Last Red River Ships Cross Over the Alexandria Rapids

MAY 13TH, 1864:  Climaxing two weeks of unceasing effort to save the gunboats of the Mississippi Squadron and bring to a close the unsuccessful red river Campaign, the USS Louisville, Chillicothe and Ozark, the last ships above the rapids, succeed in passing over.

By mid-afternoon, porter's ships are steaming downriver, convoying troops ending one of the most daring exploits of the war, as Lieutenant Colonel Bailey's ingenuity and the inexhaustible energy of the men working on the obstructions raised the level of the river enough to save the Mississippi Squadron.

--Old B-R'er