7. Union Planners Turn to Hoax and Bluff as a Solution to a Thorny Problem
As part of the plan to deal with the USS Indianola, now in Confederate hands, Union Navy Commander David Porter ordered the construction of a dummy ironclad out of an old coal barge. It was made to resemble a real warship, with paddle boxes, and fake gun emplacements out of which stuck “cannons” that were actually wooden logs painted black. Barrels were stacked to look like funnels, out of which poured smoke produced by smudge pots to mimic the smoke produced by a steam engine.
The dummy warship was then floated past Confederate-held Vicksburg. When word that a powerful “ironclad” was headed their way reached the Confederate salvage crews working to repair and refloat the recently captured Indianola, they panicked. Since the ship was stuck, the Confederates could not get her away. In order to prevent her recapture, the best solution the Confederates could come up with was to set fire to the Indianola’s magazine and blow her up. The Rebels’ destruction of the ironclad relieved the Union Navy of the headache of how to prevent the Confederates from using the powerful ironclad against them.