CSS Maurepas

A sidewheel steamer, the vessel was constructed at New Albany, Indiana, in 1858, under the name Grosse Tete, having been ordered by one J. A. Cotton of New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] She was 180 feet (55 m) long, had a beam of 34 feet (10 m), measured 399 tons, and had a draft of 7 feet (2.1 m).[2] No depiction of the ship is known to exist. It had two sidewheels,[3] a wooden hull, and held a crew of 79. Grosse Tete was used for commercial trade until 1860, when she was purchased by the Bayou Sara Mail Company for mail delivery.[1]

Map of the Island Number Ten area, showing the Union position across from Tiptonville

After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Grosse Tete was purchased by the Confederate States Navy at New Orleans in November 1861 to be used as a gunboat,[1][2] although her sidewheel propulsion system was considered less useful than if she was a screw steamer. The Confederates rechristened her Maurepas, after Lake Maurepas, and placed her under the command of First Lieutenant Joseph Fry, formerly of the gunboat CSS Ivy.[3] An early report stated the vessel was armed with six cannon, although a later one from February 1862 listed only five.[1] According to naval historian W. Craig Gaines, these pieces were 24-pounders and 32-pounders;[4] she was reported to have had at least one 9-inch Dahlgren gun in April 1862.[5] It is not known if the difference in cannon count between reports represents a piece being removed or if the previous figure of six was an error.[1] Beginning in November 1861, a number of Confederate warships were sent north up the Mississippi River to support the defenses at Columbus, Kentucky. Maurepas made this journey in March 1862.[6] At Columbus, the vessel was part of a fleet commanded by Commander George N. Hollins.[7]

Beginning on March 12, Maurepas helped defend Island Number Ten.[1] Union Navy forces were bombarding the island, and Brigadier General John M. Palmer's Union troops had established batteries downriver across the Mississippi from Tiptonville, Tennessee, in hopes of cutting off Island Number Ten's supply line. On March 18, Palmer's position opened fire on Confederate transports. In response, Hollins sent Maurepas and the gunboats CSS Pontchartrain, CSS McRae, and CSS General Polk, downriver to shell Palmer's position. Return fire from the Union position struck the Confederate ships. General Polk was hit by cannon fire, started taking on water, and had to go downriver and out of the fight. Maurepas was struck eight or nine times by cannon fire and 30 or 40 times by small arms fire and suffered damage, with internal damage to cabins, her decks covered with splinters, and a ship's boat knocked away. Eventually, Palmer's men fell back, and Hollins's ships withdrew from the area. However, the Union troops reoccupied the position, and Hollins took his ships downriver to avoid fire from the batteries. Any ships heading upstream to Island Number Ten came under fire from Palmer's position.[8]

On the night of April 4/5, the ironclad USS Carondelet ran past the Confederate defenses of Island Number Ten to New Madrid, Missouri, which was under Union control. A second Union ironclad, USS Pittsburgh, completed the run early on the morning of April 7, and most of the Confederates withdrew from Island Number Ten during the night of April 7/8, as it was no longer feasible to hold the island. However, Union forces cut the Confederates off from their escape route at Tiptonville, and the garrison of the island was captured. Hollins's ships were prevented from going to their support by the two Union ironclads.[9] The Confederate ships then withdrew to Fort Pillow in Tennessee. On April 9, Hollins was informed that New Orleans was threatened, so he traveled downriver with Ivy and the gunboat CSS Jackson. In Hollins's absence, the ships were temporarily commanded by First Lieutenant Thomas Huger, with Commander Robert Pinckney expected to arrive shortly to take command. Huger learned that Union ships were nearby and on the morning of April 12, sent his ships upriver for a surprise attack. Union scouts picked up the movement, and the ironclad USS Benton fired on Huger's fleet. Maurepas responded with a shot from a 9-inch Dahlgren gun, to no effect. After navigating a bend in the river, the Confederate ships realized they were facing a large and prepared Union fleet and fell back to Fort Pillow. The Union ships pursued to a range close enough for them to bombard the fort. Pinckney soon arrived to take command, and sent Maurepas and Pontchartrain to operate on the White River to resist Union advances and serve as transports.[10]

On June 2, Maurepas was at the junction of the White River and the Black River.[1] On June 13, a Union Navy flotilla left Memphis, Tennessee, to travel up the White with the intention of resupplying Union land forces further north in Arkansas.[11] Composed of two ironclads and two timberclads, the Union fleet moved upriver. Two guns from Pontchartrain were taken ashore near St. Charles, with sailors and a portion of the 29th Arkansas Infantry Regiment manning the fortifications.[12][13] The Union ships approached St. Charles on June 16, but did not attack that day. As planned obstructions in the river were not complete, Maurepas and two civilian steamboats were sunk in the river as a blockage,[14] but not before three[15] or four guns from the ship were removed.[13] It had been thought that Maurepas would be outmatched against the Union ironclads.[16] The next day, in the Battle of Saint Charles, the Union forces brushed aside the Confederate defenses, although a cannon shot struck the ironclad USS Mound City, puncturing the ship's steam drum and scalding most of those on board. The Union supply mission eventually failed due to low water levels, and the infantry force had to march overland to a point from which they could be resupplied.[17] For years after the battle, the wreck of Maurepas could be seen at low water, but is no longer visible.[16]