Confederate River Defense Fleet
E385993
The Confederate River Defense Fleet was a hastily assembled Confederate naval force of converted river steamers used for ramming and defending key waterways, notably during the Civil War campaigns around New Orleans.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Confederate River Defense Fleet canonical | 1 |
Statements (35)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Confederate States Navy unit
ⓘ
naval formation ⓘ river defense fleet ⓘ |
| armamentCharacteristic |
limited artillery
ⓘ
reinforced bows for ramming ⓘ |
| baseOfOperations | New Orleans ⓘ |
| commandStructure |
loosely coordinated with Confederate Navy
ⓘ
nominally under Confederate War Department ⓘ |
| conflict | American Civil War ⓘ |
| country | Confederate States of America ⓘ |
| disbanded | 1862 ⓘ |
| equipmentType | converted river steamers ⓘ |
| fate |
largely destroyed in 1862
ⓘ
surviving vessels captured or scuttled ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
demonstrated limitations of unarmored rams against organized naval forces
ⓘ
illustrated Confederate reliance on improvised river defenses ⓘ |
| notableEngagement |
Capture of New Orleans
ⓘ
surface form:
Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
Battle of Memphis ⓘ Battle of Plum Point Bend ⓘ defense of New Orleans ⓘ |
| operationalArea |
Gulf Coast inland waterways
ⓘ
Mississippi River ⓘ Lower Mississippi River basin ⓘ
surface form:
lower Mississippi River
|
| opponent |
Union Navy
ⓘ
United States Ram Fleet ⓘ |
| organizationalCharacteristic |
crewed largely by civilian rivermen
ⓘ
hastily assembled ⓘ partly privately contracted ⓘ |
| organized | 1862 ⓘ |
| primaryRole |
ramming enemy vessels
ⓘ
river defense ⓘ |
| shipTypeUsed |
sidewheel steamer
ⓘ
sternwheel steamer ⓘ |
| tacticalDoctrine | use of rams instead of heavy guns ⓘ |
| theater | Western Theater of the American Civil War ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.