Combat· American Civil War
New Madrid and Island Number 10
The opening of the upper Mississippi, a combined army and navy operation in which Marines served afloat.
In the spring of 1862 General John Pope's army, supported by Flag Officer Foote's gunboat flotilla, moved against the Confederate strongpoints that blocked the river in the bootheel of Missouri, the town of New Madrid and the fortified Island No. 10 just below it. Marines served aboard the flotilla, manning secondary guns and furnishing the ships' guards, as the gunboats bombarded the works and helped Pope's troops invest them. New Madrid fell on 13 March and Island No. 10 surrendered on 7 April, the combined victory taking thousands of prisoners and breaking the Confederate hold on the upper river. No Marine casualties are recorded. The capture opened the Mississippi to Union control as far down as Fort Pillow and was a major step in the campaign to split the Confederacy along the river.
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Record no. 442