Battle of Fort Pillow (Naval)

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Naval Battle of Fort Pillow
Part of American Civil War
Naval Battle at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, 10 May 1862. Confederate ships, seen at right, include (from left to right): General Earl Van Dorn, General Sterling Price, General Bragg, General Sumter and Little Rebel. The Federal ironclads, in the center and left, are (from left to right): Mound City, Carondelet and Cincinnati. A Federal mortar boat is by the river bank in the lower right.
Date 10 May 1862 Location Four miles below Fort Pillow, near Plum Point Bend Result Confederate victory
Combatants
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Strength
Mound City, Carondelet and Cincinnati	General Earl Van Dorn, General Sterling Price, General Bragg, General Sumter and Little Rebel

The naval battle at Fort Pillow, Tennessee (sometimes known as the engagement at Plum Point Bend) took place on the Mississippi River between the Confederate River Defense Fleet and Federal ironclads approximately four miles below Fort Pillow, Tennessee on 10 May 1862, during the American Civil War.

Following the fall of Island No. 10 and other Confederate losses to the north and east of Fort Pillow, the main U.S. Navy flotilla on the Mississippi River proceeded down river. On May 10, 1862, the Union flotilla met the Confederate River Defense Fleet in the naval battle of Plum Point Bend within sight Fort Pillow. During the battle, the Union's Cincinnati was sunk and the Mound City was badly damaged. Although the Confederate gunboats were victorious, the Union gunboats were soon able to proceed down river and attack Memphis the following month.

[edit] References

• National Park Service history of Fort Pillow
• Reports on the Naval Engagement at Plum Point