The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1881-05-12
phe Che apeake .

The steamer Chesapeake of and from Portland,
bonnd for New York. went ashore during the
night Of April 18th on Fishers Island, off New
London, at the Eastern entrance to Long lslaud
| Sound and will be a total loss The Chesapeake
was one Of the Oldest steamers atloat and has Al
eveutful history, She was 49, tons burden
| schooner rugged and was built in Philadelphia IN
| 1858 for fleet known as the Parker Vain Compa
ny, plying between New York and Baltimore.
She then known the Totten. Atterward
| She was bought by the Cromwell line and ran be
| tween New \ ork and New Orleans for time, and
for nearly twenty years she has been on the New
ork and Portland route Twice before she has
been Shore and got of, and she was re
built in 1872, 1859 and repaired in 1870,
| December :, 1863. while on a voyage from New
ork to Portland, the Chesapeake was captured
| by party OF seventeen men, under command of
Lieut. Braine, Of the Confederate navy, who had
taken passage Tor the purpose and who at a favor
able moment surprised the officers and and
took possession of the vessel. The intention was
TO coal near St. ,onn, \. -, and proceed to port
steamer headed across the Bay of Fundy and
put !ltb NHttpNlut NCNd Dcpllh mere Il sinai
| quantity Of wood and coal was obtained. and a
part Of the cargo sold From Sheburne she pro
ceeded to the IL Have river, whore schooner
load of the freight was disposed Of and all hands
treated to the wine on board. After stay Of sew
eral days, the steamer having wooded up proceeded
| along the coast to Mud Cove near Sambro, some
twenty miles from Halifax. when the anchor was
| drODDaG A Tins Sha lv
captured by federal gunboat while in the act of
| coaing schooner load of coal and two engineers
| having been sent to her from Halifax. The gun
boat was the former blockade runner Ella and An
ME, and was under command of Lieut.. Nichols
[ 5. N.. of Searsport. The only men on board at
the time Of the capture AIDE one Of Bralne 5
| party. and the two Halifax engineers, and they
were taken on board the Ella and Annie and
| placed in irons. Lieut.. Nichols was about to pro
coed to the nearest United States port with his
prize, but was met off the harbor by the Dakotah
and ordered to take the Chesapeake into Halifax,
to which port the three vessels proceeded in com
pany Their arrival created good deal of excite
ment, the harbDr being filled with blockade run
ners, and the city with Confederate sympathzers
Had L'eut Nichols taken the Chesapeake to East
| port as he intended we should have had worse
complication than the Trent case on our hands for
the capture made III British waters, within
halt a mile Of the shore The senior otc GER the
commander of the Dakotah, promptly reported to
the British authorities, but was said to have made
no mention Of the three prisoners in irons on board
the Ella aud Annie. Their capture was not known
to the Halifax authorities, or the public, until
some twenty four hours later 1t was then re-
solved TO formally demand the surrender of these
prisoners Meanwhile orders were given to the
garrison to man the guns in the forts and batteries
which command the harbor and to fire upon the
nited States vessels if they attempted TO leave
port with the prisoners The matter was soon ar
ranged however, and the prisoners were delivered
| to the proper authorities at the Queens wharf
The Chesapeake was left at anchor IN Halifax har
Dor and soon passed under the control of the Vice
| Admiralty Court through which the vessel and
most Of the cargo were finally restored TO their re
spectve owners Had Lieut. Nichols stopped to
consult international laws, neither the owners Of
the Chesapeake nor of the cargo, would have been
| likely to have seen their property again. But he
| took her without stopping to enquire whether
! she was in British waters or not and it so hap
| pened that the case did not become one of inter
national Importance as it at one time bid fair to DO