Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-12-15
A BLOCKADER'S LAST RUN.
Earlysville, Va.

III was aDOuI< IL OClOCh la TIC
forenoon along in the fall of 1856
in the month OF October, | think it
was-that | ran the Federal block
ade in Galveston harbOr, in COM
mand of the steamer Susanna, with
cargo of arms and ammunition for
the Confederate Government"
The speaker was a medium sized
square-built man, with deep set eyes
and determined features.
81 have read the account in the
Sunday News" he continued, "of
the striking chase at sea and the
story of the remarkable escape of a
Confederate steamer at Galveston.
| was in command of the ship at the
time"
The reporter recognized at once
an old Savannahian, Capt. Charles
w. Austin, who is now in the Gov
ernment employ, and who figured
in many thrilling adventures in the
war, but came out without scar.
"You had a narrow escape, Cap
tain tell us something about the
affair"
"As | said, it was some time in
the fall OF '65. l had made four or
five successful trips from Havana,
bringing arms and munitions of
war, but this trip very nearly
wound me up. The Susanna, which
the writer in the News referred to
as the privateer; was staunch,
| trim-bullt, iron vessel, with a capac-
| ity of from / 400 to 1900 bales of
cotton, and with an average speed
of fifteen knots an hour. She was
| built in England on the Clyde as a
blockade runner, and lay low in the
water, with her long black hull
hardly visible except in broad day
light. She was about 225 feet long
by 80 beam, and being new vessel
l thought her equal to anything in
| in chase. We left Havana with a
crew OF twenty-seven men, well
officered by men who knew their
business. We had fine weather and
calculated to make land inside the
blockade under cover of night be-
tween l and o'clock in the morn
ing. However, as luck would have
it, an accident at seattle giving
way of some of our machinery-de-
tanned us several hours, and brought
us to land in open daylight, about
6 O'Clock in the morning. By this
time we were in plain sight OF the
biockading squadron, but as yet
were unObserved.
"The entrance to the harbor was
filled with gunboats. 1t was near
the close of the war, and the block
ade at other points on the coast hav-
ing been raised, nearly all the Fed.
eral cruisers were concentrated at
| Galveston. The situation was a
perilous one, and there was but one
thing to be done Ii we could evade
the enemy until nightfall and then
pass the squadron and enter the
harbor unobserVed, we would be
all right. Calling the men aft to
the bridge / gave them their orders,
and the ship was soon heading to-
ward land. We stood well to the
eastward close under shore, with
the intention of secreting ourselves
until night. We were yet some
distance out and hauling In rapidly,
and when about o'clock l discov-
cred a cruiser bearing down on us.
All hope for making land was then
abandoned, and the only chance for
escape was to put to sea. Having
full confidence in my men, and
knowing the speed OF my ship, did
not fear the result.
"Calling to the engineer through
the pipe, | discovered that after
making a twelve hours run off
shore and back again, l would not
have coal enough left to carry me
back to Havana, as there was none
! to be had in Galveston. | was in a
quandary, but n" time was to be
lost. Give her full head | shouted
to the engineer, and casting my
| glass across the harbor | saw the
Federal cruisers preparing for ac-
| tiOn. There was only one alterna-
tive, and in forlorE hope L took the
| desperate chance Of running the
squadron and preaching the block
ade. 1t was then about noon. /
headed the ship for Galveston and
| passed over the outer bar into the
swash or beach channel, hauling in
south by west in the very teeth of
the guns on the gunboat Seminole,
which had already opened fire. AT
this point the chase began, and for
an hour we ran under heavy fire
| from the guns OF three OF the squad
ron, which were bearing down on
US all the time.
"'Push her hardp | shouted
again to the engineer. All right,
SIR came the reply; and the huge,
black volumes of smoke that poured
out of our tunnels and lay in clouds
on the water; the throbbing of the
| Anpine in the hold. the strainipp of
the wheels as they flew around.
blowing the water and leaving a
track of boiling, foaming sea far
astern, told that he was doing his
duty. 1t was an exciting time, but
every man was at his post and not
a word was spoken. The shell
yhizzed over us and splashed and
wet our decks as they fell close
under our sides. Two solid shots
passed through our tunnels as !
Stood on the bridge, and the frag-
ment of a shell shattered our bow
A.rk ~ son