The SS ''Cornubia'' was laid down in November 1856 and built in
Hayle
Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...
,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, by
Harvey & Co. She was launched in February 1858 as a
packet ship
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...
and
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
for the
Hayle and Bristol Steam Packet Company. Sleek and painted white, with two funnels mounted close together amidships and with a high bridge over her
paddle wheel
A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...
s, she plied the Hayle/
St Ives to
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
route in the days when the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
had not penetrated as far as West Cornwall.
History

She was given the name ''Cornubia'' from the Latinised name for Cornwall and was a fast iron
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
, long and narrow at long and with a beam. Her Harveys-built twin oscillating side-wheel engines with four boilers and stroke produced and was capable of propelling the vessel at over . Her shallow,
draft
Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
was initially designed to cope with the shallow harbours in Cornwall, but proved to be very useful in her later life.
The accommodation on board was described in the ''Western Daily Press'' on Monday 19 July 1858
as
A capacious house, with plate-glass windows, tastefully designed, afforded two entrances to the cabin stairs, and the hundreds of visitors who, on Tuesday afternoon, came on board to "have a peep at the new boat" went down those stairs with a sense of being about to look on "something out of the common run." Nor were they disappointed. A more superb cabin they could scarcely have seen before. About a dozen mahogany velvet covered sofas occupied the sides of the capacious room, with velvet covered chairs to match. The panelling of the ceiling was white, with chaste gold mouldings. The side panels were maple, mahogany, and satin wood, with the most elegant of gold moulding. All presented a rich and tasteful appearance, and elicited general commendation. The sleeping berths were well arranged, and proper ventilation was provided throughout. No, the most fastidious and aristocratic of steamboat travellers could certainly fine no fault here - all was perfection.
She ran between Bristol and Hayle from 1858 to 1861, calling additionally at Ilfracombe. By 1860 she was under the command of W. Gill and departures in the summer were weekly on Tuesdays from Bristol, returning from Hayle on Thursdays.
Fares
*To or from Bristol and Hayle 10s 6d Saloon (equivalent to £ in ), 7s Forecabin (equivalent to £ in ), 5s Deck (equivalent to £ in )
*To or from Bristol and Ilfracombe 8s Saloon (equivalent to £ in ), 7s Forecabin (equivalent to £ in ), 5s Deck (equivalent to £ in )
*To or from Ilfracombe and Hayle 12s Saloon (equivalent to £ in ), 7s Forecabin (equivalent to £ in ), 4s 6d Deck (equivalent to £ in )
Confederate Navy Service
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, agents for the
Confederacy purchased ''Cornubia'' in November 1861
and took her over the Atlantic where she was officially renamed ''Lady Davis'' though by all accounts her old name ''Cornubia'' was also commonly used.
She proved to be a very good investment. Her speed, manoeuvrability and shallow draft making her an excellent
blockade runner
A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...
. She successfully avoided and outran
Union forces on 22 occasions bringing vital supplies to the confederate army at
Wilmington.
On her 23rd run on 8 November 1863, however luck ran out for ''Cornubia''. She was pursued by and was forced to run up onto the beach at
New Inlet
New Inlet was an inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina joining Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It had not existed since 1945 before Hurricane Irene temporarily re-opened the inlet in 2011.
History
New Inlet first opened around 1738, ...
. The ship's captain, Richard Gayle, the ship's carpenter and one seaman remained onboard and helped other crew and passengers to escape to shore.
Later that same day, arrived on the scene and on the rising tide towed the still-intact ''Cornubia'' free. She was then sent to Boston as a Prize together with the bags of waterlogged mail. The abandoned mail proved to be a vital aid to the Union, gaining an insight into the Confederacy plans and in particularly the role that British seamen were taking in blockade running.
Union Navy Service
''Cornubia'' was purchased from the Boston
Prize court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...
and then commissioned in the
Union Navy on 17 March 1864 and assigned to the role of blockading the waters around Mobile and Pensacola, before later being reassigned to the coast of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. The blockade runner had now become a blockader.
On 21 April 1865, ''Cornubia'' captured the blockade-running
schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
''Chaos''. On 24 May, ''Cornubia'' captured the guard boat ''Le Compt'' where a cache of arms was found. Later the same day, ''Cornubia'' assisted in the pursuit and sinking of the Confederate steamer ''Denbigh''.
Following the evacuation of Galveston on 22 May, ''Cornubia'' was put on duty removing the harbour obstructions. On 3 August, ''Cornubia'' was officially decommissioned from the Union Navy and was sold on 25 October.
See also
*
Union Navy
*
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornubia
Ferries of the United Kingdom
Blockade runners of the Confederate States Navy
Ships of the Union Navy
Ships built in England
Steamships of the United States Navy
Gunboats of the United States Navy
American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States
1858 ships
Ships captured by the United States Navy from the Confederate States Navy
Ships built in Hayle