Shortly before 7 a.m., the ironclad monitor Tecumseh, Commander T.A.M. Craven, opened fire on Fort Morgan. The action quickly became general. The small Confederate squadron under Admiral Buchanan, including the ironclad CSS Tennessee (6 guns), Gaines (6 guns), Selma (4 guns) and Morgan (6 guns) moved out to fight.
Craven headed the Tecumseh for the Tennessee, intent on engaging her at once. Suddenly, a terrific explosion rocked the monitor which careened violently and sank in seconds, the victim of one of those feared torpedoes.
Amidst the confusion below deck as men struggled to escape the sinking ship, Craven and the pilot, John Collins, arrived at the ladder leading to the main deck. The captain stepped back and said, "After you, pilot. Collins survived, but the captain did not. He and some 90 officers and men out of the Tecumseh's crew of 114 went down with the ship. Captain Alden later called them "intrepid pioneers of that death-strewed path."
The End of a Gallant Ship. --Old B-Runner
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