Continuing with the Civil War connection of Cape San Blas on Florida's Forgotten Coast along the eastern panhandle.
The ship whose guns and crew destroyed the Confederate salt works was the USS Kingfisher. Wiki here I come.
The ship was acquired by the Navy at Boston and commissioned Oct. 3, 1861 withActing Lt. Joseph P. Couthouy commanding. Ordered to Key West, it joined the Gulf Blockading Squadron. The 121-foot, 451 ton ship mounted four 8-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannons and was manned by a crew of 97.
On Jan. 21, 1862, it captured a blockade-runner with the USS Ethan Allen. A small boat expedition from the Kingfisher up Florida's Manatee River captured a ship and burned Confederate cavalry barracks. Later, two other runners were captured.
On June 2, 1862, two boats went up the Aucilla River in Florida looking for freshwater was attacked by Confederates with the loss of two and nine captured.
More to Come. --Old B-R'er
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