Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-05-25
BLOCKADE RUNNING.
THE GREAT DIFFICULTY OF SEAL
ING UP A HARBOR.
The Patrol on Wilmington During
the Civil War-British Sympathy
for the Runners-One of Captain
Roberts Experiences.

Catharine Prince writes in the Evening
| Post:
THE absolute locking up of a well
| fortified port whose trade offers powerful
inducements to commercial enterprise Il
an actual impossibility," says recog
nized naval authority, pointing for hi:
| illustration to the later history of the
| blockade Of Wilmington in the civil war
An illustration more apt would surely
| be hard to find. Whatever its earlier
faults, in 1864, the Wilmington blockade
had become as stringent as good men
in good ships could well make 1t; yet
the fact remains that, up to the last few
months, two thirds of all contraband
vessels attempting entrance effected their
purpose. IT consider" wrote enc
famous smuggler, that the only chance
the squadron had Of capturing a block
ade-runner was in fair chase in day
light, where superior speed would tell;
or in chasing her on shore; or in driving
her in so near the beach that her crew
were compelled to set fire to her, and
make their escape. To take
a blockade-runner In the night, while
there was heavy swell or wind. and
If she did not choose to give in, was next
TO impossible"
The reasons why these things held true
are easily explained. Aside from the ex-
ceedingly complex formation of the coast
line about Wilmington, in itself a great
element in the smuggler's favor, the
high and special character OF vessels en-
ployed went far to guarantee success.
English built and English owned, no ex-
pense was spared in their construction,
and every device that ingenuity could
conceive or experience suggest to fit them
for their work was promptly adopted. For
however heavy the initial cost, two round
trips sufficed not only to pay for 1t, but
also to net handsome profit; and 1t is
written that the steamer r. h. Lee ran
the blockade twenty-one times in ten
months, carrying out a total of 5000 bales
OF cotton.
English capitalists plunged into the
business with enthusiasm, sometimes as
individuals, sometimes associated In COM
panies for operations on larger scale. |
The building of each fast new cruiser by |
the United States Government found its |
answer in redoubled efforts OF English |
show that cruiser their heels The enor-
nous pay offered the crews secured |
picked men, officers of rank /
In the royal navy occasionally signing /
under assumed names. For the run from /
Nassau to Wilmington and back. dis
lance OF about 1,140 miles. the rates ar
given as follows: Captain, f1,000; chile
officer ESQ pounds; second and third Off
GERS, ESQ; chief engineer. ESQ; crew and
fremen (abouD, ESQ; pilot, ESQ. besides |
which the officers we're granted cargo
Dom for the accommodation OF ventures
If their own. The temptations held out
we're so potent that English men-of-war
IN the West Indian stations found Ii a |
lifficult matter to prevent their crews
rom deserving; and once enlisted, the
OF the game spurred each man
oncerned, from captain to cabin-boy, to |
rove his highest skill.
To avoid risk OF capture In midocean
y rowing American cruisers, the own
RS sent their goods from England to
'assau, Bermuda, etc. In unassailable
lerchant vessels to be transshipped at the
eutral island for the last perilous dash. {
low accurately the term neutral de-
RIDES the spirit that obtained in those ,
aces may be judged from the account !
Commander Guert Gansevoort, United \
Iates steam sloop Adirondack, reporting T.
the Secretary Of the Navy: Ii
Concerning the condition of things at 4 s
assau, / have to report that nearly all ]
lie feeling Of the place with regard TO !
n present national trouble is In SYM ..
ithy with the rebels. AS we passed :
rough the harbor. Dixie was played r
r our benefit: when we walked the I
reefs we heard the term Yankee d
tered with true southern tone, and a
caslonally more impudent man would. $
he passed. hurrah In our ears y
r jeff Davis. The warehouses of =
o town and very many private houses q
ere stored to the full with arms and I
initlons OF war VIGOROUSLY intended for a
e South. Vessels arrive constantly Il
pm England loaded with these stores. I
. When a vessel leaves to run the D
,ckade everybody in or out OF authority
ows 1t. The officials all con- q
70 at the practice. In the daytime, at | n
mt, boxes of arms and munitions OF 81
'ge capitals C. s. A. are dragged q,
rough the streets. to be shipped on q
ard vessels known by everybody TO be ~
ing TO Charleston and other southern | n
rts." "
he officers of the English warships ol
/ the officers Of the blockade-runners
grounds Of warm friendliness and in VI
lacy: but the Governor-in-Chief OF
rmuda informed Acting Rear-AdmiraiI !,
likes. u. 8. NJ. on his arrival with hts hh@f
iadron at that port, that the officers bs
her Britannia Majesty's service were dc