The November 21st tampabay.com had an article by Dan DeWitt "Florida archaeological divers believe they've found Civil War-era steamer off Bayport."
Divers found something old and metallic. Then another found a piece of steam pipe, meaning that this was a steel-hulled steamer, one that they had been looking for. That pipe was about nine inches in diameter, about what you'd find in a side-wheeler steamship.
As Union Naval forces successfully sealed off the major Confederate ports, blockade-running turned more and more to backwater harbors such as Bayport. Every so often these harbors would be raided like the fight that took place off Bayport in April 1863. Five months later, another attack was led on Bayport by Union Lt.-Commander A. A. Semmes, a cousin to Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes.
They lingered off Bayport for a week, hoping for a tide high enough to allow a steamer they had seen to leave or for them to cross and attack.
To Be Continued. --Old B-Runner
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