 |
| 1812 Lighthouse |
and a pretty woman spy combined forces
to thwart the Yankee
designs on Cape Lookout
By Sally G. Moore
(As found in Carteret County During The Civil War - Edited by
Jean Bruyere Kell)
In legends a few generations old, usually there is more truth than fiction.
Much
of The War Between the States history of the Central N.C. Coast was never
recorded, because there were few troops involved and few major battles; but
there were many volunteers who fought here and elsewhere. And there was a spy
network all along the coast about which little has been heard, because their
story could not be told. These people operated at great personal risk―danger
of death or imprisonment.
It
was under such circumstances in 1864 that Confederate soldiers—assisted by
local secret agents—undertook to destroy the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, to
prevent its being used and taken over by the Federals.
Keepers of the Light
If
Outer Bank people—relatively isolated from the Yankees—viewed the matter
differently from the mainlanders, it must be remembered that they were keepers
of the light, had helped to build it, were on intimate terms with its lifesaving
role, and regarded it with a special pride and affection. As their side of the
story has been sometimes expressed:
"Fort
Macon and Beaufort, the county seat, had been captured for two years, and
whenever our older folks went into Beaufort them Yankees would brag and strut
all around. Bankers never did brag much; thee always figured that a crowing hen
was fit for nothing but the pot. And the Yankees would come to the banks at
times, but we didn’t have anything thee wanted, so most of the time we were
left alone.
"Gaer
Chadwick was Lighthouse Keeper, John Rile (Royal), First Assistant Lighthouse
Keeper and Abner Guthrie, Second Assistant, and each would take turns minding The
Light. The banks people had witnessed the sorrows of shipwrecks, so thee knew
what a comfort it was to have The Light burning. It gave you a warm feeling,
especially if you were out in a boat, late getting in. There had been a lot of
rumor about The Light being destroyed and we sure did hate for anything to
happen to it.
"Gaer
Chadwick was a mainlander and a lot of his kinfolks owned slaves, so he had to
be very careful what he said. Most of all his folks were right in the middle of
the War and even his cousin Mary Frances Chadwick was a Confederate spy, so he
knew more about what was going on than we did."
Secret Service
To
quote Mary Frances Chadwick, she was at this time "a lady of twenty-two
summers, in the purity of mature womanhood, fired with a patriotic zeal, love
of liberty and belief in the inalienable right of self government." She
was one of Carteret County's Confederate Secret Service Agents, volunteering
her services at the beginning of the War.
On
February 1, 1864, Confederate forces launched a major assault on Federal forces
at New Bern, thus beginning an effort to open up the coastal area to shipping,
in order to obtain urgently needed supplies for the Confederacy. At the same
time, a Confederate detachment of troops was sent from Wilmington up the coast
to threaten, and if possible, to capture Federal positions in Carteret County.
This move was made to draw attention away from New Bern. On Feb. 2nd the Wilmington
troops captured enemy outposts at Gales Creek and along Bogue Sound, then
turning inland, they marched on to Newport where the Federals had a permanent
camp. At Newport, they routed the enemy and captured great quantities of stores.
The
assault on New Bern failed and the Wilmington troops received orders to
withdraw and return. Just before departing from Wilmington, to torment the
Federals further, they destroyed the railroad bridge over Newport River.
Federal forces at Fort Macon, Carolina City and in Morehead City were very
apprehensive, and Beaufort was in an uproar. All through February and March
nerves were on edge, not knowing just what to expect, and conditions were very
bad for spy work.
Semmes was Expected
The
Federals, fearing that the Confederates would try to destroy Cape Lookout
Lighthouse, had two large boats on guard in the Hook of the Cape. Their
greatest fear was that Captain Semmes (Raphael Semmes, commander of the famous
raider C.S.S. Alabama) would sail in,
and they had been expecting him since the first of February when the assault on
New Bern started. This tied up two boats which were needed elsewhere, so it was
finally decided to take over the lighthouse and station Federal troops there.
Having
learned of the Federals' plans to take over the lighthouse, Mary Frances
traveled by horseback to New Bern, her contact point. She sent word to Col.
J.N. Whitford, 67th North Carolina Infantry and waited for orders back from
him. Receiving her instructions and important letters, which were placed in
special pockets sewed to the inside of her skirts, she started her return to
the coast.
A Narrow Escape
From
New Bern, the route followed was to Havelock, then down through Harlowe to
either Beaufort or to North River, where reliable Confederates could be
contacted. Right outside Harlowe she had to cross the Yankee line. The Federals
knew that messages were getting through somehow, and everyone was a suspect; so
Mary Frances was stopped, and the guard started marching he to headquarters for
questioning and possible searching.
She
said afterwards that the young soldier who usually guarded the line when she
would go through was sweet on her, but this time he was not on duty. If they
had searched her they would have found these important letters and
instructions. But the young Yankee had seen them stop her and he came forward
and stated that she had come to see him. Being a lady of wit and charm, and
with the support of this northern sweetheart, Mary Frances convinced the guard
of her innocence. She visited with the young soldier for a while, acting merry
and gay, then as soon as possible traveled on.
She
always believed he knew what she was doing, but would not report her.
Mary
Frances was to contact Josiah Bell, he also being an agent in the Secret Service
of the Confederacy, but she feared she was being followed and suspected the
Federals would watch her for a while to make certain she was just a young girl
flirting with a Yankee soldier. She went into Beaufort and visited relative for
a few days instead of going to Josiah Bell's home on the north side of North
River, this being the contact point for agents in eastern Carteret County.
The Confederate Plot
Arriving
in Beaufort, Mary Frances sent word to Mr. Bell to get in touch with her as
soon as possible, but to use all caution. This he did. She had detailed orders
for him. Col. Whitford was sending out a secret detachment to destroy the two
lighthouses at Cape Lookout (the new—present—structure had been lighted just
five years prior to this time). When they arrived in the vicinity of South
River, it was Mr. Bell's duty, with help of Mary Frances, to arrange contact
points and safe passage overland to The Straits, this being a good jumping-off
point from the mainland to Cape Lookout.
They
were to have reliable Confederate guides with boats ready and waiting to
transport these troops to the Cape; also the escape route back out of the
danger zone had been planned and executed. Extreme caution was to be used, as
there were those along the route who would report to the Federals any unusual
activity. The guides had to be well acquainted with the waters and the boats
must be small and shallow-draft, due to the many shoals between the mainland
and Cape Lookout. To go aground would have been disastrous.
Demolition Party Arrives
Mary
Frances slipped back through enemy lines to New Bern, and sent word to Col.
Whitford when all arrangements had been completed, waiting there for his reply,
which was to set the date for this detachment of troops to arrive in the
vicinity of South River. Arriving back in Carteret County with her mission
complete, she gratefully remained at her family home, the old plantation known
as Crow Hill on the east side of North River, and was there to greet this
detachment of soldiers when they arrived with Mr. Bell on Saturday night, April
2, 1864. She was then sent into Beaufort Sunday morning, to observe and report
back Federal activities. At Crow Hill, these soldiers received much needed rest
and nourishment, and Sunday night they were transported to Cape Lookout, where
the destruction of the lighthouse was to be attempted.
The
writer's grandfather used to tell this story of how the deed was done:
"It
was so isolated out on the Cape, and those two Federal boats getting on
everybody's nerves, that John Rile moved his family to their old home on
Shackelford Banks and he and son Joseph stayed at the Cape with Abner Guthrie
and his family. The night the Confederates came to blow up the lighthouse, Gaer
Chadwick was on the mainland, John Rile was minding The Light, and Abner
Guthrie was at the house. Thee came in real quiet like and told everyone not to
make any noise, then made all go out on the beach while they worked. Finally,
there was two big explosions that shook the ground and the fire from the oil burning
lit up everything. The dynamiters disappeared fast and everyone rushed in to
see what had happened.
"The
old lighthouse was almost destroyed, but in the new building the dynamite blast
went up the hollow iron shaft in the middle of the tower, destroying the light
and part of the steps; cracked the brick tower from top to bottom, but the
tower was left standing."
The Escape
"It
was a sorrowful sight. The soldiers left before them Yankees could get ashore
from their boats and they all went to Shackelford Banks to Mrs. Caledonia
Riles, and had breakfast. Everybody started coming in to see what had happened,
and it was a very exciting day."
Grandpa
never could say whether any of the men were recognized that set the dynamite
charge, but always called them Confederate Volunteers.
The
Confederate expedition slipped safely back to the mainland, to Crow Hill where
they rested all day. That night they went by boat to the head of North River,
then overland to the head of South River where their boats were concealed, and
arrived back at their camp April 10, 1864. This affair was planned and executed
without the Federals knowing anything whatsoever, or being able to capture any
of the parties engaged in it.
Successful Expedition
In
the State Archive are two letters reporting the event. L.C. Harland, in charge
of this expedition, wrote Col. Whitford April 9, 1864 from Smith's Creek, N.C.
the following:
"We
have destroyed both light-houses at Cape Lookout (on Sunday night), so that
they never can be repaired again. We heard from Beaufort before leaving. They had
200 men in search of us. Two large steamers were on the hook of the cape to
guard against Captain Semmes, as they have been expecting him to do the same
work for the last two months. I have several trophies for you and will proceed
to camp tomorrow. The boys acted well, but cannot travel much, as their feet
are badly bruised. We landed on this side of the river last night at 10 o'clock."
Miss
Mary Frances Chadwick, who later became Mrs. Elijah Hancock, was a great, great
granddaughter of Carteret County's noted Samuel Chadwick, founder of the
whaling industry in the county in 1725, and great granddaughter of Col. Thomas
Chadwick, who served distinction during the Revolutionary War; and who was a
delegate at the second session of the Continental Congress held in
Philadelphia, May 10,
1775.
Mr.
Josiah Bell was a great grandson of Beaufort's celebrated Col. Joseph Bell, who
served with great honor during the Revolutionary War, and grandson of Malachi
Bell who was also a delegate at the second session of the Continental Congress
held in Philadelphia, May 10, 1775.
Mr.
John Royal, Mrs. Caledonia Royal and Mr. Abner P. Guthrie were descendants of
our mysterious Outer Banks forefathers, who landed on our coast so back in
time, that all records have become lost.
_____________
Fort Macon was captured
by the Federals April 25, 1862. The destruction of the old lighthouse and the
attempted destruction of the present Cape Lookout Lighthouse took place on
Sunday night, April 4, 1864. Cape Lookout Lighthouse was restored and put back
into service by the Federal Government in 1867.
The above article was found in Carteret County During The Civil War
Edited by
Jean Bruyere Kell
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