The Union Army's Marine Brigade burns the town of Austin, Mississippi for sheltering rebel forces

Operating along the Mississippi under its commander General Alfred Ellet, landing troops where needed, the Marine Brigade harassed Confederate forces up and down the river.  Faced with elusive and mobile Confederate units and a resistant civilian population, Ellet often responded actively.  When one of his ships was fired on, he turned on the riverside town of Austin in Tunica County, Mississippi and burned it to the ground in retaliation, later justifying his action saying the town stored weapons and seized small trading vessels.  (By John Osborne)