THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE NAVIES.

621

vessels of the Mississippi flotilla during the period of Foote’s command, whichextended to the summer of 1862. [See pages 358 and 430.]

During the following year important additions were made to the flotilla.These were of two classes, light-draft boats and iron-clads. The light-draftswere small stern-wheel boats armed with howitzers, which were peculiarlyuseful for vedette and other light, flying service, but which in addition tooktheir full share of the brunt of battle in the numerous contests that took placein the shoal waters of the Yazoo and the Red River. Drawing less than twofeet of water, they could go almost anywhere, and with their howitzer bat-teries, and their light, bullet-proof plating, they were efficient vessels forclearing the river-banks of field batteries and sharp-shooters. Their armor,less than an inch in thickness, gave them the colloquial name of “ tin-clads.”Many of them, such as the Forest Rose, Juliet , Marmora, Rattler, Romeo , andSignal, became famous in the annals of the squadron, and the tiny Cricket,under Gorringe, fought in the Red River one of the hottest and most gallantlittle battles of the Western campaign.

The second class of new acquisitions, which may be called by comparisonthe heavily armored vessels, though more pretentious than their older con-sorts, were hardly, as a whole, more efficient. Three of them, the Tuscumbia,Indianola, and Chillicotlie, were side-wheel casemate iron-clads, carrying a some-what thicker plating than the earlier boats and a much more formidable arma-ment, but owing to poor and hasty workmanship they were occasionally foundunequal to the demands that were made upon them. Of a more satisfactoryperformance were two large steamers, the Lafayette and Choctaw , of onethousand tons each, well-built side-wheelers, which the Government pur-chased and altered into casemate iron-clads fitted with rams. Still later, threeturreted iron-clads of light draft, the Osage , Ozark , and Neosho [see page342], were added to the squadron. The above, together with a number ofcaptured gun-boats, the foremost of which was the Eastport, and a fewwooden steamers of various size and miscellaneous description, made up theforce with which Admiral Porter conducted his wonderful series of operationsfrom the autumn of 1862 until his transfer to the North Atlantic Squadronin 1864.

In addition to these vessels, which constituted the regular naval force,special mention must be made of the Ram Fleet, as it was called. This fleetwas the really brilliant conception of Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr., a civilengineer who, as has been already said, had called attention, some yearsbefore the war, to the renewed importance of the ram as a naval weapon.Having been vested with rank and authority by the War Department ,Colonel Ellet, who was no less ready in execution than brilliant in concep-tion, bought nine river-boats, which he strengthened and altered into ramson a plan of his own. They were called the Queen of the West, Monarch,Samson, Lioness, Switzerland , Lancaster, Mingo, T. J). Horner, and Dick Fulton.Though they were hastily and imperfectly prepared, yet under the leadershipof Ellet and other members of his remarkable family, who shared with him a'native military instinct that was little short of genius, and a superb courage