Steve,

Meaning no offense, but you are on the wrong list for information about Union gunboats on the Missouri River. Try the Missouri in the Civil War Message Board in this same series.

However, yours is probably a trick question, whether you know it or not. According to my reading, even though James Eads manufactured ironclads at St. Louis, that is on the Mississippi River and those vessels never navigated the Missouri River.

Further, I know of NO Union gunboat per se that steamed the Missouri River. You see, the Federals regarded Missouri as a Union state and did not see a need for gunboats on the Missouri. The only reason they would have such a need after the southern army was forced out of Missouri in February 1862 was to keep guerrillas from firing on the Missouri River steamers.

That being said, the Union military fixed up the river trader "John Warner" with some cannon and troops during 1862 and for some weeks steamed her up and down the Missouri River just in case any guerrillas would happen to show themselves while the vessel happened to be near. Her voyage so armed was very peaceful, as you may imagine. You can look in the index under this vessel's name of the "Official Records" series 1, vol. 13 and read about the "John Warren" in this role. Incidentally, "Way's Packet Directory" tells us that the "John Warner" was a sidewheeler, made in New Albany, IN in 1856, weighed 391 tons, was 220 by 35 by 6 feet in measurements. In U.S. during Banks' Red River Campaign in Louisiana in 1864 Rebel gunfire sank her loaded with confiscated cotton at Dunns Bayou.

No, Steve, there were no gunboats per se on the Missouri River except for whatever firepower the Union military decided to place aboard river trade steamers to keep guerrillas at bay. Particularly in 1863 guerrillas fired a lot at passing traders but there was not a lot of shooting back at them.

Bruce Nichols