TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Austin, Mississippi The growing possibility of success at Vicksburg after the landings at Bruinsburg led Stanton to order Halleck to send the Mississippi Marine Brigade back to that area. During the move down the river the E. H. Fairchild, the brigade’s quartermaster vessel, came under fire from two shore batteries in the vicinity of Austin, […]

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Tennessee Interlude The requested speed of action for the trip to Tennessee was not forthcoming. The Brigade spent the next ten days at Cairo, Illinois and Memphis reportedly coaling and finding Tennessee River pilots. The unexpected delay caused Ellet another rift with a superior officer. He failed to coordinate with MG Stephen A. Hurlbut, District […]

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Early Missions On March 13th, 1863 four of the Mississippi Marine Brigade boats, Autocrat, Adams, Baltic, Diana, departed St Louis to report to Admiral Porter at Milliken’s Bend. The Raines remained behind with the Woodford to continue recruiting efforts and to tend to a outbreak of small pox that further depleted the Brigade numbers. The […]

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Forming the Brigade The concept of a mobile force of mixed combat arms troops borne by modified river boats belonged to BG Alfred W. Ellet Jr. The commander of the Union’s brown water ram fleet had grown disenchanted with the routine duties that were assigned to the surviving rams by the end of 1862 and […]

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