Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 1.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[425] navy—the protection of merchant-vessels against privateers, the maintenance of the blockade, and a share in the operations of the land forces on the enemy's coast. We proceed to show how it performed these three divisions of its task in the course of the year 1861.

As we have stated elsewhere, Mr. Davis had encouraged the equipment of privateers, immediately after the capture of Fort Sumter, on April 17th, and had offered letters of marque to those who were willing to cruise under the Confederate flag. The Congress at Montgomery, on its part, had promised to the crews of privateers a premium of twenty-five dollars for every prisoner, and for every Federal vessel which should be destroyed in a naval combat a sum equal to as many times one hundred francs as the vessel had men on board. At the same time, the Southern government set to work to fit out vessels destined to cruise under its war-flag against the commerce of the Northern States.

The Confederates had no merchant fleet in their ports that could supply them with the large vessels required for cruising on the high seas. They did not lack materials for their construction, but they needed experienced mechanics. They confined themselves, therefore, to arming vessels of which surprise or treason had given them possession. These consisted at first of six cutters belonging to the Federal revenue service, which happened to be in Southern ports at the time when the rebellion broke out. To these were added about a dozen small steamers purchased by the government. In short, during the six weeks following the proclamation of Mr. Davis, private individuals responded to that call by equipping as privateers about twenty vessels of the same pattern, nearly all of which had previously been employed in the coasting trade or as pilot-boats along the Southern coasts.

The merchant-vessels of the North, overtaken in Southern ports by the ordinances of secession, or sailing peaceably in the neighboring seas without any suspicion of danger, offered a rich prize to the privateers, which captured a large number of them. The time came, however, when the boldest among them learned to their cost that they could not pursue with impunity the adventurous career which exceptional circumstances had favored during a few weeks. At the end of May a small schooner of fifty-four