USS Belle Italia (1862)
Encyclopedia
USS Belle Italia (1862) was a sloop
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.
of the Union bark
Arthur
, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John W. Kittredge, temporarily left that warship
and embarked in the tender Corypheus
whose shallow draft permitted her to operate in the shoal waters of Aransas Bay
, Texas
. The following day, at the town of Aransas
on San Jose Island, Corypheus captured the small sloop, Belle Italia, which Kittredge thereafter used as another tender to Arthur.
coast into the autumn of 1862, Belle Italia apparently was never placed in commission. No logs, and few other records of her service, have survived. However, Arthur took part in significant operations off Corpus Christi, Texas
, during the summer of 1862.
, Belle Italia, the gunboat
Sachem
, and the schooner
Reindeer accompanied Corypheus through an artificial canal into Corpus Christi Bay. There they chased and forced ashore the armed schooner Breaker
which had formerly served as a pilot boat at Pass Cavallo
. The Union sailors boarded the grounded vessel and extinguished a fire that had been started by her crew before they escaped. The boarding party then refloated the schooner and claimed her as a prize. Confederates in the bay also set ablaze and abandoned the armed schooner Elma and the sloop Hannah.
The small Union squadron then decided to attack Corpus Christi. On 13 August 1862, a party went ashore and demanded, as Kittredge later reported,
Kittredge warned the Texans, on the other hand, that
At dawn on the 17th, after the passage of 48 hours during which they were allowed to evacuate the town's noncombatants, the defenders opened fire upon the Union ships that promptly replied spiritedly, silencing the Confederate Fort Kinney. When the ships ceased their bombardment, the Southerners returned to their guns and resumed firing. The reply from the ships again forced the Confederate cannoneers to seek shelter. Only Kittredge’s withdrawing his ships out of range at nightfall ended this cycle.
About half an hour before midnight, however, the Confederates set fire to steamer A. B. that was stranded in the narrow and shallow channel leading from Corpus Christi to Nueces Bay. Kittredge later made “...several ineffectual efforts to haul her off...” before she burned to the water’s edge.
On the 18th, the flotilla moved into position for another attack on the Southern fort. Covered by guns from the other warships, Belle Italia landed a 12 pounder rifled howitzer
and a party of 30 men “...with a view of getting in position to take the enemy’s battery.” The Union sailors advanced toward the enemy guns and, upon reaching range, opened fire with both the howitzer and muskets. Meanwhile, the cannoneers on board Kittredge’s ships enteed the fray.
The combined barrage soon silenced the battery, but Texan infantry and cavalry counterattacked. Ships’ gunfire helped hold the charging Confederates back and allowed the landing force to return to Belle Italia after running out of ammunition. The Union ships then shelled the town where the Southern soldiers had sought shelter. A dwindling supply of ammunition prompted Kittredge to withdraw into Aransas Bay to await Arthur’s return from New Orleans, Louisiana
, with supplies and ammunition.
Kittredge, again in Corypheus, entered Corpus Christi Bay with the Union schooner Breaker
and landed under a flag of truce to ask that he be allowed to embark Mrs. Davis and reunite her with her husband. The Confederate commanding officer
at Corpus Christi tentatively refused the request pending the decision of General Hamilton P. Bee
who commanded Southern forces in Texas. While awaiting Bee’s decision, Kittredge proceeded to Flour Bluffs where Belle Italia rejoined his small force.
joined in the shelling of several small vessels that escaped into the shallow waters of Laguna de la Madre where the Union ships could not follow. Kittredge landed a small reconnaissance party and took three prisoners before returning to Corypheus. The following morning, Kittredge again went ashore where he and his party of seven men were captured by a large group of Southern soldiers. Because of fear of harming Kittredge (who would ultimately be dismissed from the service a year later) and his men, Belle Italia and her consorts were unable to fire on the enemy ashore. Belle Italia is noted as being in Aransas Bay on 15 October 1862. No further mention of her appears in the official Navy records.
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....
captured by the Union Navy
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.
Capture
On 9 July 1862, the commanding officerCommanding 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...
of the Union bark
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Arthur
USS Arthur (1855)
USS Arthur was a bark 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.- Arthur commissioned in New York City :...
, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John W. Kittredge, temporarily left that 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...
and embarked in the tender Corypheus
USS Corypheus (1862)
USS Corypheus was a schooner captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.Corypheus was used by the Union Navy primarily as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy in order to prevent the South from trading with other countries...
whose shallow draft permitted her to operate in the shoal waters of Aransas Bay
Aransas Bay
Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas gulf coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island . Aransas Pass is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The following day, at the town of Aransas
Port Aransas, Texas
Port Aransas is a city in Nueces County, Texas. The population was 3,370 at the 2000 census.-Early history:Karankawa Indians played a key role in the early development of the Texas Gulf Coast. The Karankawa Indians inhabited the Gulf Coast of Texas from Galveston Bay all the way to Corpus Christi Bay...
on San Jose Island, Corypheus captured the small sloop, Belle Italia, which Kittredge thereafter used as another tender to Arthur.
Operations off Texas
Although she was active along the TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
coast into the autumn of 1862, Belle Italia apparently was never placed in commission. No logs, and few other records of her service, have survived. However, Arthur took part in significant operations off Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, during the summer of 1862.
Battle of Corpus Christi
At noon on 12 August 1862 in Aransas BayAransas Bay
Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas gulf coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island . Aransas Pass is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay...
, Belle Italia, the 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:...
Sachem
USS Sachem (1861)
The second Navy vessel to bear the name Sachem, this screw steamer was built in 1844 at New York City, where it was purchased by the Navy on September 20, 1861.-Battle of Hampton Roads:...
, and the 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....
Reindeer accompanied Corypheus through an artificial canal into Corpus Christi Bay. There they chased and forced ashore the armed schooner Breaker
USS Breaker (1862)
USS Breaker was a schooner 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....
which had formerly served as a pilot boat at Pass Cavallo
Pass Cavallo (Texas)
Pass Cavallo, alternately known as Cavallo Pass, is one of five natural water inlets which separate the Gulf of Mexico and Matagorda Bay, in the U.S. state of Texas. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle came ashore in Texas at this point. Matagorda Island Lighthouse was originally built on...
. The Union sailors boarded the grounded vessel and extinguished a fire that had been started by her crew before they escaped. The boarding party then refloated the schooner and claimed her as a prize. Confederates in the bay also set ablaze and abandoned the armed schooner Elma and the sloop Hannah.
The small Union squadron then decided to attack Corpus Christi. On 13 August 1862, a party went ashore and demanded, as Kittredge later reported,
- “the evacuation of the place by the military, but consented to the inhabitants remaining, promising to respect their private property...”
Kittredge warned the Texans, on the other hand, that
- “...they must remove their women and children if they intended to make a stand.”
At dawn on the 17th, after the passage of 48 hours during which they were allowed to evacuate the town's noncombatants, the defenders opened fire upon the Union ships that promptly replied spiritedly, silencing the Confederate Fort Kinney. When the ships ceased their bombardment, the Southerners returned to their guns and resumed firing. The reply from the ships again forced the Confederate cannoneers to seek shelter. Only Kittredge’s withdrawing his ships out of range at nightfall ended this cycle.
About half an hour before midnight, however, the Confederates set fire to steamer A. B. that was stranded in the narrow and shallow channel leading from Corpus Christi to Nueces Bay. Kittredge later made “...several ineffectual efforts to haul her off...” before she burned to the water’s edge.
On the 18th, the flotilla moved into position for another attack on the Southern fort. Covered by guns from the other warships, Belle Italia landed a 12 pounder rifled howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
and a party of 30 men “...with a view of getting in position to take the enemy’s battery.” The Union sailors advanced toward the enemy guns and, upon reaching range, opened fire with both the howitzer and muskets. Meanwhile, the cannoneers on board Kittredge’s ships enteed the fray.
The combined barrage soon silenced the battery, but Texan infantry and cavalry counterattacked. Ships’ gunfire helped hold the charging Confederates back and allowed the landing force to return to Belle Italia after running out of ammunition. The Union ships then shelled the town where the Southern soldiers had sought shelter. A dwindling supply of ammunition prompted Kittredge to withdraw into Aransas Bay to await Arthur’s return from New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, with supplies and ammunition.
Rescue attempt
Belle Italia next appears in an expedition back to Corpus Christi to secure the release of the family of Judge Edmund Jackson Davis, a prominent political figure in Texas who had remained loyal to the Union and had escaped into exile to serve its cause.Kittredge, again in Corypheus, entered Corpus Christi Bay with the Union schooner Breaker
USS Breaker (1862)
USS Breaker was a schooner 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....
and landed under a flag of truce to ask that he be allowed to embark Mrs. Davis and reunite her with her husband. The Confederate 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...
at Corpus Christi tentatively refused the request pending the decision of General Hamilton P. Bee
Hamilton P. Bee
Hamilton Prioleau Bee was an American politician in early Texas who served one term as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and later was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War....
who commanded Southern forces in Texas. While awaiting Bee’s decision, Kittredge proceeded to Flour Bluffs where Belle Italia rejoined his small force.
Laguna de la Madre enngagement
The next morning, the sloopSloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
joined in the shelling of several small vessels that escaped into the shallow waters of Laguna de la Madre where the Union ships could not follow. Kittredge landed a small reconnaissance party and took three prisoners before returning to Corypheus. The following morning, Kittredge again went ashore where he and his party of seven men were captured by a large group of Southern soldiers. Because of fear of harming Kittredge (who would ultimately be dismissed from the service a year later) and his men, Belle Italia and her consorts were unable to fire on the enemy ashore. Belle Italia is noted as being in Aransas Bay on 15 October 1862. No further mention of her appears in the official Navy records.