Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-26
MILLIONS OF FIAT MONEY
An English Lithographer Tells How Rebel
Money Was Made.
SOME 100000 IN NOTES STOLEN
Paper, Presses and workmcn OBJ
taincd In England and Run
Through the BIoclSndc-Narrow
Escape from the scnbrook.

Davis, "the confederate leaders realized that
they had entered on a desperate struggle
and the plan then adopted was to issue
treasury notes convertible at the pleasure OF
the holder into bonds" More than 100000
600 OF these treasury notes were issued
within the next two years.
Before the work could be begun on any
large scale relates the New York Sun, 1t
was necessary to smuggle the paper and
presses. the outfit for large lithographing
establishment, and the men to run this es-
tabllshment through the blockade. Like
most Of their other supplies the confederate
leaders got these from England and brought
them in by way Of the West Indies. How
the tsk of turning out from $50 600 900 to
800 900 of paper money every week,
which the confederacy had set for itself,
was carried out forms an interesting chap
ter In the unwritten history of the confed-
crate movement, and is here set down for
the first time in the narrative of John
Hodge, one of the few survivors OF the group
OF young English printers and photographers
brought to Charleston, S. c., in 1862 for the
express purpose of making confederate
money. Mr. Hodge is now an American
citizen, the manager OF lithograph COM
pany in New York City. His story follows:
I'm April, 1862, when was in my twenty
fourth year, | was working in London for
Charles Straker & Sons large lithograph-
ing establishment. l had then been eight
years at my trade as a photographer, and
was considered a fairly good workman. All
England was greatly interested in the
American struggle, and, therefore, we
locked with curiosity at a man OF distin-
guished appearance, plainly an American,
who visited our shop one day, and who was
reported to be an agent of the confederate
states, engaged in purchasing supplies Our
interest was greatly increased when the
story got about that the gentleman had pur-
chased the machinery for large lithograph-
ing plant from our firm, and was looking
about for a number of young fellows to man
this establishment, which was to be de-
voted to printing money for the confederacy.
"The prospect of large pay and lively ad-
venture was as attractive to me as 1t is
likely to be to a young fellow Of that age,
and l went to the head of the firm with the
request that he should recommend me to
our American visitor. AS a result | was in
vited to visit Major Evans of Charleston,
S. c., at his hotel and went to see him in
company with ten other workers at my
craft. We found the major a very agreeable
person. and the upshot Of our interview was
that we agreed to go to Charleston to work
for the confederate government. We got
promise of $50 week in gold and liberal
rate of pieceworls pay, and each man, on
signing his contract, received from f40 to
EGO to pay the expenses of the journey.
I'VE left London on May 10, 1862, on the
ship Leopard of Glasgow. We were the
only passengers except three southern Off
GERS and Major Evans, who Joined us al
Cardiff, where our ship stopped to make
some additions to her cargo. We stopped
again at Queenstown, and from there sailed
directly for Bermuda, in the West Indies.
At all these places more cargo was brought
aboard but although we were pretty GER
- "a. sNn,,, ~N,
were not allowed to know anything about
that, and were kept under military discip-
line.
From Bermuda we went to Nassau, and
there we were told that both our party and
the ships cargo would be divided into two,
and would proceed by separate boats for the
short but dangerous part of the journey
still before us. One part, containing Major
Evans and six of our men, was put on the
Autonica a regular blockade runner, and
the rest of us went on the W. NJ. Seabrook,
an American river boat, commanded by
Captain Dan Vincent, who was known as
one of the most daring of the Charleston
pilots. AS we sailed out of Nassau harbor,
with the palmetto flag and the half crescent,
the South Carolina revenue flag. at our mast
head, we We're cheered by the people on
shore and saluted by the other vessels in
the harbCr, for the object OF our journey was
well known.
and the captains plan was not to sail di-
rectly into Charleston harbor, but to slip in
through an inlet with which he was ac-
mainted. Unfortunately, he made a slight
miscalculation as to the tides, and that
proved his undoing. One morning as we
were bearing in close to the south carolina
coast we saw United States cruiser loom
ing up close at hand. The Seabrook sped
away up Bulls Inlet, the little stream
which Captain Vincent had been making
for, where the cruiser could not follow us,
although she chased us as far as che could
and fired a shot or two across our bows.
But as / said before, the captain had mis-
calculated the tide, which was further out
than he supposed, and presently we found
ourselves stuck fast in the mud. The Yam
KEGS were aware Of our plight, too, and pres
emily our lookout announced that two boats
were putting off from the cruiser, each
carrying a howitzer, and were coming
leisurely along to capture us.
"When we heard this announcement We
the confederate officers, and most
OF the crew dropped quickly over the ships
side into the two boats and rowed away, but
tine captain stuck doggedly to his post. The
stars and stripes had soon taken the place of
the palmetto flag on the Seabrook, but we
were out of sight by that time and were try
ing to make our way through mixture of
mud aud water, dragging ourselves along and
pushing the boats ahead of US.
lost in wilderness of swamps, and we spent
two days toilng through mud with nothing
to eat and little hope Of ever getting put
alive. During that time we heartily wished
ourselves back in old England, but at the
end of the second day we came upon small
encampment of confederate troops, the San
tee Mounted Rifles and found that we were
safe within the confederate lines. From
here we had to walk to Charleston, a dis
tanee of twenty-five miles, over a heavy
sandy road and by the time we reached the
city we were as worn and bedraggled speci-
mems of humanity as it would be possible TO
find.
1--WE were warmly welcomed by the people
Of Charleston, who insisted on regarding the
men of the Seabrook as heroes and by Major
Evans. who had arrived before u.s. The lat
ter advanced us money for our immediate
needs, for what we had had been lost in
making our escape from the boat We were
set TO work almost Immediately In the print
ing office OF Evans G. Coggswell which still
stands In Broad street, Charleston, but after
a short time we were removed to Columbia,
the capital of the state, where most OF the
work of making confederate paper money
was carried on for the remainder OF the
war.
There were three establishments in
Columbia devoted to this business, One was
that of Evans e. Coggswell of which firm
our friend. Major Evans, was the senior
member. They had seyenty-nye hand presses
In their office. and printed notes of small