CSS Arkansas Civil War Ironclad

The CSS Arkansas was a Confederate Ironclad warship during the American Civil War. Serving in the Western Theater, the vessel helped repulse a U.S. Navy fleet at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in a celebrated action.

The keel was laid down at Memphis, Tennessee, by J.T. Shirley during the winter of 1861-1862. In April 1862, Arkansas was removed to the  Yazoo River inMississippi, to prevent its capture when Memphis fell to the Union Navy. Her sister ship, CSS Tennessee, was burned in her dock because she could not escape.