Elaborate Hoax

Union Army, Reclamation Of The Indianola, US Civil WarFake Union Ironclad

Photo via Wikimedia

• After losing one of its most prized ships, the recently constructed ironclad USS Indianola, the Union Navy conducted the most successful hoax operation of the US Civil War. The Indianola was a considerably formidable vessel, though it was plagued with problems during its construction, and it saw several successful combat operations. Attempting to pass the city of Vicksburg, the ship engaged in a battle against the Confederate Webb, which rammed the vessel, causing its starboard wheel and rudder to become inoperable. As the ship began to take on water, its captain, Lieutenant Commander George Brown, ordered it run ashore, where he quickly dumped the Union codebooks and surrendered to prevent a greater loss of life. The Confederates moved the Indianola to the eastern bank of the Mississippi and established a 100-man salvage crew accompanied by two pieces of field artillery in an attempt to salvage the valuable vessel.
• Deciding to attempt a recovery operation, Rear Admiral David D. Porter ordered that an old coal barge be made to look like a larger ironclad intent on taking the Confederates: “It was built of old boards in twelve hours, with porkbarrels on top of each other for smoke-stacks, and two old canoes for quarter-boats; her furnaces were built of mud, and only intended to make black smoke and not steam. Painted on the side was the taunting slogan: ‘Deluded Rebels, cave in!‘ ” To ensure that the Confederates saw the vessel approaching, he launched it in broad daylight toward the Confederate defenses.Seeing the “formidable vessel” approaching, the salvage crew first attempted to raise the Indianola before finally deciding to blow its magazines, scuttling the ship. The Indianola was eventually resurfaced and returned to the North toward the end of the war.