SS Acquila

Mark Twain spoke of the steamship Acquila in this "Parting Presentation" to Major Edward C. Perry of New York City on June 13, 1864. The Aquila had sunk fully loaded at Hathaway’s wharf during a heavy storm the night of 15 November 1863. The cargo was the dismantled monitor Camanche, a mobile fortress assigned by the War Department to protect San Francisco against the possibility of raids by marauding Confederate warships. By late April the salvage crew had removed the Camanche piece by piece from the Aquila’s hold, and soon the steamship itself was afloat. Exactly one year after the Aguila had gone down, the reassembled Camanche was launched with great fanfare. [ET&S V2 p6]