USS Belle Italia ( 1862 ) USS " Belle Italia " ( 1862 ) was a sloop captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War . She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways . Capture . On 9 July 1862 , the commanding officer of the Union bark " Arthur " , Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John W . Kittredge , temporarily left that warship and embarked in the tender " Corypheus " whose shallow draft permitted her to operate in the shoal waters of Aransas Bay , Texas . The following day , at the town of Aransas on San Jose Island , " Corypheus " captured the small sloop , " Belle Italia " , which Kittredge thereafter used as another tender to " Arthur " . Operations off Texas . Although she was active along the Texas coast into the autumn of 1862 , " Belle Italia " apparently was never placed in commission . No logs , and few other records of her service , have survived . However , " Arthur " took part in significant operations off Corpus Christi , Texas , during the summer of 1862 . Battle of Corpus Christi . At noon on 12 August 1862 in Aransas Bay , " Belle Italia " , the gunboat , and the schooner " Reindeer " accompanied " Corypheus " through an artificial canal into Corpus Christi Bay . There they chased and forced ashore the armed schooner which had formerly served as a pilot boat at Pass Cavallo . The Union sailors boarded the grounded vessel and extinguished a fire that had been started by her crew before they escaped . The boarding party then refloated the schooner and claimed her as a prize . Confederates in the bay also set ablaze and abandoned the armed schooner " Elma " and the sloop " Hannah " . The small Union squadron then decided to attack Corpus Christi . On 13 August 1862 , a party went ashore and demanded , as Kittredge later reported , Kittredge warned the Texans , on the other hand , that At dawn on the 17th , after the passage of 48 hours during which they were allowed to evacuate the town ' s noncombatants , the defenders opened fire upon the Union ships that promptly replied spiritedly , silencing the Confederate Fort Kinney . When the ships ceased their bombardment , the Southerners returned to their guns and resumed firing . The reply from the ships again forced the Confederate cannoneers to seek shelter . Only Kittredge ’ s withdrawing his ships out of range at nightfall ended this cycle . About half an hour before midnight , however , the Confederates set fire to steamer " A . B . " that was stranded in the narrow and shallow channel leading from Corpus Christi to Nueces Bay . Kittredge later made “ . . . several ineffectual efforts to haul her off . . . ” before she burned to the water ’ s edge . On the 18th , the flotilla moved into position for another attack on the Southern fort . Covered by guns from the other warships , " Belle Italia " landed a 12 pounder rifled howitzer and a party of 30 men “ . . . with a view of getting in position to take the enemy ’ s battery . ” The Union sailors advanced toward the enemy guns and , upon reaching range , opened fire with both the howitzer and muskets . Meanwhile , the cannoneers on board Kittredge ’ s ships enteed the fray . The combined barrage soon silenced the battery , but Texan infantry and cavalry counterattacked . Ships ’ gunfire helped hold the charging Confederates back and allowed the landing force to return to " Belle Italia " after running out of ammunition . The Union ships then shelled the town where the Southern soldiers had sought shelter . A dwindling supply of ammunition prompted Kittredge to withdraw into Aransas Bay to await Arthur ’ s return from New Orleans , Louisiana , with supplies and ammunition . Rescue attempt . " Belle Italia " next appears in an expedition back to Corpus Christi to secure the release of the family of Judge Edmund Jackson Davis , a prominent political figure in Texas who had remained loyal to the Union and had escaped into exile to serve its cause . Kittredge , again in " Corypheus " , entered Corpus Christi Bay with the Union schooner USS " Breaker " and landed under a flag of truce to ask that he be allowed to embark Mrs . Davis and reunite her with her husband . The Confederate commanding officer at Corpus Christi tentatively refused the request pending the decision of General Hamilton P . Bee who commanded Southern forces in Texas . While awaiting Bee ’ s decision , Kittredge proceeded to Flour Bluffs where " Belle Italia " rejoined his small force . Laguna de la Madre enngagement . The next morning , the sloop joined in the shelling of several small vessels that escaped into the shallow waters of Laguna de la Madre where the Union ships could not follow . Kittredge landed a small reconnaissance party and took three prisoners before returning to " Corypheus " . The following morning , Kittredge again went ashore where he and his party of seven men were captured by a large group of Southern soldiers . Because of fear of harming Kittredge ( who would ultimately be dismissed from the service a year later ) and his men , " Belle Italia " and her consorts were unable to fire on the enemy ashore . " Belle Italia " is noted as being in Aransas Bay on 15 October 1862 . No further mention of her appears in the official Navy records .