Great Lakes Patrol
Encyclopedia
The Great Lakes Patrol was carried out by American
naval forces, beginning in 1844, mainly to suppress criminal activity
and to protect the maritime border with Canada
. Only a small force of United States Navy
, Coast Guard, and Revenue Service ships served in the Great Lakes
throughout the operations, though they were involved in several incidents with pirates and rebel
s. The patrol ended in 1920 when the Coast Guard assumed full command of the operations as part of the Rum Patrol
.
led the patrol, mostly singlehandedly, from its beginning on October 1, 1844 until the ship was retired in 1912. Michigan was the only American gunboat
to patrol the huge Great Lakes and she was the navy's first steam powered, iron hulled, warship. The Michigan was built to defend the lakes due to the construction of two British
steamers during the Canadian rebellions
in 1837. Based out of Erie
, Pennsylvania
throughout her career, the gunboat was commissioned on September 29, 1844 under Commander
William Inman
. Because the Great Lakes are vast inland seas in the north of the continent, during every winter parts of the lakes would freeze over or iceberg
s would make navigation extremely hazardous and difficult. The Michigan usually sailed from about March to December before heading back for Erie for the winter where a type of house was built to protect the ship from the elements. The officers and crew of the ship either stayed at their homes in Erie or at a government owned hotel near the wharf.
were involved in the illegal cutting of timber
on federal land then smuggling
it out of the area in order to sell it. The areas most effected were in the western Great Lakes region along the coasts of Michigan
, Wisconsin
, Illinois
and Minnesota
where much of the forested areas were reserved for the building of new warships. The illegal timber trade centered around Chicago
and Milwaukee and was nearly as violent as the alcohol trade which was carried out over the same waters during the Prohibition
era. In 1851 the government sent timber agents from the Department of the Interior to survey the land and work with local police and naval forces to stop the crime. When loads of wood were found to have been acquired illegally, the agents confiscated it and auctioned it off to the public, and later, in foreign markets. This upset the timber baron
s of the Great Lakes, who were involved in the illegal trade, and they began stealing back the wood or burning it before it could be shipped away.
There was also conflict between the timber agents and smugglers on the northern Mississippi River
as well as a whole separate United States Navy operation in the Calcasieu River
of Louisiana
. In 1852 one agent was killed by the pirates while sailing a raft loaded with stolen timber to Dubuque, Iowa
. Newspapers such as The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Democratic Press openly advocated armed resistance against the agents. One article in the Chicago Tribune read as follows; "if they [the agents] regard their personal welfare, they had better keep clear of a such transactions as that which they are about to engage in. If men cannot have a law protect their property, they will protect it themselves." The newspapers also pointed out that most of the timber smugglers were from Wisconsin and Illinois, and usually raided Michigan's timberlands and apparently caused much damage to the reserves. Agent Isaac W. Willard was sent to the Great Lakes in 1853 and he observed gangs of timber pirates defy and intimidate federal authorities and burn government owned property, including boats loaded with logs at Grand Haven as a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party
in 1773.
At this time the only American warship on the Great Lakes was the USS Michigan and she was under Commander Abraham Bigelow. The only other vessel in the lakes which could have been used against the pirates was the revenue cutter USRC Ingham and she was described by one Detroit newspaper as being "burlesque" and unfit for duty. Because the Ingham had no steam engine, and was propelled solely by sails and wind, the more advanced steam powered vessels, used by the smugglers, could easily escape her. In late April the Michigan headed for Buffalo
to resupply before her yearly patrol. After that Commander Bigelow sailed west across Lake Erie and passed Detroit on Thursday, May 5, 1853 and then went into Lake Huron
via Saint Clair River. On the following morning, at about 2:15 am, a lookout sighted a light in the darkness ahead of the Michigan. The officer on duty, Lieutenant
George M. Ransom, ordered the helmsman
to steer north by northwest, so as to avoid the light, but by 2:40 am the light was still ahead and "close upon us" according to one sailor. At 3:00 am the two ships were only a few hundred yards from each other and appeared as though the two would pass closely by. However, suddenly the unknown ship turned ninety degrees to port side and headed straight for the Michigans port bow.
Lieutenant Ransom had only a few seconds to react and he ordered the ship hard to port but just as he was ringing the ship's bell to alarm the crew, the unknown ship then crashed into the Michigan. Damage to the gunboat was heavy though because of her iron hull, there was no leaking and the ship was not in danger of sinking. Commander Bigelow later said to Secretary of the Navy James Cochran Dobbin; "Had the Michigan been built of wood instead of iron, there is no doubt but that she would have been cut down before the water's edge and sunk." The other ship bounced off the Michigans metal hull just after impact and her commander turned his ship back onto course and continued on without stopping. This angered Bigelow who then proceeded in giving chase to the fleeing steamer. After a brief pursuit the American gunboat was shortly behind the steamer in order for her crew to read the vessel's nameboard. The steamer proved to be the Buffalo and at the time she was the largest steam powered timber ship to sail the lakes. She was owned by a Mr. Walbridge and was headed for Chicago.
Though Lieutenant Ransom felt the ramming was deliberate, Commander Bigelow thought it must have been an accident so he then moved his ship along side the Buffalo and asked if the crew of the steamer needed any assistance. The crew answered to the negative so Bigelow let the ship go but he followed it into Chicago for repairs. While it is not certain that the ramming was intentional or not, Bigelow endeavored to find evidence that is was. The commander then filed a lawsuit against Mr. Walbridge on the account that his ship was either neglectfully manned at the time of the incident or was indeed trying to sink the Michigan. The crew of the merchant ship Republic witnessed the Buffalo swerve off course to ram the gunboat and the ship's captain submitted his report in writing, however, because all the gathered evidence was circumstantial, the case never went to trial. USS Michigan was put out of action for two months for repairs which cost $1,674 to complete. Over the course of the next few weeks after refitting, the Michigan captured several timber pirates with the assistance of Agent Willard and a Marine Corps detachment. These operations are credited with ending the 1853 Timber Rebellion in a federal victory though the illegal logging trade continued on as late as the 1870s.
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The second notable incident involving the Michigan was that of the Beaver-Mackinac War. James Strang
crowned himself the king of Beaver Island
, at the head of Lake Michigan
in 1850 but eventually he began forcing his radical beliefs on some of his mainstream Mormon
followers, known as Strangites. So to deal with the problem, the commander of the Michigan was ordered to arrest Strang in May of 1851 which was done without conflict. The king was held for some time and then released but on Monday, June 16, 1856, he was assassinated
at St. James
, in front of the Michigan. Captain
Charles H. McBlair, commander of the gunboat, had invited the king aboard the ship and he accepted only to be shot in the back with a pistol at close range as he was waiting on the docks. The assassins, Alexander Wentworth and one "Dr. J. Atkyn [sic]", who were said to be blackmailing the Strangites, fled to the Michigan for sanctuary and were later released at Mackinac without being charged. Strang was shot three times, once in the head, but survived for three weeks before dying on July 9 from his injuries.
The Mormons assumed that Captain McBlair knew about the plot beforehand and others accused him of being in on it. On July 5, a large mob from Michigan landed on Beaver Island and forcibly removed nearly 3,000 inhabitants with small steam boats. Many people were robbed first in what Byron M. Cutcheon
later called "the most disgraceful day in Michigan history". The Mormons were taken to Voree, where some of them stayed while most others dispersed across the country. Beaver Island was later reoccupied by Irish-Americans who established their own colony that flourished in the 1860s and 1870s.
USS Michigan kept up with her yearly patrol against smugglers and other criminals. At that time the gunboat was still the only American warship in those waters other than six revenue cutters that were largely ineffective in their operations against crime. Because the Civil War was such a bloody conflict, a military draft in the North was enforced and this, among other things, led to riots, most notably in New York City
. There was also a race riot
in Detroit, and another in Buffalo, New York
, so the USS Michigan spent much of the war patrolling back and forth in between those areas.
By 1863 Johnson's Island
in Lake Erie
was a prisoner of war
camp for Confederate
s. The Southern government knew of the camp and in 1863 Lieutenant William Henry Murdaugh of the Confederate States Navy
suggessted to President
Jefferson Davis
a plan to gain control of the lakes by capturing the Michigan. Ultimately Murdaugh's plan never materialized but in 1864 Davis authorized Captain Charles Coe
of the Confederate States Army
to go to the Great Lakes with Captain John Yates Beall
and organize the escape of prisoners from Johnson's Island and Camp Chase
.
Captain Coe had been a prisoner at Johnson's Island before his escape so he knew the area and the people well. With Beall, Coe collected thirty-five volunteers to take over the Michigan and he cunningly befriended several of the gunboat's officers. Coe also contacted with the Sons of Liberty
secret society
which sympathized with the Confederate cause. The captain organized the successful infiltration of the 128th Ohio Infantry Regiment which guarded the prison camps, ten of the volunteers posed as Union troops with orders to assist in the capture of Johnson's Island after the Michigan had been secured. On September 19 of 1864 the rebels launched their attack. That night Captain Coe went aboard the Michigan at Sandusky
to dine with his so called friends when really his mission was to wait for Captain Beall and the volunteers to arrive in a captured merchant man. Unfortunately for the rebels, the Union
knew all about the plot due to a Confederate colonel
at Johnson's Islands who learned of the Coe's plan and informed the prison guards. The colonel did not know when the attack would take place so the men of USS Michigan were ordered to stay on high alert.
While Coe was gaining access to the Michigan, Captain Beall was preparing to take over the ferry Philo Parsons. The ferry constantly cruised Lake Erie in between American and Canadian ports so Beall separated his men into small groups who boarded the Philo Parsons as passengers in Canada. When all of the volunteers were aboard Captain Beall waited until after the ship had left Kellys Island, Ohio to take over the ship which was done without bloodshed. Beall then allowed the passengers to leave, of whom there were several recently discharged men from the 130th Ohio Infantry. A little later, as the rebels were sailing to meet up with Captain Coe and the Michigan, the steamer named Island Queen came alongside the Philo Parsons, and a sailor tied the two vessels together. When the rebels realized this they attacked the Island Queen and a brief gunfight erupted between Beall's men and the steamer's crew, leaving one man wounded in the northern most naval skirmish of the war. The rebels then tried to sail the ship with the Philo Parsons on to Sandusky, but, at a position three miles off Middle Hull Island, Captain Beall ordered the Island Queen to be run aground on a reef and burned.
It was about the same time that seventeen members of the Confederate boarding party became convinced that the Union knew what they were up to so they refused to participate any further. As result, Beall had no choice but to abandon his cruise. Thus the plot to capture the Michigan and liberate the prisoners on Johnson's Island failed before it really began. Rebel activity in the Northern states was not completely over with though, Confederate agents in Canada launched an expedition
to the coastal town of St. Albans, Vermont
on Lake Champlain
, exactly one month after the incident on Lake Erie. There the rebels, under Lieutenant Bennett H. Young
, robbed two banks and killed or wounded three civilians.
into Canada
and New Brunswick
by Irish
rebels from the United States. Fenian
volunteers, many of whom were veterans of the American Civil War, organized a small army spread out across the international border. There were five notable raids in between 1866 and 1871, all launched from the United States, against British Army
targets. The Fenians, who spit into two rival factions, were under the leadership of John O'Mahony
and the more violent group under William R. Roberts
. Both were of the opinion that if they could launch a successful invasion of British territory they could force the British to cede their political control over Ireland. The first notable raid was launched in 1866 by about 700 men of O'Mahony's faction. They crossed the St. Lawrence River border from Maine
and attacked Campobello Island. When the American government learned of this they sent a force to the island which dispersed the rebels. Shortly after Robert's followers attacked Ridgeway, Ontario and Fort Erie
. At the Battle of Ridgeway
, on June 2, about 750 Fenians under Brigadier General
, James O'Neill
, routed a force of 850 Canadian troops.
The battle was the largest during the raids and the first Industrial era engagement to have involved the Canadian military. It was also the last battle in Ontario against a foreign invasion. After that the rebels attacked
Fort Erie the same day and forced it's surrender. In all the Fenians lost about ten men killed and twenty wounded in the two battles while the Canadians lost nine killed and forty-three wounded, as well as fifty-nine men captured. Fearing that the British Army would arrive soon, O'Neill tried to cross the Niagara River
, back into New York but the men of USS Michigan were waiting for them. The gunboat, had arrived the day before to intercept rebel reinforcements and her crew accepted the surrender of hundreds of Fenians. Meanwhile, General
Ulysses S. Grant
, a future American president, and General George Meade
went to Buffalo to examine the situation, prevent further raids, and disarm the rebels. They coordianted their operations with the USS Michigan which helped lead to the capture of General Thomas William Sweeny
who was in overall command of the invasion and guilty of violating American neutrality. However, Sweeny had only recently been a Union commander in the Civil War so he was released from custody not long after his arrest.
is the most remembered pirate to sail the Great Lakes. He was born in 1867 and had briefly served in the United States Navy before becoming a criminal. Seavey was known as a fighting man for many exploits, including bar fights and episodes of that nature. His ship was the small fourteen-ton topsail schooner
named Wanderer, which was allegedly armed with a cannon
at one point or another. She was built around 1900 and was originally intended for the Pabst family
who owned the Pabst Brewing Company
though it is not known how Seavey acquired her. Other than sneaking into a port at night and stealing freight from the docks, Captain Seavey had several different, legitimate professions over the course of his lifetime. He owned a saloon
at one point, worked in the timber trade, and had participated in the Yukon Gold Rush from 1896 to 1899. Seavey also claimed to have sunk a rival fishing ship with his cannon, killing everyone on board. While it is not known if this story is true, according to author Fred Neuschel, Seavey was guilty of manslaughter
at least. The most remembered story of the pirate was that of the schooner Nellie Johnson, on which Seavey was a crewman. In 1908, Seavey was serving on the Nellie Johnson when he decided to incite two of his fellow crew members to mutiny
and take the schooner from either Grand Haven, Michigan or Chicago, depending on varying sources.
Some sources say the pirate acted alone, but either way Seavey supposedly provided the ship with alcohol and one night, when most of the crew were drunk, he threw all of them from the ship and sailed the vessel out of the harbor. In response, the captain of the Nellie Johnson contacted the authorities who dispatched the revenue cutter USRC Tuscarora to find the ship, USS Michigan was apparently busy elsewhere. The Tuscarora was a small steam-powered vessel launched in 1901 and she went after the pirates for a few days until they abandoned their prize
and escaped to shore. According to Neuschel, there are several exaggerated accounts of the chase, some of which say that the Tuscarora found Seavey and opened fire but the captain was able to steer the schooner out harm's way. Others say that after one warning shot Seavey surrendered and the Nellie Johnson was boarded by the Tuscaroras crew. Neither story is true and Seavey was eventually apprehended on land by a United States Marshal. He was arrested for "mutiny and revolt" but was released when the ship's owner failed to press charges. Seavey later became a marshal himself and he is generally accepted to have retired to his home somewhere around Beaver Island in the 1920s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
naval forces, beginning in 1844, mainly to suppress criminal activity
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and to protect the maritime border with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Only a small force of United States Navy
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...
, Coast Guard, and Revenue Service ships served in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
throughout the operations, though they were involved in several incidents with pirates and rebel
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
s. The patrol ended in 1920 when the Coast Guard assumed full command of the operations as part of the Rum Patrol
Rum Patrol
The Rum Patrol was an operation of the United States Coast Guard to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce prohibition in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states by Congress...
.
Origin
The USS MichiganUSS Michigan (1843)
|USS Michigan was the United States Navy's first iron-hulled warship and served during the American Civil War. She was renamed USS Wolverine in 1905.-Early career:...
led the patrol, mostly singlehandedly, from its beginning on October 1, 1844 until the ship was retired in 1912. Michigan was the only American 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:...
to patrol the huge Great Lakes and she was the navy's first steam powered, iron hulled, warship. The Michigan was built to defend the lakes due to the construction of two British
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...
steamers during the Canadian rebellions
Rebellions of 1837
The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform. A key shared goal was the allowance of responsible government, which was eventually achieved in the incident's aftermath.-Rebellions:The rebellions started...
in 1837. Based out of Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
throughout her career, the gunboat was commissioned on September 29, 1844 under Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
William Inman
William Inman
William Inman was the owner of the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company, also known as the Inman Line, which ran services from Liverpool to New York & Philadelphia, in the United States, for emigration in the mid-19th century.He was the owner of Upton Manor, in the grounds of...
. Because the Great Lakes are vast inland seas in the north of the continent, during every winter parts of the lakes would freeze over or iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
s would make navigation extremely hazardous and difficult. The Michigan usually sailed from about March to December before heading back for Erie for the winter where a type of house was built to protect the ship from the elements. The officers and crew of the ship either stayed at their homes in Erie or at a government owned hotel near the wharf.
Timber Rebellion
In 1853 the USS Michigan was assigned to operate against criminals who were ravaging the logging industry. These so called timber piratesTimber pirate
A timber pirate is a term used in the United States to describe a type of pirate engaged in the illegal logging industry.-History:The term probably originated during Timber Rebellion in 1853 when criminals, mainly from the western Great Lakes region, preyed on Michigan's government owned supplies...
were involved in the illegal cutting of timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
on federal land then smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
it out of the area in order to sell it. The areas most effected were in the western Great Lakes region along the coasts of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
where much of the forested areas were reserved for the building of new warships. The illegal timber trade centered around Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Milwaukee and was nearly as violent as the alcohol trade which was carried out over the same waters during the Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era. In 1851 the government sent timber agents from the Department of the Interior to survey the land and work with local police and naval forces to stop the crime. When loads of wood were found to have been acquired illegally, the agents confiscated it and auctioned it off to the public, and later, in foreign markets. This upset the timber baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
s of the Great Lakes, who were involved in the illegal trade, and they began stealing back the wood or burning it before it could be shipped away.
There was also conflict between the timber agents and smugglers on the northern 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...
as well as a whole separate United States Navy operation in the Calcasieu River
Calcasieu River
The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U.S.A.. Approximately long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American Atakapa language katkosh, for...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. In 1852 one agent was killed by the pirates while sailing a raft loaded with stolen timber to Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
. Newspapers such as The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Democratic Press openly advocated armed resistance against the agents. One article in the Chicago Tribune read as follows; "if they [the agents] regard their personal welfare, they had better keep clear of a such transactions as that which they are about to engage in. If men cannot have a law protect their property, they will protect it themselves." The newspapers also pointed out that most of the timber smugglers were from Wisconsin and Illinois, and usually raided Michigan's timberlands and apparently caused much damage to the reserves. Agent Isaac W. Willard was sent to the Great Lakes in 1853 and he observed gangs of timber pirates defy and intimidate federal authorities and burn government owned property, including boats loaded with logs at Grand Haven as a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
in 1773.
At this time the only American warship on the Great Lakes was the USS Michigan and she was under Commander Abraham Bigelow. The only other vessel in the lakes which could have been used against the pirates was the revenue cutter USRC Ingham and she was described by one Detroit newspaper as being "burlesque" and unfit for duty. Because the Ingham had no steam engine, and was propelled solely by sails and wind, the more advanced steam powered vessels, used by the smugglers, could easily escape her. In late April the Michigan headed for Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
to resupply before her yearly patrol. After that Commander Bigelow sailed west across Lake Erie and passed Detroit on Thursday, May 5, 1853 and then went into Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
via Saint Clair River. On the following morning, at about 2:15 am, a lookout sighted a light in the darkness ahead of the Michigan. The officer on duty, 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...
George M. Ransom, ordered the helmsman
Helmsman
A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
to steer north by northwest, so as to avoid the light, but by 2:40 am the light was still ahead and "close upon us" according to one sailor. At 3:00 am the two ships were only a few hundred yards from each other and appeared as though the two would pass closely by. However, suddenly the unknown ship turned ninety degrees to port side and headed straight for the Michigans port bow.
Lieutenant Ransom had only a few seconds to react and he ordered the ship hard to port but just as he was ringing the ship's bell to alarm the crew, the unknown ship then crashed into the Michigan. Damage to the gunboat was heavy though because of her iron hull, there was no leaking and the ship was not in danger of sinking. Commander Bigelow later said to Secretary of the Navy James Cochran Dobbin; "Had the Michigan been built of wood instead of iron, there is no doubt but that she would have been cut down before the water's edge and sunk." The other ship bounced off the Michigans metal hull just after impact and her commander turned his ship back onto course and continued on without stopping. This angered Bigelow who then proceeded in giving chase to the fleeing steamer. After a brief pursuit the American gunboat was shortly behind the steamer in order for her crew to read the vessel's nameboard. The steamer proved to be the Buffalo and at the time she was the largest steam powered timber ship to sail the lakes. She was owned by a Mr. Walbridge and was headed for Chicago.
Though Lieutenant Ransom felt the ramming was deliberate, Commander Bigelow thought it must have been an accident so he then moved his ship along side the Buffalo and asked if the crew of the steamer needed any assistance. The crew answered to the negative so Bigelow let the ship go but he followed it into Chicago for repairs. While it is not certain that the ramming was intentional or not, Bigelow endeavored to find evidence that is was. The commander then filed a lawsuit against Mr. Walbridge on the account that his ship was either neglectfully manned at the time of the incident or was indeed trying to sink the Michigan. The crew of the merchant ship Republic witnessed the Buffalo swerve off course to ram the gunboat and the ship's captain submitted his report in writing, however, because all the gathered evidence was circumstantial, the case never went to trial. USS Michigan was put out of action for two months for repairs which cost $1,674 to complete. Over the course of the next few weeks after refitting, the Michigan captured several timber pirates with the assistance of Agent Willard and a Marine Corps detachment. These operations are credited with ending the 1853 Timber Rebellion in a federal victory though the illegal logging trade continued on as late as the 1870s.
Beaver-Mackinac War
James Strang
James Jesse Strang was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch who founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , a faction of the Latter Day Saint movement...
crowned himself the king of Beaver Island
Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and part of the Beaver Island archipelago. Once home to a unique American monarchy, the island is now a popular tourist and vacation destination....
, at the head of Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
in 1850 but eventually he began forcing his radical beliefs on some of his mainstream Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
followers, known as Strangites. So to deal with the problem, the commander of the Michigan was ordered to arrest Strang in May of 1851 which was done without conflict. The king was held for some time and then released but on Monday, June 16, 1856, he was assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
at St. James
St. James Township, Michigan
St. James Township is a civil township of Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 307.-History:...
, in front of the Michigan. Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Charles H. McBlair, commander of the gunboat, had invited the king aboard the ship and he accepted only to be shot in the back with a pistol at close range as he was waiting on the docks. The assassins, Alexander Wentworth and one "Dr. J. Atkyn [sic]", who were said to be blackmailing the Strangites, fled to the Michigan for sanctuary and were later released at Mackinac without being charged. Strang was shot three times, once in the head, but survived for three weeks before dying on July 9 from his injuries.
The Mormons assumed that Captain McBlair knew about the plot beforehand and others accused him of being in on it. On July 5, a large mob from Michigan landed on Beaver Island and forcibly removed nearly 3,000 inhabitants with small steam boats. Many people were robbed first in what Byron M. Cutcheon
Byron M. Cutcheon
-See also:*List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F-References:...
later called "the most disgraceful day in Michigan history". The Mormons were taken to Voree, where some of them stayed while most others dispersed across the country. Beaver Island was later reoccupied by Irish-Americans who established their own colony that flourished in the 1860s and 1870s.
American Civil War
During the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
USS Michigan kept up with her yearly patrol against smugglers and other criminals. At that time the gunboat was still the only American warship in those waters other than six revenue cutters that were largely ineffective in their operations against crime. Because the Civil War was such a bloody conflict, a military draft in the North was enforced and this, among other things, led to riots, most notably in 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...
. There was also a race riot
Detroit Race Riot (1863)
The Detroit Race Riot of 1863 occurred during the American Civil War on March 6, 1863 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. At the time, it was reported as “the bloodiest day that ever dawned upon Detroit.” It began due to unrest related to racism and the military draft..While not as famous or...
in Detroit, and another in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, so the USS Michigan spent much of the war patrolling back and forth in between those areas.
By 1863 Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
was a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp for 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...
s. The Southern government knew of the camp and in 1863 Lieutenant William Henry Murdaugh of the Confederate States Navy
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...
suggessted to President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
a plan to gain control of the lakes by capturing the Michigan. Ultimately Murdaugh's plan never materialized but in 1864 Davis authorized Captain Charles Coe
Charles Coe
Charles Robert "Charlie" Coe was an American golfer who is considered by many to be one of the greatest amateur golfers in history. A two-time U.S...
of the Confederate States Army
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...
to go to the Great Lakes with Captain John Yates Beall
John Yates Beall
John Yates Beall was a Confederate privateer in the American Civil War who was arrested as a spy in New York and executed at Governors Island, New York....
and organize the escape of prisoners from Johnson's Island and Camp Chase
Camp Chase
Camp Chase was a military staging, training and prison camp in Columbus, Ohio, during the American Civil War. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate cemetery containing 2,260 graves. The cemetery is located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.- History :Camp Chase...
.
Captain Coe had been a prisoner at Johnson's Island before his escape so he knew the area and the people well. With Beall, Coe collected thirty-five volunteers to take over the Michigan and he cunningly befriended several of the gunboat's officers. Coe also contacted with the Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...
secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
which sympathized with the Confederate cause. The captain organized the successful infiltration of the 128th Ohio Infantry Regiment which guarded the prison camps, ten of the volunteers posed as Union troops with orders to assist in the capture of Johnson's Island after the Michigan had been secured. On September 19 of 1864 the rebels launched their attack. That night Captain Coe went aboard the Michigan at Sandusky
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
to dine with his so called friends when really his mission was to wait for Captain Beall and the volunteers to arrive in a captured merchant man. Unfortunately for the rebels, the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
knew all about the plot due to a Confederate colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
at Johnson's Islands who learned of the Coe's plan and informed the prison guards. The colonel did not know when the attack would take place so the men of USS Michigan were ordered to stay on high alert.
While Coe was gaining access to the Michigan, Captain Beall was preparing to take over the ferry Philo Parsons. The ferry constantly cruised Lake Erie in between American and Canadian ports so Beall separated his men into small groups who boarded the Philo Parsons as passengers in Canada. When all of the volunteers were aboard Captain Beall waited until after the ship had left Kellys Island, Ohio to take over the ship which was done without bloodshed. Beall then allowed the passengers to leave, of whom there were several recently discharged men from the 130th Ohio Infantry. A little later, as the rebels were sailing to meet up with Captain Coe and the Michigan, the steamer named Island Queen came alongside the Philo Parsons, and a sailor tied the two vessels together. When the rebels realized this they attacked the Island Queen and a brief gunfight erupted between Beall's men and the steamer's crew, leaving one man wounded in the northern most naval skirmish of the war. The rebels then tried to sail the ship with the Philo Parsons on to Sandusky, but, at a position three miles off Middle Hull Island, Captain Beall ordered the Island Queen to be run aground on a reef and burned.
It was about the same time that seventeen members of the Confederate boarding party became convinced that the Union knew what they were up to so they refused to participate any further. As result, Beall had no choice but to abandon his cruise. Thus the plot to capture the Michigan and liberate the prisoners on Johnson's Island failed before it really began. Rebel activity in the Northern states was not completely over with though, Confederate agents in Canada launched an expedition
St. Albans raid
The St. Albans Raid was the northernmost land action of the American Civil War, taking place in St. Albans, Vermont on October 19, 1864.-Background:In this unusual incident, Bennett H. Young led Confederate States Army forces...
to the coastal town of St. Albans, Vermont
St. Albans (town), Vermont
St. Albans is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,392 at the 2010 census. The town completely surrounds the city of St. Albans, which was separated from the town and incorporated in 1902. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which...
on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
, exactly one month after the incident on Lake Erie. There the rebels, under Lieutenant Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young was a Confederate officer who led forces in the St Albans raid , a military action during the American Civil War. As a lieutenant of the Confederate States Army, he entered Vermont from Canada and occupied the town of St...
, robbed two banks and killed or wounded three civilians.
Fenian Raids
The next conflict involving the patrol was the Fenian RaidsFenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
by Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rebels from the United States. Fenian
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
volunteers, many of whom were veterans of the American Civil War, organized a small army spread out across the international border. There were five notable raids in between 1866 and 1871, all launched from the United States, against British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
targets. The Fenians, who spit into two rival factions, were under the leadership of John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony may refer to:*John O'Mahony , founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood *John O'Mahony , Irish Fine Gael politician representing Mayo and twice an All-Ireland winner managing the Galway Football Team*Sean Matgamna , also known as John O'Mahony, Trotskyist theorist*Seán O'Mahony ,...
and the more violent group under William R. Roberts
William R. Roberts
William Randall Roberts was a diplomat, Fenian Society member, and United States Representative from New York . Born in County Cork, Ireland, he immigrated to the United States in July 1849, received a limited schooling, and was a merchant in New York City until 1869, until he retired.In 1865,...
. Both were of the opinion that if they could launch a successful invasion of British territory they could force the British to cede their political control over Ireland. The first notable raid was launched in 1866 by about 700 men of O'Mahony's faction. They crossed the St. Lawrence River border from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and attacked Campobello Island. When the American government learned of this they sent a force to the island which dispersed the rebels. Shortly after Robert's followers attacked Ridgeway, Ontario and Fort Erie
Fort Erie
Fort Erie was the first British fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the Seven Years' War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris at which time all of New France had been ceded to Great Britain...
. At the Battle of Ridgeway
Battle of Ridgeway
The Battle of Ridgeway was fought in the vicinity of the town of Fort Erie across the Niagara River from Buffalo, NY near the village of Ridgeway, Canada West, currently Ontario, Canada on June 2, 1866, between Canadian troops and an irregular army of Irish-American invaders, the Fenians...
, on June 2, about 750 Fenians under Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, James O'Neill
John O'Neill (Fenian)
General John O'Neill was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood .He was born in Ireland, moved to the US, and served in the Union Army in the Civil War....
, routed a force of 850 Canadian troops.
The battle was the largest during the raids and the first Industrial era engagement to have involved the Canadian military. It was also the last battle in Ontario against a foreign invasion. After that the rebels attacked
Battle of Fort Erie (1866)
The Battle of Fort Erie was a bloody skirmish in the afternoon immediately following the Battle of Ridgeway on June 2, 1866 in Canada West. The Fenian force, withdrawing from Ridgeway towards the United States, met and defeated a small force of Canadian militia at Fort Erie, then known as the...
Fort Erie the same day and forced it's surrender. In all the Fenians lost about ten men killed and twenty wounded in the two battles while the Canadians lost nine killed and forty-three wounded, as well as fifty-nine men captured. Fearing that the British Army would arrive soon, O'Neill tried to cross the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
, back into New York but the men of USS Michigan were waiting for them. The gunboat, had arrived the day before to intercept rebel reinforcements and her crew accepted the surrender of hundreds of Fenians. Meanwhile, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
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...
, a future American president, and General George Meade
George Meade
George Gordon Meade was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from...
went to Buffalo to examine the situation, prevent further raids, and disarm the rebels. They coordianted their operations with the USS Michigan which helped lead to the capture of General Thomas William Sweeny
Thomas William Sweeny
Thomas William Sweeny was an Irish soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and then was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Birth and early years:...
who was in overall command of the invasion and guilty of violating American neutrality. However, Sweeny had only recently been a Union commander in the Civil War so he was released from custody not long after his arrest.
Nellie Johnson Mutiny
Captain Dan SeaveyDan Seavey
Dan Seavey, also known as Roaring Dan Seavey, was a notorious pirate on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
is the most remembered pirate to sail the Great Lakes. He was born in 1867 and had briefly served in the United States Navy before becoming a criminal. Seavey was known as a fighting man for many exploits, including bar fights and episodes of that nature. His ship was the small fourteen-ton topsail 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....
named Wanderer, which was allegedly armed with a cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
at one point or another. She was built around 1900 and was originally intended for the Pabst family
Pabst farms
Pabst Farms is a development on former farmland in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, about west of Milwaukee. The location currently hosts the YMCA, multiple super markets such as Pick n Save, restaurants and hotels...
who owned the Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
though it is not known how Seavey acquired her. Other than sneaking into a port at night and stealing freight from the docks, Captain Seavey had several different, legitimate professions over the course of his lifetime. He owned a saloon
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
at one point, worked in the timber trade, and had participated in the Yukon Gold Rush from 1896 to 1899. Seavey also claimed to have sunk a rival fishing ship with his cannon, killing everyone on board. While it is not known if this story is true, according to author Fred Neuschel, Seavey was guilty of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
at least. The most remembered story of the pirate was that of the schooner Nellie Johnson, on which Seavey was a crewman. In 1908, Seavey was serving on the Nellie Johnson when he decided to incite two of his fellow crew members to mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
and take the schooner from either Grand Haven, Michigan or Chicago, depending on varying sources.
Some sources say the pirate acted alone, but either way Seavey supposedly provided the ship with alcohol and one night, when most of the crew were drunk, he threw all of them from the ship and sailed the vessel out of the harbor. In response, the captain of the Nellie Johnson contacted the authorities who dispatched the revenue cutter USRC Tuscarora to find the ship, USS Michigan was apparently busy elsewhere. The Tuscarora was a small steam-powered vessel launched in 1901 and she went after the pirates for a few days until they abandoned their prize
Prize Ship
Prize Ship is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1954 in Thrilling Wonder Stories and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick...
and escaped to shore. According to Neuschel, there are several exaggerated accounts of the chase, some of which say that the Tuscarora found Seavey and opened fire but the captain was able to steer the schooner out harm's way. Others say that after one warning shot Seavey surrendered and the Nellie Johnson was boarded by the Tuscaroras crew. Neither story is true and Seavey was eventually apprehended on land by a United States Marshal. He was arrested for "mutiny and revolt" but was released when the ship's owner failed to press charges. Seavey later became a marshal himself and he is generally accepted to have retired to his home somewhere around Beaver Island in the 1920s.
See Also
- Yangtze PatrolYangtze PatrolThe Yangtze Patrol, from 1854 to 1945, was a prolonged naval operation to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. Initially the patrol was carried out by ships of the United States Navy's East India and Asiatic Squadrons. In 1922, the "YangPat" was established as a formal...
- African Slave Trade PatrolAfrican Slave Trade PatrolAfrican Slave Trade Patrol was part of the Suppression of the Slave Trade between 1819 and the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. Due to the abolitionist movement in the United States, a squadron of American navy warships was assigned to catch slave traders in and around Africa...
- Neutrality PatrolNeutrality PatrolAt the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
- Ice PatrolInternational Ice PatrolThe International Ice Patrol is an organization with the purpose of monitoring the presence of icebergs in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and reporting their movements for safety purposes. It is operated by United States Coast Guard but is funded by the 13 nations interested in trans-Atlantic...
- Gunboat diplomacyGunboat diplomacyIn international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....