A fairly confusing ACW naval action. The Confederates launch a surprise attack against early riverine ironclads using "cottonclad" ramships. The plan actually worked because the Union vessels were largely unprepared. While two ironclads were sunk, the action accomplished nothing of long-term significance and the two ironclads were back in service in less than two months.
Hog FarmTalk 01:36, 25 December 2023 (UTC)reply
Support by Nick-D
This article is in great shape, and is an interesting read. I have the following comments:
"had pushed downriver to Fort Pillow." - I'd suggest giving a rough location for the fort
Added
"and had developed a routine of having a single mortar boat guarded by an ironclad take a position further downriver to bombard the fort, while the rest of the fleet was upriver" - this is a bit hard to follow
rephrased
"The naval component of the Federal effort was commanded by Andrew H. Foote" - did he hold a military rank? If so, please add it
Added
I'd suggest moving the map into the 'battle' section, and/or left justifying it: it appears in the section after the battle on my monitor
Have moved this around a bit; both the map and the Currier & Ives image were added by another editor and I never got around to re-arranging
The para starting with 'A shot from Carondelet' is somewhat lengthy
Split
I'd suggest swapping the order of the second and third last paras of the article.
Nick-D (
talk) 03:14, 7 January 2024 (UTC)reply
Nick-D I'm not sure that I agree with this one - at least to me, it makes sense to finish all discussion of Plum Point Bend before moving on to the rest of the campaign for control of the upper Mississippi, but I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise.
Hog FarmTalk 01:53, 8 January 2024 (UTC)reply
Support Sorry for my very slow response here. My comments have been addressed.
Nick-D (
talk) 00:57, 22 February 2024 (UTC)reply
Nominator comment - I am aware that based on discussions elsewhere, I need to change the nomenclature used here from "Federal" to "Union". I intend on doing this but I am in the process of moving so I won't be able to get to this right away.
Hog FarmTalk 23:41, 14 February 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Hog Farm: Second thoughts: Would you rather I waited until you substitute Union for Federal, or I could do it during the course of my review? Your call!
Pendright (
talk) 20:18, 6 March 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Pendright: - either one works for me. I'm out of town for work this week and won't be able to get to anything until late Saturday or maybe even Sunday. I still need to finish up work at Big Black River Bridge too.
Hog FarmTalk 00:57, 7 March 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Hog Farm: Okay, then, I'll substitute them as I progress through the review.
@
Hog Farm: I have decided to renege on my offer to review this article. I've changed Federal to Union for only the Lead and Background sections. All the best -
Pendright (
talk) 22:07, 16 March 2024 (UTC)reply
No worries! I'll get this switched over myself.
Hog FarmTalk 23:17, 16 March 2024 (UTC)reply
Why don't you just add the location in main text? Would be a useful addition somewhere, surely
Done
"Union forces commanded captured" something missing here
Oops, fixed
A word or two as to the relevance of the Tennessee River and Cumberland River to the Mississippi, for the non-American reader?
I've rephrased and rearranged some text to try to make it clearer that the fall of these positions forced the Confedertes to withdraw further down the Mississippi
"position was captured on April 8"?
Done
"which was 50 miles (80 km) on the river north of Memphis, Tennessee" this seems a little awkward. Perhaps "which was 50 miles (80km) north of Memphis, Tennessee, on the river"?
Done
"Foote's Union vessels pursued." Pursued what? You've said that the works the Union just captured were already abandoned
Done
"Captain Charles Henry Davis took command"
Done
"The Union ships were known as the Western Flotilla." I feel like this should be mentioned earlier on, feels out of place here
This has been moved up to the first paragraph, where Foote is first mentioned
Beginning of third background paragraph could be simplified to "Captain James Montgomery and eight cottonclad rams, known as the River Defense Fleet, were located off of Fort Pillow. They were faster..."
partially done, although I've kept the reference to vessels being siphoned off elsewhere as I think that is useful
Would be useful to mention the size of the Union force, as you do for the Confederates
I've indicated the count of ironclads. I'm having trouble finding a source for the total number of auxillary vessels but that's less important as only the ironclads and one of the mortar boats were innolved in this battle
While I think cottonclads have been referred to as gunboats, for the sake of consistency in the article I think they should be referred to as cottonclads throughout
Done
Give M. Jeff Thompson's rank
Done
Suggest noting that Bragg is one of the cottonclads, as it might be thought that this is a separate vessel for Thompson
Done
"Confederate vessels passed through Plum Point Bend" this is the first mention of the article namesake. Needs a word or two explaining that (I assume) this is one of the bends in the river which the Union were bombarding from behind. Might be useful to add the location, per infobox, at this point
I've tried to elaborate on this a bit
"quarter" is naval terminology that needs a link or explanation
Linked
"The damage forced the vessel out of the action"...because she could not manoeuvre?
Yes, added
"Union lookouts had spotted"
done
"third Confederate ship, CSS General Sumter to ram her." comma after Sumter
"General Sumter was also badly damaged by a Carondelet shot and forced to withdraw from the battle; the fire came from Carondelet"
Done
"intending to ram it", "badly damaging it" you generally use the female pronoun
Fixed here, and at several other places in the article
"badly damaging it. The blow badly damaged the ironclad's bow" overly repetitive
I've rephrased this part a little bit
"The commander of General Earl Van Dorn was wounded during the action.[42] General Earl Van Dorn's commander, Captain Isaac Fulkerson" again repetitive, surely this could be merged
Rephrased/consolidated some
"from both the Confederate vessels" somewhat suggests that she is being fired on by two, rather than three, ships. Suggest removing "both"
Removed
"and accidental undershots"?
Done
"The former and Cairo attempted to save Mound City" this suggests you have already mentioned the arrival of Cairo, but you haven't
I've clarified a little bit - this was pretty much the first thing Cairo did upon arrival
"but Cincinnati was unable to reach the shore and sank in 11 feet (3.4 m) of water" > "but before she could do so sank in 11 feet..."?
Done, with a slight variance
"the fighting had lasted about 70 minutes"
Done
"the Cairo, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis"
Done
"...and St. Louis for their minimal roles in the action." Did St. Louis do anything at all?
Not really; I've mentioned in the article now that by the time St. Louis showed up, the Confederates were gone
"one sailor was killed"
Done
"instead of exploding within them" Suggest this change for clarity for the less military-minded reader
Done
"compared the appearance of the River Defense Fleet's smokestacks after the battle to nutmeg graters." need a word or two more to clarify that this is relation to damage they received, the following sentence doesn't totally manage this
I've added a clause
"cottoncladding" should this be two words?
Maybe? I've split it into two words as Google searching seems to indicate that this does not exist in the one-word form
"Two further Union ironclads were able to steam from the main group upriver"
Done
"it was later run aground on a shoal, where it sank." pronoun change again
This has been fixed
Main text says Corinth was abandoned by the Confederates, while lede says it was captured by the Union. These are slightly different events, so suggest going with one or the other description
I've tried to clean it up a bit - is this better
A word or two in main text about why the loss of Corinth made Pillow untenable?
Added
Add the names of the commanders to the infobox, as well as the strengths of the fleets engaged
Done
@
Pickersgill-Cunliffe: - Thanks for the review! Apologies for how long it took me to respond to everything.
Hog FarmTalk 01:15, 18 April 2024 (UTC)reply
A fairly confusing ACW naval action. The Confederates launch a surprise attack against early riverine ironclads using "cottonclad" ramships. The plan actually worked because the Union vessels were largely unprepared. While two ironclads were sunk, the action accomplished nothing of long-term significance and the two ironclads were back in service in less than two months.
Hog FarmTalk 01:36, 25 December 2023 (UTC)reply
Support by Nick-D
This article is in great shape, and is an interesting read. I have the following comments:
"had pushed downriver to Fort Pillow." - I'd suggest giving a rough location for the fort
Added
"and had developed a routine of having a single mortar boat guarded by an ironclad take a position further downriver to bombard the fort, while the rest of the fleet was upriver" - this is a bit hard to follow
rephrased
"The naval component of the Federal effort was commanded by Andrew H. Foote" - did he hold a military rank? If so, please add it
Added
I'd suggest moving the map into the 'battle' section, and/or left justifying it: it appears in the section after the battle on my monitor
Have moved this around a bit; both the map and the Currier & Ives image were added by another editor and I never got around to re-arranging
The para starting with 'A shot from Carondelet' is somewhat lengthy
Split
I'd suggest swapping the order of the second and third last paras of the article.
Nick-D (
talk) 03:14, 7 January 2024 (UTC)reply
Nick-D I'm not sure that I agree with this one - at least to me, it makes sense to finish all discussion of Plum Point Bend before moving on to the rest of the campaign for control of the upper Mississippi, but I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise.
Hog FarmTalk 01:53, 8 January 2024 (UTC)reply
Support Sorry for my very slow response here. My comments have been addressed.
Nick-D (
talk) 00:57, 22 February 2024 (UTC)reply
Nominator comment - I am aware that based on discussions elsewhere, I need to change the nomenclature used here from "Federal" to "Union". I intend on doing this but I am in the process of moving so I won't be able to get to this right away.
Hog FarmTalk 23:41, 14 February 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Hog Farm: Second thoughts: Would you rather I waited until you substitute Union for Federal, or I could do it during the course of my review? Your call!
Pendright (
talk) 20:18, 6 March 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Pendright: - either one works for me. I'm out of town for work this week and won't be able to get to anything until late Saturday or maybe even Sunday. I still need to finish up work at Big Black River Bridge too.
Hog FarmTalk 00:57, 7 March 2024 (UTC)reply
@
Hog Farm: Okay, then, I'll substitute them as I progress through the review.
@
Hog Farm: I have decided to renege on my offer to review this article. I've changed Federal to Union for only the Lead and Background sections. All the best -
Pendright (
talk) 22:07, 16 March 2024 (UTC)reply
No worries! I'll get this switched over myself.
Hog FarmTalk 23:17, 16 March 2024 (UTC)reply
Why don't you just add the location in main text? Would be a useful addition somewhere, surely
Done
"Union forces commanded captured" something missing here
Oops, fixed
A word or two as to the relevance of the Tennessee River and Cumberland River to the Mississippi, for the non-American reader?
I've rephrased and rearranged some text to try to make it clearer that the fall of these positions forced the Confedertes to withdraw further down the Mississippi
"position was captured on April 8"?
Done
"which was 50 miles (80 km) on the river north of Memphis, Tennessee" this seems a little awkward. Perhaps "which was 50 miles (80km) north of Memphis, Tennessee, on the river"?
Done
"Foote's Union vessels pursued." Pursued what? You've said that the works the Union just captured were already abandoned
Done
"Captain Charles Henry Davis took command"
Done
"The Union ships were known as the Western Flotilla." I feel like this should be mentioned earlier on, feels out of place here
This has been moved up to the first paragraph, where Foote is first mentioned
Beginning of third background paragraph could be simplified to "Captain James Montgomery and eight cottonclad rams, known as the River Defense Fleet, were located off of Fort Pillow. They were faster..."
partially done, although I've kept the reference to vessels being siphoned off elsewhere as I think that is useful
Would be useful to mention the size of the Union force, as you do for the Confederates
I've indicated the count of ironclads. I'm having trouble finding a source for the total number of auxillary vessels but that's less important as only the ironclads and one of the mortar boats were innolved in this battle
While I think cottonclads have been referred to as gunboats, for the sake of consistency in the article I think they should be referred to as cottonclads throughout
Done
Give M. Jeff Thompson's rank
Done
Suggest noting that Bragg is one of the cottonclads, as it might be thought that this is a separate vessel for Thompson
Done
"Confederate vessels passed through Plum Point Bend" this is the first mention of the article namesake. Needs a word or two explaining that (I assume) this is one of the bends in the river which the Union were bombarding from behind. Might be useful to add the location, per infobox, at this point
I've tried to elaborate on this a bit
"quarter" is naval terminology that needs a link or explanation
Linked
"The damage forced the vessel out of the action"...because she could not manoeuvre?
Yes, added
"Union lookouts had spotted"
done
"third Confederate ship, CSS General Sumter to ram her." comma after Sumter
"General Sumter was also badly damaged by a Carondelet shot and forced to withdraw from the battle; the fire came from Carondelet"
Done
"intending to ram it", "badly damaging it" you generally use the female pronoun
Fixed here, and at several other places in the article
"badly damaging it. The blow badly damaged the ironclad's bow" overly repetitive
I've rephrased this part a little bit
"The commander of General Earl Van Dorn was wounded during the action.[42] General Earl Van Dorn's commander, Captain Isaac Fulkerson" again repetitive, surely this could be merged
Rephrased/consolidated some
"from both the Confederate vessels" somewhat suggests that she is being fired on by two, rather than three, ships. Suggest removing "both"
Removed
"and accidental undershots"?
Done
"The former and Cairo attempted to save Mound City" this suggests you have already mentioned the arrival of Cairo, but you haven't
I've clarified a little bit - this was pretty much the first thing Cairo did upon arrival
"but Cincinnati was unable to reach the shore and sank in 11 feet (3.4 m) of water" > "but before she could do so sank in 11 feet..."?
Done, with a slight variance
"the fighting had lasted about 70 minutes"
Done
"the Cairo, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis"
Done
"...and St. Louis for their minimal roles in the action." Did St. Louis do anything at all?
Not really; I've mentioned in the article now that by the time St. Louis showed up, the Confederates were gone
"one sailor was killed"
Done
"instead of exploding within them" Suggest this change for clarity for the less military-minded reader
Done
"compared the appearance of the River Defense Fleet's smokestacks after the battle to nutmeg graters." need a word or two more to clarify that this is relation to damage they received, the following sentence doesn't totally manage this
I've added a clause
"cottoncladding" should this be two words?
Maybe? I've split it into two words as Google searching seems to indicate that this does not exist in the one-word form
"Two further Union ironclads were able to steam from the main group upriver"
Done
"it was later run aground on a shoal, where it sank." pronoun change again
This has been fixed
Main text says Corinth was abandoned by the Confederates, while lede says it was captured by the Union. These are slightly different events, so suggest going with one or the other description
I've tried to clean it up a bit - is this better
A word or two in main text about why the loss of Corinth made Pillow untenable?
Added
Add the names of the commanders to the infobox, as well as the strengths of the fleets engaged
Done
@
Pickersgill-Cunliffe: - Thanks for the review! Apologies for how long it took me to respond to everything.
Hog FarmTalk 01:15, 18 April 2024 (UTC)reply