Charles Ellet, Jr. (Charles Rivers Ellet's father) was an early proponent of the ancient ram as a weapon, but didn't get any support until the CSS Virginia rammed and sank the USS Cumberland. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met with him and made him a colonel, authorizing him to purchase and outfit steam vessels for use in military (Army) rams.
Ellet bought seven of the fastest vessels he could find on the Ohio River and enlisted twelve family members, including his son, Charles Rivers (good middle name as it turned out).
The Queen of the West was built in Cincinnati in 1854 and weighed 406 tons and was 181 feet long. I was retrofitted with solid oak bulkheads and other protection was added. Four guns were mounted, but the ship's main weapon was to be its reinforced ram at its bow. To further make the ship look menacing, it was painted all black.
In its first action, in June 1862, the Queen of the West and the Monarch jumped ahead of the Union fleet and destroyed all but one of the eight Confederate ships at Memphis. But, Charles Ellet was mortally wounded and died two weeks later.
Watch Out for Those Rams. --Old B-R'er
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