New Madrid Missouri

American Civil War
February 28-April 8, 1862

With the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, and the evacuation of Columbus, Kentucky, General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, chose Island No. 10, about 60 river miles below Columbus, to be the strongpoint for defending the Mississippi River.

Nearby was New Madrid, one of the weak points. Brigadier General 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, reached the New Madrid outskirts on March 3, and laid siege to the city. Brigadier General John P. McCown, the garrison commander, defended both New Madrid and Island No. 10 from the fortifications. He launched a sortie, under Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson, Missouri State Guard, against the besiegers and brought up heavy artillery to bombard them.

On the 13th, the Confederates bombarded the Yankees to no avail. Since it did not appear possible to defend New Madrid, the Confederate gunboats and troops evacuated to Island No. 10 and Tiptonville.

On the 14th, 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. The Ironclad Carondelet on the night of April 4 passed the Island No. 10 batteries and anchored off New Madrid. Pittsburgh followed on the night of April 6.

The ironclads helped to overawe the Confederate batteries and guns, enabling Pope's men to cross the river and block the Confederate escape route. Brigadier General William W. Mackall, who replaced McCown, surrendered Island No. 10 on April 8.

The Mississippi was now open down to Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: City of New Madrid, Missouri; Lake County, Tennessee

Campaign: Joint Operations on the Middle Mississippi River (1862) Next Battle in Campaign Campaigns

Date(s): February 28-April 8, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General John Pope and Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote [US]; Brigadier General John P. McCown and Brigadier General William W. Mackall [CS]

Forces Engaged: Army of the Mississippi [US]; Garrisons of New Madrid and Island No. 10 [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Unknown



USS Carondelet
, a 512-ton Cairo class ironclad river gunboat, was built at Saint Louis, Missouri, for the U.S. Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla.


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Civil War Missouri History Book Club Additional Reading Titles

The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill and His Confederate Raiders
William Clarke Quantrill was quite possibly the most dangerous man to fight in the Civil War. The leader of an almost psychopathic band of guerrilla warriors, Quantrill participated as a Confederate in a deadly border war between Southern sympathizers in Missouri and the Unionist Jayhawks of Kansas. He was largely responsible for the 1863 massacre of nearly 200 unresisting men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as dozens of other brutal acts that today would be called terrorism. Among the notorious men who rode with him were Frank and Jesse James, whose postwar crime careers are briefly reviewed.

The Civil War in Missouri, Day by Day, 1861 to 1865
Follow as events transpire across Missouri within those four long years. From raids and pursuit of the outlaws to the hunting down of Southern sympathizers and the Federal scouting parties across the state. Something for everyone in this book. This book is deemed by many readers as a Missouri classic.

Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border
This aspect of the Civil War is often misunderstood in that the majority of what we know has been passed down to us from the "victors" point of view. In fact, these were very, very hard times and a good case can be made that there were indeed no real winners in this not so isolated, but under reported, part of the war. Horrible, barbaric actions were consummated by both sides of this conflict. If we attempt to place ourselves at that time and place in history, we can well see where both sides had their grievances, and both sides were able to justify their atrocities.

 
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Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.