As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
A Marine landing in Tennessee sounds as odd as a foreigner in the White House, but in the study of the inland water war in the American Civil War, there is the first combined Naval and Army landing at Iron Banks on the Cumberland.
It was a quite amazing land battle as the gunboat steamers, Tyler under Commander Walke and Lexington under Commander Stembel, which were transporting 3000 Soldiers under the command of General Grant who landed the Soldiers at Belmont, across from Columbus and the Confederate guns.
The Confederate forces were easily vanquished on shore by the Union Soldiers, and the Tyler and Lexington engaged the Iron Banks batteries of the Confederates which were throwing shells easily at the Union boats, as the Confederates evacuated on their own transports.
Commander Walke ordered the ships out of Confederate range as this operation by General Grant was simply a diversion to occupy the South.
The Union Soldiers were lapse in returning to the Tyler and Lexington, flush with their victory as the Confederates pressed on to the shore. The Union gunboats opened fire with cannister and grape and mowed down the Confederate ranks.
Most of the Soldiers collected, the Union boats went back up river, with the Tyler losing one man KIA and two WIA.
On arrival, General McLernand, noting that not all the Soldiers had not been collected, send the two gunboats down the river into the jaws of the Confederates.
All went especially well, in the Soldiers were collected and 40 more prisoners were taken.
This was the first Naval battle and landing inside America and was quite a hot zone, but the gun boats in these water tanks were remarkable in this battle.
The history of firepower on the American freshwater. You do not have to go to Omaha Beach in France or Iwo Jima to find landing zones. Americans landed on American shores which were river front properties.
MC
agtG
