Monday, February 18, 2013

Battle of St.Charles Arkansas

If you're traveling in Arkansas checking out the Civil War sites, you must go by St. Charles on the White River. The single most deadly shot of the war was fired there when the Gunboat Mound City was struck by a round from one of the Confederates' big guns.  The round hit the steam drum scalding most on board. Of the 175 sailors, 105 men died and about 44 were injured. The boat lost all power and drifted with the current.


The horrible battle scene is depicted
in John Gschwend's new novel.
I depict this battle in my new novel, Spirit In The Red Amber. Men were floundering on deck like fish. Many were scalded so bad that their skin hang from them like wax from a candle. Many of the survivors that jumped into the river were picked off by the Confederate soldiers like fish in a barrel. It was all hell. After it was all said and done, the Yankees won the battle, but at a very high price.

They have a plaque at the site and a little museum there in town. There is also a monument on the main street. You can also see one of the big guns as it still looks out over the river.