CSS Pontchartrain
From FranaWiki
CSS Pontchartrain was a Confederate gunboat that sank in the Arkansas River near the North Little Rock riverbank. The gunboat was originally a packet boat called the Steamboat Lizzie Simmons, and ferried passengers and mail on the river. The Confederate States of America purchased and refitted the boat for military service in 1861, adding iron plating and cannon. The Lady Baxter Cannon on the front lawn of the Old State House came from the gunboat.
The gunboat never saw action and was set ablaze by retreating Confederate troops on September 10, 1863. It has never been located on the river bottom despite repeated efforts.
References
- Kristin Netterstrom, "Rebel Sleuth Hunts for Gunboat," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 26, 2009.
