Navy Department, April 1,1863.
I have your letter from near Halifax. Every steamer we
capture that will carry one gun is invariably taken by the department and sent
to the blockade. The Atlantic and Baltic are pretty nearly gone, boilers
entirely so. The old Cunarders have not the speed. Earl Russell has written a
letter to our government (received yesterday) which, in plain English, is this:
“We have a right to make and sell. We are merchants; we sell to whoever will
buy; you can buy as well as the South. We do not ask any questions of our
purchasers. We shall not hound down our own industry. We are not responsible
for anything. You can make the most of it.”
We infer from this bombshell that the government would be
glad to have the South get out these ironclads, and that they will not afford
us any aid. You can act accordingly. You must stop them at all hazards, as we
have no defense against them. Let us have them in the United States for our own
purposes, without any more nonsense, and at any price. As to guns, we have not
one in the whole country fit to fire at an ironclad. If you dispose of their
ironclads, we will take care of the whole Southern concern; and it depends
solely upon your action in this matter; and if you have the opportunity to get
them, I hope you will not wait for any elaborate instructions.
It is a question of life and death. Charleston will be
attacked within ten days, and I hope we shall strengthen you with successes in
other quarters. The Georgiana is disposed of.
Regards to Mr. A.
SOURCE: Sarah Forbes Hughes, Letters and
Recollections of John Murray Forbes, Volume 2, p. 22-3
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