First Battle of Memphis
Part of American Civil War
Battle of the rams. Ward, A. R., artist
Date June 6, 1862 Location Shelby County, Tennessee Result Union victory
Combatants
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Commanders
Charles Henry Davis Charles Ellet, Jr.	James E. Montgomery M. Jeff Thompson
Strength
U.S. Ironclads Benton, Louisville, Carondelet, Cairo, and St. Louis and U.S. Army Rams Queen of the West and Monarch	C.S. Navy Rams General Beauregard, General Bragg, General Sterling Price, General Van Dorn, General Thompson, Colonel Lovell, Sumter, and Little Rebel
Casualties
1	180

The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. It resulted in the Union fleet capturing the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Image File history File links Battle_of_Memphis_I.png‎ Battle of the rams. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Shelby County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Admiral Charles Henry Davis (16 January 1807 – 18 February 1877) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. ... Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr. ... Meriwether Jeff Thompson (January 22, 1826 – September 5, 1876) was a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard during the American Civil War. ... USS Benton was an ironclad river gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. ... See also USS Carondelet (IX-136) USS Carondelet, an ironclad river gunboat, was built in 1861 by James Eads and Co. ... USS Cairo, an ironclad river gunboat, was built in 1861 by James Eads and Co. ... USS Queen of the West, a sidewheel steamer built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854, was purchased by the United States Department of War in 1862 and fitted out as a ram for General Charles Ellets Ram Fleet which operated on the Mississippi River in the U.S. Civil War... USS Monarch was a side paddle wheel ram in the United States Navy. ... Battle of Island No. ... Battle of Island No. ... The French battleship Orient burns, 1 August 1798, during the Battle of the Nile A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... In this map:  Union states prohibiting slavery  Union territories  Border states on the Union side which allowed slavery  Kansas, which entered and fought with the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories During the American Civil War, the Union... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ...

Battle

The Total Annihilation of the Rebel Fleet by the Federal Fleet under Commodore Davis." "On the Morning of June 6th 1862, off Memphis, Ten

After defeating the Confederates at the Battle of Island Number Ten, the Union fleet was able to steam downriver to threaten Memphis. Opposing them was a small flotilla of makeshift crafts. Confederate gunboats, some of them converted paddleboats armored with cotton bales (colloquially known as "cottonclads"), were pitted against Union ironclads and rams. The battle lasted one and a half hours and was watched by the civilian population from the Chickasaw Bluffs. The Union fleet quickly captured or sunk most of the Rebel forces, with the survivors retreating southwards down the river towards Vicksburg, Mississippi. Casualties were extremely lopsided with 180 Southerners killed or injured and only one casualty for the North. The battle ended with Union commanders landing at the city docks and taking control of Memphis, giving the Union army a port for moving supplies down the river. Image File history File links Memphis_h42367. ... Image File history File links Memphis_h42367. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Battle of Island No. ... A gunboat is literally a boat carrying one or more guns. ... A paddle steamer, paddleboat, or paddlewheeler is a ship or boat propelled by one or more paddle wheels driven by a steam engine. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were ships sheathed with thick iron plates for protection. ... USS General Price, a Union ram and gunboat, near Baton Rouge, LA, 18 January 1864 A ram was a naval ship class in the 1860s. ... Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ...

Another Civil War military engagement also took place in Memphis, the Second Battle of Memphis in April 1864, when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led a nighttime cavalry raid on his hometown of Memphis with the intent of freeing Confederate prisoners and capturing Union generals encamped in Memphis. The raid failed in both goals, but forced the Union Army to guard the area more diligently. The Second Battle of Memphis was a battle of the American Civil War, occurring on August 21, 1864 in Shelby County, Tennessee. ... Nathan Bedford Forrest This article is about the Confederate soldier; for his grandson see Nathan Bedford Forrest III Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was a Confederate army general and an instrumental figure in the founding and growth of the Ku Klux Klan. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ...

References

• National Park Service battle description
• Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville, Random House, 1958, ISBN 0-394-49517-9.

tressa zeller was the best fighter ever!!!!! Shelby Foote (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was a noted author and historian of the American Civil War. ...