent prayers foi
the success Of our dangerous mission.
| Soon the clouds that had been grow
| ing denser and more threatening, broke
on us in all their fury, while through
the patter and p1ashing of the rain we
heard distinctly the bell of the Under
writer as it rlng out four bells for two
o'clock. Guided by the sound, we i'm
mediately pulled toward her. We