556

PIRATICAL OPERATIONS ON THE OCEAN.

prit in charge. They took passage for home in the steamer Mary Washington, Captain Mason L. Weems. On board of her were Captain Kirwan and his fellow-prisoners, who had been released; also Thomas, the pirate, and some of his accomplices, who were preparing, no doubt, to repeat their bold and profitable achievement. Carmichael was informed of their presence, and directed Weems to land his passengers at Fort McHenry. When Thomas perceived the destination of the vessel he remonstrated; and, finally, drawing his revolver, and calling around him his armed associates, he threatened to throw the officers overboard and seize the vessel. He was overpowered by superior numbers, and word was sent to General Banks of the state of the case, who ordered an officer with a squad of men to arrest the pirates. Thomas could not be found. At length he was discovered in a large bureau drawer, in the ladies' cabin. He was drawn out, and, with his accomplices, was lodged in Fort McHenry.

Piratical operations on a more extended scale and wider field, under the sanction of commissions from the conspirators at Montgomery, were now frightening American commerce from the ocean. We have already mentioned the issuing of these commissions by Jefferson Davis,' the efforts of the conspirators to establish a navy, and the fitting out of vessels for the purpose, which had been stolen from the National Government, or purchased. Among the latter, as we have observed, was the Lady Davis, the first regularly commissioned vessel in the Confederate Navy. When the National Congress met in extraordinary session, on the 4th of July, more than twenty of these ocean depredators were afloat and in active service;' and at the close of that month, they had captured vessels and property valued at several millions of dollars. Their operations had commenced early in May, and at the beginning of June no less than twenty vessels had been captured and sent as prizes into the port of New Orleans alone.

The most notable of the Confederate pirate vessels, at that early period of the war, were the Savannah, Captain T. H. Baker, of Charleston, and the Petrel, Captain William Perry, of South Carolina; one of which was captured by an armed Government vessel, and the other was destroyed by

one.

The Savannah was a little schooner which had formerly done duty as

1 See page 372. The terms pirate and piratical are here used considerately, when speaking of the socalled privateering under commissions issued by Jefferson Davis and Robert Toombs (See note 4, page 37). The lexicographer defines a pirate to be “A robber on the high seas;" and piracy, “The act, practice, or crime of robbing on the high seas: the taking of property from others by open violence, and without authority, on the sea." The acts of men commissioned by Davis and Toombs were in exact accordance with these conditions. These leading conspirators represented no actual government on the face of the earth. The Confederacy of disloyal men like themselves, formed for the purpose of destroying their Government, had been established, as we have observed, without the consent of the people over whom they had assumed control, and whose rights they had trampled under foot. They had no more authority to issue commissions of any kind, than Jack Cade, Daniel Shays, Nat. Turner, or John Brown. Hence, those who committed depredations on the high seas under their commissions, did so “without authority." And privateering, authorized by a regular government, is nothing less than legalized piracy, which several of the leading powers of Europe have abolished, by an agreement made at Paris in 1856. To that agreement the United States Government refused its assent, because the other powers would not go further, and declare that all private property should be exempt from seizure at sea, not only by private armed vessels, but by National ships of war. The governments of France and Russia were in favor of this proposition, but that of Great Britain, a powerful maritime nation, refused its assent. It also refused its assent to a modification of the laws of blockade, saying, "The system of commercial blockade is essential to our naval supremacy."

2 A full account of the operations of the Confederate Navy, domestic and foreign, will be given in another part of this work,

CAPTURE OF THE SAVANNAH.

557

pilot-boat No. 7, off Charleston harbor. She was only fifty-four tons burden, carried one 18-pounder amidships, and was manned by only twenty men. At the close of May she sallied out from Charleston, and, on the 1st of June, captured the merchant brig Joseph, of Maine, laden with sugar, from Cuba, which was sent into Georgetown, South Carolina, and the Savannah proceeded in search of other prizes. Three days. afterward," she fell in with the National

a June 3,

1861.

brig Perry, which she mistook for a merchant vessel, and approached to make her a prize. When the mistake was discovered, the Savannah turned and tried to escape. The Perry gave hot pursuit, and a sharp fight

THE SAVANNAIL

ensued, which was of short duration. The Savannah surrendered; and her crew, with the papers of the vessel, were transferred to the war-ship Minnesota, the flag-ship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and the prize was sent to New York in charge of Master's Mate McCook. She was the first vessel bearing the Confederate flag that was captured, and the event produced much gratification among the loyal people.

& October,

1961.

July S.

The captain and crew of the Savannah were imprisoned as pirates, and were afterward tried as such, in New York, under the proclamation of the President of the 19th of April. In the mean time, Jefferson Davis had addressed a letter to the President, in which he threatened to deal with prisoners in his hands precisely as the commander and crew of the Savannah should be dealt with. He prepared to carry out that threat by holding Colonel Michael Corcoran, of the Sixty-ninth New York (Irish) Regiment, who was captured near Bull's Run, and others, as hostages, to suffer death if that penalty should be inflicted on the prisoners of the Savannah. Meanwhile the subject had been much discussed at home, and commanded attention abroad, especially

1 See page 372.

2 Corcoran was treated with great harshness He was handcuffed and placed in a solitary cell, with a chain attached to the floor, until the mental excitement produced by this ignominious treatment, combining with a susceptible constitution, and the infectious nature of the locality (Libby Prison), brought on an attack of typhoid fever. See Judge Daley's public letter to Senator Harris, December 21, 1861.

On the 21st of December, Charles P. Daley, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the city of New York, addressed a letter to Ira Harris, of the United States Senate, in discussion of the question, "Are Southern Privateersmen Pirates?" in which he took the ground, first, that they were on the same level, in the grade of guilt, with every Southern soldier, and that if one must suffer death for piracy, the others must suffer the same for treason; and, secondly, by having so far acceded to the Confederates the rights of belligerents as to exchange prisoners, the Government could not consistently make a distinction between prisoners taken on land and those taken on the sea. He strongly recommended, as a measure of expediency, that the President should treat the privateersmen," who had been convicted, and were awaiting sentence, as prisoners of war. He also pleaded in extenuation of the rebellious acts of the people of the South, that, through their want of information concerning the people of the North, they had "been hurried into their present position by the professional politicians and large landed proprietors, to whom they had hitherto been accustomed to confide the management of their public affairs."

558

CAPTURE OF THE PETREL.

in England, where it was assumed that Davis was at the head of an actual government, to whom the British authorities had officially awarded belligerent rights. With that assumption, and that opinion of the character of the Confederates, it was argued in the British Parliament that the captives were not pirates, but privateers, and ought to be treated as prisoners of war. The United States Government, on the contrary, denied that Jefferson Davis represented any government, and hence his commissions were null, and the so-called privateers were pirates, according to the accepted law of nations; but, governed by the dictates of expediency and a wisely directed humanity, it was concluded to treat them as prisoners of war, and theywere afterward exchanged.

The Petrel was more suddenly checked in her piratical career than the Savannah. She was the United States revenue-cutter Aiken, which had been surrendered to the insurgents at Charleston, in December, 1860, by her disloyal commander. She was now manned by a crew of thirty-six men, who were mostly Irishmen, picked up in Charleston while seeking employ'ment. She evaded the blockading squadron off Charleston harbor, and went to sea on the 28th of July, when she was discovered by the National frigate St. Lawrence, that was lying behind one of the islands on that coast. The St. Lawrence was immediately made to assume the appearance of a large merchant vessel. Her heavy spars were hauled down, her ports were closed, and her people sent below. The Petrel regarded her as a rich prize, and bore down upon her, while the St. Lawrence appeared to be crowding sail so as to escape. As the Petrel approached, she sent a warning shot across the St. Lawrence, but the latter kept on her course, chased by the pirate. When the Petrel came within fair range, the St. Lawrence opened her ports, and gave her the contents of three heavy guns. One of them-a Paixhan- -was loaded with an 8-inch shell, known as the "Thunderbolt," which exploded in the hold of the Petrel, while a 32-pound solid shot struck her amidships, below water-mark. These made her a total wreck in an instant, and she went to the bottom of the ocean, leaving the foaming waters over her grave thickly strewn with splinters and her struggling crew. Four of her men were drowned, and the remainder, when brought out of the water, were so amazed and confused that they scarcely knew what had happened. A flash of fire, a thunder-peal, the crash of timbers, and engulfment in the sea, had been the incidents of a moment of their experience. The rescued crew were sent to Philadelphia and placed in Moyamensing Prison, to answer the charge of piracy. They, like the crew of the Savannah, were finally admitted to the privileges of prisoners of war, and were exchanged.

B

THUNDERBOLT SHELL.

While the piratical vessels of the Confederates were making war upon

See page 138.

2 This shell was invented by William Wheeler Hubbell, counselor at law, of Philadelphia, in the year 1842, and for which he received letters patent in 1556. It was introduced into the service in 1847, under an agreement of secrecy, by Colonel Bomford, the inventor of the columbiad (see page 123), then the Chief of the Ordnance Department. This shell was the most efficient projectile in use when the war broke out. Its appearance is shown by the annexed illustration, of which 4 is the shell; B, the sabot, or shoe of wood, and C, the fuse. The peculiar construction of this shell will be hereafter mentioned, when noticing the various projectiles used in the

war.

INCREASE OF THE NATIONAL NAVY.

559

commerce, and the conspirators were encouraged by foreign powers, who had conceded to them belligerent rights, to increase their number, Secretary Welles was putting forth, in full measure, all the instrumentalities at his command for increasing the strength and efficiency of the National Navy. The blockade of ports along almost three thousand miles of coast, with its numerous harbors and inlets,' had been declared, and must be made as perfect as the law of nations, as they were then construed, required, to command respect. There was no time for the building of vessels for the purpose; so the Secretary purchased various kinds of craft, and converted them into warriors as speedily as possible.

We have seen how inefficient and scattered was the Navy at the accession of the new Administration, at the beginning of March;"

a 1861.

GIDEON WELLES.

A

now, at the beginning of July, four months later, there were forty-three armed vessels engaged in the blockade service, and in defense of the coast on the eastern side of the continent. These were divided into two squadrons, known respectively as the Atlantic and the Gulf Squadron. The former, under the command of Flag-officer Silas H. Stringham, consisted of twenty-two vessels, and an aggregate of two hundred and ninety-six guns and three thousand three hundred men; the latter, under command of Flag-officer William Mer

tary purchased and put into commission no less than one hundred and thirtyseven vessels, and had contracted for the building of a large number of steamships of a substantial class, suitable for performing continuous duty off the coast in all weathers.

The Secretary, in his Report, called attention to the important subject of

1 Report of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, July 4, 1861.

2 Report of the Secretary of the Navy, July 4, 1861. The commanders of the squadrons had been instructed to permit the vessels of foreigners to leave the blockaded ports within fifteen days after such blockade was established, and their vessels were not to be seized unless they attempted, after being once warned off, to enter an interdicted port.

560 iron-clad vessels, and recommended the appointment of a competent board to inquire into and report on the subject. Already there had been spent more than a million of dollars in the construction of an immense iron-clad floating battery, for harbor defense, by Messrs. Stevens, of Hoboken, New Jersey, most of it by the Government, and yet it was not completed. He recommended a special inquiry concerning that battery, before the large sum asked for its completion should be appropriated.'

THE NAVY SUPPLIED WITH MEN AND OFFICERS.

The call for recruits for the Navy was promptly complied with, and for the want of them no vessel was ever detained more than two or three days. Since the 4th of March, two hundred and fifty-nine officers had resigned their commissions or had been dismissed from the service for disloyalty; and several vessels were sent to sea at first without a full complement of officers. The want was soon supplied. Many who had retired to civil pursuits now patriotically came forth promptly to aid their country in its struggle for life, and were re-commissioned; while many masters and masters' mates were appointed from the commercial marine. The Naval School and public property at Annapolis, in Maryland, had been removed to Newport, Rhode Island, because it was unsafe, in the state of public affairs in Maryland, to continue the school there. Fort Adams, near Newport, was tendered by the War Department for the temporary accommodation of the school.

3

Until just before the war, this structure had been shut in from the public eye. It was to be seven hundred feet long, covered with iron plates, so as to be proof against shot and shell of any kind. It was to be moved by steam-engines of sufficient power to give it a momentum that would cause it to cut in two any shipof-war then known, when it should strike it at the waist. It was intended to mount a battery of sixteen heavy rifled cannon, in bomb-proof casemates, and two heavy columbiads for throwing shells. The latter were to be on deck, fore and aft. The smoke-stack was to be constructed in sliding sections, like a telescope, for obvious purposes; and the vessel was to be so constructed that it might be sunk to the level of the water. Its burden was to be rated at six thousand tons. It is yet (1865) unfinished.

The following is the form of the naval commissions:-"THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, To all who shall see these presents, Greeting: Know ye, that reposing special Trust and Confidence in the Patriotism, Valor, Fidelity, and Abilities of -, I have nominated, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint him a -, from the day of, 18, in the service of the United States. He is therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duties of by doing and performing all Manner of Things there to belonging. And I do strictly charge and require all Officers, Seamen, and Marines, under his command, to be obedient to his Orders as And he is to observe and follow such Orders and Directions, from time to time, as he shall receive from me, or the future President of the United States, or his Superior Officer set over him, according to the Rules and Discipline of the Navy. This Commission to continue in force during the pleasure of the President of the United States for the time being. Given under my hand at Washington, this day of, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-one, and in the Eightyfifth year of the Independence of the United States. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

NAVY DEPARTMENT SEAL.

"GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Nary."

These commissions are printed on parchment. At the top is seen a spread eagle on a rock in the ocean, on which is a mariner's compass, the fasces and olive-branch, with sailing vessels-of-war in the distance. At the bottom, Neptune and the Goddess of Liberty, in a shell drawn by horses and surrounded by Tritons; and below this the seal, surrounded by a wreath, and military and naval trophies.

3 Report of the Secretary of the Navy, July 4, 1861.