Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-12-15
The Plan 10 Rescue The JOhnSOlS
Island Prisoners.
r,rr. ROBERT d. MINORS REPORT.
sy n,e uaring Expedition f"iie"'
Southern Literary Activity p"''"-
Observation-Disclosures Taken !"
.tiIton Ucad-oid MnStcr

,.uo,,,ne letter from captain K. u
-. confederate states navy, to Al
,,,r.hie buchanan. giving the eNperie4Ss
- the expedition for the rescue vi
Corfe5erate prisoners on 'oN''S0
- 70 taken from advance shee's
- "Oe,cial Records OF the Union anu
" - Ns,ies I'm the War OF the
rebellion" so called: ,,.opt-s
,,,cu,,o%D VA. February = is''
-. Sir Enclosed 1 send you the
co,,panv's receipt for a package
~ cloth. forwarded seVerai o"'9
vorr address. at Mobile hoioie
o., the Confederacy in OCTOBER ,"S.
.,.ro,a 70 say good-by ana Win va
- ,hat before my return YOU "ouiu
- hoard OF our success abroad Ou'
-. eor+unes of war were against 10
- an the consolation we have Is inc
''''.- -',a,,.,,oss that we did our best anu
-. ar efforts have been apprecI"'0N'
N,ou will pardon the prosy s'oi' -.
shout to tell YOU OF our eNpeulllo"' -
a. e. were one designed 10 ~ ~
..ooa IN our poor fellows at TIC
=, .,ro,,,b their release TO be or sreS.
80, - 10 our county. l have uhoue.
that II would be interesting ~ ''N
a,now something OF its detahs' r;e,,-
Early In February OF iast 90" 80 the
- william il. Murdaugh' ot '
tenaht nas'.e5 the plan of raid on
- s,or.bern lakes based on the ~
-. eurrrise OF the Uniteo s'@'y9
' ~ Michigan. the only Inal MAR,
-, those waters: and, on mehtlon-
g., his views 10 Lieutenant I'0pS -,
.~e~,or and myself, / need not wi
-, cordially we entered INTO 80. 10.
no endeavored by every means -. 49,
,,ovver TO carry them into eAeS 49,. .tat
-. onlv after repeated etIorts mo
u was ~ ~, xas induced TO take any
80 mart In promoting the eXpeul''o.'t
.t,'sh Mr. Mallory, the secretary
81 Navy. was IN favor or IL lIol' -.
incention OF the plan; but ihono!, bo
,ather the want Of IT, seeni,t Ter
80 Cause OF delay when, hoMo,o.
beinr eventually provided 10 'nV a a.n,s,,t
~ 5000 we together Win - rooro
walter r. Butt one OF our ~ ,-ere
- IN hoard the old Merrlmach' ~.
=, ordered to hold ourselves IN reaul-
- 20 rroceed on the duty asslslleu ~
-, srddenlv the order was cnalsSu'
n,.,no been decided In CaDnlel
co,,ncil that our operations on tne In.
80. or,ba~rass our relations WIN Ems
land. and thus prevent the eo 1n Fh,,,Id.
~ tho ironclad and other Nss9cl 49, ~
so~, for us in the private snip - a.
That country. SO the pan a. ,a,,.,,ad nv
80 last moment and, as we learheu' ~
L. Of mis- Txceilency, President laws,
- v,as apnrehensive on the scoIe "a
-, combinations. With the eNpeuI
,ion inns broken up. Murdaush' ul9". -
- sought other duty, ana ne oaI-
- and Butt were ordered aproau' iea'i
.no here on my regular ordnance uuts .
she only representative OF a scne,''O IN
,,ros,octs were so inviting ana 50 VI
TO in the spring. l believe IL
We that our enemies maue Joni,
r.1and I'm the Bay of Sandusky, w.
80 for our officers. their prisoners.
and after the surrender OF the to1I %
Arkansas. Nicksburg, ana forl -
con some I $40 or 1000 were lhPi
where. whom il became an oDJeSu 'sn q.
lease as the balance was, anu 80. -. -.
strongly against us. with TINS VIZ" AoO'a
,ovself one day In August last closvteu
.,'i,h Mr. Seldom. Secretary OF "aI'
"a Nr Mallory. who asked me 10 give
$50, views ON the contents or letter
;, mart of which Mr.. Seldom read 10 nv
,ortainin, a proposition for the release
Of our poor fellows
ASSENTED AT ONCE.
As a cruise on the lakes in the MICH
ran and the destruction OF the enc
,nv's very valuable commerce mas peon
my study for months past assen,ea
at once 10 the plan. ana ieindlN NJ -,
u need not inform you, gentlemen ~"
,nuch Measure il would give me 10 DC
.reaqed upon such duty" Well SIR,
,,csrlv n month of precious time passed.
away without my hearing announcer WoIu
on the subject. when one day was SEM
Tor bv MIR. Mallory, who tod me 70
organize an expedition, select 'he oi
fcers. make all the necessary Pi ePNl"
lions. and then concluded by oneIlhs ine
80 coromar.l Of II. which. however
waived in favor OF my friena' John " a.
a,,nson who was In manner somewhat
committed 10 the plan by the le''er
which ] have mentioned as peihs SHOWN
40 me by MIR. Seldom, the Secretary Oh
WAR. with this proviso' however tha.
on our arrival in Canada, IN the tFVH1
of adopting two lines OF operations Was
10 have one OF them as my coiiiiIaIiu. -
As soon as IL was definitely set'lvu
,bat The expedition was to 20 Uor the
,,resident said IL was better TO FAN IMAM
rot 10 make the attempt, "a II had been
,,aguelv talked OF in MontreaD. our pre-
rarotions were made. Thirty-hve thou
Ind dollars I'm gold, or its equivalent was
placed at our disposal by the Navy De
partment. and cargo OF tvt'oh' ""tN'
was subsequently, sold at iiaiiiaN Tor
$4,000 gold by the War Departmental
an. some Sill 900 IN gold, as the sinews
81 the expedition. The officers selected
John Wilkinson lieutenant commanding
myself. Lieutenant Il. L. Loyal Lieu
tenant 4. G.. Hudgins, Lieutenant g.
W Gift Lieutenant J. NJ Gardner
Lieutenant Il. p. az. NJ Roby' Lieu
tenant NJ p. Goodwin. Lieutenant
otey Bradford. Acting Master W. Il. Bah.
colonel o. Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry,
Acting Master William Finney; Acting
Master OI) w. Perrin: Lieutenant Pat
rick Mccarriclg. Acting-Master Henry
Wilkinson; Chief Engineer % Charles
Schroeder: First-Assistant- Engineer III. Y.
Wright, Second ASSISTANT Engineer Tuck
er; Assistant-Pa ymaster a. Nj DeLeon.
Acknowledgment CWi1iam) Sheppardson.
Gunners Gormley and Waters: John
Tabb: man named Leggett. who sub
.sequently left us at Halifax OF course.
our plan was kept secret, only Wilkin-
son, Loyal, and myself knowing its OBJ
oects, and we did not attempt TO con
tradict the report that We were going 10
England. whore many OF the officers
and our friends on shore supposed we
were bound
The party consisted Of twenty-five, all