Editing CSS Arkansas (section)

==Construction==
Despite his initial support for the Memphis ironclads, [[Major General (CSA)|Major General]] [[Leonidas Polk]], the Confederate regional commander, generally refused to release any skilled workmen from his command to assist in their construction; shortly after the ships were laid down, Shirley petitioned Polk for 100 carpenters, but only received 8. Other petitions for manpower were ignored, greatly slowing progress on the ships, as Polk gave priority to his newly formed flotilla of ships on the [[Tennessee River]], all of which except ''Eastport'' were unarmored. Material shortages also slowed construction and Shirley chose to focus his efforts on completing ''Arkansas''.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=47, 53, 57}}

Union ships captured the incomplete ''Eastport'' and the lumber and armor plates already delivered, but not yet installed, on February 7, 1862, after the [[Battle of Fort Henry|surrender of Fort Henry]] gave the Federals command of the Tennessee the previous day and towed her way to be completed in a [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] shipyard. The beginning of the [[Battle of Island Number Ten|siege of Island Number Ten]] north of Memphis in early March threatened the city and alerted Confederate commanders and officials to the lack of progress on the ''Arkansas''-class ironclads. Prompted by the request of [[Confederate States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]], [[Judah P. Benjamin]], Major General [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] sent an officer to inspect the sisters and evaluate how much progress had been made in mid-March. He reported that ''Arkansas'' was well advanced, but that ''Tennessee'' would need six more weeks to before she could be [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]]. About this time Mallory sent [[Commander]] [[Charles H. McBlair]] to expedite the ships' construction and appointed him as [[captain (nautical)|captain]] of ''Arkansas''.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=62–64, 67, 69}}

The ironclad was apparently launched in early April,{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=71}} although other sources state later in the month.{{sfn|Silverstone|2006|p=150}}{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=27}} At this time, the exterior of her hull had been covered in iron down to {{convert|12|in|mm|0}} below the waterline and the casemate had been built although gun ports had not yet been cut. The engines and boilers were aboard, but not yet installed, and the propellers and their shafts had been mounted. Only four guns were available, but McBlair had not yet decided where to mount them. The surrender of Island Number Ten on April 8 left only [[Fort Pillow State Historic Park|Fort Pillow]] between Memphis and the advancing Union forces. Three days later Mallory ordered McBlair to take the ''Arkansas'' for completion "if she is in danger at Memphis".{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=71, 74}} McBlair hired the [[side-wheel steamer]] ''Capitol'' to tow the ironclad if necessary and quartered much of her crew aboard after her arrival on April 19.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=74}}

On April 25, the same day that the Union captured [[New Orleans]], McBlair [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] ''Arkansas'' and prepared to transfer his ship to [[Yazoo City, Mississippi]], for completion. One or two days later, the ironclad, as well as a [[barge]] containing additional materials, were towed by the ''Capitol'' to the mouth of the [[Yazoo River]] and thence up that river to Yazoo City.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=75, 78–79}} The ships left the city on May 7 for [[Greenwood, Mississippi]], which was further upriver, after being warned by [[List of governors of Mississippi|Mississippi governor]] [[John J. Pettus]] that Union ships were coming up the Mississippi River, possibly hunting for ''Arkansas''. The two ships reached Greenwood on May 10, just as the annual spring rise of the river was beginning. Several [[Levee breach|levees broke]] and the consequent flooding put the uncompleted ''Arkansas'' almost {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} from shore. To further complicate things, the barge that had accompanied the ship from Memphis also sank during this time, and vital machinery and material had to be recovered from the river bottom using a [[diving bell]]. Progress on the ironclad advanced at a snail's pace during these difficulties.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=80–82}}

On May 19, Beauregard inquired about ''Arkansas''{{'}}s status and, displeased by the lack of progress, telegraphed Mallory, requesting new leadership for the ironclad. Three days later Mallory appointed [[Lieutenant (naval)|Lieutenant]] [[Isaac N. Brown]] captain of ''Arkansas'', ordering him to complete her "without regard to the expenditure of men or money."{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=86–87}} Mallory ordered McBlair back to [[Richmond, Virginia]], the Confederate capital, on the 24th. Brown received his orders on 26 May and reached Greenwood three days later. He was disappointed to find the ship much less advanced than he had hoped and found only five carpenters at work and one [[blacksmith]]'s [[forge]] in use. Dismayed by his predecessor's lack of energy and failure to discipline his workforce, Brown requested some workmen from local Confederate Army units and persuaded several local men to join the crew and slave owners to loan some of their slaves to work on the ship that same day. Brown had ''Arkansas'' towed back to Yazoo City lest she run aground as the flooding subsided and to utilize the greater resources and manpower available there. He jailed some of the troublemakers among the workmen to reestablish discipline and ordered McBlair off the ship at gunpoint, tired of the senior man's interference.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=86–87, 89–92}}

Brown's appeal for more workers at Yazoo City drew a larger response than he had anticipated, with men volunteering to work on the ship and slave owners volunteering both their field hands and skilled workmen. Brown took advantage of the additional labor by working his men around the clock, every day of the week. Blacksmithing tools were borrowed from local [[plantation]] owners and 14 forges were operated at the site to make iron fixtures and machinery parts. With the armor-drilling machinery lost when the barge sank, a makeshift [[crane (machine)|crane]] was set up on ''Capitol'' to hold the newly fabricated drill which was powered by a leather belt driven by the steamboat's hoisting engine.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=95–99}} Within five weeks, ''Arkansas'' had been mostly completed, although the iron plating on her stern and pilothouse was not yet finished. However, river levels were falling, and further construction was no longer practical. Boiler plate was added to the stern, which was viewed to be less likely to be exposed to enemy fire.{{sfn|Gosnell|1949|pp=103{{en dash}}105}} Brown described the additional boiler plate as being "for appearance's sake".{{sfn|Marcello|2016}}

The ironclad departed for [[Liverpool Landing, Mississippi]], on either June 22 or 23, to rendezvous with Confederate forces defending the Yazoo River further downstream. A log raft had been constructed there across the Yazoo to serve as a barricade, and three Confederate [[gunboat]]s were positioned to defend it. While she reached a top speed of eight miles per hour, the voyage revealed the ventilation for the [[engine room]] and casemate was grossly inadequate, especially since the boilers were uninsulated. The mechanical weakness of her engines was also demonstrated as they tended to hang up at [[top dead center]], forcing the crew to use pry bars to manually move the [[piston]]s to another position to restart the engine. The engines were linked by a 'stopper' that was supposed to stop one engine if the other stopped for any reason, but this never worked and ''Arkansas'' would start to turn in a circle as the working engine overpowered the turning force provided by the [[rudder]].{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=120, 122–123}}