river to Memphis. First Battle of Memphis On June 6, Colonel Charles Ellet, Jr. led the ram ships in the Battle of Memphis as captain of the Queen of the West. Ellet had not coordinated a plan of attack with Davis and when the flotilla approached Confederate forces, the Queen of the West and the USS Monarch steamed ahead of Davis' gunboats. The Queen of the West rammed and sank the Confederate flagship . After the collision, the Queen of the West came under attack from the CSS Sumter and the CSS Beauregard. The attack sheared off one of the paddle wheels from the Queen of the West and forced her to ground on the riverbank. Ellet was wounded in the knee by a Confederate sharpshooter during the battle. His wound was the only serious casualty received on the Union side during the battle. Ellet died 15 days from a blood infection due to the injury. Ellet's brother, Alfred W. Ellet took command of the ram fleet and his son Charles Rivers Ellet became captain of the Queen of the West. Actions near Vicksburg On July 15, the Queen of the West, , and engaged the Confederate ironclad ram in the Yazoo River. The Arkansas was heavily damaged but escaped into the Mississippi and took refuge under the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi. On July 22, Queen of the West and attacked Arkansas, despite the batteries at Vicksburg. The Queen of the West rammed the Arkansas but inflicted only minor damage and rejoined the Mississippi River Squadron ships above Vicksburg. The Queen of the West continued to support operations against Vicksburg. On September 19, while escorting two transport barges, the Queen of the West had a short engagement with Confederate infantry and artillery on the Mississippi River above Bolivar, Mississippi. The Queen of the West also conducted operations in the Yazoo River clearing mines and engaging Confederate batteries. In November 1862, the Mississippi Marine Brigade, an amphibious raiding unit, was organized by Alfred W. Ellet. The ram fleet including the Queen of the West was incorporated as a part of the brigade. On November 5, Charles Rivers Ellet was promoted to the rank of colonel and assigned command of the ram fleet. On December 12, 1862, the Queen of the West was one of the ships that accompanied the USS Cairo up the Yazoo River. The Cairo was struck by