The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-09-16
Capt. Strout Retook His Brig
A Story of Semmes' Reign of Terror on the Seas

was master of the American BRIG Cuha
and sailed out of Trinidad on July ?,
1861. | had a cargo of sugar, and was
tons burden, and with the wind d cad
astern she walked the waters like a thing
of life. Which is poetry. Two days out
which is to say on July Ave sighted a
vessel ON our starboard bow. She was
travelling nearly parallel course, and
pretty soon she veered in and fired a shot
across our bows. Naturally | stopped
The Rebellion had broken out and Con
federate cruisers were securing the seas
swapping up our merchantmen, but l re-
lied on our bills of lading to see us
through. They had the stamp of the
British consul at Trinidad. was ordered
to go on board the Sumter and Semmes
took my papers. He was a sour-looking
man enough, and when he saw the con-
sufs stamp, he grinned. "That's a
Yankee trick he said Then he added ::
81 am sorry to inform you that you are a
prisoner of war; l told him that he
WASH half as sorry as | was and he SEEM
ed to believe me. He sent me back to my
vessel along with a prize crew that was
armed to the teeth.
The Sumter took us in tow at 10 O. clock
in the morning. At o clock next morn
ing the hawser broke Semmes tried three
times to refasten, but the sea was too
high. He then ordered the captain of
the prize crew to take the Cuba to Glen
fuegos. We were only sixty miles west
of that point. We were unarmed and al
lowed to walk the deck. | GOT chance
to talk to Jim Babbage and jim Carroll,
| tyyn Il ata
capture the vessel On July s | found
the prize master asleep on the round
house. Immediately we got possession
of all arms. The prize crew got on to
the racket and ran for their arms. Find
ing them gone, two drew their sheath
knives and one got AK, and they rushed
aft where we were. The mainsail was
down and lay between us. One of them
tried to jump over it and hit him on the
head with a cleaver that | had in my hand
He fell, scrambled back and did not at
tempt to return. My mates and my cook
We're now armed with revolvers, and one
of my seamen had a cutlass. "lf you
STIR" | shouted to the prize crew, II
will blow your heads off" They ditin' t
stir. When l ordered them to surrender
they yielded and went forward, followed
by myself and the crew.
udti On Uodlu only louI pairs Ol lIOuS.
| put one on the prize mas ter and the
Others on three of the most dangerous of
the prisoners. The rest we tied with
ropes. That day | fell in with the brig
Costa Rica, which took two of the prize
crew. | then headed the Cuba for New
Y ork. Nothing of importance happened
until July IA. when the prize master,
whose irons had been removed at his ur.
gent request, managed to get hold of a
pistol and perched himself in the maintop.
Then he rolled cigarette and lighted il,
blew some smoke through his nostrls
and called down that he had something
to say to me. ''Do you intend to carry
me to New York; he asked. | told him
that | did. He took some more smoke
into his mouth, blew it out, laughed, and
said: ''Well, you'll never do it alive
'tAll right said |, ''then I'll carry you
dead" At that he yelled out: "It's
your time to dodge and fired at me.
| did dodge. Johnny Reb told the truth
that time. He fired again, and l did
some more lively hopping. Then | ran
below and got my pistol AS my head
re-appeared in the companion way he
turned loose one more time and the
splinters flew into my hair.
| got on deck at last and proceeded to
even up things. He was swinging around
up in the maintop and | was dancing
around on the planking. l supposed it
was the funniest looking duel that ever
was. He used up all of his loads without
hitting me, and | shot at him three times
without coming anywhere near him.
Then | lodged a ball in the mast just
above his head and the next Shot | got
him in the arm. 1t was his right arm,
| Iii, L.
dropped his weapon to the deck. All of
this time he had been holding his cigarette
in his left hand. He was the neryest
devil | ever saw. He threw the cigarette
away and came down. l dressed his
wound and locked him up. | kept guard
over him until we reached New York, on
July 81 1t was Sunday, | remember,
and, though we did not know it, the guns
then were roaring at Bull Run, the first
big battle of the war. | delivered my
prisoner to the United States authorities,
but the prize master, whose name was
Thomas, went to Bellevue hospital, where
some northern women nursed him until
he got we'll. He stayed in prison awhile,
and there was some talk of hanging him
for pirate, but did the best | could for
him, because he was a brave man, and
finally they exchanged him and he went
BACK SOutn.
| began suit for salvage Of the brig
Cuba and l got $1,000 for it. She was
owned in Millbridge, Me-, and when the
Alabama claims were up for adjustment,
her owners reaped the benefit | dom
like to say so, but l am afraid that, first
and last, they got deal more than she
was worth. l was complimented some in
the papers, but don't hold that what we
did was especially brave, because we had
all the guns, you see. l tell you that the
six chambers of loaded revolver are
powerful pacitiers. Not so long ago-four
or five years, | guess-I got letter from
, Thomas, who is practicing law down in
Georgia He must be pretty nearly as OLD
as l am by now. He said that his arm
was all right; that l was the liveliest
Yankee Oh my legs he ever saw; that he
) would never forget how | hoped about
the deck when he was shooting at me
that he was something of a shooter, but
he didn't think he could have hit me with
a shotgun: that he had never heard or a
man who could hold candle to me when
it came down to dancing, but that If
would come to Georgia he would SHOW
me some $50 pound gals that would give
me all l wanted to do in that line. am
Methodist added Capt. Strout, gravely,