Sailor Jack, the Trader

by Harry Castlemon

Jack Gray watched and waited anxiously to hear from some of his shipmates, but not a word did he get from anybody; and this led him to believe that he was the only one of the Harriet Lane’s crew who escaped death or capture. The direct results of the fight were that the rebels, with very small loss to themselves, captured the Lane, caused the destruction of the flagship of the squadron, secured possession of two coal barges that were lying at the wharf and nearly four hundred prisoners; but “the indirect results were still more important.” The whole State of Texas came back under their flag, and blockade running went on as though it had never been interfered with at all. It was done principally by small schooners like Captain Beardsley’s Hattie, which took out cotton and brought back medicines, guns, ammunition, and cloth that was afterward made into uniforms for the Confederate soldiers. And the worst of it was that it was kept up to the end of the war. Of course word was sent to New Orleans at once, and Commodore Bell came down with a small fleet to shut up the port; but he brought no soldiers with him to hold the city, for General Banks couldn’t spare a single regiment. He had made up his mind to capture Port Hudson, and needed all the men he could get.

Among the vessels that came down with Commodore Bell was the Hatteras, the slowest old tub in the fleet, and much to his disgust Jack Gray was ordered aboard of her. The badge he wore on his arm showed that he had been a quartermaster on board the Lane, but he was transferred without any rating at all, it being optional with Captain Blake, the commander of the Hatteras, whether he would continue him as a quartermaster or put him before the mast. Jack had already served four months beyond the year for which he enlisted, but he made no complaint, although he had firmly resisted all efforts on the part of the Lane’s officers to induce him to re-enlist for three years or during the war.

“I might have had a commission as well as not,” said Jack, “for there wasn’t a watch officer aboard the Lane who could have passed a better examination than I could. Indeed, I hadn’t been aboard of her twenty-four hours before I found that I knew more about a ship than most of the men who commanded me. But as often as I thought of staying in the service, something told me I had better get out; and that was the reason why I refused to re-enlist or accept a commission.”

The fact was that, so long as the speedy Lane was capturing a valuable blockade runner or two every week, and money was coming into his pockets faster than he could have earned it in any other business, Jack Gray was quite willing to remain a quartermaster, and so he said nothing to Captain Wainwright concerning the honorable discharge that rightfully belonged to him; but now the case was different, and Jack wanted to go home and see how his mother and Marcy were getting on. He had been ordered aboard a vessel that couldn’t catch a mud-turtle in a stern chase, and consequently there was no more excitement or prize money for him. The paymaster who ought to have paid him off and given him his discharge had been captured with all his money and books, and Jack knew that his accounts would have to be settled in Washington; and there was so much red tape in Washington that there was no telling whether or not they would ever be settled. After thinking the matter over, Jack wrote a letter to Commodore Bell, telling him how the matter stood and asking for his discharge, and gave it into the hands of the captain of the Hatteras to be forwarded. The first result was about what he thought it would be. He had to pull off his petty officer’s badge and go before the mast. He was also assigned to an oar in the first cutter, and that was one of the best things that ever happened to Jack Gray.

Nowhere else in the world is life such a burden as aboard a vessel lying on a station with nothing but routine work to do. Jack found it so and chafed and fretted under it, but not for long. One day, about an hour after the dinner pennant had been hauled down, the lounging, lazy crew of the Hatteras were startled by the cry of “Sail ho!” from the lookout. Signal was at once made to the Brooklyn, Commodore Bell’s flagship, and the answer that came back was an order for the Hatteras to run out and see who and what the visitor was. Of course the crew were glad to be afloat once more, and some of them began talking about prize money; but others declared that if the stranger had any speed at all and desired to keep out of the way, the Hatteras would never get nearer to her than she was at that moment. But the sequel proved that the stranger did not want to keep out of the way, although at first she acted like it. She rounded to and turned her head out to sea as if she were fleeing from pursuit; but all the while the war ship came nearer and nearer to her, until the officer at the masthead made out that the chase was a large steamer under sail. This fact was duly communicated to the flagship by signal, and then the old Hatteras seemed to wake up and try to show a little speed; but Captain Blake became suspicious and ordered his ship cleared for action, with everything in readiness for a determined attack or a vigorous defense.

The pursuit continued for twenty miles, and finally night set in with no moon but plenty of starlight. Jack Gray, who had stood at one of the broadside guns until he was tired, had just given utterance to the hope that the chase would improve the opportunity to run out of sight or else come about and give them battle, just as she pleased, when an officer at the masthead sent down the startling information that the stranger had rounded-to and was coming back. Beyond a doubt that meant that something was going to happen. She hove in sight almost immediately, and in less time than it takes to tell it stopped her engines within a hundred yards, the captain of the blockader ringing his stopping bell at the same instant.

“What ship is that?” shouted the Union commander, from his place on the bridge.

“Her Britannic Majesty’s steamer Vixen!” was the reply. “What ship is that?”

“This is the United States ship Hatteras,” answered Captain Blake. “I will send a boat aboard of you.”

“When we heard this conversation,” said Jack, “we made up our minds that we had been chasing an English ship. Mind you, I don’t say a friendly ship, for England never was and never will be friendly to the United States. She would be glad to see us broken up to-morrow, and is doing all she dares to help the rebels along. Of course it was our captain’s duty to find out whether or not the other captain had told him the truth, and the only way he could do it was by sending an officer off to examine his papers. He had the first cutter called away, and, as that was the boat to which I belonged, I lost no time in taking off[taking off] my side-arms and tumbling into her. And that was all that saved me from falling into Semmes’ power a second time.”