The Conestoga is at Hickman. The Lex
ington is also supposed to bo on her way
down.
In addition to the gunboats, is Colonel
Ellett’s fleet of rams. Ho holds aposition
as Colonel of Engineers in the army, and
his rams are manned by sharpshooters —
fifteen to each boat. The ram fleet is in
dependent of the navy—also of the army.
Four of the rams arrived near the an
chorage of the fleet early this morning—
the Queen of the West, Monarch, Lancas
ter No. 3, and Switzerland. I doubt if
the rebel commander knew of the arrival
of the rams when they offered battle to
Commodore Davis. Two or three were
tied up in the bend along the Arkansas
shore. They knew that we had rams, but
their offering battle at so early an hour,
and the boasts made by Jeff. Thompson in
the city just before ho stepped on board
his I oat, “That the people of Memphis
would see the Lincoln fleet chawed up be
fore 8 o’clock,” or words of like import,
leads to the conclusion that he hoped to
crush the five gunboats.
The Rebel Fleet consisted of eight ves
sels, carrying excellent guns. The Little
Rebel was formerly a large sized sea-going
New Orleans tug, very swift and powerful
The General Bragg was formerly the Mar
quis de la Habanna, a sea-going steamer,
plying between New O. leans and Galves
ton —a staunch, powerful side-wheel boat,
with a walking beam nr <1 masts with
schooner lig. AU of the belts were pow
erful as ranis, but their guns wore exposed.
