USS Adela (1862)
Encyclopedia
USS Adela (1862) was a steamer captured by the Union Navy
during the American Civil War
. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat
in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate
waterways.
, Ireland
, as a merchantman—was purchased by some now unidentified agent who planned to use her for carrying arms and other contraband cargo through the Union blockade to the Confederacy. She steamed in ballast via Glasgow
to Liverpool
in May and—toward the end of that month—cleared the latter port, bound for the Bahamas where she planned to fill her holds with ordnance for the Confederate forces.
, the ship got underway on 4 July and headed for the island of New Providence
in the Bahamas to take on her forbidden cargo at Nassau
and to prepare for a dash through the Union blockade. Shortly after dawn on the 7th, lookouts on Northern warships, Quaker City and Huntsville
, spotted the would-be blockade runner
northwest of Great Abaco Island, endeavoring to evade them. The blockaders immediately gave chase.
and fired a shell across Adela's bow, signaling her to heave to. After the fleeing steamer had ignored not only that round, but a second in the same direction and two more behind her stern, Quaker City sent a fifth shell directly into her stubborn quarry. Nevertheless, despite having taken a damaging direct hit, the sidewheeler continued her efforts to get away. Finally, a sixth shot into Adela's beam persuaded her commanding officer
, James Walker—a former master of the Cunard Line
's famed sidewheeler Great Eastern
-- to stop. A prize crew from Quaker City boarded the British steamer, and the Union warship towed the captured vessel to Key West, Florida
, where she was turned over to the Admiralty court
.
and CSS Clarence
-- a Northern merchant brig which the former Confederate cruiser had captured on 6 May 1863, armed, and commissioned as a raider—were causing great consternation among merchants in the North by voraciously preying upon Union shipping. As a result, on 13 June 1863—the day of Adela's first getting underway as a Union warship
-- Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
telegraphed the commandant of the New York Navy Yard orders to send whatever vessels he had available to sea in pursuit of Clarence.
Adela was one of the vessels that responded to this call to action. Word of her new mission overtook her in the wee hours of the 14th while she was still in the vicinity of New York
; and she cruised south as far as Ocracoke Inlet
, North Carolina
, overhauling and boarding every vessel that she encountered. The papers of each were found to be in order, and all were allowed to resume their voyages. During the cruise, Adela proved to be, in the word of Stodder:
She put into Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 18th to re-coal and to obtain further orders. Welles wired Stodder instructions to resume the hunt; and, after getting underway again on the 20th, Adela "... proceeded off Indian River
Inlet, but could gain no information of the Tacony
. . . ."
had captured the bark Tacony and, upon learning from the prize's log that she was a faster sailer than Clarence, transferred his crew and ordnance to Tacony and burned Clarence.).
. After taking on coal at that Union naval base, the ship got underway on 30 June and arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, of the morning of 3 July.
Archer on the night of 24 and 25 June. In her he entered the harbor at Portland, Maine
, during the evening twilight of the 26th and anchored without arousing suspicion. At 0130 the following morning, he and most of his men clambered up the sides of Caleb Gushing and took over that revenue cutter from her astonished and sleepy crew. However, Read's spectacular series of successes was nearing its climax. He was forced to surrender at 1130 to the commandeered Boston Line steamer Forrest City.
back to New York for voyage repairs and re-provisioning at the New York Navy Yard.
waters seems to have survived, but the ship must have reached Key West, Florida
, by 28 August, for she was then under orders to take blockade station off St. Andrew's Sound. The steamer served in that body of water until the later part of September, when she proceeded to Tampa Bay
to relieve the screw gunboat Sagamore
which had been patrolling there.
joined Adela in Tampa Bay
. That screw gunboat's commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. Alexander A. Semmes, had instructions from the commandant of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, to land an armed expedition—manned by detachments from Adela and his own ship—to destroy two blockade runners that were reportedly anchored in the Hillsboro River, loading cotton.
On the morning of the 16th, the two Northern warships moved in closer to Tampa, Florida
, and, when some 2,000 yards from Fort Brooke
, began bombarding the batteries which protected the town. The shelling was primarily intended to divert the attention of Confederate forces from the real purpose of expedition—the blockade runners. To confirm the false impression that the Union forces intended to land northeast of the fort, Semmes had some stakes placed in that vicinity. The ruse seems to have succeeded for his report of the expedition stated that ". . . that night quite a force was sent there to oppose a landing."
When they finally reached the river bank they found the blockade runners—steamer Scottish Chief and sloop
Kate Dale -- floating in the stream. The men from the Northern ships put the torch to both vessels and, once sure that the cotton-laden Confederate ships were ablaze and damaged beyond possible salvage, retired along the path whence they had come.
Meanwhile, lookouts on the Union gunboats spotted their returning shipmates; and, almost immediately, boats were lowered and their crews began pulling for shore. Then the Southerners opened fire from the forest and managed to kill two sailors, to wound 10 others—one mortally, and to capture five. The rest of the raiders entered the boats and returned safely to their ships.
During the fighting ashore, Adela shelled the thicket to help the landing party to re-embark. Among the casualties suffered by the landing force, one of the two killed outright was from Adela's crew and one of her four wounded died soon after returning. One of her men was captured.
The most interesting event during her protracted service at that place did not involve her directly. Early in May, Confederate forces completed plans for a joint Army-Navy operation whose ". . . object was . . ."in the words of Lt. William Budd of the Union converted ferryboat Somerset, ". . . the capture of the U.S.S. Adela, intending in the event of their being successful, to carry her into Mobile
, or to burn her . . . ." Budd learned of this plan and, on the night of 12 May, landed an expedition from his ship and the schooner James S. Chambers
near the town of Apalachicola, Florida
. This group of fighting Union sailors dispersed the Confederate forces as they were embarking and captured six of their seven boats, a large amount of equipment, and four of their men.
.
, and she guarded the water approaches to Washington, D.C.
, during the troubled days following the assassination of President Lincoln. After the Potomac Flotilla was disbanded at the end of July, the ship returned to New York.
at New York City
on 30 November 1865. Her subsequent career remains a mystery.
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 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:...
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.
Planning, in England, to run the Union Blockade
In the spring of 1862, when the American Civil War was about a year old, Adela -- a fast, iron-hulled, sidewheel steamer which had been operating out of BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Ireland
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...
, as a merchantman—was purchased by some now unidentified agent who planned to use her for carrying arms and other contraband cargo through the Union blockade to the Confederacy. She steamed in ballast via Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to 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...
in May and—toward the end of that month—cleared the latter port, bound for the Bahamas where she planned to fill her holds with ordnance for the Confederate forces.
Adela spotted by Quaker City and Huntsville
After a stop en route at BermudaBermuda
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...
, the ship got underway on 4 July and headed for the island of New Providence
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It also houses the national capital city, Nassau.The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed...
in the Bahamas to take on her forbidden cargo at Nassau
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...
and to prepare for a dash through the Union blockade. Shortly after dawn on the 7th, lookouts on Northern warships, Quaker City and Huntsville
USS Huntsville (1861)
USS Huntsville was a steamer 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.-Construction and initial service:...
, spotted the would-be blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
northwest of Great Abaco Island, endeavoring to evade them. The blockaders immediately gave chase.
Six shots required to stop the stubborn captain of Adela
As the three speeding vessels approached New Providence, Quaker City hoisted the Stars and StripesFlag 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...
and fired a shell across Adela's bow, signaling her to heave to. After the fleeing steamer had ignored not only that round, but a second in the same direction and two more behind her stern, Quaker City sent a fifth shell directly into her stubborn quarry. Nevertheless, despite having taken a damaging direct hit, the sidewheeler continued her efforts to get away. Finally, a sixth shot into Adela's beam persuaded her 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...
, James Walker—a former master of the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
's famed sidewheeler Great Eastern
Great Eastern
-Transport:, a steamship built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1858, one of the largest ships in its era* Great Eastern Railway, a defunct English railway company formed in 1862** First Great Eastern, a defunct train operating company on the Great Eastern Main Line...
-- to stop. A prize crew from Quaker City boarded the British steamer, and the Union warship towed the captured vessel 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 was turned over to the Admiralty court
Admiralty court
Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries and offences.- Admiralty Courts in England and Wales :...
.
England strongly protests the Union Navy action
British authorities strongly protested this action by the Union blockaders, demanding the release of the ship and of two bags of mail which the prize had been carrying. One had been taken on board at Liverpool and the other at Bermuda. The ensuing protracted diplomatic relations delayed the United States attorney at Key West as he attempted to press charges against the ship, but did not save her from ultimate condemnation. The Union case was strengthened by the fact that Adela's master removed the mail bags from the courthouse and destroyed their contents which was thereafter presumed to contain evidence of forbidden activity. Once the vessel finally had been condemned, the Navy purchased her on 23 May 1863.Assigned to blockade duty in the Union Navy
The former blockade runner was then fitted out at the New York Navy Yard for blockade duty off the Confederate coast. No logs for the ship seem to have survived, and no other documents have been found which record the date of her being placed in commission by the Union Navy. However, we do know that her active service began on or before 13 June 1863, for on that night Adela -- commanded by Acting Volunteer Lt. Louis N. Stodder—left the navy yard, bound for Key West, Florida, to join the East Gulf Blockading Squadron.Adela ordered to search for the raider, CSS Clarence
Meanwhile, during the time Adela was being prepared for active service, CSS FloridaCSS Florida (cruiser)
CSS Florida was a cruiser in the Confederate States Navy.Florida was built by the British firm of William C. Miller & Sons of Toxteth, Liverpool, and purchased by the Confederacy from Fawcett, Preston & Co., also of Liverpool, who engined her...
and CSS Clarence
CSS Clarence
CSS Clarence, also known as Coquette, was originally a brig from Baltimore captured by the Confederate cruiser CSS Florida during the American Civil War and converted into a Confederate cruiser for commerce raiding....
-- a Northern merchant brig which the former Confederate cruiser had captured on 6 May 1863, armed, and commissioned as a raider—were causing great consternation among merchants in the North by voraciously preying upon Union shipping. As a result, on 13 June 1863—the day of Adela's first getting underway as a Union warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
-- 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...
telegraphed the commandant of the New York Navy Yard orders to send whatever vessels he had available to sea in pursuit of Clarence.
Adela was one of the vessels that responded to this call to action. Word of her new mission overtook her in the wee hours of the 14th while she was still in the vicinity of 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...
; and she cruised south as far as Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet is an estuary located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, United States that separates Ocracoke Island and Portsmouth Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. It is the southern terminus of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the northern terminus of the...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, overhauling and boarding every vessel that she encountered. The papers of each were found to be in order, and all were allowed to resume their voyages. During the cruise, Adela proved to be, in the word of Stodder:
- " . . . a fine sea boat. . ."which". . . made 14 knots. . . in a moderately heavy sea. . . ."
She put into Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 18th to re-coal and to obtain further orders. Welles wired Stodder instructions to resume the hunt; and, after getting underway again on the 20th, Adela "... proceeded off 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...
Inlet, but could gain no information of the Tacony
USS Tacony (1863)
USS Tacony was a double-ended, side-wheel steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a heavy gunboat with powerful guns and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.- Built in Philadelphia,...
. . . ."
CSS Clarence’s capture of the USS Tacony
(On 12 June 1863, the daring Confederate naval officer, Lt. Charles William Read, in CSS ClarenceCSS Clarence
CSS Clarence, also known as Coquette, was originally a brig from Baltimore captured by the Confederate cruiser CSS Florida during the American Civil War and converted into a Confederate cruiser for commerce raiding....
had captured the bark Tacony and, upon learning from the prize's log that she was a faster sailer than Clarence, transferred his crew and ordnance to Tacony and burned Clarence.).
Adela resumes search for CSS Clarence
Stodder then returned to sea and heard from a passing merchantman that Tacony had been seen heading southeast. Adela cruised unsuccessfully in that direction until her depleted bunkers prompted Stodder to change to a southwesterly course toward Port Royal, South CarolinaPort 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...
. After taking on coal at that Union naval base, the ship got underway on 30 June and arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, of the morning of 3 July.
Confederate raider sneaks into Maine harbor and is caught
Meanwhile, Lt. Read—after learning from prisoners captured in his prizes that many Union warships were at sea searching for Tacony -- had again changed ships, shifting to the captured schoonerSchooner
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....
Archer on the night of 24 and 25 June. In her he entered the harbor at Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, during the evening twilight of the 26th and anchored without arousing suspicion. At 0130 the following morning, he and most of his men clambered up the sides of Caleb Gushing and took over that revenue cutter from her astonished and sleepy crew. However, Read's spectacular series of successes was nearing its climax. He was forced to surrender at 1130 to the commandeered Boston Line steamer Forrest City.
Raider danger over, Adela returns to New York for supplies
Thus, the end of the threat from Lt. Read, the ship-hopping commerce raider, freed Adela to turn her attention back to her original assignment, service in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. She steamed from the Virginia CapesVirginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
back to New York for voyage repairs and re-provisioning at the New York Navy Yard.
Reassigned to Florida operations by Gideon Welles
On 7 July, Gideon Welles ordered Stodder ". . . to proceed with the U.S.S. Adela to Key West . . . ," but the steamer was not ready until late in the month and departed New York on the 30th. No record of her voyage to FloridaFlorida
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...
waters seems to have survived, but the ship must have reached 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...
, by 28 August, for she was then under orders to take blockade station off St. Andrew's Sound. The steamer served in that body of water until the later part of September, when she proceeded to 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...
to relieve the screw gunboat Sagamore
USS Sagamore (1861)
USS Sagamore was a built on behalf of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America. Sagamore was very active during the war, and served the Union both as a patrol ship and a...
which had been patrolling there.
Participating in Tampa Bay expedition to destroy boats loading cotton
On 13 October, TahomaUSS Tahoma (1861)
USS Tahoma was a built by order of the United States Navy for service during the American Civil War.Tahoma was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways....
joined Adela in 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...
. That screw gunboat's commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. Alexander A. Semmes, had instructions from the commandant of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, to land an armed expedition—manned by detachments from Adela and his own ship—to destroy two blockade runners that were reportedly anchored in the Hillsboro River, loading cotton.
On the morning of the 16th, the two Northern warships moved in closer to Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and, when some 2,000 yards from Fort Brooke
Fort Brooke
Fort Brooke was a historical military post situated on the east bank of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Convention Center currently stands at the site.-Fort Brooke as a military outpost:...
, began bombarding the batteries which protected the town. The shelling was primarily intended to divert the attention of Confederate forces from the real purpose of expedition—the blockade runners. To confirm the false impression that the Union forces intended to land northeast of the fort, Semmes had some stakes placed in that vicinity. The ruse seems to have succeeded for his report of the expedition stated that ". . . that night quite a force was sent there to oppose a landing."
Union sailors land stealthily at night and burn the cotton boats
When the guns in Fort Brooke did not respond to the fire from the gunboats, Tahoma and Adela slackened the pace of their cannonade, but fired intermittently thereafter until they withdrew late in the afternoon. Then, under cover of darkness, they lowered several boats and filled them with 100 men—60 from Tahoma and 40 from Adela -- several officers, and a guide. The men pulled stealthily for shore, landed on the western shore of Old Tampa Bay, and marched some 14 miles through the dark swampland to the Hillsboro River. The guide who directed the Union sailors to the blockade runners, Mr. James Henry Thompson—a resident of Florida loyal to the Union—was so ill that he had to be carried on a litter.When they finally reached the river bank they found the blockade runners—steamer Scottish Chief and sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Kate Dale -- floating in the stream. The men from the Northern ships put the torch to both vessels and, once sure that the cotton-laden Confederate ships were ablaze and damaged beyond possible salvage, retired along the path whence they had come.
Confederate forces trap and fires on the Union landing party
However, two men escaped from the burning ships, fled to Tampa, Florida, and alerted Southern defense forces of the Northern raid. As the Union sailors neared the shore, they encountered and attacked an armed Confederate scouting party dressed in civilian garb. In the ensuing melee, they captured two of the Southerners before the others took to their heels. A short time later, the Yankees emerged on the beach, only to learn that mounted Confederate troops, reinforced by infantry, were lurking in the woods nearby.Meanwhile, lookouts on the Union gunboats spotted their returning shipmates; and, almost immediately, boats were lowered and their crews began pulling for shore. Then the Southerners opened fire from the forest and managed to kill two sailors, to wound 10 others—one mortally, and to capture five. The rest of the raiders entered the boats and returned safely to their ships.
During the fighting ashore, Adela shelled the thicket to help the landing party to re-embark. Among the casualties suffered by the landing force, one of the two killed outright was from Adela's crew and one of her four wounded died soon after returning. One of her men was captured.
Unsuccessful Confederate plot to capture the Adela
Soon after participating in this successful but costly action, Adela moved to St. George's Sound, took station off the East Pass to that body of water before the end of October, and served well into the spring of 1864.The most interesting event during her protracted service at that place did not involve her directly. Early in May, Confederate forces completed plans for a joint Army-Navy operation whose ". . . object was . . ."in the words of Lt. William Budd of the Union converted ferryboat Somerset, ". . . the capture of the U.S.S. Adela, intending in the event of their being successful, to carry her into Mobile
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...
, or to burn her . . . ." Budd learned of this plan and, on the night of 12 May, landed an expedition from his ship and the schooner James S. Chambers
USS James S. Chambers (1861)
USS James S. Chambers was a schooner acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways....
near the town of Apalachicola, Florida
Apalachicola, Florida
Apalachicola is a city in Franklin County, Florida, on US 98 about southwest of Tallahassee. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census. The 2005 census estimated the city's population at 2,340...
. This group of fighting Union sailors dispersed the Confederate forces as they were embarking and captured six of their seven boats, a large amount of equipment, and four of their men.
Continued Florida operations
About this time, Adela shifted to the West Pass of St. George's Sound and was stationed there into August when she shifted to the West Pass of Apalachicola, Florida. She served at that post into September when she moved to St. Marks, FloridaSt. 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:...
.
Capture of the cotton-laden schooner Badger
The steamer was back off St. George's Sound—this time the middle entrance—on 6 November when a lookout on the masthead reported a strange sail. When Stodder ordered his engineers to get up steam, the stranger headed close to the breakers. Adela then launched her boats which rowed through the dangerous surf and took possession of the Confederate schooner Badger. The Southern vessel had just left St. Marks, bound for Havana, Cuba, laden with cotton.Reassigned to the Potomac River Flotilla
Later in the month, Adela steamed north to New York. Following repairs in the navy yard there which lasted until late in March, the ship was assigned to the Potomac FlotillaPotomac Flotilla
The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the...
, and she guarded the water approaches to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, during the troubled days following the assassination of President Lincoln. After the Potomac Flotilla was disbanded at the end of July, the ship returned to New York.
Adela decommissioned and sold at war’s end
Since her logs have apparently not survived, the ship decommissioning date is unknown, but 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....
at 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...
on 30 November 1865. Her subsequent career remains a mystery.