Battle of Memphis - Results

Results

The battle of Memphis was, aside from the later appearance of the ironclad CSS Arkansas, the final challenge to the Federal thrust down the Mississippi River against Vicksburg. The river was now open down to that city, which was already besieged by Farragut's ships, but the Federal Army authorities did not grasp the strategic importance of the fact for nearly another six months. Not until November would the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant attempt to complete the opening of the river.

The poor performance of the River Defense Fleet, both at Memphis and at the earlier Battle of New Orleans, was the final demonstration that naval operations had to be commanded by trained professionals subject to military discipline. The Ellet Rams remained in the Federal service, but they had no opportunity for combat of the sort for which they were intended. They were soon transformed to an amphibious raiding body, the Mississippi Marine Brigade (with no connection to the United States Marine Corps), led by Col. Ellet's brother, Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier General) Alfred W. Ellet. The demand for increased professionalism has also resulted in the elimination of privateering, although the River Defense Fleet was not composed of privateers in the usual meaning of the term.

The battle remains a cautionary tale, demonstrating the ill effects of poor command structure. It is also interesting in that it is one of only two purely naval battles of the war, excluding single-ship actions, and took place 500 mi (800 km) from the nearest open water. (The other was the Battle of Plum Point Bend, also on the Mississippi.)

Another Civil War military engagement also took place in Memphis, the Second Battle of Memphis in April 1864, when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led a nighttime cavalry raid on his hometown of Memphis with the intent of freeing Confederate prisoners and capturing Union generals encamped in Memphis. The raid failed in both goals, but forced the Union Army to guard the area more diligently.