The Queen of the West also traded shots with the Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas. On October, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles reorganized the Western Flotilla, naming it the Mississippi Squadron under the command of David Dixon Porter.
In November, the ram fleet was transferred to the Navy from the Army by Lincoln (which would explain why a colonel would be commanding a warship). But the rams more or less continued to operate independently of the Navy control.
Early in 1863, Porter formed the Mississippi Marine Brigade intended to fight Confederate guerrillas who were a major problem. It consisted of 350 men under Army command, artillery and cavalry. They were ferried by the rams which were under Navy command. But the officers remained Army.
Charles Ellet's brother, Alfred was appointed brigadier general and placed in command of the brigade. Charles Rivers Ellet, his nephew, was placed in command of the Queen of the West.
Old B-Runner
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