New Madrid in New Madrid County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Bissell's Submergible Saw

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

1. Bissell's Submergible Saw Marker

Inscription. More than one hundred and fifty years ago, Brigadier General John Pope faced a tactical dilemma on the Mississippi River. Confederate batteries at Island No. 10 blocked passage through a complex series of river bends. Although Pope held New Madrid, downstream from the Confederates, his troops were on the wrong side of the river. With transports and gunboats, Pope could cross the river into Tennessee and turn the Confederates out of their fortifications. However, Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, commander of the Mississippi River Squadron above Island No. 10, declined to risk running the Confederate position as he was still felt the sting of repulse from the February Fort Donelson expedition. Foote preferred a standoff bombardment while waiting for an opening to exploit, but Pope was a man in a hurry and could not wait for developments.

In mid-March 1862, Colonel Josiah Bissell, commanding the "Engineer Regiment of the West," surveyed the land north and east of New Madrid. Reporting to Pope, Bissell found swamps and bottomland inundated with the early spring floodwaters. Bissell suggested a canal to provide passage for steamboats.

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Bissell's plan called for a path through some 12 miles of swamp, using some of the natural bayous and sloughs, cut 50 feet wide and 4½ feet deep. The chosen course followed Wilson's Bayou into the swamps, and then cut across to join St. John's Bayou—north of New Madrid. The mouth of St. John's Bayou provided a save (sic) cove to hide the transports from Confederate observers. Instead of facing an enemy force, Bissell's engineers would fight the barriers set in place by the Mississippi River.

For nineteen days Bissell's men worked to clear the passage. Where open bayou allowed, the engineers used a submerged saw to clear the trees. In other cases, the only practical method to clear the way was by hand. When completed on April 4th, the canal, or more accurately a channel, allowed passage of four steamboats and several barges—but no gunboats. The gunboats ran on Island No. 10 and were able to succeed with help from the forces that came around through the channel and up behind the Confederates leading to a Union victory on April 9, 1862.

A great deal of imagination is required to visualize steamboats working through what was once

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

2. Bissell's Submergible Saw Marker

a swamp. A visitor to the battlefield of Island No. 10 today will see a landscape vastly different than that of 1862. The site of the canal is not easy to find. In the decades after the Civil War, flood control measures and bottom land reclamation projects turned swamps into farmlands. As a result, the swamps around Wilson's Bayou became little more than a strip of trees.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Missouri’s Civil War series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1862.

Location. 36° 35.024′ N, 89° 31.607′ W. Marker is in New Madrid, Missouri, in New Madrid County. It is at the intersection of Main Street and Levee Road, on the right when traveling south on Main Street. The marker is located directly across from the New Madrid Historical Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 South Main Street, New Madrid MO 63869, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Missouri Bootheel.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Mississippi Delta,

in the Lewis & Clark

A modern reconstruction of Bissell's submergible saw image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

3. A modern reconstruction of Bissell's submergible saw

Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fort Bankhead (here, next to this marker); Battle of Island No. 10 (here, next to this marker); New Madrid (a few steps from this marker); New Madrid & Island No. Ten (within shouting distance of this marker); Water Route to Indian Territory (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Higgerson School (about 600 feet away); They Passed This Way (about 600 feet away); Thomas F. Hunter Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Madrid.

Also see . . . New Madrid Historical Museum. (Submitted on March 29, 2015.)

A modern reconstruction of Bissell's submergible saw (detail) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

4. A modern reconstruction of Bissell's submergible saw (detail)

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

5. Bissell's Submergible Saw Marker

Site of canal east along Levee Road. This image taken at 36.585438, -89.522353. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

6. Site of canal east along Levee Road. This image taken at 36.585438, -89.522353.

Detail of left figure: Route of Canal image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

7. Detail of left figure: Route of Canal

Detail of upper right figure: Depiction of Saw in Use image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Bruce, January 13, 2015

8. Detail of upper right figure: Depiction of Saw in Use

Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 28, 2015, by William Bruce of Madison, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 981 times since then and 42 times this year. Last updated on January 4, 2024, by Mark St. Martin of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on March 28, 2015, by William Bruce of Madison, Wisconsin. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.