Supreme Court Justice Robert Cooper Grier had a few weeks earlier sentenced several blockade runners to death as pirates in the Enchantress Case. Facing another such trial, that of two officers of the blockade runner Petrel, he spoke strongly and openly in court that he was not in favor of treating prisoners captured at sea any differently from those captured on land. He would no longer delay other important cases due to the increasing load of piracy cases.  The U.S. reclassified blockade runners as prisoners of war a few months later.  (By John Osborne)  

The U.S.S. Keystone State, under Commander Gustavus S. Holt, captured the Confederate blockade runner Salvor off the Tortugas Islands.  The Salvor had sailed from Havana, Cuba bound for Tampa Bay, Florida with a cargo of coffee, cigars, and munitions.  Her cargo reportedly included 600 pistols, 500,000 percussion caps, and 400,000 cigars.  The Keystone State towed her to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, arriving on October 25, 1861.  (By John Osborne) 

The U.S.S. Keystone State arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with its prize, the Confederate blockade runner Salvor, in tow.  The Keystone State, under Commander Gustavus S. Holt, had captured her off the Tortugas Islands bound from Havana, Cuba to Tampa Bay, Florida with a cargo of coffee, cigars, and munitions on October 13, 1861.  Her cargo reportedly included 600 pistols, 500,000 percussion caps, and 400,000 cigars.  (By John Osborne) 

The squadron had sailed from Hampton Roads with almost fifty ships and around fifteen thousand troops two days before.  The force encountered a severe storm and several vessels ran into serious difficulties. The steamship Governor went down just after the last of a battalion of marines aboard were saved by the U.S.S. Sabine, while the storeship Peerless sank after the U.S.S. Mohican had taken off its twenty-eight man crew.  When the storm abated the task force continued to its first target, Port Royal, South Carolina. (By John Osborne)

To execute the planned complete naval blockade of the Confederacy, the Southern Blockading Squadron sailed from Hampton Roads off Norfolk, Virginia under Samuel Francis DuPont.  With almost fifty ships and around fifteen thousand troops under General W.T. Sherman, this was easily the largest U.S. naval force gathered under one command up to that time.  The force's first objective was the securing of a land base for its blockading operations and Port Royal, South Carolina was captured just over a week later.  (By John Osborne)