Glory In The Name

The realization came to him, a flash, a divine inspiration, and he spoke it out loud.

“I need a ship.”

Book Three

ON BLUE WATER AND BROWN

22

CSS Cape Fear

Gosport

Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth, Virginia

July 25, 1861

Dear Father,

You have no doubt heard by now of our Army’s glorious victory at Manassas this weekend past. It gives me great joy, as I am sure it does you and all true Southern gentlemen.

I am pleased to say that my crew and I, with our small tug, were able to act some small part in our present fight for independence. We peppered the enemy very well at Newport News, and even disabled one of their steamers. It was no Trafalgar, to be sure, but I was pleased with what we were able to do with our little boat.

Our casualties were not terribly bad, though any loss of life is to be regretted. And though I would never hold material goods in the same esteem as the lives of my men, I must say that the loss to me in personal effects was quite complete, as a shell burst apparently right in the middle of my cabin. I am able to replace most of what I lost here in Norfolk, but I would ask you to compel M. LeGrande to run up a half-dozen shirts for me, white linen, and ditto pants. I should ask for navy blue, but I have heard of late that the navy will be setting gray as the uniform color for naval officers, which is absurd. Blue is the standard the world over-who ever heard of a navy man in gray? Also, please apply to Mr. Scribner, the cobbler, for a new pair of dress shoes and a pair of boots. He should have the particulars of my size…

Samuel Bowater

To: Mr. William Cornell 42 Water Street

Charleston, North Carolina

Sir:

In April of this year, you hired out a Negro in your possession, name of Billy Jefferson, as coal heaver aboard the Confederate States Ship Cape Fear. As chief engineer of the vessel, Billy has been under my supervision. I regret to inform you that, during action with the Yankee navy, Billy was badly burned on his hands, rendering him unfit for duty. As I am sure you have no use for a Negro who is no longer capable of labor, I have enclosed a bank draft for $500 which I think you will agree is a reasonable price for a Negro who can’t work. Please fill out a bill of sale and a receipt for the money and send it to me at the address below.

Respectfully,

Hieronymus M. Taylor,

Chief Engineer, CSS Cape Fear

Naval Dockyard

Gosport, Virginia

From the Diary of Wendy Atkins:

I have seen the elephant, as the soldiers say, and it is a horrible, horrible beast. I have been in combat, as sure as any man in the service. Indeed, I would venture that now I have seen worse than many. I was frightened to death by the sights around me, the blood and the carnage. And then soon, I found myself frightened more by my reaction to it, the casual disregard I soon had for death, including my own. I understand now something I had always wondered about: how soldiers and sailors can face such things and not go mad. Or perhaps they do, and I have as well. I don’t know.

Before this cruise I had seen my Two Gentlemen, Samuel and Hieronymus, in one light, and now I have seen them, and myself, in another. I believe I will go to Richmond for some time to visit friends. I must get away from here and from my memories for a while and sort them out. I want to be with Samuel and I want to be with Hieronymus and I cannot bear to be with either, so I must leave and see how it falls out.

Office of Ship Maintenance

Gosport Naval Shipyard

Sir:

Per your orders I have completed a thorough inspection of the tug CSS Cape Fear and submit the following report:

Hull and Machinery: Despite the severe fire that the vessel received, it appears that no shot struck her between wind and water, and none below the waterline, leaving her hull and machinery in generally good shape.

Superstructure: A majority of the damage done to the vessel appears to have occurred in her superstructure, due no doubt to the enemy’s tendency to aim high. A direct hit was made on the forward bulkhead of the deckhouse and the shell apparently exploded within the confines of the galley, resulting in the total destruction of that area, save for the icebox, which is located on the after side of the steel bulkhead which separates the galley from the fidley. (Incidentally, I am told that at the moment the shell hit, the boat’s cook, a freedman named St. Laurent, was completely within the icebox, searching for a bottle of heavy cream. Had he not been, he would surely have ended up the consistency of heavy cream himself.) The forward bulkhead and all of the galley’s structures and equipment will require repair or replacement. The crew is currently cooking all meals ashore.

An additional shell exploded in the master’s cabin right abaft the wheelhouse, destroying the master’s cabin and its contents completely and doing significant damage to the wheelhouse, including the total destruction of the chart table and all of the charts, and the destruction of all windows and frames and the collapse of the roof. There is but a small section of the wheelhouse and cabin that may be salvaged.

Conclusion: Despite the ferocious mauling that the Cape Fear received at the hands of the Yankees, she emerged with little damage to her hull. The preponderance of the damage was to her superstructure, which is much more easily repaired, and at lesser expense. It is my estimate that she might be restored to her former condition in a week or less, and at a cost of approximately $300.

Respectfully submitted,

James Meads, Master Carpenter

To: Flag Officer Forrest

Flag Officer’s Office, Dockyard

Gosport, Virginia, July 25, 1861

To Whom It May Concern:

Know all ye who read this, that the bearer, Billy Jefferson, a Negro, five foot eight inches tall, of dark complexion with burn scars on both hands, is a free man, made free by Hieronymus Taylor, his rightful owner, as of April 25, 1861, and on my direction is traveling to Canada.