Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part II
Mr. Seward to Lord Lyons.
My Lord: Recurring to your note of the 2d ultimo, and to my own of the 3d, relative to the capture of the British schooner the Don Jose by the United States cruiser Juniata, I have now the honor to enclose a copy of a communication of the 30th ultimo, addressed to me by the Secretary of the Navy, upon the subject, from which it appears that the allegations of the claimants are not borne out by the investigation which has been made.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship’s obedient
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c., &c., &c.
P. S.—The papers, the return of which was requested, are enclosed.
Mr. Welles to Mr. Seward.
Sir: I had the honor to receive your letter of the 4th instant, enclosing a copy of a communication of the 2d instant, with accompaniments, from Lord Lyons, relative to the capture of the British schooner Don Jose by the Juniata, in July last, and suggesting, with a view to directness in the explanation required, that the officer who made the capture be furnished with a copy of the letter of Mr. T. J. Boynton, United States attorney at Key West, of the 15th of July last, which was one of the accompaniments to Lord Lyons’s note.
Your suggestion was carried out without unnecessary delay; and I now submit, for your information, a report, dated the 18th instant, from Commander J. M. B. Clitz, the officer who made the capture; also, a report from Acting Master J. H. Stimpson, dated the 24th instant, who boarded and examined the Don Jose, against whom charges of misconduct were preferred by the master and others of the vessel. Please return these reports to this department after you shall have finished with them.
Very respectfully, &c.,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Commander Clitz to Mr. Welles.
Sir: In compliance with the department’s order of the 8th instant, I have the honor to submit the following supplemental report, relative to the capture of the English schooner Don Jose by the United States steamer Juniata, under my command, on the 2d of July last.
The Don Jose was seen about 7 a. m. of the 2d, and overhauled. Upon examination 1 found but one person, the master, to be English; the others, crew. and passengers, were Spaniards. She had no log-book, no letter of instructions, no course printed on the chart, and her papers were imperfect.
I marked the imperfect papers, to call the attention of the United States district attorney to them, and sent them by the prize-master. In what way the papers were imperfect I cannot at this time say, but the imperfections were all pointed out to the prize-master.
Among the papers found on board was one stating that her cargo was intended for the Confederate States; and she also had a considerable quantity of confederate money on board.
The Don Jose was formerly the pilot-boat Edna Jones, of Key West, and as such had, I was informed, run the blockade previous to my seizure of her.
Considering all the circumstances, I was convinced that she intended running the blockade at some point on the coast, and felt. it my duty to send her to the nearest port for trial, which port was Key West.
The crew and passengers were treated kindly, and no complaints Were made by any one, to my knowledge, of improper conduct on the part of the boarding officer and crew. Our ensign was flying before I fired the gun to bring the schooner by the wind, and I have no knowledge of the English ensign being hauled down at any time.
Of the conduct of the prize-master and crew after parting company with the Juniata I, of my own knowledge, know nothing; but upon my arrival at Key West, some weeks after, I learned that the prize-master, Acting Master D. G. Taylor, had been sent north by Acting Rear-Admiral Baily for drunkenness, and subsequently dismissed the service.
I regret that I am now separated from the officers of the Juniata, from whom statements might be had which would perhaps be of use to the government.
Acting Master J. H. Stimpson, United States navy, now, I believe, attached to the United States steamer Wachusetts, was the boarding officer at the time of the said capture.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of, the Navy, Washington, D. C.
Acting Master Stimpson to Mr. Welles.
Sir: In obedience to your order of the 22d instant, I beg to submit the following statement concerning the charges the captain, crew, and passengers of the Don Jose prefer against me:
After a careful perusal of the documents sent me, I find as follows: That I am charged with treating the crew and passengers of the Don Jose in an [Page 518] unnecessarily harsh and cruel manner, and, whilst searching the trunk of one Abiel, of taking therefrom the sum of £5,000 in Bank of England notes, and, upon his requesting me to give him a receipt for the same, my reply was, “Go to hell!” also, that I took from him all his private letters and papers, together with about $300 in cash; also, that upon his leaving the Don Jose to go on board the Juniata I took from him by force some sixteen dozen silver thimbles, also a purse, containing 836 in cash, belonging to the cook; and also, after putting the prize crew on board the Don Jos, I loaded the boat with liquor and provisions, and returned with it so loaded to the Juniata.
To all of which I reply: That I received orders from Commander Clitz to board and examine thoroughly a suspicious schooner which we had given chase to. In obedience to his orders I proceeded on board, accompanied by Acting Master’s Mate W. O. Ordway. On reaching the schooner I informed the captain as to whom I was and why I had boarded him, and requested him to allow me to examine his papers. After some conversation with his passengers he showed me his articles, manifest, and clearance, and 1 found his cargo to consist of one hundred bags of salt, a few bales of cotton, and several demijohns of rum. Thinking that all was not right, I concluded to overhaul the schooner, and in doing so, in the presence of the captain and his passengers, I found in a trunk which the owner opened at my request a written agreement to deliver the one hundred bags salt then on board in the Confederate States of America. Thinking that was enough to warrant my detaining the vessel until I could report the facts to the captain, I returned to the Juniata with the captain and his papers, leaving Mr. Ordway on board the Don Jose—fearing that they might have other papers which they might destroy in my absence—and reported these facts to the captain. The agreement in regard to the salt having been more carefully translated by an officer on board the Juniata, there appeared to be no doubt that it was their intention to run the blockade with the salt.
I was then ordered by the captain of the Juniata to continue the search on board the Don Jose; I did so, but found nothing of importance. In regard to the £5,000 in Bank of England notes, and the different sums of $300 and $30 in cash, which this Abiel says I took from him, together with sixteen dozen silver thimbles, 1 reply that I saw no such money, nor did I even hear of there being any such money on board, nor did he ask me for any receipt—consequently all he says in regard to the matter is false. The only money which was found on board the schooner was found in a tin box, in the possession of the supercargo, and consisted of a few dollars in gold and silver, and a roll of confederate currency; this the supercargo retained in his possession until it was sealed up with the papers found on board the Don Jose, and delivered to the prize-master. The passengers and crew, on being transferred to the Juniata, were allowed to take their personal effects with them, (with the exception of several bottles of liquor,) without any opposition from me. In regard to the charge of loading the Juniata boat with provisions and liquor, I would state that nothing whatever was taken from the Don Jose by me or the boat’s crew.
Hoping that this explanation will prove satisfactory, I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Hon. GIDEON Welles, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. G.
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