Battle of Island Number Ten

The Battle of Island Number Ten was a military engagement on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. Union land and naval forces besieged and captured the island in early 1862, further opening the river.

Preparation for battle

With the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, and the evacuation of Columbus, Kentucky, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, chose Island Number Ten, at the Kentucky Bend in the Mississippi River, about 60 river miles below Columbus, to be the strongpoint for defending the river. The Confederate fortifications consisted of land batteries on the island and a floating battery off the coast of the island. Nearby was New Madrid, one of the weak points.

Brig. Gen. John Pope, commander of the Union Army of the Mississippi, set out from Commerce, Missouri, to attack New Madrid, on February 28. The force marched overland through swamps, lugging supplies and artillery. It reached the New Madrid outskirts on March 3, after a brief engagement with a small contingent of the Missouri State Guard under Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson. Pope found the city well defended by heavy artillery and a small fleet of Confederate gunboats and laid it to siege. Brig. Gen. John P. McCown, the garrison commander, defended both New Madrid and Island No. 10 from the fortifications. On March 13 Pope brought up his siege guns and a day long artillery duel ensued. Since it did not appear possible to defend New Madrid, the Confederate gunboats and troops evacuated to Island No. 10 and Tiptonville.

The battle

On March 14, Pope's army discovered that New Madrid was deserted and moved in to occupy it. A U.S. Navy flotilla, under the command of Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, arrived March 15 upstream from Island No. 10. On the night of April 4 the ironclad USS "Carondelet" passed the Island No. 10 batteries and anchored off New Madrid. USS "Pittsburg" followed on the night of April 6. The ironclads helped to overawe the Confederate batteries and guns at Watson's Point and below, enabling Pope's men to cross the river and block the Confederate escape route. Brig. Gen. William W. Mackall, who replaced McCown, surrendered Island No. 10 and its garrison of 7,000 men on April 8.

Aftermath

The Mississippi was now open down to Fort Pillow, Tennessee, which led to the capture of Memphis, Tennessee, two months later in the Battle of Memphis.

Island Number Ten has since disappeared as a result of erosion from the Mississippi River.

References

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/mo012.htm National Park Service battle description]
*Daniel, J. Larry & Bock, Lynn N., "Island Number Ten:Struggle for the Mississippi Valley", The University of Alabama Press, 1996.

ee also

* Island Number Ten Union order of battle
* Island Number Ten Confederate order of battle