The Blockade Runner

About this issue

This issue presents "The Blockade Runner," a serialized story by J. Perkins Tracy, published by Street & Smith in 1896 and copyrighted the same year. The narrative follows the steamer Foxhound, captained by Ralph Powell, as it attempts to run the Federal blockade into Wilmington, North Carolina during the American Civil War. On a fierce January night in 1862, the vessel carries a valuable contraband cargo—three million dollars in hard currency, along with munitions, percussion caps, quinine, and military supplies destined for the Confederacy. Captain Powell navigates treacherous shoals with his skilled pilot "Foul Weather Tom" while his passenger, Robert Bentham (an American-born former naval school student), observes the operation. The story explores the dangerous blockade-running enterprise, profitable cotton trade with Liverpool, and the transformation of Nassau into a contraband depot. As the Foxhound approaches shore, a Federal blockader suddenly appears through the storm, forcing an evasive maneuver. The opening chapter establishes the high stakes of wartime smuggling operations.