officer obtained the release of five American merchant ships held at Tampico, Mexico, by revolutionary forces. From October 1858 to May 1859 Fulton joined in operations commanded by Commodore W. B. Shubrick during his negotiations to improve relations with Paraguay, sailing the La Plata and the Parana and Paraguay Rivers. After lying out of commission at Norfolk, Virginia, from 7 May 1859 to 30 July 1859, Fulton cruised off Cuba to suppress the slave trade until laid up at Pensacola, Florida, in mid-October 1859. The Times reported that she had been wrecked on Santa Rosa Island, off Pensacola, Florida. Civil War capture Captured by the Confederates when they took the Pensacola yard on 12 January 1861, Fulton was considered for use in the Confederate States Navy, but was never fitted out. She was destroyed in the evacuation of the yard by the Confederates upon Federal reoccupation 10 May 1862. References External links USS Fulton (1837–1861) Ships built in Brooklyn Steamships of the United States Navy Ships of the Union Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy Vessels captured from the United States Navy 1837 ships Maritime incidents in September 1859 Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Florida coast Ship fires Maritime incidents in May 1862