WLHiara J. Bray, Jr. THE CAREER CF THE CSS RAPPAHAl'INOCK. (Under the direction of Dr. William N. Still, Jr.) Department of History, Jvd.y 1975. The purpose of this study is to give a comprehensive coverage of the mu],ti-faceted career of the CSS Rappahannock. The Rappahannock has been either ignored or only given brief mention by most Civil War historians and this neglect is undeserved. Although playing a role that was more diplomatic than military, in her day she occupied a place of iri- portance equal to the Alabama or the Shenandoah. She represented a real threat to Federal maritime mercantile interests, and the efforts to pro- vent her from leaving Calais, Fbance, were as great as those to capture or sink any other commerce raider. Her value as a subject of study dies primarily in the field of diplomacy and her whole Confederate career is representative of the change of attitude vd-thin Great Britain and France towards the Confederate war effort. Originally a British gun-vessel named the HBHS Victor, the Rappahannock was purchased secretly by the Con.federacy through a British merchant firm. Shortly after her purchase, the /idmlralty and the Fedcu'- al government found sufficient evidence of her Confederate connections to have her detained. However, the vessel escaped, in the middle of the night, before the wi’lt of detention was serv’^ed, and entered the French port of Calais, where she was allowed to be reps,ired. Upon comp]etion of repairs, the vessel was detained on a technicality by the French gov- ernment and remained in Calais for the remainder of the war, a subject of bitter diplomatic controversy between the two belligerants and the French government. Her only military value as a result of the detention was to serve as a floating personnel depot and to occupy several Federal cruis- ers which could have served other duties elsewhere. With the end of the war, the controversy over the Rappahan- nock was far from over. The United States government brought suit for possession in British Adjniralty Court against a British ship merchant who had brought the Ray^pahannock from Calais to Liverpool. When it looked like the United States was going to win the suit by default, the two men who originally purchased the ship for the Confederacy entered suits again- st the United States to prevent that government from gaiiiing possession of the ship. After eighteen months of expensive and exhausting court battles the United States did gain possession of the Rappahannock. Shortly after this she was sold at a public aviction and disappeared into obscurity, thus bringing to an end the controversial career of the CSS Rappahannock. THE CMEER OF THE CSS RAPPAHANNOCK A Thesis Presented to the Facility of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree 1-Iaster of Arts in History ty William J, Bray, Jr. July 1975 J. Y. JOYNER umm EAiif CAROLiKA UNIY. /6' y THE CAREER OF THE CSS RAPPAHANNOCK by William J. Bray, Jr. APPROVED BY: SUPERVISOR OF THESIS Dr. William N. Still, Jr. / CK/iIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OE 7 l/iM 7 Dr. Herbert R. Paschal DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL n )r. Jp'seph G. Boyette ‘J 5^5069 ACKKO^'/LEDGIffiNT Grateful acknowledgment is made to Professor William N. Stall, Jr. of the Department of History at Ekst Carolina University for his constant encouragement and ?untiring efforts in directing this thesis. His guidance and constructive suggestions have given me a clearer under¬ standing and a fuller appreciation for historical research and method ?without Tviiich the completion of this thesis would not have been possiblo. Acknowledgment is also made to Professor Charles L. Pa-ice for his untiring efforts and helpful suggestions in refining this thesis to its final foarni. TO MARI PAT AND MY PARENTS TAH,E OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. HRMS VICTOR. ALIAS SCYLLA. ALIAS CSS RAPPAHALIJOCK . . 7 III. DETENTION IN CALAIS, FRANCE 44 IV. LIFE ABOARD S!3IP 83 V. END OF CONFEDERATE CAREER AND POSTV7AR LEGAL ACTIONS . . 100 VI. CONCLUSIONS 126 BIBLIOGPJlPhT 132 INTRODUCTION On February 20, 186i, the Navy Department of the Confederate £5tates of America, was formally established by act of the Confederate Congress, meeting in session at the state legislature building at Mont- gomery Alabama. The next da;>, Pi’esident Jefferson Davis selected men for his cabinet posts, and he chose Stephen E. Mallory as Secretary of the Navy. Mallory was one of the few cabinet members who brought any related experience to his cabinet position. While a member of tiie United States Congress, he had seir/ed as chairman of the coiranittee on naval affairs. This gave him valuable 1-mowledge of the inner workings of naval procurement, supply and innovations. Tills knowledge would hold him in good stead with the enormous task of creating from scratch, a working, viable naval defense force.^ Mallory and the Confederate Navy Department had many obsta- cles to overcome. No Federal vessels of war fell into Confederate ha.nds at the outbreak of hostilities. Although naval officers of Southern leanijigs planning to resign their commissions in the Federal navy had been asked to bring their ships South prior to resigning, none did. Thus, for the first months of the war the Confederate navy consisted of letters of marque privateers and converted merchant steamers. Mallory’s biggest job was organizing the system of ordnance and supply. Cannon had to be cast, shot, shell and powder produced, and ^Cj.vil Naval Chronolo_g)r(Washington D.C • » 1967), compiled by the Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Part I, 5i hereinafter cited as CWNC; Philip Van Doren Stern, The Confederate Navy; A Pictoral History(Garden City, New York, 1962), I5 hereinafter cited as Stern, The Confederate Navy;; V/illiam N. Still, Jr., Confederate Shipbuilding (Athens , Geci'gia, 196^1 3* 2 all the other various and sundry articles necessary to equip vessels of war had to be purchased or constructed. Facilities to provide those ar- tides and munitions of war were few. Norfolk naval yard, Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, and the Selma Iron Works were some of the feX'T operating facilities dthin Southern control capable of supplying ordnance material for the Confederate navy. D-ae to the superiority of the Federal navy, the Confederacy had to go on a crash construction program. Most of the Southern ports such as Norfolk, Pensacola and New Orleans, which were capable of large scale construction of vessels of vrar, were captured early in the war. As a result, much of the construction was done in the various rivers in the South and was by nature designed for defense. Ironclads, armored rams, floating batteries, and other means of naval defense were construct- ed to keep the Federal fleets from using Southern rivers as staging areas for striking into the interior of the Confederacy. This method of defense was fairly successful and the ironclads and rams held their own against the xrooden vessels of the Federal fleets xmtil the Federals built siiTiilar vessels of their awn. Although the vessels built in the Confederacy were adequate for defense, the South had no chance of raising the Federal blockade be- cause they did not have the capability of constructing a force equal to the task. The only offensive punch the Confederate navy could put into effect against the United States, would be to have a few small, fast, steam cruisers, lightly armed, existing for the sole purpose of destroy- ing Federal maritime interests. These vessels would be xmder orders to go into every ocean of the world and to capture, burn or bond, every mer- 3 chant vessel under United States registry that they could overtake in international waters. They also hoped that by harrassing Federal inercan- til.e interests, they would draw off Federal v;arships from the blockade to search for the raiders and thus weaken the blockade's effectiveness. Thus the romantic saga of the Confederate commerce raiders was born. These raiders were a special class of warship. They used combined steam and sail power to make them among the fastest vessels a- float. They were lightly armed, generally carrying five to ten cannon of various make and bore. Their purpose was to prey upon unarmed mer- chant vessels and to avoid a direct confrontation with any armed vessels of the Federal navy. Usually the commerce raiders were able to outrun their bigger, more heavily armed opponents in the Federal navy. Bjr de- stro3ring Federal commerce on the oceans, Mallory hoped that Yankee mer- chants would add their voices and influence to the anti-vrar sentiments VTithin the Northern states, and thus possibly end the war early. By the nature of the naval construction programs vrithin the South, which were geared towards defensive vessels not requiring great mobility and speed, I-jallory realized that the commerce raiders would have to be obtained outside the Confederacy. "The Confederates knew that their best chance of getting first-rate naval vessels was in Europe, and 2 they concentrated their efforts there." Men familiar i-dth ships and naval construction, were sent abroad to contract for vessels to be used as commerce I’aiders. Their efforts were highly successful at first as tvro vessels, the Florida and ^Stern, The Confederate Navy, 17. 4 the Alabaica, were constructed in Great Britain. Both of these vrarships made highly successful cruises, destroying Federal merchant vessels and taking millions of dollars in prizes. However, the success of their criiises ruined the hopes of future ship construction within Great Britain. The delicate question of neutral obligations in wartime was severely tested by the Confederate raiders. Although none of the ships left Great Britain in an armed state, the armament and munitions of war being transfered at sea by steam tenders, their purpose was no great secret and the Federal government held Great Britain responsible for dam- ages done to Federal merchant shipping. Great Britain scoffed at this. but the Federal representatives in London put so much diplomatic pressure upon Lord Bussell and other British leaders, that measures were taken to prevent any further ships under construction from falling into Confeder- ate hands. With but fevr exceptions, this policy held and the Confeder- ates wore tmable to obtain additional newly constructed vessels. Kallory noxfedeiras and sailing 7 west from there. The Victor arrived at Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown, on Barbados (the easternmost of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean), on Jul.y 12, 1856, and would remain on duty in the West India Station for almost a year. While on duty there, the Victor began to be plagued by problems related to faulty construction and she was forced to return home In liay, 1857. She reached Spithead on June 20th after having used sail power 8 most of the way, and proceeded to Sheerness to be paid off. There the Admiralty learned of the numerous defects which had manifested themselves during the year of service; "During her passage home she experienced very heavy weather. In consequence of the defects of her decks, water- vrays, topsides, etc., from leakage, there has not been either a man or officer whose hammock or cot has not been perfectly saturated with water either by sea or rain."^ These, plus other defects that could not be corrected, would be the cause of the Victo?" being sold six years later. Fortunately, as the year of service had proven, the machinery and engines were quite powerful with no defects. Had there been, in all likelihood the cruise would have been considerably shorter than it was. 7 London Times June 2, 7, 11, 17, 1856. O ^London Times, August 4, I856; Jiane 22, 1857- ^London Times, June 24, 1857. 11 Eighteen pounds boiler pressure brought eighty revolutions of the pro- peller shaft per minute, and under steam alone the Victor could manage ten and a half to eleven Icnots. With combined sail and easy steam power she was a swift twelve and a half knots. Full steam combined with sail vjould put her over thirteen icnots. While the Victor was one of the fastest steamers in the Royal Navy, she was unfortunately one of the 4 A poorest constructed."^^ She was paid off at Sheerness and was docked for repairs. After completion of repairs the Victor was "placed on the 2nd division of the steam squadron of reserve" locatexi at Sheerness and at Chatham across the harbor. She was still in the Reserve Squadron two years la- ter and as near as can be determined, the Victor never left the reserve or made any other long voyages. When the Confederates purchased her through their agents, she was lying in ordinai^y Xirhich is where the Admir¬ alty placed worn out hulls to oe decommissioned and either sold out of service or broken up. After only seven years the Victor was useless to the Admiralty for further service due to her original defects combined with the usual deterioration of a vessel which had been laid up and not been in use for a prolonged period of time. It was in this condition that we find the Victor when the Confederate agents bid on her at a pub- 11 lie auction held by the Admiralty in September, I863. ^London Times, June 24, 26, 1857 • ^^London Times, June 26, 1857; Busk, The Navies of the World, 40; Adams to Seward, December 17, 1863, enclosure, United States State Depart- ment. Despatches From United States Ministers to Great Britain, 1791- 1906, National Archives, Washington D.C., Microcopy M-30, Roll 80, here- inafter cited as M-30 follox^ed by roll number. 12 Due to the success of the A3.abama and the similar successes of the y].orida, Georgia, and others, in damaging Federal commercial in- terests by bonding or burning captured merchant vessels, the Confederate government attempted to purchase or have constructed more cruisers, the end of 1863 it was becoming apparent that Confederate losses in the field combined i-jith Federal diplomatic pressures being exerted upon Great Britain and France, were making the construction of cruisers in the naval yards of those nations very difficult. Although the Alabama and the Florida were successful as com- merce raiders, the manner in which they had been secretly constructed solely for the purpose of being sold to the Confederacy was a violation of British and international neutrality laws, The Federals were quick to protest these violations and by late 1863 their efforts were rewarded by stricter controls in Great Britain. Thorough checks in all dockyards on vessels under construction became commonplace in order to determine the futxire destination and purpose of those vessels. Where there was suspicion of a vessel, extra precautions were taken to prevent that ves- sel from falling into Confederate hands. A few ships did manage to es- cape detection, but on the main. Confederate shipbuilding in Great Bri- tain was effectively stiffled. It beceme apparent that the only 'vray that the Confederacy could enlarge its navy would be to obtain vessels already constructed which were in use either as merchant ships or were decommissioned vessels up for sale. It was for this purpose that in September, 1863, Commander Maury began to work with his agents to locate a few small, fast ships to 13 12 be converted into cruisers. Accordingly, they checked out the ships lying in ordinary at Sheerness and found several gun-vessels that the Ad- miralty was trying to dispose of. Among these was the Victor. On September 14, 1863, the Admiralty auctioned off at pub- lie sale the decommissioned, worn out Victor to the London merchant firm, Gordon, Coleman and Compajiy. Mr. Zachery Pearson, brother-in-law to Coleman, represented Gordon, Coleman and Company in this business trans- action entirely. The breaking up price of ,£91375 was the winning bid, but the purchasei’s had no intention of breaking up the vessel. Rather 13 they intended to refit the ship and sell it for a profit. Title to the vessel was not Immediately turned over to the piirchasers because the sale price was not paid at one time. The question of how Gordon, Coleman and Company are related to the Confederates is difficult to answer. It was mentioned earlier that Maury was the one who made contact with agents about the pjurohase. His OTrm diary indicates that as early as mid-August, 1863, he had had his eye on the Victor and was seeking a means to obtain her. One of his closest associates was Thomas Bo3d, a Birkenhead m.erchant, who had been instrumental in the purchase of the steamer Japan, which became the cruiser Georgia. Zachery Pearson, who handled the transaction for the purchasers of the Victor, was a ship merchant from Hull who had had pre- ^^James D. Bulloch, The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe (New York, 1957)i II» 265-66^. ^^Frank J. Merli, Great Britain and the Confederate Navy, 1861- 1865(Bloomington, Indiana^ 19^577 219, hereinafter cited as Merli, Great Britain and the Confederate Navy; London Times, February 6, 1865; Adams to Seward, December 17, I863, M-30, Roll 80. 14 vious contact vjith Confederate naval agents. It is highly probable that Bold was acquainted with Pearson as they were both ship merchants and had dealt extensively with the Confederates. For this reason he probably was the one who contacted Pearson to purchase the Victoi". Be- ing a bankrupt, and thus unable to finance the deal himself, Pearson then must have turned to his brother-in-law to purchase the Victor as a j.4 favor. Bold’s connection irith Gordon, Coleman and Company then is a matter of conjecture as indicated above. However, there is no doubt of his part in the purchase. From llaury’s diary we learn that Bold was given one-hundred cotton certificates by Maury as a first instalment to be 15given to the purchasers. Also to corroborate Bold's part is a,n exerpt from the diary of Douglas F. Forrest, paymaster of the vessel when it was in Confederate hands. Bold is mentioned as the "merchant who has acted as our agent in the purchase of the Rappahannock. «16 Forrest, however, raises several questions in the reader's mind with a later entry in his diary. In discussing a conversation he had with Bold in January, 1864, next to Bold's name Forrest wrote ("alias Gordon.") 17 The first A u . ?^^Matthew Fontaine Maury, Diary, August 18, 1863, Manuscript in the Matthew Fontaine Maury Papers, Library of Congress, Division of Manu- scripts, Washington D.C., hereinafter cited as Maury, Diary; Douglas F. Forrest, Diary, December 10, 1863, Manuscript in Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia, hereinafter cited as Forrest, Diary. A typed copy is in the hands of Dr. William N. Still, Jr., Greenville, North Carolina. ^?^Maury, Diary, October 6, 1863. ^^Forrest, Diary, December 10, I863. 17^Foi’rest, Diary, February 5, 1864. 15 question is whether Bold was operating under the assumed name of Gordon. Assuming that he was, the next question obviously is whether Bold was the Gordon of Gordon, Coleman and Company. It can be assumed that many individuals participating in clandestine mercantile ventures, assume a false name to avoid or hinder prosecution. If Bold was indeed Gordon, then the connection between him and the purchasers would be quite clear. This seems even more likelj’’ because in postwar legal action between the United States and several private citizens in Great Britain over custody of the vessel, Gordon never made an appearance and seemed not to exist at all. However, no positive proof has been turned up to substantiate the claim that Bold was the Gordon of Gordon, Coleman and Company. Enough evidence does exist to clearly show that Bold was the middle-man between Maury and the purchasers, and to provide the basic circumstances of the purchase of the Victor by the Confederates. The purchasers submitted a written requisition, dated, September 17, 1863, to the Admiralty which stated: "We beg you vrill give permission to place in dry dock the vessel we have purchased • • • for the purpose of examining her, with a view to taking her away under steam, it being done at „18our expense. This wou].d indicate that the purchasers dad not have prior knowledge of the true condition of the vessel. They received an answer on September 27th which stated: "IJy Lords approve of the Victor, purchased by Messrs. Coleman, being docked on the 10th of October, for the purpose of inspecting her bottom at the purchaser's ex- pense." 19 ^^London Times, December 6, 1864. ^^London Times, December 6, 1864. 16 On October 8, 1863i the Victor, now renamed the Scylla vras taken from the Medway River and was put into dry-dock at Sheerness. Her sides and bottom were examined but no repairs were made and on Octo- ber 18th she was taken from the dry-dock and put into the basin at Sheerness. On November 2nd the Scylla was taken out into the river and due to a lack of anchors was tied to a government buoy. She remained there until November 10th when the vessel was released by the Admiralty 20 and turned over to Gordon, Coleman and Company in the care of Pearson. Pearson and his associates must have been shocked when they saw the Scylla. As was customary for the times, the Admiralty had claimed all the stores, ammunition, supplies, armament, masts and gun- plates, so that all that was left was her machinery, boilers and a total- ly stripped hull. The Sc.ylla was moved from her moorings in the river to the public basin at Sheerness dock-yard, and there work began to re-- j-it the stripped vessel. Vforkers took ten days to caulk the Scylla from bow to stern with the exception of her lower deck. Her boilers were examined and found to be in poor repair, but just how bad they did not immediately ascertain. They did, however, begin to replace some of 21 tho worn plates and copper tubes which vrere defective. 22 On November 21, 1863, "The vessel was masted with the aid of Captain ^ ^Lond on Times, December 6, 1864. ? “1^London Times, December 6, 1864; Adams to Seward, December 17, 1863, enclosure, M-3O, Roll 80. Adams to Seward, December 1?, I863, enclosure, M-30, Roll 80. 17 Hall, of Her Majesty's ship the Cumberland, a ship which had apparatus for masting vessels, and the use of which was applied for to assist in masting her; and . • • that Captain Hall, wishing to try the new apparatus for the purpose, consented to allow it to be used."^^ The Cumberland had been put into dry-dock on September 17th, and "stripped of her rigging, in order to be fitted with a pair of masting shears, for masting small vessels on the plan proposed to the Admiralty by Capt. Hall »i24I • • • It is apparent that the use of those shears on the Cumber- land to mast the Scylla was the first opportunity Captain Hall had had to try his nev7 project, so he readily gave his consent without first getting official clearance from his superiors. This use of the Curabej*- land woul.d be a subject of protest by the Federals as will be shown lat- er. After the masts were put in place, the Scylla was moved to a point in the harbor called Westminster which was more convenient and accessable for the dock-yard workers. 25 Repairs progressed daily after November 12, I863, and the condition of the ship was improving. Government dock-yard workers were engaged after their regular hours to work on the Scylla. Carpenters, boiler-raakers, painters and riggers were moonlighting on the Scylla and this was brought to the attention of Federal agents. Some had been on board working prior to her being turned over to the purchasers. Freeman H. Morse, United States Consul to London, had sev- eral men in his employ w’ho were stationed at various points up and down ^^London Times, December 6, 1864. 24Lond on Times, September 17, I863. ^^Adaros to Seward, December 17, I863, enclosure, M-30, Roll 80. 18 the Thames in order to supply him vrith information on the activities in the various dock-yards, Morse's chief river man, Thomas Hayter Chase, spent part of the week prior to November 20, I863, at Sheerness "look- D.ng after a suspicious vessel, a gun boat or rather a despatch boat sold out of the government service and fitting out under suspicious circum- stances. ,,26 Under orders from Morso, Chase spent a full week watching the Scylla and with Morse's approval, he put a man on board the Scylla as a worker to gain information on the vessel's true character and in- tended destination. Morse, through these men, found that the Scylla "?i-iras preparing for use vrith as much dispatch and entire secrecy and qviiet /7^sJ7 ^'TOiild permit,... and that her repairs were being made & her fittings got ready by workmen the most of whom were sent from the Sheer- ness dock-yard. .,27 Adams in the meantime, received a note from an imnamed indi- vidual at Sheerness informing him that the Scylla was probably intended for an illegal purpose. The increased activity around the Scylla and the manner in vrhich it was carried out in seeming haste and secrecy, was too suspicious to the Federals, but not having any concrete evidence of illegal intentions, no formal request through Adams to have the vessel detained cou].d be made. Increased siunreillence by the Federal spies at Sheerness lead to the discovery that several officers of the Royal Navy were involved in the equipment and engagement of a crew for the Scylla. The use of the Cumberland's masting shears to mast the Scylla was dis- 26 Fi'eeman H. Morse to Seward, November 20, I863, United States State Department, Despatches From United States Consuls in London, 1790- 1906, National Archives, Washington D.C., Microcopy T-I68, Roll 32, here- inafter cited as T-I68 followed by roll number. Morse to Seward, November 28, I863, T-I68, Roll 32. 19 covered as well and the Federals* case for detaining the vessel was strengthened. However, events occured which put the Scylla out of reach of British authority and vrhich confirmed the Federals' worst fears; an- other commerce raider had ©scaped from a British port. As repairs progressed on the ScyD.la, the time for a trial trip drew near. On the day that the masts were put in place it was an- nounced that the ship would leave on November 25th on a trial trip in the Channel. British authorities became suspicious when on several different occasions it was reported to them that articles from the gov- ernment storehouse had been supplied to the Scylla to aid in the refit- ting of the vessel. The result was that several searches were made in each case but no contraband was found. A final search was ordered and officials under the command of Captain Wise, Captain-Superintendant of Sheerness Dock-yard, came on board the Scylla on November 24th. Present at this search was William Rumble, Chief Inspector of Machinery Afloat at Sheerness, and soon to be the center of a storm of controversy as a re- suit of his efforts to refit the Scylla. However, no government pro- 28 perty was found dm-ing the search. British authorities were not satisfied that the Scylla was clear of any clandestine operations. Her announced purpose of being for the China opium trade did not ring true with the manner and speed 'Hath which the vessel was being refitted. A mere raorchant vessel would not be the center of so much activity. The obvious presence of Fesderal spies in Sheerness made the British authorities nervous and indignant. ^®Morse to Seward, November 28, I863, T-I6S, Roll 32. 20 Under all these circumstances a written detention order was prepared and was scheduled to be served on Gordon, Coleman and Company on the morning of November 25th. It was never delivered because just scant hours be- fore, in the early hours of the morning of the 25th, the Scylla secretly 29 departed from Sheerness and headed for the Channel. The increasing government sur'veillence of the Scylla and the presence of Federal agents in the dock-yard had alarmed the owners and the Confederates. Sensing that time was running out and that hesi- tation might allow either the Federals or British authorities to build a case against the Scylla, the vessel was ordered to depart on the night of November 24th. For several days prior to this, supplies had been shipped down from London in river barques in prepai'ation for the propos- ed trial trip scheduled on the 25th. One hundred and fifty tons of coal had been loaded in her coal bunkers and provisions, water casks, hammocks in bales, and sundry other supplies were also brought on board. Pearson came doim from London and boarded the Scylla early in the even- ing of the 24th. Prior to his arrival, the search by Captain Wise had been made and this had further heightened the fears of the Confederates. John F. Ramsey, the 'captain* of the Scylla, ordered the ship to prep3.re to leave about midnight. The goverranent pilot for Sheerness Harbor came on board the Scylla at 7:30 P.M. and took command in preparation for guiding the vessel doTm the river. At about midnight, the steam-tug Bull Dog took the Scylla in tow for the Noro Lighthouse at the mouth of 29Merli, Great Britain and the Confederate Navy, footnotes to pages 220-222; Adams to Seward, December 17, 18o3, enclosure number 2; December 24, I863, enclosure number 5. W“30, Roll 80. 21 the Thames. On board ’jere several officials from Sheerness, including Rumble, Mr. Rees, the Master Rigger, and Mr. Greathead, Chief Engineer R.K. Those men would shortly be under investigation to determine their part in the matter. The Scylla anchored just below the Nore and the above mentioned officials boarded the tug to retui'n to Sheerness. 30 The Scylla remained at anchor until daylight when she vreighed anchor and be- gan to cruise about in the Koglish Channel in the vicinity of Dover. The condition of the vessel when she left was one of utter chaos. As the masts had been stepped only four days prior to departure, there had not been enough time to complete the rigging. Riggers were at work as the Scylla moved from the harbor into the river and they contin- ued working until the vessel docked in Calais, Fi'ance, on the morning of November 26th. Supplies and provisions were scattered about the decks and nothing had been stored away. Bad fortune haunted the Scyll.a as vjell. ViTnen she departed from Sheerness, five of her six boxlers were fuT/ctional, the sixth having been taken apart to be fitted with new plates and copper tubes. While passing down the Thames, the brasses (copper tubas) 'VTithin two of the boilers were too weak to withstand the internal pressure and they ruptured. This cut the ship back to three functional boilers and thus to only one-half power. This untimely ac- cident to her machinery combined with the incomplete state of the rig- ging, severely impaired the mobility of the Scylla? The fact that the ship was not manned by a full crew and that those that were aboard were ^^Adaras to Seward, December 11, 1863, enclosure number 5; December 17, I863, enclosure number 2; December 24, I863, enclosure number 6, M-3O, Roll 80. 22 workers, artisans and craftsmen rather than regular seamen, did not help in maneuvering the vessel. However, the Scylla had enough power to cross the Channel and anchor in the roadstead of Calais harbor at 6:00 o’clock on the evening of the 25th. During the crossing, the name Scylla 31was painted out and she was christened the CSS Rappahannock. The cloak-and-dagger aspect of the next sequence of events had an amusing and embarrassing end for the Confederates. Sometjme aft- er the arrival of the ship. Lieutenant William P.A. Campbell, C»S.N • ) the Rappahannock’s new captain, came on board to take charge. Cam.pbell along with about fifteen other young Southern officers, had been in Cal- ais for about two months waiting for their vessel to come so they could ship on board. Campbell left his officers behind vrhen ho boarded the Rappahannock because it was felt that so large a number of Confederate officers opoiiLy moving about at one time in daylight would draw too much attention. They planned to join the ship during the night, feeling it safer and less likely to arouse suspicion. They were soon to learn different. Late that evening(25th) these men approached the 'patron of a private fishing vessel, the 309. for the use of that vessel for a ’fishing trip' with Boulogne as the port of destination. The patron got their names and applied for the proper papers from the Bureau of the Coruraissaire of Marine. They were listed as American nationals without passports "having left England on the same footing as Eiiglishmen." They were cleared for Boulogne at about one o'clock in the morning of ^^Adams to Seward, December 17, I863, enclosure number 2, M-30, Roll 80. 23 the 26th. 32 The contract for the boat said they could fish anywhere in the Channel as long as they entered Boulogne within twenty-four hours. The patron and his helmsman were drinking heavily so the Confederates thought it would be easy to persuade them to do as they wished. As they left the harbor, a dark ship resting at anchor to the right of them began sending up flares. It was the Rappahannock and the flares were the agreed upon signal with Campbell. Fortimately, a favorable tide carried the fishing vessel in the general direction of the Rappa- hannock. Tihe officers pretended to ligiit their cigars by using a Ian- tern but passed it from man to man '‘and made to describe arcs and circles 33 inumerable," as a return signal to the Rappahannock. As the distance between the vessels closed, another man lit a flambeau and feigning drunkeness, ran about the 309 waving it about foolisl-ily, but in reality was signaling the Rappahannock. The patron. being drunk, took the flambeau and unwittingly aided the Confederates by imitating the young American to the howls of all aboard. Their mirth was short lasted, however. 'I'Jhen the tvro vessels were very near, the Confederates tried to get the patron to sail around the Rappahannock; but, in his drunkeness, he stubbornly rf3fused, perhaps sensing there was something behind his passengers wanting to see the dark steamer up close. Realizing that the patron Intended to pass bj!" the Rappahannock and being within hailing distance, the officers shouted to those on the Rappahan- ^^Fori-est, Diary, November 25, I863. ^-^Forrost, Diary, November 25, I863. 24 nock and informed them of their predicament. Campbell promptly put a 34 boat over the side and was rowed to the fishing boat which ho boarded. A vehement argument followed concerning whether the Confed- erates should be allovxed to transfer to the Rappahannock. As the argu- ment raged on, a few of the Confederates went to the aft of the 309 and lowered the anchor so they would not drift any further from the Ptappa- hannock. This action incensed the patron whose loud cries brought two fishing boats lying nearby to his rescue which came alongside and made fast to either quarter. With their aid and escort, the 309 turned back to Calais, Campbell insisting that they return there rather than pro- ceeding to Boulogne. 35 Upon docking in Calais, the ’gendarmes* were sent for and the Confederates found themselves under arrest. In vain they tried to get from the police the reason for their arrest but received no anov^er. They were allowed to return to their former quarters in Calais under guard until morning. Campbell managed to telegraph to Confederate authorities in Paris to have them obtain their release or to receive permission for the Ranpahannoclf to enter Calais. The latter was stres- sed by Campbell because he was unsure of how long he wo-uld be under ar- rest. The French authorities agreed and the Rappahannock entered Cal- ais early in the morning of the 26th. At that time the Confederates learned that the trouble i\l.th the patron of the 3^9 stemmed from the fact that he had cleared for Boulogne with a certain passenger list and 3^-'Forrest, Diary, November 25, 1863. 35Forrest, Diary, November 25, 1863. 25 that ho vould have been fined had he not produced those passengers upon arrival at Boulogne. The Confederates were released and use of the port 36facilities to make repairs was allowed them by orders from Paris. The populace of Calais turned out later that day to see the ship and the men who had caused such a stir the night before. Ruinors flew aroimd about the 'pirates• who had brandished pistols and knives upon clearing the harbor. The Southerners were under the scrutiny of everyone, even the priests and school children who came to the wharf to see the 'treise Americaines.' The populace vras confused about the nationality^ of the vessel because the Confederate flag being flown was a make-shift thing and not easilj’’ recognizable. The haphazard appearance of tihe deck, which was strewn id.th ropes, blocks, iron boiler plates and other paraphernalia, plus the lack of weapons in the gunports, also made the nature of the vessel hard to determine by the onlookers. The offi- cial reception by the port authorities qiiickly stilled the rumors, but for quite some time aftei'ward the ship was a curiosit3’' to the townspeo- 37 pie. The Pjgppahannoek was in serious disrepair, primarily because she had to prematurely leave Shesrness. Even as she lay at anchor that first morning in Calais, many of the woi-kers who had come over from Sheerness were still at work repairing the ship. Although Campbell's original intentions were probably to pick up his officers and proceed to 36Forrest, Diary, November 25, 1863; undated, rough draft of a letter to Samuel Barron. Drafted by Forrest and Lt. William P.A. Campbell, CSN, Commander of the Rappahannock, in Forrest Diary. -^'Forrest, Diary, November 26, I863. 26 a rendezvous with another vessel to receive weapons, supplies, and a crew, his untimely arrest and the unseaworthy character of the Rappahan- nock left him no alternative but to seek a berth in the Calais dock-yard to repair his vessel. Ho officially applied to the authorities to al- low him to dock the Rappahannock, claiming 'stress of weather.* Under international maritime laws, a vessel of a belligerent nation coTxl.d en- ter a neutral port to make repairs if refusal of such hospitality by the neutral would endanger the lives of the crew of the belligerent vessel. Repairs vroiild be limited to those making the vessel seaworthy and any others such as shipment of munitions, arras or other articles and imple- ments of war, would be grounds for confiscation or detainment. The Rap- pahannock was granted the stress of weather claira and vras allowed the facilities of the port to make her repairs in order to retmui to sea in a 38 fit state. Although unaimied, the Rappahannock was accorded man-of-war status. The government riggers previously mentioned, had a leave of absence from the Sheerness dock-ya;rd and they remained on the job for ten days after their arrival until the rigging was completed and w^as rattled down. Bight boiler-makers under orders from the "Chief of the Boiler-makers Afloat" at Sheerness were sent to Calais to repair the defective boilers. They arrived December 1, 1863, and set to work to re- place approximately 1,400 tubes, the old ones having been vrithdra'vjn prior to their arrival. Due to a lack of tools, they estimated that it woul.d 38Forrest, Diary, undated, rough draft of a letter to Sarauel Bar- ron; Ba.rron to Slidell, February 25, 1864, enclosiwe Campbell to Barron, February 24, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, IO37. 27 take them tv/o months or six vreeks at the absolute minimum to complete the ?work. Thej’- immediately began "cutting rivits & taking out defective plates & putting in „39new ones. However, after fourteen days Campbell felt that the work vras progressing too slowly and the government boiler- makers were released. Those unfortunate souls returned to Sheerness to find that their leave was not considered official, and that they had been fired for being A¥OL from their duties in the government dock-yard. The work on the Rappahannock * s boilers was assumed by men "from Mr. Rennies Yard, London, /~who~7 took the job out of the hands of the Dockyard „40men. 41 These men comple'bed the job by January 13, 1864. Not all of the ship was in disrepair, as Forrest tells us in his diarjj"; "The cabin is a perfect gem, with a charming little round table vrlth a gay cloth cover, a s^winging lamp of elegant shape & style. oil cloth, delightful chairs, a nice stove, etc. „42 Forrest also des- cribes the wardroom as being quite comfortable. The Captain and other senior officers would at least dine and lounge in comfort wh'ile aboard ship. The magazine and shell rooms were also satisfactory as thej'- were some of the first compsartments repaired after the sale of the vessel and ^^Morse to Seward, December 11, 1863, T-168, Roll 32. 40 Adams to Sewarf, December 24, 1863, enclosure number 9, M-30, Roll 80. 41 Adams to Se'ward, December 11, 1863, enclosure number 5; December 24, 1863, enclosures num.ber 7, 9, M-30, Roll 80; Morse to Seward, December 11, I863, T-168, Roll 32. p Forrest, Diary, December 1, I863. 28 prior to its escape to Calais.43 Equipment and supplies were being brought on board daily. On December 10, I863, "there • • • arrived by the English steamer Rs.inbow, doing the regular service between London and Calais, 143 different packages, kitchen utensils, water casks, cordage, sails, gallipols, detached pieces of machinery, signal rockets, blankets, cloth for wearing apparel and a screw, all addressBjd to a gentleman J.F. Ramsay, stranger at Calais > ? • • This partica).ar shipment would later result in a diplomatic protest by the Federal government. The Rappahannock was moved on December 12th from the wiiarf where she had been since her arrival, to the basin in Calais. She had been taking up valuable space at the vrharf needed for merchant vessels and repairs could be carried out more easily in the basin. The basin’s gate could be opened at low tide to let water out, which would make the task of putting in a new screw much easier. However, the sJiallovr water froze over shortly after the ship was moved to the basin, preventing 45 repairs on the screw and shaft from being made until mid-January. The problems of getting the Papps.hannock in a seav7orthy state was only one of the problems the Confederates had to face while in ^^Adams to Seward, December 17, I863, enclosure number 2, M-30, Roll 80. 44William L. Dayton to Sevjard, December 11, I863, enclosure. Von- droux to Dayt-on, United States State Department, Despatches From United States Minister to France, 1789-1906, National Archives, Washington D.C • S Microcopy M™34, Roll 57. hereinafter cited as M-34 followed by roll num- ber. ^?^Forrest, Diary, December 12, I863, January 12, 1864; Morse to Seward, January 8, 1864, T-I68, Roll 33* 29 Calais. A second, and perhaps graver problem, was recruiting and keep- ing a crew. The men who were on board when the vessel left Sheerness were mostly artisans and craftsmen, plus the government riggers. All or most had previous experience at sea and had applied for work on the ship(prio.r to her escape) without the knowledge of her true destination and character being given them. V/hen Campbell came on board at Calais, these men were call- ed aft and informed that the ship was a Confederate man-of-war and that they would all receive a /lO bounty if they signed articles for twelve months. Tiiey wore told that the same rules irould be followed as on any other man-of-war, but that no lash as punishment vfould be used. Chai“les Newt.on, seaman and helmsman from Sheerness to Calais, related that "we w^ere all- told c- • • that we should receive prize money as soon as we had taken the prizes. The Captain said we were to fight for money and he was going to fight for his country and his home. .,46 Some of the men agreed to sign articles, but many balked at the idea and refused to serve on her. They did not relish the thought for any amount of bounty and pirize money of '-going privatoer'ing, the same as the Alabama and the Florida. .,47 Most of them, being merchant seamen, did not like the idea of attacking and destroying unarmed merchant vessels. It can also be assumed tsat these men vrould dislike the idea of serving in any na-vy of a foreign powTer involved in a war. The moral question of serving a na- hG Adams to Se-vra.rd, December 24, I863, enclos\ire number 6, M~30, Roll 80. Adams to Seward, December 11, I863, enclosure number 4, M-30, Roll 80. 30 tion vrhich condoned slavery also must have had some part in the decision of most of these men not to sign articles. All of the discontented craftsmen and seamen who refused to sign articles, were allovjed to return to England. On November 27th, forty men were sent to Calais from Lon- don. They arrived there on November 28th and upon boarding the Rappa- hannock were called aft and asked to sign articles. The majority re- fused to sign, and of these, twenty returned to England imraediately as they were fortunate to have enough money to pay their way. From the original forty, less than ten stayed aboard. In order to keep these, the Confederates refused them shore leave along with the few tiiat had re- mained on board from the original group of artisans and craftsmen. 1^8 Refusal of shore leave was bad enough, but the seaman in most cases were even refused pennission to leave the ship for any reason for fear that they would run away. Ey December 3i'd, the men remaijiing on board were in a mutinous mood, and it was only by threats that the Confederate officers kept matters under control. One individual, in a STTorn statement at a later date, claimed that he was prevented from leaving the ship by the first and second officers, who, brandishing pis- tols which they pointed at his head, threatened to shoot him on the spot. As punishment for his escape attempt, ho and another man were locked up in a water closet for five days and were given their meals there. He stayed on the ship five weeks and when he was finally granted leave, he ^^Adaras to Seward, December 11, 1863, enclosure number 4, M-30, Roll 80. 31 49 escaped to England. One sailor tried legal means to make good an escape. Seme- how he got in touch with the British Consul, who in turn made formal com- plaint to the French authorities. The "Minister of I-Iarine of Fi’ance, demanded through the Calais Coramissaire, the debarcation of William PVeud. .,50 On December 27th the Coramissaire came on board, "and ascer- tained through evidence supplied by Campbell that Freud had signed arti- cles regularly and thus had no basis of complaint. ,.51 The matter was then closed by the Coramissaire, and for his troubles Freud found hiraself put in irons and fed on bread and water. 52 Men in small groups contin- ued to be sent by shipping masters in London and Liverpool to Calais to serve on board the Rappahannock, but most refused to serve. Those that did sign on soon became discontented and many deserted at the first op- portunity. This was a continuous problem facing the Confederate ves- sel. Also, Federal efforts to prevent the Rappahannock from keeping a crew through the use of pa.id spies, played a great part in the desertion problem. Federal diplomatic officials in both Great Britain and Franco were doing all within their power to prevent the Rappahannock ^^Adams to Seward, December 24, I863, enclosure number 8, M-30, Roll 60; January 8, 1864, enclosure number 5. M-3O, Roll 81; Forrest, Diary, December k, I863. 5®Forrost, Diary, December 26, I863. ^^Forrest, Diary, December 26, I863. 52Forrest, Diary, December 27, 1863; Adams to Seward, January 8, 1864, enclosure number 4, M-30, Roll 81. 32 from leaving Calais, They also wanted to pressure the British govern- ment into prosecuting the officials and ship merchants responsible for the purchase, equipment, crew recruitment and escape of the vessel. Charles Francis Adams, as mentioned earlier, had received disturbing reports of the secretive activity surrounding the Scylla while at Sheerness. Upon learning from Consul Freeman Morse that the Scylla had escaped and was in France under the name of the P^appahannock and declared a Confederate man-of-war, Adams gathered what information Morse had supplied him and made a formal protest to Lord Russell, the British B'oreign Secretary. Lord Russell replied to Ad.ams on November 30, 1863, 53that the matter was under investigation. Alarm prompted Adams and Morse to act quickly. Several Confederate cruisers had already come from British dock-yards(i.e, the Alabama, Florida and Georgia) and they had extensively damaged Federal commerce. It seemed to them that once again. Confederate s;yrapathlzers in Great Britain had succeeded in aiding a commerce raider to escape that would soon be preying on unarmed merchant vessels. Adams and Morse were determined to prove that several naval officers and ship merchants had violated British neutrality laws in this matter, and they saw this as an opportunity to pressure the British government into a stricter enforcement of neutrality. To this end, Morse began invest!- gations of his own to provide Adams and Lord Russell with damning evi- dence which would sho^^ the complicity of severa.1 Sheernoss Dock-yard officials WTith the Rappahannock affair. ?^^Adams to Seward, December 3» 1863; enclosures 2-3 M-30, Roll 80. 33 The seamen that deserted from the Rappahannock provided Morse with one source of valuable information. Morse began to round up these men to sign depositions in order to show "her connection with the dockyards, the use made of the ship Cumberland, /7and_^ that officers em- ployed in the yard had acted as agents for the vessel to engage laborers & crew . « • From December, 1863, through mid-January, 1864, Morse and his agents obtained sworn statements from the deserters and these were sent to Lord Russell through Adams. From this evidence the Feder- als vrere able to press their case writh the British government. Adam’s first formal complaint was that the Scylla had been allowed to remain at government moorings after she was sold to Gordon, Coleman and Company, and that gcveriment workers at the Chatham and Sheerness dock-yards had been permitted to work on the vessel. The second complaint concerned the use of the Cimberland, a Royal Naval ves- sel, to mast the Scylla. In light of the vessel’s subsequent Confeder- ate connections, the Federals claimed that this use of the Cumberland was a direct violation of British neutrality. Federal diplomats also complained that several naval officers in high positions of authority at Sheerness bad actively engaged in procuring a crew for the vessel even after the Pto-opahannock*s true character became public knowledge. The Bi’itish government, which had had its owm suspicions of the Scylla while she was at Sheerness but had been unable to prevent her departure, was put in an embarrassing situation. Evidence was over- whelm.ing that many private citizens throughout Great Britain were ac- Morse to Seward, November 28, 1863, T-168, Roll 32. 34 tively engaged in aiding the Confederates in direct violation of British neutrality. However, public sentiment favorable to the Confederacy was beginning to fade, and the Bi'itish government saw in the Scylla's escape an opportunity to enforce stricter controls against those citiaens en- gaged in neutrality violations. Thus, the investigation by the Adrair- alty was sure to be a thorough one, as the government had been embarras- sed by the escape of the Rappahannock. Any parties guilty of open com- plicity in the matter were destined to suffer the wrath of an indignant government. The follomng is the result of the investigation with re- gards to the first point of complaint; ”Tlie investigation ordered by the Lords of the Adiair- alty into the whole of the circumstances connected mth the equa.pment, fitting out and departure from Sheerness of the Confederate privateer Rappahannock f • • . was completed a few days since, and the result of the protracted inquiry, which had been conducted by the Government throughout in the most rigid and searching manner, was announced at Chatham, yesterday/" January 15, 186427- It is satisfactory to find that none of the officials connected w’ith the Chatham Dock-yard were in the remotest degree connected with the illegal proceedings, and were in no respoct im- plicated with the movements of that vessel after she had ceased to be a Government Sxhip.'*-^-^ The above clearly shows that no naval officers or officials at Chatham had been isivolved in the affair. Captain William K. Kali's action in using the masting shears of the Cumberland to mast the Scylla, was seen as an irresponsible act, due to his not having gained permission of his superiors to perform that task. He was cleared of any knowledgeable wrongdoing as the true char- •^?^London Times, January l6, 1864, 35 acter of the Scylla was unloiown to him, it being generally understood prior to her escape that the Scylla was bound for the China opium trade. The report suggested that Hall’s action was a result of his natural ea~ gerness to test the new masting shears of the Cumberland (which were de- signed by him), and the Scylla offered him the first opportunity to do so. No action was therefore brought against Captain Hall. 56 The Admiralty investigations apparently satisfied the Bri¬ tish government that their neutrality had not been broken i-rith regards to the first two complaints. However, the Federals viewed with some relief that their efforts were going to be successful on the third point of protest. The depositions supplied to Lord Russell by Morse through Adams, presented overwhelming evidence that high officials at Shoerness had violated British neutrality. The following is the result of the investigation on this point. "Accordingly, Mr. Knight, of the firm of Essell, Knight & Arnold, solicitors, Rochester, the agents of the Solicitor to the Treasury, yesterday applied to the raagis- trates for a warrent for the apprehension of Mi*. William Rumble, principle engineer and inspector of machinery afloat, who is charged nvith a violation of the Foreign En- listment Act(50 George III., cap. 60) in hiring and at- tempting to hire certain seamen for the Confederate steam- ship Rappahannock and also for assisting and aiding in equiping that vessel. The Warrents were granted and at once executed, the accused being taken into custody, but aftervrards liberated on heavy bail."57 Rumble found himself in deep trouble because of his efforts on behalf of ^^Lond on Times, December 6, 1864; September 17, 1863. '^'^London Times, January 16, 186^-; December 6, 1864, 36 the Confederates. However, it took almost a year before his trial came before the court, as there were many postponements in order to track down witnesses and for each side to solidify its case. The trial began on December 5. 1864, before the Court of Queen’s Bench. During the first day’s proceedings, witnesses testified. that although Rumble had engaged men from the government service to work on the Scylla, the work was done after regular working hours. It was also emphasized that Rumble was on board every day supervising repairs and seeing that tools and equipment for the ship were provided. The trial was postponed the following day until a witness serving in the 58 Mediterranean could be brought back to testify. On February 2, 1865, the trial resumed and evidence was produced- showing that Rumble had been engaged in procuring a crew for the vessel. The trial continued \mtil February 6th, with much evidence being shown to prove that Rumble was present in Calais supervising re- pairs on the vessel. Testimony was given that he was also engaged in procuring a crew after the vessel had departed from Sheerness and her true character as a Confederate vessel had been exposed. However, much of the testimony of seamen called as vritnesses lost its value when it was learned that Federal agents had been constantly supplying them with 59 beer and money. In any event, the jury acquited Rumble of the charges. The British government was outraged, as were Adams and Horse. Even an editorial in the London Times showed surprise at the ^^London Times, December 6, 1864. ^^London Times, February 3. 7, 1865. 37 jury’s verdict, and provided a very accurate and impartial summary of the trial and the evidence: "It was not denied that from the time of the sale to that of the departure for Calais, while the Scylla was the property of a private firm, he was constantly on board, and provided her with men, who were afterwards so- licited to enlist under the Confederate flag. Without relying too much on the details of conversations as re- ported by wj.tnesses of very doubtful credit, it is abun- dantly evident that he gave active assistance to the o^’mers in hiring a crew. Not only so, but he certainly used expressions implying that they might look for larger profits than could be expected in the ordinary merchant marine. • • * It is also fair to point out that, whatever Mr. Rumble’s impressions or suspicions may have been, almost everyone else really believed that the vessel was going to China, and that the engagements actually made by him were merely temporary. In fact it was contended by his counsel that the voyage to Calais was nothing more, at least as far as he was avrare, 'a trial trip,' and that he had no idea of abetting a scheme for placing her beyond the reach of English law, where the Foreign Einlistment Act might safely be defied. ... Though Mr. Rumble's conduct at Cal- ais might bo conclusive proof that he had then a guilty knowledge of the vessel's true character, and an intention to assist the Confederate agents, it could only be used indj.rectly and retrospectively to shovr what his only pur- pose was in engaging men at Sheerness. • • « the system of 'nursing' vritnesses, plying them with unlimited refreshment and amusement and supplies of money, wiiich was found to have been cai-ried on by Federal agents, weakened the credit which would otherwise have been due their statements The Federals' own zealous efforts in the matter of the Ra.ppahannock w^ere used against them and a highly partisan jury did the Federal and British governments a grave injustice. Lord Russell and the Admiralty were highly dissatisfied with the results of the trial. The Admiralty appointed a court of in- quiry to look into the matter. This court concluded, that although Rum¬ ble had been acqudtod by a jury, his actions in Calais after the true ^London Times , February 7, 1865. 38 character of the vessel was public knowledge, "were just grounds for the accusation that an officer employed in her Majesty's service had aided and abetted these parties, vrho ... were concerned in fitting out the Scylla as a vessel of ,.61war. As an act of good faith towards the Uni- ted States government, the AdmiraD.ty relieved Rumble of active service 62 and placed him on half-pay. It had taken sixteen months since the Rapprahannock escaped Sheerness for the Federal government to be vindi- cated in the matter by the British government. Other individuals were brought before British magistrates for their part in attempting to re- cruit British subjects to serve on the Rappahannock. All were given suspended 63sentences and a small fine. However, there had been one earlier concession by the British government. Shortly after the escape of the vessel, Lord Russell had angrily gone to the Crown's Law Officers to see what legal means could be taken to ensure that such an action by the Confederates would not happen again. He received a written reply stating: • * • that if the Confederate government should refuse to disavow the act, the British government should close all of its ports to any Confederate ship vrhich had been outfitted in England; and they further advised that should any vessel repeat the Rappahannock's offense, then Bri- tish naval vessels should 'pursue and capture such vessel on the high seas."'^"^ ^^?Adams to Seward, March 9, 1865, enclosure Lord Russell to Adams, March 5, 1865, M-30, Roll 84. 62 Adams to Seward, March 9, 1865, enclosure Lord Russell to Adams, March 5, 1865, M-30, Roll 8^-. 63Adams to Seward, July 7, 1864; August 18, 1864, M-30, Roll 83. ^Lynn M. Case and Warren F. Spencer, Th£ United States and France; Civil Vfer Diplomacy (Philadelphia, 1970), 680. 39 The Rappahannock affair clearly had some Influence in the gradua.l shift of attitude vd.thin Great Britain from the Confederacy to the United States. The Rumble trial was one of several court cases brought by the British government against violators of the Foreign Enlistment Act early in 1864. Prior to this time the British government had been lenient towards Confederate synpathizers in Great Britain, but Federal pressure had increased to the point where the British government finally started to enforce its own laws. The Rappahannock affair occured at the time when the crack doT-m began and it became one of the first instances of Federal pressure paying off in regards to Confederate commerce raiders. In Fcance, Federal concern in the Rappahannock took a dif- ferent direction. VJhereas all protests in Great Britain wore after the fact and- were of a nature to prevent similar events from happening again the Federal Minister to France, V7illiam L. Dayton, was faced with the uask of pressuring the French government into preventing the Rappahannock from leaving Calais. The Rappahannock had entered Calais claiming stress of weather. As mentioned earlier, stress of weather can be claimed by any vessel of a belligerent nation if, due to that vessel's condition, it could not safely remain at sea. The Rappahannock was obviously unsea- worthy. Her rigging was incomplete and her machinery damaged so that she was unable to operate in any but calm waters. At that time of the year (early w3.nter) the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel vrere not caLn or safe, so the French government and Louis Napoleon granted the Rappahannock shelter in Calais and the use of the facilities there to 40 make the vessel seaworthy. 65 The Imperial government directed the authorities at Calais to allow the Rappahannock to sail at will. This news alarmed the Fed- erals. It seemed apparent that the French government had already de- cided to let the vessel go in spite of the knowledge that she was intend- ed to be a man-of-war. Dayton immediately protested to Drouyn de Lhuys, the French Foreign Minister, who in turn communicated with the French Minister of Marine on the particulars of the Rappahannock being allowed to enter Calais and to use the facilities there. The French Foreign Minister replied that the Rappahannock had been allowed a stress of weather claim, but that in accordance with French neutrality, no arma- ment or ammunition would be permitted on board. She would thus leave port unarmed and in the same status as any merchant vessel which entered 66 Calais. It was also understood that she would not be permitted to increaso her crew. This last point wouJ.d become a bitterly contested controversy between the Confederate and French authorities. In the meantime. Federal authorities set out to prove that the Rappahannock had not entered invoD.untarily due to weather, and also tjo convince the French government that the ship should be detained. In a letter to de Lhviys, Dayton discussed the circumstances of the depart¬ ure of the vessel from Sheernoss and the ruse of her officers in using a 65 Dayton to Seward, January 4, 1864, enclosure number 2, M-34, Roll 57; Forre;st, Diary, November 26, 1363. ^^•/inslow to Welles, December 3. 1863, enclosure William L. Dayton, Jr. to Winslow, November 30, 1863, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. II, 510-11; Dayton to V/inslow, January 20, 1864, Ser. I, Vol. II, 589; Dayton to Seward, December 4, I863, enclosure number 1, M-34, Roll 57. 41 fishing“boat to attempt to board her. Dayton claimed that the latter was evidence that the vessel did not come to Calais due to stress of weather, ’’This vessel," he wrote, "occupies a position which differs from either the Florida or the Georgia. She has left her port on the other side of the Channel voluntari- ly without papers, and run directly across to a neighbor- i7ig port within which she hopes to be protected until her equipment is completed and her officers and crew are ready. De Lhuys agreed with Dayton that the circumstances surround- ing the Rappahannock were peculiar, but as the Qnperor had shown hospi- tality in allowing the vessel to enter and refit, evidence of a more positive natur*a would be needed for France to take any steps to prevent her departure. Dayton began supplying de Lhuys with depositions ob- tained from Morse in an effort to show that the Confederates were out- 68 fitting the vessel as a warship. i^hen it -was learned that the Rappahannock was receiving a crew, Dayton stated. "that this vessel at least could not claim as the Florida did, a right to renew her crew while lying in a neutral port, for in point of fact she brought no crew in. She >7as ... brought over by mechanics, Erigineers and firemen who vrere on board of her temporarily only." ^ The Fl’ench, however, continued to drag their feet in the matter and vir- tually no steps were taken during the first two and a half months after ^"^Dayton to Soirard, December 4, 1863, enclosure Dayton to de Lhuys, undated, H"3^i, Roll 57* ^^Dajd:.on to Seward, December 4, 1863; December 23, 1863, M-34, Roll 57. ^^payton to Seward, January 8, 186^+, M-34, Roll 57. 42 the Rappahannock's arrival to placate the Federals. They did clamp down in one instance, hovrever. Dayton was informed by the Federal Consul, at Calais, M. Vendroux, that a shipment of one hundred and forty-three packages for the Rappahannock, which had been sent from London via the Dover packet- boat, had arrived at Calais. Dayton protested against this shipment being allowed and the protest carried. On January 2, 1864, Captain Campbell was informed by the Comraissaire of Marine at Calais that, ”.., it being in the mind of the Government only to allow the Confederates to make such repairs etc. as are indespensible to make the ship seaworthy, and not to per- rait her to be equipped, it is forbidden the C-aptain to continue such shiments •under pain of being forbidden to leave the port."'^^ No real harm was done to the Confederates by this demand from the French government as tliey had gotten most of their eq'uipment and necessary ar- tides, such as the new screw and the replacement boiler tubes and plates, prior to January 2nd. Running up against the problem of an uncooperative French go'vernment, the Federals had to seek another means of preventing the Rappahannock from leaving Calais, The first and most obvious means of doing this would be to station Federal warships in the Channel in a position that they could chase and capture the Rappahannock irmnediately upon her departure from Calais. To this end, the steam warship Kear- sarge vras stationed in the Channel in late December, and joined a month D.ater by the steam warship Sacramento and the Sloop-of-war, S^. Louis. As the Fior'ida was at this time repa.iring in Brest, France, this force ^Forrest, Diary, January 2, 1864. 43 of ships was not sufficient to vratch both Confederate vessels and pre- 71 vent their escape. It was decided that further measures would have to be taken. Freeman Morse decided that paid spies should be sent to Calais to try and induce the crew of the Rappahannock to desert. They were also to obtain witten testimony as evidence against the ship and against R-umble. "The persons sent were • • • instructed to create as much discontent & trouble among the crevT’ as possible that they might leave the ship. .,72 Among these spies were William O'Kellj'-, an irapor-- tant witness in the Rumble trial and a shipping master from London, and ?William Wynn, a sailors' Boarding-House keeper from London. Both of these men gained valuable testimony which aided the Federal effort against the Rappahannock on both sides of the Channe]. They managed Lo bribe a number of seamen into leaving the ship. Their activities alarm- fed the Confederates, who continued to protest against the spies being allowed to 73stay in Calais. Their efforts at reducing the crew vrere very successful. As a I'ssult, the Confederates were unable to obtain a full crew until early February and were prevented from leaving after re- pairs had been completed several weeks before. Ify that time, events occurred v/hich made the departure of the Rappahannock impossible. 71Preble to Welles, January 23, 1864, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. II, 590; Winslow to Welles, December 11, 1863; enclosure Winslow to Dayton, Decern- ber 4, 1863, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. II, 562-63; Dayton to Winslov/, January 20, 1864, ORN, Ser.”!, Vol. II, 589. "^^Morse to Seward, #142, undated, T-I68, Roll 33. '^^Morse to Seward, #142, undated, T-I68, Roll 33; Forrest, Diary, Febr\iary 18, 1864. CRAPTER III DETMTION IN CALAIS, FRANCE ^7 mid-January of 1864, work on the Rappahannock was near- ing completion and the future of the vessel seemed bright. The Confed- erates thought that they would soon be able to leave Calais, arm the vessel somevihere at sea, and proceed to follovr in the footsteps of their sister ships, the Al.abama, Florida and Georgia, as a commerce raider. The efforts of the Federal spies had taken their toll on the numbers of the crew, but the Rappahannock was receiving seamen almost daily and she would soon reach a sufficient number to safely sail. All their troubles seamed worth it as the time for departure grew near. For one fijU month the Confederates had delayed installing a new screw. The vessel had a bronze double-screw propeller, but this arrangement combined with the state of the engines, caused the rear of the vessel to vibrate. Aji English manui’acturer proposed to Campbell to take the double-screw in exchange for a single screw in cast iron and Campbell agreed. The delay in installing the new screw was in part due to the frozen condition of the basin where the Rappahannock vras tied up. Also, as the iiVench government showed no outvrard concern as to the length of the Rappahannock’s visit, the repairs were not under any dead- line and thus woi-e not completed as swiftly as they coiald have been. Finally, there could be no trial of the engines until the boiler tubes and plates were all in and the boilers were ready.^ On January 11, 186^-, the Confederates asked for and received ^Dayton to Sevrard, January 15, 186^+, enclosure number 2, M-34, Roll 57. 45 permj.ssion to take in their new screw and the next day they cut through the ice, vrhich had melted considerably during a stretch of mild weather. Upon cutting away the ice, "the ship was warped to the other side of the basin," and there the old double-screw x/as hauled out and the new one be- gun to be fitted. The vrorkers toiled into the evening by lantern-light to make the new screw similar in size to the old one. By the next morn- ing the ship was retuj'ned to its old berth, "only reversed & the nevx screw in position." On January 13, 1864, the tubes were all in and the next day the Confederates got up steam to try out the machinery and the propeller. This was stopped by a port official until permission was ob- tained from the Captain of the Port, b\xt the machinery and screw were 2 found to be functional. The vessel was almost ready for sea. One of the major concerns of the Confederates from the out- set with regards to the Rappahannock had been the matter of her armament. originally it had probably been their intention upon leaving Sheerness to sail to a point off Africa and avfait shipment of guns and ammunition from a merchant firm in Great Britain. The Federals suspected this imraedi- atel.y, naming two steamers owned by the Confederates, the Agrippina and the Harriet Pinckney, as the probable carriers of the arms and ammunition for the Rappahannock. 3 The probability of this increases when we learn that both of the above named steamers had returned to E].ymouth and un- 4 loaded their cargoes of guns and ammunition early in December. ^Forrest, Diary, January 11-14, 1864. ^Winslow to Welles, December 3. 1863, enclosxrre William L. Dayton, Jr. to Winslov;, November 30, 1863, Ser. I, Vol. II, 510. ^Winslow to Welles, December 11, I863, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. II, 5*^2• 46 Upon realizing that they would have to use the facjJLities of Calais to make the Rappahannock seaworthy, the Confederates found that the matter of arming the vessel was temporarily a dead issue. They could not have the guns, gun carriages and ammunition shipped to France because it would arouse Federal suspicions. Even if they smuggled arms to France, any shipment of them on board the Rappa.hannock would be a violation of PY-ench neutrality and would be grounds for detainment of the vessel. Arjy armament would have to vrait until the Rappahannock was re- paired and in international waters. The Federals and the British gov- ernment, which \^5 Vanslow to Welles, April 7. 1864, OM, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 7; Morse to Seward, April 17, 1864, 13; V/inslow to Morse, April 23, 1864, I8-I9. 68 Fcr the remainder of the war, the Federal warships would continue observing the fto-ppahannock, but the detention allowed the con- stant surveiU ence of her by paid spies, Federal sympathisers in France and by other means, to be relaxed. Only once more would activity sur- rounding the Rappahannock cause increased surveiUence by the Federals. This would be in the early months of I865. From the beginning of the detention, the Confederates suf- fered what they considered to be numerous insults. As previously men- tioned, a French warship had been stationed in the basin shortly after the Rappahannock failed to depa.rt on February 4th. The Confederates realized that the Galilee was there to prevent the Rappahannock from making any attempt to escape. ?Whenever the Rappahannock got up steam to try her engines and test her boilers, the Galilee also got up steam. This was himiillating to the Confederates because the French government was in effect saying that they could not be trusted to remain in Calais until fiu'ther orders came releasing the ship. However, in light of the vessel's escape from Sheerness the previous Rovember, tho French probably were justified in taking this measure to ins'ure against a similar occur- ance. This seems even more to be the case vfhen Campbell applied to French naval officials for permission to take the Rappahannock on a "trial trip" ot- to "lie near the mouth of the port pending reixiirs on the dock ,^6f • <> # The requests were denied, and it can be assumed that the French officials believed that if either were granted, the temptation would bo too great for the Confederates and there would be no way to 46 Forrest, Diary, March 6, 186^1. 69 prevent their permanent departure.4? When the basin gates were opened to let the water out for repairs on the basin, the flench took another step to prevent an escape, which vTas viev/ed as an affront by the Confederates, At the narrOTr mouth to the basin, on top of the gates was a gangway which connected each side and which enabled people to cross from one side to the other rather than having to walk completely around the tesin. On I'larch 17, 186^+, a heavy chain-link cable vras drawn across the mouth of the basin on the inside of the gates ostensibly "as a precaution against damages to the gangi-xay by vessels breaking adrift. .,48 In reality the chain was meant to prevent 49 the Rappahannock from breaking out. The foregoing affronts were dwarf- ed in comparison to the one suffered at the hands of a French merchant vessel’s.captain and the Commerce Tribunal of Calais. At seven o'clock on the quiet spring evening of April 26, 1864, Lieutenant George S. Shryock, CSN, first officer of the Rappahan- nock, was on deck where he observed two men approaching his vessel who shortly boarded her. One of them told him in broken English that the other was the captain of the Fi'onch merchant vessel Nil lying just ahead of the Rappahannock. They had come to request that the Rappahannock be moved so the Nil could lie alongside the dock and stated that this move 50 was ordered by the Captain of the Port. 47Forrest, Diary, February 5, 1864; llarch 17, 186^K Q “Fauntloroy to Barron, March 21, 1864, in Whittle Papers. 49Forrest, Diary, March 17, 1864. ^^Shryock to Fauntleroy, April 27, 1864, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 689. 70 Lieutenant Shryock declined to accede to this request where- upon the captain of the Nil, angrily departed leaving the interpreter be- hind. A few minutes later Shryock observed that the vessels astern of the Rappahannock had moved four or five fathoms from her as if to give her room to move. Shryock commented on this movement of the merchant vessels to the interpreter, who explained to him that the distance the other ships had moved wo\3ld be all the Rappahannock vrould have to move for the Nil to come alongside the dock. Shryock then agreed to have the Itappahannock move as a courtesy without first getting permission from the Captain of the Port. Ke went to Fauntleroy to get his permission and asked the interpreter to bring the Nil's captain back on board while he checked vfith Fauntleroy. Upon receiving permission from Fauntleroy, Shryock went back on deck to find that the interpreter had returned alone, the captain of the Nil having refused to 51come. A few moments later the quiet of the evening was shattered as the officer of the deck reported that the N51 xvas hau]-ing into the P^ppahannock and was threatening the head rigging, Shryock ran to the bov.' to determine the danger to the ship and imraediately saw that the fore-topgallent mast and jib boom w'ere in peril of being carried away by the jibs, spars and guys of the Nil which pressed heavily against them. The confusion and cursing on the Rappahannock can vrell be imagined as crewmen were sent sx^iftly aloft to cut the Nil's jib and flying-jib guys to save their oxjn fore-topgallent mast. Even after this was accomplish- ed the Nil continued to advance another fathom before coming to a dead 51Shryock to Fauntleroy, Apr^l 27, 1864, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 689. 71 stop. It can also ba vrell imagined that French cui'sing must have filled the night air when the Nil*s captain learned that his guy lines had been cut by the Confederates, After the excitement died down, the Confedor- ates were ready to dismiss the incident only as a deliberate insialt on the part of an insolent French merchant captain who had racved his vessel withovit a port official being present. The Ni.l * s captain, however, was not tpT’ri.lling to forget the cutting of his guys. The next day (27th) the Captain of the Port came on board to learn the particulars of the incident the night before. On April 29th, Fauntleroy learned that the Tribunal of Cormnerco of Calais had a case on its docket brought by the captain of the Nil against Fauntleroy for darn- ages done to the Nil*s rigging. Fauntleroy immediately had Lieutenant 53 Shryock appear before the Tribunal to protest against the proceedings. Shryock appeared on the 30th and made claim for Fauntleroy, that a court of arbitration such as this Tribunal, which functioned as a civil court dealing with mercantile matters, had no legal right or prece- dent by which to judge a case against a national vessel of a foreign pow- er. Thus, Fauntlero5>- refused to accept any judgment in the matter upon the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction over his vessel. Shryock vjas instructed to offer any proof or witnesses necessary to show the Nil*s captain to have been in the wrong, but also to stress that this would not be an indication of submission to txho jurisdiction of the court. Ro'w- 52 Slwyock to Fauntleroy, ApriD, 27, 1864, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 689. ^^Forrest, Diary, April 27, 186^1-; Fauntleroy to Barron, May 2, 1864, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 686-87; Shryock to Fauntleroy, July 11, 1864, 72 ever, tlie coui't refused to summon witnesses, and judgment was given sole- ly upon the testimony of the captain and crew of the Nil. Fauntleroy was ordered to pay two-hundred francs for damages committed against the Nil plus court costs. He ignored this judgment and wrote to Commodore 54 Barron concerning the matter. In his letter to Barron, Fauntleroy discussed what he felt were the reasons behind the court's decision against him. As it vras the beginning of the busy season for merchant shipping, the basin was the cent6!r of a beehive of activity. Almost daily, the. Rappahannock was re- quirod upon some pretaxt or another to be moved backward and forvrard for the merchant vessels to carry on their business of loading and unloading cargo. It vras felt that the court's decision was a result of “vexation at ovir taking up the room vxhich vxe do in this little basin, and because they have never been told by the Paris authorities to respect the ship as national vessel. ..55a The whole refusal to pay hinged on one principle; and that is, the vessel was either to be formally considered a Confeder¬ ate vrarship, and thus outside the jurisdiction of a court of commerce, or it vxas to be considered a merchant vessel and subject to the court's de- cision. 56 Pajj'j.ng tho decision plus costs, vxould be an admission t.hat tho vessel vras a ship of coimmerce rather than a warship and would enable the French government to detain the vessel on that pretext. 5^+Fauntleroy to Barron, May 2, 1864, ORW~, Son. I, Vol. Ill, 687; Shryock to Fauntleroy, July 11, 1864, 696. 55 Fauntleroy to Barron, May 2, 186^1-, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 687. 56Fauivtleroy to Barron, I'lay 2, 1864, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 687; Fauntleroy to Rarron, July 11, 186-4, in 1»Jhittle Papers. 73 Rarron concurred with Fauntleroy*s opinions and his method of handling the matter, but ho expressed regret that Shryock had not gone to Fauntleroy before refusing the request of the Nil *s captain. Had ha done so, the vrhole incident would have been avoided. The Confederates then decided to ignore the court and soon forgot the matter, feeling cer- tain of the vessel’s rights as a national vessel. The court, however. did not forget, although it delayed taking action for a week to see if 57 payment vrould be made. On May 7i 1864, the Tribunal of Comraorce resolved to enforce its judgment, An official of the court was sent to the ship to soc’ore the Confederates' submission to the judgment, but without success. On Kay 10th, Fauntleroy was informed that if the damages to the Nj.1, as judged hy the court, were not made good, then the ship vrould be seised by the port authoritios and sold to meet the demands of the Nil * s owners. Fauntleroy continued to ignore these threats and nothing further was said by 58either the court or the Confederates for well over a month. The court at Calais was not inactive during that month. When it was evident that the Confederates were not going to comply with the ruling concerning the Nil, the court passed the case to a higher court, the Civil Tribvinal of Boulogne-sur-mer. This court, after almost a two months delay, ruled that the vessel vjas to be sold to pay the dam- ages. The lovjer court at Calais had already tried to have this done on Juno 23rd v?hen a bailiff came on board tho Rappahannock with a decree of Barron to Fauntleroy, May 3» 1864, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 69I. ^Forrest, Diary, ^fely 7, I6, 186^-. 74 sale. Re tried to serve this on Fauntleroy but fo\ind himself and the paper deoree unceremoniously removed from the ship and dumped on the 59 quay Shortly after this the higher court ruled on the matter and the authorities in Calais tried to carry out its decision. On July 8th, a bailiff came alongside the ship with a pxiblic crier. As the crier beat his drum and announced the prospected sale of the ship, the bailiff once again attempted to serve a bill of sale on Fauntleroy, and was treated the same way as before. However, an old bill-poster who arrived a little later, was not easil.y discouraged by the treatment given the bailiff. He slipped over the side using a ladder, and, equipped with paste and brush, tried to affix a bill of sale on the mainmast. The of- ficor of the day had him unceremoniously d’jmped over the side. An ugly crowd began to gather on the dock as the irrate bill-poster waited for reinforcement. The officers quickDy brought their sxrords and pistols to hand and a sx-rord was placed on the capstan in plain view of the crowd. This had a calming effect on the crowd and a short while later they vrare 60 dispersed by the police at the request of Fauntleroy. Two days after this incident, Fauntleroy received a communi- cation from Commodore Barron, informing him of the details of a conversa- tion w3.th Slidell,. The Commissioner had learned of the incident of the 8th from the lil’ench Mnister of Marine, as well as the details of the Nil controversy. To avoid any possible effect on the decision of the •^^Forrest, Diary, June 22, 1864. 60 Forrest, Diary, July 8, 186^-; Fauntleroy to Barron, July 8, 186^', CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 694 -95- 75 commission of lavjyers on the detention issue, Slidell recommended that the payment of damages should be paid under protest, thus leaving the 61 matter open to futui*e action. Fauntleroy was so ordered. Fauntleroy was extremely angered at this order as he felt that payment of the fine after having successfully defended his command from .just such an action, would discredit him and his position as the commander of a national vessel. However, he submitted to the order, and under directions from Barron, he hired a lat'^yer to tell him the proper proceedure of patting the payment under protest prior to making it. On July 22, 1864, Fauntleroy paid the sum of 730* francs, two hundred being the price of the damages and the remainder being the charges and expenses of the court and the cost of advertising the sale of the vessel. 0)1e moi-e event in the uiifortunate history of the Rappahannock*s Confederate 62 service, came to a sad and unsatisfactorj'' end. Whon the problem co)icerning the Nil was concluded, the Con- federates axvaited \-ri.th great anxietjr the final decision of the commission of lawyers responsible for the Rappahannock * s ultimate fate, As previ-- ously mentioned, the French foi-eign minister, Drouyn de Lhuys, had avoid- ed mak3_ng a decision on the matter of the Rappahannock * s detainment by putting the responsibility for the decision right in the lap of a special- ly appointed commission of law'yers, former diplomats and French senators. This commission was under the guidance of M. Raymond Theodore Troplong, Pi’esident of the Fr0)ich Senate, a)id one of the ablest French politicians 61 B3.rron to Fauntleroy, July 10, 186'+, ORN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 695-96. Fauntleroy to Barx'on, Julj’’ 22, 1864, in 'Whittle Papers. 76 of the 63period. The first result of the decision to have a commission of la-vTyors decide the detainment issue was that on lA&j I3, 1864, Commodore Barron, in agreement with Commander Bulloch, ordered Fauntleroy not to carry cut the proposed abandonmont of the vessel on the l6th. The rea~ son for this was that the Confederates felt that the commission would decide the detainment issue favorably towards the Confederacy. Faunt- leroy, however, saw that this action would discredit ham as commander of the Rappahannock, as it vrould put him in the position of having made a threat to abandon the vessel, but being vrithout the power to carry it out. He protested that the retraction of the threat by him would out- wardly seem to bo totally his decision and he stated that, “It w:Ill ap- pear in the futui-e historj’’ of the ship, that I alone am responsible for the course pursued - whereas, it had been contrary to ray oim judgement from the beginning to the end. ..64 Faiontloroy carried out his orders when Barron informed him that the decision not to abandon the vessel was 65 the entire responsibility of the Commodore. Slidell had an interview with M. Troplong to discover what the commission's preliminary feelings v:ere on the detainment question. In this interview, S]_idell was told that the commission would have made a prompt report on the Rappahannock, "but that the 'dossier* had been accompanied by an intimation from Mi'. Drouyn de Lhuys that he would pre- 63siidell to Benjai.-iin, Jlay 21, 1864, CRN, Sor. II, Vol, III, 1118. G'. Fauntleroy to Barron, May 15, 186^-, in Wiiittle Papers. 65 P^auntleroy to Barron, May I5, 1864, in li/hittlo Papers. 77 fer not to receive a report until after the adjoui-nraent of the Corps Legislatif, as he feared it might be made a matter of attack from / the leader of the opposition in the Fi'ench Senate"/ M. Jules Favre. „66 This vras the first that Slidell had heard on this tactic by de Lhuys to delay a decision on the Rappahannock. The Confederates would have no choice but to wait, and ultimately woald not receive an answer for tv;o more 67 months. Slidell learned from M. Troplong that that jurist had not read the papers referred to him by the foreign minister, but had followed the normal procedure of sending all information to a member of the com- mission who would examine the material and then report in detail to the commission at a later meeting. The commission would then make its roc- coiimiendations and come to a decision on the issue. This membor of the comriiission was M. Marchand and Slidell vjas told to direct any fuji'ther 68 questions he had to M. Marchand. Shortly after this Slidell did see M. Marchand, who was a celebrated jurisconsult and a leading member of the "conseil d'etat.*' M. liarchand gave Slidell a sximraary of all the papors in the 'dossier* on the Rappahannock, but there was nothing in them that was not already familiar. M. Marchand avoided committing himself as to the character of his report to be given the commission. However, from what he said, Sli- dell inferred that Marchand did not consider the case as presenting much ^^Slidell to Benjamin, May 2i, 1864, CRN, S01’. II, Vol. Ill, 1118. 67Slidell to Benjamin, May 21, 1864, CRN, Sor. II, Vol. Ill, 1118. 68Slidell to Benjamin, May 21, 1864, CRN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1118. 78 The only point that could cause tro\ible vjas the size of the crew. Slidell believed that this was no problem because everything that had been done concerning baking on a larger crew had been done with the knowledge and approbation of Chasseloup-Laubat, the minister of marine. 69 The Confederate commissioner would soon learn differently. The Confederates waited a month, until late June, w^hen Sli- dell tried to see what his friend, the Duke ds Porsigny could do to speed the decision. Persigny soon after sent a copy of a note to Slidell which Louis Napoleon had sent him concern^Jig the Rappahannock vrhich said: "I'fy dear Persignj’’? I have given orders for the Rappahannock to leave the French port, but the /Ijnerican minister must not know it. .,70 This infor- mation, combined with the further \mofficial intelligence that the com- mission of latjyers had decided, unanimously that there was no sufficient cause for the detention of the Rappahannock, persuaded the Confederates that the Rappahannock \rould soon be allovjed to depart, Hurried prepax'a- tions wero begun to have her ready when the order came. However, the Confederates had not received full knowledge of the content of the com- mission's report or they would not have been in such a great haste to prepare the ship for departure. 71 Upon receipt from Porsigny of the Emperor's note, SJ-idell communicated with de Lhuys to find out if any decision had been mado in the affair, but made no mention of the Enperor's note. The foreign 69S3, idell to Benjamin, May 21, 1864, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1119. 70Slidell to Benjamin, July 11, 1864, OM, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, II70. 71Slidell to Benjamin, July 11, 1864, 0^, Ser. H, Vol. Ill, II7O; Barron to Mallory, Jxily 13, 186'+, Ser. II, Vol. II, 685. 79 minister gave a negative reply saying that he still awaited the cominis- sion's report. Slidell did not believe this, but he went to the minis- ter of marine to see if he had received word of the E)nperor‘s order. Chassoloup-Iaubat showed great surprise when he savj the note for he had not (he said) received any order from the Ehiperor to release the Rappa- hannock. Ho also was surprised at the discrepancy between Napoleon*s note and the foreign minister’s declaration. Slidell then decided to increase pressure on the foreign minister as he believed that individual was deliberately trying to prevent the order from Napoleon from being 72 carried out. On July 20, i8'54, Slidell was called into the minister of raar5.no’s office. There he was read a letter from Drouyn da Lhuys in which de liiuys conveyed Louis Napoleon’s order permitting the Rappahan- nock to depart from Calais as determined by the commission of lawyers, wj.th the same number o.f men on board as when she came in. This number was stated by the commission as being a maximum of thirty-five crewmen and officers combined. Slidell expressed shock and dismay at this and argued that the number of crewmen had boen much greater than thirty-five. He had been under the impression that the number had been more like seven- ty and that Captain Campbell had reported the number at one hundred on the customs house manifest upon entering Calais, Slidell also stated that the minister of marine’s own acquiescence in allowing the Confeder- ates to increase the crew seemed to indicate official acceptance of such 72Slidell to Benjamin, August 1, 186^-, CRN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1182. 80 73 an increase. The minister of marine replied to Slidell that the number stated in de Lhuys’s letter was in compliance xnith the report of the com- mission of lawyers and it x-ras fully confirmed by the records made at the time of the vessel's arrival in Ca,lais. Ke presented as evidence sever- al exti’acts contained x^ithin the 'dossier' on the Rappahannock. Also, "Ee replied that it was true that he had acquiesced in the increase and that the ship could have gone to sea X'jithout difficulty if anything approachi_ng reasonable dil- igence had been used by the commander: tha.t he had again and again irr-ged dispatch, anticipating difficulty, but that no attention v;as paid to his messages, vrhich i-’ere intended as friendly hints, and that the order to go to sea given on the 4th February had the same motive. Slidell told the minister of marine that thirty-five men and officers xjould be an insufficient nxmiber to take the Rappahannock to sea safely. He continued to press this point xintil the mi-nister of marine agreed to see de Lhuys and try to get the foreign minister to relax his orders ajxd restrictions on the nxamber. Slidell x^as told to corns back to the mixxis- ter of mariixe's office on July 24th and he weald have a final 75answer. The discrepancy between the Confederate and French numbers is easily explained. As previously discussed, the Rappahannock had been brought to Calais by artisans and craftsmen. The nximber was not speci- fied, but subsequent depositions of men x^ho had either refused to serx^e on her or x.'ho later deserted, seemed to suggest that there was an extreme- 73Slidell to Benjamin, August 1, j86^', CRN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 3182. 74Slidell to Benjamin, August 1, 186^1, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1182. 75Slidell to Benjamin, Augx.ist 1, 1864, ORN Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1183. 81 ly small number on board when she entered Calais. The Confederates themselves admitted to less than a hundred. P’auntleroy, in a dispatch to Barron, wrote that "Campbell regarded some of his officers and crew as merely detached until ordered to report on board after the ship should reach port. ,.76 These "detached" officers and cre^mien were recruited vin- til late February bringing the ship's compliment up to nearly one-hundred. However, the French government viewed the detached officers and crew dif¬ ferently and the decision concerning the number of the crew to be allovred was made on the ones physically present when the Rappahannock entered Cal- eis. That number had been recorded 77as thirty-five. On July 24th, Slidell rot\irned to Chassoloup-Laubat *s office and discovered that the minister of marine had not yet talked to Drouyn de Lhuys abovit increasing the allow^able number of crerausn. He told Slidell that he would contact the Confederate emmissary as soon as he re- ceived word from de Lhuys. On July 28th, Slidell was suraraoned to the minister of marine's office where he learned "that the question had been discussed in cabinet council, the Ekpress presiding, on the previoiis day and that it decided jiot to change the instructions. .,78was The vessel 79 coitLd only leave with thii'ty-five crewmen and officers. 76Fauntleroy to Barron, July 23, 186^, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 699* 77Slidell to Benjamin, August 1, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1182-83. Slidell to Benjamin, August 1, 1864, ORN. Sor. II, Vol. Ill, 1183. '^^Si.idell to Benjamin, August 1, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1183. 82 This decision by the Fl*ench government confronted the Con- federates with the decision of whether to risk taking the Rappahannock out with such a small mmber of men. On July 311 1864', Fauntleroy Barron and Buin.och met aboard the Rappahannock and agreed that this muti- ber was totally insufficient to operate the vessel. It was also decid- ed that it would be impossible to coordinate any combined movement of the Rapir^hannock and a hired steamer with a battery and a full crow to join the raider. Fauntlei'oy was to wait until he received official notice of the governiiisnt *s decision at which time he would restate the Confeder- ate stand on the issue of the number of creimien to bo allowed and then to pay off his crow and lay up the ship. On August 1, 1864, the captain of the Fr-ench warship Avergiie, stationed in Calais watching the Rappahannock, infomed Faimtleroy that he could leave port whenever ready but that he could only depart vrith thirty-five men including officers. Fauntleroy refused and the next day proceeded to pay off his crew and detach bis of- ficers. This marked the end of the 's chances of ever serv- 80 ing the Confederacy as a coinmerce raider. It did not end her service to the Confederacy, however. She wou].d become importiint as a floating personnel depot for other Confederate vessels. 80 Forrest, Diary, Aug\ist 1, 1864; Barron to llallory, August 2, 1864, ORB, Ser. II, Vol. II, 696. CHAPTER IV LIFE ABOARD SHIP No study of an individual vessel, such as the Rappaiiannock, is complete without including a section about life aboard ship for the officers and crew. The Rappahannock affair gives an ample amount of information for any social commentary because of the vessel's long stay in the LYench provincial port of Calais. Life for Confederate officials in Europe, both civilian and military, was far different than for their people back horae. They had roofs over their heads, plenty of the finest foods and beverages to satisfy their phi^sical needs, companionship with the upper crust of Eng- lish and Pi'ench society, and rarely had to face the hardships faced bj'- the people of the Confederacy every daj'-. These naval officials and of- ficers rarely faced the dangers that officers in the field faced on the battle fronts of the South. There were only a few engagements, of vrhich the .Alabama - Kearsarge battle was most notable, involving Confederate vessels in European vraters. Theirs was generally a comfortable, if not a soft life. Ly the very nature of the mission of Confederate officials in E'jrope, it was important for them to live in a high manner and to cul- tivate the fr-iendship of influential p.eopl0 who could possibly effect their governments to side openly -i-n-th and aid the Confederate cause. The majority of the officers sent to Europe wore bright. young men of the upper class of Southern society. Most were men of substance, i.e., educationally, culturally and financially. Most of the senior officers, including many lieutenants, given positions of com- mand had served in the old Na\ry and were experienced, capable men. 84 Lieutenants ITilliara P. A. Campbell and Charles M. Fauntleroy were among those who were former United States naval officers and both served in various capacities for the Confederate navy prior to being sent to Europe. Both were fine examples as representatives of the South and as Confeder- ate officers and were culturally and socially suited to represent their government while in Calais.^ As previously mentioned, several of the Rappahannock*s offi- cers had been in Calais as much as two months prior to her entry into that port. In that two months period the Confederates had made acquain- tences with several of the leading citizens of Calais and were often guests at meals, parties, and dances in private homes. Wien their ship finally arrived on Noveraber 26, I863, they suddenly had soraothing to do 2 other than socialize xrith the Calaisians. Life for the officers aboard the Rappahannock during the first several weeks, was spent in the assigning of duties ana then super¬ vising the enormous amount of work to get the vessel seaworthy and ready for a cruise. Campibell found himself busy v:ith the Calais port offi- cia],s trying to obtain the facilities necessary for his ship’s repairs. Lieutenant John F. Ramsay was sent back .and forth from Calais to England to recruit a crow for the vessel. Paymaster Forrest vj-as constantly .at work keeping the ship’s books updated and in vnritnjig notes for pa3mi0nt of debts on materials acquired for the vessel. First officer, Lieutenant ^Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navv . ''.861-1865 (V/ashl-ngton D.C., 193i). 29, 58* ^Maury, Hlary, August 14, 22, 1863; Forrest’s Diary ho early pages indicates that he and a fexir other officers were acquair d with several people in Calais. 85 Graves, found himself in charge of many of the details of repairing the vessel and the rest 3of the officers were performing similar tasks. As repairs progressed, the officers began to have more free time to socialize and form the accustomed daily habits they wou].d have for the duration of their staj*- in Calais. For the first time the officers appeared dressed out in full uniform. The townspeople were easily ira-- pressed by the snappy grey uniforms and gold braid which vrere paraded about the deck in proud display. The crew was dressed smartly in new blue uniforms and all aboard presented a colorful picture to the people of Calais. Some of the officers even had pistols bolstered at their sides to add a further dignitj'’ and touch to their position as officers of the Confederacy. It soon became a matter of social importance to the Calaisians to invite the dashing young Southern gentlemen to social af- 4 fairs. Paymaster Forrest relates in his diary of thvO preparations and events experienced on Monday, December 14, 1863, at one of these social gatherings: • • * In the evening made 'grande toilette' i.e. ap- peared for the first time with sword and uncovered caps. The occasion being the Soiree musical at the hall of the Pliilharmonic Society. r • * A great many insisted we were Russians - some few comprehended that vre were their old guests the Americans disguised in 'soldiers clothes.* ¥e excited a gi-eat deal of attention at the Concert, and nearly all the officers of the 9^th came up during the evening and conversed with us. This Society is very 3Forrest, Diary, November 26 - December 10, 1863. -^1 Forrest, Diary, December 13, 1863; Adams to Seward, enclosure number 5 in January 8, 1864(the presence of pistols can be assumed be- cause the sworn statement of the deponent, William Hewson, states that pistols wer'o used to threaten hi'un), M-30, Roll 80. 86 exclusive and the audience were almost without exception, the E[l.ite. After the concert the room was cleared for a dance; but we were compelled to leave in order to accept an in- vitation from the Philhannonic of St. Pierre whose Ball we had promised to attend.”5 This was the first of many such evenings for the officers as time and again they attended concerts and balls, some given in their honor. On one such occasion the officers -wero invited to attend a masquerade ball. They all went dressed in many different disguises. Forrest and Pay- master’s Clerk, Thomas A. Killer, decided to borrow some crew members' clothes and go as ordinary seamen. It was with great aiausement that from behind their masks they observed the scorn and disgust on the faces of their fellow officers when thoy entered. They wore also amused at the reaction they received when they acted in a familiar way tovrards the other officers. Forrest approached Dr. James Her by from behind and put a hand on his shoulder in a familiar way and received a dark sco'wl from the ship's sui’geon in retru'n. It was all in good fun and the officers were all v:ell received at the many balls and concerts they attended.^ The officers amused themselves in many other ways as well. Because most cf thera vrere "gentlemen" and therefore cultuir-ed to sorao degree, they vrere quite familiar with the game of chess and with many cai'd games popular to the times. From Campbell on down the list of of- ficers, they all enjoyed playing chess and many idl.e hours wero spent in deep concentration over a chessboard. The forerunner of our modern gamo of bridge, called ’whist* was a favorite card game played among •^Forrest, Diary, December 14, I863. ^Forrest, Diary, February 8, 1864. 87 the officers and at private parties in the hoisies of citizens of Calais. Other card games included 'Old I'laid' and ‘Bezique*, the latter resembling the game of pinochle, but using a double, triple or quadruple deck of all the cards above the 7six. A popular outdoor game was 'quoits* siiuilar to our game of horseshoes only it is played vdth a metal or wooden ring which is tossed towards a peg in the grourid. Occasionally the officers wcii].d amuse themselves by tossing a ball id.th the pretty young ladies of the tcivvi. Another favorite pastime, which vms enjoyed by most of the officers near- ly every day, was strolling or 'promenading' in the town square, called the 'Fla.ce'. This was a chance for them to display their best military manner and a^jpearance, to get exercise, to make conversation, and best of all, to see the upper strata of Calais society, which also enjoyed daily 'promenading'. It was also a convenient means for the officers to meet the pretty daughters of the elite and enabled them to converse irith the 8 influential people of Calais, Another means of whiling away the idle hours was reading. Books and novels, newspapers, journals, and letters, were the sources for this pastime. The books and nov’^ols road depended on the number of langtiages the individual officer knew. Some, such as Forrest, had a knowledge of French and were able to road Fi’onch novels, A sample of the books Forrest read are, Aloxa,ndre Dijanas ' The Ilusketeers; Frederick 7Forrest, Diary, January 4, 12, 1864; May 9» 1864(chess); January 16, 186^1 (whist); February 23, 5865(Old Maid and Bezique). 8 Forrest, Diary, 1- 3, 1864, July 6, 1864, December 30, 1864, January 9. I865(Quoits); Jv 1864(playing ball); December 20, I863, January 13, 25, iSb-l(promen ). 88 Kirryats*, The Plrato; Kort do Roland; and several novels by George Sand, including Antonia and les Beavix Massieus. Many fine novels i^ritten in English were also the som*co of entertainment for the officers who ccald not read Fi’ench. The Bible 9also was a source of comfort. Newspapers and letters were especially welcomed by the young Southerners because they brought news of home. Like all seafaring peo- pie far away from home, these yourig officers craved news of their farai-- lies and the way the war was going for their homeland. The Siglish newspapers such as the London Times, the Standarci, and the Liverpool Daily Post, constantly had news of the war. The articles from Southern cori'espondants were fewer than those of the Northern because they were harder to got cut, News of a battle would reach E’aropo two or three weeks after it occured. Southern nevrspapers and letters had to go through the blockade, then go to Bermuda, and from there to England. Usually the officers in Calais got letters from their famLlios and friends more than a month after they were written, and soraetmos as m.uch as tvro or three months later. The increasing surveillence and success of the Federal blockade as the w’-ar neared its end, meant fewer letters and less nevrs could got through to the Confederates in Earope. Wien yellowr fever raged in Bermuda, ships bound for the Con- federacy and vice versa, had to take other, longer, roundabout means of reaching their destination to avoid the plagued island. This meant further delays in letters reaching the receiver. The sad aspect of this delay is that in many cases a Confederate in Europe would lose - relative ^Forrest, Diary, December 18, 1863; January 11, 1864; I ?ber 15, 1864; January 22, 24, 30, 1865. 89 or friend at home, either by battle or natural causes, and would still think of that person as living for the month or more it took for the news to reach EJurope. Even though there was this sad possibility, one of the highlights of s.ny day came when the Dover-Calais packet boat arrived vri.th 10 mail from homo. Similar to the above was the constant vjriting of letters to families and friends at home in the South. Some of the officers, as was the habit of many naval officers of the period, probably kept diaries in which they recorded significant events and their oito innermost thoughts. Forrest’s diary is in letter or story form and is an exceD.lent example from that period, of an educated man’s writing ability. Althoiigh no evidence is available on whether other officers of the Rappahannock kept a diaryi it can be assumed that some must have, as diaries vjore quite common as a means of keeping one’s mind cccupicxl in a constructive man- 11 ner. Wiile the officers vrere in Calais, the towi had it’s annual fair in the ’Place*. This was an event that drew visitors from all the neighboring communities and it vras a delight to the officers to spend their idle time enjoying this gala event. Forrest describes in his diary what the Fair locked like; "Mown, its length are three avenues of booths, vroll lighted and filled with every species of small ware. The • • • colors, the freo^uent lights, the cries of the vendors. 1 0 Forrest, Diary, February 11, 1864 and February 7. 1865 are two instances of Forrest receiving letters mailed to him two months prior; Fobruai.'y 1, 1865; September 27, 1864. ^^Forrest, Diary, February 19, 186^-)-; April 25, 1864; October 18, 1864; November 25, 1864. 90 different in discord, the beating of drums, the ringing of bells, the ?vrinding of horns, hand organs & bands of vary- ing size and extraordinarily little morit. Great pictures of fat women & hell, of lions, & alligators, & St. Autoria's pig, and so forth & the comtless multitude of French of every degree(except the highest) who jostle & laugh & smirk & flirt (S: intrigue & throw balls at puppets for bonbons... II12 It must have seemed to them very much lake a county fair at home except with a decidedly Fi'ench air about it. Some of the officers must have viewed the whole spectacle with amusement because of the throngs of coarse, common people who came to enjoy one of the happier moments iia a peasant's life. Others were perhaps 'wa.stful and reminded of home.^^ Along with the faija, there were other things to enjoy in Calais. Among these was an occasional outdoor concert given by the rog- imontal band of the 9^th infantry stationed at Calais. These concerts were evidently quite good and ls.sted as long as an hour and a half. Oe- casionally the officers found themselves cn the outskirts of a crowd. watching a p'arade in i'onor of some dignitary, either foreign or domestic. Because of the close proximity of Calais to Dover, Calais was a main thoroughfare between lligland and Europe. Many foreign princes and dig- nitaries found Calais as their port of destination in order to make the shortest boat trip possible across the Eriglish Channel. When it was khowra that such a person vjas going to pass through, much ado vras made about it in the form of parades and speeches to honor the dignitary. Perhaps the most meaningful, and gratif;^'lng occasions oxper- ^?^Forrost, Diary, January 23, 186^)-. 13Forrest, Diary, Januai'y 23, 1864. 14 Forrest, Diarj’-, April 24, 186^-. 91 ie/icod by the officers, oocured vrhen they vrero invited into the homes of the leading citizens of Calais. Campbell, Forrest and others v^ere con- sta-ntly the guests of M. Magniac, his wife and his two lovely daughters, Henriette and Louise. This family invited Campbell and Forrest to share ras.ny meals w’ith them, and after a time Forrest became very much impressed and delighted by the two Magniac girls. Although never allowing himself to fall in love with them, he was qus.te fond of both, especially Henri- ette, and many a pleasant evening was spent in their company’'. Dancing, sinp;ing, listening to the girls play the pj.ano, and good conversation made the long detention in Calais quite bearable for Forrest. Other of- fleers received similar treatment in other French homes. 15 Many of the parties held in private homes attended by the officers- of the Rappahannock, were truly extravagant affairs. Christ- mas dinner in the home of M. EJj're was a feast beyond belief. "The table was well furnished with excellently pre- pared dishes & served in silver and french china, in the middle of the table an epergne and in the midst a plim cake garnished, with flags, the principle one being a Con- federate banner vrith ’a Merry Christmas & a happy new year to all Confederates* inscribed upon it - a very pretty compliment. There was soup, bouillon & vegatable, goose & apple sauce, sausages, cold meats, salad, pate de fai gras / goose-liver paste_7, mbice pies, almonds & raisins, different kinds of cakes, oranges, pears, apples, bon-bons, port, sherry, madeira., hock, claret, ordinary Bordeaux, champaignes, brandy & ales, cigars - an elegant entertainment hospitably dispensed, Aftervrards singing. dancing, cards, etc. f • • This meal was not an every day a.ffair, of course, but oven on beard ship. 15Forrest, Diary, July 11, 1864. Forrest's entire diary mentions his almost daily presence at the Magniac home or in, their company else- where in Calais. ^^Forrest, Diary, December 25, 1863. 92 the senior officers ate extremely well. "Dined very comfortably aboard. Finest linen, ex- quisite china & plate, arranged svreetly on our cosy little round tablo, in our little gem of a cabin. Very nice soup, sweetbread, roast mutton, current jelly, potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, salad, delicious English cheese, peach marmalade. tart apples, oranges, filberts, almonds, raisins & coffee. This for Captain / Campbell~7, /^Paymaster's clerk~7 Miller & myself and our mess bill will not probably cost us more than fifteen dollars a month, at farthest twenty."^' It is a wonder that they did not have a twinge of conscience when these meals are contrasted x-rith the ones partaken of in Southern homes at that time. Few people in the Confederacy could afford, much less obtain, the different foodstuffs xhxich were every day fare for the Confederate offi~ eers in Calais. Officers in the field rarely ever ate as well. The officers of the Rp.-ppahannock were extremely well off. As the detention issue began to drag on, the officers began to know several of the young women of Calais very vjoll. Mien the wea- ther was warm, picnics were quite comon with the S’^oung ladies and t.hoir families. Great open horse drawn carriages or omnibuses were hired by the officers or other members of the party and they would drive miles out into the country until they founcl a site that struck their fancy. There they would stop and have a joyous time under a x-jarm sxm and soft sea breezes. This vras quite a contrast to the hot, dusty battlefields that 18 other Southerners faced in far off Virginia. The spiritual needs of the officers and the crew vrere suppli- ed by several different chui’ches in Calais. Shipboard services x;ere oft- 17Forrest, Diary, January 2, 1864. ^?^Forrest, Diary, June ^0, 186^'-l'; July 12, l6 , 20, 1864. 93 en conducted by ministers. The Reverend Jlr. Newham, chaplain of the Ei-i- tish Consulate in Calais, delivered a reusing sermon to the ship’s com- pany on Fobruax’y 22nd, the Confederate national anniversary,. He lectui'-- ed and preached that the Southern cause was righteous and just. At other times, Forrest had the crew erect a small canopy on the quarterdeck and he functioned as ship's chaplain. Crew and officers regularlj'- at- tended divine services conducted by Forrest and this experience eventual- ly contributed to his becoming a minister after the war.^^ blien the deter:tion controversy came to an end, the Rappahan- nock * s officers found themselves with increasing amo'ont.s of idle time. The orevj was paid off and the officers were detached for reassignment to other ships. Many were ordered home. However, yellow fever was raging in Bermuda, so that those who had been ordered home were temporarily re- assigned to the Rs.ppahannock. Through late summer, into autumn and ei2.r- ly winter, these officers had an abundance of time and little or nothing to do. Opinion had soiored vrhere the French go^rernment was concerned, so that little intercourse of ary sorts was held with officers in the French navy or army stationed at Calais. Parties, concerts and balls became tiresome after having been in Calais for so long, and few officers attend- ed very many. Amusements were few and the officers were desperate for something to do. Visits to the train and packet-boat depots were com- monplace. '®You may imagine how threadbare our life has become when I tell you that these visits to the depot constitute the principle, almost the only, excitement w'e have. Wc ^^Forrost, Diary, February 7> 22, 1864; April 22, 1864; October 18, IGCV-t-; Jarmary 1, 1865. 94 there inspect and cormnent upon the arrivals, speciilate upon their nationality, admire pretty faces, are diverted by grotesque onos - more occupied in ridiculing than ad- miring. Stare at Yankees, converse with Southerners, meet a friend once in a while, and always find the hour thus spent a short one."^-*^ As printer approached, several of the officers began to consider other 23 means of amusement. Oije of the natm'al inclinations of people when thej'" have an excess of free time or days vjith nothing to do, is to take a vacation and travel. The officers of the Rappahannock were no different. Europe was rich in history, culture and art of varj^uig degrees of excellence. The many nations, so close by rail and water, beckoned to those young men. whose ancestors had come from that continent. Many realized that ouch a chance for extensive travel in the Old World might never present itself again during their lifetimes, so they eagerly jumped at the chance for such an experience. To some, Eiigland and Scotland beckoned and they visited the mother of nations; for others, the villages of Germany, Austria, S'witzor- land and Italy, Frequently, the great cathedrals of those nations -were the motivating force for travel. Paymaster Forrest gave a trulj^' masterful, accccuot of his journey through France, Germany, Austid.a, Swi/tzerland and Italy. The descriptions in his diary of the places, events, and people he saw, are very detailed and offer excellent reading. Lieutenant Shryock and Pass- ed Assistant Surgeon Herty, travelled together to tour Germany, and many ^^Pbrrest, Diary, August 131 186^1-. ^^Fauntleroy to Barron, August 8, 186^1, ORN, Ser. I, Vol, III, 7Cl; Forrest, Diary, September 27, 186^. 95 other officers availed themselves of the opportunity to enrich their oi-m lives Opby seeing firsthand other cultures and peoples. ' For Captain Fauntleroy, his journey to Italy had a temporary happiness and then a lasting, painful memory. Sometime during his per- iod of service in Europe, Fauntleroy had met and fallen in love vrith a Miss Sallie Sold.ter. The young lady and her family went to Rome and Fauntleroy followed them tliere where she consented to marriage, This took place on January 16, 1865, snd they went to Naples and from there to Paris to hone.’sunoon. There the new Mrs. Fa\mtleroy contracted typhoid fever and died a month later. After the funeral, Fauntleroy returned brokenhearted to a lonely and deserted ship in Calais harbor. Soon af- terwards the ship was abandoned, and left to Commander Bulloch to dispose of. Faujitlcroy's tragedy seems to sum up the total frustrations suffer-- ed by Southern officers connected vn.th the Ranpahannock during her Con- federate seiu^'ice. 23 The common seamen(mostD.y English and some Dutch) aboard the Rappahannock did not have as comfortable a life as did their officers. However, those seamen who stayed with the Rappahannock were qiiite vrell off if they behaved themselves. Apparently tlie crew was generally happy and content(it must be remembered that these men chose of their oim free will to serve on her and were not forced to stay except in a few cases). The sailors were not as free to come and go as the officers, but thejr 22 Forrest, Diary, Setptember 7» 186^+; October 4 - November 17, 1864. 23Fauntleroy to Barron, December 17, 186-4, and Bulloch to Barron, Februnry 10, 15, 1865, in Wnittle Papers; Forrest, Diary, February 4, 17. 24, 1865. 96 were granted regular leave once Fauntleroy becanie captain. Bveiy month or so they would receive their pay, and like all true sailors, would go on a spree. Occasionally they would disappear for a fevr days without permission and then return when least expected in an inebriated condi- 24 tion. Most of the crew's time was spent in keeping the ship in good condition. Due to the vessel's daily grouiiding, the crew was con- stantly below decks, caulking the hull and trying to prevent water from seeping through. Occasionally the upper deck would.be biiried in an inch of sand and water and the process of 'holystoning' the ship commenced. According to Forrest the ship x-ras kept attractive and clean through con- stant scrubbing and painting. 25 The crew was well provided for as far as their physical needs were concerned. P’orrest, as payiaaster, would often go to the shops in Calais and pui’chase necessary supplies for the crew: "Purchased a raeD-cngo for the crew - oilskin clothes, mittens, cora.forters, scarfs, socks, stockings, pens, ink, paper, pencils, slate, flute, toxvels, cotton and flannel shirts, soap, pins, thread, silk, chalk, oranges, apples, and a host of things." The meals eaten by the crevr were not as fine and varied as the officers mess, but they ate well and were well taken care of. Chris tmas, 1864, found the crew enjoying a fine meal aboard ship with the mno being sup- 24 P'orrest, Diary, January 25, 1864; February 11, 1864; March 28, 1864; May 26, 28, 186^+; June i2, 1864. ^•^Forrest, Diary, Ma.rch 10, 15, 1864; April 5, 22, 1864; Mas’’ 26, 28, 1864. ^^Forrest, D3.ary, March 3, 1864. 97 plied them by the officers. Being mostly Englishmen, the crew ate tj^pi- cal English fare; peas, bread, mutton, salt pork, beans, various kinds of 2? vegatables and water or rum to drink. The crew amused themselves in many ways. Boxing, dancing and singing made up many an evening's entertainment. Evidently they were extremely good at the latter two and the officers, upon occasion. wovLl.d invite young ladies and their families to come aboard and obsen.’'e the crevj's entertainment. Invariably, while on a spree in town, the crew vjould get involved in a free-for-all with French sailors who also were ijabibing on their evening's liberty. Sometimes the crew wouD.d have their fun at the officers' expense. "Dr. llerty climbed into the main top and was mads to pay his footing by some of the sailors. Newton too, vras lashed to a yard and only released upon the same terms. tf28 The officers paid for their release as it was all in fui and they had tres- passed on the crew's territory, 29 Curing the summer, boat racos became a source of amusement for the erew. "We had a slicrt boat race with the Avorgne, ... six of oun crow manning a gig , ? t pulled against the same num- ber of the Avorgne's crevr in a boat thoy have caused to be built for the Regatta wd.ich comes off on Sunday. ... It only beat us by a boat's length. The Captain of the Avergne Invited our man aboard and treated them to wine, etc."30 ^'^Adams to Seward, April 28, 1864, enclosure M-30, Roll 82. ^^Forrost, Diary, February 28, 1864. ^%orrest. Diary, February 28, 1864; June 7. 1864; December 7, 1864. ^^Forrest, Diary, July 7> 186^1 98 The retiix-n match the foiloiling Saturday was an even better race. "V/e had a very exciting regatta this afternoon between a boat manned bj’- seven of our crew and a much superior one pulled by seven of the Averfnie*s men. Notwithstanding the great disparity of the boats and contrary to the confident expectations of the French, vhio were very much chagrined at the res\il.t, we beat them by a boat's length. Our men have invited the Fl'enchmen to enjoy their hospitality this evening, the wherewithal being in the shape of a purse of one hundred francs w. raised on the 'Rap' to be given the winning boat. They are fraternizing now on the forecastle and as our men have asked for and obtaiied liberty for to- night, I suppose they will have a tremendous spree, per- haps will wind up with a fight - such is the hatred between the Fi'ench and the English that the spy 0*Kelly or Winn who is again here v.’-as rushing about on the jittee(sic) ci'ying out with unmistakable genuiness, 'go it Rappahan- nocks.* 'Give it to Em.' etc."8i /lLthough most of the ci-ewmen were of Englisli nationality. they actually developed a sense of loyalty and affection for the Confed-' erate cause and showed this through hostility to anything Federal. On July ii, 166^+, the sailors were in Calais on shore leave. Some of them wandered into tiie 'Place' and saw several United States f^Lags, which vrare hung on buildings as decorations for a festival being held at that time. One of the men got the bright idea to tear them do’wn and take them back to the ship. Some of the flags were recapttu-ed by the police before they coTJld V;e taken on board the Rappahannock, but at least ono made it and served admirably as a place-mat on the gangway. The crewman were hos- tile to Yankee merchant sailors and to Federal na^'y cremen as well. One evening, a Federal merchant ship, loaded ^vith lunber from Norway, en- tered the harbor and Wed up not far from the Rappahannook. Several of the crow vront do’wn to the merchantman and cursed the Yankee's erevT "after 3iForrest, Diary, July 9. 186/+. 99 Jack's fashion," thoroughly frightening them so that the merchant crew feared to come ashore. Such was the life of the crew aboard the Rappa- hannock. Hard vrork followed by drunken sprees, fights and a normal ss.il- or's life in port. 32 ^^Forrest, Diary, July 11, 1864; October 18, 1864. CHi^PTER V Eira OF COKP’EDmTE a^JlEER AND POSTl^AR LEGAI. ACTIONS On August 1, 186^)-, the captain of the Avergne visited Faunt- leroy and informed him of the decision of the committee of lawyers, to allow the Rappahannock to depart at any time from Calais, but only with thirt5>"-five crewmen and officers. Fauntleroy ref\ised to give a definite answer, and pointed out that the ship’s manifest at the customs house had one hundred as the number of crewmen on board the Rappahannock vrhon she entered Calais. That afternoon Faiontleroy vrrote to Barron informing him that the decision of the lawyers had been officially delivered to him and he I’equested permission to proceed with paying off the crow. Tile next day Barron replied: "You vTill * • • proceed to pay off and discharge your officers and crew, keeping sufficient officers and men to look after the public nroperty, and lay up the ship until we detei'mine her,"^ upon what course we shall pur-sus in regardto On August 3) 1064, the order was received and the process of ]iaying off and detaching the crew cuid officers vras started. By August 8th tills V7as comp3.eted. The only ones X'oraaining on board were the captain. lieutenants ShrjJock and Ramsay, Ship’s Surgeon Herty and his steward. Paymaster Forrest and his clerk. Chief Engineer V/illiam Codd, four fire- men, three midshipmen, the boatswain, three master’s mates, fifteen deck hands and eight small boys. Most of these would remain on board to help 2 protect the Confederate property. ^Bax-ron to Fauntleroy, August 2, 1864, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 700. ^Fauntleroy to Barron, August 1, 1864, CRN, Ser, I, Vol. Ill, 700; Fauntleroy to Barron, August 3. 1864, in I'Thittle Papers; Fauntleroy to Barron, August 8, 18^, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 701. 101 "Ship very quiet and deserted," Forrest wrote, "The few men we retain do not furnish the decks and everybody misses their mess mates. We ha-^^e received orders to remain here until the last.. .7 3* I Most of the officers had left for England to be reassigned on other Confederate vessels. Many -were ordered home and were in the process of boarding a blockade runner for that purpose when news was received that a yellow fever opidcraic had struck Barrauda. This news was received near the end of August, and early in September the detached officers bound for the Confederacy, were reassigned to the Rappahannock. This was the beginning 4 of her service as a floati):ig personnel depot. For the next two months the vessel was the scene of total inactivity. Her physical conditio]i began to deteriorate as no efforts were made to keep her in readiness for sea. The ship V7as not the only thing deteriorating at that time. Confederate and French diplomatic relations vrere strained almost to the breaking point as a result of the F'rench government's action taken with regards to the Rappahannock as well as several other vessels being built with Confederate money in Franco. The manner in vrhich all Confederate overtures iiad been either ignored or coo3.y received by the French govern- raent during tho period, when MaxiirAlian w&s being established in Moxico, had continued after he was safely on tho Mexican throne. It vfas quite obvious that the continuous Confederate setbacks on the battlefield. caused Kapjoleon much concern and he refused to continue the vjarm relations ^Forrest, Diary, August 12, 1864. Forrest, Diary, September 1, 1864. 102 with the Confederacy for fear of backing a loser. Thus the Rappahannock and several other cruisers were lost to the Confederates as France sud¬ denly asserted a new found neutrality. Confederate Secretary of State Benjamin, and Pres3.dGnt Jef- ferson Davis, had kept an eye on the developments in the Rappahannock * s detention case and the final decision did not reach them until September 13, 186^4', almost two f^ill months after the lai-jyers ha-d reached their de- cision. On September 20, 1864, Benjamin, on behalf of Pi'esident Davis, wrote a long letter to Sl3.dell in Paris, denouncing the two-faced French disposition toward the Confederate cause. Ke pointed out that the out- ward verbal expressions of friendshj.p from the French government for the Confederacy, did not coincide with the actual treatment which the Confed¬ erate naval and diplomatic endeavors received at the hands of the Fi'ench governrient. In this communication, Benjamin listed nine specific in- stances where French attitudes and actions had been injurious to the Con- federate cause. The ninth \iras the Rappahannock; '*The detention of the Rappahannock is the last and least defensible of the acts of the French Government, and it is in its nature totally i.r-roconcilable \7±th nou- tral obligation. A Confederate vessel, unarmed, sought and obtained asylum in the port of Calais. She was al- lowed to complete her repairs and to incur all the cost and expense necessary to enable her to go to sea. She was notified of the desire of the French Government that she should leave the harbor, and while engaged in coaling for that purpose, and still unarmed, the French Govern- ment, on the demand of our enemies, ordered her to be de- tained in pert on the unintelligible pretext that she had not obtained her coal in advance. Six months have elaps- ed, and the Rcappahannock is still in a French port. In violation of the right of asylum, \re have been deprived of the services of this vessel, vjhile by the use of a system alternating between a studied silence and evasive statem.onts our representations have been eluded and oior remonstrances rendered unavailing. After thus delaying 103 the departure of the vessel until our enemies had had time to perfect arrangements for her capture, a reluctant consent to her departure was finally extorted, but coupled vrith conditions v/hich V7ould almost Insure her falling in- to the hands of the enemy. The vessel therefore remains in a French port, its use during the war practically con- fiscated by that Government for the benefit of our ad- visary under circumstances as inconsistent with neutral obligations as they are injurious to our rights and of- fensive to our flag. It is impossible for the President, in view of such action on the part of a foreign Government, to credit its professions of amity, nor can he escape the painful con- viction that the Ekperor of the French, knovang that the \itmost efforts of this people are engrossed in the defense of their* homes against an atrocious warfare waged by great- ly superior numbers, had thought the occasion opportune for promoting his own prcrpose, at no greater cost than a vio].ation of liis faith and duty toward ue.‘'-5 Slidell was directed to "maintain a reserved demeanor" which -would indi¬ cate the displeasure of the Confederate government but not cause an cut- right rupture of diplomatic relations.^ The ship continued to rest at her moorings ifhen on October 19, 1864, Fauntleroy vras inforxtied that the basin's -waters vrould be drain- ed out and the basin closed for the -winter for repairs. This would in- .s-ure that the Rappahannock would stay at least lantiTi. January and relieved the Federal cruisers Kearsarge at Dover, Niagara off Ushant, Sscraiiiento at Cherbourg, and Iroqiiois at Brest, from having to observe the vessel so closely and so often. Coal and provisions were moved ashore i-rith the provisions being put in a storeroom furnished to the Confederates by the Calais Chamber of Commerce. Much of the bread was unfit for use because ^Benjamin to Slidell, September 20, 1864, Sor. II, Vol. Ill, 1214. ^Benjamin to Slidell, September 20, , 0^, Ser. II, Vol. Ill, 1212-1215. leakage, due to the constant grounding every dajr, had spoiled it. The coal tras sold as it was felt it would bo ruined by exposure to the woa- 7 ther and that if any was needed it could be obtained cheaply enough. iJhile the Rappahannock lay in a closed basin for the v?jnter of 186^f-j865, Secretary Mallory became increasingly unhappy with the de- cision of his senior officers in Europe not to use the Rappahannock, He believed she woTuLd be more useful to the war effort at sea rather than rotting in Calais basin as a floating personnel depot. French restrict- ions on the matiber of men to be allowed, as a reason for non-active use of the vessel, was not acceptable. He stated that ''Thirty-five men are amply sufficient for the navigation of the vessel, and once at sea, she could havo recruited to any desirable extent. m8 He did aclcnoxll. edge that the officers wore in a better position to make a judginent, but that from information he had at hand, it vras felt that their decision had not fully considered that every effort had to be made to Injure the enemy as often as possible. The war was going badly for the Confederacy and ever3'-one was expected to do their duty whether failure was likely or not. dial- lory loft the decision up to Commander Bulloch, xrho succeeded Commodore Barron when the latter officer was ordered home, as to the final disposi- tion of the Rappahannock. By the time this comraunncation reached Bui- loch, the end result of the war was obvious and just a matter of time. Use of a vessel which woxild almost certainly be captured or destroyed. '^Fauntloroj’" to Barron, October 199 1861, ^N, Sar, I, Vol. Ill 701; Barron to Mallory, August 2, 1864, ORN, Ser, II, Vol, II, 696. 8 Mallory to Bulloch, December I6, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. II, 78O. 105 was viewed as folly and thore vrere other, more powerful vessels that stood a better chance of succ6eding(i.e • > Stonewall and Shenandoah) 9 against Federal cruisers. Since the Rappahannock had been laid up early in August, her value had been rain’otial to the Confederacy. Barron was critical of her VTorth; “She is scarcely such a ship as we would be willing to koop during the war in a foreign port at a heavy ex- pense, in order to have her as one of a naval force to be employed during peace; and thore is • • » doubt whe- ther we can selD. her at the price she cost u.s. However, rather than selling her, it was finally decided that, all unat- tached officers in Europe woxd.d. bo assigned to the Fcappahannock until they were reassigned to other vessels. Officers and also erd.it'tsd per- sonnel v:^ere constantly placed on board of her and then transfered to blockade runners and other cruisers as needed. Former crow members of the Georgis., Sumter, Tallahassee, and A].ab£.ma, at one time p.assed through the Rappaharmock. The last and most important vessel to be partially manned by personnel assigned to the Rappah.a)-mock was the CSS StoneTrall in j i Januajry of 1865. Earlier in the winter, the Florida had been in San Salvador, Brazil, to reprovision. While there, the USS Wachusett came into port, but this did not bother the Confederates as they were in a neutral port. ^Malloi-y to Bulloch, December 16, 1864, CRN, Ser. II, Vol. II, 780-81. ?"?^Barron to 14illory, August 2, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. II, 696. 11 Forrest, Diary, August 18, 186^+; September 1, 1864; December 9, 1864. 106 However, they would have been less sanguine had they Icnovm the Federal captain's Intentions. One night shortly after the arrival of the Waohu- sett, vmdor the cover of darkness, while most of the Confederates includ- ing Captain Charles M. Morris were on shore, a party of marines and sail- ors from the Wachusett boarded the Florida, killed or captured the night watch and took control of the vessel. The Wachusett left the harbor with the }lLoi-ida alongside in the hands of a prize crew. An irrate Brazilian government soon demanded redress from the Federal government for this flagrant violation of its neutrality. Subsequently, the cap- tain of the Vlschusett was com-tmartialed, the captured portion of t.he Florida's crew was released, the F’ederal government made an apology to the Brazilian government, and the Confederacy was left without the ser- vice of one of its most valuable cruisers, as the Fl-orida remained In the custody of the Federal government. The Florida's crevr in San Salvador 17 immodiately shipped for Great Bi'itain upon their release. Upon the arrival of the Florida's crew in London, Barron and Bulloch decided to assign them temporarily to the Rappahannock. On Dec- ember 9th, these men began to arrive in Calais and to report on board the Rappahaiincck. Dnco again there was activity aboard the Rappahannock and this drew’- tlie Federals ’ attention. Union warships agaiu made almost daily appearancos outside of Calais, and Federal Consul Morse once again hired British detectives to tamper with the crew’. This fell into the Confederates' plan perfectly. While the Federals were busy watching the Rapyahannock, the real object of Confederate interest and aoti/ity was ^^Barron to Mallory, December 8, 1864, ORN, Ser. II, Vol. II, 777. 107 preparing for a rendeavous at sea. The iron rani CSS Stonewall, secretly built at Nantes and transfered to the Confederates, was preparing to steam into the Bay of Biscay, where she was to provision, take on arms and receive the balance of her crew. That crew was to be composed of selected officers a.nd seamen temporarily assigned to the Rappahannock in Calais. 13 At ten thirty on the evening of January 10, 1865 the sleep" ing crew and officers were rousted from their hammocks and bunks and or- dored to make final preparations to leave the sh5,p. For the entire day prior to this t!ie officers and crew had been busy buying trunks and work clothes, paying bills, and packing their belongings. The crew loiew that departure vro’dLd be soon but did not know exactljr when, so they had •tureied in' as usual. Horse dravm trucks vrere sent to the quai where the .Ra-ppahannock was tied up, and the departing crew and officers' be-- longings and baggage was loaded on them. Fi'ora there the men a2)d baggage proceeded to the pier, where the London-Cala j.s packet boat alvrays moored on its dal.ly runs. Moot of the baggage and men wore hustled on board in an orderly fashion and the steamer proceeded across the English Chan- nel. Later in the evening, the remaindor of the baggage and men were loaded on the Dover packet boat and they departed Calais. Both parties proceeded to London where they boarded a hired steamer, the City of Rich- mend. 14 ^^BaiTOYi to Morris, December 2, 1864, CRN, Ser. I, Vol, III, 642; Morse to Sevrard, December 15, 186>4, T-168, Roll Forrest, Diary, Dec- ember 7 • 1864; January'' 29, 1865. 12j. . Forrest, Diary, January 10, 21, 1865. 108 The City of Richmond sailed for the Bay of Biscay but was forced into Cherbourg, Fr-anco, by a terrific winter storm and high seas. Sometime between January 22nd and 29th, the City Richmond met the Stonewall off Belle Isle and there transfered officers, crew, cannon, and ammunition aboard the newest Confederate cruiser. The Stonewall then put to sea shortly aftei’ward but only to face another winter storm vrith moiintainous seas. Being an iron hulled vessel and terribly heavy, she was unfit for such weather, rolling dangerously and nearly submerged by every wave tyhicb struck her. It v^as miraculous that she managed to find safety in the liar-bor of Corruna and Ferrol, Spain, without having founder- ed and losing all hands. Although the Stonewall never pjayed a major role dm.'ing the closing stages of the vj-ar, she did present a real threat and was closoly watched by several Federal cruisers. 15 W3th the completion of the transfer of men aboard the Pappa- hannock to the Stonew'all, the final service of the Rappahannock to the Confederate v/ar effort was finished. For the remainder of the w’’ar, a scant three months, the Rappahannock w^as totally useless to the Confeder- any. Even the Fsderals realized that she izould present no threai., and the spies and cruiser.^ ware called away to other service. The end of her inglorious career as a vessel of war of the Confederate States Navy, was dratring near. As the war dragged on throxigh the winter of 1864-1865, Rich- mond had an ever tightening Federal noose around its neck, and conditions vrore locking grijn for the Confederacy. Several of the senior officers ^•^Forrest, Diary, January 29, 1865; February 11, I865. 109 in positions overseas who had faithfully served their country for several years, were arjxious to return home to their families and requested that they be relieved of command. Accordingly, Secretary Mallory decided to relieve Commodore Barron of his duties as chief of Confederate naval op- erations in Eur'ope, and ordered hbn home in mid-December. Barron was directed to turn over control of all naval affairs, including the Rappa- hannock, to Commander Bulloch in Liverpool. Because of the slow mails, due to the Ftxieral stranglehold on Southern ports, neither officer roceiv- 16 ed his orders until early February’-, 1865. Bulloch requested a meeting with Ba.rron, before the latter returned homie, to discuss the fate of the Rappahannock. Obviously she would not be able to leave Calai.s during the remainder of the war. Also, she would probably not bring a reasonable sale price to balance the great expenditui'-es already put into her. It was decided to select a commission of officers to examine the vessel and recoiriraond what Ehoul.d be dene with 17 her. On Tuesday, ^^arch 7j 1865, Paymaster Forrest wrote in his diary, "Lieuts. Murdaugb, Hamilton and Porter with Acting Chief Engineer Thompson visit the ship - a commission of officers appointed to su^'vey and report the Rappahannock with view to her condemnation. .,18upon a The exfimination continued the next day; "The survey is going on. The 16 Mallory to Bulloch, December 16, 1864, CRN, Ser. II, Vol. II, 779-51; Bulloch to Barron, February 10, 15, 1865, in l^ittle Papers; Barron to Bulloch, February 28, 1865, Ser. II, Vol. II, 806, ^’^Bulloch to Barron, February 10, 1865, In Whittle Papers. “^Forrest, Diary, March 7, 1865* no chip's timbers are found to be quite sound and her engine is pronounced a capits-l .,19one. The commission of officers finished their inspection and made their report to BvO.loch on the 9th. The ship was basically sound but there vms some damage duo to leakage and constant grounding. About March i7th, it was decided that she should be decomraissioned and 20 either sold or dismantled and abandoned. The end for the Rappahannock cams at the close of I-larch, 1865. Forrest relates the sad details. • * • Our poor ship's life is ended. Her crew were dis- charged on the 27th and her officers detached. She vras put out of commission on the 29th and I am witing this in a cold, deserted cabin. • o c The Captain proposes leaving to- day, and everybody seems anxious to get away from the itiel- anchol.y wreck.*'^1 Fauntleroy, Forrest and the remainder of the officers departed Calais, April 1, 1865, and the deserted vessel, in charge of a master's mate, was 22 left for Budloch to dispose of. In late April, the Eu-ropean papers announced the fall of Richmond followed by the April 9th surrender of the Array of Northern Virginia and its general, Robert ID. Lee. With this the Confedei'acy was clearly dying, but there still v.ms a largo amount of Confederate property in IDurope who's oi-mership was in doubt. Many individuals sold property under their control and kept the money for themselves, Others converted property to money either to return home or to get to the Con- ^•9Fcrrest, Diary, March 8, I865. ^^Forrest, Diary, I5arch 19, 1865. ^^Forrest, Diary, March 29, I865. pp Forrest, Diary, April 1, 1865. Ill federate forcea in the trans-Mississippi region where the last diehards v:ero willing to carry on the war. That hope ended in lata May with the surrender of the Arriij of the Trans-Mississippi Department, although some groups would not surrender \intil June, and the Shenandoah would not re- turn to Ei:igland and be laid up until late-Auturan. 23 Bulloch began to search for a buyer to unload the Rapp^ahan- nock on for a good price. Bj” June he was getting desparate. Federal dispatches claimed that a German JenT, who had been bioj^ing munitions for the Confederacy, had purchased the vessel. However, this information provc^d to be erroneous. Thomas H. Dvidlcy, Federal Consul in Liverpool, reported Bul,loch*s continued presence in Liverpool. Dudley received in- formation that certain, parties in Liverpool had offered Bulloch four thousand pounds sterling for the RapT)ahannock but that he demanded eight thousand,, Those unnamed individuals refused to pay so large a stun for fear that the vessel vrculd be claimed by the Federal government in the same manner as the Georgia had boon in August, 186^]-. Their fears were well founded because Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough, USN, Commanding U.S. Iluroyjean Squadron, had given orders to vessels under his command to seize any former Confederate vessels, especially the Rappahannock, Shen- Zk andoah, and Tallahassee. Sometime in mid or late June, Bulloch got Henry La.fone, a 23Robert Selph Honry, The Story of the Confederacy(Gardon City, New York, 1931), 492-93- oil Morse to Seward, June 16, I865, T-I68, Roll 35; Dudley to Sew- ard. May 19, I865, United States State Department, Despatches From United States Consuls in Liverpool, Microcopy M-141, Roll number T--3I, herein- after cited as M-141, followed by roll number; Goldsborough to Lt. Cora- mander Upshur, June 18, I865, CRN, Sor. I, Vol, III, 551- 112 Liverpool ship merchant who had been actively engaged in supplying war materials and ships to the Confederacy during the war, to assume charge of the vessel under a nominal sale. Due to the Confederate defeat, Bui- loch could not give legal title to the vessel, and ho never received pay- ment from Lafone for the vessel. A crew was hired and sent to Calais to bring the vessel to Liverpool. On July 2, I865, the Rappahannock, now renamed the Beatrice, left Calais harbor. The Beatrice proceeded to Southampton where she arrived on the 3i*d to take on coal. The Federal consul, in Southampton vfrote to Mi.nister Adams that the Rappahannock was coaling in that port and that slio would proceed to Liverpool. This in- formation was relayed by mail to Captain Henry Walke, commanding USS Sacramento, stationed at Klngstovm, Ireland. The Beatrice sailed from Southampton on July 5th. Walke received the letter from the Federal legation in London on the 6th, but could not act on tiie information until the next day because sufficient wood to start his fires coii].! not be im~ mediately obtained. Re hoped, however, to reach the coast of Wales be- that 25fore vessel slipped into Liverpool. On July 7, 1865, the Sacramento sailed to a point off V/alcs, called Holyhead, with the intention of intercepting the Beatrice in inter- national waters and making a prize of hor. Those hopes ware soon dashed. "As we approached Holyhead a bark-rigged steamer was reported to me in sight, steaming and sailing up the coast close to tlie shore, vfith English colors flying. I iirimedi- ately steered for and overtook her about half past 2 o'cl.ock. She was steaming vrith but one engine and making slow pro- gross , but she kept so close to the coast that I could not ^'^alke to Welles, July 10, 1865, Om^, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 563-6^ ; Dudley to Seward, July 5. 1865; enclosure number 1 in Dudley to Seward, Jiay 14, I865, M-141, Roll T-32. 113 molost her without violating the international laws of pro- tection to all vessels within 3 miles of the coast of any nation now at peace with the United States. After due con- sultation and a thorough observation of her movements, I was convinced that I could not possibly make a legal prize of the vessel(which from all appearances was the aforesaid Rappahannock) in British waters. She was in a crippled con- dition, steering for Liverpool, when I left her.''^° The Beatrice arrived safelj”- in Liverpool late in the evening of July ?, 1865. 27 Consul Dudley learned the next day of the Sacramento * s fail- ure and of the Beatrice's arrival in Liverpool. On July 15th, Dudley was dii-ected by Adamis to talk to his lawj'ers and see if, in their opinion, the United States gcvernmont had a reasonable chance of successfully claiming the Rappahannock and Tallahassee in Bi'itish Admiralty Courts. Dudley had already done this on his own initiative, and accordingly asked his couirsel to swear out \«.rrents in Admiralty Court for the arrest of 28 the Beatrice and for the pretended owners to make an appearance. Dr. Travers Twiss and Mi'. Robert Lush, counsel for Dudley, both agreed that the Rappahannock was the property of the United States goveminent. Twiss reasoned that when the Confederacy cams into exist- ence, it usurped the powers of the Federal goverrjment and that it carried on the functions of that government dui'ing the war. The war v?as fought to prove whether a group of states or a region of the country could break away or secede from the rest. Rlien Southern arms viere defeated, it was 26Walks to Welles, July 10, I865, 0^, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 563-64. 27Dudley to Sav.rard, July 8, I865, M-141, Roll T-32. 28 Dudley to Seward, July 8, 14-15; and enclosure number 2, M-141, Roll T-32; Adams to Wolke, July 11, 1865; enclosure in Ivalke to Welles, July 1?, 1865, CRN, Ser. I, Vol. Ill, 565. proved that no region or st-ate could break sway. Thus, in effect the South had never left the Union by virtue of its defeat. TVri.ss further reasoned that any property obtained by the usui'ping government, by virtue of that government's demise, would be the property of the Federal govern- ment. 29 On July 19, I865, the Beatrice was impounded and Henry La- fcne was required to appear before the Admiralty Court to answer to a suit of possession brought against him by the United States government. On August 18, 1865, the case was brought before the High Court of Chan- eery. It was decided that as the long summer vacation was in progress, during which time the defendant co'old not be forced to file an answer to the Federal petition, the Federals should prepare statements of the facts and a description of the cr«-idence to be used to prove these facts. Cop- ies of ail documents material to the case were to be obtained by the time the court resumed. Names of witnesses and their addresses were also to be obtained and given to the court so they could be subpoenaed to appear when the case came up. Actual evidence was not taken at this first day of the preliminary examination and the case was set for a later date. The cases of the Rappahannock, Tallahassee and Sumter, all were commenced at approximately the same time, As test cases they would indicate ho-w far the British goverrmient- would go in making reparations for damages done to Federal merchant shipping by vessels constructed and/or bought or sold in Great Britain by the insurgent government. 30 ^^Dudley to Seward, enclosure number 2, Jiily 14, I865, M-i4l Roll T-32. 30 Dudley to Seward, enclosure number 1, August 18, 1865i M-141, Roll T-32. 115 In late Kovetnber, while waiting for the case against Lafone to come before the High Court of Admiralty, Dudley and his lav;yers were shocked to discover that Zachary Poarson had tried to get a quick docis- ion in Admiralty Court against the Beatrice for money owed to him for cer- tain cordage stipplicd the vessel while it vras at Sheerness in I863. If Dudley's lav;yers had not discovered this petition by Pearson in time to protest, the Beatrice VToii].d have been lost to them. Fortunatolj'', Pear- son’s quiet proceedings to supercede the Federal suit to recover the ves- eel, vrere discovered and an answer was filed. This.meant that the Unit- ed States ivould be the defendant in the case brought by Pearson. On December 7i I865, Pearson gave a sworn affadavit which stated that lie had sold cordage to the master of the Fi*ench vessel Scylla, for the purpose of rigging the s.hip while it was still at Sheerness. He claimed that the money, amounting to about two hundred pounds, had never been paid to him by the o';m6i's of the Scylla, and that the Admiralty Court should con- deran the vessel so he could get his 31money. On January 18, 1866, Dudley bad his law'3>'err, Rothery & Cora- pany, submit the following official petition in Admiralty Court against Henry Lafone, the pretended o>mer of the vessel; "Rothery & Co. Proctors for the Plaintiffs, in a cause of piossession instituted on behalf of ’The United States of An^erica « • « against Henry Lafone, t • • say as follows, Wr^-. In the year I86I divers persons, being citizens of the United States of America, the Plaintiffs in this cause, rose in insurrection against and usiirped the author- ity of the Plaintiffs’ government, and constituted them- solves within certain of the States of the Plaintiffs, a protended government under the style of the Government of ^"Dudley to Sevrard , November 22, I865, M-141, Roll T-32; December 19, 1865 and enclosure number 1, M-141, Roll T-33* 116 tho CTcnfederate States of America, and assmed the admin- istration of public affairs therein. Second. Tho said pretended government, whilst exercis- ing such usurped authority and in exercise thereof, posses- sed themselves of divers moneys, goods, and treasure, being part of the public revenues and property of tho Plaintiffs, and otherv'jise raised divers moneys for public purposes. Third. The said pretended government,, • • > applied certain of the said moneys, goods, and treasure in the pur- chase or acquisition by them of the above named vessel now called the Beatrice. Fourth. The said pretended government I • c a } in fact purchased or acquired and became possessed of the said vessel. Fifth. Tho sai.d vessel was purchased or acquired by the said pretended government for the purpose of being armed, and set forth by them to cruise on the high seas under the insurgent flag of tiie said pretended goveDment, Sixth. The said vessel sailed from Sheorness on the 24th day of Novembei', I863, under the name of the Scylla, for the port of Calais, in the empire of France, off which port she arrived on the follovring day, and having hoisted tho said insurgent flag when off the said port, she enterod the same port thereunder and under the name of the Fteppahan- nock. Seventh. The said vessel, after so entering the said port of Calais, was, by or under order of the govornruent of the said empire of Phance, pi’evented from being armed and set forth fi'ora the said port, and remained there unt^l on or about the ds.y of July, I865, when she sailed for the port of Liverpool. Eighth. Vliilst the said vessel so remained in the said port of Calais she was under the command of a pretend- ed commissioned officer of the said pretended governinent, and was used as, and was in fact a vesso3. in the pretended p\ibllG service of the said government. Ninth. i^iilot the said vessel so remained in the said pert of Calais the said insurrection* vxas suppressed and put an end to by the Plaintiffs, and the said pretended govern- ment ceased to exist. Ten'i^. On the 7th day of July, I865, the said vessel arrived in the port of Liverpool under the name of the Beatrice. Eleventh. The said pretended government purchased or acquired and became possessed of the said vessel for and on behalf of the Plaintiffs, i\^elfth. At the time of the siippression of the said in- sui-rection tho said pretended govez'ninent still possessed and held the said vessel for and on behalf of the Plaintiffs. Thirteenth. By reason of the premises the Plaintiffs are the sole owners of the said vessel, and are entitled to 11? the possession thereof. And the said Rothery & Co • f pray the Right Konorablo the Judge to pronourice the Plaintiffs to be the solo owners of tho said vessel Beatrice, otherwise Rappahannock, and to de- cree possession thereof to tho Plaintiffs, and to condemn the Defendant in the costs of these proceedings, and that other- v-ise right and justice may be administered i.n the premises. „32 After fii.ing tho petition, Dudley and his counsel waited un-- til Itoy 28, 1866, foi- tho defendant, Henry Lafone, to file his official answer to their 33petition so the case could go before the Admiralty Court. Dodley and his chief attorney, E, G. Clarkson, were both vexed wi.th the course followed by the defendant in not filing his answer. Clarkson advised Dudley that the case should bo brought before the court ?without any evidence Vjei.ng presented in their behalf as the defendant had failed to ans'wer. Clarkson saw T^fonobs failu;>,*e as an admission cf the validity of the Fedoral position. The only obstacle that Clarkson saw was that the co’urt costs had to be ]:)aid. He advised Dudley to waive costs in the case. in other words, the United States wouJLd not demand that Lafone pay tho costs but would assuii.e that amount itself. Clarkson pointed out that it was not usual for a sovoroigi'i prince or government to ask for costs in the Court of Chancerj’' on the groui:!d that doing so vrouD.d bo beneath their dignity. D'adley agi-eed to waive costs in tho case and had a conclusion filed and requested a hearing as soon as possible to 34 settle the matter. 82 Dudley to Seward, February 2, 1866, M“i4l, Roll T-33* 33 Ib.dley to Se'ward, p'obruarj'’ 2, 1866; and enclosure nuiabor 1, M-Wl, Roll T-33. 34Dudley to Seward, J'une 8, 1866; and enclosure number 1, M-141, Roll T-3^-. 118 On June 26, 1866, while vralting foi' the final hearing to be set, Rothery & Co. were surprised to learn that Robert Coleman, of Gor¬ don, Colsinan & Company, had directed his attorneys, Pritchard & Co., to make an appearance on his behalf, naming him as the sole and rogistered owner of the Beatrice. Clarkson, representing Rothery & Co and Dudl.ey, opposed this appearance being allowed by the Co\u*t. Hovrever, the Count approved the application of Pritchard & Co., but condemned Coleman in all costs occasioned by the delay in appearing. Dudley was promptly Inform- ed of th^s new development in the ease and realized that he had a resil 35 fight on his hands. Shortly after the Federals learned of Coleman's intentions, a representative of Coleman appeared before Consul Morse in London. "A man had ja.'^t called on me from Coleman's to see if you are t-rilling to compromise with Coleman to vdthdraw his claim on the Rapnahannock. He thinks or says 4 or ^5»000 would induce them to give up all claim. I know nothing of the ground they have set up but if they have such a cl.aim, as to render the cese doubtful & you can secure their ab- solute sui'rcnder for 2 or ^3 >000 it may be worth consider- ing.''^° Dudley replied to Morse that similar proposals had already been Biade to him and had been rejected. Dud3.ey felt that any compromise wi.th tho very person he w'as taking to court, woifld put his governraont in an vmfa- vorable light. Coleman delayed his answer to the Federal p0tition(original~ ly filed against Lafone) until August 2, 1866, at which time he appeared ^•^Dudley to Sewar-d, Jiina 27, 1866, M-141, Roll T-3^^'. 36 Diidloy to Seward, January 22, 186?, enclosui’e number 1, M-141, Roll T-35. 119 and made his claim. In his claim Coleman described his purchase of the vessel in I863, and the subsequent expendituros upon her to make her sea- worthy. Coleman states that he contracted with Viscounte Henry St. Ro- man of Paris to purchase the vessel, who in turn was supposed to sell the vessel to the Confedorate government. The price agreed upon was tvrenty- thousand pounds, with five thousand for dovmpayment, and the remainder' being paid when the vessel was ready for sea. Coleman further declared that in November, I863, the vessel was ordered on a trial trip, With an agent / Pearson J of Coleman''s in control, the vessel wont to sea, crossed the I'lnglish Channel and anchored, outside Calais for the night, The agent returned to London that night leaving strict instructions for the vessel to return to Shearness the follovring morning. Coleman then claiai!- ed that the vessel had been boarded and taken over by officers of the Con- federate navy and taken into Calais against his will and prior to the fi- na.1 payments for the vessel being made. He claimed that the sura of ^4,322,18.''r, was owed him and that the cour-t should decree possession to him until, ho received this sum from the United States government. After tJiis claim was made, there was little to be done until the case finally 37 came before the court. fiarly in Septeraber, two ship merchants approached ConsilL Morse in Loridon and asked if the Federals woul.d receive an offer for the Beatrice. They stated that they woiald take care of Coleman’s claim and any other claim that might be brought against the ship. They claimed that their i.ntenticns were i.n earnest and that the ship would be bought ^"^Dudley to Seward, August 7. 1866, M-l4i, Roll T-3^i-. 120 by Ehglishraen to go under the English flag. Morse promptly wrote Dudley and informed him of the offer. Dudley replied that the case was not yet decided and that until it was, no deals could be raadd. The two merchant;s approached Morse again two days later sajring that they had provided for the withdrawal of all claims against the vessel and that they x^ould give a bond against all claimants. Morse again wrrote Dudley, inquii’ing whether or not he would be willing to sell the ship if Adams and Montgom- ery Gibbs, Federal Revenue Agent in England, w'ould endorse his actions 38 with regards to the vessel. Dijaloy refused these proposals for several reasons. First, Dudley saxc that one of the objects in prosecuting the actions against former Confederate vessels, was to establish the right of tiie United States government to the vessels as property. The money received from the sale of the vessels, once possession was obtained, was not the only aspect important to the governraent. The principle or right of possession was what the Federal government was after, not just the m.oney. With re-- gards to the Rappahannock case, Dudley claiir,ed. that the vessel either did or did not belong to the Federal government. If it did, then they were 39 bound to obtain possession of her through the courts. The Federal government vrould not make deal.s either by selling her to private parties or pa.ying off Coleman or other "of these rascals, who had bean engaged in 4-0 fitting her out to make w?ar upon the United. States." 38Dudley to Seward, January 22, 1867, enclosures 2-4^ M-141, Roll T-35. ^^Dadley to Sevrard, January 22, 1867, and enclosures 3t 5. M-141, Roll T-35. 40 Dudley to Se^'fard, January 22, 1867, M-141, Roll T-35. 121 In Noveraber, Judge Lushington declared that the United States would be required to give security, in the amount of thi'oe hundre^d pounds, before anything fuT’ther was dona by the court in the matter of the Beatrice. This V7as complied with immediately by Dudley. Prior to this the coimsel for Dudley had submitted to the court, that the answers filed by both Coleman and Pearson were defective. Coleman, in stating that ho had been partially paid for the vessel prior to her being acquir- ed by the Confederates in Calais, had neglected to state the exact amounts and times of the payments. Coleman's counsel was directed by Judge Lush- ington to amend his answer to show the exact times and amounts cf payment. Lushington, although agj’oeing to the demand for Coleman's answer to be amended, continued to put every obstacle ho couJ.d in Dudley's path. The security payment of three hundred poimds, although not an exorbitant kl aiiiount, was an example of this. In the case of Pearson's suit against tlie United States for pajTTient of certain cordage sold, to the ovmers of the vessel, the Federals protested two things. First, Pearson had been allowed by the co\jrt to drop the word "necessaries" from his original petition against the United States. This had been done so that Poarson's claim would fall uiider the 4th Section of the Mrairalty Court Act of 1861, and thereby be undei' the j\!risdiction of the Admiralty Court, The Federal counsel protested that supplying cordage was not equipping as c].aimed \mder Section 4, but was a supplement to the equipnent of the vessel, and fell under the 54h Section of the Admiralty Court Act of 1861. Secondly, Poarson v/as allowed to 41London Tim.es, Noveraber 21, 1866; Dudley to Sewai'd, December 13, 1866, M-l4i, Roll T-34. 122 chsnge his statemont to whit tha.t the OT>m6rs of the vessel, vfhile it had been at Sheerness, ware certain /merican citizens and not lYench as ori- ginally statec’. Dudley’s lawyers savr that it was necessary to Pearson’s suit for the vessel to have been in the hands of a foreign power in order for the Admiralty Com’t to have jui*isdlction, The Federal lavjyers' de~ fense was that at the time of Pearson's supplying of the cordage, the vessel was registered under Bi^itish ownership. In order for Pearson to bring his case before the court, Dudley's lawyers demanded that Pearson amend his second statement to name who tlie American citizens were who oTTned the vessel . The court agreed with this and ordered Perj-son's law- yers to amend thslr client's petition. Federal coiuisel also demanded, that due to the contradictorj'" nature of Pearson’s original petition and his amended stotement, that an order regarding costs against him should be made. Tlie coui‘t refused this motion, and the United States remained 42 saddled with the costs. On December 18, 1866, Dudley's counsel appeared before the court to move that Coleman's amendment, as ordered by the coui’t, was not in coiiiplianoe with those oi'dors. Instead of stating the exact times and amounts of payments he received, Coleman had amended his statement by setting liiraself uj) a.s the sole ovmei* of tho ves.sel. The court ruled that the amendment was not in compliance with the coui’t's former orders, and Coleman was again ordered to amend his statement with the exact tiimes and amounts of payments he received.43 Thus the Federal motion was 42 'Dudley to Seward, December 13, 1866, enclosure number 2, M-141, Roll T-34. 43 Dudley to Seward, December 21, 1866, M-i4l, Roll T-3^. 123 granted but once again without costs against the defendant, CoH.eman. However, the final verdict of the court could not be fvor-ther delayed aft¬ er this ruling. Coleman, after delaying his new amendment for a few weeks, f5.nally submitted information which showed that sorae of the pa;>Tnents had been made after tiie vessel wont into Confederate hands while it was at Calais. This information showed that there had been no fraud vrhen the Confederates obtained possession and actually confirmed their possession. Thus the United States was justified in claiming the vessel as former Confederate property. Coleman iiad destroyed his own cause, but only after making the Federals expend much time and money. He promptly de- faiilted. On January 17, 1867, Dudley directed his counsel to move that Coleman's ans^'Tor to the Federal petition be struck fl'om the Court’s rec- ords. This was done and Federal counsel demanded judgment and the firjal 44 hearing was set for January 22, 1867. Pearson, like his brother-in-law, delaj^ed in filing a new amendment to his petition. Finally Pearson defaulted on his suit. Tho reason for this was, that if he had named tho particular American citizens who were the owners of the vessel when he supplied it with cordage, then the Confederate governraent would have to be acknowledged as the owners. This a.c’oiowledgement would have destroyed his brother-in-lavr’s case, as Coleman claimed he was the sole owner. The final hearing for this case 45 was also set for January 22, 1867. ^^D\idley to Seward, January 22, 1867, M-141, Roll T-35* 45Dudley to Seward, January 22, 1867, M-l4i, Roll T-35* 124 Dudley vrj.th his Coiirisel, Dr. Tt-jIss, Mr. Clarkson and !?&•. Brett, appeared before Judge Lushington on the 22nd. Dr. Tvfiss applied in Coleman's case that possession of the Beatrice be granted to the Uni- ted States of America, with costs against Coleman for defauH.ting on the case. He V7as also instructed by Dudley to make a statement refuting rumors in the press that the case had been "compromised." Lushington granted possession to the United States governjnent. Pearson's case was dismissed as well Tjlth the costs being against him for defaulting. Aft- er eighteen months of legal actions in British courts, the Beatrice, alias the Rapr^hannock, ^?jas the undisputed possession of the Unitai States gov- ernment, DucU^ey's refusal to compromise and his perslstanco had paid 46 off. The vrrit of possession vras turned over to Dudley on January 23, 1867» and he took formal possession of her at one o'clock that after- noon. Watchmen vrere iriimediately put on board to keep the vessel in safe custody until it was decided what was to be done ^-.'ith her. Dudley cabled to Seward that he ha^d possession and asked if he should sell the vessel . Dudley felt that the vessel's conditj.on vjould be too dangerous to attempt an Atlantic crossing at that time of the year, After lying untended, in a Liverpool dockyard for eighteen months, the Beatrice was in serious disrepair, and Dudley realized she had deteriorated in value as a resu?>.t. It was for this reason he believed that the government shcxild sell her for the best price they could get at a public auction in 47 Liverpool. 46 Dudley to Seward, January 22, I867, M-i4l, Roll T~35 47 Dudley to Seward, January 22, I867, M-141, Roll T-35« 125 Ssward agreed with Dudley’s assessment of the ship’s condi- tion. Ho promptly tol&grapdied Minister Mams to order Dudley to sell the ship after she was first appraised and rained by a ship broker. Dudley obtained the services of a shipbroker and a shipbuilder to eval- uate the Beatrice. Ebch of them made his evaliTation independant of and without the knowledge of the other, Charles Kellock, the shipjbroker. valxied the vessel at between ^3.500 to ^4,000. Charles Grayson, the shipbuilder, valued her at .f4,500. Both of these figujres were below what Dudley believed the Beatrice's value was. Ho then decided to sell 48 the vessel, at a public auction. On Ihursday, February 21, 1867, Dudley had the vessel auc- tioned. off. The auction iras held at the Broker’s Sale Room at the Wal- raer Riilding, VJater Street, Liverpool, C. W. Kellock & Co., acted as the auctioneers and the breaking up price o.f ^^5,200 wras paid by an vui- named purchaser. With this, the history snd career of the Rappshanncck 49 comes to an end. hPi ^Dudley to Seward, February 14, 186?; and enclosures 1-2, M-141 Roll T-35. ^^Dudl.ey to Sevrard, February 28, 186?; and enclosure - a hand- bill/poster annouicing the auction, M-141, Roll T-35* CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS Although never achieving the notoriety of the Alabama or FI. or ida, the CSS Rappahamiock caused as great a public uproar in her day as anj’’ of her prtidecessors, The multi-faceted history of this unfortu- nate ship offers something for everybody. She had aspects of my.stery. suspense, intrigiie, drama and comedy. Topically she had political, legal, military and social aspects. Although of little military value, she is ijfjportant as a subject of study in diplomatic history and is representative of the changirjg diplomatic feelings 1)1 Europe concerning the American Ci.vil War. VAien the Rappa.iiannock was sold by the United States govern- raent at public auction in February, 186?, the vessel was almost eleven years old. During tliat eleven years, the ship had been on active Bri- tish service only one year and had been passlvei.y in service for a year and a half in Confederate hands. The other eight and a half years had been spent idly afloat, sejcring no piirpose and steadily deteriorating in condition and value. Although handsomely designed, the vessel had defects in her construction. Her exporjjdental inner construction combined vuLth her defects bad caused m.any problems to her British and Confederate owners and made her nearly worthless as a small vessel of war. The events that comprise the history of the Rappahannock are all directly related to the dipilomatic changes in Europe concerning the Civil War. Her very purchase bj'- the Confederacy was necessitated 127 by the success of Federal diplomatic pressur-e on the British government to stop all Confederate shipbuilding wi.thin Great Britain. Because no newly constructed vessels could be obtained, ships already constructed, which may or may not have been activeD.y in serv'ico, were the only ones the Confederacy could p'orchase to convert to commerce raiders. Thus the Victor became Confederate property, but even then she was purchased through a third party for fear that the vessel would be forcibly detain- ed by the Admiralty if her Confederate connections were openly acknow- lodgedc Eventually her true character was suspected by the Rri.tish government and she was forced to flee before completing repairs, to es~ cape detention. At least four British subjects vjere brought to trial for aiding this vessel to escape and repair. One of these, a naval of- ficer acquitted by a civ3.1 coui-t of charges in the matter, was punished by the Admiralty as a gestm^o of conciliation and cooperation to the Federal government. The Rappahannock affair and related cour’t cases were some of the fii'st outward signs of an official coolness by the Bri- tish goverrment with regard to the Confederacy that developed in late 1863 and which continued to the end of the w^ar. The diplomatic controversy vn.th France su:rrounding the Ra ppahannock stai'ted when she entered the French port of (kilais. Inter- nationally, Fra.nce was involved in the conquest of Mexico, and Napoleon III was planning to set a puppet dictator on tlie Mexican throne. The French ruler was worried about British and Federal res.ction to his poll- cles and intentions for Mexico and diplomatic difficulties needed to be avoided if his plans were to succeed. This meant that pro-Southern 128 sentijTients in France and tjithin the Fr-ench government had to be reduced and deference had to be shovm to the established FcvleraD. govei’nment rather than to the Confedex-ate government. Into that atmosphere of French international intrigue came the Rappahannock, conveniently claim- ing "stress of weather" and fully expecting to repair in evei-y aspect with the exception of her armament. At first she was cordially received by the Fi'onch government which offered the naval facilities at Calais to make her repairs. How- ever, for reasons unknoT-m, the cajjtain of the vossel was slow in getting the vessel ready for sea, and in so doing, gave the Federals and the Fi-’ench Foreign liinister the time necessary for them to make a good case for detainment. By various preteixts the vessel was held in Calais un- til she was finally granted her freedom, but only under conditions that would practicall.y insure her falling into Federal, hands. Thus fixiding the vessel a prisoner of Fr’ench diplomacy, the Confederates wore stuck wi.th an expansive and useless warsliip, which afterwards had as its solo pxtrpose the functions of a personnel depot. The affair of the Rappa.han- nock in Fi'ance is the first major indication of the changing attitude within Fr'snee ten^ards the Confederacy and com'bi.ned vrith the detention of the fn'ma.n f^aras, makes the best representation of F'rench diplomatic reac- tion to the failing Confedei'ate xear effort. An indirect result of the French policy I’fcgardlng the Rappa- hannock was the loss of tiie CSS Alabama. Wien the Alabama reached Clierbourg after her successful two year cruise, she was sadly in need of repaj rs. Kovxever, the Confederates were hesitant about putting her in a French dry dock vrithout having first gained an absolutely unbreakable 129 promise that she woxild be released upon completion of repairs. The PVench also were unsiire of the legality of taking the vessel into dry- dock for repairs as she was a vessel of a belligerent nation. Both sides were sensitive about this because of the Rappahannock's case. Had there been no question of belligerent and neutral rights growitjg out of the Rappahannock's case, the Alabama probably would have been quickly admitted to the dock for repairs and would thus have been able honoi-ablj'- to avoid the engagement with the Kearsarge. As it was, the hesitation by both sides kept her out of the dock until too late to avoid a fight. She was clearly unfit to face the kearsarge, and it can reasonably be stated that she had no chance of winning a naval engagement as long as she did not first receive adequate and necessary repairs as well as powder and shot. The presence of the Kearsarge off the coast of Rrance wa.s also the resul.t of the Rappahannock being in Calais, around which port the Federal warship kept a constant vigil. Thus, for two reasons the loss of the Al?-bama can be ijidi.rectly attrilwted to the Rappahannock. T]ie A,l3.bama's loss, the use of Federal xrarships to constantly observe her, and her use as a floating personnel depot, ?were tl:io only mili.tary contr'j.- buttons and effects of the Rappahannock during the C'ivll War. Even with the end of the wrar, the controversy over the JRap- pahannock continued. The Confederates in Eoro-pe had managed to f'lnd a potential Eriglish buyer two months after the w^-ar and bad given responsi- bility for the vessel to him. Aifter the vessel was brought to Liverpool, this merchant suddenly found himself the object of a lawsuit by the Uni- ted States government ?which claimed legal oT-mership. This became an iiii- portant test case by the United States to see how willing the British 130 government vras to make reparations for damages done to Federal shipping by commerce raiders built and/or bonght in Great Britain, The extreme length of eighteen months for a sljnple case of possession is representa- tivo of the manne)* in vhich Great Britain procrastinated in making any sort of reparations. Public sentiment x^ithin Great Rt'itain was against any such payments and the British courts were slow in trying cases con- cerning possession of former Confederate property. In most of the caso^s regarding former Confederate cruisers, the United States did gain posses¬ sion, but only grudgingly on the part of Biitish courts, and only after suffering much legal abuse and delay fl-om the judges and lawyers. The case of the Beatrice, alias Rappahannock, is quite representative of cases involving foiuner Confederate property and shows the difficulties faced by the Unitod States in gaining possession of Confod.erate property within Great Britain. It was this Bi’itish procrastination which even- txially led to the matter of reparations being settled in 18?! by an in¬ ternational committee of arbitration e.stablished for that purpose and commonly knows:! as the Alabama Claims Commission. Looking at the entire history of the Kapmhannook, she seem¬ ed to had been an unlucky burden to any person or natri.on connected x^ith her. Tho m