The gunboat St. Louis, launched on October 12, 1861, was one of seven Cairo-class
gunboats built to carry the war onto the western rivers.
With 13 guns and a draft of just six feet, it
brought heavy firepower into waterways that larger warships couldn’t reach. It
initially operated under Army control, with naval officers commanding it.
In February 1862, the St. Louis helped capture
Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. Days later, it carried Flag Officer Andrew
H. Foote into the attack on Fort Donelson. Confederate gunners hit it 59 times
and disabled it. Its armor offered protection, but it wasn’t invincible.
The gunboats had an advantage at Fort Henry. It
stood on low ground, and rising river water had flooded part of it. Foote’s
vessels could fire straight into the defenses. The bombardment forced the
fort’s surrender before General Grant’s infantry arrived.
Fort Donelson was a different fight. Its batteries
stood high above the Cumberland River, giving Confederate gunners a commanding
view of the approaching boats. On February 14, they battered Foote’s squadron
during a ninety-minute exchange. Foote was wounded, and the gunboats withdrew.
Grant’s army continued the fight ashore and captured the fort on February 16.
After repairs, the St. Louis joined operations against Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow, then took part in the Battle of Memphis in June. These campaigns helped break Confederate control of the Mississippi River.
At Island No. 10, St. Louis joined the fleet bombarding Confederate defenses that blocked a bend in the Mississippi. With Union troops threatening their position and other gunboats slipping past the batteries, the defenders surrendered in April 1862.
Fort Pillow brought weeks of bombardment and maneuvering. The St. Louis operated against the stronghold as Union forces pushed south. The Confederates evacuated in early June, opening the way toward Memphis.
On June 6, the fighting moved onto the river outside Memphis. Union ironclads and Colonel Charles Ellet’s steam rams confronted the Confederate River Defense Fleet. Cannon fire and collisions broke the Southern flotilla, and Memphis fell.
Renamed Baron De Kalb in September 1862, it transferred to Navy control the following month. In January 1863, it helped capture Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post. It later fought at Fort Pemberton and operated around Haines’ Bluff and Yazoo City during the campaign against Vicksburg.
At Arkansas Post, Baron De Kalb joined Cincinnati and Louisville in shelling Fort Hindman on January 10. The gunboats returned to the attack the next day while Union troops advanced on land. Under pressure from both directions, the Confederate defenses collapsed. Nearly 5,000 soldiers became prisoners.
Fort Pemberton proved harder to crack. On March 13, Baron De Kalb fought alongside Chillicothe at roughly 800 yards. After Chillicothe withdrew, it stayed until dark, firing at intervals. Confederate shots tore into its wooden interior and damaged its wheelhouse, but it remained serviceable. Three crewmen were killed or mortally wounded, and three others were wounded.
The crew took an eight-inch gun ashore and set it up as a land battery. Even with that extra firepower, the expedition couldn’t force its way through Fort Pemberton.
In May, the boat joined operations up the Yazoo that opened communications with Grant and Sherman. Union vessels also reached Yazoo City and destroyed the remaining Confederate navy yard there. Keeping these waterways open helped the army tighten its hold around Vicksburg.
On July 13, 1863., near Yazoo City, Confederate underwater mines exploded beneath it. The ironclad sank in about fifteen minutes. Several crewmen suffered injuries, but everyone survived.
Earlier that day, Baron De Kalb had exchanged fire with Confederate shore batteries while supporting Union troops under Major General Francis J. Herron. After the defenders withdrew, the gunboat moved toward town. The mines struck after the fighting ashore had largely been won.
The boat’s afterlife began almost immediately. Sailors worked by torchlight to recover guns, weapons, and supplies, followed by a week of salvage. Plans to raise the hull never materialized. Its wreck remained visible during low water into the 1950s, a lingering reminder of the Union’s river war.
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