Ellet and his men escaped to the DeSoto and Era No. 5 by floating downriver on cotton bales. The Confederates took over the Queen of the West and immediately began repairing it. Four days later, the Queen was underway with a new crew.
Of interest, this crew was mostly composed of soldiers who learned their nautical ropes on the way down the Red River.
In the meantime, Admiral Porter ordered the ironclad USS Indianola to steam downriver past Vicksburg and aide Ellet. Two barges of coal were strapped to the ship on the far side from the Confederate batteries.
Once past Vicksburg, the Indianola blocked the mouth of the Red River until she found out that the Confederates intended to attack her. This began The Great Chase. The Indianola started heading up the Mississppi River toward Vicksburg with the Queen of the West, ram CSS William H. Webb and two other vessels full of Confederate troops in hot pursuit. All of the ships were under the command of Joseph Lancaster Brent, Confederate Army.
--Old Secesh
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