CSS Jackson
Encyclopedia

CSS Jackson was a gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 of the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Built at Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, in 1849 as Yankee, the fast side-wheel river tug was purchased at New Orleans on 9 May 1861 by Capt. L. Rousseau, CSN, then strengthened and fitted for service in the Confederate Navy, and renamed Jackson.

Service history

On 6 June Lt. W. Gwathmey, CSN, was ordered to her command, and after shipping a crew, took her up the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 to Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus, Kentucky
Columbus is a city in Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 229 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbus is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

, to join the squadron under Capt. G. N. Hollins charged with the defense of the river.

On 4 September 1861 Jackson supported by shore batteries briefly and inconclusively engaged the gunboats and off Hickman, Kentucky
Hickman, Kentucky
Hickman is a city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,560 at the 2000 census. Named for Captain Paschal Hickman, a Kentucky officer who was killed by Indians in the Massacre of the River Raisin during the War of 1812, it is the county seat of Fulton County.Hickman is...

. The Federal ships finding the current fast setting them down upon the Confederate batteries returned to their former position. Six days later the little gunboat took part in a spirited engagement at Lucas Bend, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, between Confederate artillery and cavalry and Union gunboats Lexington and during which she received an 8-inch shell in her wheel house and side which forced her to retire on one engine.

Jackson sailed with Hollins' squadron to attack five of the Federal blockaders at the Head of Passes
Head of Passes
Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass , Pass A Loutre and South Pass...

, Mississippi River, on 12 October 1861. They successfully routed the Union forces and proceeded to the defense of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet...

 which the United States Mortar Flotilla under Commodore David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...

bombarded from 18 to 24 April 1862. On 23 April Jackson was despatched to make the canals above the fort inaccessible to Union ships.

When the commanding officer, Lt. F. B. Renshaw, CSN, found it impossible to stem the Federal advance he retired to New Orleans. After the surrender of that city, Jackson was destroyed by the Confederates.
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