;
i
;
a

rose nepieseseetanerepiprepnainansinnitalabetinimnantepmenvmnaipnmeasinemessimaseanannereniihmenmars Se > :
sam x ee - “ mi — eahen

 

384 Norra Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

were very useful for digging holes two feet deep zr! the ne
earth through which enough brackish water oozed to quen
ee ‘third evening at dusk I missed my knife son
back to look for it, the others going forward. The we -
blind and the darkness settled upon me so rapidly that -
my way. Lhe melancholy cry of the whippoorwill met 95 .
every turn, and I realized for the second time in my 11 . ;
sense of abject and hopeless fear. 1 recalled to the a
detail a similar experience when I had been a a —
man’s plantation in Duplin county to the salt works on

sonboro Sound. .
Fortunately for me our company made their camp fire

for the night shortly after we were separated by which I

soon rejoined them. We usually slept on the ng _
a tree, as all the plantation houses we found were deserte ;
and we were warned by the only man whom we met ee

any demonstration likely to attract attention from the =
erals who sometimes were seen in the vicinity, or from bush-
whackers and deserters who were simply esis aR:
About a week from the time we landed on the cape we reache :
the outskirts of Ocala, when we learned for the first ~~ e
the general surrender. We then buried the Confederate ik
patches under an old tree and continued our tramp to mwas

ville, thence to Jacksonville, from which we proceede - ‘
Fernandina. From there we were sent under guard to | :
ton Head to report to General Gilmore, where we arrive

after dark. I was left with Mr. Carroll to watch the knap-
sacks while the others went to headquarters. A tug st
alongside bound for Charleston. Carroll and I thought : ¥
chance too good to be lost and leaving the baggage we sie :
slipped over the side and hid ourselves on the tug, w >
landed us in Charleston the next morning. There we dodge

about the wharves all day, evading the sentries, and secured
at dusk passage on another tug for Wilmington. As we “P
proached the main bar without a blockader in sight, we real-
ized the fact that peace had returned to our distracted coun-
try. When we landed at Wilmington, neither Carroll nor I

5a Sapam acre —— wine.

a

aed

Se RRR

BLocKaDE Runnina. 385

had taken any oath of allegiance since we left Nassau, nor
had we been paroled nor questioned on the way.

THE CAREER OF CAPTAIN JOHN N. MAFFITT.

The biography of this modest hero has never been written.
I give the following brief sketch prepared by the accom-
plished Mrs. J. N. Maffitt at the time of her distinguished
husband’s decease.
“John Newland Maffitt was born at sea on 22 February,
1819. His parents were Rev. John Newland Maffitt and
Ann Carnicke, his wife. Rev. Mr. Maftitt, having deter-
mined to emigrate to America, left Ireland with his wife and
family late in January or early in February, and landed in
New York on 21 April, 1819, his son having been born on
the passage. Their first home was in Connecticut. When
John was about five years old his uncle, Dr. William Matf-
fitt, who had accompanied them to America, visited his
brother, Rev. Mr. Maffitt, and finding him in straightened
circunstances, begged to adopt their son, and on the consent
of his parents, Dr. Maffitt brought his nephew to Fayette-
ville, N. C. Some years were passed in this happy home of
his boyhood, when his uncle determined to send him to school
at White Plains, N. Y. As a little stripling, he started by
the old time stage coach with his ticket tacked to his jacket,
and on his arrival much curiosity was shown to see the little
boy who had come alone from his distant Southern home.
He remained at this school under Professor Swinburn until
he was 13 years old, when his father’s friends obtained for
him a commission as midshipman in the United States navy.
“His first orders were to the St. Louis, then at Pensacola
navy yard. His second sea orders were to the Constitution,
the flagship of the squadron, commanded by Commodore El-
liott, then fitting out for the Mediterranean. This cruise
lasted three years and six months, and it was during that
time that most of the incidents related in the Nautilus took
place. Having been appointed aid to Commodore Elliott,
the young midshipman had many advantages not otherwise
obtainable. He was next ordered to the frigate Macedonian
as past midshipman, and it was while in port at Pensacola,

25