One gun and a ram
10/12/1861
The CSS Manassas, a one-gun Confederate ironclad ram, rammed the USS Richmond at the Head of Passes at the mouth of the Mississippi River on October 12, 1861. This letter (one page shown here), written by Johnny (possibly J.R. Bartlett), records the action from the Richmond’s deck and shows the damage done by the ram. The Manassas suffered in the attack as well, losing its smokestack and prow and temporarily lost power.
National Archives, Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library
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Additional Resources
- Defunct Strategy and Divergent Goals - The Role of the United States Navy along the Eastern Seaboard during the Civil War
- The Diplomats Who Sank a Fleet: The Confederacy's Undelivered European Fleet and the Union Consular Service
- ARC Gallery: Civil War
