Battle of Memphis

The Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River on June 6, 1862 during the American Civil War. After defeating the Confederates at the Battle of Island Number Ten, the Union fleet was able to steam downriver to threaten Memphis, Tennessee. The battle lasted one and a half hours and was watched by the civilian population from the Chickasaw Bluffs. Confederate gunboats, some of them converted paddleboats armored with cotton bales, were pitted against Union ironclads and rams. The Union fleet quickly captured or sunk most of the Rebel forces, with the survivors retreating southwards down the river towards Vicksburg, Mississippi. Casualties were extemely lopsided with 180 Southerners killed or injured and only one casualty for the North. The battle ended with Union commanders landing at the city docks and taking control of Memphis, giving the Union army a port for moving supplies down the river.

Another Civil War military engagement also took place in Memphis. In April, 1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest lead a nighttime cavalry raid on his hometown of Memphis.

References

• Foote, Shelby. 1958. The Civil War: a narrative. New York : Random House.