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Wells Fargo California Express for Confederate Intercepted Steamer

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Wells Fargo & Express Co's Memorabilia Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Wells Fargo California Express for Confederate Intercepted Steamer
SOLD
100.00USD+ (25.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2018 Mar 15 @ 17:16UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Wells Fargo & Co.’s California Express – Slow – New York to San Francisco : Datelined at office Wells Fargo, 84 Broadway, New York Nov. 29th, 1862 on Steamer Ariel via Aspinwall, Panama. On the return trip to New York the Ariel, A. G. Jones commanding, with the mails and passengers from California, was intercepted by the Confederate steamer Alabama on Dec. 7th and boarded. According to a witness, “about four miles to the westward, close under the high land of Cuba, bark-rigged, and under canvass. As there was nothing in her appearance indicating her to be a steamer, her smoke-pipe being down, no suspicions were aroused, till in a short time we saw she had furled her sails, raised her smoke-stack, and was rapidly nearing us under steam, the American flag flying at her peak. Such was her speed, in comparison to ours, that in half an hour she had come up within half a mile of us, when she fired a lee gun, hauled down the American ensign and ran up the rebel flag. No attention was paid to the summons, and the Ariel was pushed to her utmost speed. She then sailed across our wake, took a position on our port quarter, about 400 yards distant, and fired two guns almost simultaneously, one shot passing over the hurricane deck, between the walking-beam and smoke-stack, and the other hitting the foremast, and cutting it half away.” New York Times Dec. 28t , 1862. Vignette of steamer; blue on white. Very Fine. Date: 1862 Location: California HWAC# 572066