Memphis I

Battle of Memphis
First Battle of Memphis

Alexander Simplot

Date: June 6, 1862
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Commanders: Union-Flag Officer Charles Davis, Col Charles Ellet Jr,
Confederate-James Montgomery
Strength: Union-5 ironclads, 2 rams, Confederate-8 rams
Casualties: Union- 1, Confederate- ~180
Result: Union Victory, Memphis falls to Federal control
Current Status: Municipal parks, unprotected

With the fall of Corinth Mississippi in mid-1862, Memphis Tennessee, the fifth largest city in the Confederacy was isolated and mostly evacuated. However the Confederate River fleet made up of eight cottonclads was unable to retreat due to the lack of coal. When an ad-hoc ironclad fleet of Federal gunboats and rams appeared at Memphis, led by Col. Charles Ellet Jr. the Confederate leaders elected to fight instead of burning the vessels. The fleets had previously fought on May 10, 1862 at Plumb Point Bend near Fort Pillow, when the Confederates bloodied the Union fleet before falling back. On June 3, 1862, while thousands of Memphis citizens watched here on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi, the two fleets clashed again.

Confederate battery positions overlooking the Mississippi

The Union ships lined up upstream and opened fire as the the Confederates advanced, then two Confederate rams charged ahead. The Federal flagship, the USS Queen of the West, then broke formation and charged, ramming into the CSS Colonel Lowell as seen in the photo above. The Queen of the West was rammed in turn by the other Confederate rams. Both fleets were civilian in nature, and it showed as the battle quickly degenerated into a chaotic demolition derby with rival ships ramming each other. In 90 minutes though, the better armed and armored Federal fleet destroyed the Confederate navy, the majority of which were sunk; only one ship, the CSS General Earl Van Dorn, managed to break off and flee towards Vicksburg. 

Col. Ellet, mortally wounded in the foot by a pistol shot, was the only Union casualty; Confederate losses are estimated at 180. With this victory, Union control of the Mississippi was assured, though no attempt was made to secure the river until months after the fact. 

Memphis also fell to Union occupation, excepting an exceptional Confederate raid in 1864. 

Much has changed on the site of this naval battlefield. The Mississippi River, a notoriously fickle river, has greatly changed its position, and the middle of the battle is now cut by Mud Island, while some of the old field of battle is now buried in farmland on either bank. This website has suggested some of the locations of the sunken Confederate ships: http://www.numa.net/expeditions/battle-of-memphis/

The largest preserved area are the bluffs from which Memphis citizens observed the battle. 

While a few Confederate batteries were said to be positioned here at the beginning of the war, when the Battle of Memphis occurred there were no land defenses; the batteries had been redeployed to fight at Shiloh. This park was defiantly named "Confederate Park" in 1901 and ironically when I visited the locals were all African-American. As of 2013, after much local controversy, the park has been renamed Memphis Park.

To visit Memphis Park, head to downtown Memphis.  It is located between Front St. , Riverside Dr., and Court Ave.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1481367,-90.0553756,17z?hl=en