page_title: USS Benton
section_title: 1863
hierarchical_section_title: USS Benton / Service / 1863
caption_attribution_description: English: Admiral Porter's flotilla of gunships and transports arrives below Vicksburg on 16 April 1863. General W. T. Sherman is rowing out to the flagship, USS Benton, in a yawl.
context_page_description: USS Benton was an ironclad river gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for American senator Thomas Hart Benton. Benton was a former center-wheel catamaran snagboat and was converted by James B. Eads, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1861 and commissioned February 24, 1862 as part of the Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla.
context_section_description: On April 16, under the direction of Admiral David Porter, the Benton led a nighttime charge past the guns of Vicksburg. Protecting the Ivy from cannon fire, the Benton led a column of ten additional vessels past the heavy artillery batteries. Passing at a range of 800-yard (730 m) the Benton was hit 5 times, including 1 10-inch (250 mm) round that split her casemate, injuring several crewmen. on April 29 the Benton led a 7 ironclad fleet in a bombardment of Grand Gulf, MS's gun batteries. One particularly devastating hit pieced the Benton's armor, causing 25 casualties. As the battle continued, the speed of the current increased and overwhelmed the Benton's engines and she was swept downstream before the bombardment's conclusion. In May, Benton returned to Vickburg to continue bombarding the city until its fall in June.
caption: General William Tecumseh Sherman rows out to the Benton after it arrives below Vicksburg
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