CSS ARKANSAS

The 'CSS ''Arkansas''' was a Confederate Ironclad warship during the American Civil War. Serving in the Western Theater, the vessel helped repulse a U.S. Navy fleet at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in a celebrated action.

Contents

History

Construction

Breaking through to Vicksburg

Under the Vicksburg bluffs

Final fight at Baton Rouge

Current Disposition

Some of the Federal Naval vessels engaged by CSS ''Arkansas'' at Vicksburg

US Army Western Gunboat Flotilla (Davis)

External links

History

Construction

The keel was laid down at Memphis, Tennessee, by J.T. Shirley during the winter of 1861–1862. In April 1862, ''Arkansas'' was removed to the Yazoo River in Mississippi to prevent its capture when Memphis fell to the Union Navy. Her sister ship, CSS ''Tennessee'', was burned in her dock because she could not escape.
In May 1862 Capt. Isaac N. Brown of the Confederate States Navy received orders at Vicksburg from the Navy Department in Richmond, Virginia, to proceed to Greenwood, Mississippi, and assumed command of the ''Arkansas''. His orders were to finish and equip the vessel. When Captain Brown arrived, he found a mere hull, without armor, engines in pieces, and guns without carriages. Supplies of railroad iron, intended as armor for the ship, was lying at the bottom of the river. A recovery mission was ordered, and the armor was pulled up out of the mud. Captain Brown then had the ''Arkansas'' towed to Yazoo City, where he enlisted the assistance of elements of the Confederate Army as construction crews. After five weeks of extraordinary make-do engineering under the hot summer sun, the ship had to leave due to falling river levels. She had been fully outfitted, except for the curved armor intended to surround her stern and pilot house. Boiler plate was stuck on these areas "for appearances sake".

Breaking through to Vicksburg

During this time, the Federal Navy had undertaken a naval blockade of Vicksburg with a large force made up of a squadron of ships that had come up from the Gulf of Mexico and a flotilla of United States Army rams from upriver. Admiral David Farragut was in overall command of the blockading force, which consisted of at least 10 ships of war, 6 ironclads, and 7 rams.
Soon thereafter, Captain Brown determined that the time had come to take the offensive against the blockading force. He crewed the ''Arkansas'' with about 60 Missouri soldiers. These soldiers had never served big guns, and most of them had probably never even served aboard a ship before. Brown stated "The only trouble they ever gave me was to keep them from running the ''Arkansas'' into the Union fleet before we were ready for battle." He then set sail for the Union fleet.
After approximately 15 miles (24 km), it was discovered that steam from the boilers had leaked into the forward magazine and rendered the gunpowder wet and useless. Captain Brown and his men found a clearing along the bank of the Yazoo River, landed the wet powder and spread it out on tarpaulins in the sun to dry. With constant stirring and shaking the powder was dry enough to ignite by sundown. ''Arkansas'' proceeded on her way.
After sunrise three Federal vessels were sighted steaming towards ''Arkansas''—the ironclad USS ''Carondelet'', the wooden gunboat USS ''Tyler'', and the ram USS ''Queen of the West''. The Federal vessels gave chase, and a running battle ensued. ''Carondelet'' was quickly disabled with a shot through her steering mechanism. Attention was turned to ''Tyler'' and the ram, which quickly turned away and ran for their fleet with the ''Arkansas'' pursuing.

Soon the massive Federal fleet of 20+ ships came into view around the river bend above Vicksburg, "a forest of masts and smokestacks...". Captain Brown determined to steam directly into the line, staying as close to the enemy vessels as possible in order to prevent his vessel being rammed and to sow confusion among the Federal ships. The ''Arkansas'' and its crew of Missouri "sailors" pounded their way through the midst of the enemy fleet and emerged on the other side bound for Vicksburg itself. The stunned Federal fleet did not pursue.
The ''Arkansas'' arrived at Vicksburg to the sound of enthusiastic cheering from the citizens and within sight of the lower Federal fleet. That night, the upper fleet that they had bloodied that morning attempted to join up with their compatriots and sink the ''Arkansas''. Before the ''Arkansas'' could sally forth, she was struck in the engines by a passing shot that caused considerable damage. The Vicksburg batteries forced the attacking vessels away from the ''Arkansas'', but could not prevent the two fleets from linking up below Vicksburg. The ''Arkansas'' lay at Vicksburg the following week, repairing under the less than effective plunging fire of the army's mortar rafts.

Under the Vicksburg bluffs

With repairs completed, the ''Arkansas'' again was able to menace its enemies, forcing them to keep up steam 24 hours a day in the hottest part of the summer. This grew quite tiresome, and the Federal commanders resolved to attack and destroy the ''Arkansas''. Attempts were made to ram the ''Arkansas'' by the USS ''Essex'' and the ''Queen of the West''. The ''Essex'' drifted away without power after being struck point-blank by an ''Arkansas'' broadside, and the ''Queen'' ended up being towed back to the upper fleet after both a broadside and a punch from the ''Arkansas's deadly bow gun. This battle took place in such close quarters than men from the ''Arkansas'' received powder burns from the Federal guns. The crew consisted of only twenty men after the battle.
After this defeat, the Federal commanders decided to end the blockade of Vicksburg for the time being, with the lower fleet heading south towards New Orleans, Louisiana, and the upper fleet back towards St. Louis, Missouri. The Union Navy would not reappear in front of Vicksburg for four welcome months, until after the ''Arkansas'' was gone. The greatest naval force ever assembled in the western hemisphere had been dispersed by a hastily built gunboat constructed in a swamp, with scrap metal, and manned by a handful of volunteer soldiers. It was hailed as one of the most incredible feats in naval history.

Final fight at Baton Rouge

With the siege at Vicksburg lifted, General Earl Van Dorn ordered the ''Arkansas'' to support a land attack at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The ''Arkansas'' departed under the command of her first officer, Lt. Charles Read, and without Captain Brown, who was ill at Grenada, Mississippi. Upon hearing this, Brown had himself placed on a train and angrily rushed to Vicksburg, where he found that she had left four hours before, his orders for the ''Arkansas'' to stay put had been overruled by Van Dorn with the support of another Navy officer.
The ''Arkansas'' broke down within sight of the Federal fleet in front of Baton Rouge. Efforts were made by the crew to repair the cranky engines even as the enemy steamed toward them. The first officer, seeing that he could bring no guns to bear on the approaching enemy, ordered most of his men ashore and with the help of a few other officers, set fire to his vessel. Within minutes she exploded, her colors still flying.

Current Disposition

The Arkansas currently rests, aligned north/south, deep under a levee roughly 1.4 miles south of the auto/rail bridge just below Free Negro Point. The wreck is 690 feet past river mile 233.

Some of the Federal Naval vessels engaged by CSS ''Arkansas'' at Vicksburg

=== US Navy West Gulf Blockading Squadron (Farragut) ===

★ USS ''Hartford'' - screw sloop, Federal flagship

★ USS ''Iroquois'' - steam sloop

★ USS ''Sciota'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Richmond'' - steam sloop

★ USS ''Oneida'' - steam sloop

★ USS ''Winona'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Pinola'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Wissahickon'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Sumter'' - captured ram

★ USS ''Kennebec'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Kineo'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Katahdin'' - steam gunboat

★ USS ''Cayuga'' - steam gunboat

US Army Western Gunboat Flotilla (Davis)

★ USS ''Essex'' - ironclad gunboat

★ USS ''Benton'' - ironclad gunboat

★ USS ''Carondelet'' - ironclad gunboat

★ USS ''Louisville'' - ironclad gunboat

★ USS ''Cincinnati'' - ironclad gunboat

★ USS ''Lancaster'' - ram

★ USS ''General Bragg'' - captured cottonclad steamer

★ USS ''Queen of the West'' - steam ram

★ USS ''Tyler'' - timberclad steamer

★ with 6 mortar rafts and 9 transports as auxiliary vessels
(Note: Army vessels are designated here with the designation USS for the sake of consistency).

External links

★ Missouri Volunteers Aboard CSS Arkansas

★ US Naval Historical Center entry

★ NUMA Mississippi River Expedition