American School, 19th c., "Civil War Battle Scene, possibly the First Battle of Memphis, 1862", oil on canvas, unsigned, 34 1/2 in. x 39 in., framed . Provenance: Webb Family, New Orleans and Minden, LA. Note: In the early hours of June 6, 1862, a naval battle ensued between five Union gunboats, the flagship Benton, and four rams against eight cottonclad Confederate rams. The Confederate boats, known as the “River Defense Fleet,” were split into two formations, one to fight against the Union ships coming up the Mississippi River at the Gulf of Mexico opening under Admiral David Farragut, and one to protect the river from a Northern attack near Memphis. The Union ships were under the command of Flag Officer Charles Henry Davis and Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr., while the Confederate fleet was led by James E. Montgomery, a riverboat captain with no military training. The lack of coordination between military and non-military personnel on the Confederate side led to general chaos as the Union rams sank all but one of their ships in the foggy, early morning of June 6. This battle led to the surrender of Memphis to the Union and allowed Union naval forces to proceed farther down the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg, meeting there with Farragut’s forces from New Orleans. The painting offered here depicts the horrors of a major naval battle of the Civil War, possibly this First Battle of Memphis, and includes a fiery explosion in the background with stranded soldiers among the wreckage of sunken ships in the foreground. The center of the composition shows several of the remaining ships with Union Navy flags amidst the debris.