Denbigh ( ship ) The Denbigh was a paddle steamer constructed in 1860 at the shipyard of " John Laird , Son , and Company " at Birkenhead , England at a cost of £10 , 150 . She was a fast ship for her time , recording in her proving trials . She was delivered to her owner , Robert Gardner of Manchester , on 26 September 1860 , after which she operated the route between Liverpool and Rhyl , north Wales for the next three years . In September 1863 the " Denbigh " was purchased by the " European Trading Company " – a partnership between the H . O . Brewer Company , a trading company of Mobile , Alabama , Confederate States of America , Emile Erlanger & Co . , bankers from Paris , France , and J . H . Schröder & Co . , bankers of Manchester . The company bought ships to run the United States ' naval blockade of Southern ports . The United States Consul in Liverpool , Thomas Dudley , immediately noted the " Denbigh " and sent a report to the State Department which included the description : Schooner rigged , side wheel steamer " Denbigh " of Liverpool - - 162 tons . Captain McNevin Carriers - - Northe Dock for Bermuda & Havannah . Mose & Co . Cosignees . The following is her present description , subject to alteration : Built of Iron . Marked draft of water - - fore & aft . Hull painted black . Artificial quarter galleries . Elliptic stern . Straight stem . Name at the bows gilt , on a blue ground . Wheel ; binnacle . House with skylight on top . Boat painted white in iron swing davits on port quarter . Boats painted white , abreast of mainmast . House athwartships between paddle boxe s , with binacle on top . Funnell or smokestack painted black , with bright copper steam pipe after part of same . Side houses . Hurricane deck ; foremast , through same . Masts bright ; mast heads , top caps , crosstrees , bowsprit and gaff painted white . Inside of bulwarks & c . painted cream color . On her trial trip she attained the speed of 10½ knots . Sailed Monday Oct . 19 , 1863 After almost two years of blockade - running and 13 successful trips , " Denbigh " ran aground on Bird Key , off Galveston , where she was destroyed by Union naval vessels on May 24 , 1865 . Some members of " Denbigh " s ' crew . Francis McNevin . Although it has been widely believed that Edmund McNevin [ Google : Edmund McNevin ] was the captain of the Denbigh , according to the " Agreement and Account of Crew " when the Denbigh sailed / steamed to Bermuda and Havana in October , 1863 , the master and captain was actually Francis McNevin . The master ' s certificate number shown on that document was 11250 and according to " Index of Captains Registers of Lloyds of London " had been issued to Francis McNevin , b . 1829 , St . Helier , Jersey . Robert Railton . Engineer of the " Denbigh " . Born in Manchester on 11 December 1830 . He emigrated to the United States in the 1840s , working in many factories including the Hinkly Locomotive Works in Boston , Massachusetts , the principal railway works in the US . In 1848 he moved to Galveston , Texas to work in Hiram Close ' s foundry , the only foundry in the town , until the outbreak of the Civil War . On New Year ' s Day 1863 , at the Battle of Galveston the Union gunboat " Westfield " was blown up by her own crew to prevent her falling into Confederate hands ; Railton was responsible for superintending the recovery of the " Westfield " s ' paddle wheel shafts and reboring them as 5 . 75 " guns . He joined the " Denbigh " in August 1864 on her first voyage into Galveston . The engineer received between $ 1000 and $ 2000 in gold for each successful trip . After the Civil War he married Emma Juliff in Galveston in 1868 . He was killed in an unfortunate accident — on 27 December 1898 an argument broke out between workers on Galveston quay , and one started shooting . Railton was hit in the back by a stray shot and died the next day . Robert A . Horlock . Cabin boy on the " Denbigh " . Born in 1849 , he joined the " Denbigh " at Galveston when he was fifteen years old . It appears that he obtained his position through his father knowing Captain Godfrey . A cabin boy ' s job was similar to a naval midshipman , learning the work of a ships ' officer . Robert Horlock died in 1926 . William Young . A guard on the " Denbigh " , he was a member of Company B , First Texas Heavy Artillery before transferring to the Texas Marine Department , and joined the " Denbigh " on 30 August 1864 . He died on 1 May 1901 . William Fairweather . Occupation unknown , he was 34 years old when he drowned on 7 September 1864 .