Thieves Of Mercy

THE BATTLE OF MEMPHIS

With Fort Pillow abandoned, there was nothing for the River Defense Fleet to do but drop down to Memphis and await the inevitable coming of the Yankee fleet (or fleets, actually, as the army rams and the navy gunboats were as separate as the River Defense Fleet was from the Confederate States Navy).

It was not a long wait. Fort Pillow was abandoned on the fourth of June, and the Yankees were ready to fight for Memphis on the morning of the sixth. The battle went as described in the book, the ironclads anchored in a line across the river, making a formidable defensive line, though it did not put them in a position to attack.

Luckily for the Yankees, Ellet was there and ready to bring the fight to the Confederates. Steaming through the Federal line, the Queen of the West and the Monarch boldly attacked the River Defense Fleet. The Queen struck the Colonel Lovell (sometimes called the General Lovell) amidships and sank her almost instantly. As the Queen was extracting herself, the Sumter struck her a blow that sheered off her paddle wheel and sent her out of the fight.

The ram Lancaster never got into the fight. The pilot, apparently for want of courage, backed and filled until he managed to disable her rudder. The Switzerland continued to obey her order to remain half a mile astern of Lancaster, and so she too did not get into the fight until most of the heavy work was done.

The chief of the battle was fought by the brothers Ellet in Queen of the West and Monarch. Between them, and with a little help from the gunboats’ cannonade and the accidental collision of the General Beauregard and General Price, they managed to sink or destroy nearly the entire River Defense Fleet. Only Van Dorn was able to escape, running south to the last major Rebel stronghold on the river, Vicksburg.

Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., shot in the leg by small-arms fire, was described by Flag Officer Davis as “seriously but not dangerously wounded.” Unfortunately, in the days before sterilization and antibiotics, even a minor wound could prove fatal. And so it was with Colonel Ellet. After fighting illness for a few weeks, he died on June twenty-first, in Cairo, Illinois, on his way home to recuperate. His wife, stricken with grief, died a few days later.

Command of the ram fleet devolved to his brother Alfred, and later his son. Ellet’s army rams proved their worth again and again during the protracted battle for control of western rivers.

With the capture of Memphis, the Mississippi was entirely in Union hands, save for the heavily fortified town of Vicksburg. It would be more than a year before that town was taken, on the Fourth of July, 1863, the same day that Lee’s battered army was retreating from Gettysburg. Only then would Lincoln be able to say that “the Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.”

Once again, I owe a great deal to Ed Donohoe, my friend and steam wizard. Thanks as well to a good friend and a wonderful novelist, Van Reid, for all of his support and, specifically, for suggesting some of the moments in this book. Thanks to Randy Smidy and Dave Frink for the steamboat information. Thanks to George and Amy Jepson and Tall Ships Books for their support over the years.

At HarperCollins, once again, I am grateful for the help of David Semanki and Hugh Van Dusen.

And in particular, I would like to thank Nat Sobel for everything he has done for me during my first decade as a writer.

And last, I would like to thank Lisa Nelson for… well… you know…