In 1854, two ships, loaded with war materiel, cleared at New York for St. Thomas. Suspicion arose that they were destined for the rebels of Venezuela. However, due to evidence, they were cleared in a libel suit.
After arriving in the Danish West Indies, trouble again arose because of their suspicious character. The owners presented a large claim for damages because the vessels were detained by the Danish government. Thirty-four years of negotiations ended in a Danish-American arbitration treaty in 1888, as a result of which the claim was disallowed on the ground that the Danish government had observed strictly the neutrality laws involved. The name is derived from the firm that handled the negotiations.