Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1897-05-21
THE ALbEMARLE"
A North Carolina Ship, Com
manded by Capt. J. w. Cooke.
HER HISTORY AND FATE
Sunk 27th of Oct, 1864, by a
Torpedo While Lying at
Plymouth.


quet i'll Norfolk, Jan. 10, 1897,
by the Pickett-Buchanan camp
OF Confederate Veterans in hons
or of r. E. Lees birthday:
Commander and CoWradfs:- e.,
Your excellent committee
could not have selected a more
striking example to illustrate
perseverance i'll overcoming diff
fculties aud hard-hghting, de-
termined valor, than the little
ship "Albenarle" commanded
by Capt. James w. Cooke. He
was North Carolinian and it
was with a North Carolina ship
and upon North Carolina waters
that he displayed his heroic quail
tiles. He was one of a mum Der
of Naval officers who left the
U. S. Navy, with hardly a hope
that they would ever tread the
deck of a Confederate ship of
war; being willing to give their
services wherever they could be
used in their country's defence.
After Burnside had captured
Roanoke Island and taken con
troll of the salt water region Of
North Carolina, our Govern>
ment, encouraged by the des>
tructive work of the Merrimac,
devised to get ahoat two iron
clad vessels to send out into the
Sounds, and in concert with the
Army, to rescue that whole re-
gion from the enemy. Experi>
ence had taught that to put a
gun on all old steamboat and call
it by the high sounding name of
gun boat did not answer in con~
tending with the U. S. Navy.
In 1862 the Confederate Gov>
entered into contract
with citizens Of North Carolina
for the construction Of two iron
clad vessels, one on the Roanoke
and one on the Neuse river.
One of the foremost and enter
prising citizens who devoted his
and business talent to-
wards the construction of the
"Albemarle" was Gilbert FL
lott, brother of our comrade,
Capt. Chas. c.. Elliott. These
patriotic citizens had never built
anything but fiat boats, but with
the aid and advice of an intelli~
gent Naval officer, they worked
ahead. The "Albemarle" was
built in a corn field, from the
timber growing near by and with
a blacksmith shop for a manu-
featuring plant, while the en-
gine of large saw mill was al
tered and made to serve for her
propelling power. Capt. Cooke
was interchangeable in urging Oh
the work and ransacked the
for the iron-from the
Tredegar works as far down as
Wilmington, until he used to be
called Capt. Ironmonger." TO
vamp up anything to convert
it into a boat or a bar afforded
him infinite delight.
l happened to be ordered to
command the ship building on
the Neuse river sometime after
tn career of the "Albemarle. ,"
To give you some idea of the
difficulties in the way Of get
ting a ship of war built and
ready for service, General Hoke,
who had few equals tor daring
and dash and military skill. was
SO deeply interested in the conf
pletion of my little vessel, that
he made two trips to Richmond
and brought back with him in
his trunk certain augers and
other tools necessary to carry on
the work. Not long after l had
gotten the crew on board, it was
about the middle OF June, one
day received an application, in
the form of round robin, from
twenty odd Of the crew to go
home and harvest. 1t was some
thing new to me and not in my
power to grant, but the next day
the boatswain-the only seaman
I had in the crew-came to me
with his hat off and asked in thc
most respectful and interested
manner, # it was true tha- a lot
of the men had applied for leave
to go home to harvest. I told
him they had applied. He said
nothing, put on his hat, went
forward and / never saw him
again. He deserted that night
and went away to join the en-
emy. He could not stand the
hay makers. His name was
Donnard, an Englishman, val
liable seaman, full of fight, and
my main reliance. One of the
MANY difficulties In the urnu of