The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-03-16
IT, w V
ln621G69al

During the war between the States,
having been educated at the Naval
Academy, / had wished to enter that
arm Of the service, but there was no
place for me, and 1 attached myself
to the cavalry corps of General j. E.
B. Stuart, SO it was quite surprise
when Secretary Mallory handed me a
captains commission with orders to
proceed to Wilmington, n. c., and
take charge of a small steamer with
instructions to run the blockade to
Nassau, then to Eleuthera, one OF the
Bahama group, and there await a
sailing vessel from England loaded
with guns and munitions of war for
the Confederacy.
The Little Hattie was a snug
steamer already loaded with cotton
and having crew composed Of ad-
venturers Of many nationalities. At
this time the port of Wilmington
was closely blockaded, so l chose a
dark and gusty night, threatening a
gale, when we steamed down Cape
Fear River, left the protection of the
bar and made dash to run the
gauntlet of the Federal fleet. Every
light was out, and perfect silence
vas ordered, when CHANGING to turn
ny eye, l caught flash of light on
The water from our deck. / knew at
,nce that we had traitor on board,
md springing upon a man / found
:rOuchc:l among some coils of rope,
! seized him by the collar. AS he
attempted to free himself, he let fall
| dark lantern concealed under a
ihawl l kicked the lantern into the
tea and hurled the wretch to the
leck with such force as to complete
y stun him, then tossed him over
board. At the same moment rock
It shot up, which was answered by
,ignal lights in every direction. I
;prang upon the pilot box as I saw
he black hull Of large ship direct
y in front Of me, and Selling the
Wheel from the sailor in charge
urned the head Of the Little Hattie,
md shot almost under the stern of
our huge enemy. Before she could
BRING her guns to bear, we We're
,peeding away among the whitecaps,
low our greatest protection, for not
)nly were both vessels tossing so as
% make us an uncertain target, but
ny ship was painted a dull lead color
Ind was scarcely discernible against
3elched forth shot and shell, they
vent whirring and Kissing high over
our heads. while we disappeared.
Then calcium light from the
leck of the man-of-war lit up the
sea, exposing us to the hostile fleet,
md another vessel opened fire on us.
One shot struck our rigging, another
tut the banisters on deck, scattering
,plinters all around us. The calcium
lights exposed our position, but also
showed us our pursuers, and I saw
Ill the ships Of the line closing in on
as. l saw also an opening in the
Gordon of our foes, and putting on
full head of steam, l made dash
Tor it. and cleared the cul de sac
amid a roar OF artillery and Kissing
If bursting shells. The lights went
put, and the night seemed blacker
than ever; but ship after ship lighted
up the waves, and as the men-of-war
would catch a glimpse of us they
turned and fired shot after us. Each
shot retarded their speed, while we
we're widening the space and getting
beyond the influence of the calcium
lights.
AS soon as we were hidden by the
darkness we altered our course, and
lodged to one side while our enc
mics passed by. Then running
couple Of hours in a northerly direc-
ton, until we had eluded them, we
resumed our course. There were
la: &c ships with powerful engines
after us that would soon have run
us down in gale, for the little
blockade runner could not long have
stood the pressure on her machinery
In heavy sea; so as soon as I felt
safe, speed was slackened, but we
kept steadily on until the Gulf
Stream was reached. And even then
the danger was not over, for Fed
eral cruisers were scattered over the
ocean between Wilmington and the
Bahamas. With the light of dawn
we might find ourselves close to one
Of our enemies. You may be sure
chafed under this unequal contest,
for the laws of nations forbid mer-
chantmen carrying guns, otherwise
the blockade could not have been en-
forced. With the exception of few
nen-of-War the blockadins squadron