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atenor‘ty!cnQg15Inid,nghliBeofheh~.Uyho:ksivebe■. Blockade Run n e r Is Grounded Near Mouth of Brazos bur i fi^JMivU War• l \ » ■ Sci .TIT' v •* lt;v .*****By MRS.* T,| A.! HUMPHRIESDuring the Civil War, although Texas fared comfortablyhi comparison with many other sections of the ravaged South, the blockade proved a severe hardship, causing a serious lack of comforts and actual necessities which, could not.be produced at home. One of the many makeshifts to. which .the settlers were reduced*- was salt making; accomplished by digging shallow wells near the gulf and boiling, the water until-it crystallized, Mr.. John. Hudgins' of Oyster: Greek Is . the. proud .possessor- of' a very large; sugar kettle which, was'- usedbehind his bani and. serves - as tt reservoir far stock water,For . the duration of the war, General Bates; was in charge of the\.V.t-aste,Idm.utheit-3.veitso-inhengaysh,iretiedu*•ry^■'All -:flshefWto vof San iiils Pass have -.eh;the :'.two rusty bid boil-^rjjyfcgi^ihttlie waves, ;ibut. few know;tftefc they; are the remains of the ^cwkSdferunner, ?Arcadia Which;*’was.':16aded in New Orleans, 'hear;.the-ibnd^of :the Civil War, for the TeiSef^ofJiBrazoria County settlers. All rport5;:Were closed and the coast .was--patrol]ed by federal gunboats , ' bdfc; the ';Arcadia was bravely making^ot .vmj toward the mouthof, the |Bicaao^;; Unfortuhately, thecom’maftdihg^o^flccr, Captain • a turret/^Wacu' riy^’niaii, instead of a tiaVi^tq^^:ofa vessels., and in d'i^iah^i^^KiSnbbat the. ship;. was..tfvffine. j-withiii;: s disfnce a^.'Hhe ahefls. landed * on a spot which \is? kriown -as Arcadiae | '; ,The;.;cargO ' wasjva;-. miscellaneousgelthlt;isvifseiofthB ttuvhM.coast defense, but B»/onJy, fight- j b : cobsisting^qf^. ammunition, ing done in Brazoria County con- }•_. nsisted of, an occasional exchange of lt;*-:;mediclne, need-shots between Federal gunboats ahd Jcs, and': innumerable:; other. articlestheConfederate forts ■ at- Velasco, Quintana and Mud Island. Traces of the otd fort on the Velasco side of the Brazos may be found today and many cannon balls have been discovered in the sand along the beach, in the camp on Mud Island, nearly. alV the soldiers-died from camp diseases and;were bur-, led at once la unmarked graves.. ■ Mrs. shannon, of Velasco, tells of a bombardment, shortlybefore the close of the war; on a day when she was visiting In Quintana at the home of her uncle, Mr, Seabura. A Federal gunboat was firing from the gulf, and the .member* of*the household, including a Confederate captain, were eagerly watching the proceedings. They were standing on the porch when a shell struck the house, tearing away part of the roof and amputating one of the captain’s feetPeredih*itetiMlisa*,myitoViromm*’•BBflt;f!T:that equltf-nbt be'jnade Jn Brazoria County,':'It. is sala^that the medicine included a thotisand pounds of quinine, •- It was^-tiecessary to. unload the ship undercover of dark-• ness; ’ as.. the FederAls;were . watching ..'closely from ;thof gulf, but the [ cargo was groduiuly,.; removed and divided among ttia- eager : settlers, Old timers aa? thit it; was truly a Godsend,* Captain Bterret remained with ‘ the Folkts at the Half Way House, until the' ship was entirely empty, six or eight; months later. Due to the vigllande of the Federal gunboats, no attempt waa made to float the Arcadia -’untilhostilities had ceased, but by that 'time the: unfortunate vessel, had made a^d in the sand/' it being impossible for her to be removed, and she was left to the merciless pounding of the waves. Until a few years ago the two boilers were joined to-
Newspaper Details
Freeport Facts
Freeport, Texas, US
Thu, Jun 25, 1931
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Patty B.
USA 17 Jan 2020
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