Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the First Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part I

Mr. Stuart to Mr. Seward.

Washington, November 1, 1862.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit to you the accompanying copy of the protests of the master, mates, and engineers of the British screw steamer Sunbeam, which was taken possession of as a prize off Wilmington on the 20th ultimo by the United States blockading vessels State of Georgia and Mystic, showing, in an apparently conclusive manner, that the Sunbeam had met with considerable damage from a hurricane which she encountered in her voyage from Halifax to Matamoras, and that she had been compelled in her distress to make for the nearest shore in search of a port of refuge, being short of both coal and water.

As the United States government has hitherto refused to restore vessels, however captured, until after adjudication by the prize court, it is not my present intention to apply to you for the restitution of the Sunbeam; but I feel obliged to call your attention to the complaints contained in the protest that the Sunbeam was unnecessarily fired into at point-blank range by the State of Georgia with shells whilst stationary, and that, although a great portion of her stores had been lost in the hurricane, no fresh supplies were placed on board for the master and remaining members of the crew, who were brought to New York under charge of the prize crew.

I venture to request that you will have the kindness to cause an inquiry to be made into the circumstances complained of, and to inform me of the result.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you the assurance of my highest consideration.

W. STUART.

Hon. W. H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.

[Untitled]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

State of New York, ss:

By this public instrument, be it known to all to whom the same doth or may concern that I, Charles Edwards, a public notary in and for the State of New York by letters patent under the great seal of the said State, duly commissioned and sworn, and in and by the said letters patent invested “with full power and authority to attest deeds, wills, codicils, agreements, and other instruments in writing, and to administer any oath or oaths to any person or persons,” do hereby certify that on the day of the date hereof, before me, personally came and appeared Robert Hepburn, captain of the British steamer Sunbeam, who heretofore, and on the seventh day of October instant, noted his protest before me, and now with him came and appear George Cant Mitchell, first mate, John Frazier, second mate, Joseph Teasdale, first engineer, and William Buchanan, second engineer of the said steamer Sunbeam, and they being by me first duly sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God, did depose and say: That on the 5th day of August, 1862, the said steamer Sunbeam was and cleared at Liverpool, England; that she was then up and bound for a voyage from Liverpool aforesaid to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and from thence to Matamoras, Mexico, voyage not to exceed nine months; that these appearers were part of her crew, such crew being seventeen, all told; that she set forth on that voyage with these appearers and the rest of the crew on board, and one passenger named Henry Nurse, on the morning of the sixth day of the said August, (1862) with the cargo well and properly stowed, and that at this time the said steamer was tight, staunch and strong; her engines and gear in good, sound and complete order, and she was well found in fuel, and also well and sufficiently victualled and found; that when the said steamer had been out about sixteen days, and on or about the twenty-first or twenty-second day of same August, she experienced a very heavy gale of wind, whereby a considerable quantity of her coal on deck was washed overboard, and the vessel met with a succession of bad winds up to about the time she reached Halifax, which was on Friday, the 5th day of September, 1862, and there she took in thirty tons of coal and a cord and a half of wood, but did not land any of her cargo. She was consigned in Halifax to the care of Mr. De Wolf; that while so at Halifax her two tanks were filled with twelve hundred gallons of water. She took in one passenger there named Oldfield, for Matamoras; that on the seventh day of said September the said steamer Sunbeam left Halifax for Matamoras, but on the next day, and while on her way, one of the steam ports of her cylinder broke and she had to go back to Halifax, getting there about the eleventh day of said September, (Thursday) and remained there until Monday repairing. She then started again with twenty-four tons of coal on board. When she had been out about nineteen hours the appearer, Chief Engineer Joseph Teasdale, notified this appearer, the master, that the vessel was burning about ten tons of coal a day, whereupon this appearer, the master, ordered that the fires burn out and be made sail on her. This had to be done because there was not coal enough to go on with. The wind was light and variable, and this continued until the eighteenth day of September; got wind from the northeast; this increased toward the evening, the steamer going about eleven knots an hour; at midnight took in the topgallant sails, gaff topsail and mizzen; at this time the vessel was out of sight of land, but must have been in a line a little above the Chesapeake. At about two a.m. of the 19th of September, (civil time,) with barometer 29.80, there was a sudden increase of wind, accompanied by a very heavy rain. This appearer, the master, immediately called all hands on deck to shorten sail, the sea rising very high and cross. All sail furled except balance, reefed mainsail, by which the ship was laid to on the port tack. The gale increased very rapidly, barometer 28.50, with a tumbling, mountainous sea, and the ship rolling very heavily, the main deck full of water, and the sea making a clear breach over the poop, breaking the cabin lights, and filling the cabin full of water—at the same time the wind was blowing a perfect hurricane—the steamer on her beam ends. The sea rolling on deck washed away the gig and every movable thing on deck, bursting the front of the stoke-hole to pieces and washing the coal out of the bunkers, at the same time going under the boilers and filling the engine-room full of water level with the boilers, (barometer 28.20.) The starboard rail of the ship was immersed about four feet under water, (barometer 28.) The long-boat was washed to leeward and bilged in several places. Three guns broke loose, tearing the stays down which supported the side of the ship, and loosening the bolts about the deck and causing the decks to leak. Hurricane, still increasing and flying round the compass twice in one hour, the ship laboring heavily and expecting her to go down every minute. As a last resource, this appearer, the master, kept her away with the danger of pooping her, that he might get her upright. She paid off a little; these appearers, George Cant Mitchell, first mate, and John Frazier, second mate, immediately knocked the ports out, and she cleared herself for the time of the water. At 9 a.m. the hurricane still raged fearfully, and the steamer rolled gunwale under, taking whole seas on board every time. Not a movable thing left on deck, (barometer 28.10.) At 11 a.m. it became somewhat more moderate. Set close-reefed topsails; it continued moderating until evening, when it dropped to a dead calm. All requisite sail set to steady the ship, but it was of no use, as the sea was still so high and cross. The ship still labored and strained heavily, and it was impossible to get to sound the pumps as the sea was washing from side to side four feet over them. At midnight, the 19th of September, there was less sea, (barometer 29.30.) Pumps were sounded, pumping four hours. Found twenty-one inches in the main hold, ten feet six in the engine-room, and the storeroom was full of water up to the cabin deck, spoiling all the ship’s stores, (barometer 29.90.) On the morning of the next day, the 20th, less sea with light baffling winds and heavy rains. Found the bolts which secure the stays of the sides of the ship all loose. The engines were under water and could not be worked. The engineers and fireman busy bailing the engine-room out. The crew engaged bailing the storeroom out. The three guns, before mentioned, were hove overboard to lighten the ship. On the next day, the 21st, there was a light breeze from the northeast, and all possible sail set. The breeze continued until the 23d. At this time, off Cape Hatteras, weather commenced to be squally, with heavy rains. Wind from west to southeast, and which continued until the 25th, when the vessel got a strong breeze from the northeast. It blew round to the north-west and continued strong and squally until the morning of the 27th, when it gradually died away. The vessel at this time had only eight tons of coal on board, and but two days’ water for the ship’s company, and all the provisions or chandlery stores gone, or spoiled, with the exception of beef and bread; and all the stores of the engine-room had been lost, among them seventy gallons of oil, and about three-quarters of a hundred weight of tallow. In this distress and situation, the appearer, Robert Hepburn, master of the said steamer, found it advisable and absolutely necessary to bear up for some port, or get inshore and speak some coaster. In consequence thereof, at 8 p.m., the vessel was steered west by north, and the wind dropping to a calm, the said appearer ordered the steamer up and commenced steaming inshore, sounding as she went along. At 10 p. m., on the said 27th, sounded in nine fathoms; found the chronometer to be out about thirty miles; kept the lead going until she had got into two and a half fathoms water, and which this appearer, the said master, took to be the Frying Pan shoals; stood off northeast until the vessel got into seven fathoms water. The steamer was then kept north by west. The weather very thick and the night dark, with rain; had been raining all night. There was no fair daylight until about seven in the morning, and even then the weather was very foggy, and objects around could not be distinctly seen; but about five hours and fifteen minutes a beacon and fort were sighted, (which proved to be Wilmington beacon and port,) and the vessel stood directly for the shore. At the same time the report of a gun was heard. The engines were immediately stopped, helm put down, and she was moved down in the direction to which the sound of the gun came, and which proved to be a gun from the United States gunboat State of Georgia; and almost immediately at the same time a Parrott shell came over the steamer and burst to leeward, although, at this time, the steamer was close to the said gunboat. The said fort, which was about three-fourths of a mile off, threw shells, seemingly, at the cruiser, (gunboat,) while the said gunboat continued to shell the steamer Sunbeam, although she was washing and stationary; and when so stationary, and only about forty yards off the said gunboat, such gunboat (State of Georgia) fired a sixty-eight pound eight-inch shell at point-blank range, which burst on board the Sunbeam, cutting ropes, rigging, and chains, but, through remarkable fortune, wounding no one. The commander of the State of Georgia sent two armed boat’s crews on board the Sunbeam, the officers of which ordered this appearer, Robert Hepburn, master, to go on board the State of Georgia with his papers, which he did; and when there, was asked by her commander, Armstrong, what he was doing. When this appearer answered that he was going for coal and water; was in distress, and could not go on the voyage to Matamoras without water or coal. Thereupon the said commander said that this said appearer ought to have come down to the cruisers; to which this said appearer, master, truthfully responded that he had not seen them. (They were, however; two gunboats—the said State of Georgia and the Mystic.) The commander of the State of Georgia told this appearer, master, that he should send the Sunbeam to New York, and this appearer could lay his case before his consul; and this said appearer was taken back to his vessel. The commander of the Mystic then came on board the Sunbeam, and opened her hatches, and told this appearer, master, he could have gone under canvas, and also have condensed water; whereas the fact was that the condenser was out of order, and therefore, would not make fresh water for the crew. On the 29th of same September, 1862, six of the crew of the Sunbeam were then taken to the State of Georgia, and have never been returned to her, nor brought into the port of New York until yesterday, (the 14th day of October.) And these appearers further say that after the Sunbeam had thus been stayed one day, she was started with a prize crew on board for the port of New York; prior to which, the said State of Georgia put about one hundred gallons of water on board the Sunbeam, but did not put any stores on board for master, mates, engineers, and such of the crew as came on in her; although, in all kindness, it ought to have been done, for the vessel, in the hurricane aforesaid, had lost all her stores of flour, peas, sugar, coffee, and all the bread was damaged. The steward, on the voyage to New York, managed to pick out a little uninjured flour from the inside of barrels, although all the outside of the flour was black; a little cabin bread was found in one of the state-rooms, but it was all mouldy. And on the last day, in coming to New York, they were all reduced to a piece of salt beef and biscuit. And these appearers, Joseph Teasdale and William Buchanan, first and second engineers, say that on Wednesday night, the 1st of October, when the said steamer was coming on to the port of New York, and when in bed, about ten at night, the first master’s mate of the prize crew came down and asked this appearer, Teasdale, if he would go and unship the propeller, as they could not get it unshipped, (so as to go under canvas,) and both of these appearers did so; and next morning the chief engineer of the prize crew came for these said two appearers to see whether they would go and assist to lower the propeller, (so that they might steam again,) they, the prize crew, having been about an hour upon and not able to do it. This these said appearers did; and this appearer, the said Joseph Teasdale, further says that on the 1st of October, and while the said steamer was so being brought on to New York, a passenger had expressed to the prize master his anxiety to have the fires put out, and such prize master came and asked this appearer (Teasdale) if he would go and give his engineer advice, as the boilers were salted, and they could not get steam. And this appearer went, looked into the furnaces, and found one of them burnt, which must have been caused by the boiler being short of water during the time that it was in charge of the prize crew. And this appearer reported that he had better blow off immediately if he wished to save the ship and lives on board; for it was not certain, one moment from another, but that the boilers would explode. The prize master asked this appearer to go to his engineer with an order to that effect, which he did, and this was done. After the boilers had been blown off, this said appearer assisted in taking the man-hole doors off; it had to be done under this appearer’s advice; and the boilers were pumped up with cold water to cool them down, and then it was run off again empty, and this appearer went in and examined the boilers, and found the furnace crown had dropped down; and went into the furnace and examined it, and found the furnace-plate on the starboard sides cracked in two places, and the plate on the port sides cracked, in one place open about three-eighths of an inch; and this appearer told the said engineer (belonging to the prize crew) that it was not safe to raise steam any more in that boiler, and lighted a fire in the port boiler, but found it would not supply the engine with steam. The consequence of all this damage, which took place while the Sunbeam was in the hands of the prize crew, was that she had to sail all the rest of the way to New York. The furnaces were new in Liverpool, and had sustained no injury up to the time of the vessel’s capture.

The steamer Sunbeam arrived in New York and came to anchor near the Brooklyn navy yard at about half past 9 o’clock a.m. of the 4th day of October, 1862; and all these appearers were kept on board until half past 5 p.m. of that day without anything to eat, and then taken to the house of detention in the city of New York. This appearer, the master, first mate, and two passengers, were allowed to come out on the 6th of October, and they were examined on interrogatories, and their answers written down by a prize commissioner; but they were not allowed to see the British consul, nor to go for counsel. These appearers, the first and second engineer, got out of the said house of detention on the 8th of October, and then examined in the same way. These appearers, the second mate and fireman, got out on the 9th of October, and were then likewise examined, while two others of the crew were discharged on the 11th of same October, and then also examined and finally discharged.

And this appearer (Robert Hepburn, master) says he never was in any American port save when he was on the voyage wherein he was seized as aforesaid, while this appearer (George Cant Mitchell, first mate) says he has never been in the United States before.

And this appearer (Joseph Teasdale, first engineer) further says that, on the Saturday on arriving in the port of New York, and while the said steamer Sunbeam was at anchor, she was found to be making water, and he was asked by the prize master’s mate to find out the reason, which he did, ascertaining it to be caused by one of the sea casks being left open; and this must have occurred while the vessel was in charge of the prize crew. And this appearer went down and shut it; and if this had not been done as soon as it was, the ship would in all probability have foundered.

Wherefore the said Robert Hepburn, master, has requested me to protest, and I, the said notary, at such his request, have protested, and by these presents do publicly and solemnly protest against all and every government officers, official agent, acting on behalf of the United States of America, and all and every person and persons whom it doth or may concern, and against all and singular the wrongs, hostile conduct, imprisonment, and circumstances, already set forth in the foregoing declaration on oath, for all manner of losses, costs, damages, reprisal, demurrage, charges, expenses, and injuries, whatsoever, which the said steamer Sunbeam, her tackle, apparel, and furniture or cargo, and the freight by her earned, or to be earned, or either or any of them, or any part thereof, have already sustained, or may hereafter sustain, by reason or means of the foregoing premises.

Whereof an attestation being required, I have granted this under my notarial form and seal.

Done in the city of New York, in the said State of New York, the fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.

In premissorem fidem.

CHARLES EDWARDS.

Robert Hepburn,

George C. Mitchell,

John X Frazer, his mark,

Joseph Teasdale,

William Buchanan.