Hey everyone, welcome to episode number 283 of our Civil War Podcast. My name is Rich.

And I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Thanks for tuning into the show.

Okay, so of course you aren't jumping into the mix right here with this sixth episode

of the Vicksburg story arc, are you? I mean no, you've already listened to the first

five episodes, right? So that means we can pick right back up where we left off last

time. And when we left off last time, Charles Rivers' ellet was setting out with the Queen

of the West on his second raid down the Mississippi with orders to quote, burn, sink, and destroy

everything of military value he encountered.

Despite the bold tone of his orders, David Dixon Porter cautioned the youthful ellet to watch

out for the Confederate gunboat William H. Webb, which was rumored to be fitting out somewhere

up the Red River.

Ellet reached the mouth of the Red River on February 14, 1863 and promptly captured another

Confederate steamboat. From the crew, he learned of several other vessels, huddled for protection

under the guns of Fort Taylor, later renamed Fort D'Roussi, about 40 miles up the Red.

Ellet rashly decided to dash up river and capture or destroy the rebel ships.

When Queen of the West came under fire from Fort Taylor, she ran aground and was disabled

by a shot through her steam lines. Jubilant Confederate seized the ram before she could

be destroyed. In the confusion, Ellet and some of his crew managed to escape on the previously

captured steamboat.

Three nights before Queen of the West had approached Fort Taylor, Lieutenant Commander George Brown

took the new Ironclad USS Indianola past Vicksburg without harm. The Indianola's crew

was under strength and inexperienced, but the Ironclad could make better than two knots

...