For other ships named Florida, see CSS Florida

CSS Florida

At least three ships of the Confederate States Navy were named CSS Florida in honor of the third Confederate state:* The blockade runner was commissioned in January 1862, captured by the U.S. Navy in April 1862, and became...

.

The Confederate blockade runner CSS Florida, built at Greenpoint, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in 1859, was thrice considered for a 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:...

 before she became one. Contrary to previous interpretation of the official records, closer comparison of entries reveals that she did not serve the Mississippi River Defense Fleet as originally intended but became a Government-owned blockade runner; most authors have confused her with the Mobilian

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...

 CSS Florida who did not receive her name CSS Selma

CSS Selma

CSS Selma was a steamship in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.Selma was a coastwise packet built at Mobile, Alabama for the Mobile Mail Line in 1856. Little doubt now remains that she was originally named Florida...

 until July 1862. CSS Florida of New Orleans was one of 14 steamers

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 of Charles Morgan's Southern Steamship Co. which Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Mansfield Lovell

Mansfield Lovell

Mansfield Lovell was a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was roundly criticized in Southern newspapers for allowing Union forces to capture the city of New Orleans....

 "impressed for public service" at New Orleans, January 15, 1862, acting on Confederate Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin

Judah P. Benjamin

Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...

's orders.

The colorful Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Beverly Kennon, CSN

Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...

, had sought Floridas command but had to be content with CSS Governor Moore

CSS Governor Moore

LSNS Governor Moore was a schooner-rigged steamer in the Confederate States Navy.Governor Moore had been Southern S. S. Company's Charles Morgan, named for the firm's founder and built at New York in 1854 as a schooner-rigged, low pressure, walking beam-engined, seagoing steamer...

. He nostalgically described Florida to a court of inquiry as "a very fast and a very handsome vessel indeed... A direct-acting screw of about 100 horsepower [75 kW] …about the same size in all respects as the U.S. steam sloop Pocahontas

USS 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...

."

Of the several ships of the same name, she apparently is the Florida who arrived at Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, 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...

 on March 23, 1862 with 1,000 bales of cotton. Attempting to repeat her success, she had loaded 211 bales in St. Joseph Bay

St. Joseph Bay

St. Joseph Bay is a bay on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located in Gulf County between Apalachicola and Panama City. Port St. Joe is located on St. Joseph Bay....

 near Pensacola

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...

, 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...

 when captured by Acting Master Elnathan Lewis, USN

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, with armed boats from the bark USS Pursuit

USS Pursuit (1861)

USS Pursuit was a bark purchased at New York City on 3 September 1861; and was commissioned 17 December 1861, Acting Volunteer Lt. David Cate in command.- Assigned to the Gulf blockade :...

 on April 6.The boarders had just captured a sloop, Lafayette, at St. Andrew's, Florida, 20 miles below, and the latter's Captain Harrison volunteered to pilot Lewis' party on up to capture Florida. Surprised at 4 o'clock Sunday morning, Floridas crew were unable to fire their ship.

It later appeared that the pilot, chief mate, first and second engineers were Union

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 sympathizers. Mr. Lewis, after running Florida aground twice and jettisoning 30 bales of cargo, found "it was impossible to bring her out without the assistance of the engineers, pilot, and mate; so rather than burn her he considered it prudent to bargain with them, and gave his word that they would receive $500.00 each. They were faithful."

In the 30 mile (50 km) passage to the bar, Florida and Lafayette were almost recaptured by the Confederates on April 8 after Captain R. L. Smith, CSA

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

, and his company of dragoons had galloped 24 hours from Marianna, Florida

Marianna, Florida

Marianna is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,230 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,200 . It is the county seat of Jackson County and is home to Chipola College...

 to intercept them off St. Andrew's. A ship's boat was ambushed with four casualties, one dead, but the prizes continued on to Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

. There, on April 19, 1862, Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

 William McKean

William McKean

William Wister McKean was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was noted for his service in the Union blockade that effectively closed Confederate seaports in the Gulf of Mexico....

 reporting to United States Secretary of the Navy

United States Secretary of the Navy

The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...

 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...

 confirmed that Florida had never been converted: "I have examined her, and find that her upper deck is too light to carry guns of any weight. I have not the means to strengthen her sufficiently, or I should retain and convert her into a gunboat." Despite this rejection, the U.S. Navy bought Florida from the Philadelphia 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...

 on September 20, 1862, changed her name to USS Hendrick Hudson and placed 4, later 5, guns on board.