Did you know? The American Civil War came early to Memphis, and the city proved to be an easy target for the Federal forces. Overconfident Confederate officials hardly bothered to fortify their positions here, and the city was dependent on its River Defense Fleet for protection. Confederate rams, with their commanders suffering from delusions inspired by a recent easy victory at Plum Point, rushed out boldly to meet the Union Navy when it appeared in front of the city on June 6, 1862. To the astonishment and dismay of the River Defense Fleet and the spectators who had gathered on the bluff the union gunboats Carondelet, Benton, St. Louis, Cairo and Louisville had brought two new Union rams, the Monarch and the Queen of the West. The noisy and unequal contest lasted about 90 minutes. Cheers turned to tears as the spectators on the bluff saw all of the rebel boats but one lost by sinking or capture. When the last remaining rebel boat – the CSS General Van Dorn – turned tail and fled ingloriously down the river, the victors sent a detachment of Union soldiers ashore to take possession of the now-defenseless city. Memphis remained in Federal hands for the remainder of the war, except for a couple of hours one bright Sunday afternoon in August, 1864, when none other than rebel cavalry leader Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest swept into his old hometown, surprised the sleepy Union garrison, and almost scooped up a couple of high-ranking Federal generals. Forrest and his men occupied the city briefly, until the Yankee soldiers pulled themselves together and drove them out again. More about the early years in Memphis history tomorrow.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:22:47 +0000
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