"the gunboat Tyler saved the day"

"the gunboat Tyler saved the day". . , David D. Porter, Acting Rear Admiral Commanding Mississippi Squadron, The guns of the U.S.S. Tyler sent their last blast hurtling toward Graveyard Hill at 10:30 A.M. on July 4, 1863. The Confederates were retreating. Helena remained in Union hands., The Battle of Helena, July 4, 1863 , The Tyler steamed into action before dawn, firing on Confederate troops near Helena on the Little Rock Road. Two hours later the Tyler's captain, Lieutenant Commander James M. Pritchett, brought the gunboat opposite Battery C., A Barrage of Shot and Shell , As the Confederates aimed the captured battery's guns on Fort Curtis, the Tyler opened fire. Her broadside guns poured fire onto Graveyard Hill and into the ravines sheltering sharpshooters. Her stern guns pounded the battery below as her bow guns poured shells into the upper battery. The Tyler's gunners fired 433 rounds of shots and shell with deadly effect. , The Tyler's Captain Praised , General Benjamin Prentiss, Commander of the Union forces at Helena, wrote Admiral David D. Porter, "Pritchett acquitted himself with honor and distinction...I attribute not a little of our success in the late battle to his full knowledge of the situation.", The U.S.S Tyler Goes to War , The U.S. Navy converted the U.S.S. Tyler from a freight passenger steamer to a timberclad gunboat in August 1861., The Boat , The Tyler was a paddle wheeler with a wheel at each side. She was 180 feet long and 52 feet wide., The Reinforced Hull , Five inches of oak on the upper deck and pilot areas protected the Tyler from small arms fire but nothing heavier. Barges tied alongside helped protect the hull., The Guns , The Tyler carried three 30-pounders, one 12-pounder and six 8-inch smooth bore guns., Photograph: USS Tyler on one of the Western rivers, circa 1862-1865. A small cutter is in the foreground and a "City" class ironclad is in the right distance. Courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph Collection, Support for Civil War Helena generously provided by Delta Cultural Center-Department of Arkansas Heritage, Helena-West Helena Advertising and Promotion Commission, and Southern Bancorp