On the morning of the 27th, however, as Bermuda approached Great Abaco Island, the Union screw steamer Mercedita, cruising off the Providence Channel as part of the East Division, Gulf Blockading Squadron, fell in with her and gave chase. At a point somewhere between three and seven miles northeast of the Hole-in-the-Wall Light, a shot across her bow brought Bermuda to. The ensuing boarding party not only found discrepancies in the cargo manifests, but about a thousand tons of contraband cargo, including:
