Capture of the Union Tinclad Petrel

On April 22, 1864, about two and a half miles above Yazoo City, on the west bank of the Yazoo River, Col. John Griffith of the 11th and 17th Consolidated Arkansas infantry led a Confederate cavalry and artillery detachment to attack the Union tincad Petrel. The Petrel, commanded by Acting Master Thomas McElroy, responded with its eight 24-pound Howitzer cannons. A solid shot from the Confederates Parrot gun tore through the stem, punctured a steam pipe and exploded the boilers. The Petrel was then surrendered and burned.