Name General Earl Van Dorn Acquired 1862 | Namesake Earl Van Dorn Part of River Defense Fleet | |
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Operator Confederate States Navy Fate Burned to avoid capture, 26 June 1862 Type Side-wheel River Steamer Operations Battle of Plum Point Bend, First Battle of Memphis | ||
The CSS General Earl Van Dorn, a side-wheel river steamer, was fitted out in early 1862 at New Orleans, Louisiana as a River Defense Fleet "cottonclad" ram.
In late March, she steamed up the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee, where her outfitting was completed. In the naval action off Fort Pillow on May 10, she attacked a Union mortar boat with gunfire and rammed the ironclad USS Mound City.
On June 1, she helped cover the Confederate evacuation of Fort Pillow, then retreated to Memphis, where, on June 6 she was the only survivor of the River Defense Fleet's final battle. After escaping to Yazoo City, Mississippi, General Earl Van Dorn was burned on June 26, 1862 to avoid capture by Federal warships.
References
CSS General Earl Van Dorn Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA