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Military River Actions Involving Warships
Steam-powered warships played signficant roles in a number of military actions on rivers in Tennessee during the Civil War. These actions varied greatly, ranging from a single warship defending a fortication to a substantial naval battle involving many warships of both contending forces.
Tennessee Battles Involving Warships
At least five of the 38 battles recognized as significant by the
Civil War Sites Advisory
Commission (CWSAC) involved warships operating on Tennessee's rivers,
at the locations shown on the map below and listed in the following table.
|
| Name of Battle | Date | County | CWSAC
Ref. # |
CWSAC
Class* |
Federal
Warships |
Confederate
Warships |
| Fort Henry | 2/6/1862 | Stewart
Henry |
TN001 | B | Essex
Cincinatti Carondelet St. Louis Lexington Tayler Conestoga |
|
| Fort Donelson | 2/11-16/1862 | Stewart | TN002 | A | Carondelet
Taylor Lexington St. Louis Louisville Pittsburgh |
|
| Memphis | 6/6/1862 | Shelby | TN004 | B | Queen of the West
Monarch Carondelet Benton Cairo Cincinnatti Mound City Pittsburgh St. Louis |
General Price
Beauregard General Lovell Little Rebel Jeff Thompson Sumter Bragg Van Dorn |
| Fort Pillow | 4/12/1864 | Lauderdale | TN030 | B | New Era | |
| Johnsonville | 11/4-5/1864 | Benton | TN032 | B | Undine (captured)
Key West Tawah Elfin Venus? |
*CWSAC battles may be briefly classified as follows: A (decisive battles), B (major battles), and C (other principal battles).
NOTES: The naval battle for Island No. 10 (April 1862), although
marginally involving Lake County, Tennessee, has been omitted from the
table because CWSAC considers it to be primarily associated with Missouri
as part of New Madrid/Island No. 10 (MO0012).
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
For additional information about Tennessee's military river actions
involving warships, see the Civil War River Transportation Bibliography.
Tennessee
Civil War River Transportation
Last update: June 1, 2000