Courtis was a Massachusetts printer, bookbinder, and poet.
The Fortune was a whaling ship built in Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1822. The Fortune ended its days as part of The Stone Fleet used during the Civil War by the Union Navy as blockships. The fleet, consisting of old ships (mostly whalers) purchased in New Bedford and other New England ports, were loaded with stone and deliberately sunk at the entrance of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina in the hope of obstructing blockade runners. The event inspired Herman Melville to write the poem entitled, "The Stone Fleet."
From the description of Gleanings of an ocean voyage : an address delivered before Howard Temple of Honor, No. 10, on the Evenings of Sept. 23d, 1872 & Jan. 6th, 1873 / by a Member of the Order. [1881] (Lafayette College). WorldCat record id: 768130714
