Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-01-06
APAGErRoM THE WAR.
How a Gallant Confederate, Now Fort
WORKMAN. Took in the Enemy.
A Claim and an Interesting letter.

A reporter in his peregrinations yes
terday dropped into the cosy Office Of
DR.. Fitzhugh, and after few minutes
conversation on general topics, the war
was brought up, when incidentally the
doctor showed the scribe letter re-
ceived a few days since, which the re-
porter at once saw would, with sur
rounding circumstances, make most
interesting and readable article, where
upon he piled questions thick and fast
TO the good doctor, who modestly and
reluctantly gave the following account
of the proceedings, which antedated
the matter directly i'm hand:
As those conyersant with the his
tory of the campaign in Virginia
during ls6i-5 remember, Col. Dahl
green of the Northern army was sent
In command of good sized force to
burn Ri, hmond and make prisoners
of President Davis aud his cabinet
At this time DR.. Fitzhugh was
in the cavalry service IA Il captain, and
having been sent To lower Virginia to
recruit and remount his command, re-
ceiyed orders from General Lee to pro-
ceed across Chesapeake Bay TO capture
and destroy certain boats then plying
between Fortress Monroe and Cherry
stone Garrison. The captain started
in two open boats with thirteen
men TO the point he wished
to reach about forty miles across the
water. Taking the enemy by surprise
he succeeded in capturing two steam
ers, Iolas and Eolas, the Eolas in the
telegraph service keeping the sub
marine line from Fortress Monroe to
Cherystone in good service, this boat
had on board one piece of artillery.
The lolas was a transport. The sub
marine telegraph was also destroyed,
breaking connection between Wash
ington and Fortress Monroe. After
destroying one boat and other prop
erty, Captain Fitzhugh re-crossed the
bay in the other, and after removing
valuablcs burned this boat also.
In the following fall Captain Fitz-
hugh, in conversation with General
Jubal A. Early, mentioned the cap
ture Of these boats, and suggested that
effective service for the South could he
rendered on the bay in supplying Lees
army with cOmmissary stores from
transports captured General Early
sent the captain TO Lee, who ordered
him to proceed to Chesapeake Bay
and capture such vessels or steamers az
he could, at the same time giving or
ders TO two companies of Mosby's bat
talon and train of wagons from the
Guartermasters department to cooper
ate in removing such stores from
steamers as could be utilized.
In March the captain proceeded up
the bay some seventy-iive miles and
by strategy captured the steamer al
luded to i'm the following letter. In
this expedition thirty-nine men We're
! employed and POS prisoners, one piece
of artillery and seventy stands of
small arms captured. This steamer
was used in the government service
in transporting troops and provisions.
On the steamer Captain Fitzhugh
! learned from federal officer that
Richmond had fallen, the day before,
and Lee on the retreat so
the object of the expedi-
| ton which was to capture
other steamers and throw supplies into
! Richmond being at an end, the cap
tain with his captured steamers "hus-
! tied" down the bay as rapidly as posi-
BILE reaching the Rappahannock next
morning, where the steamer was
run aground and burned, and the pris-
oners paroled, hence the grounds ofthe
/ claim alluded to. This is the letter re-
ceived by the doctor and explains
itself IA fully as necessary:
WARRINGTON, &c, December ., 1882
| DIR. T. FIT2HUGH.
Dear sir-Your note, giving your address,
/ received. The matter that i wish TO consult
| you about IS simply this: understand
/ that you, as an officer I'm the Con-
iederacy Ia pursuance to orders
and In fultllment of your duties az a
soldier, captured ana destroyed the steamer
1915 - ''''" - -'p' -
ofoourse in capturing said vessel you had
no personal motive, rs You might not have
ers, and probably didn't care, rs you wer,
aetuated by active NTH and belief In tn,
southern cause and You did what every hon
est soldier did. serve your cause and cripple
your enemy. AT all events In this You aid 4
pretty faithfully, TO the extent of one vesss
that was carrying Federal troops, as uade..
stand, though OF That am not sure
Now that the thing Is past and gone anC
political troubles are confined to talk mostly
wiu leli y2u my story, and ask your aid o
You will remember that la 1872 Fnglnnt
paul our government Sl6O0O,O10to pay dam
ages done by Confederate cruisers, On IN,
ground that England acknowledged that sht
was responsible Tor some of the losses
A court was formed Ia settle tho cases hu
they were confined to vessels captured ON tn,
high seas and more than four miles IRON
shore, and captured by certain specified
I oT,;istrs
About sS,0ao,o00 were paid uader the award,
: OF this court aud IL was dissolved
Last spring, congress passed an act for set
lllng the claims OF uf( fcSseiS captured by am
CelVedrfdff tessei or cruiser no msiter ,Chere o.
halg nfur shore
Now ] take IL that If you captured the ---
az an act OF war and In accordance with in
struetlons that u ought to come within tn,
purpose of the law, aud OF this YOU know
moro thanany one else.
want yQur evidence in this case. and /
you can aid ME in the matter, can afford {,
: give YOU good Zee in case am successful
@The sum Of $,0ol.000 is in the tronSilry I,
pay those claims and Il must be so need o
, else paid back 60 Europe. that's ENGLAND
ana iherois no reason why the owners cf tn,
--- should not Ice paid as well as the resi-
" We can only prove the facts VIII yoI
hloise write me ityou are willing 10 give mi
, the true version OF tho capture?
Yours most Respectfully,
The doctor has replied to the lette
, in suitable terms, and awaits develop
mQnts