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This page of ships gives
an idea of what the river at Vicksburg, Miss., must have looked like when
the Arkansas rounded from the Yazoo River into the currents of the
Mississippi. Farragut's ocean-going, blue water ships of the Federals were not
seen on the river, as a rule, and this forest of masts and sails and smoke
stacks must have made a sobering and formidable impression on the citizens
of Vicksburg. Joining them were the auxilliary ships and boats -- the
tows, barges, supply ships, and a hospital ship. The brown water boats
are also included, belonging to Commander Charles Davis' river fleet, and
David D. Porter's mortar boats, which had to be towed to Vicksburg. and
boats of the Ellet ram fleet.
More images and information coming. |
Richmond, steam sloop
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Hartford (Farragut's flagship), steam sloop
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Another view of the Hartford
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Brooklyn, war sloop
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Katadin, gunboat
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Benton (Davis' flagship),
ironclad gunboat |
Drawing of the Benton showing side elevation (top)
and a cut-away view showing the paddlewheel. Not evident on these
illustrations is that the single paddlewheel is centered in the boat.
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Conestoga, steamer |
Iroquois, steam sloop
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The Carondelet at ease, with awnings spread to
protect the men from the sun. The Carondelet was one of the three
boats sent up the Yazoo River on 15 July 1862 to reconnoiter for the
Arkansas. |
Another view of the Carondelet. |
The Tyler at anchor with a mortar boat being
tied up on
shore. Note the barrel of the mortar itself above the top edge of the mortar boat.
The Tyler's sidewheels are protected from enemy fire by heavy
cladding.
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The Tyler in a photograph, showing timber cladding more
clearly. She was one of the three boats sent up the Yazoo to reconnoiter and
encountered the new ram Arkansas.
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Harriet Lane, side-wheel
steamer, revenue cutter |
Another view of the Harriet Lane
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Winona
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From left to right, the ships are Itasca, Pinola, Kennebec, and Winona.
This is a portion of a larger sketch.
Itasca, Pinola, Kennebec,
and
Winona
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The
Clifton, side-wheel steamer serving with the
mortar flotilla. |
The Clifton, at right, using her fire hose on a
fire-raft sent down river by the Rebels. |
The Kensington |
The Red Rover (hospital ship), originally a
Confederate vessel, she was damaged at Island 10 and taken by Federals.
After repairs, she was fitted out for a Federal hospital ship. |
Oneida, steam sloop |
Another view of the Oneida, this time decked out
in celebratory fashion.
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The Miami, a side-wheel double-ender steamer, coaling from the schooner
barely seen
on the other side of her. |
Octorara, a side-wheel steamer, David D. Porter's flagship
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An image of the Wissahickon itself was not
found.
These sailors onboard the Wissahickon
pose with their 11-inch Dahlgren gun.
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J. C. Kuhn, a bark (barque)
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Laurel Hill, a transport, is at left
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A detail from the sketch at left,
showing the Laurel Hill. |
J[ohn] P. Jackson, a side-wheel steamer
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Westfield, steamer
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The Horace Beals, bark
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The General Bragg |
The large ship is the Octorara, David D.
Porter's flagship.
To the left, is the Sidney C. Jones, mortar sloop, burned 15 Jul 1862
at Vicksburg. This is a detail of a larger drawing
showing David D. Porter's mortar fleet.
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The Sciota is in the
background, the second ship from left.
Only a portion of the ship (a gunboat) is shown here
but her two masts and smokestack are evident. |
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The Louisville. Note the shutters to secure the
gun ports.
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A photograph of the Louisville.
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The Essex, an ironclad steamer, taking on coal in late July 1862 |
Another view of the Essex. Note what are
probably "heads"
on back of boat. |
The Kineo (at right), a screw steamer, and the Hartford
(behind her) at a coaling wharf at Baton Rouge, La., in Mar 1863. |
This picture is cut from the photo at left. This gives
a closer look at the steamer Kineo (at right). The three-masted
steamer Hartford is behind it. Note the anchor hanging from the front
of the Kineo.
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Mortar Boats, Also Called Mortar
Rafts
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The drawing at left is a detail of a
larger drawing showing attacking boats on the Mississippi north of Memphis
in April 1862. This portion shows the mortars in action and gives a good
idea of the look of the simple mortar boats. These had only side walls to
protect the soldiers. They had no engines so that they were pulled behind
the larger boats and placed out of sight of the enemy. From their
hidden spots, they could rain screaming shells on their opponents. A 13-inch
siege mortar with a 20-pound charge could shoot a 200‑pound shell over two
miles.
As a rule, these mortar boats did not have names but were
designated by numbers.
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Federal gunboats of the Mississippi River Squadron attacking
Island No. 10 on 7 Apr 1862.
Note the mortar boats (or rafts) along the shoreline (detail from above image).
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ca
A mortar boat hidden by brush against the riverbank.
The mortar
fires at a target a mile or more away. The mortar team
takes to the outer platform of the mortar boat to avoid the worst
of the noise.
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A grouping of mortar boats could work out of sight of
their target
and deliver screaming, whistling shells against the enemy. The
high sides of the boats protect the men from sharpshooters
on the banks. Note the men cleaning out and loading the mortar and the man
who apparently fires the mortar -- each man on a mortar team had his own
job.
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A mortar boat tied up at the riverbank. Note the tent
to give shelter to the men on duty.
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Commander Porter's Mortar Flotilla of Mortar Sloops
and Schooners
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Onboard a Federal mortar schooner
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The Federal Sidney C. Jones was
a mortar sloop and was located immediately south of Vicksburg. However, on
the approach of the Arkansas at Vicksburg 15 Jul 1862, the
Sidney C. Jones, its crew fearing an encounter with the ram, was run ashore and
set afire. The crew took to the woods of DeSoto peninsula.
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Ellet's Rams |
The Lancaster (left) and the Switzerland
The Ellet ram, Switzerland, at
right, with the Lancaster in the distance behind her. This drawing
depicts the moment the Lancaster was struck by shells while running
with the Switzerland past the Vicksburg bluffs on 25 Mar 1863. The Lancaster's
boiler was hit and exploded, and she was so damaged that she sank. Both
boats were also at Vicksburg during the First Siege in 1862. (Naval History
and Heritage Command, image number NH 59103; ORN I-20, pg. 23)
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The artist has entitled this sketch above, "Colonel
Ellet's ram fleet of the Mississippi." It is dated 1862. The "armor" of
these boats is made up at this time of timber and cotton bales. Steamers
have their initials between the smokestacks, indicating their names.
The seven Ellet rams were a small fleet of existing
ships that had been purchased in different places and reconstructed for ram
duty.
Four were side wheelers -- Queen of the West
(flagship), Monarch (in foreground above), Switzerland, and
Lancaster.
Three were stern wheelers -- Lioness,
Sampson, and Mingo.
In addition to the rams, two smaller stern wheel
tenders, the Fulton and Horner, were supply ships to the rams.
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The Ellet ram Queen of the West, one of the
three boats sent up the Yazoo to reconnoiter and encountered the new ram
Arkansas.
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Queen of the West. |
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Would all these vessels have fit
on the river at Vicksburg? |
The picture below is taken of the dock and river at
Vicksburg. It was apparently taken before 1865, as the James Watson, shown
in the photo at left, sank in March 1865. The
width of the river here is judged to be about one-half mile wide. Across the
water is the Desoto peninsula and the tiny community of Desoto. At this time
it appears to be a mixture of what appears to be houses and tents.
In 1876, the river cut through Desoto peninsula
south of Williams' canal, in effect, doing what Williams and Grant had
attempted to do with shovels, that is, cut Vicksburg off from the
Mississippi River. The peninsula became an island known as Desoto Island. Today,
the Yazoo Diversion Canal channels the Yazoo River past Vicksburg as it
continues south and joins the Mississippi. This canal is responsible for
keeping the city a thriving port on the river. |
In the
picture, across the river and through the treetops, one can see the water of
the Mississippi as it curves back to the north on the other side of the
peninsula. Here is where Commanders David Glasgow Farragut and Charles Henry
Davis anchored their vessels, out of reach of the Confederate batteries on
and below the bluffs. Their mortar boats and mortar sloops were anchored
along the far edges of the peninsula, out of sight of any artillery. They
were also anchored against the riverbanks, where they were hidden the brush
below Vicksburg. In 1862, the
large crowds that gathered on the bluffs of Vicksburg could easily see the
Arkansas fighting its way through the many vessels of the Federal
fleets in a struggle around the point of the peninsula (unseen to the right
in the picture) to arrive and and tie up at Vicksburg.
Note in the photo the smoke from the smokestacks
blowing in the southerly wind, and the horses and carts on the landing. |
Thanks to artist David Kleinman for repairing
and enhancing this photo. |
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Photo by Allan N. Leese |
Did the
Federals who camped on Desoto peninsula the summer of 1862 encounter this
creature? Or other wildlife? Probably not so
much, as Desoto was populated and had several large farms with cleared areas on it before the
Federals came. Also, the railroad station was there in Desoto, connected to
Vicksburg by a ferry that carried people, as well as the train itself,
across the river. The train traveled Desoto peninsula on a levee and service
was from Delta to Baton Rouge. Plans were, before the war, for the train service to
eventually terminate on the west coast.
This alligator is sunning on the bank of what is now
Desoto Island, across from Vicksburg. The photo was taken Oct 2010 by Allan N. Leese of Vicksburg, who
enjoys fishing the river. He writes, "My skiff is 15 ft. long and that
alligator was longer than my boat. As soon as I took his picture, he raised
his head up and looked at me. That's when I vacated the place and left it to
him! Saw him a couple of times later that month, but he is gone now. Guess
the floods moved him on his way." |
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Sources
Benton,
Brooklyn,
Carondelet,
Clifton
here and
here,
Dick Fulton
(an Ellis ram),
Essex
here and
here and
here, General
Bragg ORN Series I, Vol. 19,
Harriet Lane,
Hartford
here and
here,
Horace Beals,
A. Houghton
here and
here,
Iroquois,
Itasca,
J. C. Kuhn,
J. P. Jackson,
Katahdin,
Kennebec
here and
here (not pictured), Kineo
(ironclad gunboat)
here and
here and
here and
here,
Lancaster
(an Ellis ram),
Laurel Hill,
Lioness
(an Ellis ram),
Louisville,
Miami,
Mingo
(an Ellis ram), Monarch
(an Ellis ram)
here and
here,
Mortar boats
here and
here, Octorara
here and
here,
Oneida,
Pinola, |
Queen
of the West, Red Rover
(hospital ship)
here and
here,
Richmond
here and
here, Sciota
here and
here,
Sidney Jones,
Sumter,
Tyler,
Westfield,
Winona,
Wissahickon
(a gunboat, not pictured). Any image label beginning with NH comes from
Naval
History and Heritage Command.
Images not
found --
A. Houghton, Sumter, Norfolk
Packet, Matthew Vassar, Henry Janes, Sarah Bruen, Adolph Hugel, George
Mangham, Great Western
here
and
here
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Thanks to Bryan Skipworth and David Kleinman for
assistance with research for this page. |
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