Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 16.djvu/112

 106 Southern Historical Society Papers.

and need scarcely say that the horrible sight of finding fourteen men scattered into fragments and a number of others wounded, was terrible to behold.

" You know, of course, that we emptied every cistern in the town and depended upon the muddy Mississippi water in the hot summer time to quench our thirst; that we ate bread of ground cow-peas, and depended for meat upon dead mules and rats."

An indispensable condition to the prolongation of the war was the running of the blockade of Southern ports by the swift cruisers built and fitted expressly for the purpose. Such were the profits of this business that the owners could well afford to lose vessel and cargo on her third trip if the two first were successful. No life could be more adventurous and exciting than that of a blockade-runner. The Sig- nal Corps played its part here also. Every blockade-runner had its signal officer furnished with signalling apparatus and the key to the secret cipher. The coast was lined with stations for thirty or forty miles up and down on either side of the blockaded part. The block- ade-runners came in close to shore at night-fall, and fitfully flashed a light, which was soon answered from the shore station. Advice was then given as to condition of things off the port, the station and movements of the hostile fleet, etc. If the word was "go in," the beacon lights were set and the blockade-runner boldly steamed over the bar and into the port. A naval officer was in charge of the office of orders and details at the several ports, whence proceeded all orders and assignments in relation to pilots and signal officers.

Captain Wilkinson, C. S. N., in his interesting Narrative of a Blockade -Runner, tells the following incident illustrative of the uses of a signal officer in this line of duty : " The range lights were showing and we crossed the bar without interference and without a suspicion of anything wrong, as would occasionally happen under particularly favorable circumstances that we would cross the bar with- out even seeing a blockader. We were under the guns of Fort Fisher, in fact, and close to the fleet of United States vessels, which had crossed the bar after the fall of the fort, when I directed my signal officer to communicate with the shore station. His signal was promptly answered, but turning to me, he said : ' No Confederate signal officer there, sir ; he cannot reply to me.' The order to wear around was instantly obeyed ; not a moment too soon, for the bow of the Chameleon was scarcely pointed for the bar before two of the light cruisers were plainly visible in pursuit, steaming with all speed to intercept us. Nothing saved us from capture but the twin screws,