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Arlington in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
 

Memphis's Civil War Sites

Civilians Lined the Bluffs

 
 
Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, October 8, 2010
1. Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker
Inscription.
In April 1862, Union victories at Shiloh and on the Mississippi River made Confederate control of the river in Tennessee more difficult. Southern soldiers evacuated posts that they could not defend easily, such as Memphis. Capt. James E. Montgomery remained with eight gunboat-rams to protect the city. Shortly before dawn on June 6, Federal Capt. Charles H. Davis's ironclad gunboat flotilla and Col. Charles Ellet's Ram Fleet steamed downriver to attack them. Memphis civilians lined the bluffs to watch the battle.

At first, the gunboats shelled each other ineffectually. The USS rams Queen of the West and Monarch then rammed and disabled CSA General Lovell and General Price, respectively, and the engagement became one-sided. The battle ended at mid-morning with all but one of Montgomery's vessels destroyed or captured. Hundreds of Confederate sailors were killed or taken prisoner. Ellet was the only Union fatality, dying of his wound two weeks later. The mayor of Memphis surrendered the city to Ellet's son, Medical Cadet Charles R. Ellet, and two marines.

The Tennessee Wars Commission helps preserve and promote battlefields, sites, and buildings. www.tdec.net/hist/TnWarsCom.shtml

The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area is a federal, state, and local partnership managed
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by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University.

www.go-tennessee.com/
Tennessee-Civil-War-National-Heritage-Area

(sidebar)
The side-wheel steamboat Sultana was photographed in Helena, Ark., on April 26, 1865, en route upstream from Vicksburg, Miss. Carrying almost 2,500 persons, mostly newly released Union prisoners of war, the vessel was vastly overloaded. At 2 A.M. on April 27, about 8 miles north of Memphis, a boiler exploded and the Sultana burned and sank. An estimated 1,800 people died in the largest maritime disaster in American history.

Sultana - Courtesy Library of Congress

(caption)
Ellet approaching Memphis to demand surrender, Harper's Weekly, June 28, 1862

(map legend)
1. Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island River Park
2. Confederate Park
3. Forrest Park
4. Hunt-Phelan House
5. Elmwood Cemetery
6. Fort Pickering Site at Chickasaw Heritage Park

Memphis - Home of the Blues - Birthplace of Rock'n'Roll
For more detailed visitor information ask for assistance inside the Visitor Center.
 
Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil
Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker Map image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, October 8, 2010
2. Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker Map
Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1862.
 
Location. 35° 15.775′ N, 89° 39.707′ W. Marker is in Arlington, Tennessee, in Shelby County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Arlington Trail and Misty Trail, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located at the Memphis/Shelby County Visitor Center (Exit 25, I-40). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12036 Arlington Trail, Arlington TN 38002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Orion Hill (approx. 1.2 miles away); Arlington Cemetery (approx. 1˝ miles away); Arlington, Tennessee (approx. 1.7 miles away); Hughes-College Hill Park (approx. 1.8 miles away); Arlington, Tennessee Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.8 miles away); The Country Store (approx. 2.3 miles away); Rachel H.K. Burrow Museum (approx. 2.3 miles away); Blacksmith Shop (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arlington.
 
Also see . . .  Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. A program of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University (Submitted on September 6, 2015.)
Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, October 8, 2010
3. Memphis's Civil War Sites Marker
 
 
Sultana 1865 image. Click for full size.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
4. Sultana 1865
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 24, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 6, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,806 times since then and 263 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 6, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024