Battle of St. Charles
Battle of St. Charles | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
The Battle at St. Charles, White River, Arkansas—Explosion of the "Mound City" by Alexander Simplot | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | Confederate States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Joseph Fry (POW) | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
|
| ||||||
The Battle of St. Charles was fought on June 17, 1862, at
The Union ships advanced against the Confederate positions on June 17. The
Background
Early activity in Arkansas
After the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in 1860, several southern states considered seceding from the union. The southern state of Arkansas held a statewide election on February 18, 1861, to create a convention to vote on secession, with anti-secessionist delegates initially holding the majority. Slavery was considered to be a key issue. After convening on March 4 (the same day that Lincoln was inaugurated), the convention adjourned on March 21 without reaching a conclusion.[1] The bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate troops, forcing the surrender of the United States-held fort in seceded territory on April 12[2] swung political opinion to secession, and the convention reconvened on May 6, voting to secede later that day. Arkansas then joined the Confederate States of America.[1]
After significant military activity in
Curtis fell back into Missouri after the battle, but then moved his army east to
The message was forwarded to Major General
Kilty moves up the White
On June 13, Davis's detachment left Memphis.
On the morning of June 15, the timberclad
Confederate preparations
Confederate Major General
On the night of June 16/17, Williams informed Hindman that the Union force had reached the area, and that the obstruction still was not complete. Hindman ordered two civilian steamboats at St. Charles
Battle
Before daybreak on June 17, the Confederates made dispositions to defend against the attack. Dunnington and his men were in the upper battery manning the two 32-pounders, while men from Maurepas manned the lower position, which contained three guns. The infantrymen were sent downstream under Williams to serve as
Mound City kept steaming forward, and the lower Confederate battery opened fire when the ship was almost upon it, without effect. Kilty was unsure of the exact locations of the Confederate batteries, and had the two timberclads hold back while the ironclads moved forward. For fifteen minutes the two ships dueled with the lower battery, before Mound City moved ahead. And she neared point-blank range of Dunnington's battery, the Confederates opened fire, but at first were unable to damage the Union vessel.
With steam pouring out of her and badly scalded men visible on the decks, Mound City drifted downstream and ran into the riverbank near the lower battery. Fry demanded that the remaining Union sailors aboard surrender, and when this was refused, ordered his men to fire on Union sailors in the river trying to swim to safety.
Fry ordered Dunnington to cover the retreat with his men, but Dunnington refused, noting that some of his men were unarmed and those who were had only single-shot pistols which had already been emptied at Mound City's survivors,[39] with no time to reload.[21] A final cannon shot was fired at St. Louis, and the Confederates then scattered with Union troops within 50 yards (46 m).[39] During the retreat, Fry was wounded and captured while trying to reach the Belknap house.[21] In addition to Fry, 29 others were captured, although six of them were prisoners Fry had been holding on suspicion of treason. After taking the Confederate fortifications, Fitch signaled the ships. Lexington and St. Louis advanced up to where the sunken ships blocked the river, while Conestoga and Spiteful towed Mound City downstream.[40] Union soldiers were sent into St. Charles to patrol the town, and the local civilians were warned that it would be razed if guerrilla activity occurred. As punishment for the firing on Mound City's wounded, 20 of the Confederate prisoners were placed under arrest,[21] including Fry.[41] The battle was over in under four hours.[25]
Aftermath
Kilty was among those scalded on Mound City, and his wounds resulted in the loss of an arm. Lieutenant Wilson McGunnegle, commander of St. Louis, replaced him as expedition commander. The highest-ranking unhurt officer of Mound City had been unnerved by the events and was replaced by an officer from Conestoga. The 58- or 59-man replacement crew for Mound City was drawn from the 46th Indiana.[21][42] Either 58[43] or 59[21] Union dead were buried in a mass grave at the lower battery,[43] while eight Confederates were buried in St. Charles.[21] Hindman claimed losses of six dead and one wounded.[24] The Civil War Battlefield Guide estimates that the Union had about 160 casualties and that the Confederates lost 40.[44] No serious casualties were suffered by the 46th Indiana during its capture of the batteries.[22] The historian Mark K. Christ provides Confederate losses as eight killed and 24 wounded. Historian Mark Hubbs suggests that seven percent of all Union Navy battle deaths in the entire war were the result of the single catastrophic shot that struck Mound City.[45] The Union wounded were sent back down to Memphis on Conestoga. Six Confederate cannons had been captured on the field.[46] Four were sent to Memphis, and the two 32-pounders were spiked and dumped into the river. The Union troops destroyed the Confederate fortifications after the battle.[22]
Hindman had sent the 10th Texas Infantry Regiment to reinforce St. Charles, but the unit had to delay to be issued ammunition. By the time this was done, it was June 17. After learning of the fall of St. Charles, the Texans withdrew to DeValls Bluff, where they were reinforced by another regiment, a battalion, and three artillery batteries.[47] Establishing a supply point at St. Charles,[24] McGunnegle's fleet moved past the river obstructions and continued up the White.[21] The movement began on June 18, although Mound City was left behind.[48] The damaged ironclad later returned to service and survived the war.[49] After meeting sporadic Confederate resistance on June 19, the vessels reached Clarendon, Arkansas,[50] where they halted due to low water. Fitch took his men ashore and advanced 5 miles (8.0 km) but withdrew after losing 55 men in a fight with Confederate dismounted cavalry.[21] After leaving Clarendon, McGunnegle's flotilla continued north, where they halted for the night at a point in Monroe County known as Crooked Point Cutoff.[24][51]
At Crooked Point Cutoff, McGunnegle was informed by his pilots that falling river levels would likely strand the ships if they continued further north, so the decision was made to turn around. Fitch was opposed to falling back without resupplying Curtis, but the ships turned back on the morning of June 20.
Curtis learned that the vessels would not be able to reach his position, so he severed his line of supply and had his men march down the White for two weeks. This was the first time in the war that a Union army had campaigned without a direct line of supply;[31] this would not occur again until the Vicksburg campaign the next year.[58] Curtis emancipated slaves during this movement, and foraging and plundering by his soldiers economically devastated the line of the march.[31][58] In one county alone, $1,500,000 of property damage was inflicted.[21] The Confederates made only one serious attempt to halt Curtis's movement. On July 7, Brigadier General Albert Rust led Confederate cavalry in an assault on the Union force while it was crossing the Cache River. In the ensuing Battle of Cotton Plant, Rust's attack was repulsed, and his men were then routed by a Union counterattack.[59] McGunnegle's vessels had stayed at Clarendon until July 8, and Curtis's men did not reach there until July 9. Having missed his supply rendezvous, Curtis had his troops leave the White and march to the Mississippi River town of Helena, which was reached on July 12.[60] The relief column itself turned up at Helena on July 15.[61] Helena was later used as a significant operating hub for the Union Army in the Vicksburg campaign; the Confederates never retook the city.[45]
Battlefield preservation
A portion of the battlefield is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the St. Charles Battle Site. Divers recovered two cannons from the river bottom in the 1930s and the Belknap house burned in 1962.[25] Also on the NRHP is the St. Charles Battle Monument, a commemorative marker placed in 1919. Unusually for a monument in the South, it commemorates both sides of the battle.[62]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Dougan, Michael B. (December 3, 2018). "Secession Convention". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ McPherson 1998, pp. 1–4.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1998, pp. 34–38.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 286–289.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 292–293.
- ^ a b Shea 1994, p. 41.
- ^ a b Christ 2012, p. 407.
- ^ a b Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 299–300.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 305.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 305–306.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 306–309.
- ^ McPherson 2012, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 132.
- ^ Palucka 2017, p. 73.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 309.
- ^ a b Bearss 1962, pp. 312–314.
- ^ a b Chatelain 2020, p. 182.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 313–314.
- ^ Shea 1994, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1962, pp. 315–318.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Donald Jr. (2006). "The Deadliest Shot: The Doomed White River Expedition". Civil War Times. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via historynet.com.
- ^ OCLC 772653183.
- ^ a b Bearss 1962, p. 318.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Honnoll, W. Danny (May 29, 2018). "Engagement at St. Charles". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c Kirk, Dianna (September 10, 1974). "St. Charles Battle Site" (PDF). Arkansas Heritage. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c Chatelain 2020, p. 181.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 321.
- ^ a b c Bearss 1962, pp. 319–320.
- ^ Christ 2012, p. 414.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 322–324.
- ^ a b c d Shea 1994, p. 42.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 324.
- ^ "U.S.S. Cairo Boilers and Engines" (PDF). American Society of Mechanical Engineers. June 15, 1992. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 330.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 325.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 325–326.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 327–328.
- ^ Scientific American 1861, p. 80.
- ^ a b Bearss 1962, p. 328.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 329.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 333.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 335.
- ^ a b Bearss 1962, p. 332.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 38.
- ^ a b Christ 2012, p. 423.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 332–333.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 333–334.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 335–336.
- ^ Christ 2012, p. 415.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 336–337.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 337.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 337–338.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 343–344.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 344–345.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 346–348.
- ^ Bearss 1962, pp. 350–351.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 357.
- ^ a b Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 300–301.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, pp. 302–303.
- ^ Shea & Hess 1992, p. 303.
- ^ Bearss 1962, p. 361.
- ^ Christ, Mark K. (February 14, 2020). "St. Charles Battle Monument". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
Sources
- OCLC 150147194.
- Chatelain, Neil P. (2020). Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865. El Dorado Hills, California: ISBN 978-1-61121-510-6.
- Christ, Mark K. (2012). ""The Awful Scenes That Met My Eyes": Union and Confederate Accounts of the Battle of St. Charles, June 17, 1862". OCLC 150147194.
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8078-3588-3.
- McPherson, James M. (1998). "Fort Sumter I, South Carolina". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Palucka, Tim (2017). "Timberclads, Tinclads, and Cottonclads in the US Civil War". ISSN 1938-1425.
- Shea, William L. (1994). "1862: "A Continual Thunder"". In Christ, Mark K. (ed.). Rugged and Sublime: The Civil War in Arkansas. Fayetteville: ISBN 1-55728-356-7.
- Shea, William L.; Hess, Earl J. (1992). Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Chapel Hill: ISBN 0-8078-4669-4.
- Shea, William L.; Hess, Earl J. (1998). "Pea Ridge, Arkansas". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- "Spiking Cannon". JSTOR 24958666.