Notwithstanding the
alleged ceaseless vigilance of the Yankee navy in watching blockade-runners on
the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States, their close attention
has amounted to comparatively little. Setting aside all that has been imported
on State and individual account, the proceeds of the blockade have been very
great. The restrictions imposed upon foreign commerce by the act of Congress of
last session prohibiting, absolutely, during the pending war, the importation
of any articles not necessary for the defense of the country— namely: wines, spirits,
jewelry, cigars, and all the finer fabrics of cotton, flax, wool, or silk, as
well as all other merchandise serving only for the indulgence of luxurious
habits,—has not had the effect to reduce the number of vessels engaged in
blockade-running; but, on the contrary, the number has steadily increased
within the last year, and many are understood to be now on the way to engage in
the business.
The President, in a
communication to Congress on the subject, says that the number of vessels
arriving at two ports only from the 1st of November to the 6th of December was
forty-three, and but a very small proportion of those outward bound were
captured. Out of 11,796 bales of cotton shipped since the 1st of July last, but
1272 were lost-not quite 11 per cent.
The special report
of the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the matter shows that there
have been imported into the Confederacy at the ports of Wilmington and
Charleston since October 26th, 1864, 8,632,000 pounds of meat, 1,507,000 pounds
of lead, 1,933,000 pounds of saltpeter, 546,000 pairs of shoes, 316,000 pairs
of blankets, 520,000 pounds of coffee, 69,000 rifles, 97 packages of revolvers,
2639 packages of medicine, 43 cannon, with a large quantity of other articles
of which we need make no mention. Besides these, many valuable stores and
supplies are brought, by way of the Northern lines, into Florida; by the port
of Galveston and through Mexico, across the Rio Grande.
The shipments of
cotton made on government account since March 1st, 1864, amount to $5,296,000
in specie. Of this, cotton, to the value of $1,500,000, has been shipped since
the 1st of July and up to the 1st of December.
It is a matter of
absolute impossibility for the Federals to stop our blockade-running at the
port of Wilmington. If the wind blows off the coast, the blockading fleet is
driven off. If the wind blows landward, they are compelled to haul off to a
great distance to escape the terrible sea which dashes on a rocky coast without
a harbor within three days' sail. The shoals on the North Carolina Coast are
from five to twenty miles wide; and they are, moreover, composed of the most
treacherous and bottomless quicksands. The whole coast is scarcely equaled in
the world for danger and fearful appearance, particularly when a strong
easterly wind meets the ebb tide.
It is an easy matter
for a good pilot to run a vessel directly out to sea or into port; but in the
stormy months, from October to April, no blockading vessel can lie at anchor in
safety off the Carolina Coast. Therefore supplies will be brought in despite
the keenest vigilance.
SOURCE: “Blockade
Running,” Richmond Daily Dispatch,
Richmond, Virginia, Tuesday Morning, January 3, 1865, p. 3
