missed their mark and crashed together, the Beauregard
cutting the Price down to the water-line, and tearing off her port
wheel. The Price then followed the Queen, and laid herself up on the
Arkansas shore. The Monarch successfully rammed her late assailant,
the Beauregard, as she was discharging her guns at the Benton, which
replied with a shot in the enemy's boiler, blowing her up and fatally
scalding many of her people. She went down near shore, being towed
there by the Monarch. The Little Rebel in the thickest of the fight
got a shot through her steam-chest; whereupon she also made for the
limbo on the Arkansas shore, where her officers and crew escaped.

The Confederates had lost four boats, three of them among the heaviest
in their fleet. The remaining four sought safety in flight from the
now unequal contest, and a running fight followed, which carried the
fleet ten miles down the river and resulted in the destruction of the
Thompson by the shells of the gunboats and the capture of the Bragg
and Sumter. The Van Dorn alone made good her escape, though pursued
some distance by the Monarch and Switzerland, another of the ram fleet
which joined after the fight was decided. This was the end of the
Confederate River Defence Fleet, the six below having perished when
New Orleans fell. The Bragg, Price, Sumpter, and Little Rebel were
taken into the Union fleet.

The city of Memphis surrendered the same day. The Benton and the
flag-officer, with the greater part of the fleet, remained there till
June 29th. On the 10th Davis received an urgent message from Halleck
to open communication by way of the White River and Jacksonport with
General Curtis, who was coming down through Missouri and Arkansas,
having for his objective point Helena, on the right bank of the
Mississippi. The White River traverses Arkansas from the Missouri
border, one hundred and twenty miles west of the Mississippi, and
pursuing a southeasterly and southerly course enters the Mississippi
two hundred miles below Memphis, one hundred below Helena. A force was
despatched, under Commander Kilty, comprising, besides his own ship,
the St. Louis, Lieutenant McGunnegle, with the Lexington and
Conestoga, wooden gunboats, Lieutenants Shirk and Blodgett. An Indiana
regiment under Colonel Fitch accompanied the squadron. On the 17th of
June, at St. Charles, eighty-eight miles up, the enemy were discovered
in two earthworks, mounting six guns. A brisk engagement fol