The USS Gem of the Sea and the Useppa Island Rescue

From the Useppa Island Historical Society "A History of 10,000 Years."

Back on September 6, 2018, I wrote about the USS Gem of the Sea escorting Florida Rangers off Useppa Island in Florida.

In 1863   Union soldiers encamp on Useppa Island.  Charlotte Harbor is blockaded to prevent beef shipments to the Confederacy.  The area is sparsely populated by hunters, fishermen and farmers.

Union sympathizers  find refuge on the island under the protection of the Union Army.  Some of them are active in the Union Florida Rangers cavalry unit.

--Old B-Runner