Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/235

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ship Sutntrr. Captain E. C. Reid, laden with two Blakely guns, each weighing, with their carriages, etc., thirty-eight tons.

These, with two hundred rounds of amunition, were all she had aboard. The length of the guns necessitated their being loaded in an upright position in the hatchways for a voyage across the Atlan- tic, and the steamer at sea had the appearance of having three smoke Ics.

Captain Reid boldly ran her, in broad daylight, through the fleet into Wilmington, North Carolina, despite a shower of shot and shell. These two guns were presented to the Confederate Government by John Fraser & Co.

One of these enormous guns was mounted at White Point Gar- den, and was never near enough to the enemy to be fired. In Feb- ruary, 1865, at the evacuation of the city, it was burst, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Federal army, and this explosion dam- aged some of the surrounding property. A fragment of this gun, weighing 500 pounds, is now lodged in the rafters of the roof of the residence on East Battery, now occupied by A. F. Chisholm.

The Margaret and Jessie, Captain R. W. Lockwood, was one of the most successful runners of the war, and paid her owners ten times over.

One night in May, 1863, having a very valuable cargo of arms and munitions sadly needed by the Confederacy, she laid a straight course for Charleston.

There were five Federal blockaders off the bar, and the night was fine. The steamer ran straight in for the fleet, and as soon as her character was known every blockader opened fire. It was estimated that 150 shots were fired, some from a distance of less than 200 feet, and yet, strange to say, the steamer got into port without having a man wounded.

She was struck in five or six places, but with no serious results.

On November nth of the same year, the Margaret and Jessie at- tempted the same bold dodge at Wilmington. She was here beset by three blockaders, shot through both wheels, and hit in a dozen other spots, but managed to turn about and get at sea, and lead five Federal vessels a chase of twenty hours before she was compelled to surrender.

The steamer Hattie, Captain H. S. Lebby, was the last runner in or out of Charleston. She was a small vessel, Clyde built, furnished with powerful engines, and she made more trips than any other ves- sel engaged in the business.