CSS Pontchartrain
| History | |
|---|---|
 Confederate States | |
| Name | Pontchartrain |
| In service | Purchased from civilian service, 1861 |
CSS Pontchartrain was a gunboat that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.
Construction and characteristics
In 1859, the side-wheel steamer Lizzie Simmons, which was also known as Eliza Simmons, was constructed at New Albany, Indiana.[1] 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.[2] She had a tonnage of 454 tons, a length of 204 feet (62 m), a beam of 36 feet 6 inches (11.13 m), and a draft of 10 feet (3.0 m).[3] The vessel did not have a mast and was powered by two side-wheels.[4] Her sister ship would become CSS Maurepas.[2]
Service history
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,[5] which was purchased on October 12, 1861, while at New Orleans.[1] During January and February 1862, the vessel went through the process of conversion into a gunboat.[2] The Confederates armed her with seven cannons, including an 8-inch (20 cm) smoothbore of a model similar to the Paixhans gun and[4] two 32-pounder (14.5 kilogram) rifled guns. Renamed to Pontchartrain, she was commissioned into Confederate service in March[1] and placed under the command of First Lieutenant John W. Dunnington, who had previously served on the gunboats CSS McRae and CSS Tuscarora.[4] After her commissioning, she was sent up the Mississippi River to support the Confederate defenses at Columbus, Kentucky.[6]
On March 6, 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 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 it.[7] 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.[8] That night, Pontchartrain, along with McRae, the gunboat 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 the defenders of an outpost near the fort.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Silverstone 1989, p. 245.
- ^ a b c Christ, Mark K. (March 28, 2022). "CSS Pontchartrain". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Pontchartrain". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ a b c Chatelain 2020, p. 69.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 66–69.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, p. 76.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Chatelain 2020, pp. 106–108.
Sources
- Chatelain, Neil P. (2020). Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865. El Dorado Hills, California: Savas Beatie. ISBN 978-1-61121-510-6.
- Gaines, W. Craig (2008). Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-3274-6.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1989). Warships of the Civil War Navies. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-783-6.