The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-10-27
THE JOHNNY'S STORY.
How the Caleb Cushing Was Taken in
Portland Harbor.

One of the Rebel Survivors Tells His Story
He Says the Policemen and People
of Portland Wanted to Hang the Con-
federates, but Were Prevented by the
Commander of the Fort.
Mr.. Robert Hunt, one of the Confederates
who assisted in capturing the revenue cut
ter Caleb Cushing in Portland Harbor dur
ing the war, recently read paper before
the Confederates' Veteran Association of
Savannah, Ga, describing the affair. The
paper in full follows:
Sometime since few of my friends sug-
gested to me that prepare paper, giving
a description of the CAPTURE of the United
States revenue cutter Caleb Gushing, In
Portland harbor, Me-, by the confederate
states cruiser Tacony, Lieutenant Z. W.
Read commanding l beg leave TO assure
Won that am not at all fitted to do Justice
TO this incident of the war. But as our
band was small, consisting of twenty-four
men all told, and as our gallant leader It's
no more. and as probably there may be no
survivor any better qualified than myself to
give you the particulars of that capture,
have concluded to do my best toward CIV
ing YOU the facts as near as possible. IL Is
more than thirty years since the event nap
pened that / am about to relate. anu, may
nossibly be not exactly correct, but Will give
it to the best of my recollection.
1t was a clear, calm night in the month OF
June. 1860. The confederate states cruiser
Tacony, commanded by Lieutenant Z. W.
Read. q. S. N. lay becalmed about 45 miles
from Portland hsrbor. We had been for sew
eral DAYS burning and bonding Yankee mer-
cbantmen and now among the fisher
men. several of whom we had captured and
DESTROYED. About six bells of the first
watch. as well as can remember, our look
out reported steamer ahead; our COM
mander came on deck and alter scanning
the steamer with his glasses pronounced
her s. yankee gunboat. well, boys he said
at guess our frolics about over, but We
must try and fool Them - All hands. with
the exception of a few men, were ordered
below. Our crew Gas have before stately
consisted of twenty-four men, all told, we
had besides our side arms) one six pound
brass howitzer. So you see we were IN no
condition to show fight to a yankee gun
boat. She was soon in hailing distance and
as she hauled up her commander hailed US
as follows: s.Barque ahoy, what and
where bound?" to which Lieutenant Read
answered: ssBarque Mary Jane, from Sagua
La Grande, bound to Portland" The cap
talS OF the soh'oa' 'nen
there was
A REBEL PRIVATEER
cru;sinp along the coast and burning mer-
cbantmen and that we had better keep a
charm Iookont. Lieutenant Read thanked
hin, nd he steame away to the southwark
What narrow escape; we were all speech
,,.s. for. more than a minute not word
was nassed. The silence was broken by
Iientenan+ Read. whose first words were:
ssRovs. we have had a close call, but we are
s4i1l on dark Tt is getting too hot for us in
chic latitude. we must change the .pro-
or4nme IT was pretty generally known
n = a rorthern and eastern ports that we
,,,a,a cruisinp off the coast and several gun
boats and cutters had been sent out in
search of MS. Lieutenant Read ordered all
hands Aft and stated to us his plans, which
F ware ~ follows: To capture smart schoon-
er barn ths Tacony. go into Portland, burn
tho Two eunboats then about completed,
seant.sre one of the Boston steamers, burn
she revenue cutter, put to sea and make for
southern waters and join the Florida. Are
Won all willing to stand by meY' he said.
We answered him to man that we were.
All hands were then orc cred below to get
All the rest they could, for for they would
naed If
The next afternoon we captured smart
looking little fishing schooner called the
Archer. Her crew were just about sitting
down to nice fish supper. Their captain
asked us to Join them, and as they had a
first class chowder, beside some nice sounds
and tongues cooked as they knew how to
cook them, we accepted the invitation
After dark we transferred one slx-pouner
and such other articles as we needed from
the Tacony to the Archer. We then set
fire to the Taeony and staid by her until
she bnrned to the waters edge and sank
She wassa smart vessel and we were sorry to
see her go. The next afternoon we an
chored of Long wharf in Portland harbor
All hands were below, with the exception
of a few hands knocking about the deck.
Those below were employed making oakum
halls and saturating them with turpen-
time. with which to set fire to the.gunboats,
A. +ha oct moment when eyerythinp was