Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series

Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be 
reproduced without permission. 
Transcribed by Barbara Kawamoto.

                       The S. S. Ad-Vance

"Our Heritage"
By Claude Moore

   During the War Between the States, North Carolina was the only 
Confederate state to equip and supply its own soldiers.  In fact, when the 
war was over there were 92,000 uniforms in the commissary in Raleigh and 
other supplies.

   In 1864-1865, the railroads in North Carolina were in need of repairs and
there was a shortage of parts for locomotives.  The Confederate government 
improvised by mining high grade iron ore on Buckhorn Creek in Chatham County
and converting it into parts for the railroads.

   Soon after President Lincoln was inaugurated he set up a blockade of 
Confederate ports, but it was only partially effective in 1861-61, but in 
1864-65, many ports were completely blockaded.  The presence of Fort Fisher 
overlooking New Inlet below Wilmington, with its Whitworth, long-range guns 
made it possible for blockade runners to ease in and out the inlet without 
being apprehended.

   In 1862, Colonel Zebulon B. Vance of Asheville was elected governor of 
North Carolina.  He conceived the idea of purchasing a blockade-runner for 
the state in which he could bring in supplies for the troops.  The 
Confederate agents in England arranged for the purchase of a side-wheel
steamer called the Lord Clyde, which ran between Dublin and Glasgow.  The 
ship was well made and could make as much as 20 knots per hour.  It was 
renamed the Ad-Vance, in honor of the governor and his wife, Adelaide.  The 
commander was Captain Thomas N. Crossan, formerly of the U.S. Navy and the 
chief engineer was Captain George Morison Cresson, who had been the
commander of the Winslow and Captain Morison, a resident of Wilmington, who 
had served as an engineer on the Gladiator.  He made six successful trips 
on the Ad-Vance.

   The Ad-Vance made 11 successful trips through the blockade and was 
captured on the 12th trip because of the low-grade coal from the mines in 
Chatham County, which made much smoke and produced little power.  Only a few 
of the ships records survive, but we do know that the following was 
delivered:  11,000 bales of cotton and 100,000 barrels of turpentine to 
Nassau, Bermuda, and Halifax, Nova Scotia and brought in the following:  
60,000 pairs of cotton cards, 250,000 pairs of shoes; 250,000 suits of 
uniforms; 50,000 blankets; 2,000 Enfield rifles; 100,000 pounds of bacon;
12,000 overcoats; 500 sacks of coffee for hospital use; large quantities of 
medicines; iron; lead; and leather.   

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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Barbara Kawamoto <bakawamoto.earthlink.net>

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