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412 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

great speed. As soon as one of them discovered a blockade
runner during daylight, she would attract other cruisers in the
vicinity by sending up a dense column of smoke, visible for
many miles in clear weather. A cordon of fast steamers sta-
tioned ten or fifteen miles apart, inside the Gulf Stream, and
in the course from Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington and
Charleston, would have been more effective in stopping block-
ade running than the whole United States Navy concentrated
off these ports. It was unaccountable to us why such a plan did
not occur to good Mr. Welles, but it was not our business to
suggest. I have no doubt, however, that the fraternity to which
I then belonged would unanimously have voted thanks and a
service of plate to the Honorable Secretary of the United States
Navy for this oversight.

“I say inside the Gulf Stream; because every experienced
captain of a blockade runner made it a point to cross the Stream
early enough in the afternoon if possible te establish the ship’s
position by chronometer, so as to escape the influence of that
current upon his dead reckoning. The lead always gave indica-
tion of our distance from the land, but not, of course, of our
position; and the numerous salt works along the coast, where
evaporation was produced by fire, and which were at work night
and day, were visible long before the coast could be seen. Occa-
sionally, the whole inward voyage would be made under adverse
conditions. Cloudy, thick weather and heavy gales would pre-
vail so as to prevent any solar or lunar observations, and reduce
the dead reckoning to mere guesswork. In these cases, the
nautical knowledge and judgment of the captain would be taxed
to the utmost. The current of the Gulf Stream varies in veloc-
ity and, within certain limits, in direction; and the Stream
itself, almost as well defined as a river within its banks under
ordinary circumstances, is impelled by a strong gale towards
the direction in which the wind is blowing, overflowing its
banks, as it were. The counter current, too, inside of the Gulf
Stream is much influenced by the prevailing winds.

“Upon one occasion, while in command of the R. FZ. Lee,
formerly the Clyde built iron steamer Giraffe, we had experi-
enced very heavy and thick weather, and had crossed the Stream
and struck soundings about midday. The weather then clear-
ing, so that we could obtain an altitude near meridian, we found
ourselves at least forty miles north of our supposed position, and
near the shoals which extend in a southerly direction off Cape

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