Union - Military
Tennessee
Crowds of people lined the bluffs of the Mississippi at Memphis early in the morning to witness what would be the last "fleet action" of the war on the rivers. Commodore Charles Davis, with five Union ironclads and four rams, mounting a total of 68 guns, had passed Fort Pillow and headed for Memphis.
Opposed to this force were eight inferior Confederate makeshifts, mounting 28 guns, under Captain James E. Montgomery.
The battle became a melee with ramming by both sides and close-quarter fighting. After notable action by the Queen of the West and other Union rams, the gunboats entered into the action and blasted the weekly protected Confederates. Only one Southern gunboat, Van Dorn, escaped. Three were destroyed, four others fell into Union hands. he Confederates also lost five large transports and other vessels which were in the process of being built.
The fight was over after about two hours. The crowds on the bluffs went home, many of them in tears.
By 11 am, the mayor of Memphis had surrendered the city, and the Union troops that had accompanied the flotilla took possession.
The Mississippi was now open to the Union except in the state of Mississippi. Vicksburg was their next target.
Confederates-Military
Virginia
In the Shenandoah, near Harrisonburg, Jackson and his troops continue their retreat toward Fort Republic. In a rearguard action, Jackson's colorful, popular cavalry chief, Turner Ashby, is killed.
By this time, with Fremont coming south in one branch of the Shenandoah and men of Shields' command in the other, another trap could possibly be set for Stonewall.
Mississippi
South of Corinth, fighting continues with action from Boonesville toward Baldwyn.
Kentucky
There is skirmishing near Tompkinsville.
Indian Territory
There is skirmishing near Grand River.
South Carolina
There is skirmishing near Port Royal Ferry.
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Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
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