Friday, April 25, 2014

April 26, 1864---The U.S.S. CRICKET



APRIL 26, 1864:        

The Red River Campaign continues to degenerate into a tragicomedy of errors. The U.S.S. CRICKET, Admiral Porter’s flagship, is stranded on a sandbar in the midst of the low-running Red River. It cannot pick up troops and ferry them away; indeed, it can’t move at all. Confederates onshore use the CRICKET for target practice, hitting it 38 times. A massed attempt to take the ship and capture Admiral Porter fails, when Union troops beat back a 1200-man Confederate force tasked to seize the CRICKET.


No comments:

Post a Comment