the 1st mate was injured. In retaliation, Ellet and his crew burned three plantations that were believed to be the residences of those that injured the 1st mate. Loss of the Queen of the West On February 14, the Queen of the West and De Soto went up the Red River and captured the steamboat Era No. 5 carrying 4,500 bushels of corn. The Queen of the West continued upstream to investigate reports of steamships at Gordon's Landing near Marksville, Louisiana. She came under heavy fire by the shore batteries of Fort DeRussy and was run aground onto the right bank by her pilot instead of backing down river as ordered. She was directly in the sight of Confederate guns, which pounded her until Ellet ordered "abandon ship,". Ellet and the crew escaped and floated downstream on bales of cotton and were rescued by the De Soto. The Queen of the West was not burned out of concern for the 1st mate who was wounded and could not be moved. The USS Queen of the West was captured, repaired and re-entered into service as the CSS Queen of the West by the Confederate forces. Service as CSS Queen of the West In conjunction with the Confederate ram, , she forced the surrender of in the Mississippi River below Vicksburg on February 24. On April 11, 1863, she was attacked on the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana by Union ships , , and . A shell from Calhoun set fire to Queen of the West's cotton, and her burning wreck drifted down the river for several hours before she grounded and exploded. 90 members of the Confederate crew were captured and 26 killed. See also Anaconda Plan Union Navy References Sources 1854 ships American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Cottonclad rams of the Confederate States Navy Maritime incidents in April 1863 Naval magazine explosions Paddle steamers of the United States Ships built in Cincinnati Ships of the Union Navy Ships of the United States Army Shipwrecks in rivers Shipwrecks of the American Civil War United States Ram Fleet