CSS ARKANSAS
Dimensions: Length-165 feet, Beam-35 feet, draft-11 feet 6"
Displacement: 800 tons
Speed: 8 knots
Crew: 232
Armor: T-rails 4", casemate 2", piolthouse 1"
Armament: (10 guns) 2 8" 64lb. rifles forward 2 32lb. smoothbores astern 2 100lb. columbiads and a 6" rifle on each broadside
Authorized: 24 August, 1861
Launched 2nd week of July 1862 from the Yazoo river.

"Ships engines had the unfortunate habit of stopping whilst the other turned the ship in circles"

First action: July 15 1862-Against USS Carondelet (run aground-mouth of the Yazoo); USS Lancaster (destroyed-action- now in the Mississippi river)
The Arkansas now passed through the heart of Farragut's fleet exchanging fire with the frigates Richmond and Hartford. Union ironclads Essex and Benton now engaged. The Essex was undergoing repiar and was dead in the water so only the Benton was underway. The action was now taking place under the bluffs of Vicksburg with the entire population of the town turned out to cheer on The Arkansas.

After engaging an entire Union squadron the Arkansas was in no shape for further action, several of the crew were dead,plates were damaged and holed and half her guns were damaged or dismounted. Navy Lieut. Issac Brown (in command) needed time to repair.

Farragut was in a rage following the embaressment of his fleet. The night of the 15th he moved 14 gunboats down river each firing at Arkansas as they passed, most shots missed but one 160lb. shell did find its mark, hitting the engine room and killing 6 men. Return fire from the Arkansas and the Vicksburg batteries killed 32 Union sailors. Mortar shelling of the Arkansas was kept up for several days thereafter.

On the 22nd of July Farragut ordered the Essex and the Queen of the West upstream to engaged the Arkansas. The Essex, heavily engaged by the Arkansas as well as Vicksburg shore batteries, ran aground. The Essex barely was able to pull off the mud and limped back downriver. The Arkansas now turned to face the Queen of the West. Raked by a broadside from the Arkansas the Union ram limped upriver. By now the Arkansas had survived three encounters with Union vessels but the effective crew was reduced to about 20 men and Brown now promoted to Captain was sent home to recover from wounds. Lt. Henry Stevens was placed in command and charged with making repairs. Farragut left the Arkansas unmolested, moving his fleet downstream.

On August 3 1862 The Arkansas was ordered to engage five Union vessels near Baton Rouge and that evening she was underway. It was a passage she would never complete. Her engines had been hastily repaired and less than 20 miles north of Baton Rouge as The Arkansas old enemy The Essex steamed out to offer battle The Arkansas, 'The scourge of the Mississippi' became unmanaverable as her engines failed.
Stevens loaded every gun, offloaded the crew and set fire to the helpless ship. A massive explosion marked the end of the CSS Arkansas-the gamiest ship in the Confederate navey.