Arkansas (Gunboat, 1862)

Summary

• BOAT TYPE: Gunboat
• BUILT: 1862 on the Yazoo River 60 miles above Vicksburg, Mississippi
• FINAL DISPOSITION: Destroyed at Baton Rouge, Louisiana on August 6, 1862 to prevent her capture
• OWNERS: Confederates
• RIVERS: Mississippi River; Yazoo River
• OTHER INFORMATION: Ways - 0347; Built by Captain John T. Sherley with construction supervised by Captain Isaac N. Brown. A Confederate gunboat, she was equipped and armed in five weeks in the backwoods of Greenwood and Yazoo City, Mississippi. She made only one trip through the Union fleet above and below Vicksburg before her engines failed. On July 22, 1862 she engaged the U.S. gunboats Carondelet and Tyler and the ram Queen of the West. She escaped down the Mississippi River. On July 22, 1862 the U.S. gunboat Essex and the Queen of the West made an unsuccessful attempt to sink her. On August 6, 1862 she was destroyed at Baton Rouge by her commander to prevent her capture
• PHOTO DESCRIPTION: The Arkansas (in the background, barely visible) passing the U.S. centerwheel gunboat Carondelet