420 Chronicles of the Cape Fear Rwer

I had no guns to fight with, I might try a game of bluff. Hoist-
ing the Confederate flag, I changed my course directly for him,
and in a few minutes the tables were turned and the chaser was
being chased, the Nansemond seeking with all possible speed
the protection of the ships stationed off the bar, and that night
the Atalanta was safe once more in Dixie.

“Several years afterwards I was a passenger on board the
little revenue cutter Endeavor, better known as the Hunkey
Dory, bound from Tybee to Savannah, and a stranger to every
one on board. The conversation drifted into war reminis-
cences. Mr. Hapold, the officer in charge of the Hunkey Dory,
had been an engineer on board the Nansemond when stationed
on the blockade off Wilmington, and while giving his experi-
ence, among other incidents, he told of the narrow escape they
had when the Nansemond was decoyed away from the fleet by
a cruiser, under the guise of a blockade runner, that, when she
thought the Nansemond was far enough away from her friends,
ran up the Confederate flag and attempted to make a prize of
her. ‘But,’ said he, ‘the little Nansemond’s speed saved her.’
You can imagine their surprise when I informed them that I
was in charge of the Confederate vessel, which was an unarmed
ship chasing one that was armed—a clear case of ‘Run, Big
’Fraid, Little ’Fraid’ll catch you!’

“As a rule, the blockade runners were ships very slightly
built, of light draft and totally unfit to brave the storms of the
Atlantic. Yet the worse the weather the better it was liked,
since a rough sea greatly reduced the danger from the enemy’s
guns. In. most of the ships the boilers and engines were very
much exposed, and a single shot to strike the boiler meant the
death of every one on board. We had no lighthouses or marks
of any kind to guide us, except the enemy’s fleet, and had to
depend upon our observations and surroundings on approaching
the coast. Our ships were painted gray, to match the horizon
at night ; some were provided with telescopic funnels, and masts
hinged, so that they could be lowered, and others had the masts
taken out altogether. A great source of danger, and one which
was unavoidable, was the black smoke caused from our fires, and
for this sign the blockaders were always on the lookout. The
United States Government having forbidden the exportation of
anthracite coal, there was nothing for us to do but use bitumin-
ous and take all precautions possible to prevent the issuing of
black smoke from our funnels.

Blockade Running 421

“On dark nights it was very difficult to discern their low
hulls, and moonlight nights, as a rule, were nights of rest, few
ships venturing to run the gauntlet when the moon was bright.
No lights were used at sea. Everything was in total silence and
darkness. To speak above a whisper or to strike a match would
subject the offender to immediate punishment. Orders were
passed along the deck in whispers, canvas curtains were dropped
to the water’s edge around the paddles to deaden the noise, and
men exposed to view on deck were dressed in sheets, moving

about like so many phantoms on a phantom ship.

“The impression always prevailed, and still prevails to a
great extent, that the South has no sailors, but the record of the
Southern sailors during the war is second to none that the world
has ever produced, and should the emergency arise again, the
descendants of the same men will emulate the example set by
their fathers. I do not think their services have ever been
understood or appreciated, from the fact that so little of their
authentic history has ever found its way into the hands of the

reading public.
‘Most of them had all their relatives and friends in the

Southern service, suffering untold hardships and exposing their
lives daily, and they felt it their duty to risk their ships and
their lives to bring food to our starving countrymen, determined
if their ship was stopped that it must be by the enemy and not

by their own order.
‘During the first two years of the war the blockade runners

were almost exclusively officered by English and Scotch, but

during the last two years the danger was very much increased,
and while there can be no question as to the bravery of the
British sailor, it required the additional incentive of patriotism
to induce men to venture into the service. It is noticeable that
nearly all the officers during the last two years were Confeder-
ates.

“The first steamship to which I was attached was the side-
wheel steamer Leopard. She was officered entirely by Southern
men: Captain Black of Savannah, commander; Capt. Robert
Lockwood, of Charleston, pilot, and as gallant a man as the war
produced. Cool, quiet, and never losing his wits, he was an
ideal blockade pilot. In the engine room were Peck, Barbot,
Sassard, and Miller, four splendid mechanics and gallant fel-
lows all. The deck officers were Bradford, Horsey, and myself,
three boys, twenty-four, twenty-three and twenty-two years of