FEB 01, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter urged the navy department to provide the heavy naval guns for his ironclad as soon as possible. He also recommend the seizing of the iron works at Jefferson, Texas, and expressed to Secretary Mallory his “regret that the Department is disposed to postpone the construction of the second [ironclad] vessel until the first is completed. Should such be the course pursued it will so far delay the completion of the second vessel, that there will not be sufficient water to allow her to get to the mouth of the [Red] river, or even below the falls at Alexandria before this time next year...the builders have procured very near a sufficiency of iron and timber to construct the vessels.”

The naval officer also informed the secretary that Moore and Smoker had purchased a steamboat, with suitable machinery for the ironclad, for $65,000.

FEB 15, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that the entire gun deck and most of the frame was up and that the planking would soon be applied to the ironclad at Shreveport. He also suggested that the vessel be named the Caddo, after the name of the parish that Shreveport was located in.

That same day, engineer John W. Parks arrived in Shreveport to supervise the installation of machinery and, by the end of that same month, the framework of the Caddo was completed, planking of the bottom and sides nearly finished, and the spar deck being laid.

FEB 18, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter appealed to Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, military commander at Jackson, Mississippi, to delay the sinking of a steamboat as an obstruction in the Big Black River until its machinery could be removed for the Caddo.

FEB 20, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter wrote to Secretary Mallory that Thomas Moore and John Smoker were “the only parties west of the Mississippi River who could or would undertake the construction of ironclad vessels with any reasonable probability of success.” The naval officer also stated, “As the timbers for the second [ironclad] vessel are nearly all ready, the contractors have decided to press forward the work on her until their private means are exhausted, supposing that the second contract will be approved...when the first vessel is completed.”

FEB 28, 1863 – As of yet unsuccessful at acquiring iron plate for the Caddo, Lieutenant Carter informed the President or Directors of the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad, “It is sometimes necessary to take private property for public use without the consent of the owner...It is my wish to obtain the iron with your consent, but if that is refused, I shall certainly use the iron, if needed...”

MAR 12, 1863 - Naval inspection officer Lieutenant Robert D. Minor reported to Secretary Mallory that the heavy guns intended for the ironclad at Shreveport had been seized by General John C. Pemberton for use in the defenses at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

APR 01, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter again wrote to Secretary Mallory requesting naval guns and reported that the army, for the defense of Grand Gulf, Mississippi, had seized the heavy guns intended for the Caddo. The naval officer also urged that the building of a second ironclad should be undertaken as soon as possible.

APR 03, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter informed Secretary Mallory that Captain Smoker had gone to Alexandria to find a steamer with suitable machinery for the second ironclad at Shreveport.

APR 14, 1863 - The hull of the Caddo was launched into the waters of the Red River. Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory from Shreveport, “I have the honor to announce to you the launching of the gunboat at this place today at 2 o’clock p.m. The cladding and placing the machinery will commence immediately and be pushed forward as rapidly as possible.”

That same day, Commander Brent informed Lieutenant Carter that Secretary Mallory had ignored his suggestion and named the vessel the Missouri.

APR 18, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory from Shreveport, “I have experienced great difficulty in obtaining caulkers. I sent to Port Hudson to procure them, and in addition, went myself, and applied to Gen. Gardiner for men. Some of the men detailed by his order, were stopped by Gen. [Richard] Taylor at Alexandria while on their way to this place.”

APR 21, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter wrote to Major J.L. Brent, chief of artillery and ordnance on General Richard Taylor’s staff, and requested that the guns salvaged from the captured ironclad USS Indianola be sent to Shreveport for use in the Missouri. The naval officer also reported to Secretary Mallory that the Confederate Army has taken possession of the T.W. Jones Foundry in Shreveport and the navy would now have to build its own foundry and machine shop if it intended to establish an ordnance works.

APR 29, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that the armoring of the Missouri below the knuckle was almost completed and her boilers installed. He also stated that cladding of the casemate would begin at once and her engines installed as rapidly as possible.

Lieutenant Carter had by now given up trying to obtain iron plates for his vessel and instead decided to use railroad t-rails seized from the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad and from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. The engines, salvaged from a riverboat slated to be sunk in the Red River as an obstruction, had been over-hauled and would be reassembled onboard the ironclad.

Finally, the naval officer reported that Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, had promised to send the two Dahlgren guns captured in the USS Indianola to Shreveport.

MAY 01, 1863 – Admiral David Farragut, commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, wrote to Admiral David Dixon Porter, commander of the Mississippi River Squadron, “I am informed by a refugee carpenter I have on board that the rebels are building an ironclad ram at Shreveport with a steel prow, as they say, in the shape of a V, lying horizontally. It is for this vessel they intend the two guns (IX and XI inch) which they saved from the Indianola. These guns are now at Alexandria [Louisiana] awaiting the ram. They do not appear to think she will be finished this high water.”

MAY 18, 1863 - Lieutenant Arthur D. Wharton was ordered to transport the guns from the CSS Harriet Lane at Galveston, Texas, to Shreveport for use on the Missouri. The ironclad was designed to carry a battery of six heavy guns, with two bow pivots, two stern pivots, and two broadside guns. However, due to a shortage of heavy armament, the ironclad was equipped with a makeshift battery of only three guns, including an 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore salvaged from the Federal ironclad USS Indianola, which had been sunk below Vicksburg, and mounted as the starboard bow pivot. The warship was also armed with an 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbore taken from the Federal gunboat USS Harriet Lane, which had been captured at Galveston, Texas, and mounted as a stern pivot and an old 32-pounder Army siege gun mounted as the port bow pivot. The shortage of heavy guns in the West was due to the defense of Vicksburg, the Confederacy's last major stronghold on the Mississippi River.

JUN 06, 1863 – Commander Brent and Lieutenant Carter urged the state of Louisiana to fund the construction of another ironclad at Shreveport. Later that same month, the state legislature authorized Governor Thomas Moore to advertise for bids on the construction of two ironclads at the approximate cost of $1,000,000 for both.

JUN 15, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that General E. Kirby Smith had ordered the 9-inch Dahlgren gun salvaged from the USS Indianola be sent to Fort Beauregard on the Ouachita River in Louisiana. The naval officer also stated that the Missouri was now ready for a trial run.

JUN 17, 1863 - The nearly completed Missouri was taken on her first trial run but could only manage a speed of six knots, well under the contracted speed of ten.

JUN 20, 1863 – Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that construction of a second ironclad at Shreveport was still awaiting official authorization from Richmond.

JUN 25, 1863 – General Magruder requested that Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith order the guns from the Harriet Lane be returned to Galveston. The general explained, “I am reliably informed that the Red River is now so low that it will be impossible for the ironclad ram Missouri (now at Shreveport, and for which these guns are intended) to proceed below for some time, probably six months... Lieutenant Wharton, C.S. Navy, is now en route for Shreveport with these guns, and I respectfully request that he be ordered to return them to Galveston.”

JUN 26, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that, unable to procure a supply of spikes or bolts, the builders of the Missouri had contracted local blacksmiths to forge the needed materials. The naval officer also suggested, “The importance of constructing gunboats for the defense of the Miss. River must be evident to the Dept., and since no other vessels can be built by private contract at the price fixed by the Depot. I would earnestly recommend that a Naval Constructor be sent here and a Navy Yard established by the Govt.”

JUN 30, 1863 – General Smith replied to General Magruder, “The gunboat Missouri has no guns whatever. At the present time there are but two heavy guns, those captured on the Indianola, in the district of Louisiana and Arkansas. The guns of the Harriet Lane are not designed exclusively for the Missouri, nor will they be used on her until such time as it may appear advantageous.”

JUL 01, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter wrote to Secretary Mallory and requested the command of the Missouri. The naval officer stated, “If placed in command of the Missouri and she can be properly armed, I will guarantee she shall be favorably heard from.”

JUL 14, 1863 – President Jefferson Davis wrote to General Smith, “When you can get a rolling-mill established, it may be that iron-clad gunboats may be constructed on the Arkansas and Red Rivers.”

That same day, Secretary of War James A. Seddon informed General E. Kirby Smith, “The Secretary of the Navy has made application to this Department for the use of the two heavy guns captured on the Indianola, with a view at once to make efficient a gunboat constructed at Shreveport.”

JUL 16, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to the state of Louisiana that the Confederate Navy had authorized the construction of a second ironclad at Shreveport, which may “obviate entirely the necessity of any further action on the part of the State authorities to carry out the provisions of the act providing for the construction of gunboats.”

AUG 1863 - Modifications in the Missouri's hull failed to increase her speed and by the end of the month the ironclad was as ready for service as was possible.

SEP 01, 1863 – Lieutenant Commander James A. Greer, commander of the Fourth District of the Mississippi Squadron and the ironclad USS Benton, reported to Admiral Porter, “I have seen two very intelligent boys, captured by our pickets yesterday. They belong to the Confederate Navy, and are from Galveston and were on their way to Mobile. From them I gather as follows: The Harriet Lane is dismantled at Galveston...Three 9-inch guns and two howitzers from her have been taken to Shreveport for the ram Missouri. This vessel is said to look something like the Benton; has a wrought-iron ram; draws between 6 and 7 feet of water; is mailed with railroad iron, 4 inches thick on bow and sides; on the stern has plates of thinner iron. She has a wheel like the Benton's, and the battery is to consist of two 11-inch guns, one from the Indianola and one from the Westfield, four 9-inch guns and two 32-pounders. [Lieutenant] Fauntleroy, formerly of the Navy, commands, but wishes to condemn her, but meets with opposition from Commodore Brent and Lieutenant Carter.”

“The men have no confidence in the ironclad. There are two others on the stocks, but will not be ready for six or seven months.”

SEP 12, 1863 - The CSS Missouri was officially turned over to Commander Thomas W. Brent, senior naval officer west of the Mississippi River, and commissioned into the Confederate States Navy. The vessel was 183 feet in length, with a wide beam of 54 feet and a light draft of only 10 feet. The steam sloop was powered by two engines connected to a 22-foot centerwheel located in a recess at the stern of the large rectangular casemate, which was 130 feet in length, 11½ feet in height and 33 feet wide at it's top. The gun shield was armored with 4½ inches of railroad iron and rose from the main deck at a sharp angle of thirty degrees.

As completed, the Missouri was poorly armored with t-rails that were not placed flush with each other due to a shortage of iron and inadequately armed due to a shortage of heavy guns. The vessel was also hard to steer due to turbulence created by the stern wheel, which also prevent the wheel from taking a large enough “bite” into the river and thus caused her slow speed. The ironclad also leaked badly due to being built with green timber and caulked with cotton, since oakum was nonexistent west of the Mississippi River. Finally, eight feet of the centerwheel was exposed to enemy fire but, despite these flaws, Lieutenant Charles M. Fauntleroy assumed formal command of the ironclad.

That same month, Lieutenant Carter was appointed the new commander of the Trans-Mississippi naval forces.

SEP 19, 1863 – John W. Parks departed Shreveport on his return to Richmond as Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that “the condition of affairs here at present would hardly justify the commencement of the work on a second ironclad." Within a month, the naval officer would further report that General E. Kirby Smith had seized all the railroad iron at Shreveport.

OCT 24, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory, “Had Lt. Fauntleroy not come to this place the Missouri would now have her crew and four guns on board and be ready for service.”

That same month, Lieutenant Fauntleroy expressed his complete displeasure with his new command by pronouncing the Missouri as worthless and “hoped that the damned boat would sink.”

OCT 26, 1863 - Lieutenant E. Cunningham, aide-de-camp to General E. Kirby Smith, informed Commander Brent, “I am instructed by the lieutenant-general commanding to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 24th instant, stating your purpose to remove, with some of the officers of your command, east of the Mississippi River, after turning over to Lieutenant Carter the command of the Missouri. In reply, the commanding general directs me to say he has no objection whatever to make to the course you propose, and will put no obstacles in the way of the execution of your purpose, provided a sufficient number of officers be left with the crew of the Missouri for her management.”

NOV 05, 1863 - Lieutenant Carter informed the post commandant at Shreveport of his assumption of command of the CSS Missouri and of the naval defenses of western Louisiana.

NOV 13, 1863 - S.S. Anderson, the assistant adjutant-general, reported to Major General Richard Taylor, “Captain Carter, of the navy, under whose supervision the Missouri was constructed, has been placed in command of her, and as there has been much said regarding her unfitness for service, he is anxious to prove the contrary, and it is not doubted that he will, when an opportunity offers, make a desperate fight. She will be sent down as soon as the navigation of the Red River will admit of it.”

NOV 22, 1863 – Lieutenant Commander Frank Ramsay, commander of the Second District of the Mississippi Squadron, forwarded to Admiral Porter the statement of Colonel Carpenter, a Union soldier who had recently escaped from the Confederates, “There are two gunboats at Shreveport finished, the Webb and Missouri, and another on the ways. The Missouri is built on the same plan as the Arkansas, only a little larger, and is ready for service, and I saw one large gun mounted on her, at the head of Cane or Old River, nearly opposite Mansfield.”

That same month, Lieutenant Carter replaced Lieutenant Fauntleroy as commander of the CSS Missouri and was ordered to steam down the Red River to cooperate with General Richard Taylor's Army of Western Louisiana. However, because of the low level of water, the Missouri would be forced to remain at Shreveport.

NOV 28, 1863 – Major General Nathaniel Banks, Union commander of the Department of the Gulf, reported off Pass Cavallo, “The floating battery, which Mr. Comstock reports as near the fort, is a poor attempt at an iron-clad. It has no guns and can do no harm.”

JAN 02, 1864 - Commander Robert Townsend, commander of the ironclad USS Essex off Donaldsonville, Louisiana, observed, “From Admiral [David Dixon] Porter’s stationing such of his vessels as can be used as rams at or near the mouth of the Red River (he has just taken the General Price from me for that purpose) I presume he does not give full credence to the pretty well-authenticated reports that the rebel ironclad Missouri is a failure.”

JAN 04, 1864 – Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith reported to Major General Richard Taylor, “Captain [Jonathan H.] Carter has three pieces mounted on the Missouri, a 9 and 11 inch [smoothbore] and a 32-pounder rifle. He has orders to take advantage of the first rise to fall down the river and report with his boats to you at Alexandria. He is a determined man, and, I think, will fight his vessel desperately. He requires about 60 additional men for the crews of the Missouri and Webb.”

JAN 06, 1864 – Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory that “the steamer Missouri is now ready for service with three guns mounted.”

JAN 22, 1864 - John McFarland, who claimed to be a British subject, informed Master Thomas Wright, commander of the ironclad USS Osage, “There is but one gunboat in the Red River, the Missouri; she is at Shreveport, unable to get below the falls.”

FEB 21, 1864 - Lieutenant Commander Frank M. Ramsay, commander of the ironclad USS Choctaw off the mouth of the Red River, reported that the water in the river was too low for three Confederate gunboats at Shreveport, Louisiana, to get over the falls.

MAR 19, 1864 – General Smith reported to General Taylor, “I have directed an officer of the Missouri, with thirty torpedoes and a crew of men selected for the purpose, to proceed down the river and obstruct it with torpedoes at some point below Grand Ecore.”

MAR 25, 1864 – Lieutenant Commander Robert Townsend, commander of the ironclad USS Essex and part of the Federal force that captured Fort DeRussy several weeks earlier, reported to Admiral Porter, “Before burning the railroad-iron casemated battery [at Fort DeRussy], I gave its powers of endurance another trial, this time with IX-inch solid shot, at about 300 yards. The guns had the best of it, the shot cutting out and rending the iron (4 inches thick) and burying themselves in the wood. None passed through...As the Missouri is similarly protected, these experiments assure us of the success that must attend our attack, should she wait to receive it.”

However, because of the unusually low water level in the Red River, the Missouri was once again forced to remain at Shreveport while Admiral Porter steamed upriver with a large flotilla of warships and captured Alexandria and Grand Ecore, Louisiana.

APR 04, 1864 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory from Shreveport, “The enemy are in possession of Alexandria – and their gunboats are above the falls. The river is now falling and if they attempt to come far enough for me to reach them, I hope to be able to strike them a blow. In the present state of the water, the Missouri cannot go far below this place.”

However, due to the defeat of General Nathaniel Bank's Union army and the continued falling of the Red River's water level, the Federal warships were eventually forced to retreat back to the Mississippi River. It was later discovered that Tone’s Bayou, located ten miles below Shreveport, had been responsible for draining off much of the Red River, which forced the Missouri to spend almost her entire career in the upper Red River laying torpedoes and performing transport duty.

SEP 04, 1864 - Lieutenant Carter led members of his crew in an attempt to capture the Federal gunboat USS Rattler.

OCT 08, 1864 - Joseph P. Green, a deserter from the Confederate Navy, informed Lieutenant William Flye, commander of the ironclad USS Benton and the Fifth District of the Mississippi Squadron, “that he has been employed on board a rebel transport at Shreveport, La., and that he left that town on the 26th of last month...Lieutenant Jonathan H. Carter (late of the U. S. Navy)...proceeded from Shreveport with certain of the crew of the rebel vessels Missouri and Webb, and with them captured the boats of the Rattler; that it was the intention of Carter to board and capture the Rattler, which he could easily have done, as so large a portion of her crew were absent; that after having got possession of her and her signals, Carter was to put a large force on board her and proceed down the river to attempt to capture other gunboats of this squadron, and that the whole plan was upset by the alarm that was given by an acting ensign belonging to the Rattler.”

OCT 27, 1864 - M.N. Lynn reported to Commodore Phelps at New Orleans, “I feel it my duty to make to you the following statement...The rebels, under Generals Walker, Taylor, and Polignac, about two months since, attempted to cross a force of nearly 7,000 men and 2,600 head of cattle to the other side of the river...To enable them to work with dispatch they commenced negotiating with a U.S. commander of a gun-boat there, lying at or near Mr. Joshua James' residence, Carthage Bayou, La...Said commander was to deliver up his boat to the Confederate officers by a certain strategy to cover any suspicion should his maneuver fail, and in view of the negotiations the Confederate authorities have conveyed to the spot the entire crew of the C.S. gun-boat Missouri, they lying at Shreveport, to have them in readiness to take charge of the aband-oned U.S. boat...We learned that the U.S. commander arranged with the C.S. commander to go ashore with his entire crew of officers under pretense of capturing Captain James, and while under the expedition the C.S. forces would capture the boats with only a negro sailor each for a guard, and they would immediately proceed to the U.S. boat, then with-out officers, and unsuspicious, proceed to the capture. We learn that after visiting the house of Mr. James they went forth to a frolic or dance, but one or more of the officers, not thinking all was right, unknown to the balance proceeded to his boat and immediately gained his vessel, communicating his distrust and clearing the ship for action only in time to frustrate being taken by the other two boats now manned by C.S. sailors, who proceeded near the vessel but did not proceed to attack, seeing demonstrations for a blind reception. After the C.S. sailors returned ashore.”

“During the taking of the two boats by C.S. sailors from guards, we understand they killed the guards, but they in their resistance severely wounded the commanding officer of the Missouri crew.”

MAR 30, 1865 - With the Red River finally at a safe level, the CSS Missouri began to steam down the Red River, with Lieutenant F.M. Roby onboard as the executive officer. Lieutenant Carter reported to Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner at Natchitoches, Louisiana, that he would welcome him on board the Missouri at Grand Ecore and that he hoped the ironclad, which was performing admirably, would prove “a valuable adjunct to your forces in defending the valley of the Red River.”

APR 04, 1865 - The CSS Missouri arrived at Alexandria, Louisiana, “and anchored opposite Fort Randolph.”

APR 08, 1865 - The Missouri was anchored between two forts located above Alexandria.

APR 14, 1865 – Major A.M. Jackson, from the Tenth U.S. Colored Artillery, reported to Major General S.A. Hurlbut, commander of the Department of the Gulf, “The gunboat Missouri came down to Alexandria on the 4th and anchored opposite Fort Randolph. She is built on the plan of the ironclad Tennessee, her sides having 35 degrees slope and being covered with two thicknesses of railroad iron, matched in by inverting the outer layer. This iron has also a horizontal angle of 35 degrees corresponding with the angle of the sides.”

“There are no wheelhouses visible. She is pierced with seven ports, but has only three guns, one 11-inch gun forward and two 6-inch rifles aft. The rifles are so arranged at the angles of the stern that they can be used astern or on the sides. The two ports not used are on the sides. She is very slow, not being able to stem the current alone. It is not intended to take her below the falls.”

APR 17, 1865 – Major Jackson again reported to General Hurlbut, “Some corrections have been made by deserters in regard to the gunboat Missouri, at Alexandria, La. She has 10 ports instead of 7, there being 2 in each angle of the bow as well as the stern, so that a gun mounted in the angle can be used as broadside or bow gun. There is only one gun in the bow, and that is in the starboard angle. The woodwork is 1½ feet thick.”

APR 26, 1865 - Lieutenant Carter learned that the Confederate Army planned to abandon Alexandria and withdraw to Natchitoches.

APR 28, 1865 - Lieutenant Carter reported to Secretary Mallory from Alexandria, “The Missouri is still at this place, but as the military authorities manifest a disposition to abandon [the] lower Red River I shall be compelled, perhaps, to move up the river. It is my present intention to select some point above, where the river is narrow, and where the Missouri will be much more formidable than she is at this place.”

APR 29, 1865 – Major Wickham Hoffman, the Assistant Adjutant General for the Southern Division of Louisiana, warned Brigadier General Robert A. Cameron, commander of the La Fourche District at Brashear City, Louisiana, “It is reported to these headquarters that an attempt will be made by the rebel ram Missouri to get out of the Red River by the Atchafalaya [River] during the present high water. Look out for her.”

That same day, Major A.M. Jackson again reported information gained from Confederate prisoners, “Two of the men were from the iron-clad Missouri. Her armament is one 11-inch gun (smooth-bore) in the starboard angle of the bow; one 32-pounder gun (smooth-bore) in the port angle of the bow, and one 9-inch (smooth-bore) amidships on pivot, to be used on either side. No ports in the stern. She draws nine feet of water. The smoke stack is twenty feet forward of the main hatch.”

“She has never attempted to stem the current alone. They all express the opinion that she will not attempt to come below Alexandria. Her crew is about eighty men. The following is a list of her officers: Lieutenant-Commander Carter, commanding; Lieutenant Crain, executive officer; Lieutenant Larmour...”

MAY 26, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, acting in Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith's name, surrendered the Department of the Trans-Mississippi to Union forces at New Orleans, Louisiana, under the command of Major General E.R.S. Canby. The department included the troops garrisoned at the two forts above Alexandria.

General Canby then informed Rear Admiral Henry K. Thatcher, commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, and Rear Admiral S.P. Lee, commander of the Mississippi squadron, “By the terms of the convention entered into to-day, the men and material of the C.S. Navy in the Trans-Mississippi Department are to be surrendered to the Mississippi and West Gulf Squadrons.”

MAY 31, 1865 – Admiral Thatcher reported to Secretary Welles, “With regard to the rebel naval force in Texas, I am assured by the Confederate Lieutenant Commanding Jonathan Carter, who is now here [at New Orleans] and declares himself to be the senior naval officer, that there is no naval property, nor any officers in Texas on the seaboard, and only one vessel in the Red River (the ram Missouri), which will be surrendered to the commander of the Mississippi Squadron.”

JUN 03, 1865 - Lieutenant Carter surrendered the CSS Missouri to Federal Lieutenant Commander W.E. Fitzhugh at Alexandria. The ironclad was the last Confederate vessel to surrender in home waters. Lieutenant Commander Fitzhugh reported, “Lieutenant Commanding J. H. Carter informs me that the Missouri is the only naval vessel on the Red River or its tributaries, but that there is a quantity of property at Shreveport, La...The Missouri I have brought below the falls and am cleaning up, preparatory to his leaving for the mouth of the river. She is a very formidable vessel, plated with railroad iron, resembling the Tennessee in some respects, but differs from her, however, in having a wheel in a recess aft. Her battery consists of one 11-inch gun, one 9-inch, and one heavy 32-pounder. She has been built of green timber, calked with cotton, leaks badly, and, I understand, is very slow. From all I can judge of her, I do not consider her of any use as an ironclad...I shall send her and the [ironclad USS] Benton down to-morrow, with directions for her to remain at the mouth of the river until further instructions.”

That same day, Lieutenant Commander Fitzhugh ordered Lieutenant John Pearce, Ensign Persifer Frazer, and Gunner Thomas Dunlop “to make a strict and careful inventory of all stores found on board the ironclad Missouri.”

JUN 07, 1865 - Lieutenant Commander Fitzhugh, with the USS Gamage, arrived at Shreveport, where Lieutenant Carter, with the CSS Cotton, formally surrendered all property and personnel associated with the naval station.

JUN 10, 1865 – Admiral Lee informed Secretary Welles from Mound City, Illinois, “I shall order the Missouri to this place or Memphis, provided she draws no more water than the ironclads of the squadron which are ordered here. If she does, I will keep her at the mouth of Red River, to be disposed of as the Department shall direct in the case of the Tennessee.”

JUN 14, 1865 – Lieutenant Commander Edward P. Lull, Chief Engineer Robert Tate, and Lieutenant J. Swaney reported to Lieutenant Commander Foster on “a careful survey of the ironclad steamer Missouri...We found the Missouri to be a casemated ironclad steamer of the following dimensions: Length over all, 183 feet; breadth of beam, 53 feet 8 inches; depth of hold, 10 feet 3 inches; length of casemate at base, 130 feet 6 inches; length of casemate at top, 105 feet; width of casemate at base, 53 feet 8 inches; width of casemate at top, 29 feet; height of casemate from water's edge, 11 feet 6 inches; draft of ship (reported), 8 feet 6 inches.”

“The armor consists of railroad iron of the pattern known as T-rail, placed diagonally upon the sides of the casemate, with the crowns placed alternately in and out, and locked into each other, and spiked with common five-eighths-inch spikes, one in the center and one at each end of each alternate rail. Upon the bow and stern faces of the casemate the rails are laid vertically and are secured in the same manner as those upon the sides. We suppose that the rails upon the sides were laid diagonally, to prevent cutting.”

“The thickness of the armor is 4½ inches, though the rails do not lock closely enough to make it solid. The armor is backed by 23 inches of yellow pine; the casemate at its base terminates in a knuckle, as in the case of the ironclads Tennessee and Atlanta. A pilot house is situated at the forward end of the casemates, raised 19 inches above the deck; the deck of the casemate consists of yellow pine, supported by deck beams of the same material, and is not covered with iron.”

“The forecastle of the vessel and the fantail are protected like the sides of the casemate. We are unable to ascertain how far below the water's edge the armor extends, but estimate it at about 6 feet.”

“There are two gun ports in the bow face of the casemate and three in each side, opposite to each other, with corresponding gun circles upon the gun deck.”

“The vessel is propelled by a single wheel contained in a recess in the after end of the casemate, but extending 8 feet 4 inches above its top and entirely exposed. The dimensions of the wheel are as follows: Diameter, 22 feet 6 inches; buckets, 17 feet long, 22-inch face. The armament consists of three guns.”

“No. 1, a Dahlgren XI-inch gun, said to have been captured on board the Indianola...This gun is placed to fire from the starboard port of the bow of the casemate or to pivot to the starboard forward broadside port.”

“No. 2 is an old-fashioned 32-pounder siege gun...placed to fire from the port bow port or to pivot to the port forward broadside port.”

“No. 3 is a Dahlgren IX-inch gun, also said to have been captured on board the Indianola. It is mounted like the other two guns and placed to pivot to either broadside from the after ports. There are gun circles for the center broadside ports, but no gun.”

“The woodwork appears to be generally sound, though the vessel leaks quite badly. The interior arrangements generally are poor. The officers' quarters consist of a sort of cabin in the after part of the casemate and of a few berths for the wardroom and steerage officers on the orlop, abreast the engines and wheel. There are two magazines and two shell rooms forward, one on either side and abreast the boilers...”

“The machinery consists of two poppet-valve engines...The boilers are placed fore and aft in the hull with the fire doors forward and furnished with a single smokestack...The machinery and boilers are in a very bad condition, and a large amount of repairs would be required to render them fit for service. The steering gear consists of three balanced rudders, placed under the fantail. The steering wheel is exactly under the pilot house, upon the gun deck.”

“We estimate the value of the hull, armor, and machinery of the vessel in their present condition, the ordnance and other stores on board, at about $100,000.”

JUL 27, 1865 – Admiral Lee reported to Secretary Welles from Mound City, “The Missouri leaked so badly as to require constant use of a steam pump to keep her free...the master carpenter at this station reported her in a sinking condition and recommended the removal of the railroad iron from her casemate, that she might be hauled out and calked or beached. Her casemate has been stripped and everything taken out of her, and she will be hauled out in a few days.”

AUG 02, 1865 – Admiral Lee informed Commodore J.W. Livingston, commander of the Mound City Naval Station, that the Missouri has “been put out of commission and are hereby turned over to you...No men have been assigned to the Missouri, which is on the way.” The flag officer further stated that Lieutenant George P. Lord was in general charge of the ironclad, with Lieutenant John Pearce and Second Assistant Engineer James O'Neil.

NOV 29, 1865 - The United States Navy sold the Missouri for scrap.