The Narrative of a Blockade-Runner

A Confederate naval captain recounts his wartime service and subsequent career as a blockade-runner, beginning with defenses in Virginia and a contested passage below New Orleans that led to capture and imprisonment at Fort Warren. After exchange he narrates repeated voyages between Southern ports and Caribbean and Atlantic harbors, describing shipboard routines, crew, methods used to evade blockaders, logistical troubles such as coal and repairs, and several narrow escapes and captures. The memoir also discusses Confederate naval administration, foreign dealings, and observations on the treatment of prisoners and the human costs of the conflict.