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First Battle of Memphis

1862 naval battle of the American Civil War

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia

Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0

Source revisionSep 6, 2026

Entity authoritySource title only

Source-derived summary

The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately north of the city of Memphis, Tennessee on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Confederate forces, and marked the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river. Despite the lopsided outcome, the Union Army failed to grasp its strategic significance. Its primary historical importance is that it was the last time civilians with no prior military experience were permitted to command ships in combat. As such, it is a milestone in the development of professionalism in the United States Navy.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “First Battle of Memphis” as 1862 naval battle of the American Civil War. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1862—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where First, Battle and Memphis can be independently traced.

Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as 1862 naval battle of the American Civil War. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1862.

Critical limits

Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for

Event chronology
Institutional context
Locating named record creators

Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

Establish the record: confirm the title “First Battle of Memphis”, its source revision and the description used here.
Expand the search: follow First Battle of Memphis primary sources, First Battle of Memphis archive and First research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “First Battle of Memphis”?
Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?

Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

First Battle of Memphis history →First Battle of Memphis primary sources →First Battle of Memphis archive →First research →Battle research →Memphis research →naval research →

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “First Battle of Memphis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.