'Action of the Gunboats at Memphis', (1878). On 6 June 1862, a Union squadron of ironclad gunboats under the command of Flag Officer Charles H Ellet destroyed the Confederate river defence fleet commanded by James E Montgomery, on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. The First Battle of Memphis, during the American Civil War, was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis and resulted in a crushing defeat for the Confederate forces and the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river. From "Our Country: a Household History for All Readers, from the Discovery of America to the Present Time", Volume 3, by Benson J. Lossing. [Johnson & Miles, New York, 1878]