USS Antona (1863)
Encyclopedia
USS Antona (1863) was a steamer captured by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch boat and gunship
in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
waterways.
sighted a ship in the Gulf of Mexico
, steaming westward close to the Alabama
shore and headed toward the entrance to Mobile Bay
.
Soon after the blockader had turned to intercept the stranger lest she reach the protection of the Southern guns at Fort Morgan -- then some nine miles away—the unidentified steamer altered her own course in an effort to escape.
Both vessels pushed their engines to their limits and broke out all possible sails. Pocahontas slowly gained on her quarry but the sun was close to the horizon before she was near enough to fire a shot at the fleeing ship. The round fell short of its target which then hoisted English colors as she continued her flight. About an hour before midnight, the Union ship had closed to about half a mile and fired two more rounds in quick succession which promptly brought the vessel to about 30 miles south southeast of Cape San Blas, Florida.
She proved to be Antona, an iron-hulled British screw steamer recently built at Glasgow
, Scotland
. She had departed Liverpool
and had proceeded via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to Havana, Cuba. There, she took on a contraband cargo of gunpowder, small arms, tea, and brandy before sailing for Mobile, Alabama
, on New Year's Day
1863.
-- sailed for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, for adjudication. However, while still in the Gulf of Mexico, she sprang a leak which forced her to turn back. While she was undergoing repairs at New Orleans, Louisiana
, she was rammed by passing vessels on two separate occasions. These collisions worsened her already leaky condition, caused other significant damage, and necessitated extensive repairs before she could once more put to sea.
prize court
, she was finally purchased by the Union Navy on 28 March 1864.
as a dispatch vessel, working primarily between New Orleans and Port Hudson, Louisiana
. This duty was extremely important at this time because Rear Admiral David Farragut
in Hartford
had dashed upstream past the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana, and was patrolling the river between that Southern stronghold and Vicksburg, Mississippi
, to support Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter
's joint operations with Major General Ulysses S. Grant
's troops in the first effort to open the complete Mississippi River to Union shipping. The surrender of Vicksburg
on Independence Day 1863 and the occupation of Port Hudson five days later completed this task and freed Antona for other duty.
, sinking that screw gunboat
in 12 feet of water about eight miles upriver from Quarantine, Louisiana.
.
, on the 18th, Chase reported to Commodore Henry H. Bell
, who commanded Union blockading forces in the region. Two days later, Bell ordered Antona to patrol the coast between Velasco, Texas
, and the mouth of the Rio Grande River. The steamer reached the latter on the morning of the 24th, and Chase immediately went ashore to mail dispatches for the United States consul at Matamoras, Mexico
.
While the Union officer was returning to his ship in the Mexican boat Margarita, a band of armed men on the Texas
shore threatened to open fire on that craft if it did not head for the bank. When Margarita reached Texas soil, the men—who proved to be Southern soldiers—arrested Chase and sent him to Brownsville, Texas
. Acting Master Spiro V. Bennis, Antona's executive officer
learned of Chase's misfortune from a passing English ship and remained in the vicinity until he had verified the report. Antona then headed up the coast and arrived off Galveston, Texas, on 27 July.
, flying English colors and purportedly from Matamoras to New Orleans with a general cargo.
, CSA—who commanded Confederate troops in Texas—because of his having been captured in neutral waters.
She sailed for Galveston two days later and reached the blockade station off that port on the 12th suffering from damage to her boilers, machinery, and propeller. Towed to New Orleans by Bermuda
, she remained there under repair until heading downriver on 16 November to return to the coast of Texas. On the 29th, her new commanding officer
, Acting Master Alfred L. B. Zerega reported having captured Mary Ann three days before. That Southern schooner of Sabine, Texas, had departed Caleasieu Pass on the 21st and was heading for Tampico, Mexico, with a cargo of cotton. Since the prize was leaking badly, Zerega transferred her cotton to Bermuda for delivery to the Federal prize commissioners at New Orleans and then destroyed the schooner before resuming Antona's voyage southward.
1863 when she took the British schooner Exchange 10 miles east of Velasco, Texas
. This ship had departed Veracruz, Mexico
, with a widely varied general cargo including a large quantity of liquor and was purportedly heading for New Orleans. Since she was far off course for that port, Zerega. seized the schooner, removed her liquor since he ". . . did not deem it safe to allow it to go in the schooner to New Orleans. "After promising to". . . send it on for adjudication . . ." by ". . . the first safe opportunity . . .," Zerega sent the prize to New Orleans and resumed Antona's patrol.
to destroy the large iron-hulled steamer Will O'The Wisp which had run aground off Galveston, Texas
.
, on 27 July 1865 and proceeded North. She was decommissioned at New York City
on 12 August 1865 and sold at auction there to G. W. Quintard on 30 November 1865. Redocumented Carlotta on 5 January 1867, the steamer served as a merchantman operating out of New York until destroyed by fire in 1874.
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She was used by the Union Navy as a dispatch boat and gunship
Gunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...
in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
waterways.
Blockade runner Antona captured by gunboat Pocahontas
On the morning of 6 January 1863, the Union screw steamer PocahontasUSS Pocahontas (1852)
The first USS Pocahontas, a screw steamer built at Medford, Massachusetts in 1852 as City of Boston, and purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 20 March 1855, was the first United States Navy ship to be named for Pocahontas, the Algonquian wife of Virginia colonist John Rolfe. She was...
sighted a ship in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, steaming westward close to the Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
shore and headed toward the entrance to Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
.
Soon after the blockader had turned to intercept the stranger lest she reach the protection of the Southern guns at Fort Morgan -- then some nine miles away—the unidentified steamer altered her own course in an effort to escape.
Both vessels pushed their engines to their limits and broke out all possible sails. Pocahontas slowly gained on her quarry but the sun was close to the horizon before she was near enough to fire a shot at the fleeing ship. The round fell short of its target which then hoisted English colors as she continued her flight. About an hour before midnight, the Union ship had closed to about half a mile and fired two more rounds in quick succession which promptly brought the vessel to about 30 miles south southeast of Cape San Blas, Florida.
She proved to be Antona, an iron-hulled British screw steamer recently built at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. She had departed Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and had proceeded via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to Havana, Cuba. There, she took on a contraband cargo of gunpowder, small arms, tea, and brandy before sailing for Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1863.
Antona proves leaky, is taken to New Orleans for repairs
After accompanying Pocahontas back to the blockading fleet off Mobile, Antona -- manned by a prize crewPrize crew
Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...
-- sailed for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, for adjudication. However, while still in the Gulf of Mexico, she sprang a leak which forced her to turn back. While she was undergoing repairs at New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, she was rammed by passing vessels on two separate occasions. These collisions worsened her already leaky condition, caused other significant damage, and necessitated extensive repairs before she could once more put to sea.
Antona commissioned while litigation continues
When this work had been completed, Antona was placed in commission on 19 March 1863, but litigation against her for violation of the blockade was not concluded for another year. Then, having been condemned, in absentia, by the New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
prize court
Prize court
A prize court is a court authorized to consider whether or not a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the terms of the seizing ship's letters of marque and reprisal...
, she was finally purchased by the Union Navy on 28 March 1864.
Assigned to the Gulf of Mexico
Upon commissioning, the steamer began operations on the lower Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
as a dispatch vessel, working primarily between New Orleans and Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson is a small unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is most famous for an American Civil War battle known as the Siege of Port Hudson.-Geography:...
. This duty was extremely important at this time because Rear Admiral David Farragut
David Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the...
in Hartford
USS Hartford (1858)
USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Hartford, the capital of Connecticut.Hartford was launched 22 November 1858 at the Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss Carrie Downes, Miss Lizzie Stringham, and Lieutenant G. J. H...
had dashed upstream past the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana, and was patrolling the river between that Southern stronghold and Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, to support Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
's joint operations with Major General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
's troops in the first effort to open the complete Mississippi River to Union shipping. The surrender of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...
on Independence Day 1863 and the occupation of Port Hudson five days later completed this task and freed Antona for other duty.
Antona collides with Sciota, which sinks
Late on the evening of 13 July, Antona -- commanded by Acting Master Charles T. Chase—departed New Orleans and headed downstream. However, shortly before 4 o'clock the following morning, she collided with SciotaUSS Sciota (1861)
USS Sciota was a built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat, with both a 20-pounder rifle for horizontal firing, and two howitzers for shore bombardment, and assigned to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate...
, sinking that screw gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
in 12 feet of water about eight miles upriver from Quarantine, Louisiana.
Antona captures English schooner Cecilia D.
Since Antona was unharmed, she was able to resume her voyage on the 15th and, upon reentering the gulf, proceeded in a generally southwesterly direction. On the 16th, she captured Cecelia D. and sent that English schooner to New Orleans under a prize crewPrize crew
Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...
.
Commanding officer of Antona is captured while ashore
Upon her arrival at Galveston, TexasGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, on the 18th, Chase reported to Commodore Henry H. Bell
Henry H. Bell
Henry Haywood Bell was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:Bell was born in Orange County, North Carolina. Appointed a Midshipman on 4 August 1823, during the next two decades he served afloat in U.S...
, who commanded Union blockading forces in the region. Two days later, Bell ordered Antona to patrol the coast between Velasco, Texas
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...
, and the mouth of the Rio Grande River. The steamer reached the latter on the morning of the 24th, and Chase immediately went ashore to mail dispatches for the United States consul at Matamoras, Mexico
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...
.
While the Union officer was returning to his ship in the Mexican boat Margarita, a band of armed men on the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
shore threatened to open fire on that craft if it did not head for the bank. When Margarita reached Texas soil, the men—who proved to be Southern soldiers—arrested Chase and sent him to Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
. Acting Master Spiro V. Bennis, Antona's executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
learned of Chase's misfortune from a passing English ship and remained in the vicinity until he had verified the report. Antona then headed up the coast and arrived off Galveston, Texas, on 27 July.
Continued operations on the Texas Gulf coast
The steamer remained in that vicinity until getting underway again on 4 August and heading back down the coast. On the 6th, Antona -- then under command of Acting Master Lyman Wells—captured Betsy some 16 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, flying English colors and purportedly from Matamoras to New Orleans with a general cargo.
Commanding officer released by the Confederates
Wells sent that schooner to New Orleans under a prize crew for adjudication. Antona arrived off the mouth of the Rio Grande on the 8th and reembarked Chase who had been released by Brigadier General Hamilton P. BeeHamilton P. Bee
Hamilton Prioleau Bee was an American politician in early Texas who served one term as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and later was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War....
, CSA—who commanded Confederate troops in Texas—because of his having been captured in neutral waters.
She sailed for Galveston two days later and reached the blockade station off that port on the 12th suffering from damage to her boilers, machinery, and propeller. Towed to New Orleans by Bermuda
USS Bermuda (1861)
USS Bermuda was a large steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a cargo and general transport ship in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways, primarily in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico...
, she remained there under repair until heading downriver on 16 November to return to the coast of Texas. On the 29th, her new commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Acting Master Alfred L. B. Zerega reported having captured Mary Ann three days before. That Southern schooner of Sabine, Texas, had departed Caleasieu Pass on the 21st and was heading for Tampico, Mexico, with a cargo of cotton. Since the prize was leaking badly, Zerega transferred her cotton to Bermuda for delivery to the Federal prize commissioners at New Orleans and then destroyed the schooner before resuming Antona's voyage southward.
Antona removes cargo of liquor from runner, sends runner to a prize court
Antona scored again on Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1863 when she took the British schooner Exchange 10 miles east of Velasco, Texas
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...
. This ship had departed Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
, with a widely varied general cargo including a large quantity of liquor and was purportedly heading for New Orleans. Since she was far off course for that port, Zerega. seized the schooner, removed her liquor since he ". . . did not deem it safe to allow it to go in the schooner to New Orleans. "After promising to". . . send it on for adjudication . . ." by ". . . the first safe opportunity . . .," Zerega sent the prize to New Orleans and resumed Antona's patrol.
Final operations in the Gulf of Mexico
The steamer's operations through the remainder of the Civil War were similar to her earlier services. Her last notable action occurred before dawn on 10 February 1865 when a boat from the steamer joined an expedition led by Lt. Charles E. McKay of Princess RoyalUSS Princess Royal (1863)
Princess Royal was a cruiser in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Service:Princess Royal was a British blockade runner captured at Charleston, South Carolina on 29 January 1863. She was purchased by the Navy Department from the Philadelphia Prize court 18 March 1863; fitted out...
to destroy the large iron-hulled steamer Will O'The Wisp which had run aground off Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
.
Post-war decommissioning, sale, and subsequent maritime career
After the end of the war Antona departed Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, on 27 July 1865 and proceeded North. She was decommissioned at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 12 August 1865 and sold at auction there to G. W. Quintard on 30 November 1865. Redocumented Carlotta on 5 January 1867, the steamer served as a merchantman operating out of New York until destroyed by fire in 1874.