The Battle of St Charles

8/9/2019 The Battle of St Charles

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The BattleThe BattleThe BattleThe Battleofofofof

St. CharlesSt. CharlesSt. CharlesSt. Charles, Arkansas, Arkansas, Arkansas, Arkansas

17 June, 186217 June, 186217 June, 186217 June, 1862

Harvey Hanna

2010


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bout 10:30 A.M. on the morning of the 17th of June, 1862 what has been called

the most destructive single shot (Bearss 1962) of the War for Southern

Independence was fired by Confederate gunners in St. Charles, Arkansas against

the ironclad gunboat U.S.S. Mound City. A 64 pound solid shot punched through the sloped

armour of the port fore-quarter of the gun deck, killing three gunners before striking the steam

drum1 and filling the ship with high pressure vapour, instantly scalding all but 26 of the 175 man

crew. Of these 105 were either killed outright or were unlucky enough to survive the incident,

only to die in agony days and weeks later. (Stewart 1910)

In 1860s eastern Arkansas the rivers were usually the best, or only, means of

transportation of goods. Only one railroad, the Memphis & Little Rock, was in operation, but in

two sections. One stretch ran from Hopefield on the Mississippi, near present day West

Memphis, to Madison on the St. Francis, about 38 miles.2

The next section ran from De Valls

A


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Bluff to Huntersville on the Arkansas River, now North Little Rock, about 40 miles. Between

was a 36 mile wide gap, much of which was swamp. Because of this breach in the direct line,

and the rough stagecoach ride between the two rail heads, many travelers elected to travel by

steamboat from Memphis down the Mississippi, up the White to De Valls Bluff, then take the

train for the remainder of the journey. (Fair 1998)

St. Charles is located on the west bank of the White River about 30 miles north of its

terminus at the Arkansas River. Founded in 1851 by Colonel Charles Belknap on a portion of

Spanish Grant 2424, it had been the site of the St. Charles fur trading post opened by Pedro

Pedturis in 1797. (Henderson 1957) The town is located on a bluff just south of where the White,

after flowing from the east, makes a hard bend south. This would prove of strategic importance

during the War Between the States. Here a relatively small garrison with artillery could easily

interdict steamboat traffic on the river.

In March of 1862, after defeating General Earl Van Dorn at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern

(Pea Ridge)3,Arkansas, General Samuel Ryan Curtis led his 10,000 man strong Army of the

Southwest across southern Missouri to West Plains to prevent Confederate forces in Arkansas

from liberating Missouri from Union control.

Following Elkhorn Tavern, Van Dorn led his army across the Mississippi to link up with

General Albert Sidney Johnstons forces at Corinth, Mississippi in order to stop General Ulysses

S. Grants invasion of the middle South. On receipt of this intelligence, General Henry Halleck,

commander of the Union Western Theatre of Operations, ordered Curtis to invade the now

nearly defenseless State of Arkansas and take Little Rock. (Bearss 1962)

Curtis moved into Arkansas on the 29th

of April and occupied Batesville on the 2nd

of

May, then on to Jacksonport on the White River in Jackson County. Here his plan began to fall


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apart. General Thomas Hindman had assembled a scratch

force of Texas cavalry and newly raised Arkansas

regiments that, with a combination of guerilla warfare and

cavalry raiding, frustrated the Army of the Southwest in the

offensive against Little Rock. (Sutherland 1993)

To add to their woes, the Yankee army had quickly

stripped the area surrounding Jacksonport of foodstuffs, and

with a supply

line stretching all the way to St. Louis, a distance of

250 miles, Curtis and his men found themselves in

trouble. (Bearss 1962) A plan was then made to

march from Batesville to Clarendon, rendezvous

with supplies and reenforcements sent up the White

River from Memphis, and move on Little Rock with

a strenghtened army. (Stewart 1910)

On the 13th

of June a flotilla of gunboats and

transports left Memphis under the direction of

Commander Augustus H. Kilty. The City class

ironclad4

gunboats Mound City5

and St. Louis, the

wooden gunboatsLexington and Conestoga and the armed tug Tiger, were detailed as escorts for

3 transports, the New National, Jacob Musselman and White Cloud. Aboard these were loaded

supplies for Curtis army and the nearly 1000 man strong 46th

Indiana Infantry under the

command of Colonel Graham N. Fitch. (Stewart 1910)

Colonel Graham N. Fitch, 46th Indiana, USV

Commander Augustus H. Kilty, USN


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Union gunboats to stop under the fortifications at St. Charles and give an edge to the heavy shore

barreries in the coming duel. (Dunnington 1885) By dawn of the 17th the gunboat and transports

had been scuttled and the Gunners and infantry were at their post.

The heavy guns had been left

aboard Maurepas, but a 12-pounder

howitzer had been brought ashore and

placed 400 yards downstream with three

2.9-inch Parrott rifles crewed by sailors

from Maurepas under the command of

Midshipman F.M. Roby. On the morning

of the 17th

Captain Fry took command of

the battery as the Union gunboats raised

steam and started upriver. (Stewart 1910)

79 sailors from Maurepas and 100 men

from Company G, Pleasants 29th

Arkansas Regiment garrisoned St.

Charles, but as there were only 35 rifles,

the unarmed soldiers were sent upriver. Leaving a total force of 114 soldiers and sailors. The

sailors manning the artillery had only single shot pistols for personal defense, leaving them

nearly helpless if attacked by infantry. (Dunnington 1885)

The Federal plan was for the 46th

Indiana to be landed about 2 miles below St. Charles

and move by land on the town, while the gunboats would move forward to engage the batteries

Captain Joseph Fry, CSN


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and provide covering fire for the infantry. At 9:00 A.M. this plan was put into effect. (Fitch

1885)

Skirmishers from the 46th

Indiana quickly drove the Confederate picketts back toward

toward St. Charles as the bulk of the regiment formed up and began to move toward the town.

(Bringhurst 1888) While the infantry picked its way forward, the Mound City and St. Louis

slowly moved up river single file probing the Confederate position with fire from the six 8-inch

smoothbores7 in the bows of the two ironclads. (Stewart 1910) The light guns under the direction

of Captain Fry engaged the

gunboats, but the 8 and 12

pound shells from the field

guns made no impression on

the armoured sides of the

ships. The 42 and 32-pounder

broadside guns ofMound City

and St. Louis returned the fire

with canister and shells, but

did little damage to the entrenched sailors. (Dunnington 1885)

Continuing past the lower battery, Captain Kilty directed the gunners to concentrate their

fire on the first of the rifled 32-pounders mounted at St. Charles. The second 32-pounder,

mounted further upriver at a higher elevation, began firing onMound City and at about half past

ten a 64 pound solid shot from the upper battery penetrated the 2 inch thick rolled iron armour

plate above the port bow gunport, killed three gunners in flight, then ruptured the steam drum of

the ironclad. High pressure steam literally cooked the Mound City crew. Men on the St. Louis

One of the rifled 32 pounders emplaced at St. Charles

by the Confederate Navy.


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were horrified to see clouds of vapour boil out of the gunports and hatches of the stricken ship.

(Stewart 1910) At least 80 men were killed instantly, some with the flesh scalded from their

bodies, others rolled in agony, while all who could tried to get out of the ship and away from the

scalding water spewing from the pressurized boiler. Losing power, Mound City began to drift

downstream toward Captain Frys battery as sailors took to boats or jumped over the side to

escape the death trap the gunboat had become.

Captain Fry called out on the remaining crew to lower the flag and surrender the ship, but

no one heeded his command and what happened next became a stain on his reputation that would

not be removed. Some of the Confederate infantry began firing on the Yankee sailors in the

water, killing several. Captain Fry was accused of ordering the soldiers to fire on the helpless

men, but an examination the Appendix to the Official Records show that Captain A. M. Williams

ordered the shooting in order to prevent the sailors from escaping capture. (Williams 1885)

Acoording to the Laws of War this order was justified because the flag on Mound City had not

been struck and the ship surrendered. It was legal, but not right, to order the shootings and

Captain Fry, who was at that point still 400 yards downstream, was blamed and tarred a

murderer. (Walker 1874)

While the tragedy of the Mound City was being played out, the 46th Indiana had moved

close to the town and forced the abandonment of the lower battery. As the right flank of the

Union infantry moved into town, the left flank curved around and began to surround the upper

battery. (Fitch 1885) The poorly armed Confederate gunners under Lieutenant Dunnington fled

into the woods while Captain Fry, who had been severely wounded in the shoulder while

retreating from the lower battery, was captured before he could make it to the woods, along with

some 20 others.


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Confederate losses were about 6 killed and 20 captured. Union losses were 107 killed and

mortally wounded and about 70 wounded, including Captain Kilty. Almost all of the Union

losses were aboard the Mound City, the infantry suffered only a few losses in the engagement.

(Bringhurst 1888)

After the action, the depleted Union flotilla continued upriver to Clarendon in its quest to

link up with the Army of the West. This never happened. The falling water level in the White

River, threatening to strand the steamers far from resupply, forced the convoy back downriver.

The slowness of Curtis army in its march, and the loss of at least a full day after the battle at

Cotton Plant, found the exhausted Yankee foot sloggers stumbling into Clarendon on the 9

th

of

July. One day after the departure of the fleet. (Bearss 1962)

A monument commemorating both sides

was erected in the early 20th Century by the son of

the Irish born master of the Mound City, William

Hickman Harte. The names of the dead are

engraved on the granite shaft, which stands in the

middle of Main Street. Also in St. Charles are both

of the 32 pounder rifles brought in by Lieutenant

Dunnington. After the battle the Federal troops

pushed both guns into the river, they were

retrieved just after the First World War.

(Henderson 1957) Both the Monument and the

Battery sites are on the National Register. A

museum located in the City Hall tells the story of the battle and the history of St. Charles.


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1High pressure cylinder located above tube boilers. Super heated water and live steam is stored here

until separated. From here live steam flowed through intake tubes at pressures up to 180 pounds per

square inch into the cylinders of the reciprocating engines. Lower temperature, but still boiling, liquid

water would be recycled through the boiler tubes. (Thurston 1878)2

Madison stands on the west side of the St. Francis River and a railroad bridge was completed 30

September, 1861, allowing the locomotive and trains to enter the city. The bridge was equipped with a

centre pivot turntable to allow steamboats to pass; the locomotive was rotated on this drawbridge for

the return trip to Hopefield. (Huff 1964)

3From the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission website- On the night of March 6, Maj. Gen. Earl Van

Dorn set out to outflank the Union position near Pea Ridge, dividing his army into two columns. Learning

of Van Dorns approach, the Federals marched north to meet his advance on March 7. This movement

compounded by the killing of two generals, Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch and Brig. Gen. James McQueen

McIntosh, and the capture of their ranking colonelhalted the Rebel attack. Van Dorn led a second

column to meet the Federals in the Elkhorn Tavern and Tanyard area. By nightfall, the Confederates

controlled Elkhorn Tavern and Telegraph Road. The next day, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, having

regrouped and consolidated his army, counterattacked near the tavern and, by successfully employing

his artillery, slowly forced the Rebels back. Running short of ammunition, Van Dorn abandoned the

battlefield. The Union controlled Missouri for the next two years. (National Parks Service 2009)

4

Excerpt from Federal Warships in Tennessee- "City" Class Ironclads The powerful vessels within this

highly successful class of ironclads were named for cities along Northern rivers. First launched in 1861

and eventually completed in early 1862, they were constructed under a contract with James Eads, an

engineer from St. Louis. The hulls were built at Mound City (Illinois) and Carondelet (Missouri), while

the engines came from St. Louis (Missouri) and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and the armour was provided

by firms at Portsmouth (Ohio) and Newport (Kentucky). These heavily armoured - and heavily armed -

ironclads formed the backbone of the Federal river forces. (Johnson 2001)

5Excerpt from Naval Historical Centre- USS Mound City, a 512-ton Cairo class ironclad river gunboat,

built at Mound City, Illinois, for the U.S. Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla. was commissioned in January

1862. She was actively engaged in combat operations during the later winter and spring of 1862,

participating in the action at Columbus, Kentucky, in February, the capture of the Island Number Ten

fortress in March and April, and operations against Fort Pillow in May. She was twice rammed by

Confederate steamers off Fort Pillow on 10-11 May, requiring her withdrawal for repairs.


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Mound City returned to action in June and was badly damaged by enemy cannon fire during a

bombardment at St. Charles, Arkansas. Repaired again, she was involved in operations in the Yazoo

River, Vicksburg and Grand Gulf campaigns during 1862-63. In March-May 1864, Mound City

participated in the Red River expedition. Her activities during the remainder of the Civil War involved

guard and patrol duties and excursions up Mississippi River tributaries. Decommissioned after the end of

the conflict, USS Mound City was sold in November 1865 and broken up in 1866. (Naval Historical Centre

2000)

6These two guns are still at St. Charles. They are both of the same design, what has been called the

Model of 1821. This is a bit of a misnomer as one of the guns bears the date of 1820 on its right

trunnion. This gun is also marked WPF, West Point Foundry for its maker and the weight in

hundredweights of 60-1-5. The hundredweight was of 112 pounds, so it is 60X112=6720. The 1 is for

hundredweight= 28 pounds and the 5 is for 5 pounds. So 6720+28+5= 6,753 pounds. The other gun is

painted and markings are illegible.

These originally smoothed bore guns were rifled with what is called the hook-slant system perfected by

Lieutenant John M. Brooke of the Confederate Navy from an English Armstrong pattern. 32 pounder

refers to the weight of solid shot fired from the 6.4 inch bore of the guns. After rifling the weapons fired

a cylindro-conical shot double the weight of a ball. These 64 pound shot and the lighter 58 pound

explosive shell were effective against both the ironclad and wooden gunboats. (Ripley 1970)

77

Armamentof the two ironclads consisted of three 8-inch smooth bores in the bow; four 42-pounders

and six 32-pounders in mixed batteries broadside and astern. (Bearss 1966)


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Bibliography

Bearss, Edwin C. The White River Expedition June 10-July 15, 1862. Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter,

1962) The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 1962. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40035686

(accessed November 4, 2009).

Bringhurst, Thomas H. & Frank Swigart.History of The Forty-Sixth Regiment Indiana

Volunteer Infantry. Logansport, Indiana: Wilson, Humphreys & Co., 1888.

Dunnington, Lieutenant John W. JUNE 10-JULY 14, 1862.-Operations on White River, Ark.

Vol. 13, chap. XXV in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records

of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, edited by Lieut. Col. Robert N. Scott,

103-119, 929-932. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885.

Fair, James R. "Hopefield, Arkansas: Important River-Rail Terminus."Arkansas Historical

Quarterly, Summer 1998: 191-204.

Fitch, Colonel Graham N., Flag-Officer Charles H. Davis, Lieutenant James W. Shirk. June 10-

July 14, 14. 1862.- Operations on White River, Ark. Vol. 13 in The War of the Rebellion:

A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885.

Henderson, J.M. Jr.Brief Stories of St. Charles in Romance & Tragedy. St. Charles, Arkansas:

St. Charles Museum, 1957.Hindman, Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Reports of Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman, C.S. Army, of

operations May 31-November 3, 1862. Vol. 13, chap. XXV in The War of the Rebellion:

A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, 37-

38. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885.

Huff, Leo E. "The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad during the Civil War." The Arkansas

Historical Quarterly23, no. Autumn (1964): 260-270.

Johnson, Edward A. Federal Warships in Tennessee. December 6, 2001.

http://histpres.mtsu.edu/tncivwar/steamboats/federal.htm (accessed November 12, 2009).

Joiner, Gary D.Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron. Lanham,

Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007.

McKee, W. Reid, M.E. Mason, Jr. Civil War Projectiles II, Small Arms and Field artillery.

Richmond, Virginia: Moss Publications, 1980.


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National Parks Service. Pea Ridge. Civil War Sites Advisory Commission. 2009.

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp//battles/ar001.htm (accessed November 12, 2009).

Naval Historical Centre. U.S.S. Mound City. January 11, 2000.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/md-cty.htm (accessed November 11,

2009).

Ripley, Warren.Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. New York: Promontory Press,

1970.

Sanders, Justin M.Roster of Co G 12th Texas Cavalry. 2008.

http://www.txgenweb5.org/txkaufman/civilwar/civilwar.htm (accessed June 25, 2009).

Stewart, Charles W., ed. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the

Rebellion. Vol. 23. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.Sutherland, Daniel E. "The Real War in Arkansas." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly

(Arkansas Historical Association) 52, no. 3 (Autumn 1993): 257-285.

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Company, 1878.

Walker, Jeanie Mort.Life of Capt. Joseph Fry the Cuban Martyr. Washington: J.B. Burr

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Scott. Vols. 13, Part 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1885.

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The Battle of St Charles