Caleb Huse

“ Cushing had been chairman of the Charleston Democratic Convention which nominated John C. Breckenridge for President, I replied:
"Yes, sir, what chance do you think the South has?"
"What chance can it have?" he said, "the money is all in the North; the manufactories are all in the North; the ships are all in the North; the arms and arsenals are all in the North; the arsenals of Europe are within ten days of New York, and they will be open to the United States Government, and closed to the South; and the Southern ports will [Pg 15] be blockaded. What possible chance can the South have?" ”

“ In spite of large squadrons, under command of competent and zealous officers, enough war material was carried into ports of the Confederate States to enable them, for three years, to contend vigorously against all the armies the United States could collect, not only from its own population, but from all the countries of Europe. ”

“ On our return from Sumter, we three lay on the warm sand near the shore, and naturally the conversation was chiefly on the events of the last few days. In the course of our talk, I remarked, "What in the world made Anderson surrender the fort?" For in my opinion it was no more damaged for [Pg 12] defence than a brick wall would be by a boy's snapping marbles against it. As for anything the Confederate artillery could bring to bear upon it, it was literally impregnable—as shown by the fact that with all the resources of the United States army and navy it was never retaken. ”

“ But the war had reached a critical stage; the Confederate army was hard pressed on every side. Moreover, the contract system had begun to produce results. Instead of all cotton sent out being for army or navy account, only a portion of the army cotton was turned into army supplies. The contractors, English and Confederate, were taking the rest.
I believe that not one of those cotton warrants which bought the "Merrimac" was ever presented in Richmond, and that vessel, with her cargo, cost the Confederate Government literally nothing. ”

“ William Trenholm, became Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury early in the war. Mr. Wellsman, senior member of Trenholm Brothers, in New York, joined the Liverpool house, the senior member and manager of which was Charles K. Prioleau, formerly of Charleston. There was no loan to negotiate; for the Confederacy—recognized only as belligerents—had no credit among nations, and no system of taxation by which it could hope to derive any revenue available for purchasing supplies abroad. But it possessed a latent purchasing power such as probably no other Government in history ever had. ”

“ Davis did not make the great mistake of sending a civil agent to purchase supplies—a duty as thoroughly military as any that could be named—nor the still greater blunder of setting several men to do what one man, with uncontrolled authority, could do so much better. Doubtless he could have found men who would have performed the duty as well as did the young officer whom he selected, and some who would have done their part better ”

“ During my absence the President of the University and a committee of the Board of Trustees visited West Point and the Virginia Military Institute and, pleased with the discipline of both institutions, decided to adopt the military system, and applied to Colonel Delafield, then the Superintendent at West Point, for an officer to start them. Col. Delafield gave them my name but was unable to say whether or not I would resign from the army. I was then a first lieutenant of artillery; and, as such, was on the rolls of the garrison of Fort Sumter. ”

“ Cushing, these would be available by the United States but impossible of purchase by "the South." Yet even so high an authority as Ex-Attorney General Cushing proved to be wrong in his assumption, as will be shown below.
Any young, intelligent West Point graduate holding an army commission and as fearless in assuming responsibility as the average "graduate," would not only have prevented my making this important contract, but would have blocked my efforts in every direction; for in all Europe the supply of arms ready for use or possible of manufacture was very limited. ”

“ In the Summer of 1903, two friends of Major Huse were hospitably entertained by him at his charming home, "The Rocks," on the Hudson, just south of West Point, and, during their visit, were greatly interested in listening to his recital of some of his experiences as agent in Europe for purchasing army supplies for the Confederate States during the Civil war. ”

“ So long as the War Department depended entirely on its own officers to get cotton out and run supplies in, the value of every bale of cotton that reached the Islands secured, in due time, its full equivalent in army supplies. There were some captures of cotton going out, and others of supplies going in, but the losses were for a long time inconsiderable. When, however, the contract system got into full working condition, although there were more vessels in the service, the supplies began to shrink. ”

“ After the "Stephen Hart" episode, all army supplies were carried by steamer, either to a Confederate port direct, or to Nassau or Bermuda. There was little difficulty in chartering steamers to carry supplies to "The Islands." Generally both ship and cargo belonged in good faith to British subjects; and, as the voyage was from one British port to another, the entire business was as lawful as a similar shipment would have been from London to Liverpool. ”

“ The shipment from England to the Islands in ordinary tramp steamers; the landing and storage there, and the running of the blockade, cost money; but all that was needed came from cotton practically given to the Confederate Government by its owners.
The supplies were, in every instance, bought at the lowest cash prices by men trained in the work as contractors for the British army. ”

“ Military drill is taught at the present time in many schools and colleges, but the intention of the Alabama University authorities was not merely to drill students, but to hold them under military restraint, as is effectually done at West Point, and, I may add, as cannot be done in any college designed to qualify young men to become civilian members of a great republic. ”

“ The cotton crop of its people was a prime necessity for the manufacturing world outside, and, for want of machinery, was utterly valueless in all the Southern States except Georgia, where there were a few small factories. ”

“ West Point and Annapolis have proved themselves noble institutions for the purpose for which they were designed—that of training young men to become officers over other men—but the mission of these schools is not to fit young men for civil life. ”

“ To get the supplies from "The Islands" to the main land required sea-worthy steamers of light draught and great speed. Many such vessels were purchased and sent out under captains who were equal to any emergency, among whom were several former U. S. Navy officers. Some of these steamers had been private yachts, as for example the "Merrimac;" (there were two "Merrimacs") ; some were engaged in trade between British ports, as the "Cornubia;" some were taken from the Channel service between England and France, as the "Eugenie;" and some were built for opium smuggling in China. ”

“ But my would-be intermediary was so persistent that, finally I accompanied him to Vienna and, within a few days, closed a contract for 100,000 rifles of the latest Austrian pattern, and ten batteries, of six pieces each, of field artillery, with harness complete, ready for service, and a quantity of ammunition, all to be delivered on ship at Hamburg. The United States Minister, Mr. Motley, protested in vain. He was told that the making of arms was an important industry of Austria ”

“ I was in the act of taking a piece of potato on my fork, and, to gain time before answering, I passed the potato to my mouth and then made about as foolish a reply as was possible, saying, "If he wanted arms he would be likely to select a man who knew something about arms." The captain immediately remarked, "Sometimes those fellows that know the most, say the least." ”

“ However, we agreed upon the weight and quality of cotton to be given for ship and cargo, and it only remained for me to satisfy their lawyer that I was duly authorized to make the purchase. For this purpose, a meeting was arranged for the next morning, when I presented the leather-stained order which had come to me through the lines, sewed between the layers of the sole of a shoe. On reading this, the lawyer said: "That's enough to cover anything," and a contract was signed and an order given me for the ship and cargo. As this contract may interest the reader, a fac-simile of it is given. ”

“ It was to advance no one more than one grade. He said that Beauregard was only a captain of engineers, and had been made a brigadier general; but in this, the rule had not been violated, for, by serving at West Point as superintendent although for a few days only—five, as shown by the records—he was a colonel in the army, and had, therefore, been advanced but one grade. Mr. Davis remarked that there were officers enough for all field purposes, but the trouble was to find men qualified to prepare the army for its work. ”

“ The order to which I referred was sewed into the sole of a boot, the wearer of which, a German by birth, made the journey from Richmond to London by way of New York. On arriving in London the order was removed from its hiding place by cutting the stitches of the sole. The incident serves to show the impossibility of preventing secret correspondence in time of war.
Another incident of the same character may be mentioned. The first vessel to run the blockade from England was the "Fingal," Commander James D. Bulloch. ”

“ But military discipline, to which, as admitted by every one, the improved deportment was due, added to the outgo of the University without materially increasing its income, and the only hope of obtaining money to meet the increased expenses was through an appropriation by the Legislature. To secure this, President Garland proposed that the battalion of Cadets—for so the students were called—should go to Montgomery and be reviewed by the Governor and by the Legislature, which was then in session. ”

“ But although for several days it was short of some kinds of desirable food, and destitute of fresh provisions, there remained several barrels of pork which he took with him when he left. Not only was no assault ever made, but the enemy had no boats or scaling ladders with which to attempt an assault, as Anderson must have known. ”

“ She was then loaded with cotton, and one favorable night—dark and stormy—started on her return trip to the Islands. Before clearing the harbor she collided with another steamer on her way in, and the "Merrimac" was obliged to return to Wilmington, where it was found that she could not be repaired, and she was finally sold, with her cargo, for $1,100,000. The vessel with which she collided was her sister ship which had lain alongside of her in London Docks. Means were not to be found in Wilmington to repair the "Merrimac" for the Confederate [Pg 36] Government ”