Naval battle of the American Civil War
The Battle of Plum Point Bend took place in Tennessee during the American Civil War on May 10, 1862, on the Mississippi River, between ships of the Confederate River Defense Fleet and the Union Western Flotilla. Fighting for control of the Mississippi had been ongoing since the prior year as Union forces pushed downriver to Fort Pillow, about north of Memphis. The Union had been using mortar boats to bombard Fort Pillow, and had settled into a regular routine. The Union's daily tactic was to send a single mortar boat guarded by an ironclad warship to a position further downriver to shell the fort, while the rest of the fleet remained upriver. On the morning of May 10, the Confederates attacked in the hope of capturing the guard ironclad and then surprising the rest of the Union fleet.
When the attack came, most of the Union ironclads did not have steam pressure built up and so were unprepared to move. Three of the eight Confederate vessels, CSS "General Bragg", CSS "General Sterling Price", and CSS "General Sumter", rammed the guard ironclad, USS "Cincinnati"; the Union vessel later sank from her damage. Two further ironclads were able to steam from the main group upriver and join the action: USS "Carondelet" and USS "Mound City". In turn, CSS "General Earl Van Dorn" rammed "Mound City"; the Union vessel was damaged so severely that she was later run aground on a shoal, where she sank.
A third Union ironclad, USS "Benton", arrived later in the fighting. The Union ironclads had lighter drafts than the Confederate vessels and maneuvered into shallower water where they were safe from Confederate ramming attempts. As the Confederate ships' guns were inferior to those of the Union ships, the Confederates withdrew, pursued by "Benton" and "Carondelet". Several of the Confederate ships were damaged during the battle. The loss of "Cincinnati" and "Mound City" prompted the Union to strengthen the waterline of their ships. The two ironclads were refloated and returned to service. The battle was a Confederate victory, but with little long-term benefit. The bombardment of Fort Pillow resumed after the battle with altered procedures, and on June 4, the fort was abandoned as the Confederates withdrew from Corinth, Mississippi. On June 6, the River Defense Fleet was destroyed in the First Battle of Memphis, and the Union gained control of the Mississippi River in July 1863. Plum Point Bend was among the few fleet actions of the war.
Background.
When the American Civil War began in April 1861, both the United States and Confederate governments viewed control of the Mississippi River as vital. In September, Confederate forces moved north and captured the town of Columbus, Kentucky, which was on the Mississippi. In February 1862, Union forces commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant captured Confederate positions at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, which had commanded the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. This compelled the Confederates to abandon western Kentucky including Columbus; the next Confederate stronghold was at Island No. 10 further downriver. The naval component of the Union effort, known as the Western Flotilla, was commanded by Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote.
Union land forces captured abandoned Confederate defensive works at New Madrid, Missouri on March 14. A few Union ships ran past the Island No. 10 defenses on the nights of April 4/5 and April 6/7 and the position was captured on April 8. The campaign then moved south to Fort Pillow, about north of Memphis, Tennessee. Foote's Union vessels pursued the retreating Confederates. On April 12, Union ships moved to within a few miles of the fort and bombarded the position with a mortar boat. The core of this flotilla was a group of seven ironclad warships – USS "Benton", USS "Carondelet", USS "Pittsburgh", USS "Cincinnati", USS "Mound City", USS "Cairo", and USS "St. Louis" – in addition to a collection of lesser vessels, including the mortar boats. "Cairo", "St. Louis", "Pittsburgh", "Mound City", "Carondelet", and "Cincinnati" were City-class ironclads, which were designed to have a shallow draft, iron armor, and an armament of thirteen cannons. "Benton" had been converted from a civilian snagboat and was armed with sixteen cannons.
The Union routine was to send a single mortar boat guarded by an ironclad in a position closer to the fort, with the rest of the fleet upriver; the boats would rotate on or off bombardment duty every day. Foote issued orders for the boats to be in a state of combat readiness at all times. Captain Charles Henry Davis took command of the Union squadron on May 9, as Foote was struggling to recover from a wound. Bends in the river allowed the Union to take up bombardment positions not directly exposed to Confederate fire from the fort. At Plum Point Bend, the channel of the Mississippi River diverged in two; the channels rejoined and then rounded Craighead Point to pass Fort Pillow; the Union vessels took positions between Plume Point Bend and Craighead Point.
While several Confederate vessels were sent to other threatened locations, Captain James Montgomery and eight cottonclad rams known as the River Defense Fleet, were located off Fort Pillow. The cottonclads were converted civilian vessels with strengthened bows and were lightly protected with cotton as a form of armor. They were faster and more maneuverable than the ironclads, but most were only armed with one or two cannons each. Montgomery and the commanders of his ships held a council of war on May 9, and decided to attack. The plan was to overwhelm the isolated mortar boat and ironclad. After capturing the ironclad, they expected that the larger Union fleet could be surprised and defeated and that the attack could drive as far upriver as Cairo, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The crews of the cottonclads were strengthened by men from M. Jeff Thompson's (a Brigadier General in the Missouri State Guard) land force from the Missouri State Guard. Thompson was present on the cottonclad CSS "General Bragg". The various ships were issued written orders, as Montgomery did not believe that his sailors were capable of accurately using signalling methods during battle. The Confederate vessels were arranged with the fastest at the front and the slowest to the rear in order to provide the Union with the minimum amount of reaction time after the ships were spotted.
Battle.
On the morning of May 10, the two Union ships on bombardment duty were "Mortar Boat No. 16" and "Cincinnati". Naval historian Neil P. Chatelain states that the Confederate vessels passed through Plum Point Bend and approached the two Union ships at around 6:30am, while historian Ed Bearss states that the Confederate advance began at 6:00am, before rounding Plum Point Bend at 7:25am. The Union ironclads did not have sufficient steam pressure built up to operate effectively, and the rest of Davis's fleet was upstream. "Cincinnati", in particular, was caught by surprise: her crew was performing routine tasks such as holystoning the decks. The vessel cast off her moorings, but steam pressure for her engines had not been maintained, and she was not able to maneuver effectively. "General Bragg" was the forward Confederate ship, and her commander, Captain W. H. H. Leonard, ordered the ship to be accelerated to ram "Cincinnati". The ironclad opened fire on the Confederate vessel. The mortar boat also fired her mortars at the Confederates, although there were no direct hits. "General Bragg" was still able to ram "Cincinnati" on the starboard quarter.
The blow left a hole in the side of "Cincinnati". However, the ram had struck a glancing blow, and the hole was insufficient to sink the vessel. "General Bragg'"s ram was briefly stuck in the hull of the Union vessel, and "Cincinnati" was able to fire another volley into the Confederate ship. The collision spun the two ships 180 degrees. More Union fire struck "General Bragg" while the Confederate vessel was maneuvering back from "Cincinnati", and a shot struck the tiller rope of "General Bragg". The damage forced the vessel out of the action as she could not be maneuvered. The main Union force had become aware of the attack when Union lookouts spotted the smoke clouds from the Confederate vessels at about 6:00am or 6:30am. "Carondelet" had steam pressure built up in preparation for movement, and "Mound City" was quickly able to move as well, but "Pittsburgh", "Benton", "Cairo", and "St. Louis" were unprepared, despite prior orders to keep their steam up.
Before "Cincinnati" could recover from the blow struck by "General Bragg", CSS "General Sterling Price" rammed the ironclad. "Cincinnati" had her sternpost and rudder destroyed by the blow. The ironclad then swung out of control into an angle that allowed a third Confederate ship, CSS "General Sumter", to ram her. The blow struck "Cincinnati" in the fantail. The commander of "General Sumter" offered "Cincinnati" terms of surrender, but was rejected. Water rushed into "Cincinnati", putting out the fires for her engines and flooding her magazine. The crew of "Cincinnati" was sent to the decks, ready to defend against a boarding attempt. Sharpshooters on "General Sumter" fired on the ironclad, severely wounding her commander, Commander R. N. Stembel. "Mound City" and "Carondelet" had arrived at close range after about 10 or 15 minutes, but had been unable to fire for fear of hitting "Cincinnati". The situation on "Cincinnati" had become one of attempting to get her into shallow water before the ship sank. "General Sterling Price" and "General Sumter" pulled back from "Cincinnati" enough that "Mound City" and "Carondelet" were able to open fire, and "Benton" had entered range for supporting fire.
A shot from "Carondelet" struck "General Sterling Price", damaging the supply pipes for her boiler, knocking the Confederate ship out of the fight. "General Sumter" was also damaged by a "Carondelet" shot and forced to withdraw from the battle. CSS "General Earl Van Dorn" advanced towards "Mound City", intending to ram her, all the while firing at the mortar boat, which was hit by two shots. No one aboard the mortar boat was injured. "Mound City" fired on "General Earl Van Dorn", but did little damage. "Mound City" unsuccessfully moved to avoid getting rammed, but "General Earl Van Dorn" struck the Union ship. The blow badly damaged the ironclad's bow, almost tearing it off. As a result of the collision, "Mound City" was pushed aside while "General Earl Van Dorn" kept going forward; the Confederate vessel briefly ran aground. "Mound City" was ordered to the west bank of the Mississippi River by her commanding officer, Commander Augustus Kilty. The commander of "General Earl Van Dorn", Captain Isaac Fulkerson, was wounded during the action. Fulkerson noticed that his vessel was further upriver than the other Confederate ships and was isolated, so he ordered his vessel to withdraw. Bearss reports CSS "Little Rebel" attempted to ram "Mound City", but was damaged by a shot from "Benton" and withdrew, but historian Edward B. McCaul argues that no second Confederate ship attempted to ram "Mound City" and that "Benton'"s commander's account of the incident was not accurate.
At this point, the fighting was largely down to "Carondelet" and "Benton" facing off against CSS "General M. Jeff Thompson", CSS "Colonel Lovell", and CSS "General Beauregard". The battle was almost over by the time the three trailing Confederate vessels arrived. The Union vessels had lighter drafts than the Confederate ones, and they entered shallower water where the Confederates could not ram them. Montgomery was aware that the quantity and quality of his ships' cannons were inferior to the Union ironclads, and ordered a withdrawal. "Carondelet" was forward of the other still-functioning Union ships, and came under fire from the Confederate vessels and accidental undershots from "Pittsburgh" to the rear.
"Benton" and "Carondelet" pursued the retreating Confederate vessels, but broke off before reaching the batteries at Fort Pillow. "St. Louis" and "Pittsburgh" arrived on the scene. The former and "Cairo" attempted to save "Mound City", but the latter vessel was intentionally run aground onto a shoal, where she sank. "Pittsburgh" was aiding "Cincinnati" in reaching the eastern shore, but before she could do so "Cincinnati" sank in of water. By the time "St. Louis" reached the site of the battle, the Confederates had withdrawn. According to Bearss, the fighting lasted about 70 minutes, while McCaul argues for a time frame of 30 to 60 minutes. Of