Naval Operations in the Gulf of Mexico

On September 13, 1861, the first naval battle of the Civil War took place when members of the Union frigate "Colorado" attacked and sunk the privateer "Judah" in the harbor at Pensacola, Florida. An excerpt from the article:

"The war began early on the Gulf coast. On January 10, 1861, the day Florida seceded from the Union, the U. S. army’s garrison at Pensacola moved to the protection of Fort Pickens in the outer harbor, surrendering the navy shipyard there to the Rebels. Recognizing the importance of Pensacola as a coaling station and ship repair facility, the Union navy placed blockading vessels outside the harbor and made plans to recapture the base. On the night of September 13, 1861, a Union raiding party from the USS Colorado quietly entered the harbor in the darkness. There, they burned the Confederate privateer CSS Judah at the shipyard. The Confederate defenses were bombarded on November 22 and 23 by the USS Niagara and USS Richmond, heavily damaging the Rebel guns. In May 1862, Confederate soldiers were needed elsewhere and the base was abandoned. The Union navy occupied the shipyard, and it proved useful to Yankee blockaders for the rest of the war."