Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 25.djvu/134

 130 Southern Historical Society Papers.

miles without seeing land. On November 6th, she steamed up the Mersey, and the Confederate flag having been hauled down, Wad- dell sent a communication to the English Minister of Foreign Affairs, Earl Russell, placing his ship at the disposal of the British Govern- ment. Through Earl Russell the vessel was transferred to the juris- diction of the American Minister, Charles Francis Adams, who caused her to be conveyed to this country, to be dismantled.

Such is the record of the Shenandoah. She was actually cruising for Union property but eight months, and during that time she cap- tured and destroyed vessels to the value of more than $1,100,000, and the Union had never been able to direct a blow against her. She had visited every ocean except the Antarctic, covered a distance of 58,000 statute miles. The last gun in defence of the South was fired in the Arctic Ocean from her deck on July 22, 1865.

[Sunday News, Charleston, S. C., May 2, 1897.]

THE SIGNAL SERVICE CORPS.

A TRIBUTE TO THEIR ARDUOUS AND INVALUABLE SERVICES DURING THE WAR.

An Address by A. W. Taft, before Camp Sumter C. V., Charleston, S. C., May 1, 1897.

Commander and Comrades:

To-night you have invited me to respond in behalf of the Signal Corps, being the senior officer of that body connected with your camp. With great pleasure do I accept the compliment, for it cannot but be a matter of pride to be chosen as the representative of such a command, a body composed of men selected from the different branches of the service, not only for their intelligence, but also for the complete confidence that could be placed in them, holding only the humble rank of privates, but what greater compliment can be paid to any man than to say of him that he had been selected for his intelligence and reliability from the ranks of the Confederate army,