The size of her crew was about fifty; she had also participated in several other historic naval engagements such as Hampton Roads and the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

Lieutenant John W. Kittredge was in charge of Arthur, which held over eighty men and was armed with six 32 pounder smooth-bore guns.

The Union Navy vessels then gave chase to the sloop which was filled with sailors and several Confederate States Army soldiers who were returning from a reconnaissance mission.

Having taken and refloated the prize ship and thus weakened the defenses of Corpus Christi, Union commanders felt it was now time to attack the Confederates defending the town.

After taking the Breaker, the Union vessels sailed southwest the short distance to Corpus Christi and established a blockade.

The following morning on August 13, Lieutenant Kittredge and a boarding party were ordered ashore to demand a Confederate surrender of the port town on the Nueces river.

This process of repeatedly silencing the fort lasted all day and night until Kittredge withdrew his ships due to the darkness.

Sachem and Corypheus were both damaged slightly, Bella Italia is known to have been hit as well, the shot wounded a petty officer on deck.

The next morning the landing force advanced until within cannon and musket range of the fort; fighting again commenced and soon the ships resumed bombarding the rebel guns.

After a prolonged skirmish, the Union forces on land began to run low on ammunition and reboarded USS Bella Italia with help from the blockade.

Crewmen of United States Navy ships saw this movement so Kittredge ordered the bombardment of the coastal buildings to where the rebels had withdrawn.

During the bombardment a Unionist living in Corpus Christi named John Dix, grabbed his American flag and headed for the roof of his Water Street home.

Dix intended to wave the flag at the United States ships as a sign of surrender, but before he could get to his roof his daughter-in-law stopped him.

The battle ended as a tactical victory for the United States; they overcame Confederate naval activity in the area and silenced the enemy fort protecting Corpus Christi and the bay.

Confederate forces did defeat the Union shore party, they also continued to hold the town and the silenced fort after the battle.