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pian cat coi stn tR NN Rg i a club eee

aunt pclae onowa ae

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368 Nortu Carorina Troops, 1861-65.

immediately arrested by another gun sending a round shot
through out rigging. We were boarded by Lieutenant Mc-
Nair “(still known as crazy Mac) who laughingly remarked
that his next shot would have sunk us, as his orders were to
stop all vessels passing the fort, for inspection. After this
function was completed, we continued our course to Wilming-
ton, where we were boarded by the quarantine physician, the
late Dr. William George Thomas, who was greatly interested
and amused by my description of our exciting adventure.
Our ship was consigned to Messrs. DeRosset & Brown, the
collector of the port at that time being Major Henry Savage.
We discharged cargo at a wharf near the foot of Chestnut

street and dropped down to the Clarendon Iron Works for re- .

pairs, which caused a detention of three weeks.

During this time several changes were made in our crew.
The engineers were discharged and sent through the blockade
as passengers on another steamer, and several stokers who
had behaved badly during the chase were summarily dealt
with. When ready for our outward freight, we were laden
with 1,250 bales of cotton at the Confederate cotton press,
which stood on the west side of the river below the ferry,
and which was subsequently destroyed by fire, together
with a large quantity of cotton. The unbroken brick chim-
ney still stands like the leaning tower of Pisa, a conspicuous
relic of an extraordinary era in the foreign trade of Wil-
mington.

It was almost a universal custom of the officers of block-
ade-runners to smuggle a few bales of cotton for their per-
sonal benefit along with the cargo—but I had received strict
orders from our new captain not to take any on my account,
nor to permit any one else on board a single bale. I was
simple enough to follow his instructions, notwithstanding the
fact that he, with characteristic duplicity, had a dozen bales
put on board secretly at night for himself. I was not sorry
a few days after to see this sharp adventure go overboard
with the rest of the deck load to lighten the ship during an
exciting chase by a Federal cruiser. The bales were bound
with rope, and axes were used to cut them asunder when
pitched over the rail, in order that they would fall to pieces

BLocKaDE RUNNING. 369

in the sea before being picked up by the pursuers at their
leisure.

Sometimes the wake of a blockade-runner could be traced
for miles by floating bales of cotton which were thrown over
in an emergency. I remember, while a prisoner on board the
United States steamer Keystone State, seeing the crew pick
up as many as a hundred bales in the Gulf Stream, which
were held together by the bagging only.

On 22 August, 1864, the Lilian hauled out from the cotton
press on the west side of the Cape Fear, and anchored in the
stream, ready for her sixth voyage through the blockade.
The Federal squadron, flushed with numerous captures of
prizes, had become more aggressive and the cordon of watch-
ful blockaders more closely drawn than ever before.

In addition to the ships of war, numerous armed launches
patrolled the bar and river under cover of the darkness.
These scouting barges proved to be to the alert blockaders
what the sacred cackling geese were to the sleeping Romans,
for they lay in the track of incoming and outgoing steamers,
and at the, constant risk of being run down, gave quick and
timely warning to the enemy of any approaching vessel, by
burning Drummond lights and by firing their rockets and
howitzers after the phantom steamers, as they loomed up and
quickly disappeared in the gloom. It was said that occa-
sional captures were made of timid blockade-runners by these
small fry, but only such as were open to the charge of cow-
ardice took any notice of their hail beyond an immediate at-
tempt to run them down.

Extraordinary preparations had been made for a success-
ful voyage. In addition to the usual cargo of about 1,200
bales of cotton, we had five Cape Fear pilots on board, four of
whom were passengers, going out for as many new steamers
awaiting them in Bermuda. Two of the five survive, the
other three have run their last course and “crossed the bar.”
Yeung Tom Grissom, our ship’s pilot, fearless and daring to
the last, was lost during a memorable gale some years azo
with four others in the ill-fated M. ary K. Sprunt. Joseph
Thompson and William Craig died some years ago; James
W. Craig, a highly respected citizen, is still to the fore, and

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