 TheRiver Defense Fleet in theBattle of Plum Point Bend. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Launched | 1853 |
| In service | April 1862 |
| Captured | byU.S. Navy ca. 6 June 1862 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 525 tons |
| Length | 182 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Draught | depth of hold 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine;sidewheel |
| Armament | two 32-pounder guns[1] or four 32-pounder and one 12-pounder gun[2] |
| Armour | Iron plate,cotton bales |
USSSumter was a 525-ton sidewheelpaddle steamer captured by theUnion Navy during theUnion blockade of theAmerican Civil War.
Sumter originally was theConfederatecottoncladramCSSGeneral Sumter. She was placed into Confederate service and thenUnited States Navy service, each for a short period of time, before she ran aground and was destroyed.
Sumter was a sidewheel steamer. She operated on theMississippi River and its tributaries as atowboat until early 1861, when she was purchased by the State ofLouisiana from Charles H. Morgan′s Southern Steamship Company.
In January 1862,Confederate States NavyCaptain James E. Montgomery for theConfederate States War Department'sRiver Defense Fleet. The steamer was refitted at Algiers as a cottonclad ram by the James Martin yard. Herbow was strengthened by 4-inch (10.2-cm)oak sheathing covered by 1-inch (2.54-cm)iron plates. In addition,cotton bales were compressed between doublepine bulkheads for added strength.
RenamedGeneral Sumter, the ram proceeded toFort Pillow,Tennessee, on 17 April 1862 to be armed.
On 10 May 1862, defending the main avenue toMemphis, Tennessee, Montgomery′s fleet of eight vessels attacked a force ofUnionironclads. In the resultingBattle of Plum Point Bend, 4 miles (6.4 km) above Fort Pillow,General Sumter, withRaphael Semmes in command, steamed within 20 yards (18.3 meters) of the Union NavyMortar Boat No. 16, whose projectiles were threatening the fort, and fired everything she had, including a rifle volley; two 32-pound (14.5-kg) shot pierced the iron blinds of the Unionmortar boat.[3]
Then the sidewheel steamerCSSGeneral Sterling Price andGeneral Sumter cooperated in a well-executed coordinated attack, one after the other, ramming thecasemategunboatUSS Cincinnati at full speed so that she lost her rudder and much of her stern;Cincinnati (which Montgomery reported as the ironclad gunboatCarondelet) had to be run ashore to avoid sinking. Next,General Sumter rammed and damaged the gunboatUSS Mound City, but was damaged by gunfire herself.[2] Thus, the Confederate rams held off the Union flotilla until the fort was successfully evacuated on 1 June 1862. They then retired to Memphis to refuel.
Quickly following up the capture of Fort Pillow, U.S. NavyFlag OfficerCharles H. Davis appeared off Memphis in force on 6 June 1862. Montgomery, cornered without enoughcoal to retreat toVicksburg,Mississippi, yet unwilling toscuttle his fleet, fought it out desperately in theFirst Battle of Memphis.General Sumter rammed and seriously damaged the sidewheel paddle steamerUSS Queen of the West, but eventually most of the Confederate vessels were destroyed or surrendered.[4]General Sumter did not sink; badly shot up, she ran on the shore of theArkansas River, was captured, refloated, and renamedSumter by the Union Navy.
While in Union service, she grounded again on 14–15 August 1862 downriver from Memphis offBayou Sara, Louisiana, and was abandoned except for spare-part raids on her machinery by the rest of the squadron at periods of low water. Before the local populace completed stripping her, Confederate authorities succeeded in setting fire to the hulk, destroying her.[5]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundConfederate service here andUnion service here.
30°45′40″N91°23′55″W / 30.76108°N 91.39852°W /30.76108; -91.39852
