Sketches From My Life: By The Late Admiral Hobart PashaHobart-Hampden, Augustus Charles
History
Sketches From My Life: By The Late Admiral Hobart Pasha
Hobart-Hampden, Augustus Charles
Adventure and adventurers; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Blockades
When we had only the American Government cruisers to fear, we enjoyed
the excitement in the same way as a man enjoys fox-hunting (only, by the
way, we were the fox instead of the huntsmen), but when dire disease, in
the worst form that Yellow Jack could take, stalked in amongst us, and
reduced our numbers almost hourly, things became too serious to be
pleasant.
However, before the fever showed itself we made one successful round
trip in the new vessel (in and out) in capital form, having some
exciting chases and little adventures, all very similar to what I have
described before, the vessel doing credit to her designers on all
occasions. We landed one thousand one hundred and forty bales of cotton
at Bermuda, and it was after we had started from Wilmington on our
second trip that the horrid yellow fever broke out among us. I believe
that every precaution was taken by the Government of the island to
prevent the disease from spreading, but increased by the drunkenness,
dissipation, and dirty habits of the crews of the blockade-runners, and
the wretchedly bad drainage of the town of St. George, it had lately
broken out with great violence, and had spread like wildfire, both on
the shore and among the shipping. It must have been brought on board our
ship by some of the men, who had been spending much time on shore; we
had not been twenty-four hours at sea before the fever had got deadly
hold on our crew.
We went to Halifax, where we landed our sick and inhaled some purer air;
but it was of no avail. The fever was in the vessel and we could not
shake it off. The poor fellows as soon as we were out at sea again began
to drop off. I never can forget an incident of that voyage, which, as
it could only have happened during blockade-running times, I will
mention, melancholy though it was. Two men died in the middle watch one
night, when we were in very dangerous waters. Their bodies were wrapped
in rough shrouds, ready to be committed to the deep when daylight broke,
as we dared not show a light whereby to read the Funeral Service. I
never waited so anxiously or thought the dawn so long in coming. I was
waiting with my Prayer-book in my hands straining my eyes to make out
the service; the men with their hats off, standing by the bodies, ready
to ease them down into the sea. Our minds I fear wandered towards the
danger that existed (almost to a certainty) of a cruiser making us out
by the same light that enabled us to perform our sad office. However, as
soon as there was light enough, the service was read without any
indecent hurry, and fortunately nothing was in sight to disturb us for
several hours afterwards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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