CSS General Bragg, a 1043-ton side-wheel steamer, was built at New York City in 1850 as the commercial steamship Mexico. In January 1862, she was taken over by the Confederacy at New Orleans, converted to a "cottonclad" ram and renamed General Bragg. As part of the River Defense Fleet, she took part in the defenses of Memphis, Tennessee, and its vicinity. In an action off Fort Pillow on 10 May 1862 she helped disable the U.S. ironclad Cincinnati and was herself put out of action. On 6 June, she was run aground and captured during the naval battle off Memphis. After repairs, she became USS General Bragg.