Thursday, May 1, 2014
So That Explains the Blockade-Runner Harriet Lane
Two posts ago, I mentioned the escape of three blockade-runners from Galveston on April 30, 1864, one of them being the Harriet Lane. I knew there had been a US revenue cutter named Harriet Lane, but had evidently forgotten that it had been captured by the Confederates. And then, obviously turned into a blockade-runner.
As a young boy, I put together a model of the blockade-runner Harriet Lane and always wondered why it had several guns mounted on its deck. Blockade-runners didn't carry cannons as they were not intended to fight, just sneak and flee when necessary.
That Would Explain It. --Old B-R'er
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Yes, that's the cross-over between Harriet Lane and the model being marketed as a "blockade runner." It's not a bad kit, given when it came out.
ReplyDeleteIt's a model of the ship as a U.S. revenue cutter, though, and does not reflect her appearance when she ran out at the end of April 1864, well over a year after her capture. Her original rigging had been cut down substantially, and all her guns removed. It might be a fun project to adapt the model (which is still available) to her likely appearance when she ran the blockade under the name Lavinia.