Indian name Miche-sepe, meaning “Great water,” or “
Father of waters” ; was first discovered by Europeans with
De Soto, in June, 1541, not far from the site of
Helena, Ark., it is supposed.
De Soto died on its banks.
A London physician named
Coxe purchased the old patent for
Carolina granted to
Sir Robert Heath (see
State of North Carolina) in 1630, and put forward pretensions to the mouth of the
Mississippi, which two armed English vessels were sent to explore.
Bienville, exploring the
Mississippi at a point some 50 miles from its mouth, unexpectedly encountered one of
Coxe's vessels coming up. Assured that this was not the
Mississippi, but a dependency of
Canada, already occupied by the
French, the
English commander turned about and left the river; and that point has ever since been known as “the
English Turn.”
In 1673
Joliet and
Marquette descended the river to a point within three days journey of its mouth.
Father Hennepin explored it from the mouth of the
Illinois River up to the falls of
St. Anthony in 1680, and in 1682
La Salle descended it to the
Gulf of Mexico, and took possession of the country drained by it and its tributaries in the name of the
French King, and named the great stream River
Colbert.
In 1699
Iberville built Fort Biloxi near its mouth, and in 1703 the first settlement of Europeans in that region was made at
St. Peter's, on the
Yazoo branch.
New Orleans was laid out in 1708, and the building of levees was commenced there.
In Civil War time.
The gunboats of
Commodore Farragut and the mortar-fleet of
Commodore Porter attacked
Fort Jackson, 60 miles below
New Orleans (q. v.), on April 18, 1862.
Fort Jackson opened the conflict by a shot, when a bombardment was commenced by twenty
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mortarvessels.
Porter, on the
Harriet Lane, directed the firing.
This conflict was continued several days, assisted by the gunboats, when, perceiving little chance for reducing the forts,
Farragut prepared to run by them.
In the intense darkness of the night of the 20th five of the gunboats ran up and destroyed the boom below the forts.
The
Nationals were discovered, and a heavy fire from the forts was opened upon them; and two hours later a blazing fire-raft came roaring down the river, but did no damage.
Night after night these fire-rafts were sent down.
During the bombardment 1,000 shells fell within the fort.
At sunset on the 23d
Farragut was prepared for the perilous feat of running past the forts.
The mortar-boats, keeping their position, were to cover the advance of the fleet.
At 2 A. M. the next day the fleet moved.
Farragut, with his wooden flag-ship
Hartford and the large ships
Richmond and
Brooklyn, that formed the first division, was to keep near the right bank and fight
Fort Jackson; while
Capt. Theodorus Bailey (q. v.) with the second division, composed of eight gunboats, was to keep close to the left bank and fight
Fort St. Philip.
To
Captain Bell, with six gunboats, was assigned the duty of attacking the Confederate fleet above the forts.
Keeping in the channel, he was to push on to his assigned work without regard to the forts.
These were silent until the
Cayuga,
Captain Bailey's ship, passed the boom, when heavy guns were brought to bear upon her. She did not reply until she was close to
Fort St. Philip, when she gave it tremendous broadsides of grape and canister as she passed by. Four other gunboats were close in her wake and imitated her example, and the whole of
Bailey's division passed the forts almost unharmed.
the
Hartford and her consorts had a tremendous struggle with
Fort Jackson.
The
Brooklyn had become entangled with a sunken hulk, and just as she had become free she was furiously attacked by the ram
Manassas, but without being much injured.
She had just escaped the ram, when a large Confederate steamer assailed her. She gave it a broadside, which set it on fire, and its swift destruction ensued.
Then she brought her guns to bear upon
Fort St. Philip and silenced that work.
Meanwhile the
Hartford was battling with
Fort Jackson and encountering a fire-raft that set her ablaze, but the flames were soon extinguished.
Captain Bell made his way up the channel.
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|
The Hartford. |
Three of his vessels had passed the forts, when a fourth was disabled by a storm of shot, one of which pierced her boiler, and she drifted down the river.
Another vessel recoiled, and yet another, entangled among obstructions, could go no farther.
Before the fleet had fairly passed the forts the Confederate gunboats and rams, commanded by
Captain Mitchell, had attacked the
National vessels.
The scene was then awfully grand.
The noise of twenty mortars and 260 great guns, afloat and ashore, was terrific.
Added to these were blazing fire-rafts, lighting up the scene with their lurid blaze.
Upon the
Cayuga (
Captain Bailey) and the
Varuna (
Captain Boggs) the chief wrath of the
Confederates seemed to be directed.
These commanders performed wonders of valor.
Bailey's vessel escaped up the river after having been struck forty-two times.
the
Varuna had rushed into the midst of the Confederate fleet to assist the
Cayuga,
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and delivered her broadsides right and left with destructive effect.
She was finally attacked by a ram, which she drove ashore in flames, when
Boggs, finding his own vessel sinking, let go her anchor and tied her bow up to the shore, at the same time firing upon an antagonist.
This was kept up until the water was over the gun-trucks, when
Boggs got his crew on shore.
the
Varuna had driven four Confederate gunboats ashore in flames.
Thus ended one of the most desperate conflicts of the war. Within the space of an hour and a half after the
National vessels left their anchorage the forts were passed, and eleven of the Confederate vessels—nearly the whole of their fleet —were destroyed.
The National loss was thirty killed and 125 wounded. All of
Farragut's vessels—twelve in number— joined the
Cayuga at quarantine above the forts, when the dead were carried ashore and buried.
The forts were surrendered, and the
lower Mississippi was opened as far as New Orleans.
In this desperate engagement the ram
Manassas had taken a conspicuous part in the flotilla fight above the forts.
She was a peculiar-shaped iron-clad vessel, with a powerful iron beak; but in this engagement she was so dreadfully pounded and shattered by the shot of the
National gunboats that she was at length sent adrift, in a helpless condition, going towards
Porter's mortar-fleet.
Some of
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|
The Manassas. |
these vessels opened fire upon her; but it was soon perceived that she was harmless.
Her pipes were all twisted and riddled by shot, and her hull was well battered and pierced.
Smoke was issuing from every opening, for she was on fire.
At length, giving a plunge like some huge monster, she went hissing to the bottom of the
Mississippi.
The river was well blockaded at
Vicksburg and
Port Hudson.
Between these points Confederate transports were supplying the troops at both places.
It was determined by the federal authorities to destroy them; and for this purpose the ram
Queen of the West ran by the batteries at
Vicksburg before daylight, Feb. 2, 1863, destroyed some vessels near
Natchez, ran a few miles up the
Red River, and, returning, repassed the
Vicksburg batteries.
On Feb. 10 she started on another raid down the river, accompanied by a gunboat and coal-barge.
They passed the batteries at
Vicksburg, went up the
Red River to the
Atchafalaya, captured a train of army-wagons and a quantity of stores on that stream, and also a small steamer (the
Era) laden with corn and
Texas soldiers.
Captain Ellet compelled the pilot of the
Era to serve the
Queen of the West in the same capacity, when he purposely ran her ashore near
Fort Taylor, where heavy guns soon disabled her.
Captain Ellet and his crew abandoned her, and retreated on floating bales of cotton.
The accompanying gunboat (
De Soto) picked them up, when the same pilot ran her ashore, and the vessel and coal-barge were scuttled and sunk.
The little
Era was now
Ellet's last refuge.
Casting her corn overboard (her Texan soldiers had been paroled), he went as lightly and rapidly as possible down to the
Mississippi, when the same Confederate pilot ran her ashore, while four armed boats were close in chase.
the
Era was extricated, and, going slowly up the
Mississippi, met the powerful National iron-clad
Indianola coming down in a fog. She rescued the
Era from her pursuers (among which was the powerful ram
Webb, which had come out of the
Red River), and she reached a point below
Vicksburg in safety.
the
Indianola blockaded the mouth of the
Red River a few days, and then ascending the
Mississippi to enter the
Big Black River, she was
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assailed near
Grand Gulf, at 9 P. M., by powerful Confederate gunboats (among them the
Webb and the captured
Queen of the West), and was compelled to surrender.
The Confederates now believed they had nothing to fear between
Vicksburg and
Port Hudson, when they were alarmed and disconcerted by a trick.
Admiral Porter fitted up a worthless flat-boat in imitation of a ram, with smoke-stacks made of porkbarrels, and set it afloat one night without a man on board.
When the
Confederates discovered it they believed it to be a terrible iron-clad monster.
As it passed sullenly by it drew a tremendous fire from the batteries at
Vicksburg.
It seemed to defy shot and shell.
Word was quickly sent to the gunboats below.
the
Queen of the West fled in great haste.
the
Indianola was destroyed to prevent her being captured by the awful ram, and her great guns went to the bottom of the river.
Modern improvements.
It has been officially estimated that during the period of 1850-90 something like $35,000,000 was spent on the levees of the
Mississippi, and that nearly or quite one-half of this sum was contributed by the taxpayers of the localities directly benefited.
The engineers of the
Mississippi River commission, authorized by act of Congress, reported in 1897 that a further sum of about $18,000,000 would be required to complete the work of construction and improvement, after which the chief expense would be confined to maintenance.
The importance of the river to navigation and the great damage its banks have sustained from floods (see
inundations) induced Congress in 1892 to take a larger share in the work of constructing and strengthening the levees than previously, and to thus relieve the people of
Missouri,
Arkansas,
Tennessee,
Mississippi, and
Louisiana.
Hence, of the allotment to the commission, averaging $2,500,000 per annum, usually one-half, and sometimes threefifths, is used for this purpose.
The following apportionment of the congressional appropriation of $2,250,000 for the improvement of the river in 1900-1 gives an idea of the character and costliness of the work:
| Upper St. Francis Levee District | $20,000 |
| Lower St. Francis Levee District | 114,500 |
| White River Levee District | $50,000 |
| Upper Yazoo Levee District | 94,000 |
| Lower Yazoo Levee District | 150,000 |
| Upper Tansas Levee District | 300,000 |
| Lower Tansas Levee District | 110,000 |
| Atchafa Levee District | 55,000 |
| La Fourche Levee District | 28,000 |
| Barataria Levee District | 14,000 |
| Lake Borgne Levee District | 14,500 |
| Dredges and dredging | 400,000 |
| Surveys and observations | 40,000 |
| Plum Point Reach | 80,000 |
| Hopefield Point | 50,000 |
| Ashbrook Neck | 70,000 |
| Lake Providence Revetment | 75,000 |
| Kemple Bend Revetment | 150,000 |
| Giles Bend Revetment | 150,000 |
| For surveys | 15,000 |
| Plant | 75,000 |
The
Eads jetties at the mouth of the river form one of the grandest and most successful triumphs of engineering skill in the interest of inland navigation to be found anywhere.
