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1861

Where Were The First Shots Fired?

April 29, 1861
Marine constructor James B. Eads at St. Louis, MO, submitted a proposal to the Navy Department for the occupation and defense of the Mississippi and tributary rivers.

May 14, 1861
Eads' plan appealed to Navy Secretary Gideon Welles, but the Navy had its hands full in trying equip and man a sufficient number of vessels to fully establish the blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Welles, therefore, referred the matter to the War Department (Army):

NAVY DEPARTMENT, May 14, 1861. Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War. SIR: The enclosed communication of Mr. James B. Eads, containing a description of Cairo and submitting a plan for blockading the commerce of the rebelling States on the Mississippi, is respectfully referred to the War Department, to which the subject more properly belongs. Mr. Eads has been informed of the reference. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Gideon Welles

The War Department also recognized the merit in Eads' proposal and, that same day, referred the matter to Major General George B. McClellan, USA, at St. Louis with authorization to proceed as he saw best:

WAR DEPARTMENT, May 14, 1861. Mr. James B. Eads, of St. Louis, has proposed as a means of defense and of active operations at Cairo and the rivers adjacent, the employment of the boats owned by the wrecking company of which he is a member, and has advised that said boats be taken by the Government and properly armed and equipped for that service. The Government here deeming very favorably of the proposition, but unwilling to decide positively upon the matter without the knowledge and approval of the general in command of that department, it is ordered that the subject be referred to General McClellan, who will consult with Mr. Eads and with such naval officer as the Navy Department may send out for that purpose, and then, as he shall find best, take order for the proper preparation of the boats. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War

May 16, 1861
Losing little time, the Navy Department ordered Commander John Rodgers, USN , to report to Major-General McClellan to advise the Army in the execution of Eads' plan.
      Rodgers would operate under one of the strangest set of orders ever issued by the Navy Department:

NAVY DEPARTMENT, May 16, 1861. Commander John Rodgers, U. S. Navy, Washington, D.C. SIR: You will proceed to Cincinnati, Ohio, or the headquarters of General McClellan, where they may be, and report to that officer in regard to the expediency of establishing a naval armament on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, or either of them, with a view of blockading or interdicting communication and interchanges with the States that are in insurrection.       This interior nonintercourse is under the direction and regulation of the Army, and your movements will therefore be governed in a great degree by General McClellan, the officer in command, with whom you will put yourself in immediate communication. He will give such orders and requisitions as the case to him shall seem necessary, you acting in conjunction with and subordinate to him.       Whatever naval armament and crew may be necessary to carry into effect the objects here indicated, you will call for by proper requisition.       Make your reports to this Department.       I am, respectfully, Gideon Welles

This same day, General McClellan selected Cairo, IL, as recommended by Eads, as the Army's forward base of operations. By late May, Cairo would be heavily fortified and further protected by batteries located across the Mississippi at Bird's Point, Missouri.

June 8, 1861
Commander Rodgers informed the Navy Department that he had purchased three steamers at Cincinnati to be converted into gunboats. The A. O. Tyler, Conestoga and Lexington would have their upper decks removed, their boilers and machinery lowered into the holds and the remaining decks would be strengthened to support the heavy Naval cannon and surrounded by 5" oak bulwarks to protect the crews from small arms fire.

June 12, 1861
Under pressure from influential citizens of several mid-western cities, Navy Secretary Welles responds to Commander Rodgers' letter (above). In a harbinger of problems to come, Welles spells out—in no uncertain terms—the Navy's unwillingness to assume any responsibility for the Western Flotilla beyond providing armament and crews. Welles then goes on to state that most of the crews for the ships will have to be recruited from the local populace.

June 29, 1861
The conversion of the three wooden gunboats was substantially completed (though the workmanship was poor) at Cincinnati. Fearing they would be trapped there by low summer river stages, Commander Rodgers ordered them brought to Cairo with workmen aboard for completion. Unfortunately, they only made it as far as Louisville, KY, before a shallow sand bar halted their progress downriver. The boats, still lacking cannon, ammunition and firearms for the crews, were forced to anchor in mid-stream for protection while awaiting a rise in the river. The first Naval officers assigned to the command, Lieutenant Seth Ledyard Phelps , Lieutenant Rodger Stembel and Master Joshua Bishop arrived at Cincinnati. Phelps was sent to Louisville to take charge of the stranded gunboats while the other two were tasked with opening Naval Rendezvous in Cincinnati and St. Louis.

August 7, 1861
The War Department awarded a contract to James B. Eads for the construction of seven iron-clad, shallow-draft gunboats to be employed on the Mississippi and tributary rivers. The new vessels were to be built, with the design help of Samuel M. Pook; four at Carondelet (St. Louis), MO, and three at Mound City, IL, eight miles up the Ohio River from Cairo. Once the hulls, casemates and machinery were completed, the vessels would be delivered to Cairo, IL, to be fitted-out. While these "City-class" gunboats were under construction, Eads also began converting the Benton (described above) into an iron-clad.

By this time, the Ohio river had risen enough to allow CONESTOGA and LEXINGTON to float over the sand bar which had confined them for over a month while the deeper-draft TYLER had to be literally dragged across by the other two. Having been informed of a rumor that Confederate sympathizers would attempt to capture the vessels at Paducah, KY, Lieut-Commander Phelps got the recently-arrived cannons aboard the boats and borrowed "30 old muskets" from the Army at Camp Holt. With just enough officers to operate them and sailors armed with muskets stationed at the gun ports, the three ships continued downriver safely.

Clickable Map (279Kb)

August 9, 1861
Brigadier General John C. Fremont who had replaced General McClellan in late July, wrote to the War Department requesting, among other things, that Commander Rodgers be relieved of command of the gunboats. Rodgers, under the impression that he had authority from McClellan, had seized control of all shipping on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and assumed responsibility for overseeing the construction of the Ironclads at St. Louis and Mound City, IL. Local businessmen, eager for lucrative government contracts which Rodgers had denied them, had exerted considerable pressure on Fremont, convincing him to request Rodgers' removal.
      General Fremont had also established a naval base on the Ohio River side of Cairo. It consisted mainly of the floating wharfboats of Graham & Halliday Company and Given, Haynes & Company. The wharfboats were simply flatboat hulls covered with shed-like structures. The Western Navy Headquarters was located in the Graham & Halliday craft.

August 12, 1861
CONESTOGA, LEXINGTON and TYLER finally arrived at Cairo. The local citizenry and Army officers were, at first, skeptical of their usefulness, even referring to them as "wooden band boxes."
      That the three gunboats were available at all was little short of a miracle. Rodgers would later describe the ordeals they encountered as follows:

". . . In Washington I procured an order for guns which could be spared from Erie, Pa. I went to Erie, selected them, and returned immediately to Cincinnati.       In the meanwhile the river had commenced falling very rapidly. I sent off immediately the boats still unfinished, with such hands as could be engaged for this service on the banks of the river, and with provisions bought in the stores. General McClellan was in Virginia, and no commissary would have recognized my requisition without a delay in correspondence entirely inadmissible. I submit that this was irregular, but it was necessary.       The boats were detained at Louisville by the fall in the river. . . . the experts had each his own opinion [about getting them over the bars], and each differed so widely from his neighbor that no result could be obtained. The general opinion was that in November water enough was pretty certain and before that improbable.       I had a statistical table compiled, an entirely new thing in regard to the Western rivers, and found that the chances were as five to two that there would be water enough in July.       I appointed the necessary officers, fixed their pay, and assigned their duties; opened rendezvous at three points to enlist a crew; made contracts for gun carriages, for anchors, chains; bought clothing and bedding, hired old steamboats at low rates for receiving ships. . . . At last we are afloat. The people of Paducah threatened to take the gunboats should they come by unarmed; the gun carriages are hurried on board: no powder can be obtained on requisition, it is bought; blocks for half the necessary gun tackles are bought; a grass hawser is made into breechings; shot are bought and sent off; muskets thrown away from a volunteer camp are procured, and the boats are hurried to Cairo under the able charge of Lieutenant Phelps; still not a grain of powder nor a single gun tackle had arrived upon my requisition for ordnance stores made early in July. Yet, we were in Cairo; spoken of contemptuously at first, our estimated value and efficiency rose every, hour. In a few days each boat is estimated worth 5,000 soldiers, and no service is thought too arduous for our zeal or too dangerous for our powers. . . ."

      Although Commander Rodgers was still encountering great difficulty getting the munitions and supplys to make his little fleet effective, the Army would waste little time in putting them to work.

August 15, 1861
With very few rounds of ammunition and only enough breeching tackles to work half of their guns, CONESTOGA, Lieut. Phelps Commanding, was dispatched to reconnoiter the Mississippi south to New Madrid, MO, while LEXINGTON, under Lieut. Stembel, scouted the river north toward Cape Girardeau, MO. For the next few months these lightly-protected vessels would serve primarily as the eyes and ears of the Army. They constantly patrolled the Union-controlled portions of the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, gathering intelligence, protecting loyal Union citizens and escorting transport steamers.

August 16, 1861
When LEXINGTON arrived off Commerce, MO, Lieut. Stembel was informed by local citizens that a large force of Confederates were on their way to capture the town. Stembel took aboard several terrified loyal families with their baggage and transported them upriver to Cape Girardeau, MO, where he anchored for the night.

August 17, 1861
As LEXINGTON returned downriver, Lieut. Stembel exercised his inexperienced crew at firing the guns. Upon their arrival at Commerce, they learned that the Confederates had, in fact, invaded the town but had retreated hastily at the sound of LEXINGTON's guns.

August 20, 1861
Acting on reports that a Confederate force had again siezed Commerce, MO, and were erecting batteries on the nearby hills, LEXINGTON and TYLER, the latter with Commander Rodgers in Command, went to investigate. At the approach of the gunboats the Confederates hurriedly withdrew, abandoning their works.

August 21, 1861
After spending the night off Commerce, LEXINGTON dropped downstream to patrol shoreline while TYLER remained on guard duty. That evening, a small force of Confederates appeared on the hilltops and opened a brisk fire on TYLER with small arms but two well-placed shots from the gunboat quickly dispersed the attackers. While this little engagement was of no military significance, it gave the TYLER the honor of the first "shots fired in anger" in the Western theatre.

August 22, 1861
LEXINGTON captured the steamer W. B. Terry on the Ohio river at Paducah, KY, while Confederate sympathizers seized Samuel Orr at the same town and took her up the Tennessee River.

August 30, 1861
Captain Andrew Hull Foote received orders to relieve Commander Rodgers of command of naval operations in the west.

September 4, 1861
On this day, Brigadier-General Ulyses S. Grant, USA, assumed command of the military "District of Southeast Missouri" at Cairo. Grant immediately ordered the TYLER and LEXINGTON on a reconnaissance cruise southward from Belmont, MO, where they discovered recently-erected Confederate batteries at Hickman, KY. The Union gunboats still lacked sufficient quanties of powder and gun tackles and, therefore, did not risk a serious engagement with land-based artillery. They also discovered a Confederate gunboat lying in the river below the encampment. After trading a few shots with their Naval adversary, the Union boats withdrew a short distance upstream in hopes of luring the confederate vessel out from under the protection of the shore batteries. When the latter failed to take the bait, the two Federals returned to Cairo to report the enemy occupation of Hickman.

September 5, 1861
Captain Andrew Hull Foote arrived at St. Louis to relieve Commander Rodgers of command of naval operations in the area. Foote, due to his relatively low rank, would soon encounter the same chain-of-command and supply problems as had his predecessor. As the gunboats afloat were still under the control of the Army and construction and outfitting of the Ironclads required constant supervision, Foote would be forced to spend most of the early months of his new command ashore.
      The Confederate occupation of Hickman, KY, had effectively negated that state's neutrality and, while it had forced General Grant to withdraw the Union troops (on the advice of Commander Rodgers) at Belmont, MO, it gave him the excuse he needed to sieze Paducah, KY, which was located on the Ohio river at the mouth of the Tennessee. Upon his arrival at St. Louis, Foote learned of Grant's preparations at Cairo and immediately chartered a fast steamer and set out to join his fleet.
      The expedition got underway that evening before Foote's arrival, but a collision between two troop transports near Mound City severely damaged one of them necessitating transfer of her cargo of soldiers and equipment to another boat, thereby delaying the expedition long enough to allow the Naval commander to catch up. On boarding the TYLER, Foote was met by Rodgers who gracefully welcomed his successor. Rodgers would, however, retain command of the gunboat.

Illustrations:

View from Ft. Holt

Tyler off Paducah

September 6, 1861
Arriving off Paducah at 8:30 a.m., the occupation forces quietly disembarked under the protective guns of CONESTOGA and TYLER. The only reported incident of the occupation occured when Captain John T. Duff of the armed steamer Bee and his crew raised a Union flag on the roof of the St. Francis Hotel. When challenged by six women, one of whom brandished a pistol, Captain Duff informed them that if there was any resistance, he had orders to shell the house "whereon they took the hint and retired, carrying their tails behind them, but not too late to see their husbands arrested and put under guard."
      Shortly thereafter, Smithland, KY, just 10 miles further up the Ohio at the mouth of the Cumberland river, was also occupied by Union troops and Fort Holt was established on the Kentucky shore across the Ohio River from Cairo.
      General Grant would soon realize that stationing a gunboat off each of these towns would not only provide support for the troops ashore but would allow the Union to control access to these two important Ohio River tributaries along which trade with the Confederacy was still being conducted. The TYLER was given the dubious honor of being the first boat thus stationed at Paducah.

September 10, 1861
A reconnaissance by LEXINGTON, with Colonel Waagner aboard, discovered that the Confederates had erected several batteries on the bluffs overlooking the river at Columbus, KY, some 20 miles upriver from Hickman and directly across the river from Belmont, MO.

September 11, 1861
Though forced to abandon Belmont, Grant was unwilling to give up a foothold on the Missouri shore south of his base of operations at Cairo. Therefore, a new position was established at Norfolk, MO, just 8 miles upriver from the old encampment.
      In order to determine the strength of the Confederate forces, an infantry force was marched southward on a reconnaissance from Norfolk, accompanied by CONESTOGA and LEXINGTON. While the latter kept pace with the marching troops, the former ranged ahead several miles in hopes of detecting any Confederate forces present.
      At Lucas Bend, Lieut. Phelps in the CONESTOGA discovered a body of Confederate cavalry with an estimated 16 artillery pieces on the Missouri shore. Phelps immediately rounded to and opened fire with his stern gun. The sound of gunfire soon brought the LEXINGTON and a running fight ensued in which the Confederates would gallop a short distance upstream, conceal their guns in the heavy undergrowth along the banks and fire on the prowling gunboats as they passed.
      Tiring of this cat-and-mouse game after approximately two hours, the two gunboats retired a short distance upstream hoping to lure the Confederates into an engagement with the advancing Federal troops. The plan of the Union commanders was to wait until the two forces were fairly engaged then drop below the Confederate position and place them under a murderous crossfire. The Confederates, however, declined to be led into the trap and retreated in the direction of New Madrid.
      Still spoiling for a fight, the two Union gunboats dropped downriver until they came within range of the Confederate gunboat (thought to be the YANKEE) which was lying in the river below the spit of land formed by Lucas Bend. The CONESTOGA fired a shot over the spit which appeared to skip across the water and disappear into the side of the Confederate vessel. The LEXINGTON then fired a shell which exploded in the YANKEE's wheelhouse, after which the latter limped off to the protection of the Confederate guns at Columbus.
      Having accomplished its reconnaissance objectives, the Army contingent began its return to Norfolk and the Union gunboats followed suit. On the return trip, several Confederates concealed near an outhouse fired into the CONESTOGA with small arms, seriously wounding Quartermaster Nelson Castle. A round of canister from the gunboat soon scattered the attackers and left the outhouse in ruins. This incident, while proving to be the last action of the mission, also marked the first loss of a crewman of the Western flotilla.

September 12, 1861
Shortly after Phelps' return to Cairo, he and the CONESTOGA were assigned to relieve TYLER on guard duty off Paducah.
      That afternoon, Captain Foote and Commander Henry Walke left Cairo for Paducah. Upon boarding the TYLER, Captain Foote informed Commander Rodgers that he was being relieved of command of his vessel by Walke. Rodgers immediately requested orders for duty on the Atlantic Coast.

September 16, 1861
Fearing that the Union advance position at Norfolk would be captured by superior Confederate forces in the area, General Grant ordered the TYLER to guard duty off the town. At the request of the local Army commander, Commander Walke took the TYLER downriver to Lucas Bend and, upon reaching the foot of the bend, fired a few rounds at several different points hoping to elicit a response from masked Confederate batteries.
This type of "blind" firing would soon become a favorite tactic of the gunboat commanders as the hidden Confederate gunners would assume they had been spotted if a Union shell landed nearby and would, therefore, be obliged to return the fire or retreat.
      Later that same day, Walke returned to Lucas Bend and fired eight rounds in the direction of a supposed Confederate camp near Benton, MO. One of these, it was later learned, exploded in the camp killing or wounding several of the enemy. The TYLER then steamed to Cairo to coal, following which she returned to her station off Norfolk.

September 19, 1861
Commander Alexander M. Pennock was assigned to command of the receiving ship Nebraska at St. Louis. This intelligent and industrious officer would soon be designated "Fleet Captain" in charge of the Naval Station at Cairo. Pennock would serve in the capacity of "right-hand man" to four Flag Officers and would remain at Cairo to nearly the end of the war.

September 20, 1861
General Frémont at St. Louis authorized the purchase of the New Era for conversion into a gunboat.

That same evening TYLER was dispatched from Norfolk, MO, to Putney Bend, KY, to investigate reports of a Confederate position there and to spend the night in observation.

September 22, 1861
TYLER, with the LEXINGTON which had just arrived, was sent on another reconnaissance from Norfolk to Lucas Bend, having in convoy several transports loaded with troops. Meeting with no resistance on the downward trip, the entire expedition returned to its point of origin.
      After discharging her passengers TYLER continued on to Mound City, IL, where she was hauled on the ways for repairs and the mounting of a gun (a 30-pounder parrott) in her stern. The placement of this particular gun was rather unweildy and is best described by one of the officers, Symmes E. Browne (who would join the crew in July of 1862); "It is a great difficulty that we cannot muster or drill at the gun to which we belong. It being in the wardroom, would ruin the furniture and oilcloth if we drilled in there."

September 23, 1861
Having received information that Owensboro, KY, (some 250 miles up the Ohio river from Cairo and 40 miles above Evansville, IN) had been siezed by Confederates, President Lincoln ordered General Fremont to send a guboat to investigate. Fremont passed the order to General Grant who, in turn, ordered Captain Foote to send two gunboats. Foote (who happened to be at Cairo on business) ordered the LEXINGTON up from Norfolk, MO, and himself embarked for Paducah on the steamer Bee in search of the CONESTOGA. On his arrival at the mouth of the Tennessee, Foote was furious to find that Lieut. Phelps and the CONESTOGA were off on a cruise up the Cumberland.
      When the LEXINGTON arrived at Paducah, Foote proceeded upriver in her accompanied by the Bee, leaving orders for Phelps to join him as soon as possible with the reminder that "My general order was intended to convey instructions that the commanding general, in my absence, should not only be consulted, but that he also should be made acquainted with the place where they [the gunboats] were gone, as well as the probable time of their return. You will in future be governed accordingly in your movements."

September 25, 1861
Foote, with LEXINGTON and Bee arrived at Owensboro, only to find that two regiments of Union infantry had arrived the previous day and that the Confederate occupation was a false rumor. However, secession sentiment was very strong in the town and as the inadequately provisioned Union infantry would soon be forced to leave, Foote sent telegrams to General Fremont and the Governors of Indiana and Kentucky asking for troops to garrison the town. Disgruntled at this wanton waste of his precious time and resources, Foote then departed for Cairo in the Bee, leaving the LEXINGTON to guard the town "for a few days." On the return trip, they met the CONESTOGA coming upriver near Evansville. Foote signalled her to come alongside the Bee and ordered Lieut. Phelps to report to Commander Stembel on the LEXINGTON at Owensboro until the river stage forced their return to Cairo. While this episode was of no historical importance, it is indicative of the value the President attributed the "wooden band boxes." It also demonstrated the willingness of the Union Army officers to send the gunboats on duties which should more properly have been performed by infantry units under their command.

September 27, 1861
Shortly after the CONESTOGA arrived at Owensboro, Commander Stembel sent her some 40 miles further upriver to investigate a report of rising tensions between the secessionist citizens of Hawsville, KY, and the loyal populace across the Ohio river at Cannelton, IN. Finding no real cause for alarm, Phelps returned to Owensboro that night. Soon after Phelps' return, the LEXINGTON being of deeper draft than CONESTOGA departed downriver due to the falling water level.

October 1, 1861
Having finally been forced out of the upper Ohio river by low water, CONESTOGA returned to Cairo. Upon her arrival, General Grant immediately sent her down the Mississippi for a reconnaissance of Columbus, KY, after which she returned to her previous station off Paducah.

October 4, 1861
Commander William D. "Dirty Bill" Porter (elder brother of David Dixon Porter) was ordered to assume command of the newly-commissioned gunboat NEW ERA and to take his vessel to Paducah, after stopping en route at Cairo to report his arrival to General Grant. Captain Foote was careful to instruct the aggressive and outspoken Porter in his duties, stating; "In case of an attack being apprehended on Paducah or elsewhere, you will please inform me immediately by telegraph. You will also make all communications of a public nature direct to me, at the same time fully conferring with, and carrying out as far as practicable, the views and directions of the commanding general at the post where you are stationed.
      You are fully aware that we are here for the purpose of cooperating with, and under the directions of, the commanding general of the Western army, and I have no doubt but that we shall prove an auxiliary power, enabling the army to succeed in an enterprise which might fail without the naval cooperation."

October 7, 1861
Acting on reports that the Confederates had several masked batteries at Iron Bluffs (3 miles north of Columbus, KY), General Grant sent TYLER and LEXINGTON on yet another reconnaissance mission. After locating the enemy guns and exchanging enough rounds with them to determine their number and size, the two gunboats returned to Cairo not missing the opportunity to deliver a few rounds in the neighborhood the Confederate camp near Lucas Bend as they continued upriver.

October 9, 1861
Upon being relieved at her station off Paducah by the NEW ERA, Phelps and the CONESTOGA embarked on a second cruise up the Ohio, stopping at Owensboro and Hawesville, KY, before reporting "all quiet" from Evansville, IN.

In yet another example of the wide variety of uses to which the Army would put the gunboats, TYLER and LEXINGTON were detailed to convoy the transport Aleck Scott, towing a barge, to a point near Lucas Bend for the purpose of procuring a load of cord wood for the Army's use at Cairo.

October 12, 1861
CARONDELET became the first of the 7 City-class iron-clads to be completed and launched at St. Louis. She was immediately sent downriver to Cairo, IL, to receive her armaments, officers and crew. The remaining six vessels of this class would be launched in rapid succession and sent to Cairo over the next month.

October 16, 1861
In an attempt to reduce the ongoing problems caused by questions of cotrol over the gunboats (they were subject to the orders of any Army officer above the rank of Captain), General Fremont issued orders to Foote, stating; "You will officer, man, and equip, with all possible dispatch, not only the twelve gunboats proper, designed for the Mississippi Flotilla, but in addition to them you will take charge of and prepare for immediate active service, likewise, the mortar boats, propellers, transports, etc., belonging to the entire floated expedition down the Mississippi River; and you will also consider yourself in charge of, and commanding, this expedition."

October 18, 1861
In response to intelligence that Confederate gunboats were advancing on Cairo, General Grant sent TYLER and NEW ERA down the Mississippi to Iron Banks, KY, to determine the enemy positions. After finding no evidence of enemy craft, the two Union gunboats returned to Cairo, following which the TYLER was sent up the Ohio to New Caledonia for the purpose of towing down the hull of a steamer being built for the government.

October 23, 1861
This date would find the NEW ERA at Mound City repairing, the TYLER at Cairo, the LEXINGTON at Paducah and the CONESTOGA patrolling the Cumberland River. "Dirty Bill" Porter, showing evidence of boredom with the guard duty to which his boat was assigned, proposed to Captain Foote that the four gunboats then in operation possessed sufficient firepower to drive the Confederates out of their works at Columbus, KY. Ever mindful of the fleet's status, Foote replied; "...I would like to act toward the enemy, but we are only a force under orders from the commanding army officer of the West, and we can not move except under instructions from that source..."

November 6, 1861
Intelligence reached Cairo that the Confederates had strung a chain across the Mississippi river at Columbus, KY, to hinder southward operations by the Union gunboats.

November 7, 1861
General Grant, having departed Cairo, IL, with troops aboard several transports to make a demonstration (not an attack as some sources suggest) against Columbus, KY, learned that Confederate troops had crossed the Mississippi River from Columbus to Belmont, MO. Fearing a Confederate movement against Union forces in Missouri, Grant landed his troops on the Missouri shore out of the range of Confederate artillery at Columbus then marched south to engage the Confederates at Belmont under the command of General Leonidas Polk. To divert their attention from the troops ashore, TYLER and LEXINGTON twice engaged the batteries at Columbus, KY, but the lightly-armored gunboats were driven off by the superior Confederate firepower.
      The Federal troops initially routed the Confederates out of their Belmont camp and, flushed with victory, set about collecting souveniers and destroying the supplies and equipment left behind. However, while the inexperienced Union soldiers were sacking the camp, the scattered Confederate forces, finding that they were not being pursued by the victors, set about reorganizing while reinforcements from Columbus began to arrive. The combined Confederate troops then worked their way along the bank of the river toward a point between the Federal Army and the moored transports, from which they intended to launch a counterattack. Fortunately for the Union, the Confederate plan was discovered and, faced by a superior number, a hasty retreat was effected. Grant, himself having barely escaped capture, reembarked his troops on the transports under covering fire from TYLER and LEXINGTON, upon which the expedition departed for Cairo.
     However, it was soon discovered that a portion of Grant's forces had been left behind and the TYLER was ordered back to the area to search for them. It was not long before the missing men were located and loaded aboard a waiting transport under the protection of the prowling gunboat.

November 12, 1861
Over the next several days, General Grant and Colonel N. B. Buford, USA, met under a flag of truce with General Polk (Polk and Buford had been friends before the war and would remain so during the hostilities) aboard a Confederate steamer to discuss the exchange of prisoners and wounded. These discussions were generally conducted over lunch or dinner in a very cordial atmosphere.

November 13, 1861
The Navy Department awarded Captain Foote the designation of "Flag Officer," thus giving him a relative rank equal to that of a Major General in the Army. This would, at last, resolve the problems of command relationships though the gunboats would continue to work closely with the Army.

November 16, 1861
The transfer of the Western Gunboat Flotilla's base of operations began in earnest when the transport Maria Denning was ordered from St. Louis to Cairo to take in naval stores and permanently serve as the Receiving Ship for new recruits being sent from the east.

That same day, the ironclad ST. LOUIS, having completed the tests of her hull and machinery at Carondelet, MO, was ordered to Cairo to be fitted-out and prepared for service.

December 7, 1861
The converted ironclad BENTON was launched at St. Louis.

December 17, 1861
By this time the Union plans for the conquest of the upper Mississippi were well under way with eleven ironclads in various stages of construction and completion at shipyards along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Although Flag Officer Foote had only the three "Timberclad" gunboats in active service (NEW ERA had gone out of commissission at St. Louis to be converted to an iron-clad), he was kept busy overseeing the completion of the BENTON and the City-class ironclads. Foote was also directing the construction and outfitting of a fleet of mortar rafts with the help of Army Captain A. G. A. Constable, an artillery officer familiar with the operation of mortars.

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