Courtenay planned to purchase a coal barge and seed it with coal torpedoes, as a means of getting his bombs into the ships of the Union blockading fleet, but the plan either failed, or was never carried out. Unfortunately for Courtenay, Confederate correspondence giving details of the plan was captured and Courtenay and his associates became wanted men. Union Admiral of the Mississippi David D. Porter ordered, "I have given orders to commanders of vessels not to be very particular about the treatment of any of these deperadoes if caught—only summary punishment will be effective."
