There appears to be no just ground of complaint against any persons
acting under the authority of this department, and it therefore
cannot entertain the claim presented, with any views to its
allowance.
In compliance with your request the original papers which accompanied
your communication are herewith returned.
Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State.
Rear-Admiral Dahlgren to
Mr. Welles.
Flag-Steamer
Philadelphia,
Port Royal Harbor, S.
C.,
September 28,
1864.
Sir: I beg leave to state, for the
information of the Navy Department, that the sloop Racer was
taken possession of by the United States schooner Hope, off
Bull’s bay, South Carolina, within the limits of the blockade
off that station. She had British papers and a clearance from
Nassau to Beaufort, North Carolina, but had no cargo. I did not
learn of the capture until the 4th of August, when I gave orders
to send her to Beaufort, her alleged port.
If the vessel had been on the proper course to her port, she
would not have been molested; but having
been found entirely off that course, and within the limits of
the blockade, just about the vicinity which the blockade runners
strike as a sure point whereby to regulate their course for
entrance into Charleston, and where a vessel is stationed to
assist in defeating this purpose, she properly became an object
of suspicion. She had no cargo, which is now a very common
occurrence with vessels entering under the circumstances. The
least I could do was to see that she did actually go to the port
where the master alleged she was bound. Accordingly I directed
her to be towed to Beaufort, North Carolina, and have no doubt
that, though a delay of some days ensued before a steamer could
be spared, she reached her destination quite as soon as
[Page 743]
she could have sailed
there; and cannot therefore plead detention. The directions were
to turn her over to the collector there, who would determine on
the propriety of further measures.
The papers of the vessel were sent to the department in order
that it might-be apprised of what I considered a new device for
evading the blockade, with a request that the papers should be
transmitted to the collector of Beaufort. My part terminated
with the delivery of the Racer at her alleged port, and the
department will perceive that the master had no reason to
complain of detention up to that period. As for ill-treatment
and damages, I give the following statement of Captain Green in
reply to my interrogatories :
“Interrogatory 1st. Was there any protest made by the captain of
the Racer?
“Answer. The captain of the Racer made no protest until the 8th
August; on which day he addressed a letter, either to you or
myself, and which was forwarded to you under date of August 10,
protesting in terms against his detention, and which was,
probably, immediately after he learned the fact that he was to
be towed to Beaufort.
“Interrogatory 2d. Was the Racer hauled ashore, stripped, and
nearly wrecked ?
“Answer. She was not at this anchorage. She was securely moored
and cared for, and left in as good condition as when she arrived
here.
“Interrogatory 3d. Were the crew and captain held prisoners ?
“Answer. In consequence of the limited accommodations of the
Racer, her captain and crew were placed on board of the Supply
for safe-keeping, and ship-keepers were put on board of the
sloop to. take care of her. I am not aware that any restraint
was imposed on the captain and crew other than confining them to
the Supply and placing them on board the Mary Sanford when the
sloop was towed to Beaufort.”
I think it proper to state, however, that I was informed, by whom
I do not now recollect, that small pieces of cotton were found
in the sloop’s hold attached to the ceiling, indicating that she
had been employed in carrying cotton; and also that her captain
evinced in conversation a thorough knowledge of the harbors and
waters of this coast.
The master of the Racer, so far from complaining, should be
thankful that his vessel was not sent in for adjudication,
having not only been off his course but within the limits of the
blockade, and at a point known to be used by blockade runners in
order to regulate their course to Charleston.
Upton, the authority supplied to our ships’ libraries by the Navy
Department, says, (p. 283): “The breach of a blockade may be
either by going into or coming out of the blockaded place with a
cargo laden after the commencement of the blockade, but in order
to constitute such a going into the blockaded port as will
subject a neutral to the penalties of confiscation, it is not
necessary that the entrance be completed. If the vessel is
placed in the vicinity, in. a situation so near that it may
enter with impunity when it pleased, and especially if the
vessel be placed so as to be under the protection of shore
batteries, it is considered a breach of the blockade. In such
cases it is regarded as a presumption de
jurc that the vessel is so placed with an intention to
violate the blockade; and notwithstanding that such a
presumption may operate severely in individual instances of
innocence,” yet, says Lord Stowell, “it is a severity
necessarily connected with the rules of evidence and essential
to the effectual exercise of this right of war.”
The department will judge whether a transferral from a miserable
sloop like the Racer to large vessels like the Supply and
Sanford justifies the use of terms conveying the idea of
personal confinement.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,
J. A. DAHLGREN, Rear-Admiral, Com’dg
S. A. B. Squadron.
Hon. Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy.
