the steam-engines secured and the pilot houses protected by thick wooden planks. Three longitudinal bulkheads were added and supported with iron bars. Central beams were installed from bow to stern and iron peaks were installed on the bows. They were originally not equipped with any guns. Ellet assigned family members as captains of the other rams, including his brother Alfred W. Ellet, his nephew John A. Ellet, and his son Charles Rivers Ellet. On May 25, the Queen of the West and the ram fleet joined the Mississippi River Squadron, led by Charles H. Davis, on the Mississippi River north of Fort Pillow. Davis had little faith in the effectiveness of the rams but allowed the fleet to accompany his gunboats down the river to Memphis. First Battle of Memphis On June 6, Charles Ellet Jr. led four ram ships in the Battle of Memphis; the USS Queen of the West, the USS Monarch, the USS Switzerland and the USS Lancaster. Ellet had not coordinated a plan of attack with Davis and when the flotilla approached Confederate forces, the Queen of the West and the 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. The Monarch rammed and sank the Beauregard and drove the CSS Little Rebel aground and captured her. The Confederate forces suffered a severe loss at the Battle of Memphis with heavy casualties and the loss of seven of their eight ships. 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 refused to have his leg amputated and died 15 days from a blood infection due to the injury. Ellet's brother, Alfred W. Ellet took command of the ram fleet. Actions near Vicksburg The ram fleet was never incorporated in the Union Navy, however, in the summer of 1862, when David Dixon Porter took over command of the Mississippi River Squadron, he demanded and received full authority over the ram fleet. On June 26, Alfred W. Ellet commanded the Monarch and Charles Rivers Ellet commanded the