USS ''Antona'' 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
gunboat in support of the
Union Navy blockade of the
Confederate States of America.
Service history
As a blockade runner
On the morning of 6 January 1863, the Union screw steamer
''Pocahontas'' 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 Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States:
*Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay
*Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community
*Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...
—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 a stop, about 30 miles south southeast of
Cape San Blas, Florida. She proved to be ''Antona'', an iron-hulled British screw steamer built at
Glasgow, Scotland. She had departed
Liverpool and had proceeded via
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas ( da, Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin I ...
, to
Havana, Cuba. There, she took on a contraband cargo of gunpowder, rifles, tea, and brandy before sailing for
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
1863.
After accompanying ''Pocahontas'' back to the blockading fleet off Mobile, ''Antona''—manned by a
prize crew—sailed for
Philadelphia 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, 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.
Union Navy service
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 City prize court, she was finally purchased by the Union Navy on 28 March 1864. Upon commissioning, the steamer began operations on the lower
Mississippi River as a dispatch vessel, working primarily between New Orleans and
Port Hudson, Louisiana
Port Hudson is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about northwest of Baton Rouge, it is known primarily as the location of an American Civil War battle, the siege of Port Hudson, in 1863.
...
. 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
David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank o ...
's joint operations with Major General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
'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.
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
''Sciota'', sinking that screw
gunboat in 12 feet of water about eight miles upriver from
Quarantine, Louisiana. 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 crew. Upon her arrival at
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, on the 18th, Chase reported to Commodore
Henry H. Bell
Henry Haywood Bell (13 April 1808 – 11 January 1868) was an admiral in the United States Navy. In the American Civil War, he took part in the liberation of New Orleans and the lower Mississippi. Later he was sent to the Far East to command the Ea ...
, 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
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
. 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
Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...
. Acting Master Spiro V. Bennis, Antona's
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
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 on 27 July. 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, Texas
Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...
, flying English colors and purportedly from Matamoras to New Orleans with a general cargo.
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. Bee
Hamilton Prioleau Bee (July 22, 1822 – October 3, 1897) was an American politician in early Texas; he was secretary of the Texas Senate in 1846. He served nearly 10 years as representative to the state house beginning in 1849, and for one term a ...
, 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
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
, 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'' scored again on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
1863 when she took the British schooner ''Exchange'' 10 miles east of Velasco. 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. 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 Royal'' to destroy the large iron-hulled steamer ''Will O'The Wisp'' which had run aground off Galveston.
After the end of the war ''Antona'' departed
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
, 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.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antona
Ships of the Union Navy
Ships built in Glasgow
Gunboats of the United States Navy
Steamships of the United States Navy
American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States
Dispatch boats of the United States Navy
American Civil War auxiliary ships of the United States
Maritime incidents in July 1863