CSS General Earl Van Dorn, a side-wheel river steamer, was fitted out in early 1862 at New Orleans as a River Defense Fleet "cottonclad" ram. In late March, she steamed up the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee, where her outfitting was completed. In the naval action off Fort Pillow on 10 May, she attacked a Union mortar boat with gunfire and rammed the ironclad Mound City. On 1 June, she helped cover the Confederate evacuation of Fort Pillow, then retreated to Memphis, where, on 6 June she was the only survivor of the River Defense Fleet's final battle. After escaping to Yazoo City, Mississippi, General Earl Van Dorn was burned on 26 June 1862 to avoid capture by Federal warships.