Island Number Ten, Battle of

The Battle of Island Number Ten is an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862.

The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, is held by the Confederates from the early days of the war.

It was an excellent site to impede Union efforts to invade the South by the river, as ships have to approach the island bows on and then slow to make the turns

For the defenders, however, it has an innate weakness in that it depends on a single road for supplies and reinforcements.

If an enemy force manages to cut that road, the garrison will be isolated and eventually be forced to surrender.

Union forces begin the siege in March 1862, shortly after the Confederate Army abandons their position at Columbus, Kentucky.

The Union Army of the Mississippi under Brigadier General John Pope makes the first probes, coming overland through Missouri and occupying the town of Point Pleasant, Missouri, almost directly west of the island and south of New Madrid.

Pope's army now moves north and soon brings siege guns to bear on New Madrid.

The Confederate commander, Brig. Gen. John P. McCown, decides to evacuate the town after only one day of heavy bombardment, moving most of his troops to Island No. 10, abandoning his heavy artillery and most of his supplies.

Two days after the fall of New Madrid, Union gunboats and mortar rafts sail downstream to attack Island No. 10.

Over the next three weeks, the island's defenders and forces in the nearby supporting batteries are subjected to a steady bombardment by the flotilla, mostly carried out by the mortars.

At the same time, the Union forces at New Madrid are digging a canal across the neck of land east of the town to bypass Island No. 10.

Several transports are sent to the Army of the Mississippi when the canal is finished, which provide the army with a way to cross the river and attack the Confederate troops on the Tennessee side.

Pope persuades Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote to send a gunboat past the batteries, to assist him in crossing the river by keeping off any Southern gunboats and suppressing Confederate artillery fire at the point of attack.

The USS Carondelet, under Commander Henry Walke, slips past the island on the night of April 4, 1862

This is followed by the USS Pittsburg, under Lieutenant Egbert Thompson two nights later.

With the support of these two gunboats, Pope is able to move his army across the river and trap the Confederates opposite the island, who by now are trying to retreat.

Outnumbered at least three to one, the Confederates realize their situation is hopeless and decide to surrender.

At about the same time, the garrison on the island surrenders to Flag Officer Foote and the Union flotilla.

The Union victory marks the first time the Confederate Army loses a position on the Mississippi River in battle.

The river is now open to the Union Navy as far as Fort Pillow, a short distance above Memphis.

Only three weeks later, New Orleans will  fall to a Union fleet led by David G. Farragut, and the Confederacy will be in danger of being cut in two along the line of the river.

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