[From the Richmond (Va.) Dispatch, Dec. 12, 1897.]

THE RICHMOND AMBULANCE CORPS.

List of Members of This Useful Organization for 1861-1865.

When the late war first broke out a number of Richmond's wellknown citizens formed themselves into a committee and charged themselves with the duty of supplying the needs of the Confederate wounded. Their services in this respect are still gratefully remembered by many a surviving Confederate veteran who received the benefit of their unstinted and kindly ministrations in time of dire distress. The committee, which was limited to about fifty members, was composed for the most part of citizens exempt from military duty. Afterward, as the exigency of the war period demanded, many of them went into active service, while others not only furnished substitutes, but continued their membership in the committee till the end came on that fatal 9th of April, 1865. at Appomattox Courthouse.

Nearly the first thing done when the committee organized was to form its members into a military company, to serve in case of emergency, of which John Dooley was chosen captain; Philip J. Wright, first lieutenant, and John J. Wilson, second lieutenant. The services of the committee extended through the battles of Gettysburg, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, the seven days' fights around Richmond, including Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Frayser's Farm, and, in fact, most of the engagements in which the Army of Northern Virginia participated. The committee served without pay, and was always ready to buy for the wounded, with their own funds, any delicacy that could not otherwise be procured for the use of the objects of their solicitude. But a few, comparatively, survive the lapse of years intervening since the great contest ended. Appended is a partial list, so far as can be recalled, of this famous and useful organization. Those who live deserve, as they receive, the gratitude of all surviving veterans, while the good deeds of those passed away are wreathed in memory that blooms sweetly and blossoms in the dust:

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Dr. W. A Carrington, Dr. J. E. Claggett, Dr. James Cammack, Thomas Clemmitt, Harvie A. Dudley, James H. Grant, George W. Lowndes, Colonel Robert Ould, and J. A. Cowardin, of the Dispatch.

COMMITTEE OFFICERS.

The officers of the committee were: John Enders, President; William G. Paine, Vice-President; Isaac H. Walker, Secretary; and Surgeons, Drs. Cabell and Peachy.

THE LIVING MEMBERS.

Of those now living may be mentioned: Messrs. R. S. Archer, John Enders, Andrew L. Ellett, Samuel J. Harrison, Jordan H. Martin, John H. Montague, Powhatan Weisiger, and Philip J. Wright.

The propriety of recognizing the services of these gentlemen in some suitable way will, there is little doubt, be called to the attention of Lee Camp of Confederate Veterans at some early day.

ALWAYS WITH THE CORPS.

Although not members of the organization, there were several of our old citizens who had sons in the army, who went to nearly every battlefield with the corps, and rendered valuable assistance to the wounded, among whom was the veteran, Charles G. Thompson, who is still living at a ripe old age.

[From the Sunday News, Charleston, S. C., February 3, 1895.]

CAREER OF THE SHENANDOAH.

The Terror of the Arctic Seas Captured Thirty-Eight Whalers, and Destroyed Shipping Valued at Nearly $7,000,000.

A Graphic Account of the Cruise of the Great Commerce Destroyer, from the Time of her Fitting out near Funchal, Madeira, October, 1864, to her Surrender to the British at Liverpool,

November, 1865.

By Lieutenant JOHN GRIMBALL, C. S. Navy.

WITH A SUMMARY AFFORDED BY THE NAVAL RECORDS OFFICE AT WASHINGTON.

On the 6th October, 1864, the Confederate steamer Florida was captured at Bahia, a neutral port, in violation of an agreement which, to all intents and purposes, amounted to a flag of truce.

This loss

of the Florida, not known to us for weeks after, left the Confederacy without a cruiser afloat; but on the 7th, the very next day, the Sea King sailed from London to assume her place on the high seas, as the Confederate steamer Shenandoah, with instructions to visit the whaling grounds and destroy the American whaling fleets. These vessels were owned principally in the New England States, and at one time had been a source of great revenue and at all times an element of much pride to that section of country. The officers were brave and experienced men, exceptionally good sailors and navigators, and they carried their ships without hesitation anywhere and everywhere in pursuit of their game, and often as fast as they filled up with oil the cargo would be transferred to an empty ship and sent home, and then the hunt would be resumed by the same ship, and so on for years.

From London, the Sea King went direct to Funchal, Madeira, where her purchase was to be completed by her transfer to the Confederate government. There she signalled the steamer Laurel, at anchor in the harbor, waiting with officers and munitions of war, she having arrived two days before from Liverpool. The Laurel was a

blockade runner, commanded by Captain Ramsey, a young Englishman of energy and resources.

CAPT. RAMSEY'S BRILLIANT RUSE.

When the authorities at Funchal objected to our presence in the harbor, and seriously and persistently insisted that the Laurel should proceed at once to sea, Ramsey was ready with a broken piece of machinery, without which he insisted that his engines could not be made to move. The delicate and tedious work of repair was entrusted by the authorities to their own workmen on shore, so anxious were they to get rid of us. While they were still hammering away the Sea King arrived and signalled, and the Laurel steamed out to join her.

Not far from Madeira, and of the same group, is the Desertas, and under the lee of that uninhabited rock both vessels anchored, and all guns, supplies, etc., were transferred from the Laurel to the Sea King; whereupon the first entry in the log of the Shenandoah was made as follows:

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"AT SEA, October 19, 1864.

Having received everything from the steamer Laurel at sea, put ship in commission as Confederate States steamer Shenandoah, and shipped twenty-three men, as petty officers, seamen, firemen and coal heavers. Weighed anchor at 2 P. M., and at 6 o'clock parted. company with the Laurel, when we hoisted the Confederate ensign for the first time. At 6.15 stood under steam to the southward and westward. Pleasant weather, with heavy swell from northward. Wind northeast. IRVINE S. BULLOCH."

THE ONLY CONFEDERATE CRUISER AFLOAT.

We were now the only Confederate cruiser afloat, and as we continued our course around the world, passing from ocean to ocean, meeting in turn ships of various nationalities, I always felt that whenever our nationality was known to neutral ships the greetings we received rarely warmed up beyond that of a more or less interested curiosity, and while we had many friends ashore who were most lavish and generous in welcoming us to port, underlying it all there appeared to exist a wish of the authorities to have us "move on." And yet the right of self government, as I understood it, was the only principle involved in that war. The issue was not the liberation of the slaves, but the enforcement of a union, and only when