She needed repairs and coal so her commander Lieutenant Charles Manigault Morris pulled into Bahia, Brazil, at night on October 4, 1864, after a sixty-one day cruise.

Wachusett launched a boat and sent her towards the Florida; once nearby, the Union sailors called out to the Confederate crew, asking the name of their ship.

Later that day Morris met with the Provincial President of Bahia Antônio Joaquim da Silva Gomes, who gave him two days to repair and coal his vessel but said that he felt that the Florida was the cause of the standoff and if a battle occurred in Bahia harbor, the Imperial Brazilian Navy would be forced to retaliate against whoever fired the first shot.

An admiral at the meeting suggested that the Florida move closer to his sloop so that the Union ship would have a harder time of attacking the Confederate vessel.

Hearing this, Lieutenant Morris told De'Videcky that he would not attack the Union sloop and would leave harbor once he had completed his mission.

Master Hunter ordered his men to raise the naval ensign and open fire, they did so not with cannon but with pistols and muskets.

Several lead balls struck the Wachusett and wounded three men so the Union sailors were ordered to return fire with their small arms while the ship maneuvered to line up for a full broadside.

Collins ordered his men to ram the Wachusett right into the Florida so federals crashed into the Confederate ship, but neither vessel was seriously damaged in the collision.

As a result of USS Wachusett's attack on the Florida in Bahia harbor, Commander Collins was court martialed due to pressure from the Brazilian government and was threatened with removal from duty.

The Brazilian government demanded that the Union Navy return their prize to the Confederates at Bahia but the Florida was sunk in a collision with USAT Alliance on November 28 off Virginia.