The Louisiana Democrat

Interesting Particulars of the Capture of the Chesapeake.
LIEUTENANT BRAINE'S OWN STATEMENT.

Lieut. John C. Braine, late of the Confederate navy, was arraigned on the 5th inst., in the United States Circuit Court, Brooklyn, charged with murder and piracy on the high seas. The charge is based on his capture of the steamship Chesapeake, in December, 1863. The New York News, of the 9th, publishes Lieut. Braine's own account of this noted affair, which is subjoined:

I myself took command of the main deck, giving my second lieutenant charge of the engine room and fire room, giving all my men orders to demand the surrender in the name of the Confederate States of America, and on no account to fire on any person unless they refused to surrender or made resistance. Upon seeing my second lieutenant and men enter the engine room, I proceeded to the main deck, and, when about midships, I heard a shot below deck. I left my first lieutenant, H. A. Parr, in charge of the main deck and went below. I passed through to the engine room, which I found vacant. I then proceeded to the fire room and found the firemen in irons.—I then returned on deck, where I found Oren Schaffer, the second engineer, lying across the threshold of the door, quite dead.

I then found my second lieutenant, and the report that he made to me was that when he entered the engine room the engineer was below oiling the machinery; that he passed through to the fire room and put the firemen in irons, and returned to the engine room and ordered the engineer to surrender a prisoner of war to the Confederate States of America. His reply was by firing a shot at one of my men, which shattered all the back bones of the lieutenant and disabled him for life. The body of the second engineer was buried at about 4 A. M., by one of my men. It was to the regret of both officers and men that life had been taken. We made a collection for the benefit of the widow of the deceased. A bigger set of cowards I never saw on board a ship. James Johnson, the first engineer, on being ordered to surrender a prisoner of war, was in his stateroom. He was told that no harm was intended him. Instead of coming out like a man, he opened his door on the crack, when one of my men fired on him, the ball taking effect on his chin. He immediately rushed out on deck, when I ordered my men not to fire on the shirt-tailed coward. He then got below into the fire room, and crawled up a hole, which was cut from the galley to the engine room. The first officer, a Dutchman, had charge of the watch. He ran when ordered to surrender, and ran by the guard at the companion way, who fired on him. He then found he could not again get on deck, and turned once more to run the guard at the companion way, who fired again on him. He was wounded in the left arm and leg. The Captain, Willet, on being ordered to surrender, ran from the state room around the deck several times. Lieut. Parr fired two or three shots ahead of him to heave him to. He was not wounded, and was only in irons one and a half hours, and spent the balance of the night comfortably with the stewardess in her state room.
The captain immediately called for whiskey, of which I gave him a pitcher full from his state-room. Lieut. Parr cut the ball from the first mate's arm, but we had nothing to take the ball from his leg, and we made him as comfortable as possible. I came to an anchor in the harbor of Leal Cove, Grand Manan, on Tuesday morning, and not finding Captain Parker, my superior officer, I again weighed anchor and shaped my course for St. John, N. B. When about twenty miles up the bay we met Capt. Parker, who relieved me from command. Capt. Parker immediately hoisted the Confederate flag. I left the ship at Shelbourne, and proceeded to Halifax by order of Capt. Parker, to obtain coal for the ship. I remained in Nova Scotia nearly a month, when I received orders to the department at Richmond, Va., C. S. A. I arrived in Richmond May 7, 1864. I was, while in Richmond this time, promoted to the rank of master, and received orders to proceed with a crew of the City of Havana for the purpose of capturing the United States steamers Wyoming, Evening Star and Roanoke. The Roanoke had been confiscated under the confiscation act of 1861, by the United States Government. I sailed from Havana on the 20th of September, 1864, on board the Roanoke, with five officers and fourteen men, she having a crew of fifty men and officers, and forty-six passengers. I captured the ship in fifty five minutes. She had a cargo consisting of 60 boxes of sugar, 700 bales of tobacco 200,000 cigars, 3000 gallons of honey, $20,600 in greenbacks, and $1110 in gold. The ship and cargo were valued at $500,000 in gold. I took the ship to Bermuda, where, finding I could not coal her, I set fire to her on the morning of the 9th of October after putting the passengers and crew on board a brig. I was next ordered to Richmond, where I arrived the 16th of January, 1865. I was then promoted to a first lieutenant commanding, and received orders for the North Pacific. I left Richmond on the 28th of February, with five officers and six men. On the 1st of April, 1865, I captured the United States schooner St. Mary at the mouth of the Pawtuxent River, Maryland. I captured another vessel off Cape Henry light, worth $10,000. I had no chart or sextant, and arrived in Nassau on the 19th of April, having only twenty gallons of water when I left. I burned the St. Mary on the 19th of June, 1865. On learning that the war was over, I sent my men to Liverpool, England, where I paid them off. I sailed from Liverpool in the steamship Helvetia, relying on the President's amnesty proclamation. I have been living in Savannah, Ga., ever since October, 1865, and was intimate with all the United States officers stationed there.