The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-15
WONDERFUL
WHI'rWORT THIS.
Two Confederate Guns Put to
Flight a Fleet.
#A BLOCKADE RUNNER
BLOCKADE RUNNER
Hard Pressed she Lay Her Bones Upor
the Beach Rather Than Surrender
to the Enemy She Brought Fine
Instruments to Avenge.

4 (Speclal to The Times. Dispatcho
FAYETTEVILLE. N. CT March IL
Tourists and excursionists to the pleas
ant coast resorts below Wilmington N.
4 c.! came across the old hull of ship set
ting year BY year deeper down into the
sands with n broken rib notruding here
and there, like the bones OF some old
castaway seat mastodon.
RI One warm, cloudy night In the late
spring or early summer of 1862 the SEN
tinels walking their beats on the campus
Of Fort Fisher, and the soldiers off duty
stroling about the campus, heard the
dull boom Of guns far out at sea, At first
the intervals were long and the distance
was great; but gradually the COMMON
aiding became frequent, with an increase
IN the volume Of sound which told of the
swift fight Of the pursued and tho
wnr-dogs joining in the chase-for al
realized that blockade-runner was max
ing perhaps last plucky fight for life.
Il Hour after hour the hunter bayed
with cruel tongue on the track Of the
quarry; urid flashes here and there as
il along & serried line, 1T the low-lying
clouds above the tossing waves. and one
fancied that, amid flash and smoke,
could be discerncd the masts and spars,
and white sails Of scurrying ships
At last, just as the dawn marked WIN
east. hull after hull pierced with an
cry guns, doomed, gigantic and menacing.
8 from tho gloaln-and, well to the front
tossing the pillows like thlstle-down IN
her wake as tho swift horse spurs the
sand en- the race track, a gallant vessel
4 tairly flew, head-on, for the fort rs II
it were "cty Of refuge set on NIL.
SHOT AND SHI1LL,S3 x
Shot and shell whistlcd and screamed
OF Fort FISHER and ploughed the waters
of the Cape Fear beyond. On she came,
and now her name stood forth on her
bow, as If she asked welcome Of the
excited men lining the trenches Of the
fortress-"The Modern Greece''-and she
was making her last run, for tile pur-
pose Of her commander was pla1n.to
beach her under Fort Fishers protecting
guns, that she might not grace an enc
ny's triumph The crash was something
fearful, but the Modern Greece was a
stout ship, and she landed well up in
,hoal water, perhaps mile distant.
In the course OF an hour two boats
filled with details of men We're sent OIL
4 from Fort Fisher by the commandant,
\ Major John ]. Wedrick, to bring off the
& cargo, which was very valuable, pecunlarl-
81 IS, and very useful to the Confederate
States Government. The ship carried
great stores of shoes, clothing, hospital
supplies, fine wines and liquors, and
canned goods, which were speedily piled
on the shore by the working relays, while
the $artillerlsts from tho garrison, work
{,,1r t, hold tot, nm "a 1nol<a %
fresied themselves as laborers never did
before with generous potations Of French
brandy and old Madeira, besides manng-
ing to smuggle to quarters many a bottle
for rainy day
I There was thing else in tho cargo
of the Modern Greece that aroused great
interest at Fort T,lsher-a battery Of
NVhltworth guns, a remarkably finely-fln-
gished. steel-rlfled. breech-loading piece, Of
small calbre, carrying long conical
shell. These guns were rubbed up. mount-
ed, and put in fine order for action, and
for some time detachments having charge
Of two of them familiarized themselves
with their workings, and practiced fire
with them up the beach in a secret. hug
& Eer-muger way, not to attract the notice
Of the Federal blockaders
COL. LAMB COMMANDER.
BY that tilffc Fort. Fisher was under
Y the command of"Colonel w. G. Lamb who
lived In Norfolk, Va. after the war, and
If I mistake not, was Mayor Of that city
and along in August he bethought hin
Of his neighbors. Not far away was sit
uated Fort Caswell. primarily well built
and complete fertilization from an engl
neer's point Of view, but with nrmamen
so wofuly deficient that 1t WAS dali,
subjected to the insults OF the blockad
Ing squadron, which forbore to knock ]
into smlthereens because. perhaps, 1t wa!
A. ttl ,tp,,
ally tossed round shot at 1t and de
lisivey Haunted in the pride and ga.
colors Of the feet, just beyond its impo
tent range.
One morning Lieutenant Thomas C
Fuller. brave officer, afterwards mem
ber OF the Confederate Congress and OF
the bench OF the United States Court o
Claims at the time Of his death q yea
or Two ago. was ordered to select tWt
( gun detachments from Stars Artiller,
and report to headquarters, where on
mission was given to us. We We're to b.
conveyed with two Whltworth guns t.
Fort Caswell, and were TO place them a
position outside the fort. protecting an
concealing them by sand batteries. whc
we were charged TO erect before daylgh
next morning. 'And make those impu
dent Yankee blockaders git up and git!'
were Colonel Lambs final instruction.
and those instructions we fully carrie
out,
Arrived at Fort Caswell We hauled tn
guns around to the open and prepared
plant them about two hundred yards
front of and little to the right of tn
breastworks. We found that nature ha
mere than half built our batteries fo
us. two sand dunes, requiring only HIT
( heightening, piercing with Portfolios an
masking with gallberry bushes and otht
surrounding growth. to render them u
conspicuous objects. even under 2 mas
nifying glass. BY o'clock In the morr
ing our Notifications were completed an
we lay down IN the trenches to rest. Th
cook had prepared breakfast and Dime
and brought the provisions down to tn
guns, SO that the men need not sho'
themselves at all during the followin
j day.
A GALLANT CONFLICT,
We aWoke to warm cloudless morn
ing, ate breakfast, smoked our cob pipes
(. and surveyed the field Of action If m
memory serves me. there were FIVE block
aiding vessels lying OFF the fort. al dis
tance of two ana a half or three miles
Those little Whitworths were wonders
their range was SO great Oipe or six mile
easily, and the first three or four shot
few SO high that ] do not believe III
enemy noticed them; or II they did 81 G