The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-01-23

resigned n commission as Lieutenant in
the United States Navy i'll 1861, AMI
thereupon rendered his services IL tie
~Confederacy. He WAS given co.iiriiid
of the "Oreto." afterwards rechristencI
the Florida and captured nearly six
t. prizes. He also engaged i'll blockade
running. and has left some entertninin.
and amusing accounts Of his experiences.
republished in Tales and Traditions OF
the Lower Cape Fears" by Mr.. Sprunt.
JAMES W. COOK. Il native of Car
teret county. y. G., was captain of
the Confederate ram "Albcmarle." ~
which incidental mention has already
been made. Except when the lion-heart-
ed Sir Richard Grenyille sailed his l1t:e
craft. the Revenge" into Il Spanish
fleet of fifty-two ships AMI tonight 1T
single-handed in the days of Good Queen
Bess. ii is doubtful if ever II vessel
fought against greater odds i.ia:: did
he "Albemarle.' She was Il hoine-Wo-
duet. built in the Roanoke River lcaH
Scotland Neck. North Carolina. and AT
forwards f1oated down to Wlfllamston.
in Martin county. for completion.
General Robert +. Hoke performed the.
brilliant feat Of capturing Plymouth.
North Carolina. the Captain Of the
".Aibemarle" was directed by the Secrr-
tary of the Confederate Navy to h"il
himself subject to the orders or IN" len
eral. who. when he arrived at Nllran-
stun. found the ship unfinished and WITH
her arnlor completed only on one si'!c.
ms side. however. Was Well-night Ia
vulnerable. being heavily tncased IL
railroad iron. When General Iioke
rode u4> he was i'll advance of his troops,
and accompanied only by a staff officer
and courier, which led Captain Cook TO
believe that his visit was something like
a tour of inspection. Many were the
complaints made by the Captain-that
his shin would not be tit for service i'll
six months. that he had no fuel for his
engines. etc. etc. No sooner. however.
had the General explained his mission
and declared that the "Albemarle' must
90 down the river if it went to the bot
! tom with all on board, than Captain
Cooks dependence was changed to JOY.
He said he could drive out the entire
Federal fleet; and, as for fuel. he would
have it if he had ITO make lndllnS of
every house in the county. When the
time for action arrived. the "Albemarle
steamed dow the river about ) O'Clock
at Right. and first encountered two large
vessels which were chained together TO
intrcept her. One Of these she savagely
IslIililltii iIlt sem w II l AN' =:
going with it before she could d%isentan,
rl. herself. The other cut its chain
and sought safety in flight. pursued by
the ".Albcmarle.' which fought at such
short range that one of the enemy $
own shells ~rebounded from the CoDfed-
crate vessels side and killed the coln-
handing officer of the Federal fleet. As
dawn drew near, other ships Of the
enemy appeared and the "Albema1le'
cleared the river and harbOr of 10 less
than fifteen. \ writer using the nom
de plume Of Dalton" whom Wheeler
| quotes in his "Reminiscences" says of
this light: Never before had the size
Of such guns and the weight of their
crushing missiles been directed against
any single vessel. Yet she struggled
through it. having had the misfortune
to have carried away one-half of one
Of the TWO guns she took into the action.
She was literally loaded down by the
e~nelny's shot. and i'll this condition had
to fight to the end until she gained Il
port of refuge.
During the perihous ordeal Capt. Cook
was calm and collected: no excitement
marked his conduct. Quietly did he give
his orders, and his men, partaking Of
his spirit, promptly and quietly obeyed.
Captain Cook WAS as modest in his
department as he was brave and fear
less III action. Had such an eXploit
occurred under the English flag. Cook
would have ranked with the Nelson's and
W~ellingtons of his age; but, as it is. he
sinks into ~ObScurity. forgotten, almost.
by his native State upon which he Shed
such imperishable honor. He was then
in very delicate health. and after this
terrible conflict. never completely rt-
covered again. Soon after the battle,
his brave spirit winged its flight. from
the bosom Of his family. in Portsmouth.
Virginia. TO JON the spirits Of his gaI-
liant comrades that had gone before him.
whore merit is rewarded and not success
alone, as in this vale of sorrows.'
The "Albcmarle' survived its fight
at Plymouth. and afterwards did good
service in the operations round New
Bern and elsewhere She was finally
blown up by Lieutenant Gushing when
most of ncr crew We're absent and those
who remained were not sufficiently on
| the alert. About the close Of the war
| this rebel monster" as the a~we-insrired
| Northern papers called it, was pulled
up from the bottom OF the river by the
Federal authorities and its smoke-stack
Is now among the culiosities III the
| North Carolina State Museum at Raj
!! clgh. As one gaZeS on this relic. a feel
| ing of wonder is excited that the vessel.
| of Which 1T WAS 4 part. could have sur
| vived as long as it did. There is scarce
ly a space foot square which dotS
| not bear the marks of shells. solid shot
and grape. \ more thoroughly riddled
fragment of sheet-iron would be hard
to find.
There was one class OF vessels which
was Of more service to the Confederate
government than her cruisers and other
fighting craft. This class WAS comprised
of ships known as BLOCKADE runners"
In his Tales anh Traditions of the
| Lower Cape Fear" Mr.. james Sprunt,
Of Wilmington, who himself was Il jul
Nor officer i'll the Notwithstanding SER
| vice. gives some very entertaining ac-
| counts of these vessels and their exploits.
and names ten or twelve whose wrecks
around Cape Fear now ''lie half buried
in the sands where they may remain for
| centuries to come"
THOMAS MORROW CROSSAN Ga
49,