Fate of a Runner

[AndyHall]

One hundred fifty years ago this evening, May 23, 1865, the blockade runner Denbigh ran aground on Bird Key, a few hundred yards off the Bolivar Peninsula, near the entrance to Galveston Bay. The following morning, the stranded runner would be spotted and shelled by the blockaders U.S.S. Cornubia and Princess Royal. Denbigh's crew took to their boats and headed for shore; a boarding party from U.S.S. Seminole went aboard the little steamer, gathered up the ship's papers, and set her ablaze. One of Seminole's crew members, Luke Robbins, was killed instantly by the discharge of his own weapon while clambering back into the boarding party's boat; he was the only casualty of the operation. Robbins may have been under the influence, as two other members of the boarding party were found to be drunk and put in irons upon their return to the Union warship.

In all, Denbigh had made seven round voyages between Havana and Mobile and six between Havana and Galveston, the second-best confirmed record of any runner in the conflict. Years later, William Watson wrote of her:

One of the most successful, and certainly one of the most profitable, steamers that sailed out of Havana to the Confederate States was a somewhat old, and by no means a fast, steamer named the Denbigh. . . . She was small in size, and not high above water, and painted in such a way as not to be readily seen at a distance. She was light on coal, made but little smoke, and depended more upon strategy than speed. She carried large cargoes of cotton, and it was generally allowed that the little Denbigh was a more profitable boat than any of the larger and swifter cracks.[1]​

Denbigh had made it successfully in and out of Galveston a half-dozen times before this last attempt, and it's likely that her fatal grounding happened because the Confederate troops on shore who were responsible for setting out range lights and markers for the runners' safe navigation had abandoned their posts in the general collapse of the Texas and the Trans-Mississippi Department. The runner Lark did make it into Galveston that same night, but her master noted that the forts he passed guarding the harbor entrance appeared to be abandoned. Lark would endure another disaster the following morning, when hundreds of Confederate soldiers and civilians swarmed the ship at Central Wharf and looted virtually everything that wasn't nailed down. Lark's master made no attempt to load a return cargo; that evening he got under way again, stopped briefly at a nearby wharf to pick up Denbigh's crew, and dashed out of the harbor again for Havana, the last blockade runner to clear a Confederate port.

It was almost the end.
_________

[1] William Watson, The Adventures of a Blockade Runner; or, Trade in Time of War (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1893), 287–88.

 

[Carronade]

The 1860s version of a stealth ship!

"somewhat old, and by no means a fast, steamer named the Denbigh"

On the other hand, wikipedia describes her as relatively new, built 1860, and fast, 13.7 knots on trials.

 

[AndyHall]

Watson was writing about Denbigh as he knew her in 1864-65. Other accounts say by this time she was capable of 8.5 knots, tops. Iron-hulled ship were especially prone to fouling in warm water, and blockade runners were generally not very well maintained.

As for being "old," that's relative; many steam-driven runners in this latter period of the war were built for the purpose, and were launched from 1863 on.

 

[Dave Wilma]

Denbigh ran aground on Bird Key, a few hundred yards off the Bolivar Peninsula, near the entrance to Galveston Bay. The following morning, the stranded runner would be spotted and shelled by the blockaders U.S.S. Cornubia and Princess Royal. Denbigh's crew took to their boats and headed for shore; a boarding party from U.S.S. Seminole went aboard the little steamer, gathered up the ship's papers, and set her ablaze.

What were the rules of engagement between U.S. Navy ships and suspected blockade runners? This ship was aground, not going anywhere immediately, but was fired upon? Is there more to the story that would trigger deadly force on the seas?

 

[Lt R. Blackwell 4th Texas]

One hundred fifty years ago this evening, May 23, 1865, the blockade runner Denbigh ran aground on Bird Key, a few hundred yards off the Bolivar Peninsula, near the entrance to Galveston Bay. The following morning, the stranded runner would be spotted and shelled by the blockaders U.S.S. Cornubia and Princess Royal. Denbigh's crew took to their boats and headed for shore; a boarding party from U.S.S. Seminole went aboard the little steamer, gathered up the ship's papers, and set her ablaze. One of Seminole's crew members, Luke Robbins, was killed instantly by the discharge of his own weapon while clambering back into the boarding party's boat; he was the only casualty of the operation. Robbins may have been under the influence, as two other members of the boarding party were found to be drunk and put in irons upon their return to the Union warship.

In all, Denbigh had made seven round voyages between Havana and Mobile and six between Havana and Galveston, the second-best confirmed record of any runner in the conflict. Years later, William Watson wrote of her:

One of the most successful, and certainly one of the most profitable, steamers that sailed out of Havana to the Confederate States was a somewhat old, and by no means a fast, steamer named the Denbigh. . . . She was small in size, and not high above water, and painted in such a way as not to be readily seen at a distance. She was light on coal, made but little smoke, and depended more upon strategy than speed. She carried large cargoes of cotton, and it was generally allowed that the little Denbigh was a more profitable boat than any of the larger and swifter cracks.[1]​

Denbigh had made it successfully in and out of Galveston a half-dozen times before this last attempt, and it's likely that her fatal grounding happened because the Confederate troops on shore who were responsible for setting out range lights and markers for the runners' safe navigation had abandoned their posts in the general collapse of the Texas and the Trans-Mississippi Department. The runner Lark did make it into Galveston that same night, but her master noted that the forts he passed guarding the harbor entrance appeared to be abandoned. Lark would endure another disaster the following morning, when hundreds of Confederate soldiers and civilians swarmed the ship at Central Wharf and looted virtually everything that wasn't nailed down. Lark's master made no attempt to load a return cargo; that evening he got under way again, stopped briefly at a nearby wharf to pick up Denbigh's crew, and dashed out of the harbor again for Havana, the last blockade runner to clear a Confederate port.

It was almost the end.
_________
[1] William Watson, The Adventures of a Blockade Runner; or, Trade in Time of War (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1893), 287–88.

Great image and story, Andy.
Thank you

 

[rebelatsea]

If they couldn't get to the wreck and loot it for their own profit, they tried to make sure no one else could either.

 

[AndyHall]

I'll have to dig to see if there were formal "rules of engagement," but there's nothing at all unusual about Denbigh's case -- shelling a stranded runner was standard operating procedure. In this case there was no doubt about the ship's nature as a runner, and it's likely that some of the personnel aboard the blockading ships actually recognized her.

 

[Dave Wilma]

I'll have to dig to see if there were formal "rules of engagement," but there's nothing at all unusual about Denbigh's case -- shelling a stranded runner was standard operating procedure. In this case there was no doubt about the ship's nature as a runner, and it's likely that some of the personnel aboard the blockading ships actually recognized her.

That's my question. Under the blockade was the Navy entitled to fire on all ships attempting to make a blockaded port? Were British ships fired on? Was there a convention that the first shot was across the bow as an order to "heave to?"

I just finished Eric Larsen's book on the Lusitania which involved the drift away from "ask first" to "shoot first."

 

[AndyHall]

Were British ships fired on?

Probably a solid majority of blockade runners actually were British ships. The blockade technically applied to all vessels, although exceptions were occasionally made for neutral warships.

Vessels intercepted at sea were stopped, inspected, and if believed to be engaged in blockade running, sent under a U.S. Navy prize crew to a federal court to be adjudicated. In practice, if a runner didn't stop immediately when ordered to, then the Navy would go "weapons hot," which was understood by all parties involved.

A runner stranded on shore would routinely be shelled, to prevent salvage of the cargo.

 

[M.Warren]

Probably a solid majority of blockade runners actually were British ships. The blockade technically applied to all vessels, although exceptions were occasionally made for neutral warships.

Vessels intercepted at sea were stopped, inspected, and if believed to be engaged in blockade running, sent under a U.S. Navy prize crew to a federal court to be adjudicated. In practice, if a runner didn't stop immediately when ordered to, then the Navy would go "weapons hot," which was understood by all parties involved.

A runner stranded on shore would routinely be shelled, to prevent salvage of the cargo.

Wasn't there a big stink at one time that almost brought the British in to the war on the Souths side due to a British ship being fired on and or boarded by the US navy and two Southern diplomats taken prisoner? I think I read that somewhere, and that Lincoln to avoid the stuff hitting the fan had to formally apologize the British crown.

 

[Carronade]

I just finished Eric Larsen's book on the Lusitania which involved the drift away from "ask first" to "shoot first."

That was ultimately due to the physical characteristics of submarines; everyone who used subs eventually ended up doing the same thing. German surface ships like the Emden operated under the same rules as the Civil War and before, most notably making provision for a ship's crew and passengers before sinking it. This also presumes that the merchant ship cooperates; if it resists or attempts to escape, a warship is fully entitled to engage, to the point of destruction if the merchant captain takes it that far.

 

[AndyHall]

Wasn't there a big stink at one time that almost brought the British in to the war on the Souths side due to a British ship being fired on and or boarded by the US navy and two Southern diplomats taken prisoner? I think I read that somewhere, and that Lincoln to avoid the stuff hitting the fan had to formally apologize the British crown.

Yes, the Trent Affair -- the Lincoln administration ultimately let the diplomats go and disavowed Captain Wilkes' actions, but didn't apologize.

 

[Dave Wilma]

That was ultimately due to the physical characteristics of submarines;

The use of Q ships helped drive subs underwater. A sub couldn't be sure if a merchantman might turn out to be a cruiser.

 

[Dave Wilma]

A runner stranded on shore would routinely be shelled, to prevent salvage of the cargo.

A stranded ship in Confederate waters was shoot on sight? I'm not criticizing. I just want to understand the boundaries at the time.

 

[AndyHall]

A stranded ship in Confederate waters was shoot on sight? I'm not criticizing. I just want to understand the boundaries at the time.

From the blockaders' perspective, there was no legitimate reason for it to be there, and there was no indication that it was in distress or seeking assistance -- at least, from the Yankees.

It was a common claim made by captured runners in this area that they were actually headed for (neutral) Mexico and got blown off course somehow. That ruse almost never worked.