on Northern shipping in the North and South Atlantic and in the Caribbean, claiming 37 prizes during her 21 months at sea.1
The Florida’scareer ended on Oct. 7, 1864. This column will tell the story of the ship beginning with her last days in Confederate service. The full story doesn’t end until July 1866.
At 9 p.m. on Oct. 4, 1864, the ship entered the harbor at the Brazilian port of Bahia. The sloop-of-war, which had been at sea for 61 consecutive days, was low on supplies and in need of minor repairs. Lieut. C. Manigault Morris, in command of the Florida, obtained permission to remain in the harbor for repairs and re-supply, initially for 48 hours, then for two additional days.
The Florida was not the only warship from América do Norte in the harbor: the USS Wachusett, captained by Cmdr. Napoleon Collins, was anchored there when the Confederates arrived. The American consul in Bahia, Thomas Wilson, immediately filed a protest with the president of the state of Bahia, Antonio J. da Silva Gomes. Wilson argued that the Florida was a “piratical cruiser” and was not entitled to Brazilian hospitality, but rather should be detained with her officers and crew.
Gomes rejected Wilson’s protest. Brazil recognized the Confederate States as belligerents. The Florida would, after 61 days at sea, receive “all the assistance required by humanity,” provided that the Confederates respect Brazil’s neutrality. Gomes demanded of Wilson the same respect from the Wachusett and was “answered affirmatively, the consul pledging his word of honor.”2
An American citizen, Mr. L. de Videky, visited Lieutenant Morris aboard the Florida on Oct. 6. De Videky bore a letter from Wilson, the U.S. consul. Morris refused to accept the letter, as it was “improperly addressed” to the captain of “the sloop Florida,” not the CSS Florida.3 After a brief conversation with the intermediary, Morris terminated the meeting, and de Videky went ashore.
s many readers will know, the CSS Florida was a highly-successful commerce raider. Cruising from January 1863 until October 1864, the vessel preyed
By Gould Hagler
In the harbor, the Florida was anchored five-eighths of a mile from the Wachusett,with a Brazilian warship anchored in between. Assured by President Gomes that Wilson had pledged that the Wachusett would engage in no hostile act in the harbor, and having made the same pledge in return, Morris allowed his crew to go ashore, one watch at a time. On October 6, Morris himself went ashore, leaving First Lieut. Thomas Porter in command.
At about 3:15 a.m. on October 7, while Morris was still ashore, the Wachusett steamed past the intervening Brazilian ship and attacked the Florida. The Federal ship rammed the Florida, simultaneously “pouring a volley of musketry and a charge of cannister…upon our decks.”4 The Wachusett backed away and fired again. Caught unawares, the Confederates had no choice but surrender. Soon the Wachusett was towing the Florida out of the harbor toward international waters. Brazilian vessels pursued, but with steam and sail the Wachusett got away with her prize.5
The naval battle was over. The diplomatic battle was to begin immediately. The remainder of this column will focus mainly on that element of the story, along with some matters related to military justice.
The Wachusett sailed for Hampton Roads, as did the Florida, manned by a prize crew, with the Florida’s officers on board under parole and crewmen in irons.6 Back in Bahia, Morris prepared his report, and the Brazilian authorities prepared their diplomatic protest.
Morris requested copies of correspondence between the Brazilian government and the American consul Wilson and Cmdr. Collins. President Gomes replied, through an intermediary, that he could not have official communications with an officer representing a government not recognized by Brazil. For this reason, he refused to share the correspondence. However, the intermediary informed Morris that the correspondence had been published in the local press and that he could therefore obtain the information from that source.
The very day of the capture, October 7, Morris received a letter from Mr. de Videky, the go-between with whom he met on the 6th. In the letter de Videky expressed his