Just after the fall of Fort Sumter the Union Government had the
foresight to warn James B. Eads, the well-known builder of
Mississippi jetties, that they would probably draw upon his
"thorough knowledge of our Western rivers and the use of steam on
them." But it was not till August that they gave him the contract
for the regular gunboat flotilla; and it was not till the
following year that his vessels began their work. In the meantime
the armies were asking for all sorts of transport and protective
craft. So the first flotilla on Mississippi waters started under
the War (not the Navy) Department, though manned under the
executive orders of Commander John Rodgers, U. S. N., who bought
three river steamers at Cincinnati, lowered their engines,
strengthened their frames, protected their decks, and changed
them into gunboats.

The first phase of the clash in this land of navigable rivers had
ended, as we have seen already, with the taking of Boonville on
the Missouri by that staunch and daring Union regular, General
Nathaniel Lyon, on June 17, 1861. Boonville was a stunning blow
to secession in those parts. Confederate hopes, however, again
rose high when the news of Bull Run came through. At this time
General John C. Fremont was taking command of all the Union
forces in the "Western Department," which included Illinois and
everything between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Fremont's
command, however, was short and full of trouble. Round his
headquarters at St. Louis the Confederate colors were flaunted in
his face. His requisitions for arms and money were not met at
Washington. Union regiments marched in without proper equipment
and with next to no supplies. There were boards of inquiry on his
contracts. There were endless cross-purposes between him and