A Raider Refuels: Diplomatic Repercussions

Don Higginbotham received his graduate training in history at Washington University, the University of Nebraska, and Duke University . He is currently an Instructor in the Department of History at Duke University. A Raider Refuels: Diplomatic Repercussions DON HIGGINBOTHAM in early 1863 the federal west India squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, was in pursuit of the Confederate commerceraiders "Florida" and "Alabama."" On February 24, in the process of fleeing southward, the "Florida" procured a supply of coal at the Britishcontrolled island of Barbados. Inasmuch as she had coaled at Nassau in the Bahamas on January 26, this refueling at Barbados raised the question as to whether or not she had violated Foreign Secretary Earl Russell 's instructions regarding the treatment of belligerent vessels. On January 31, 1862, Russell had informed Her Majesty's colonial officials that ships belonging to the warring factions in America could coal at British dependencies only once every three months, and then only to acquire enough coal to reach the nearest home port or a "nearer destination." A final clause in his message, however, said that in cases of emergency "special permission" might be given before the expiration of three months, but for no more coal than the above stipulated amount.1 "The author wishes to express his appreciation for the aid given him in this undertaking by Drs. Frank E. Vandiver and John L. Loos. 1 A copy of Russell's order can be found in Gov. H. St. George Ord of Bermuda to Lt. John Newland Maffitt, commander of the "Florida," July 16, 1863, in Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion ( Washington : Government Printing Office, 1894-1922), Ser. I, Vol. 2, pp. 651-52; hereinafter cited O. R. Navies, followed by the series number in Roman numerals, the volume number in Arabic, the part number (if any), and the page, as O.R. Navies, I, 2, p. 652. 129 130DON HIGGI N" BOTHAM When Admiral Wilkes charged Governor James Walker of Barbados with having permitted an infraction of Russell's instructions, the British official stated that he had been unaware of the Confederate warship's earlier coaling at Nassau. But even so, he felt that the "Florida" qualified for aid under a provision of Russell's circular (the "special permission" clause), since she had been damaged in a severe storm. Wilkes's accusation , however, did not lie dormant, for it brought diplomatic reverberations in Washington and London. Secretary of State William H. Seward, speaking for President Lincoln, expressed the Chief Executive's stern disapproval of what he considered a typical British practice, the giving of undue aid to the Confederates. Moreover, he intimated that if such action were continued, forceful remedies would have to be taken, regardless of the consequences. Although the "Florida" (the first Confederate cruiser built in England ) was completed in March, 1862, she was of no value to the South until the latter part of January, 1863. After the commissioning of the vessel off the port of Nassau in August, 1862, her commander, Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, ran the Federal blockade into the port of Mobile to obtain men and supplies. There the ship remained until the night of January 15, 1863, when she slipped safely out of Mobile Bay in a driving rainstorm. Then, for the first time, the cruiser was ready to embark on operations against Union shipping. Once the "Florida" had departed from the Southern port, she was almost completely without assistance. There was little opportunity for her to receive aid from the Confederate government ; nor, because of the ever-tightening blockade, could she return to a home port. Her help from neutral nations would be limited, for many West Indian ports were under the close surveillance of Wilkes's ships. Then, too, Russell's restrictive order would be another hindrance. Furthermore, the prizes of the "Florida" could not be brought to nonbelligerent ports for adjudication; thus, much like a pirate, she would have to burn or bond all that could not be used. Fortunately for the cruiser, however, her makers had designed the ship with just these problems in mind. They had flattened her flooring to allow the...