CSS ''General Beauregard'' was a cottonclad sidewheel

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

of the

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Built in

Algiers, Louisiana Algiers is a historic neighborhood of New Orleans and is the only Orleans Parish community located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Algiers is known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. It was once home to many jazz m ...

in 1847 as a towboat, the paddle steamer ''Ocean'' was selected in January 1862 by Capt. James E. Montgomery, former river steamboat master, for his River Defense Fleet. At

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, on 25 January, Captain Montgomery began her conversion to a cotton-clad

, installing oak and iron sheathing over her bow, with cotton bales sandwiched between double pine bulkheads to protect her boilers.

Service history

Battle of Plum Point Bend

Conversion completed on 5 April, and now renamed CSS ''General Beauregard'', the ship steamed to Fort Pillow,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, to defend the approaches to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. On 10 May 1862, ''General Beauregard'', Capt. J. H. Hart, and seven more of Montgomery's fleet, attacked the Federal Mississippi ironclad flotilla. The

Battle of Plum Point Bend The Battle of Plum Point Bend took place on the Mississippi River in Tennessee, U.S., between ships of the Confederate River Defense Fleet and the Federal Western Flotilla on May 10, 1862. Fighting for control of the Mississippi River had ...

witnessed effective ramming tactics by the Confederates, although ''General Beauregard'' succeeded only in keeping her four 8-inch guns bravely firing in the face of a withering hail of Union shells. Montgomery's force held off the Federal rams until Fort Pillow was safely evacuated, 4 June, then fell back on Memphis to coal, on the fifth.

Battle of Memphis

After Fort Pillow fell,

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

Charles Henry Davis Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was an American rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the U.S. Coast Survey, he researched tides and currents, and located an uncharted shoal that had caused wrecks off of the coast of New Yor ...

, USN, commanding the

Mississippi River Squadron The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and w ...

, lost no time in appearing off Memphis, on 6 June 1862. Montgomery, with a smaller squadron short of fuel, was unable to retreat to Vicksburg; unwilling to destroy his boats, he fought against heavy odds. In the ensuing

Battle of Memphis The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately North of the city of Memphis, Tennessee on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. ...

, "witnessed by thousands on the bluff," ''Beauregard'' unluckily missed ramming and "cut away entirely the port wheel and wheel-house" of her partner, CSS ''General Sterling Price'', also engaging ''Monarch''. ''General Beauregard'', backing out, gave Union flagship a close broadside with a 42-pounder, and ''Benton'' replied with a shot into the Confederate's boiler, killing or scalding many of her crew, 14 of whom, in agony, were rescued by ''Benton''. ''General Beauregard'' exploded and was sinking fast as ''Monarch'' captured the rest of her complement and took her in tow towards the Arkansas shore, where the wreck remained for a short time partially visible in shoal water.

References

External links

Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: CSS ''General Beauregard''
{{DEFAULTSORT:General Beauregard Cottonclad rams of the Confederate States Navy Ships built in New Orleans 1847 ships Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Maritime incidents in June 1862

Service history

Battle of Plum Point Bend

Battle of Memphis

See also

References

External links