USS Bermuda (1861)
Encyclopedia
USS Bermuda (1861) was a large steamer captured by the Union Navy
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 cargo and general transport ship 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, primarily in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and 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...
. However, despite being a valuable cargo ship, she proved very adept at capturing blockade runners as her record proves.
Confederate blockade runner
Bermuda -- an iron-hulled screw steamer—was built in 1861 at Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, by Pearse and Lockwood to take advantage of the extraordinary profits which could be made by running cargoes of war-making materiel through the Union blockade to the munitions-hungry Confederacy. Originally owned by Edwin Haigh, a 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...
cotton broker, the ship was secretly sold—about the time of her completion—to Messrs. A. S. Henckle and George Alfred Trenholme of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
While her new owners hoped to realize a profit from operating the steamer, they evinced even more interest in proving the Federal blockade of the South ineffective and therefore non-binding in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. By proving the Union Navy’s efforts to close Southern ports only a “paper blockade,” they would prompt other investors to follow their example and thus assure the South a steady flow of supplies to sustain its struggle for independence. Bermuda was then chartered to Frasier Trenholme and Co., a British corporation that served the Confederate government as its commercial and financial agent in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
.
Soon after she was launched, probably in late July or early August 1861, Bermuda -- Eugene L. Tessier, master—dropped down the Tees River to West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
where she loaded the first cargo purchased in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by agents of the Confederate War Department. She departed West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
on 18 August, proceeded south along England’s North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast, transited the Strait of Dover
Strait of Dover
The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel. The shortest distance across the strait is from the South Foreland, 6 kilometres northeast of Dover in the county of Kent, England, to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near to Calais in the French of...
, and steamed the length of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, where she arrived on the morning of the 22d.
She topped off her coal bunkers there and resumed her westward voyage, leaving above her wake a cloud of false rumors intended to cloak her destination and the true nature of her mission. Some said that she was a supply ship taking provisions and munitions to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
; others that she was carrying a general cargo to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Still others identified her as a merchantman bound for one of the British colonies. While these cover stories did not mislead Federal agents in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, they did succeed in preventing Bermuda’s being held in port for violating the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
’s Foreign Enlistment Act.
After crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
under British colors, Bermuda took advantage of a severe storm that had forced the blockading Union frigate Savannah
USS Savannah (1842)
The second USS Savannah was a frigate in the United States Navy. She was named after the city of Savannah, Georgia.Savannah was begun in 1820 at the New York Navy Yard, but she remained on the stocks until 5 May 1842, when she was launched...
out to sea and slipped into Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, where she delivered a million-dollar cargo of war material. She then filled her holds with some 2,000 bales of cotton that she hoped to deliver in England to support Confederate credit abroad. The steamer departed Savannah on the night of 1 November 1861 and slipped through the Union blockade before dawn the next morning. After pausing at Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and at Le Havre, France, en route, she reached Liverpool, England, on 23 January 1862.
Bermuda, and vessels like her, had been “fitted out in English ports, laden with arms, munitions, and contraband of war, clearing with British papers and sailing under the English flag…destined for…the insurrectionary regions of our country with supplies for the rebels,” Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
had written on 1 December 1861, an “abuse [that] must be corrected and this traffic stopped.” Since Bermuda’s maiden voyage, the Union Navy had acquired many ships and tightened the blockade to implement Welles’ directives.
It had done so so effectively that only very fast, shallow draft vessels stood much chance of slipping through. Given Bermuda’s comparatively slow speed and almost 17-foot draft, her owners opted to decide that rather than risk capture by attempting another run to a Confederate port, they would discharge her cargo at Bermuda for reloading into smaller and speedier ships for the final leg of its journey.
Under Charles W. Westendorff, a native of Charleston, Bermuda put to sea again on or near 18 February 1862 and set course for Bermuda where she arrived sometime before 24 March. British authorities, however, refused to permit her to unload the gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
that filled her holds. Protracted efforts having failed to persuade these officials to permit the ship to land her ordnance cargo, Bermuda stood out for Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, on 22 April where a cargo of cotton lay awaiting her for the voyage back to Liverpool.
Capture
On the morning of the 27th, however, as Bermuda approached Great Abaco Island, the Union screw steamer MerceditaUSS Mercedita (1861)
USS Mercedita was a wooden steamer that served as a gunboat in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.Mercedita was built at Brooklyn, New York in 1861. She was purchased by the Union Navy on 31 July 1861 from J. C. Jewett & Co., and commissioned at New York on 8 December 1861, Commander...
, cruising off the Providence Channel as part of the East Division, Gulf Blockading Squadron, fell in with her and gave chase. At a point somewhere between three and seven miles northeast of the Hole-in-the-Wall Light, a shot across her bow brought Bermuda to. The ensuing boarding party not only found discrepancies in the cargo manifests, but about a thousand tons of contraband cargo, including: Since the ship’s log yielded the information that she had “run the blockade before” and her captain admitted that her cargo was “intended finally to reach the rebel States,” Comdr. Henry S. Stellwagen, Mercedita’s 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...
, seized Bermuda and sent her to 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,...
, under Lt. Trevett Abbot and a 30-man prize crew.
After arriving at that port on 3 May, the ship was arraigned before the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
at Philadelphia. Proceedings began on 12 August and the concluding arguments were heard four days later. However, the court did not condemn the steamer until 5 March 1863, almost a year after her capture. The vessel was then purchased by the Union Navy and fitted out at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for service as a supply vessel.
Commissioned on 13 May 1863, Acting Master J. W. Smith in command, Bermuda headed down the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
later that day with a cargo of supplies for the two blockading squadrons operating 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...
. Eight days later, she arrived at the mouth of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's Indian River
Indian River (Florida)
The Indian River is a waterway in Florida, a part of the Indian River Lagoon system which forms the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends southward from the Ponce de Leon inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida [Volusia County] southward and across the "Haulover Canal" and along the western shore...
where she issued supplies to the bark
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Gem of the Sea
USS Gem of the Sea (1861)
USS Gem of the Sea was a bark acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries....
on blockade duty there.
This began more than two years of service in which she brought the provisions that enabled Federal warships to remain on guard off Confederate ports. During this period, she made 16 round-trip voyages to the gulf during most of which she concentrated her efforts on filling the needs of Rear Admiral David G. Farragut’s West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Besides issuing stores, she usually also carried passengers—officers and men going to and from blockade duty, sick sailors who where returning north to recuperate, and prisoners who had been captured afloat or ashore. On return passages, she frequently had on board cotton from the holds of blockade runners that had been taken while attempting escape to sea.
During her first voyage, after filling the needs of Gem of the Sea, she embarked three prisoners from that bark and proceeded on to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, where she arrived on 23 May and discharged ordnance and supplies. Three days later, she began issuing stores at Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
and then moved farther north along Florida’s gulf coast to St. Marks, Florida
St. Marks, Florida
St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 299 .-Geography:...
, where she arrived on the 29th. The last day of May found the steamer issuing stores at St. Andrew’s Bay; and, on 1 June, she rendered similar service at Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, 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...
.
She provisioned the fleet off 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...
the next day, stood out to sea on the 3d, and entered the Mississippi River
Mississippi 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...
on the 4th. Following more than a week at Quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
, she reached 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...
, on the 13th. Two days later, she descended the river and stood out to sea for a run to 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...
’s ships 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...
, which she reached on the 17th. Beginning her long homeward voyage the next day, Bermuda retraced her outward path, stopping again at New Orleans, off Mobile Bay, and at Pensacola. At the latter port, she received on board 36 seamen and 42 bales of cotton for the journey north. She got underway again on 26 June, passed Cedar Keys on the 29th, and unloaded all remaining stores at Key West on 1 July. The next day, she took the American schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Ascension in tow and sailed for Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
. She delivered her charge at that port on the 5th and then pushed on up the Atlantic coast. After brief stops at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, the steamer reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, on the 12th. Bermuda headed south two days later and entered the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
early on the 18th. Reaching the Philadelphia Navy Yard later that day, the ship soon began undergoing brief repairs, took on stores and ordnance on the 24th and, the following day, dropped down stream and put to sea for her next trip to the gulf.
Bermuda's subsequent voyages south were, for the most part, much like her first except that they usually took her farther west and south along the coast of 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...
, occasionally all the way to the Mexican border at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Besides carrying out her prosaic but vital logistical mission for the Union Navy, Bermuda kept a sharp lookout for any vessel that might be attempting to slip into or to escape from an inlet along the Confederate coast. More than once, her vigilance paid rich dividends.
About mid-day on 14 August 1863—while steaming from 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...
, toward 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...
, during her second voyage under the Stars and Stripes
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
-- Bermuda sighted an unidentified sail some 138 miles from 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...
, and steering toward Matagorda, Texas
Matagorda, Texas
Matagorda is an unincorporated community in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. It had a population of approximately 710 in 2000. Matagorda is at the end of State Highway 60 and beginning of Farm to Market Road 2031, which runs over the Intracoastal Waterway and south to the Gulf of Mexico...
. The Union supply ship overtook and boarded the stranger at 3:20 p.m. and learned that she was the British schooner Artist of Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, that had purportedly quit Havana, Cuba, for Matamoras. Members of her crew tried to justify their vessel’s compromising course and position by claiming that their captain had died of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
and that no other navigator was on board. The fact that the schooner’s chronometer
Chronometer
Chronometer may refer to:* Chronometer watch, a watch tested and certified to meet certain precision standards* Hydrochronometer, a water clock* Marine chronometer, a timekeeper used for celestial navigation...
was wound, however, and that her sextant
Sextant
A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
was set at the correct meridian altitude for that date belied that explanation for her being so far off course. As a result, Smith seized the small ship—with her cargo of liquors, wines, medicines, and other varied commodities—as a lawful prize.
That evening, a lookout in Bermuda spotted another sail to the north; and the steamer changed course to pursue this new stranger. Some four hours later, she overhauled the chase; “...found her to be the British schooner Carmita, from 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...
...” bound for Balize, Honduras
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, with a cargo of cotton; and sent her to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, under a prize crew
Prize 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...
.
On her next cruise to the gulf, she again found good hunting in the waters off the Texas coast. At 8:10 on the morning of 2 October 1863, Bermuda fired a gun across a schooner’s bow, prompting her to heave to about six miles off Matagorda. The vessel proved to be the English Florie, purportedly bound from 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...
, to Matamoras. Her master “...pretended that he did not know his position and thought he was 80 miles from land.” Smith took the schooner and sent her to New Orleans under a prize crew for adjudication. The main items in her assorted cargo were medicine, wine, and saddles much needed by the Confederate cavalry.
On her next cruise, while standing out of Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, 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 the afternoon of 19 November 1863, Bermuda saw three schooners in company with a large lugger
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
apparently heading toward that port. As the Union supply ship approached, the strangers separated. Smith stopped the nearest by a shell across her bow, and she proved to be the Venice of New Orleans which was heading for Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, 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...
, under charter by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Her master explained that the other schooners, Norman and Mary Campbell, also were supposed to be heading for Pensacola under similar charters. He added that he, too, was puzzled by the latter's having changed course to seaward.
Sensing something amiss, Smith gave chase and, after a four-hour pursuit in which he fired seven shells at his quarry, overtook and boarded Mary Campbell. He learned that earlier that day, presumably before daylight since no member of Venice’s crew had observed the action, a Confederate raiding party of 16 men under Acting Master James Duke, CSN, had captured Mary Campbell and Norman and probably entertained covetous designs upon Venice when Bermuda hove into view. Duke—already notorious because of earlier captures of Union vessels—fled toward land in Norman with 10 members of the lugger’s crew and, after running that schooner aground and setting her afire, escaped ashore. Smith returned Mary Campbell to her original master and crew and permitted them to complete their original voyage to Pensacola.
On Bermuda’s seventh cruise to the gulf, she encountered a sloop off the Atlantic coast of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and, after a brief pursuit, brought the stranger to with a shot across her bow. The chase proved to be the sloop Fortunate that had recently emerged from Indian River Inlet laden with cotton and turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. Smith transferred the cargo to his own ship, took the prize in tow, and resumed his course toward Port Royal. However, the sloop began taking on water, parted the towline, and sank some four hours later. Two days later, Bermuda retrieved a large quantity of floating cotton bales undoubtedly jettisoned by some blockade runner attempting to escape a pursuer.
Bermuda continued shuttling between Philadelphia and the gulf through the end of the Civil War and most of the ensuing summer. She returned north from her last cruise—in which she went no farther than Key West—on 16 September 1865.
Decommissioning and sale
Bermuda was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 22 September 1865. She was sold at public auctionPublic auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
on the same day, to Samuel C. Cook. Under the names General Meade and Bahamas, she saw merchant service until 10 February 1882, when she foundered in a storm while en route from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to 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...
.