March 6, 1863, The New York Herald
(From the Richmond Examiner, March 2.) The following Despatch has been received:–
SAVANNAH, Feb. 28, 1863.
The steamer Nashville in coming up the Ogeechee river last night grounded on the sand bar before Fort McAllister and was discovered by the Yankee fleet. A Yankee iron clad opened fire across the marsh at the Nashville at thirty minutes past seven o’clock, and continued it until ten o’clock, when an incendiary shell struck the Nashville and set her on fire, and she is now a total wreck.
The fort fired upon the iron-clad and hit her twice. The other gunboats of the fleet fired at the fort but did no damage.
SKETCH OF THE NASHVILLE.
The Nashville is one of the historic vessels of the rebellion. It was one of the first seized by the rebels in Charleston in 1861, and was sent to sea under the rebel flag. She has on more than one occasion since given our blockading fleet a great deal of trouble. It will be remembered that she ran the blockade of Beaufort, North Carolina, early last year, and after being in the harbor for some time, and supposed to be secure, eluded what was deemed to be a strict watch and again escaped to sea. She has several times run between Bermuda and Charleston with a contraband cargo; but the last time she entered one of the Southern ports she was so completely hemmed in that she could not escape. It was reported last October that she was fitting out with heavy armament for the purpose of joining the privateer vessels now engaged in the rebel cause and committing their ravages upon the open seas. To prevent this a close watch has been kept on her movements by Admiral DuPont’s squadron, which vigilance has been finally rewarded by her complete destruction.
The Nashville was a side-wheel steamer of eighteen hundred tons burthen, and was built at this port in 1854. She belonged to Messrs. Spofford, Tileston & Company’s Charleston line, and was one of the fastest ships running from New York. The usual passage to Charleston is two and a half days, but the Nashville usually ran down in fifty five hours, and has made the trip in forty-six and a half hours. She made her last trip from this fort to Charleston just before the bombardment of Sumter. Her captain at that time (Murray) was a South Carolina man, and sailed from here with orders not to go into Charleston if there was any danger. He arrived off the bar April 12, while the bombardment was in progress, and lay off and on until the capitulation of Sumter, when the ship ran in and was at once seized by the rebel authorities at Charleston. It will be remembered that they had just before seized and released the Marion of the same line. After her seizure the Nashville lay for some time idle at the dock in Charleston until she escaped to sea. She was then in the very best order, as her owners had but a short time before laid out $50,000 in repairing the ship. He former purser came from Charleston shortly after her capture, and reported that the vessel was well taken care of, and was covered with tarpaulins to keep her from the sun. She was considered so good a sea-going vessel that the Collins Company twice chartered her to put her on in place of one of their Liverpool ships, and she made the trip across each time inside of twelve days.