Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-11-24
CAPTURE OF THE CALEB CUSHING
Evacuation of Richmond by
the COnfederateS.
raE ORIGIN OF THE FIRES
nuteresting Letters Hearing 'po"
she Understanding the BioeH"ee'
- ~,. 18th Southern naval ON
crn-some Exciting Incidents
1,vrii,en for the Dlspatch)

L.
!, On the eth day OF May lSS' .ne
.American brig. Clarence, bound from MO
Nc Janeiro to Baltimore, with caiso
INF coffee. was captured of the coast %
prazIl By the Confederate States steamer
FLORIDA. Captain John n. MaiiitI Con
seaerste states navy. commanding Leu
sspant Charles ". Read, Confederate
Sc. navy AN officer Of the Florida,
a young Mississippian. OF scarce 20 year
Unod with patriotic devotion 10 inc
rause of the Confederacy, Immediately
prooosed 20 take the Clarence, WIN "
crew of twenty men. ana proeeeu "
Hampton Roads, Va, and there cut ou'
n Runboat or steamer, with which IL
svas his intention to go ON raid against
1he Federal commerce. Captain Malni1
GRANTED his request. gave him howitzer
with ammunition and equipments anu
the necessary small arms for crew Oh
twenty men, and babe nun soo-sp,eu'
1,saA was accompanied by Second-Assist-
nn,- E,nrtueer r.. II. Brown. so that. al
together. he had twenty-one men, besides
himself. <..
Ua Immediately shaped his course Tor
,be canes of the Chesapeake bay, drill
&us his crew, and preparing them LOT
che arduous service which was expected
OF them. He also kept the men busy
making wooden guns. as he sailed nofth-
ward. TO supply in appearance what he
Sacked In reality.
several weeks. but failed TO overhaul
them, on account OF the inferior SAILING
qualities OF tho Clarence. on the o'h OIL
Gune. In latitude 80 degrees, ~ mihutes'
north: longitude Il degrees ~ minutes
west. he captured and burned the park
whistling Wind. of Philadelphia, bouhd
20 New Orleans. with coal Tor Rear
Admiral Farraguts squadron. rms YES
sci had been insured by the United states
t;overnment for sliS0o. On the 7th OF
June he captured the schooner Alfred IL.
Partridge, of New York, bound TO Ma
tamoras. Mex. AS this vessel was load
ed with arms and clothing for citizens
of Texas the captains bond Tor NV"
was taken as a guarantee Tor the de-
livery of the cargo 10 loyal citizens OF
the Confederate States, ana she was al
lowed to proceed on her Journey; On
the eth of June the brig Mary Alvina'
from Boston TO New Orleans, loaded with
commissary stores. was captured anu
burned.
From the prisoners and papers OF the
fNhistling Wind and Mary Aiyina READ
gained information which convinced nm
that 1t would be impossible for him
to carry out his original intention. as no
vessels we're allowed to go into Hampton
Roads unless they had supplies for the
ajnited States Government; and even
chen they were closely watched. The
vessels lying at the wharf above Fortress
Monroe were guarded by sunboat and
eentries on the wharf whilst just out
side OF the fort there were two armed
boarding steamers. which Inspected every
thing entering the bay, from dug-out
40 a frigate He then determined to cruise
elong the coast and try to intercept a
transport for Fortress Monroe and with
her to carry out his original design.
SUBSTITUTED THE BARK.
on the morning Of the 18th OF June. in
latitude 81 degrees. north; longitude 10
negroes 30 minutes, west. almost in sight
Of the capes OF the Chesapeake. the
bark Tacony, In ballast from Port
naoyal. s. c., TO Philadelphia, and the
-rchooner Nj. A. Shindler. OF Philadel-
phia. were captured. The latter was
burned: but Read, who was as full of
expedients and resources as Paul Jones
himself, with the quick eye of sea-
tnan, saw at a glance that the Tacony
was better sailer than the Clarence;
DO he determined to burn the latter and
lake the bark for his purposes. He i'm
nnediately set 20 work to transfer his
gun and his small arms to the Tacony
es time was short. and he was almost
In the presence OF the enemy. Any one
familiar with the sea can appreciate the
difficulties OF such an operation on the
rolling deep In seaway. While the
howitzer was being transferred. schoon'
or was discovered coming down
before the wind. AS she was passing
near the Clarence. wooden gun was
pointed at her, and she was commanded
10 heave TO, which. through fright, she
did Immediately. She proved to be the
schooner Kate Stewart, of Philadelphia,
AS Read was then short OF provisions
and had over fifty prisoners on board
he determined TO bond the Kate Stew
art and make a cartel of her. lie
bonded her for the sum of 5000. pay
able to the President OF the Confederate
States, thirty days after the ratification
of q treaty Of peace between the Con-
federate States and the United States.
Hc then burned the Clarence. and NJ A.
Ghindler. and gave chase to brig. which
proved to be the Arabella. Of New York
shis vessel having neutral cargo on
board. he bonded her for $4,000
Up TO this time the Federal Govern
ment had no knowledge that Read was
on the coast destroying the commerce
o. It's citizens: but. on the 18th OF June,
Sspsain Munday. OF the bark Tacony,
having been landed from the cartel Kate
stewart on the coast OF New Jersey.
sook the train to Philadelphia, and, ar
unx there at p. NJ. reported that
snere was pirate Off the coast, and all
She scenes which he had Witnessed the
gay eeiofs. The news was at once tele-
spssa 70 the Navy Department at
sssnseon' ana immediately the tele-
erspn-wires waxed warm with order. IA
Homirai Lee commanding the North Al.
lanuc blockading squadron. ana ~ The
ecmmandants OF the Boston. New York.
ana Philadslphia navy-yards. to send
cut vessels In pursuit OF the pirate" II
may be well to explain here that this wa
the generic name used by the Federal
Government and " citizens for ali Con.
fsderate cruisers. II was q misnomsr.
for = pirate IL hostis human ceneris
while the confsderatsx only made war on
che United States Government ana its
ritisens. However. II matters little what
ssa call your ocmiss In wartime 20