Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-10-15
Lieut.. Read and Bark Ia
cony Played Havoc With
Ships Northern States.
OFF NANTUCKET
SCENE OF EXPLOIT
Although Two Score Vessels Were In
Hunt For Confederate Boat, She
Escaped Capture Until Par.
ticularly Daring Venture.

ton occasioned in shipping circles by
! the raid of the German submarine
U-53 is remarkable duplication
naval men say. of what happened IL
1863 at New York and other eastern
ports, when the Tacony, under tho
command of Lieut.. G. w. Read of the
! Confederate states navy, passed up tho
Atlantic coast, burning and scuttling
American ships.
For two entire weeks Read contin-
ued his foray on American commerce
and Notwithstanding more than 40
cruisers and chartered vessels were
sent out in search of MIN, the intre-
pid Confederate was only captured
when he ventured into the harbor of
Portland, Me-, in an attempt to cut
out g. steamer of that place.
During period of three days, the
Tacony cruised off the Nantucket
shoals, and in that time burned a
full-rigged clipper ship, bound from
Liverpool to New York, bark and a
Liverpool packet. These three craft
were destroyed in the same locality
where the U-53 on Sunday last sent
five steamers to the bottom.
How Raid Started.
1t was in May, 1853. when the Cen
federate cruiser Florida, off Cape St.
Rogue, Brazil, on cruise against
American commerce, captured the
American brig Clarence. The Florida
was commanded by Commander ]. N.
Moffit. Serving on the Florida as a
watch officer was Lieut.. c. w. Read.
Commander was about to burn the
Clarence whel he was approached
with request from Lieut.. Read to
be permitted to take the clarence,
man her with twenty men from the
Florida's crew, and proceed to Hamp-
ton Roads, Va, there to slip in For
tress Monroe and cut Oh. II steamer.
With the steamer, Reac proposed To
cruise against American commerce
Failing in the attennt II get by Fer
tress Monroe, Read proposed as an
alternative to proceel to Baltimore
Md, and fire the shipping Of that port.
Commander Moffit approved Of
Reads request, and transferred to
the Clarence twenty men and one how
itzer. With his new command Read
parted from the Florida and followed
a course for the American coast. One
month later he was OFF the Carolina
coast, where he burned and bonded
three American vessels. Learning
from his captors that TO craft were
permitted to pass Fort Monroe with
cut strict examination. and then OILY
in the event that the vessel attempt
ing to enter vas ladeo for govern
ment account, Read decided ~ ( * n
don his original idea and instead 10
make raid uc the Atlantic coast.
Captures Fine Bark.
On June II, when about fifty miles
east of Cape Henry, the entrance to
the Chesapeake, the Clarence made
in the distance. The bark bore down
on the Clarence, and before her peo-
pie were aware of it. Reads men had
clambered on board. armed to the
teeth, and the bark was their prize.
She proved to be the Tacony, an
American craft. Read at once saw
that she was fine craft. and not being
altogether satisfied with the sailing
qualities of the Clarence, he burned
the latter after first transferring his
howitzer and crew to the Tacony. Be-
fore leaving the ground where the
Tacony was captured, Read gathered
in three more craft. One of these,
the schooner Schindel, he burned. The
others. a brig and schooner, he
bonded. Finding himself encumbered
with many prisoners, Read transfer
red all to the last captured schooner
and sent them into Philadelphia.
The Tacony now stood off shore,
Ia to int a hnvoop
ward bound American ships engaged
in the West India trade. On June Is,
the Tacony, being about 250 miles east
of Cape Charles, she burned a brig.
Then she made for the Nantucket
shoals. where. on June 20 and 81, she
burned the three vessels above men,
toned.
On June %, the Tacony was off the
Georges hank, and in that locality she
burned eight American vessels. BY
June "a the Tacony had reached a
position to the northward Of the track
of vessels bound from Europe to the
port of Boston. and when at point
about 40 miles east of Portland, Me-.
she captured the schooner Archer.
Read, approaching that many vessels
must by this time be in search of him,
decided to quit the Tacony. This he
did by transferring to the Archer af
ter which the Tacony was fired.
End of the Cruise.
Read now planned to slip into port
land, Me-, and cut out steamer at
that port. lie passed into the port
with the Archer without being chal-
lenged, and about 9 o'clock of June
rs, he carried, by boarding, the cutter
Caleb Cushing. This was a two-mast-
ed sailing craft. Before cutting out
the Cushing. the alarm was sounded.
and Reed found it expedient to get to
sea as Quickly as possible. Manning
the Cushing he made sail, and man
aged to clear the harbor. but by morn
ing the wind failed and the Cushing
lay hecalmed 2 few miles beyond the
port. In this prsdicament the Cush-