The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1917-06-13
DARING SEA ROVER
An Audacious Commerce Raider
of the Days of 1863.
READS CAMPAIGN OF TERROR.

federate Naval Officer, by the Havoc
He Wrought, Had the Shipping Trade
of the North In a State Of Panic.
The daring and romantic exploits of
the rowing commerce destroying cruis-
ers in the great European war recall
the deeds of a very brave and clever
officer who acted as commerce de-
stroyer in the service Of the Confed-
eracy. Lieutenant Charles W. Read.
Mississippian in his early twenties,
who had been in the United States
navy. Joined the Confederate cruiser
Florida on Nov. 4, 1862, while she lay
at Mobile undergoing repairs. Read
had already seen gunboat service in
the fighting at New Orleans.
On May g. 1868, off the coast Of Bra
zil the Florida captured the brig Car-
ence. bound from Rio de Janeiro to
Baltimore with cargo Of coffee. Lieu
tenant Read suggested that he he per
mitted TO take the captive with her
cargo and papers intact. and. proceed
ing to Hampton roads. gain entrance
there and either cut out a gunboat or
burn the shipping gathered in the
roads. Captain Maflit gave him how
itzer and detailed an assistant engineer
and twenty men for the enterprise.
A month later of the South Caro-
lima coast. the Clarence captured and
burned the bark Whistlng Wind, from
al MI ta l,.in IA
The next day it picked Up the schooner
Alfred II. Partridge. and Read put her
captain under Il $1,000 bond to deliver
the cargo OF arms and clothing to the
ConfederateS On June o he took the
brig Mary Alvina, Boston to New Or
leans with cOmmissary stores.
From his prisoners Read came TO the
conclusiOa that an attempt to enter
Hampton Roads would meet with GER
tain failure. and he turned his atten-
tion entirely to destroying Federal
commerce. On June -. within eight
miles Of Cape Henry. he made four
captures-the bark Tacony. the schoon-
er NJ. A. Shindler. the schooner Kate
Stewart and the brig Arabella. Since
the Clarence was q poor sai!er, the
young commander transferred his crew
and howitzer to the Tacony. The Clar-
ence and tine NJ. \. Shindler he burned.
The Arabella he bonded for $4,000
and the Kate Stewart for $1,000 and
he used the latter to take ashore some
fifty prisoners.
Those captures stirred the shipown-
ers. and the shipOwners promptly stir
red up the secretary of the navy. The
naval commanders at Newport News,
Philadelphia and New York were or
dered to send out vessels to chase the
raider, which they did.
Meanwhile the Tacony. under her
new coors. captured the brig Umpire.
which. with her cargo of sugar and
molasses, was burned OH June IL.
Five days later the Tacony seized the
packet ship Isaac Webb. Liverpool TO
New York with 80 passengers on
board, and Read bonded her for $40.- |
OO0 The same day he destroyed the |
fishing schooner Micawber. The clip
per ship Byzantum and the bark |
Goodspeed. both bound for New York. |
were sunk on the next day. which was
June 81.
BY that time there were more than |
twenty Federal vessels pursuing the
Tacony. and the shipping interests of
New York were almost In state of |
panic.
Read now sailed northward and, or |
the coast OF Massachusetts captured |
four fishing schooners on June -. The
following day he took two more. On |
June "a he held up the ship Shatemuc.
from Liverpool to Boston, carrying a
large number of immigrants, and bond
ed her for $4,000. That night he cap
tured the fishing schooner Archer.
AS the ammunition for the howitzer
had become exhausted, Read transfer
red his crew to the Archer and burned
the Tacony. On the morning of June
20 he picked up Portland light. Two !
fishermen, who mistook the schooner
for pleasure party, piloted her into
Portland harbor.
The following morning ut half past
o'clock Read and his men boa rded the
revenue cutter Caleb Cushing She was
captured without an alarm being given,
but the tide was running in before her
new masters could get her under way,
and the wind had dropped.
They did escape from the .harbor. but
about twenty miles outside two large
steamers bearing soldiers and armed
civilians overhauled the cutter. Read
had not been able to find the vessels
stock OF ammunition, and after firing a
few rounds at the pursuing steamers
he put of his prisoners. set the cutter
on tire and. with his crew. took to the