Soon after the start of the Civil War, during the naval buildup on the central Mississippi River, celebrated engineer Charles Ellet, Jr., formed the Ram Fleet under U.S. secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton. Perhaps the most bizarre unit organized by the Union, the rams were shunned by both the army and the navy as useless instruments of war. However, on June 6, 1862, they proved their worth by defeating the Confederate ironclads at Memphis while the U.S. Navy simply watched. In this lively study, the first on the rams since 1905, Chester G. Hearn details the formation and wartime exploits of Ellet's fleet, reviving the history of this fascinating but forgotten brigade. The army lost or destroyed many of the brigade's records upon its dissolution, but through painstaking research Hearn has constructed its colorful history. Filling a void in the annals of operations along the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Red Rivers, Ellet's Brigade will be welcomed by scholars and buffs alike as a rare glimpse into one of the few remaining unexplored facets of the Civil War. - Jacket flap.