Editing CSS Arkansas (section)

===Final fight at Baton Rouge===
{{Main|Battle of Baton Rouge (1862)}}
[[File:Essex Arkansas.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the ''Arkansas'' burning while under fire from {{USS|Essex|1856|6}}, ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', 5 September 1862]]

With the threat of the Union fleets no longer present, Brown was granted four days of leave at [[Grenada, Mississippi]], for recovery from injuries. Before leaving, he ordered [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] Henry K. Stevens that ''Arkansas'' should not be moved.  Van Dorn was also informed that the ship's engine problems prevented her from being usable without repairs.{{sfn|Marcello|2016}}  Brown fell ill, while Van Dorn planned an attack on the Union-held city of [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]. Major General [[John C. Breckinridge]] was in charge of the Confederate army assault against Baton Rouge, but soon saw almost half of his force stricken by disease. To make up for the loss in manpower, Breckinridge asked for ''Arkansas'' to support his attack.  Despite the ship still being in a poor state of repair, Van Dorn ordered her to take part in the attack.<ref name="Barnhart" />  Stevens objected, citing Brown's orders that the ship should not be moved, and the question went to the [[Confederate States Department of the Navy]], who decided not to intervene. After making final preparations, Stevens was forced to steam the ironclad towards Baton Rouge.{{sfn|Marcello|2016}}  Brown learned of the debate, and left his sickbed to prevent ''Arkansas'' from leaving Vicksburg, but learned that she had already left when he reached Jackson.<ref name="Barnhart" />

Complicating matters, the ship's regular engineer was too sick to make the journey, and an army volunteer who lacked experience with the type of engines used on the ship served as the engineer.{{sfn|Gosnell|1949|p=132}}  Engine troubles occurred during the journey, causing the ship to spin.<ref name="Barnhart" /> ''Essex'' was one of the Union ships at Baton Rouge, and her fire helped repulse Breckinridge's attack in the [[Battle of Baton Rouge (1862)|Battle of Baton Rouge]].  After reaching a point close enough to see Baton Rouge, Stevens and the ship's pilot decided upon a plan of attack: to ram and sink ''Essex'' and then move downstream in order to block the retreat of the smaller Union vessels present.{{sfn|Gosnell|1949|p=133}} During the movement, ''Arkansas'' suffered another engine failure, which caused her to run aground on some [[cypress]] stumps. It took several hours to repair the engines, and some iron that had been covering the deck was thrown overboard to lighten the ship.{{sfn|Gosnell|1949|p=134}} ''Arkansas'' was able to free herself, but the strain on the engines caused a [[crank pin]] to break. A forge was constructed to create a new pin,<ref name="Barnhart" /> and an engineer on board the ship with blacksmithing experience created a new one.{{sfn|Gosnell|1949|p=134}} Fixing the engine took all night, and when the ship attempted to move downstream again on August 6, the other engine broke down, rendering her immobile. ''Essex'' approached, and Stevens ordered the [[scuttling]] of his ship.<ref name="Barnhart" />{{sfn|Marcello|2016}} Burning, ''Arkansas'' floated downstream before blowing up and sinking around noon.{{sfn|Marcello|2016}}

In 1981, the [[National Underwater and Marine Agency]] discovered the wreck of ''Arkansas'' under a levee below Free Negro Point, near Mile 233.  The site is possibly the location of an old sand and gravel pumping site that reported finding skeletons and projectiles.<ref name="numa">{{cite web |title=Search for the Ironclads |url=https://numa.net/expeditions/november-1981/ |publisher=National Underwater and Marine Agency |access-date=10 March 2021}}</ref>