CSS ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' was a warship which served in the

River Defense Fleet The River Defense Fleet was a set of fourteen vessels in Confederate service, intended to assist in the defense of New Orleans in the early days of the American Civil War. All were merchant ships or towboats that were seized by order of the War De ...

of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confede ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. Purchased in January 1862, the vessel was operated by the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

and named after

M. Jeff Thompson Brigadier-General M. Jeff Thompson (January 22, 1826 – September 5, 1876), nicknamed "Swamp Fox," was a senior officer of the Missouri State Guard who commanded cavalry in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. The () ...

, an officer in the

Missouri State Guard The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at variou ...

. She was equipped with a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch ...

and armored as a

cottonclad Cottonclads were a classification of steam-powered warships where a wooden ship was protected from enemy fire by bales of cotton lining its sides. Cottonclads were prevalent during the American Civil War, particularly in the Confederate States Navy ...

. ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' participated in the

Battle of Plum Point Bend The Battle of Plum Point Bend took place on the Mississippi River in Tennessee, U.S., between ships of the Confederate River Defense Fleet and the Federal Western Flotilla on May 10, 1862. Fighting for control of the Mississippi River ha ...

in May 1862, before being sunk on June 6 in the

Battle of Memphis The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately North of the city of Memphis, Tennessee on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. ...

. Her wreck remained on the floor of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

until it was removed by a

snagboat A snagboat is a river boat, resembling a barge with superstructure for crew accommodations, and deck-mounted cranes and hoists for removing snags and other obstructions from rivers and other shallow waterways. USA During the American Civil ...

in July 1867; it had caused a shipwreck about six months earlier when another vessel struck it.

Service history

In 1862, the

purchased 14 civilian vessels for conversion into warships to serve in the

. The naval vessels were operated by the

. One of those purchased in January 1862 by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

J. E. Montgomery became the CSS ''General M. Jeff Thompson''. The ship was named for

, a senior officer in the

. The ship's civilian name is unknown, and in Confederate service was also known as ''Jeff Thompson''. A

sidewheel steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

, she was commanded by Captain John H. Burke. The vessel's dimensions are not known. The Confederacy decided to convert the ship into a

. The process of converting the civilian vessel into a ram began on January 25, and took place at

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Her bow was thickened with of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wood, and of iron. She was also converted to a

by adding bulkheads that were filled with cotton. ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' was completed on April 11, and then sent from New Orleans up the

. Thompson himself described ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' as "the largest and best, but slowest boat of the fleet". ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' was sent to Fort Pillow, where she participated in the naval defense of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, which was roughly to the south. The Confederate ships were facing the

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were und ...

Mississippi Flotilla The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union brown-water naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was ...

. Union vessels approached Fort Pillow and began shelling it. In response, Montgomery decided to attack on May 10, using his ram ships and the element of surprise to capture some of the Union ships. The morning of the planned attack, the Confederates attacked, bringing on the

. ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' was involved in the battle, but only to the extent of firing her cannons. The battle was a

tactical victory In military tactics, a tactical victory may refer to a victory that results in the completion of a tactical objective as part of an operation or a result in which the losses of the "defeated" outweigh those of the "victor" although the victoriou ...

for the Confederates, but brought no long-term strategic advantage. The Confederates abandoned Fort Pillow on June 4, falling back to Memphis. The Confederate vessels served as a rear guard until the fort was evacuated. Montgomery and the River Defense Fleet reached Memphis on June 5, with fuel supplies low. By this time, the Confederates had decided to abandon Memphis, with the only other Confederate forces in the city being a land rear guard commanded by Thompson. The night of June 5/6, Montgomery held a

council of war A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

with his ships' captains. Presented with options of

scuttling Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

their ships, scuttling a portion of the fleet and escaping on the remainder, or fighting the Union fleet, the council voted to fight. Unbeknown to the Confederates, the Union ships had been reinforced by a group of ram ships. During the ensuing

on June 6, all but one of the Confederate ships present were lost. ''General M. Jeff Thompson'' was struck by Union cannon fire during the battle and began to burn. Her crew intentionally

grounded Grounding or grounded may refer to: Science and philosophy * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic of wide philosophical interest * Grounding (psychology), a strategy for coping with stress or other negative emotions * Grounding in communication, th ...

the vessel and then abandoned it; the vessel blew up when the fire reached her magazine. Wreckage was strewn over the area, and the ship burned to the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that ind ...

. The cotton from her wreck was later salvaged. Her wreck remained on the river bottom near

President's Island President's Island is a peninsula on the Mississippi River in southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The city's major river port and an industrial park are located there. History The name ''President'' or ''President's'' Island appeared as early as 1801 o ...

, and caused another wreck in January 1867 when the steamboat named ''Platte Valley'' hit ''General M. Jeff Thompson''s remains with loss of life. Deemed a hazard to river traffic, the wreck was removed by a

in July 1867.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:General M. Jeff Thompson Cottonclad rams of the Confederate States Navy Maritime incidents in June 1862 Naval magazine explosions American Civil War shipwrecks in the Mississippi River