The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-17
THROUGH BLoCKADING FLEETS
OLD BLOCKADE RUNNERS RECALL
DEEDS OF DARING.

adC kunntnE NOW ""i"S O'A
in Charleston HarbOr With
the Dangers of the Real
work Done in 1861 -1S65-CaDt.
usina Believes He Could Run the
RIoclsnde Now-The Kind of Men Ii
Took 10 Make Blockade Runners.
Half n score of Them still Living
in Savannah.
The experimental work now being done
by the North Atlantic squadron in the
way to blockading Charleston harbor win
the TORPEDO boat Nesuvius as blockade
runner has received great deal OF at
tention, but nowhere has more interest
been aroused than at the office OF the
Savannah Pilots Association, on Bay
street.
The pilots office is a regular nest OF
old blockade runners, and the blockade
work now being done al Charleston mas
recalled "reminiscences by the score Inc
stories that have been told in the plots
office re emily would make a most inter-
esting book, anc the book would be all
the more interesting if the words Of these
men il reeounting their hair-breadth es-
capes were giver.
There arc ten of the old blockade rum
ners stin living in Savannah. They are
Capts. NJ. p. Usina, c; A Mar
melstein, A.. L. Marmelstein' John
Fitzgerald, w. T. Daniels, ST., James
5. Bliss, NJ. Lyons, John Il. Craig, W. II.
Spencer and II. vi. c. Smith, the ~ lat
ter superintendent of the Propeller row
boat Company. Not a man or them .9l
went over the bar az Charleston ana w IL
mington a score or more of times between
'63 and 65 in spite of the efforts 10 pre-
vent them by several times as many cruls-
ers as are now blockading Charleston.
The Savannah pilots did not nave talr
show at blockade running during the war,
the long narrow channel of the savannah
river Offering less opportunity lOf TINS
work and Fort Pulaski which etfectuaAy
commanded the entrance TO the river haV-
ing fallen into the hands OF the enemy
early in the war. Nearly all OF them went
TO blockade running, but not DeihB &C
Quainted with the channels of the harbors
OF Charleston and Wilmington, the two
principal parts for the blockade runners
on the Atlantic coast, most OF them mao
TO take positions as mates ana second
Capt NJ. p. Usina had better luck than
his friends, however, and having had eN-
perience at sea secured Vessel 70 COM
mand early in the war. He had the most
remarkable luck of any or the blockade
running business, making a NUMBER OF sue
cessful trips and never being captured
He was the youngest captain in the pusi-
ness. being only % years old when the
war closed. Capt. Usinas luck was at
tributed, however, by his brother blockade
runners, to his dog Tinker, who always
accompanied him on his trips. Tinker was
known to every blockade runner IN the
business. Capt. Usina was oftered 5000 IN
gold for him towards the c,ose OF the war
by an Engltshman who mad just been pro-
NOTED TO the captaincy of a blockade rum
ner. Capt. Usina declined the ofter with
the remark, Green two fools, you and
l." Tinker seemed unable to survive the
downfall of the confedeacy, and on July
4, 1850 his body was consigned to the~WaVeS
amid the icebergs Of the North Atlantic.
Blockade running, as il is being done
over at Charleston now, and blockade
running as we had it to do. during the
war are two entirely different things
Capt. Usina said to a Morning News re-
porter yesterday. 1T is one thing to run
the blockade when you know there is no
danger and where there is plenty OF
water and another thing TO run 1t where
the vessel and cargo and lives of the
men were risked, rather than suffer CAP
ture. Charleston harbor Is well supplied
with light houses now, and the channel
is well marked When we ran the block
ade, there were no lights and no marks
by which to ascertain the channel All
we had was a lead line. 1t might be
little more difficult to run the blockade
now. on some accounts, as some OF the
channels, which existed during the war,
have probably been closed up by the gov
eminent work, there Is considerable Jetty
work in the harbor, which did not exist
then, and the blockading vessels are sup
piled with a better system OF search
lights with which to spy out the runners.
The blockading vessels were sup
piled with very powerful cal
cium lights during the war,
however. and could easily expose rum
but the lights were m not kept
in constant service. The modern
men-of-war can keep their cleo
trio search lights moving from point to
point and make IL more difficult for a
blockade runner TO conceal her move
ments. Their guns, too, are longer range.
Our principal forte in blockade running
was to take TO shoal water, the vessels be-
ing of light draft. Many more vessels were
lost by being run aground in shallow water
than by capture by the enemy and these
wrecks of other runners were one of the
dangers which we had to guard against.
The wonder Is, though, that with so many
vessels guarding each port, cruising the
seas and lying in walt for us right orr the
entrance 70 friendly ports that so many
vessels escaped capture. The amount OF
stuff brought into the confederacy, MILL
tary stores of all kinds, medical supplies
and manufactured goods OF all descriptions
was something enormous.
AT the beginning of the war the cap
tains OF nearly all the vessels engaged IN
the business were Englishmen, but to-
wards the close of the war as the service
grew more dangerous and the prohts more
uncertain the captains were nearly an
eoutherners. There was some splendid Tel
lows among these Englishmen though.
among the number being Hobart Pasha,
who afterwards became admiral of the
y
captain on the waiting list when the war
broke out, and went into the blockade
running business because he had nothing
else TO do just then. He afterwards wrote
a book OF his adventures, including his
blockading experiences. In blockade times
he was known as Capt. Roberts. 1 nave
never seen a satisfactory history OF the
blockade runners Of the confederacy and
fear one will never be written The most
Interesting and the most impartial account
of this feature of the war which l nave
ever read is by NJ Quad, the well known
humorist and newspaper correspondent
What makes this more remarkable IS that
he was IN the northern army during the
war on the staff Of one. of the northern
generals. As an Old blockade runner / am
under obligations TO him for his Impartial
HThere were no newspaper reporters
who shipped in the blockade runners
continued Capt. Usina. The men VINO
ran the blockade had TO be men VINO
could stand fire without returning II. IL
was a business in which every man TOOK
his life in his own hands, ana ne under
stood II. An ordinarily brave man had
no business on a blockade runner. He
who made a success Of 1t was obliged TO
have the cunning Of a fox, the patience OF
a lob and the bravery OF spartan war
rior The least show of resistance placed
us In the category of pirates. The rum
ners must not be armed and must not
resist They must simply be cool and
quick and watchful, and for the rest,
trust to God and their good snip 10 de-
a. 81 - N.nN IRt