Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. In his report, Admiral David Dixon Porter criticized the aggressiveness of Ellet to continue up the Red River instead of maintaining guard at the mouth of the Red River and awaiting arrival of the Indianola. Porter wrote in his report, "Had the commander of the Queen of the West waited patiently, he would, in less than twenty-four hours, have been joined by the Indianola...This is a serious disappointment to us [above Vicksburg], as we calculated certainly on starving on the garrison at Port Hudson by merely blockading the mouth of the Red River. My plans were well laid, only poorly executed. I can give orders, but I cannot give officers good judgment." Porter also questioned whether Ellet and his crew abandoned the Queen of the West too easily since it was entered back into service by Confederate forces so quickly. Second run past Vicksburg On March 26, Ellet ran a second ram ship, the Switzerland, past the batteries at Vicksburg to support Admiral Farragut. Ellet commanded the Switzerland and his cousin, John A. Ellet, commanded the Lancaster. Both ships received heavy fire from the batteries and the Lancaster was run aground and sunk to avoid capture by the Confederate forces. The Switzerland was damaged but was repaired and continued duty on the Mississippi until Vicksburg and Port Hudson were captured by Union forces. Ellet also commanded the infantry of the Mississippi Marine Brigade until he requested a leave of absence due to poor health. He tendered his resignation on August 14, 1863. Command of the ram fleet went to his cousin John A. Ellet. Death and legacy After leaving the military, Ellet recuperated at the home of his uncle Dr. E.C. Ellet in Bunker Hill, Illinois. Ellet was a chronic sufferer from migraines, which he treated with laudanum. On the evening before his death, Ellet complained he did not feel well and was going to take medication for "the pain in his face". He died during the night of October 29, 1863 from what was most likely an accidental overdose by a self-administered injection of morphine. He was known to have previously prepared and administered self-injections of morphine. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia next to his father. The US Navy destroyer USS Ellet, in service from 1939 to 1946, was named in honor of Charles Rivers Ellet and other members of