Again at sea—Two captures—The Montmorency—The Arcade—Eastward, ho!—The Vigilant taken—News from home—Dirty weather—The whale—Ebenezer Dodge—In irons—A cyclone—The gale rages —Fire!—Christmas day—No luck—The clank of the pumps—Cadiz.
Once more afloat on the open sea; and at 4 P.M. of Monday November 25th, a promising commencement was made in the capture of the fine ship Montmorency, of 1183 tons, laden with Welsh coal for the English Mail Packet service. And, fortunately so for her, or she would have shared the fate of the Golden Balance, the Daniel Trowbridge, and other "burnt offerings" of the little Sumter. As it was, she paid a light toll in the shape of small supplies of paint, cordage, &c., and entering into a ransom bond for 20,000 dollars, to be paid to the Confederate States Government at the end of the war, her captain and crew were paroled, and she herself permitted to proceed on her voyage.
At 1.30 P.M., on the 26th November—writes Captain Semmes—showed first the United States and then our own colours to an English schooner, probably from the Bahamas to the Windward Islands, and at three captured the United States schooner Arcade from Portland, Maine, to Port au Prince, Guadaloupe, loaded with stores. The master and half-owner of the schooner was Master of the barque Saxony at the time of the loss of the Central America, and was instrumental in saving lives on that occasion, for which a handsome telescope had been presented to him. I had the pleasure of returning the glass to him, captured among the other effects of his vessel.
Took the master and crew on board (a rough sea running), and set fire to her. At 4.40 stood on our course. The blaze of the burning vessel still in sight at 8 P.M. During the night the wind lulled and became variable. Hauled down the fore and aft sails, and steered N.E. The prize had no newspapers on board, but we learned from the master that the great naval expedition which the enemy had been some time preparing had struck at Beaufort, South Carolina, on Fort Royal Sound. No result known.
* * * * *
After five days of hard fighting with the strong N.E. trade, blowing for the most part half a gale of wind, and with thick and dirty weather, the enemy is at length overcome, the sky clears, and the Sumter's head is turned towards Europe. And now for a time Yankee commerce was to have a respite, its relentless little enemy directing its attention exclusively towards maturing her voyage across the Atlantic. She had at this time but sixty days' water for her own crew, in addition to whom there were now the six prisoners taken from the schooner. The passage, too, would have to be made for the most part under canvas, and would probably not occupy less than fifty days. Of course, she had now but six or seven days' supply of coal—a small reserve in case of emergency, and hardly sufficient to enable her to cruise a few days on the other side, and, if possible, not go quite "empty-handed" into port.
Still the days were not altogether uneventful, and before the week was out, a fine prize ran, as it were, into her very arms. Of this capture the journal gives the following account:—
Tuesday, December 3rd.—At 6.30 A.M. Sail, ho! a point on the starboard bow. At 7.30 the sail, which was standing in nearly the opposite direction from ourselves, approached us within a couple of miles. We hoisted French colours, when she showed United States'. Took in all the studding sails, hauled by the wind, tacked, and fired a shotted gun. The stranger immediately hove to. Lowered a boat, and sent a lieutenant on board of him. Stood on and tacked, and having brought the stranger under my guns, I began to feel sure of him (our smoke stack was down, and we could not have raised steam in less than two hours and a half). He proved to be the ship Vigilant, of Bath, Maine, bound from New York to the guano island of Sombrero, in ballast. Captured him. Took from on board chronometer, charts, &c., and a nine pounder rifled gun, with ammunition, &c. Set him on fire, and at 3 P.M. made sail. This was a fine new ship, being only two years old, and worth about 40,000 dollars.
Lat. 29.10 N., Long. 57.2-2 W. Steering E. by N. We received a large supply of New York papers to the 21st November. We learned from these papers that the San Jacinto was in search of us when she took Messrs. Mason and Slidell from on board the Trent. The enemy has thus done us the honour to send in pursuit of us the Powhattan, the Niagara, the Iroquois, the Keystone State, and the San Jacinto.
* * * * *