As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I have fascination with hidden history, and a real affection for Naval warfare on inland waters, where line ships could never operate and it is simply a death clutch warfare between opponents.
The greatest Naval Battle of the Civil War was fought at Memphis in Tennessee. It was a peculiar thing in the contest was one of two types of warcraft in "rams" which were ships with spikes on the bow to ram other ships, and gunboats which resembled turtles in being partially armour clad, slove moving boats with cannons.
All were steam powered and the Battle of Memphis was one which saw introduced the rams of the Union for the first time in battle. The Ram is akin to the battle method of the Greek warships of long ago. They were highly effective in being lighter and faster ships than the turtles.
The Union rams were the brian child of Colonel Charles Ellet jr. He purchased under orders from Sec of War Stanton, 7 river boats, of a size of 170 feet long, 31 feet wide and drafts of 5 to 8 feet.
These were conversions to military use and employed timber bulkheads of 12 to 16 inches thick from bow to stern. These were then joined together by metal rods, side to side.
The boilers were enclosed in 2 feet thick oak planking to protect them, and by this, the entire speed and timbers from front to back, made a massive energy transfer of the entire weight of the ship when ramming another vessel.
Ellet, did not think the ships would survive an engagement, but believed that they would at least take to the bottom the ships they attacked.
He took his ships down river to join the established gunboat fleet on June 5th, where they met the Confederate rams of the River Defense Fleet.
Montgomery was in command of the Confederate fleet comprised of Montgomery's command of 8 ships, which had 2 to 4 guns each. There names were, the Generals Van Dorn, Beauregard, Thompson, Bragg, Price, Sumpter, Lovell and the Little Rebel.
The Union turtles were five named the Benton as the flag ship and largest, the Cairo, Louisville, Carondelet and St. Louis.
These were added to by the Queen of the West commanded by Colonel Ellet, and the Monarch, commanded by his younger brother, Lt. Col. A.W. Ellet.
In this battle the Confederates did not make the mistakes of the first engagement nor did the Union, in all kept their order of battle in the Confederates forming two lines for the ram attack.
The Confederates opened the battle with one of their cannon, and at that the Ellet's slipped line and were soon steaming down the river, weaving in between the slower turtles. There speed and appearance surprised the Confederates as the Queen dashed in and struck the Lovell, sinking her in deep water.
The Beuregard immediately rammed the Queen and disabled her and she ran to the Arkansas shore where Col. Ellet having received a pistol shot died from the wound later.
The Monarch was in the attack and the Beauregard and the Price both attempted to ram her, but missed the Monarch and instead the Beauregard rammed the Price tearing off her port wheel and cutting her down to waterline.
The Monarch then turned on the Beauregard and rammed her, as she was firing at the Benton. The Benton fired on the Confederate, hitting her boiler which blew up and scalded most of her crew.
The Monarch towed the Beauregard to shore where she sank.
The Little Rebel in the hardest of the fighting was shot through her steam chest and limped to the shores of Arkansas too where her crew escaped.
The Confederates now being greatly outnumbered retreated down river, and a running fight took place over the next 10 miles with the Union boats in pursuit.
The Thompson was destroyed by fire from the gunboats and the Sumter and Bragg captured. The lone Confederate vessel which escaped was the Van Dorn, outdistancing the speedy rams of the Union in the Monarch and the recently arrived Switzerland.
The Battle of Memphis ended the River Defence Fleet of the South. The six ships below were neutralized by Admiral Farragut, and the Bragg, Price, Sumpter and Little Rebel became part of the Union fleet.
This was a fine showing by all in battle, but the gunboats proved their worth when in conjunction with the skirmishing of the Union rams as diversion. Given that time, the turtles were allowed to keep their armour forward and their hulls away from the rams.
When the Confederate rams turned to flee, they were faster, but the water current assisted the turtles in speed, and the result was more raking fire from the turtles and the capture of the remaining Confederate fleet.
This battle would have made a lovely movie for it was high drama, and of interest as there were two methods of warfare in the ancient ram and the introduction of the Freshwater Destroyer. It was the beginning of the dreadnaughts or the battleships in these little turtles, and all of these ships required captainship in dealing with currents, water hazards and the maneuvering to attack the enemy while protecting ones own ship.
None of this warfare had been attempted since the Greek and Roman era. It had evolved under sailing ships to use cannon for non contact warfare, but in these river battles, the new era combined the old, and created a new era for the battleship.
The Battle of Memphis was the turning point in the Naval warfare of the Civil War. Yet no one knows of these Heroes and the events of these United States at war.
agtG
