CSS General Earl Van Dorn

An 1862 depiction of the Battle of Plum Point Bend; General Earl Van Dorn is the second vessel from the left[a]
History
Confederate States
Name	General Earl Van Dorn
Namesake	Earl Van Dorn
Operator	Confederate States Army
Completed	April 10, 1862
Acquired	1862
Fate	Burned to avoid capture, June 26, 1862
General characteristics
Type	Sidewheel steamer
Length	182 feet (55 m)
Beam	28 feet 3 inches (8.61 m)
Depth	10 feet 7 inches (3.23 m)
Armament	1 32-pounder cannon
Armor	Cottonclad warship
Service record
Part of:	River Defense Fleet
Operations:	Battle of Plum Point Bend First Battle of Memphis

CSS General Earl Van Dorn was a cottonclad warship used by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. She was purchased for Confederate service in New Orleans, Louisiana, in early 1862 to serve with the River Defense Fleet. She was converted into a cottonclad warship by installing an iron-covered framework of timbers on her bow that served as a ram, and protecting her machinery with timber bulkheads packed with cotton. A sidewheel steamer, she was 182 feet (55 m) long and was armed with a single 32-pounder cannon on the bow.

Having been assigned to defend the northern stretches of the Confederate-held portion of the Mississippi River, General Earl Van Dorn left New Orleans in late March 1862 and arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, early the next month. On May 10, she fought with the River Defense Fleet against the Union Navy in the Battle of Plum Point Bend, where she rammed and sank the ironclad USS Mound City. On June 6, General Earl Van Dorn was the only vessel of the River Defense Fleet to escape destruction or capture at the First Battle of Memphis. After withdrawing up the Yazoo River to Liverpool Landing, Mississippi, General Earl Van Dorn, along with two other Confederate warships, was burnt by the Confederates to prevent her capture by approaching Union vessels.

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