Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/282

 276 Southern Historical Society Papers.

her, and she was commanded to heave to, which, through fright, she did immediately. She proved to be the schooner Kate Stewart, of Philadelphia. As Read was then short of provisions, and had over fifty prisoners on board, he determined to bond the Kate Stew- art and make a cartel of her. He bonded her for the "sum of $7,000, payable to the President of the Confederate States, thirty days after the ratification of a treaty of peace between the Confede- rate States and the United States." He then burned the Clarence and M. A. Shindler, and gave chase to a brig, which proved to be the Arabella, of New York. This vessel having a neutral cargo on board, he bonded her for $30,000.

Up to this time the Federal Government had no knowledge that Read was off the coast destroying the commerce of its citizens; but, on the i3th of June, Captain Munday, of the bark Tacony, having been landed from the cartel Kate Stewart, on the coast of New Jer- sey, took the train to Philadelphia, and arriving there at 3 P. M., reported that there was a pirate off the coast, and all the scenes which he had witnessed the day before. The news was at once tele- graphed to the Navy Department at Washington, and immediately the telegraph-wires waxed warm with orders to Admiral Lee, com- manding the North Atlantic blockading squadron, and to the com- mandants of the Boston, New York, and Philadelphia navy-yards, to send out vessels in pursuit of the " pirate." It may be well to ex- plain here that this was the generic name used by the Federal Gov- ernment and its citizens for all Confederate cruisers. It was a misnomer, for a pirate is hostis humani generis, while the Confede- rates only made war on the United States Government and its citi- zens. However, it matters little what you call your enemies in war-time, so that you do not treat them when they fall into your hands according to the hard names you call them.

GIVING CHASE.

Nothing illustrates better the power and splendid resources of the United States Government at this time and the magnificent discipline of the Navy Department than the fact that, notwithstanding they were blockading with an iron cordon a coast of three thousand miles, and occupying the inland rivers to the extent of five thousand miles, and had twenty-five cruisers in search of the Confederate steamers Alabama and Florida, in less than three days from the reception of the news of the appearance of the Clarence-Tacony on the coast there were thirty-two armed vessels out on the high seas in search of