on us with heavy shell and shot, and after two from them we opened from our batteries, consisting of three 24-pounder cannon. Both parties then kept up a regular fire until 7 p.m.” At that point, U.S.S. Sagamore withdrew. On July 1, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., the gunboat fired from beyond the range of the Confederate cannon. After a two-hour break for lunch, USS Sagamore fired two more rounds, weighed anchor, and sailed away. There were no Confederate casualties. Capt. Pearson’s after-action report singled out Capt. James Gettis of Hillsborough County and originally from Pennsylvania for his decisive leadership of one of the Confederate batteries. Aftermath The Battle of Fort Brooke was a more significant action fought in Tampa the following October. In this engagement, a Union gunboat again bombarded Fort Brooke while secretly landing a small raiding force. The raiding party was able to find and destroy several Confederate blockade runners hidden up the Hillsborough River before departing. Union forces returned to Tampa once more in May 1864. By this time, the Confederate war effort was faltering, and Fort Brooke's defenders had been transferred to more pressing stations. Troops from the USS Adela landed in Tampa without opposition, destroyed or took remaining supplies in unoccupied Fort Brooke, and left town after two days. Two cannons from Fort Brooke that were dumped in the Hillsborough River during this raid were found and restored and are now on display in Plant Park on the University of Tampa campus. References CWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles 1862 in the American Civil War Tampa Tampa Tampa Tampa History of Tampa, Florida Tampa 1862 in Florida June 1862 events July 1862 events