''J. M. Chapman'', a 90-ton schooner, was purchased in 1863, by

Asbury Harpending Asbury Harpending (September 14, 1839 – January 26, 1923) was an adventurer and financier in San Francisco, California, Mexico, and New York City. Early life Harpending was born in Hopkinsville in Christian County in southwestern Kentucky. At th ...

and other California members of the

Knights of the Golden Circle The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country, known as the Golden Circle ( es, Círculo Dorado), where slavery would be legal. T ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

to outfit as a

Confederate privateer The Confederate privateers were privately owned ships that were authorized by the government of the Confederate States of America to attack the shipping of the United States. Although the appeal was to profit by capturing merchant vessels and seizi ...

. Harpending's plan to capture

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

ships along the Pacific coast carrying gold and silver shipments to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. He intended to then take what he seized to support the Confederacy. The plan attempt was detected and a boarding party made up of crew from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sloop-of-war , revenue officers, and San Francisco Police Department officers seized the ship and its crew on the night of their intended departure. The ship was lost in December 1864 on a voyage between

Shoalwater Bay Shoalwater Bay is a large bay on the Capricorn Coast of Central Queensland, Australia 100 km north of the coastal town of Yeppoon and 628 km north-north-west of the state capital, Brisbane. Since 1966, the land surrounding Shoalwater Ba ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, and San Francisco.Gaines, W. Craig (2008) ''Encyclopedia of Civil War shipwrecks''. (LSU Press), p.28.

References

California in the American Civil War Privateer ships Maritime history of California 1860s ships Maritime incidents in 1863 Maritime incidents in December 1864 Ships of the Confederate States Navy {{AmericanCivilWar-ship-stub Knights of the Golden Circle