On October 30, 1873 "Tornado" spotted "Virginius" on open water from Cuba and gave chase. "Virginius" was heavily weighted and the stress from the boilers caused the ship to take on water, significantly slowing any progress. As the chase continued, "Tornado", a fast warship, fired on "Virginius" several times, damaging the top deck. Captain Fry surrendered "Virginius", knowing that his ship's overworked boilers and leaking hull could not outrun "Tornado" on the open sea. The Spanish quickly boarded and secured the ship. The entire crew was taken prisoner and the ship sailed to Santiago de Cuba.