The Civil War looks different in different parts of the country. The guerrilla actions in Missouri and Western North Carolina are a far cry from the large battles waged in North Georgia and Central Virginia. The same is true for the naval actions. Ships on blockade duty off Charleston Harbor are far different from the ironclad gunboats that steamed along the Mississippi River.
In 1861, the
Federal government began building special ironclads that were able to navigate
the Mississippi River. The USS Mound City was one of those ironclads.
Constructed in Mound City, Illinois, in 1861, she was 175 feet long in total
and drew five feet of water, with a speed of nine miles per hour. Her armament
consisted of thirteen cannons overall: thee 9-inch, six 32-pounders, and four
rifled 42-pounders, with a crew complement of 175 men.[1]
The Mound City steamed up and down the Mississippi River.
 |
| USS Mound City. |
Typically, an
ironclad would escort a mortar boat down the river to bombard Fort Pillow. On May 10, 1862, the Confederate River
Defense Fleet attacked at Plum Point Bend. Most of the Federal ironclads did
not have sufficient steam to maneuver. Three Confederate vessels, the CSS General
Brag, General Sumter, and General Sterling Price, rammed the USS Cincinnati;
the vessel later sank. The USS Carondelet and Mound City
arrived, and the CSS Earl Van Dorn rammed the Mound City, opening
a four-foot hole in the Federal ironclad. The captain was able to run the ship
ashore before it sank. The timber and cotton-clad rams of the Confederate fleet
were able to sink two ironclads with no losses. They moved off before the rest
of the Federal gunboats arrived.[2]
The Mound City was
repaired and rejoined the squadron. A month later, the Mound City took
part in an expedition up the White River in Arkansas to destroy Confederate gun
emplacements located at St. Charles, Arkansas. This would allow Federal vessels
to resupply a Union army under Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis. Curtis was
attempting to capture Little Rock but was stuck at Batesville due to a lack of
supplies. Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman constructed
fortifications near St. Charles to stop such an action. Besides the two
artillery batteries, three ships were scuttled in the river as obstructions.
Additional logs were floated down the river and driven into the bottoms to
further impede ships. The main battery consisted of two rifled 32-pounders
taken from the CSS Pontchartrain. The secondary position contained two,
3-inch Parrott rifles. Cannons were removed the CSS Maurepas before it
was scuttled, and added to the defenses. Overall, the Confederate force numbered
just seven cannons and 114 crewmembers, including 34 men from the 29th
Arkansas Infantry.[3]
Joseph Fry, a
former U.S. Naval Officer, the commander of the CSS Maurepas, was in
overall command.
The Federal
expedition was composed of several ships – the timberclads USS Conestoga,
New National, and White Cloud. Aboard the New National and
the Jacob were members of the 46th Indiana Infantry. Several
miles below St. Charles, two scouting parties, one on the land and one on the
river, were sent forward. They found the Confederate defenses but could not
determine their strength.[4]
On the morning of
June 17, Federal naval vessels began moving up the river. The Mound City
was in the lead. Confederate infantry, with a 12-pound howitzer, were sent as
sharpshooters along the riverbank. When within two and a half miles out from
the defenses, Confederates were spotted and the Mound City opened fire,
scattering the pickets. The Federal infantry disembarked on the shore, and,
with skirmishers posted, began to advance.[5]
The Mound City
began dueling with the shore batteries. Confederates were able to do much
damage against the ironclad, even before they fired what appears to be the
deadliest single shot of the entire war. The Mound City moved to steam past the
first battery when a solid shot struck near a gun port, killing three or four
gunners. Then, the shot ruptured one of the ship’s boilers, filling the ship
with scalding steam. Of the approximately 175 men on board, 125 were killed and
over twenty others were wounded. The Mound City floated down the river
and ran aground. Fry demanded that the remaining men onboard surrender. When
they refused, the Confederates opened fire, killing several.[6]
Additional Federal
gunboats moved up into the position, and the Federal infantry positioned
themselves to storm the works. With the Federals just fifty yards away, the
Confederates abandoned their works. Twenty-nine Confederates, including Fry,
were captured. Eight others were killed during the battle. The Mound City
was towed downstream and the Federals began working on clearing the
obstructions from the river. Many of the dead Federals were buried in a mass
grave near the lower battery. The Federals destroyed the earthworks,
transported the smaller cannons back to Memphis, and spiked the larger cannons,
dumping them in the river.[7]
What became of the USS Mound City? She was repaired and served in the Vicksburg Campaign, and later, the Red River Expedition. After the war, she was decommissioned and sold at public auction on November 9, 1865. The vessel was broken up in 1866.[8]
[1] Mirza,
Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks, 100.
[2] Symonds,
The Civil War at Sea, 111.
[3] Chatelain,
Defending the Arteries of Rebellion, 132, 181; Bearrs, “White River
Expedition, June 10-July 15, 1862.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 21
(4): 315-318.
[4] Bearrs,
“White River Expedition, June 10-July 15, 1862.” Arkansas Historical
Quarterly, 21 (4): 312-314.
[5] Bearrs,
“White River Expedition, June 10-July 15, 1862.” Arkansas Historical
Quarterly, 21 (4): 319-20.
[6] Barnhart,
“The Deadliest Shot,” Civil War Times, 45 (March/April 2006) 30-36
[7] Barnhart,
“The Deadliest Shot,” Civil War Times, 45 (March/April 2006) 30-36;
Hubbs, “A Rebel Shot Causes “Torture and Despair,” Naval History, 16
(2):46-50.
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