The Pontchartrain served in the Arkansas and White rivers. The 454 ton side wheel boat was built in New Albany, Indiana in 1859 and purchased by the Confederate Navy October 12, 1861. Even though it never saw actual combat,it was involved in a lot of activities in the area until its destruction in 1863.
It was 204 feet long, had a 36.6 foot beam, 10 foot draft (which hindered its movement considerably) and mounted seven guns.
It was at New Madrid, Missouri and Island No. 10. At one point, the Union Navy believed it was being clad in iron and it was very much on the minds of its commanders for fear of a sudden attack.
On February 6, 1863, Union Lt.-Cmdr. Thomas O. Selfridge (the sinker of ships, especially those beginning with the letter C), commander of the USS Conestoga, proposed a run up the Arkansas River to sink the Pontchartrain, but it never came to pass. The Conestoga was later sunk by an accidental collision with another Union ship.
When Union forces occupied Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 10, 1863, the Confederate burned the ship. With yesterday's entry, evidently the wreck site is known, but I never came across any mention of salvage, so perhaps the cannons are still aboard.
Again, before this article, I had never heard of the CSS Pontchartrain (and finally have figured out how to spell it without looking.
So Much for Its History. --B-R'er
No comments:
Post a Comment