HISTORY | MARITIME
The Black Warrior Affair In the winter of 1854, a steamer out of Mobile sparked a diplomatic incident that threatened war between the United States and Spain over Cuba. text by JOHN SLEDGE
Above The steamship Black Warrior, shown here in an 1853 oil painting, was a familiar sight to Mobilians. PAINTING BY JAMES BARD (1815 - 1897)
O
n the morning of February 25, 1854, the steamship Black Warrior lay alongside Mobile’s wharves loading cotton. She was, by general consensus, a handsome vessel — a 227-foot-long, black-hulled barkentine of 1,600 tons, with a tall black and red smokestack amidships and a pair of paddlewheels positioned aft. She was New York-built in 1852 for the coastal trade and since that time had been running a regular route from there to Mobile and back, with brief stops at Havana each way. Her cargoes were strictly for American ports, but she often delivered and took on passengers and mail during her Havana stops. She was a familiar sight to Mobilians, as was her dashing captain, 31-year-old James D. Bulloch, a serious
66 mobilebaymag.com | february 2022
and conscientious officer. As she loaded cotton that winter’s day, no one, least of all her savvy captain, could guess that she was about to precipitate an international incident. Meanwhile, in Havana, the Black Warrior’s consignees, Charles Tyng and Co., already expecting the vessel, made an early entry and clearance request with Spanish customs officials, stating the vessel was “in ballast,” that is, not carrying cargo. According to Spanish law, any cargo was to be itemized and requisite fees paid. Tyng and Co. knew this, of course, as did the local harbor constabulary. But since the cotton was only in transit through Havana for New York, Tyng and Co.’s customary practice was not to declare it. Havana’s customs officials
