Running
of the Blockade
Vance
Kept North Carolina Soldiers Well Provided
By
A
Sketch of Captain John Newland Maffitt, CSN
From:
Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XXIV, Richmond, Va., 1896,
Pages 157-165.
There
exist no records from which computation might be made of the amount and
value of goods, arms, supplies and stores brought into the Confederate
States during the four years of blockade-running. But the Hon. Zebulon B.
Vance, who was Governor of North Carolina during a large part of the war,
has put on record the share, in part, of our States in blockade-running,
from which a general idea of the about of values may be obtained. In an
address before the Association of the Maryland Line, delivered in
Baltimore February 23, 1865, he said: "By the general industry and
thrift of our people, and by the use of a number of blockade-running
steamers, carrying out cotton and bringing in supplies from Europe, I had
collected and distributed, from time to time, as near as can be gathered
from the records of the Quartermaster's Department, the following store:
Large quantities of machinery supplies; 60,000 pairs of hand cards; 10,000
grain scythes; 200 barrels of bluestone for wheat-growers; leather and
shoes to 250,000 pairs; 50,000 blankets; gray-wolled cloth for at least
250,000 suits of uniforms; 12,000 overcoats, ready-made; 2,000 best
Enfield rifles, with 100 rounds of fixed ammunition; 100,000 pounds of
bacon; 500 sacks of coffee for hospital use; $50,000 worth of medicines at
gold prices; large quantities of lubricating oils, besides minor supplies
of various kinds for charitable institutions of the State. Not only was
the supply of shoes, blankets, and clothing more than sufficient for the
supply of the North Carolina troops, but large quantities were turned over
to the Confederate Government for the troops of other States. In the
winter succeeding the battle of Chickamauga I sent to General Longstreet's
Corps 14,000 suits of clothing complete. At the surrender of General
Johnston the State had on hand, ready-made and in cloth, 92,000 suits of
uniforms, with great stores of blankets, leather, etc. To make good the
warrant on which these purchases had been made abroad, the State purchased
and had on hand in trust for the holders, 11,000 bales of cotton and
100,000 barrels of rosin. The cotton was partly destroyed before the war
closed, and the remainder, amounting to several thousand bales, was
captured, after peace was declared, by certain officers of the Federal
army.
President
Davis in a message to Congress, said that the number of vessels arriving
at only two ports - Charleston and Wilmington - from November 1st to
December 6, 1864, had been forty-three, and that only a very small portion
of those outward bound had been captured; that out of 11,796 bales of
cotton shipped since July 1, 1864, but 1,272 bales had been lost. And the
special report of the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the same
matter, stated that there had been imported at the ports of Wilmington and
Charleston since October 26, 1864, 3,632,000 pounds of meat, 1,507,000
pounds of lead, 1,933,000 pounds of coffee, 69,000 rifles, 97 packages of
revolvers, 2,639, packages of medicines, 43 cannon, with a very large
quantity of other articles. In addition to these articles many valuable
stores and supplies had been brought in by way of the northern lines, by
way of Florida, and through the port of Galveston, and through Mexico
across the Rio Grande. From March 1, 1864, to January 1, 1865, the value
of the shipments of cotton on Confederate Government account was shown by
the Secretary's report, to have been $5,296,000 in specie, of which
$1,500,000 had been shipped out between July 1st and December 1, 1864.
THE
FLEET.
A
list of vessels which were running the blockade from Nassau and other
ports in the period intervening between November, 1861, and March, 1864,
showed that eighty-four steamers were engaged; of these, thirty-seven were
captured by the enemy, twelve were totally lost, eleven were lost and the
cargoes partially saved, and one foundered at sea. They made 363 trips to
Nassau, and sixty-five to other ports. Among the highest number of runs
made were those of the R. E. Lee, which ran twenty-one times; the Fanny,
which ran eighteen times; the Margaret and Jessie, which performed the
same feat. Out of 425 runs from Nassau alone (including schooners) only
sixty-two, about one in seven, were unsuccessful. As freights were
enormous, ranging from $300 to $1,000 per ton, some idea may be formed of
the profit of a business in which a party could afford to lose a vessel
after two successful trips. In ten months of 1863, from January to
October, ninety vessels ran into Wilmington. During August, one ran in
every other day. On the 11th of July, four, and five on the 19th of
October.
With
the termination of blockade running, the commercial importance of
Matamoras, Nassau, Bermuda, and other West India ports departed. On March
11, 1865, there were lying in Nassau thirty-five British blockade-runners
which were valued at $15,000,000 in greenbacks, and there were none to do
them reverence. Their occupation was gone; their profits at an end, and
some other service must be sought to give them employment.
A
description of Nassau at the time of which I write will be both
interesting and instructive. It was a busy place during the war, the chief
depot of supplies for the Confederacy, and the prot to which most of the
cotton was shipped. Its proximity to the ports of Charleston and
Wilmington gave it superior advantages, whilst it was easily accessible to
the swift, light-draft blockade-runners, all of which carried Bahama bank
pilots, who knew every channel. The United States cruisers having no bank
pilots, and drawing more water, were compelled to keep the open sea.
Occasionally one of the latter would heave to outside the harbor, and send
in a boat to communicate with the American Consul, but their usual
cruising-ground was off Abaco light. Nassau is situate upon the island of
New Providence, one of the Bahamas, and it is the chief town and capital
of the group. All of the islands are surrounded by coral-reefs and shoals,
through which are channels, more or less intricate. The distance from
Charleston to Nassau is about 500 miles, and from Wilmington about 550.
Practically they were equi-distant; for blockade-runners bound for either
port, in order to evade the cruisers lying in wait off Abaco, were
compelled to give that headland a wide berth by keeping well to the
eastward. The wharves of Nassau were piled high with cotton during the
war, and huge warehouses were stored full of supplies for the Confederacy.
At times the harbor was crowded with lead-colored, short-masted,
rakish-looking steamers; the streets alive with the bustle and activity of
the day, swarmed with drunken revellers at night. Almost every nationality
on earth was represented there, the higher wages ashore and afloat
tempting adventurers of the baser sort, and the prospect of enormous
profits offering equally strong inducements to capitalists of a
speculative turn. Monthly wages of a sailor on board a blockade-runner was
$100 in gold, and $50 a bounty at the end of a successful trip; and this,
under favorable circumstances, would be accomplished in seven days.
A
GOOD RECORD.
The
captains and pilots sometimes received as much as $5,000, perquisites. On
board the government steamers the crew, which was shipped abroad, and
under the articles regulating the "merchant marine" received the
same wages as were paid on board the other blockade-runners, but the
captains and subordinate officers of the government steamers who belonged
to the Confederate States Navy, and the pilots who were detailed from the
army for this service received their pay in gold. There is a singular fact
connected with the blockade-running vessels which speaks well for the
Confederate States naval officers. Though many commanded a large number of
these vessels, yet down to August 16, 1864, and perhaps later, only one
blockade-running vessel was lost.
The
Cape Fear pilots have long maintained a standard of excellence in their
profession most creditable to them as a class, and as individuals. The
story of their wonderful skill and bravery in the time of the Federal
blockade has never been written, for the survivors are modest men, and
time has obliterated from their memories many incidents of this
extraordinary epoch. Amidst impenetrable darkness, without lightship or
beacon, the narrow and closely watched inlet was felt for with a deep-sea
lead as a blind man feels his way along a familiar path, and even when the
enemy's fire was raking the wheelhouse, the faithful pilot, with steady
hand, and iron nerve, safely steered the little fugitive of the sea to her
desired haven. It might he said of him, as of the Nantucket skipper, that
he could get his bearings on the darkest night by a taste of the lead.
Let
us recall the names of some of the noted blockade-runners and their
pilots, so well known in Smithville about thirty years ago.
A
HERO INDEED.
Steamer
Cornubia, Afterwards called the Lady Davis, C. C. Morse; steamer Giraffe,
afterwards known as the R. W. Lee, Archibald Guthrie; steamer Fannie,
Henry Howard; steamer Hansa, J. N. Burruss; steamer City of Petersburg,
Joseph Bensel; steamer Old Dominion, Richard Dosher; steamer Alice, Joseph
Springs; steamer Margaret and Jessie, Charles W. Craig; steamer Hebe,
George W. Burruss; steamer Advance, C. C. Morse; steamer Pet, T. W. Craig;
steamer Atlanta, Thomas M. Thompson, steamer Eugenia, T.
W.
Nweton; steamer Ella and Annie, J. M. Adkins; steamer Banshee, Thomas
Burruss; steamer Venus, R. Sellers; steamer Don, William St. George;
steamer, Lynx, J. W. Craig; steamer Let Her Be, T. J. Burruss; steamer
Little Hattie, R. S. Grissom; steamer Lilian, Thomas Grissom; steamer
North Heath, Julius Dosher; steamer Let Her Rip, E. T. Bur-russ; steamer
Beauregard, J. W. Potter; steamer Owl, T. B. Garrason, steamer Agnes Fry,
Thomas Dyer; steamer Kate, C. C. Morse; steamer Sirene; John Hill; steamer
Calypso, C.
G.
Smith; steamer Cognetta, E. T. Daniels; steamer Mary Celeste, J. W.
Anderson. Many other steamers might be named, among them the Brittanica,
Emma, Dee, Antonica, Victory, Granite City, Stonwall, Jackson, Flora,
Havelock, Hero, Eagle, Duoro, Thistle, Scotia, Gertrude, Charleston,
Colonel Lamb, Dolphin, and Dream, whose pilots' names may or may not be
among those already recalled. These are noted here from memory, for these
is no record extant. All of these men were exposed to constant danger, and
one of them, J. W. Anderson, of the Mary Celeste, died a hero's death.
Shortly after leaving the port of Nassau on his last voyage, he was
stricken down by yellow-fever. The captain at once proposed to put the
ship about and return to the Bahamas, but his brave pilot said: "No;
you may proceed; I will do my best to get you into port, even if it costs
my life" On the second day he was delirious; but as the little ship
approached one dangerous coast he regained consciousness, and spoke of his
home and the loved ones awaiting his coming at Smithville. When darkness
drew on his fever increased and his condition seemed hopeless, but with
the heart of a lion he determined to take his post on the bridge, and when
the soundings were reached he was carried bodily to the wheel-house,
where, supported by two of the sailors, he guided by feeble tones the
gallant ship through devious ways, until the hostile fleet was passed. As
the well-known lights of his home appeared in the distance his voice grew
stronger, but tremulous, for he felt that he was nearing the end of life's
voyage. "Starboard; steady; port; ease her; stop her: let go your
anchor -" with the rattle of the chains he sank to the desk, overcome
by the dread disease, and on the following morning breathed his last.
"For, tho' from out our
bourne time and place,
The flood may bear me far;
I hope to see my pilot face to face,
When I have crossed the bar."
Along
the coast may still be seen the storm-beaten hulls of some of the
unfortunate ships, which, after weathering many a gale at sea, came to
grief within sight of a friendly port. The Beauregard and the Venus lie
stranded on Carolina Beach; the Modern Greece near New Inlet; the Antonica
on Frying Pan Shoals; the Ella on Bald Head; the Spunkey and the Georgiana
McCall on Caswell Beach; the Hebe and the Dee between Wrightsville and
Masonboro. Two others lie near Lockswood's Folly Bar, and others whose
names are also forgotten, lie half buried in the sands, where they may
remain for centuries.
JOHN
N. MAFFITT.
Among
that devoted band of United States navy officers whose home and kindred
were in the South at the outbreak of the war, and who resigned their
commissions rather than aid in subjugating their native State, there were
none braver nor truer than our own Captain John N. Maffitt, who, yielding
to necessity, severed the strong ties of a service under the old flag in
which he had long distinguished himself, and relinquished not only a
conspicuous position directly in the line of speedy promotion to the rank
of admiral, but sacrificed at the same time his entire fortune, which was
invested in the North, and which was confiscated shortly afterward by the
Federal Government.
The
biography of this modest hero has never been written. I give the following
brief sketch prepared by the accomplished Mrs. J. N. Maffit, at the time
of her distinguished husband's decease, who is now writing a more extended
memoir of his career.
John
Newland Maffitt was born at sea on the 22d of February, 1819. His parents
were Rev. John Newland Maffitt and Ann Carnicke, his wife. Rev. Mr.
Maffitt, having determined to emigrate to America, left Ireland with his
wife and family late in January or early in February, and landed in New
York on the 21st of 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 Maffitt, who had accompanied them to America,
visited his brother, Rev. Mr. Maffitt, and finding him in straitened
circumstances, begged to adopt their son, and on the consent of his
parents, Dr. Maffitt brought his nephew to Fayetteville, 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 thirteen years old, when his
father's friends obtained for him a commissions 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 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
prot at Pensacola, Fla., that he had his first experience of "yellow
jack," and came near losing his life. His first independent command
was the Galatin. He commanded also the brig Dolphin and several others. He
was engaged, under Professor Bache, for some years on the coast survey,
and was of great service to the professor, which the latter was not slow
to acknowledge. Much of their work was in the harbors of Nantucket,
Charleston, Wilmington, and Savannah. A channel in the harbor of
Charleston, Wilmington, and Savannah. A channel in the harbor of
Charleston still bears his name. In one of the numerous published sketches
this tribute is paid to him:
A
SPLENDID OFFICER.
"He
was always considered one of the best officers and most high-toned
gentleman of the old service. For some years have was connected with the
coast survey, and professor Bache, the head of the department, declared
that if Maffitt was taken from him he could not supply his place in all
the navy." He added: "He is not only a thorough seaman and game
to the backbone, but a man if superior intellect, a humorists of rare
excellence, and one of the most delightful companions. There is no
position in his profession which Maffitt is not capable of filling when
the war began. His last command while in the service of the United States,
was the Crusader. He was very successful in capturing slavers. In January,
1860, while in command of the Crusader, and also acting as paymaster of
the vessel, he was ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to proceed to
Mobile, and there cash a check on the collector of the port for prize
money due the officers and crew. The city being agitated at the time by
the Ordinance of Secession, just passed by the State of Alabama, he was
forced to put his vessel in a defensive position, and soon retired to the
port of Habana. Here, failing to negotiate with the bank of Habana for the
funds requisite for the necessities of the vessel, he advanced from his
private funds the money needed to work the steamer over to the proper
authorities and went to Washington to settle his accounts. His cash
accounts received no attention, though for several months he was a
constant applicant for settlement. A trying position was his, as his wife
was dead, and his children had no kinsfolk, save in North Carolina; if he
remained in the navy his property, which was all in the North, would be
secured to him. All that appealed to his interests lay there. Love of his
profession was entwined with every fibre of his being. On the other hand,
he would have been compelled to fight against his people perhaps fire upon
the very home that had sheltered him, and was then sheltering his
defenseless children. One night a friend informed him that his name was
down for arrest the next day. His affections drew him South. His
resignation having been accepted, he felt free to leave and cast his
fortunes with his people. His war record is well known. During the earlier
part of the war he commanded the celebrated Confederate corvette Florida,
and the ram Albemarle, rendering most valuable service to the Confederacy.
Afterwards he was in command of the blockade-runners Lillian, Owl, and
other vessels engaged in bringing supplies and munitions of war for the
South. At the close of the war, his property confiscated and he an exile,
he applied for a command in the English merchant service, and was given
the command of a fine steamer, running between Liverpool and Rio Janeiro.
She was subsequently sold to the Brazilian Government and used as an army
transport. While conveying several hundred soldiers to the scene of
action, small-pox broke our among them, and as the well refused to nurse
the sick, or bury the dead, those duties devolved upon Captain Maffitt,
and a fearful time he had - "sickening to the last degree," he
described it - and the soldiers were mutinous and without discipline. He
retained command of this steamer for eighteen months, when, at the urgent
entreaty of his family, he resigned the command and came home. He soon
after purchased a small farm near Wilmington, where he resided for nearly
eighteen years. In July, 1885, he moved to Wilmington. For a year or two
his health had been failing, but he determined to make a brave effort to
retrieve his fortunes and provide for his young family. The disappointment
of that hope was too great a shock for his feeble frame; the thought that
he could no longer provide for his loved ones broke his heart. After an
illness of more than three months, he died on the 15th of May, 1886, in
the sixty-eighth year of his age.