On 28 July 1861, during the Civil War, the frigate St. Lawrence spotted a schooner flying English colors and gave chase. Some four hours later, as she was overhauling the schooner, the fleeing vessel ran up the Confederate flag and fired three shots. Firing with her forecastle battery, St. Lawrence hit the vessel twice, once in her bow. Survivors from the sunken vessel revealed it had been the Confederate privateer, Petrel.
Read more about USS St. Lawrence:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s/stlawrence.htm