View source for CSS Pontchartrain

{{good article}}
{{Short description|Gunboat of the Confederate States Navy}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=[[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]]
|Ship flag={{flagicon|Confederate States|1863}}
|Ship name= ''Pontchartrain''
|Ship namesake=[[Lake Pontchartrain]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=1859
|Ship commissioned= March 1862
|Ship in service=Purchased from civilian service, October 12, 1861
|Ship fate=Destroyed by her crew, {{Nowrap|September 10, 1863}}
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Paddle steamer|Side-wheel steamer]]
|Ship tonnage=454 tons
|Ship length= {{convert|204|ft|m}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|36|ft|6|in|m}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|10|ft|m}}
|Ship armament= 7 cannons
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''CSS ''Pontchartrain''''' was a [[gunboat]] that served in the [[Confederate States Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]].  Built in 1859 for passenger and cotton trade, she was purchased by the Confederates in October 1862.  After seeing action against [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] land positions during the campaigns for [[New Madrid, Missouri]], and [[Island Number Ten]], she was transferred to serve on the [[Arkansas River]] and the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]].  In June 1862, two of her cannons were taken to a land fortification at [[St. Charles, Arkansas]], where part of her crew saw action in the [[Battle of St. Charles]] while manning the guns.  Her other cannons were then offloaded at [[Fort Hindman]], where more of her crew were captured while fighting on land at the [[Battle of Arkansas Post (1863)|Battle of Arkansas Post]] in January 1863.  ''Pontchartrain'' herself remained inactive at [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], and was burned to prevent capture in September 1863 when the Confederates evacuated the city.

==Construction and characteristics==
In 1859, the [[side-wheel steamer]] ''Lizzie Simmons'', which was also known as ''Eliza Simmons'', was constructed at [[New Albany, Indiana]].{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=245}}  She was named after the wife of a planter in [[Louisiana]] and was intended to work in both the passenger trade and the cotton trade.<ref>{{cite news |title=The ''Lizzie Simmons'' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102188872/lizzie-simmons/ |access-date=20 May 2022 |work=The Louisville Daily Caller |date=September 26, 1859 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520032712/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102188872/lizzie-simmons/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  In 1860, the ship ran on the route between [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], and the [[Ouachita River]] before then moving to the route between New Orleans and [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. 
While on the New Orleans to Ouachita route, her [[ship's captain]] was George Hamilton Kirk; on the second route it was W. B. Richardson.<ref name="arky encyclo">{{cite web |last1=Christ |first1=Mark K. |title=CSS ''Pontchartrain'' |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/css-pontchartrain-5914/ |publisher=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=8 May 2022 |date=March 28, 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508232728/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/css-pontchartrain-5914/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  She had a tonnage of 454 tons, a length of {{convert|204|ft|m}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|36|ft|6|in|m}}, and a [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|10|ft|m}}.<ref name="danfs">{{cite web |title=Pontchartrain |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/pontchartrain.html |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508232728/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/pontchartrain.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  The vessel did not have a [[ship's mast|mast]] and was powered by two [[Paddle wheel|side-wheels]].{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|p=69}}  Her [[sister ship]] would become [[CSS Maurepas|CSS ''Maurepas'']],<ref name="arky encyclo" /> having previously been known as ''Grosse Tete''.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=245}}

==Service history==
===New Madrid and Island Number Ten===
After the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]], the [[Confederate States Navy]] purchased a number of vessels for military use.  One of these was ''Lizzie Simmons'',{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=66{{endash}}69}} which was purchased on October 12, 1861, while at New Orleans.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=245}}  During January and February 1862, the vessel went through the process of conversion into a [[gunboat]].<ref name="arky encyclo" />  The Confederates armed her with seven cannons, including an {{convert|8|in|cm|adj=on}} [[smoothbore]] of a model similar to the [[Paixhans gun]] and{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|p=69}} two 32-pounder (14.5 kilogram) [[rifled artillery|rifled guns]].  Renamed to ''Pontchartrain'', she was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] into Confederate service in March{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=245}} and placed under the command of [[First Lieutenant]] [[John W. Dunnington]], who had previously served on the gunboats [[CSS McRae|CSS ''McRae'']] and [[CSS Tuscarora|CSS ''Tuscarora'']].{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|p=69}}  After her commissioning, she was sent up the [[Mississippi River]] to support the Confederate defenses at [[Columbus, Kentucky]].{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|p=76}}

On March 6, [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] troops occupied [[Point Pleasant, Missouri]], in an attempt to cut off the Confederate defenders of [[New Madrid, Missouri]].  ''Pontchartrain'' and the gunboat [[CSS General Polk|CSS ''General Polk'']] were sent to investigate the movement.  After coming too close to shore, ''Pontchartrain'' came under [[musket]] fire, which killed or wounded several aboard.  The two Confederate vessels fired on the Union position and made several more sorties over the next three days, but were not able to dislodge the Union forces.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=101{{endash}}102}}  A week later, Union troops made a demonstration against the Confederate defenses of New Madrid and ''Pontchartrain'' joined Confederate land fortifications in firing on the Union troops.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=105{{endash}}106}}  The Confederates decided to abandon New Madrid. That night, ''Pontchartrain'', along with ''McRae'', the gunboat [[CSS Ivy|CSS ''Ivy'']], and several transports, took Confederate troops, supplies, and weapons from one of the forts guarding New Madrid downriver to [[Tiptonville, Tennessee]], past the Union position at Point Pleasant.  ''Pontchartrain'' was tasked with transporting artillery ammunition and troops during the withdrawal.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=106{{endash}}108}}

With Confederate forces still holding out on [[Island Number Ten]], Union forces established an artillery position across the Mississippi River from Tiptonville, with hopes of cutting the only supply line to Island Number Ten.  On March 18, the Union artillery at the new position opened fired on some Confederate transports.  ''Pontchartrain'', ''Maurepas'', ''General Polk'', and ''McRae'' were sent downriver.  During the exchange, ''Maurepas'' and ''General Polk'' were damaged, and the Confederate vessels withdrew downstream.  While the Union guns temporarily withdrew, they later returned and along with the position at Point Pleasant made riverine supply to Island Number Ten difficult.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=111{{endash}}113}}  In early April, two Union ironclads ran downriver past Island Number Ten, cutting off the Confederate garrison, which attempted to withdraw but was caught and forced to surrender.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=115{{endash}}117}}

===Arkansas===
The Confederate vessels withdrew to [[Fort Pillow State Historic Park|Fort Pillow]], and after learning of Union vessels in the area, sortied against them, only to quickly withdraw upon learning that the Union flotilla was both strong and prepared.  Afterwards,{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=119{{endash}}122}} ''Pontchartrain'' and ''Maurepas'' were transferred to serve on the [[Arkansas River]] and the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]].<ref name="arky encyclo" />  The two 32-pounder rifled guns were sent from ''Pontchartrain'' to [[St. Charles, Arkansas]],{{sfn|Gaines|2008|p=11}} on June 8, to be emplaced in a fortification there<ref name="arky encyclo" /> on the White River. According to historian [[Ed Bearss]], ''Pontchartrain'' had been sent up the Arkansas River to [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], so the guns had to be shipped by both rail and water to get them to St. Charles.{{sfn|Bearss|1962|p=316 fn. 24}} Naval historian Neil Chatelain states that ''Pontchartrain'' first traveled up the White River, offloaded the cannon at St. Charles, and then traveled up the Arkansas River to Little Rock.{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|pp=180{{endash}}181}} Dunnington and some of his men stayed to St. Charles to man the guns, and were present on June 17 when Union troops overran the position in the [[Battle of St. Charles]], although Dunnington and his men were able to escape capture.<ref name="arky encyclo" />

Dunnington marched the remaining sailors overland to return to ''Pontchartrain'', which they then took down the Arkansas River to [[Fort Hindman]].{{sfn|Chatelain|2020|p=182}}  The ship's heavy guns were offloaded, and 35 sailors remained behind to man them,{{sfn|Christ|2010|p=40}} along with Dunnington.<ref name="arky encyclo" />  ''Pontchartrain'' then returned upriver to Little Rock,{{sfn|Christ|Davis|2007|p=460 fn. 20}} where the Confederates began the process of converting her into a [[naval ram]] and started armoring her with wood and iron.  Dunnington and his men were captured in mid-January 1863 in the [[Battle of Arkansas Post (1863)|Battle of Arkansas Post]].<ref name="arky encyclo" /> ''Pontchartrain'' remained inactive into the summer.<ref name="danfs" />  The only Confederate warship remaining in Arkansas,{{sfn|Christ|2010|p=97}} ''Pontchartrain'' was an item of concern for Union naval forces.  In February, a strike up the Arkansas River to destroy the gunboat was proposed, but never occurred.  Rumors spread in April that ''Pontchartrain'' was preparing to attack, but this did not occur either.<ref name="arky encyclo" />  Historian Mark K. Christ suggests that both movements did not occur because of low river levels.{{sfn|Christ|2010|p=98}}  In September, as Union forces were about to [[Little Rock campaign|capture Little Rock]], the Confederates burned ''Pontchartrain''.{{sfn|Christ|2010|pp=187{{endash}}190}}  Christ states that she was burned on September 10,<ref name="arky encyclo" /> while naval historian W. Craig Gaines states that the burning occurred on September 9.{{sfn|Gaines|2008|p=11}}  A commemorative marker has been erected where the ship was burned.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fellone |first1=Frank |title=Ark. Civil War Markers Briefly Recall Tragedy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102188704/pontchartrain-marker/ |access-date=20 May 2022 |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=April 4, 2015 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520032036/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102188704/pontchartrain-marker/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite journal |last1=Bearss |first1=Edwin C. |author1-link=Ed Bearss |title=The White River Expedition June 10{{endash}}July 15, 1862 |journal=[[Arkansas Historical Quarterly]] |date=1962 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=305{{endash}}362 |doi=10.2307/40035686 |jstor=40035686 |issn=0004-1823 |oclc=150147194}}
* {{cite book |last1=Chatelain |first1=Neil P. |title=Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861{{endash}}1865 |date=2020 |publisher=Savas Beatie |location=El Dorado Hills, California |isbn=978-1-61121-510-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Christ |first=Mark K. |date=2010 |title=Civil War Arkansas 1863: The Battle for a State |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |location=Norman, Oklahoma |isbn=978-0-8061-4433-7}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Christ |first1=Mark K. |last2=Davis |first2=Frederic E. |title="Them Dam'd Gunboats": A Union Sailor's Letters from the Arkansas Post Expedition |journal=[[Arkansas Historical Quarterly]] |date=2007 |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=452{{endash}}467}}
{{Cite Gaines 2008}}
* {{cite book |last=Silverstone |first=Paul H. |title=Warships of the Civil War Navies |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |date=1989 |isbn=0-87021-783-6}}

== External links ==
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* [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=116257 C.S.S. ''Pontchartrain''] at the [[Historical Marker Database]]
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{{1863 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontchartrain}}
[[Category:1859 ships]]
[[Category:Advance on Little Rock (American Civil War)]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1863]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Ships built in New Albany, Indiana]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Steamboats of the United States]]