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Memphis
Civil War Tennessee
American Civil War
June 6, 1862
After the Confederate River Defense Fleet, commanded by Captain James E. Montgomery and Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson (Missouri State Guard), bested the Union ironclads at Plum Run Bend, Tennessee, on May 10, 1862, they retired to Memphis.
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered troops out of Fort Pillow and Memphis on June 4, after learning of Union Major General Henry W. Halleck's occupation of Corinth, Mississippi. Thompson's few troops, camped outside Memphis, and Montgomery's fleet were the only force available to meet the Union naval threat to the city.
From Island No. 45, just north of Memphis, Flag-Officer Charles H. Davis and Colonel Charles Ellet launched a naval attack on Memphis after 4:00 am on June 6. Arriving off Memphis about 5:30 am, the battle began. In the hour and a half battle, the Union boats sank or captured all but one of the Confederate vessels; General Van Dorn escaped.
Immediately following the battle, Colonel Ellet's son, Medical Cadet Charles Ellet, Jr., met the mayor of Memphis and raised the Union colors over the courthouse. Later, Flag-Officer Davis officially received the surrender of the city from the mayor. The Indiana Brigade, commanded by Colonel G.N. Fitch, then occupied the city.
Memphis, an important commercial and economic center on the Mississippi River, had fallen, opening another section of the Mississippi River to Union shipping.
Result(s): Union victory
Location: Shelby County
Campaign: Joint Operations on the Middle Mississippi River (1862) Previous Battle in Campaign Campaigns
Date(s): June 6, 1862
Principal Commanders: Flag-Officer Charles H. Davis and Colonel Charles Ellet [US]; Captain James E. Montgomery and Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson [CS]
Forces Engaged: U.S. Ironclads Benton, Louisville, Carondelet, Cairo, and St. Louis and U.S. Army Rams Queen of the West and Monarch [US]; C.S. Navy Rams General Beauregard, General Bragg, General Price, General Van Dorn, General Thompson, Colonel Lovell, Sumter, and Little Rebel [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 181 total (US 1; CS 180)
"The Total Annihilation of the Rebel Fleet by the Federal Fleet under Commodore Davis." "On the Morning of June 6th 1862, off Memphis, Ten." Lithograph by Middleton, Strobridge
& Co. In the foreground, the print depicts the Confederate ships (from left to right): General M. Jeff Thompson (shown sinking); Little Rebel (shown burning); General Sterling Price ; General Beauregard (shown being
rammed by the Ellet Ram Monarch ); General Bragg (shown aground) and Colonel Lovell (shown sinking). In the
background are the Federal warships (from left to right): Queen of the West ; Cairo ; Carondelet ; Louisville ; Saint Louis ; a tug; and Benton . The
city of Memphis is in the right distance, with a wharf boat by the shore. More Confederate and Union Navy Ships and Battles
 Sid Meier's Civil War Collection Take command of either Confederate or
Union troops and command them to attack from the trees, rally around the general, or do any number of other realistic military actions. The AI reacts to your commands as if it was a real Civil War general, and offers infinite replayability. The random-scenario generator provides endless variations on the battles
Kindle Available
 The H. L. Hunley
The Secret Hope of the Confederacy On the evening of February 17, 1864, the
Confederacy H. L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic and became the first submarine in world history to sink an enemy ship. Not until World War I "half a century later” would a submarine again accomplish such a feat. But also perishing that moonlit night, vanishing beneath the cold Atlantic waters off Charleston, South Carolina, was the Hunley and her
entire crew of eight
 Confederate Blockade Runner 1861-65 The blockade runners of the Civil War
usually began life as regular fast steam-powered merchant ships. They were adapted for the high-speed dashes through the Union blockade which closed off all the major Southern ports, and for much of the war they brought much-needed food, clothing and weaponry to the Confederacy
 Union Monitor 1861-65 The first seagoing ironclad was the USS Monitor, and its
profile has made it one of the most easily recognised warships of all time. Following her inconclusive battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia on March 9, 1862, the production of Union monitors was accelerated. By the end of the year a powerful squadron of monitor vessels protected the blockading squadrons off the Southern coastline, and were able to challenge Confederate control of her
ports and estuaries
 Confederate Submarines and Torpedo Vessels 1861-65 Interesting
information and many excellent illustrations. It addresses the CSA David class torpedo boats and the Hunley (and its predecessors), as well as Union examples such as the Alligator and the Spuyten Duyvil
Kindle Available
The CSS Arkansas: A Confederate Ironclad on Western Waters While the Monitor and Merrimack are the most famous of the Civil War ironclads, the
Confederacy had another ship in its flotilla that carried high hopes and a metal hull. The makeshift CSS Arkansas, completed by Lt. Isaac Newton Brown and manned by a mixed crew of volunteers, gave the South a surge of confidence when it launched in 1862.
The Hunt for the Albemarle
Anatomy of a Gunboat War The Confederate ironclad Albemarle was the key to the river wars in North Carolina. Flusser's search for this ship would determine the success or failure of the Union navy
in securing the North Carolina coast and rivers.
Northern Naval Superiority and the Economics of the American Civil War Author David Surdam has finally done what others should have done years ago: he has connected the dots between the detailed studies of blockade running, weapons production, materials production, rail
transport, and naval strategy to produce a definitive analysis of the blockade's effectiveness.
The Confederate Navy in Europe Full account of the European activities of the Confederate navy during the American Civil War, including information on the Southerners who procured naval vessels in Great Britain and France, the construction of the ships, and the legal and
political impact on the European governments that assisted in the Confederate cause.
Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.
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