The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1897-08-12
SOLDIERS AT HOME.
THEY TELL SOME INTERESTING
ANECDOTES OF THE WAR.
How the Boys of Both Armies Whi1ed
Away Life in Camp-ForaRing Ex-
periences, Tiresome Marches-Thril-
ling Scenes on the Battlefield.
Aboard d Setii mes Prize

was called "buccaneer," pirate" and
other choice names by the Federal
press. The passions of the war have
lessened and men now are willing to
grant that he was a regularly commits
stoned officer of a regular navy, be-
longing to regularly organized gov
ernment whose rights had been recOg-
nized by many of the European pow
ers. One man met him who preserves
II vivid recollection of him. This man
is old 'Cap'n' Strout, of Lewiston, Me-,
a griZZled seadog now in his seventies
but still hale, still hearty, still able to
smoke his pipeful of Connecticut tobac-
co strong enough to raise the roof, and
still competent to chamber more Med
ford rum than any oiled and scented
Assyrian bull of our cities. StrOut likes
to sit and gaze over the tumbling
waters that roar against Names rock
bound coast and tell of the time that
he saw Semmes. incidentally his tale
is Indicative of his own iron nerve.
Il was master of the American brig
Cuba" he told me, land sailed out of
Trinidad on July 2, 1861. l had a cargo
Of sugar and was bound for London.
The Cuba was 236 tons burden, and
the waters like a thing O. life. Which
is poetry. Two days out-which is to
say on July 1--WE sighted a vessel on
our starboard bow. She was travelling
nearly a parallel course, and pretty
soon, she veered in and fired a shot
cross our bows. Naturally l stopped.
The rebellion had broken out and Con-
federate cruisers We're securing the
seas swapping up our merchantmen, but
| relied on our bills of lading to see us
through. They had the stamp Of the
British consul at Trinidad. l was or
dered to go on board the Sumter and
Semmes took my papers. He was Il
sour-looking man enough, and when he
saw the consufs stamp he grinned.
That's id Yankee trick he said.
Then he added: I am sorry to inform
you that you are prisoner Of war
| told him that he wasn't half as sorry
as | was, and he seemed 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 3 o'clock
next morning 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 Cienfuegos. We
were only sixty miles west Of that
point. We were unarmed and were
allowed to walk the deck. I got
chance to talk to Jim Bebbage and
Jim Carroll, my two mates, and we
determined to recapture the vessel. On
July s / found the prize master asleep
on the roundhouse. Immediately we
got possession Of all Of the arms. The
prize crew got onto the racket and ran
for their arms. Finding them gone,
two drew their sheath-knives and one
got an AK and they rushed aft where
we were. The mainsal was down and
lay between us. One of them tried
to jump over it and l hit him ON the
head with cleaver that 1 had in my
hand. He fell, scrambled back and did
not attempt to return. My mates and
my cook were now armed with reyol-
vers and one Of my seamen had a cut
lass. IF you STIR I shouted to the
prize crew, III blow your heads off,
They didn't stir. When 1 ordered them
to surrender they yielded and went for
ward, followed by myself and the
crew.
Il had on board only four pairs of
irons. l put one on the prize master
and the others on three of the most dan
gerOus of the prisoners. The rest we
tied with ropes. That day 1 fell in
with the brig Costa Rica, which took
two Of the prize crew. 1 then headed
the Cuba for New York Nothing of
Importance happened until the 18th of
July, when the prize master, whose
irons had been removed at his urgent
request, managed to get hold of a pis-
tol and perched himself in the maiptop
Then he rolled cigarette and lighted
1t, blew some smoke through his nos
trils and called down that he had some
thing 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: We'll, you'll never
do it alive "All right said 1, then I'll
carry you dead At that he yelled out:
It's your time to dodge and fired at
me. The bullet struck the deck at nv
feet and l did dodge. Johnny Reb told
the truth that time. He fired again and
l did some more lively hopping. Then
l ran below and got my pistol As my
head reappeared in the companion-way
he turned loose one more time and the
splinters flew into my hair.
Il got on deck at last and proceeded
to even things up. He was swinging
around up in the maintop and l was
dancing around on the planking. / sup
pose 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 any
where near him. Then lodged ball
the next shot got him in the arm. It
was his right arm, and was broken
above the elbow. He dropped his
weapon to the deck. All of this time
he had been holding his cigarette in
his left hand. He was the nerviest
devil 1 ever saw. He threw the cigar
cite away and came down. l dressed
his wound and locked him up. l kept
guard over him until we reached New
York, on July 81. 1t was Sunday,
and, though we did not
know it, the guns then were roaring at
Bull Run, the first big battle of the
war. l delivered my prisoners 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